50 Over 50 Alumni
50 Over 50 Alumni
A decade of celebrating New York leaders over the age of 50.
City & State presents 50 Over 50 Alumni. Dickinson & Avella, PLLC; Goddard Riverside; April Pabon
Ten years ago, City & State published its inaugural 50 Over 50. The feature honored 50 exemplary individuals who were over the age of 50. As we wrote in introducing that first list, we recognized “the record of achievement of these outstanding figures, who have distinguished themselves in academia, advocacy, business, government, organized labor and other fields and professions.” The first group of honorees included such luminaries as former Manhattan District Attorney Robert Morgenthau, former New York City Police Commissioner Ray Kelly and Merryl Tisch, the former state Board of Regents chancellor who would go on to serve as chair of the State University of New York board. At the same time, the list included many others who were “influential behind these scenes.” Every year since, the annual 50 Over 50 has recognized a new class of deserving New York leaders.
This year, we’re looking back at these honorees from the past decade. For the 50 Over 50 Alumni, we reconnected with 50 past honorees to see what they’ve been doing since they first appeared on the list. We also selected five distinguished honorees – Elizabeth Holtzman, Marisa Lago, Brian Lehrer, H. Carl McCall and Randi Weingarten – to our 50 Over 50 Hall of Fame.
We’re pleased to introduce the 50 Over 50 Alumni.
Karen Alford
“It is easier to build strong children than to repair broken men,” Frederick Douglass once said.
Karen Alford, a vice president at the United Federation of Teachers, says this is a guiding principle in her work leading 40,000 elementary school-based union members.
Her mission is to serve students and members while addressing their needs and challenges early on, so that more serious issues don’t emerge during high school. Some problems teenagers face date back to early childhood, and it’s Alford’s goal to prevent this from continuing.
“I think for us to be a better society, we need to address whatever challenges there are,” she says. “Give teachers the resources that they need and deserve so that we can help our students when they’re young.”
Alford is also the executive director of United Community Schools, a UFT nonprofit that targets Title I schools to reduce barriers to learning, such as hunger, a lack of access to health services and other factors that would distract a child from learning.
Since Alford was first included on City & State’s “50 Over 50” in 2021, United Community Schools expanded from the five boroughs to Albany. UFT also helped transition New York City’s school system from remote learning back to in-person instruction with increased use of technology.
“My next project is just ensuring that I am listening to my members, that I am visiting their schools, that we’re always keeping these open lines of communication, so that whatever they need, I am being responsive to that,” she says.
– Amanda Gabrielle Salazar
Omar Alvarellos
Every time a person enters the New York City subway system using OMNY, the city’s contactless fare system, they can thank the lobbying firm Kasirer.
It was their client, Cubic Transportation Systems, that provided the Metropolitan Transportation Authority with the technology that makes the scan-and-go system work, a contract that Kasirer and one of its vice presidents, Omar Alvarellos, lobbied hard for.
“Winning the project is obviously an achievement, but having it be fully integrated in everyone’s lives and be a success, a few years into it, is really satisfying,” Alvarellos says.
Another citywide contract was just awarded to another of Alvarellos’ clients, Verra Mobility, for the New York City Department of Transportation’s speed cameras.
Alvarellos has compiled a long list of successes like these during his tenure at Kasirer, which was shaped by his years working in government. He calls public service the “best training ground” for the kind of work he does, and advises anyone who wants a career in government relations to work in government first. He also recommends finding clients and partners who are driven to reach outcomes together.
“Appreciate mission-driven clients,” he says. “That’s always wonderful, when you have a mission-driven client, those are always the best clients to have. They’re focused on objectives. I think that clients that value partnerships are always the most successful projects and the ones that are most rewarding to work on. It’s always wonderful when you have those opportunities.”
– A.G.S.
Michael Avella
Michael Avella has always been impressed by the workforce in the Capital Region.
After a stint at an accounting firm, he entered his career in politics working for the Rensselaer County district attorney and then as Troy’s deputy corporation counsel. In 1995, he moved across the river to serve as assistant counsel for state Senate Majority Leader Joe Bruno.
“There was always a really good group of strong professional folks in the Legislature,” Avella says. “There was camaraderie even when there was disagreement, which seemed to be unique at the time.”
After the 2008 election cycle, Avella joined Christina Dickinson and Brian Meara to form a lobbying firm, where he has worked on tax issues, voting rights, medical marijuana and gambling matters (the firm was renamed to Dickinson & Avella after Meara left). Avella is also a supporter of the Nonhuman Rights Project, which advocates for animals’ civil rights.
But the most impactful measure he has had a role in was the legalization of same-sex marriage.
“It almost seemed like when it happened in New York, it was a domino effect across the country and expedited the spreading of equal rights,” he recalls. “I felt very strongly that we all deserve to be treated the same way with respect and dignity.”
In Albany, he’s now helping cannabis entrepreneurs, a huge growth area for the firm.
“We went full circle, from being involved in the first medical cannabis businesses and various iterations of adult use, and now we’re helping a small business with Capital District and downstate stores and production facilities,” he says.
– Aaron Short
Robert Bishop
Sometimes a random offer can change a person’s career trajectory.
Robert Bishop was an attorney at The Legal Aid Society in Suffolk County when he was approached about joining then-New York City Mayor Ed Koch’s administration in 1978 as a government relations official based in Albany. With Koch offering a pay raise, Bishop decided to leave easy access to the beach behind and take the plunge, seeing his skill set as easily transferable.
“It is advocacy on behalf of a position,” Bishop says. “Lobbying is the sale of an intellectual position. When you are in a criminal court arguing for a client, you are selling a point.”
Bishop has staked out a lane in Albany as a top labor lobbyist. Bishop is most proud of his work on the state’s COVID-19 death benefit legislation, saying he saw a need and helped bring the idea up early during the COVID-19 pandemic. He also is proud of lobbying for legislation to assist the widow of a sanitation worker who died after inhaling hydrochloric acid. But Bishop is quick to credit the entire team at his firm for any policy wins.
Outside of work, he has served on the board of the Flushing YMCA. Asked if he has any regrets, Bishop jokes of having one: not taking a suggestion to buy Apple stock in the 1980s.
“I’m blessed,” Bishop says of his life. “My wife and I have been married for 46 years, I have three daughters and grandchildren. I have no regrets.”
– John Celock
Malcolm Brown
Malcolm Brown’s college constitutional law class was so inspirational he decided to pursue a legal career. His professor even had U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Burger speak to the class.
“(The coursework) told me a lot about myself and where I came from, what my parents went through to get me to the school that I was attending,” Brown says. “Things that I did not know were becoming apparent to me in the cases I was reading.”
Brown joined a commercial litigation firm in Philadelphia after law school, then moved to a larger firm in New York where he got pulled on to insurance cases. Soon he was working on securities litigation with plaintiffs he enjoyed helping.
“With securities litigation, you’re dealing with fraud,” Brown says. “That means someone either engaged in reckless or intentional conduct or they didn’t, which typically means there is a fairly innocent party on the other side that was duped into purchasing something.”
Brown’s firm has recovered more than $7 billion on behalf of investors, and Brown has continued to pursue securities and derivatives litigation. He’s also proud of the work the American Bar Association is doing to remind lawyers of their obligations to uphold the rule of law.
He does not approve of firms acquiescing to the Trump administration in order to preserve their bottom lines.
“If I am retained to represent a client I have an obligation to make best efforts on their behalf,” he says. “But I don’t understand why anybody would compromise themselves.”
– A.S.
Ralph Bumbaca
Ralph Bumbaca isn’t just a banker – he’s a leader in uplifting communities. As TD Bank’s point person in the New York metropolitan area, Bumbaca has placed the bank’s role as a community development financial institution front and center, particularly in providing capital to small businesses and supporting affordable housing development.
“That has been a passion for me,” Bumbaca says of supporting small businesses. “Ensuring that there is funding for small businesses that may not have the ability to access capital otherwise.”
Bumbaca considers affordable housing as critical as small-business development for economic stability. A lack of housing can lead to other economic and health care challenges, he notes.
On that front, TD Bank has been a longtime supporter of the Jericho Project, a nonprofit serving homeless New Yorkers. Last year, the organization recognized TD Bank with a Corporate Spotlight Award.
Bumbaca considers his role at the bank to focus on providing the resources that bankers across the region need to do their jobs serving their local communities.
“That is the driving force in what I do every day,” he says.
Bumbaca sees his fellow 50 Over 50 honorees as role models to those early in their careers.
“To even be considered is significant. At this point we are examples for others in the body of work we have completed,” he says. “Being that example for others, especially those starting out their careers and developing their careers, it is important to showcase that.”
– J.C.
Tonio Burgos
Two bridges commemorate the political figures who inspired Tonio Burgos to enter politics. The veteran lobbyist was first inspired by Robert F. Kennedy to become an activist and enter government. His government career was spent working under Mario Cuomo, serving in the Department of State, the Lieutenant Governor’s Office and the Governor’s Office. Burgos was also selected by Cuomo for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey board.
“All of the things were around the theme that I wanted to get things done,” he recalls.
Burgos cites his work on HIV and AIDS policy in the 1980s and then during the Clinton administration as a career highlight. He remains a supporter of the Latino Commission on AIDS, which was founded in 1990 to provide HIV prevention and care to Latinos.
“We were in the middle of a pandemic that the president at the time said was not a pandemic,” Burgos recalls of the AIDS response in the 1980s. “We as a state had to get it done.”
Other accomplishments for Burgos include helping modernize the Hudson River crossings while at the Port Authority, assisting clients on infrastructure projects and protecting food stamps during the 1970s.
Burgos described working for Mario Cuomo as a “graduate course” in government. He speaks fondly of the former governor, who had a practice that Burgos adopted with the staff at his lobbying firm: “He would end the day by asking me, 'What did we learn today that we did not know before?'”
– J.C.
Rob Byrnes
On March 20, 2020, Rob Byrnes got on a Zoom call with over a dozen fellow Manhattan business improvement district leaders – a meeting that continued every week for two years.
The BID leaders lamented the harm the COVID-19 pandemic caused in their local communities, shared ideas and supported each other through an uncertain time. Together, they built community.
This community was a silver lining for Byrnes, who heads the East Midtown Partnership, and it still drives him.
“That’s the big thing I learned,” he says. “I’m part of a good community. I should take advantage of that. I don’t have to do it alone. No one should have to do it alone.”
The East Midtown Partnership is now helping small businesses recover and rebound. The retail vacancy rate is 12%, down from 20% during the pandemic. Byrnes also helped prepare the businesses for city-mandated trash containerization while serving as the president of Friends of Art & Design, an organization that supports the local High School of Art and Design.
“I’m out on the streets five, six days a week, taking the temperature of the community, seeing what people need, what they think of our services,” he says. “We have a really good feel for what to bring out there.”
Looking to the BID’s future, Byrnes is taking on the restructuring of the organization, which he hopes will involve adding staff.
“I love it,” Byrnes says. “I get to be a problem-solver, a supporter, a booster, a cheerleader for our businesses and for our city.”
– A.G.S.
Frank Carone
It’s all about relationships for Frank Carone.
Carone, the founder of lobbying firm Oaktree Solutions and former chief of staff to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, is passing on his wisdom on the value of relationships to the next generation. Carone’s new book “Everyone Wins!” is out, and it focuses on the process of relationship building. Carone wrote the book with co-author Russ Alan Prince.
“Try your best not to burn bridges,” Carone says about the lessons he has learned. “Put ego aside and find common ground and always find a solution to a problem. Always keep your bearings. These are character traits that I learned in the U.S. Marine Corps as an officer.”
He says that these lessons, along with embracing the opportunities that have come his way, have allowed him to expand his business and operate at the highest levels of city government.
During his career, Carone says that a “mindset of playing the long game” has always been at the forefront of his thinking, another trait he shares in the book. Reflecting on his military career, Carone says it allowed him to put many things in perspective.
Now focused on teaching the next generation, Carone thinks about advice he would give to his younger self.
“As much as I can teach the process, there are times I lost my cool as a younger person,” he says. “I would caution my younger self to stay composed.”
– J.C.
Alfred C. Cerullo III
Alfred C. Cerullo III first delved into the intricacies of zoning when he was a lawyer for the New York City Council in the 1980s.
“I was engaged in following the agendas of those entities, particularly what was happening in Staten Island, and you don’t just hear your items, you hear others,” he recalls.
By the time he was elected to the City Council in 1990, he was already deeply knowledgeable of zoning matters. During that time, and again later, as the consumer affairs and finance commissioners, Cerullo became acquainted with business improvement districts.
His deep experience has helped him turn midtown Manhattan into a thriving center of global capital. As president and CEO of the Grand Central Partnership, Cerullo helped provide the framework for the city’s East Midtown rezoning initiative. But he is quick to credit the business improvement district workers who protect the quality of life in Midtown streets.
He has also remained engaged on citywide issues, serving on the New York City Planning Commission, and in Staten Island, where he’s on the board of the St. George Theatre Restoration Corp., a nonprofit dedicated to supporting the borough’s historic theater.
In Manhattan, Cerullo has been focused lately on activating outdoor public spaces, including the recent opening of Pershing Square East and parking lane patios with chairs on Vanderbilt Avenue. “We never want to lose the energy of people on the move, but we want to provide opportunities for respite and people are happy to have it,” he says.
– A.S.
Scott Christiansen
Listening and embracing change has defined Scott Christiansen’s career, from working in local television to marketing for a company reimagining how New Yorkers are connected.
Christiansen, a vice president at Boldyn Networks, is now in an industry that continually evolves. He started out in local news, spending years at Time Warner Cable before moving to the infrastructure side of telecommunications. He also had a stint at the Olympic Regional Development Authority.
“To be successful at it is to take it all in, synthesize it and add value,” Christiansen says.
At Boldyn, Christiansen has been helping the company revolutionize New York City’s telecommunications, bringing high-speed internet to the subway system. He is also helping adjust to various mergers and expanded business lines, including college campuses and military bases.
“Boldyn wants to make sure that the infrastructure is there to deliver great service,” he says.
Christiansen advises younger colleagues to “slow down while you go fast” – meaning that they should take a moment to process their experiences while at the same time pushing ahead.
A cancer survivor, Christiansen is grateful for the work of the specialists at the world-renowned Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. Asked about being honored as part of the 50 Over 50 Alumni list, he says it makes him think about everyone he’s met along the way.
“You think about all of the relationships and how they are super important,” he says. “They are the foundation of keeping the journey moving forward.”
– J.C.
Tony Constantinople
In the three decades before starting his consulting firm, Tony Constantinople worked in corporate finance and fundraising.
He was a finance manager for a leisure and construction project manufacturer, served as treasurer to a $4 billion finance company and assisted with the establishment of a global bank’s small-business lending division.
Those experiences prepared Constantinople to help candidates for governor, mayor and New York City Council raise enough money to run for office.
“Having worked in the public sector for several years, I saw many projects that could have been executed much more efficiently with a better approach,” he says. “That experience sparked an interest in improving government processes and led me to a career in consulting.”
In 1999, Constantinople established his consulting firm, teaming up with former New York City Council Speaker Peter Vallone Sr. The top-tier firm, Constantinople & Vallone Consulting, has taken on an array of clients, including Waste Management, TD Bank and New York Edge. Constantinople has also been a supporter of Meals on Wheels, which delivers meals to seniors in need.
More recently, Constantinople has played a role ensuring Gov. Kathy Hochul’s housing package passed last year, which could create 71,000 homes over the next decade.
Constantinople believes his greatest accomplishment is training a strong professional staff to help clients across an array of industries and continue the firm’s legacy serving the public.
“The greatest gift of a long career comes in the form of mentoring and offering guidance to our team’s next generation along with our clients,” he says.
– A.S.
Robert Cordero
Ten months after being included on City & State’s 50 Over 50 list in 2022, Robert Cordero had an aneurysm in his abdomen and nearly died.
His organs shut down, he spent months in the hospital, had several surgeries and needed rehab to learn how to walk again. Had the aneurysm occurred in his brain, he likely would not have survived it.
But, Cordero lived to tell the tale – one of the unexpected growth that can come out of challenges, the value of optimism and the dire need for resilience. He now brings this perspective into his work at social services nonprofit Grand St. Settlement.
“I keep that optimism – if I can survive a medical event where I almost definitively should have died, but didn’t, I can serve Grand St. to help navigate us through this chapter of our history,” he says. “With all the pressures … we’re going to find a way to survive and thrive.”
Grand St. Settlement expanded even as Cordero recovered, and continues to do so. This fall will bring four new Head Start headquarters opening up in the Bronx, serving the borough for the first time, and a third center in Brooklyn. These centers will provide education for toddlers and support for parents.
“My agency has grown significantly and I’ve been having to recover significantly during the same period of massive growth,” he says. “For me, personally and professionally, it’s been a challenging and joyous time. Happy to be alive, happy that Grand St. is growing.”
– A.G.S.
John Cordo
John Cordo ended up in Albany by chance.
A romantic relationship brought him to the city, where he began an internship in the state Legislature. Capitol stalwart James Featherstonhaugh took him under his wing.
It wasn’t the most stable period in Albany history. Assembly Speaker Mel Miller was indicted and state Senate Majority Leader Ralph Marino was overthrown after George Pataki became governor – but Cordo says he “caught the bug then and (has) been at it ever since.”
By the time Cordo launched his own boutique firm in 2007, he developed a reputation for working both with labor leaders and conservative state lawmakers. That seems like an odd pairing in today’s hyperpartisan political environment, but Cordo insists they had much in common.
“I find that it’s a misnomer for us to believe that labor is Democratic or Republican,” Cordo says. “They don’t have friends, they have permanent interests.”
Cordo has been advising Genting, which is seeking a commercial casino license at Resorts World in Queens, and, along with 1199SEIU workers and hospitals, advocated for additional health spending in the state budget. Cordo is also a champion of St. Joseph’s Food Pantry in New Paltz.
In Albany, he’s used to the instability, but believes the media climate has changed since he started out.
“You have to work outside the Capitol more to move public opinion to get the Legislature to move,” he says, “because there’s so much attention on everything we do.”
– A.S.
Doug Cotter
New York City’s workforce development community is a tight-knit group focused on uplifting New Yorkers, and Doug Cotter, the CEO of Grant Associates, is a well-known member of it.
Cotter climbed the ranks of Grant Associates over the years before becoming CEO a decade ago. Having dedicated his career to workforce development and employment, he describes it as an “honorable profession” that has a positive impact on New York City.
“Helping with economic stimulus is very rewarding,” Cotter says. “I am grateful to be doing this work.”
Grant Associates works closely with a number of city agencies in the workforce development space, and Cotter says he is proud to have partnered with them to increase the quality of the city’s employment and training systems. He also says he’s proud of the contributions he has made to the national workforce development ecosystem and in the creation of systems that are focused on partnering together to boost employment opportunities.
Cotter has been focused on the future of work, saying that with the types of jobs and tasks continuously evolving, the workforce development sector has to be prepared to pivot.
Cotter says that with the caliber of leaders in New York City, being recognized on a list such as the 50 Over 50 Alumni is a highlight.
“It is a real honor. We work in one of the greatest cities in the world and with talented individuals,” he says. “To be included with such an incredible group of people is an honor.”
– J.C.
Douglas Dimitroff
Douglas Dimitroff, who became the managing partner of Phillips Lytle last year, remembers hearing from an early age that he should be a lawyer. Family friends who were attorneys and others who worked closely with the future legal profession saw something in the young Dimitroff that made him a fit for the bar.
“It was engrained in some ways when I was a little kid,” Dimitroff says. “When I got to law school it was clear that I loved the law.”
Based in downtown Buffalo, Dimitroff has become an expert in telecommunications law. He is a co-founder of the New York State Wireless Association and has been called on to assist in creating similar industry groups nationwide.
Dimitroff has developed national policy on the subject as a member of the Federal Communications Commission’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, working with stakeholders and experts from across the nation.
Dimitroff recalls the countless hours of meetings of the advisory committee, where members representing everyone from law to agriculture worked to hammer out a national plan.
“We were really trying to get together and find commonalities,” he says.
A proud father of four, Dimitroff originally joined Phillips Lytle, the 191-year-old law firm that he now manages, because he found its community-oriented values lined up with his own.
“Giving back to the community, it goes back to how I grew up,” he says. “The firm is the same spirit in how we live and work.”
– J.C.
Leecia Eve
Leecia Eve knows the value of hard work.
She has worn many hats over the years and has had many jobs: a law partner, an aide to then-U.S. Sens. Joe Biden and Hillary Rodham Clinton, a senior vice president of the Empire State Development Corp., state deputy secretary for economic development, a senior executive at Verizon and a partner at the consulting firm Ichor Strategies.
Currently, she’s a member of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Board of Commissioners, the chair of the board at the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and a board member for Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp.
“I have been very blessed in my career to work on behalf of the 19 million people who call New York state home,” Eve says. “As extraordinary and blessed as my career has been to date, with the opportunities I’ve had to transform communities and lives in New York state and beyond, I’m frankly most excited about what lies ahead.”
A lesson she has learned during her career is that there is no substitute for hard work. That’s why she advises people starting out to be ready to learn, collaborate and innovate in any job.
“Approach your new role with curiosity, always seeking to learn, to be a sponge for information, see the people in your new environment who excel at what they do and try to emulate that,” she says. “Be known as the person who, when she says she’s going to do something, actually does it and delivers. You do that, you will stand out, regardless of what field you may choose.”
– A.G.S.
Ira Goldstein
A funny thing happened in Ira Goldstein’s plans to become a legal titan of New York City: He ended up a leader in the city’s for-hire vehicle industry.
Goldstein had been an attorney when the tech bubble burst at the turn of the century, and he moved into city government at the New York City Taxi and Limousine Commission, where he eventually became its chief of staff. As he was planning to leave the TLC, the top post at The Black Car Fund opened up. Goldstein took his passion for public service to the organization, helping it grow beyond its original mission of providing workers’ compensation coverage.
“We’ve expanded what we can provide the drivers,” Goldstein says. “They are independent contractors and overwhelmingly an immigrant community.”
Among the new services Goldstein has pioneered include defensive driving classes, wellness classes, quality dental and vision plans, and personal accident insurance.
Outside of work, Goldstein is active with the Simon Wiesenthal Center, which combats antisemitism, and as his condo board vice president.
At the Simon Wiesenthal Center, he frequently mentors the organization’s interns and talks about his career path and how he thought he had his career planned out. Goldstein tells the interns that professional trajectories often change and that what they learn now will always be a part of their eventual path even if it is not the initial plan. He points to his own legal education and career.
“Without those I would not have had the opportunity to become who I am today,” he says.
– J.C.
Sharon Greenberger
Everyone has a YMCA story.
It’s what inspires the YMCA of Greater New York’s Sharon Greenberger, who serves 400,000 patrons and 4,500 staff members across 24 branches.
“I see my work as empowering New Yorkers – whether that is helping our kids reach their educational goals, helping anybody reach a fitness school, creating connections for people in meaningful ways – because we all need to feel a sense of belonging somewhere,” she says.
Over the past five years, Greenberger opened two branches in the Bronx, each one welcoming thousands of visitors daily. Branches offer swim classes, youth summer camps, day care, after-school programs, adult fitness activities and more.
Two years ago, the organization launched the Citywide Interorganizational Aquatics Task Force. Composed of government and nonprofit entities, the task force develops aquatic safety solutions, such as lifeguard training and certification to add more lifeguards at public pools and beaches as well as youth swim instruction programs. Drowning is a leading cause of death for young people, especially in a city surrounded by water.
Greenberger has also been a supporter of The Charles H. Revson Foundation, which makes grants to support civil society.
At the Y, Greenberger is looking ahead to further improvements and upgrades.
“I feel like those who love New York City have an obligation to serve the city in whatever capacity is necessary,” Greenberger says. “There are many ways that we can help the city, especially at this moment in time, and that’s what I’ll keep doing.”
– A.G.S.
Helen S. Jarrett
Communications Workers of America Local 1180
Helen Jarrett is a dedicated New York City employee with a history of activism, political work and labor union involvement that keeps her and many organizations moving.
For the veteran union volunteer, a call to support mobilizing union members in 2016 led to Jarrett taking on CWA Local 1180’s mobilization coordinator role. President Donald Trump’s recent cuts to the federal workforce has energized her even more.
“The federal workers never in their wildest dreams thought they’d be fired in one fell swoop,” she says. “We need to be out in the streets.”
Jarrett’s engagement is infectious. She rallies protesters to demonstrate – and, closer to home, got her own teenage grandson involved in fighting for causes he believes in. She has also been active with the Coalition of Black Trade Unionists.
Jarrett wants to ensure plenty of activists and volunteers follow in her footsteps. For years, she has been going to churches and community groups teaching the basics of organizing, activism, community boards, petitioning and canvassing.
“From the Bronx to Staten Island, I go all over,” she says with the zeal of a citywide candidate.
A veteran employee of the New York City Police Department, Department of Environmental Protection and Human Resources Administration, Jarrett is a proponent of the impact civil servants can have.
“To see families be able to thrive and hopefully one day come off of public assistance and walk on their own two feet,” Jarrett says. “It is one of the most beautiful things to experience.”
– J.C.
Patrick B. Jenkins
Many college students hope they can make it through a year with their roommate. Then there’s Patrick B. Jenkins.
Jenkins and his roommate at Stony Brook University, future Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie, showed that roommates can indeed coexist – and go on to become power brokers in state government.
“We knew we could make change on campus and we thought we could do it when we graduated,” recalls Jenkins, who’s now a powerful lobbyist.
Jenkins got his start in government as an executive assistant in the New York City Comptroller’s Office, before moving on to be a top aide to Rep. Greg Meeks of Queens. Following a stint as Gov. Eliot Spitzer’s deputy campaign manager in 2006, Jenkins moved into the consulting world.
Jenkins recounts many of the issues that he has worked on. This includes efforts to legalize gambling at racetrack casinos for his client Genting and passing Sammy’s Law, which allows New York City to lower speed limits to 20 mph. Other notable accomplishments include making sure all students had tablets during the COVID-19 pandemic, legalizing ride-hailing services and fantasy sports, as well as helping small businesses thrive in the outer boroughs.
One thing connects Jenkins’ work: “It has always been a theme to me to bring equity to my community,” he says.
While another groundbreaking moment was achieved in the halls of Albany, it was incubated all those years ago at Stony Brook.
“Watching my best friend become the first African American speaker in New York is bigger than anything else,” Jenkins says.
– J.C.
Sandra Karas
For Sandra Karas, there are two certainties in life: workers’ rights and taxes.
Karas is an actor with credits in theater and television and serves as the volunteer secretary-treasurer of the Actors’ Equity Association, a major labor union representing theater actors and managers. She’s also a licensed tax accountant, financial adviser and tax and estates lawyer at Marathon Legal Advisors.
When Karas was a young actor trying to do her own taxes, she was directed to the union’s Volunteer Income Tax Assistance program for help, then became a volunteer for the program before going on to establish a career in the field.
“Be flexible and be willing to pivot, because you never know where one job might lead you, where one skill might take you,” Karas says. “I’ve had parallel tracks that I never expected to have.”
She’s now working on getting the bipartisan Performing Artist Tax Parity Act passed in Washington, D.C.
Something she wishes people would understand about the arts is how integrated it is in everyday life. The COVID-19 pandemic brought this to the forefront, she says, as everyone relied on performers to keep them entertained during quarantine.
“We don’t stop and think about, every day, how much we rely on artists to enhance and sustain our lives,” Karas says. “Not that there aren’t other worthy professions, but ours is a big economic driver in the United States. It contributes to the GDP as much or more than any other industry. I’m really proud of that.”
– A.G.S.
Rich Kassel
Rich Kassel’s commute started it all.
As a young staffer with the National Resources Defense Council, Kassel would bike to work in Manhattan. After cycling through the urban oasis of Central Park, he’d emerge on Fifth Avenue and encounter trucks and buses spewing diesel exhaust.
“I realized that I could do something about these buses,” Kassel says. “That’s what the NRDC is all about.”
Kassel went on to launch the Dirty Diesel campaign to eliminate sulfur from the diesel fuel the Metropolitan Transportation Authority used in its bus fleet. The effort expanded to other cities and to trucks. It became a national standard, and other countries followed suit.
Kassel, who’s now at the decarbonization-focused consulting firm AJW, says making New York City a world environmental leader is his goal.
“It is really all about how we can solve a problem for New York and then for all over the world,” he says. “We changed what diesel fuels look like worldwide.”
Kassel lists the diesel fuel work, advocating for taking lead out of gas and the creation of Hudson River Park as his top accomplishments.
The ability to work well with others and learn to achieve the goals of the entire team is key to success in public policy.
“I tell people that part of success in this political and policy world is learning to play jazz,” Kassel says. “That is, you know where you want to go but you have to improvise along the way.”
– J.C.
Marc Landis
Marc Landis is committed to a purpose-driven life.
Landis, the managing partner of the law firm Phillips Nizer, has centered his career on three pillars: advocating for social and economic justice, supporting the Jewish community and defending democracy.
“Those themes have followed me through my work and my public interest role,” he says.
A longtime Democratic Party official on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, Landis was recently selected as the borough’s new Democratic elections commissioner.
Landis has been chairing a task force for the Union for Reform Judaism focused on developing a new toolkit on ways to address antisemitism.
“It has been a labor of love,” Landis says. “The tools we are designing are helpful in addressing any kind of hate that is facing a local government.”
Landis is also a board member of Belongó, working on the organization’s new theater, which is part of a proposed 100% affordable housing development in East Harlem.
Landis is keen to discuss his family and social justice. His wife, Judy, recently led a social justice conference in Washington, D.C., where his daughter, Rachel, was a panelist. He says his son, Barak, a college student in Washington, D.C., wants to bridge divides between Jewish and Palestinian students.
Landis is most driven by Jewish teachings about leaving the world a better place.
“It’s a reminder of how important it is to keep doing what you are doing,” he says. “You may not complete it, but that’s OK, you set the building blocks for those who come next.”
– J.C.
Eric Linzer
Eric Linzer got a pivotal piece of advice from his boss while working a summer job at a lunch counter.
“He said, ‘Don’t be afraid to jump into something a little more over your head,’” Linzer recalls. “‘It will force you to work harder.’”
That advice has guided Linzer through his professional career. It has stuck with him, from his first job out of Boston College managing a state legislative race in Boston – and later, while serving as a legislative aide in the Massachusetts State House – to working for the Massachusetts Association of Health Plans and eventually taking the helm of the New York Health Plan Association.
While he started out in Boston, Linzer wants to reassure New Yorkers that he has never been a Red Sox fan. The New Jersey native is in fact a Mets fan.
One of his proudest accomplishments in Albany was the passage of a 2023 law to provide early notification of prescription drug prices. The law marked Linzer’s first pen and certificate of a law signed by the governor. Linzer touts the impact for New Yorkers.
“It was one of those issues where if we expect consumers to make informed decisions, we need to give them the information,” he says. “An early warning provides them with the time to prepare.”
Recapping his path from Beacon Hill to the banks of the Hudson River, Linzer can’t help but think of the lunch counter.
“The advice I got from my boss all those years ago has served me well,” he says.
– J.C.
Hossam Maksoud
For Hossam Maksoud, being a pharmacist is about more than just dispensing prescriptions – it’s about ensuring the well-being of each and every patient they serve.
“It brings out the humanity in all of us,” Maksoud says of his work. “It’s a fragile population and with that comes much more responsibility. How are you going to take care of these individuals? How are you going to make sure that their needs are met?”
Maksoud is the president and board chair of Community Care Rx, a long-term care pharmacy operating in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Delaware that services 14 nonprofit organizations and more than 10,000 patients, largely people with mental, intellectual and developmental health struggles.
Being a long-term care pharmacy means, in addition to delivering the prescribed medications, ensuring that the medication is administered correctly in the right dosage at the right times of day. It accomplishes this by using electronic platforms to communicate between all parties involved in the prescriptions, which reduces errors in patient care.
Maksoud would like to see service providers that work directly with patients, like Community Care Rx, be more involved in governmental decision-making and budgeting.
“It’s easy to make a decision, but it’s much better to make a wise decision when you have everybody involved around the table to give you their feedback,” Maksoud says. “That will be something that’s useful for everyone. Spending the money where it really belongs and spending it wisely will not happen unless you get people like us involved.”
– A.G.S.
Frank Marino
There is not a corner of New York City that Frank Marino can look at without being able to tell the story of how it came to be. In many cases, he helped to write the story in the first place.
Marino, the founder of his own eponymous communications shop, has been telling the stories of the city’s real estate industry – and a growing portfolio of other industries and sectors – for over three decades. He got on the PR career path after working as chief of staff to a Bronx Assembly member, orchestrating the lawmaker’s ambitious media strategy.
“I learned this stuff the old-fashioned way, learning by doing, and it has served me well,” Marino says.
Marino served at the New York City Public Development Corp. during the Koch administration and then moved to the private sector, eventually founding his firm in 1993. The firm has handled communications for Hudson Yards, Brooklyn Bridge Park, One World Trade Center and Terminal 4 at John F. Kennedy International Airport, among other projects.
He and his wife are also active volunteers with the Don Bosco Community Center in Port Chester, helping in the soup kitchen and food pantry. Founded by Italian immigrants in 1928, the organization has supported waves of immigrants over the decades.
Looking back at his career, Marino says there’s only one thing he’d tell his younger self.
“In my early days, I was somewhat hesitant,” he says. “There were times when I was shy – now I am not shy.”
– J.C.
Félix V. Matos Rodríguez
A new job can present a learning curve for anyone, but for Félix V. Matos Rodríguez, his first year as CUNY chancellor went beyond that.
By the time he reached the one-year mark, Matos Rodríguez was contending with a once-in-a-century pandemic, had become a de facto health expert and had quickly shifted a massive higher education system online. Then came an enrollment drop and a fiscal crisis. Matos Rodríguez says his first year taught him a lesson as he had to rely on the information he had at the time and the fact that there was no roadmap.
“The (COVID-19) pandemic also taught me to have incredible humility,” he says of dealing with the decisions and inevitable criticism he faced.
Matos Rodríguez came to the chancellorship having led Queens College and Hostos Community College. He had also taught and ran the Center for Puerto Rican Studies at Hunter College and served as Puerto Rico’s family services secretary.
He is proud of being able to expand internship and workforce development opportunities for CUNY students. Matos Rodríguez is excited about a new initiative to allow students transferring from a CUNY community college to a four-year college to not lose credits in the process.
“It had led students to lose time and money,” he says. “I am proud of this very student-centric move that we’ve made.”
Looking back at the pandemic, he credits CUNY’s students, faculty and staff for how they pulled through.
“I was so damn proud of the CUNY community,” he says.
– J.C.
Suzanne Mattei
Suzanne Mattei, the director of policy at Lookout Hill Public Policy Associates, knows that to succeed in protecting the environment, solutions have to be economically sound – and that to continue economic growth into the future, the environment must be protected for generations to come.
Balancing the two imperatives has been a core focus of her career in energy policy, working on statewide and national projects that have impacted people even in mundane tasks like accessing water and discarding trash.
“Ecology and economy have the same prefix,” Mattei says. “What’s good for the environment in the big picture is also good for the economy, and alternatives that benefit the environment will only succeed if they also are good for the economy.”
One of her noteworthy successes was helping to stop the Williams Companies’ Northeast Supply Enhancement project that would have extended a fossil fuel pipeline from New Jersey into the waters off Queens. Other wins include preventing the sale of the New York City drinking water system to a state authority, promoting recycling over trash incineration in the city and helping get the Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Act passed in 2004.
Mattei’s career shows that people can do hard things when they’re willing to work collaboratively and steadfastly.
“I think that people should never get discouraged,” she says. “You don’t win every battle. You don’t succeed in all the things that you want to achieve, but you will succeed at most of them if you take an approach that involves other people.”
– A.G.S.
Pamela Mattel
Coordinated Behavioral Care is a network of 78 nonprofit organizations, providing a comprehensive array of services for behavioral health, primary care, care management, housing and social care.
As President and CEO Pamela Mattel explains, she has learned over the years that physical and mental health are inseparable and both need to be cared for. Her organization does just that.
“Health care has both been invaluable and a beat-up service because of its cost and poor outcomes in this country,” she says. “It’s really important to be on the cutting edge of this.”
A major project that Mattel and her team have worked on over the past two years is the Safe Options Support program, announced by Gov. Kathy Hochul in 2022, with the aim of getting chronically homeless people into housing. In partnership with the state Office of Mental Health, Coordinated Behavioral Care contracted with a number of community-based nonprofits to work at the street level bringing people into care. The organization has housed hundreds of New Yorkers who were previously thought to be unreachable.
One takeaway from her years of experience is how important it is to connect with others. Mattel advises young professionals to move away from remote work and to get to know their coworkers and seek out mentors.
“The people working in human services are a really, truly outstanding, mission-driven, compassionate, incredibly talented group of people,” she says. “I have become such a better person because of my ability or my opportunity to work with many of them.”
– A.G.S.
Claude Millman
A legal career can open up many different paths. For Claude Millman, the trajectory took him from being an assistant U.S. attorney in Manhattan to a key New York City government official to an accomplished expert on city procurement in the private sector.
Millman had worked with now-New York City First Deputy Mayor Randy Mastro in the U.S. Attorney’s Office. When Mastro became chief of staff in the Giuliani administration, he recruited Millman as deputy commissioner of the city’s Business Integrity Commission. Millman later became the city’s chief procurement officer.
“Frankly, I didn’t have a lot of experience doing that, but thankfully, I had a terrific staff,” Millman says. “They were very supportive of my various reform ideas and helped me get things done.”
Now at the law firm Kostelanetz, Millman is on a mission to address the biggest challenge for the many nonprofits that are contracted to provide social services: late payments. He has also represented the Human Services Council, an influential organization advocating for the nonprofit sector, in legal battles with the city.
“I think the city’s treatment of not-for-profit providers has been horrible and for our city’s safety net,” Millman says. “It is critical that they get paid and (get) paid on time.”
His best career advice is to focus on networking and meeting as many people as possible.
“They have so much to offer with ideas and insights,” he says. “These contacts can be invaluable.”
– J.C.
Charles O’Byrne
Charles O’Byrne started out in government as acting elections superintendent in Monmouth County.
He had volunteered on campaigns as a teenager and endeared himself to county freeholders who appointed him to the position while its director was on maternity leave.
“It was a little unusual for a 20-something to have those responsibilities and have a lot of people working for me, but that was the way it went,” he says.
O’Byrne would go on to work on presidential campaigns for Ted Kennedy and Howard Dean, and advised David Paterson when he unexpectedly became governor.
“It’s hard to prepare somebody for the thing that’s not supposed to happen, but the governor brought a lot of strength to the office,” he says. “He was a very skilled, capable relationship-oriented leader who knew his way around the statehouse.”
O’Byrne joined Related in 2012 and helped shape its grand vision for Hudson Yards, one of New York City’s most significant redevelopment projects in a generation.
He recently worked with the New York City Housing Authority on an agreement to demolish and rebuild hundreds of apartments at Fulton and Elliott-Chelsea Houses and spearheaded Related’s plans to build electrical transmission lines in the Midwest and Northeast.
But the most exciting project he’s involved with may well be Related’s bid for a $12 billion casino with a new hotel, housing and a park in Hudson Yards.
“It’s been very exciting and inspirational to work on imagining a proposal for this space,” he says. “It’s particularly striking that this space is just a hole in the ground where the trains park.”
– A.S.
Ana Oliveira
Ana Oliveira knows the “special sauce” for getting things done in the world of philanthropy and nonprofits: partnership, collaboration and solidarity.
She brings this recipe for success to her work as the president of The New York Women’s Foundation, which helps women and families in underserved communities achieve economic security.
“We are at a time where we think that partnerships are important,” she says. “That doing things together will be a better predictor of success, being able to move in projects and investments with others.”
Working in partnership with others in the field is just one piece of the puzzle, however. It’s also important to have a clear purpose, one that is shared between all collaborators.
Apart from its $10 million in grantmaking, the foundation has secured legislative wins. It advocated for the state Equal Rights Amendment that passed in 2024 and enshrined antidiscrimination language into the state constitution.
Oliveira was pleased to see voters elect a women majority to the New York City Council in recent years. With this shift, she says, legislators are paying attention to issues that affect families, child care and caretakers.
“Problems and solutions are found in the same place,” Oliveira says. “Those who are living the challenges, who are looking to remove obstacles are central. They are critical to the creation of these solutions. In our communities, in New York City, we have the ability to address our own challenges and turn them into opportunities, but we must include the people with lived experience.”
– A.G.S.
Rick Ostroff
Albany’s South End Children’s Cafe is a nonprofit dedicated to nurturing children physically, academically and emotionally. It supplies them with nutritious meals, personalized tutoring and enrichment activities.
Ostroff Associates, a top-tier government relations firm, has been supporting the cafe since it opened, with staffers volunteering as mentors and providing financial support for one of the chefs. The firm has also been lobbying local and state legislators to secure more funding.
This is the work of Rick Ostroff, the firm’s leader.
“It’s been a labor of love that we’ve had here,” he says. “It’s bringing them into a world that they might not have otherwise seen, and it’s probably one of the most proud things I’ve ever done working here.”
Ostroff’s work for New Yorkers doesn’t end there. One of his recent successes was securing money in the state budget to fund research on 9/11 first responders to learn how to identify and treat cancer earlier.
Another milestone for the firm, which is celebrating its 30th anniversary this year, is the opening of its Washington, D.C., office last year. The team is a mix of seasoned vets and young starters, for whom Ostroff has advice.
“I learned the importance of knowing your issues, being prepared for meetings and being prepared to talk to people,” Ostroff says of his time working in Gov. Mario Cuomo’s office. “Most importantly, and this was something that was very important to Gov. (Mario) Cuomo, (is) the importance of your word, that when you give your word to people, you stand by it.”
– A.G.S.
Geoffrey Plante
Keeping state government running is not just the work of dedicated employees across state government, but also outside advisers like Geoffrey Plante from KPMG.
When he was a student at Siena College, Plante decided to study accounting. That led to an internship at KPMG in Albany, followed by a job in accounting at the firm and then a shift to its advisory side. He now specializes in state government and technology issues, working with New York’s government and with other states.
He is always looking for ways to help the state government navigate challenges. Right now, he says the key issues are workforce recruitment and keeping the state agile, particularly with technology.
Plante is quick to note it is not just him, but also the people he works with, that has made KPMG an effective partner for state officials.
“Building a strong team that knows New York state and is poised to grow and keep supporting the state,” Plante says of his accomplishments.
Plante is also a civic leader in Albany, as a former Ronald McDonald House board chair and a current board member of Albany Academy, a preparatory school, and Building on Love, a medical assistance nonprofit.
Plante credits his father for getting him involved in nonprofit board work. He says he enjoys being able to give back. “You meet a lot of people and make friends along the way,” Plante says.
– J.C.
Roberto Ramirez
Roberto Ramirez didn’t expect a life in public service when he moved to New York from Puerto Rico at age 19.
He worked as a janitor in a Manhattan luxury building before spotting an ad for Bronx Community College and deciding to enroll.
“It dawned on me that I had not come to New York to clean toilets only,” he says. “There was a life I could envision at that stage.”
Ramirez’s foray into politics was similarly by happenstance. He encountered then-Bronx Rep. Herman Badillo campaigning for mayor from a flatbed truck with speakers.
“That was the first time that I was cognizant of something called politics and there was this tall handsome man who was well-spoken who looked like me,” he says.
Ramirez volunteered for Badillo and began organizing Bronxites. He ran for Assembly and served in Albany throughout the 1990s. He then co-founded MirRam in 2000 and went on to assist Freddy Ferrer and Bill Thompson’s New York City mayoral campaigns.
Ramirez currently advises notable elected officials such as state Attorney General Letitia James, Assembly Member Catalina Cruz and New York City Council Majority Leader Amanda Farías.
Last fall, he went to Erie, Pennsylvania, to mobilize voters and was surprised how many immigrants shifted toward the right in favor of President Donald Trump. He wants Democrats to focus on education, public safety and the cost of living to win them back.
“Democrats underestimated what it was that Trump was selling,” he says. “The GOP will win when we don’t show up.”
– A.S.
Denise Rosario
The Coalition for Hispanic Family Services has served families of color in northern Brooklyn and Queens for 35 years, with a focus on foster care, adoption, family support, child abuse prevention and mental health services for children and families.
Denise Rosario founded the nonprofit and serves as its executive director. She says the mission is to provide coordinated services that are reflective of what clients need.
“We’re a community-based, community-focused program and so community voice is very important,” she says. “Listening to the families that we serve, bringing them together to create a voice for the community about what children need – all of those things help inspire how we provide services in the area and, in turn, families are willing to come to us or to seek us out when they need help.”
Since appearing on the 50 Over 50 earlier this year, Rosario has brought mental health services to a Bushwick school to work with students at school and home. A new family enrichment center, Bushwick Hope, is slated to open by the end of the year to allow for families to socialize, attend workshops, and access clothing and food.
Rosario says social work is a great field for those who want to help others and have a positive impact in communities.
“Almost anywhere where there are people, there is a role for social workers,” she says. “Whether it’s a hospital, a senior center, a school, a mental health clinic, housing, any place where there is a need, there is a role for a social worker.”
– A.G.S.
Michael Rosenblut
The son of a career hospital and nursing home leader, Michael Rosenblut grew up around the health care sector and always considered it as a possible career path. But one experience confirmed to him it was the right choice.
“I got started in health care as an EMT on an ambulance and that had a major impact on my life,” Rosenblut says.
Responding to medical emergencies throughout the day taught Rosenblut about the importance of serving the local community – which translates in his current role.
Rosenblut says its work as a rehabilitation institute can be felt both inside and outside its walls, with outpatient and home hospice programs and inpatient care. He has also overseen an expansion of a medical program serving homebound adults and touts the Parker Jewish Institute Foundation, through which individuals can donate to support its cause. He also leads the Queens-Long Island Renal Institute, a dialysis center, and is board chair-elect of the Association of Jewish Aging Services.
For all of his professional accomplishments, Rosenblut is clear about his proudest accomplishment: “Being married to my wife, Hedy, and our twins, Lucy and Joshua,” he says.
While Rosenblut says he is “honored” to be included on the 50 Over 50 Alumni list, he is quick to emphasize that he does not consider a recognition of him alone.
“It is a wonderful recognition for me and the team I work with every day,” he says. “I can’t do my job successfully without having a successful high caliber team.”
– J.C.
Barbara Salmanson
Barbara Salmanson, the vice chair of JCCA’s board of trustees, has seen the social services nonprofit evolve and adapt over the years.
The former financial services attorney and senior policy adviser to the New York City comptroller got her start serving children as a volunteer with another nonprofit, CASA. In 2002, she joined the board of JCCA, which focuses on child welfare and mental health of children and families. She has also served on the board of the UJA-Federation of New York, still serves on several committees at the philanthropic organization and has been involved with programs in Israel serving children at risk.
At JCCA, formerly known as the Jewish Child Care Association, she served for a period as the organization’s president and chair. She now chairs the governance committee and also serves on its executive and finance committees.
Salmanson has supported the social services nonprofit as it has changed and grown, including a shift toward behavioral health. Salmanson is also helping JCCA write its next chapter, as chair of the search committee to find the organization’s next leader. CEO Ronald Richter is departing after a decade, and Salmanson is spearheading a search for a strong leader.
“The organization has moved with the times,” Salmanson says. “We’ve been around for more than 200 years taking care of children at risk and as the populations have changed, as the approach of government has changed, we’ve been resilient and we continue to be there as a leading organization in the field.”
– A.G.S.
Bart Schwartz
For five years now, in his capacity as a director of the Stuyvesant High School Alumni Association, Bart Schwartz has paid for the entire sophomore class at the school to take the Preliminary SAT to prepare them for the standardized test that could factor into college admissions, so as to make sure no students are concerned about being able to afford it. The school has seen an increase in students’ SAT scores after taking the PSAT.
Director of the alumni association is just one of Schwartz’s many hats – he’s also co-founder and chair of investigative firm Guidepost Solutions, president of the Police Athletic League, a former federal litigator, a grandfather and a father of three.
“I was very much attuned to winning or losing,” Schwartz says of his time as a prosecutor. “And what I’ve learned over the years is there’s a lot in between winning and losing, and that middle area is where you can be constructive.”
Since he appeared on the 50 Over 50 list in 2020, Guidepost has grown significantly, from 100 staffers to 250, with a larger client portfolio. In 2020, Schwartz became president of the Police Athletic League, which offers programs that serve 20,000 kids annually. He helps with the PAL Legal Luncheon and Operation Cops and Kids.
“I like challenges and trying to provide solutions,” he says. “I look for more things like that for myself these days, but for the company overall, look anywhere I think we can take our skills, apply them and be helpful.”
– A.G.S.
Phyllis Shafran
When President Gerald Ford told New York City to drop dead, he launched Phyllis Shafran's career.
Shafran, then a South Bronx social studies teacher, was laid off during the 1970s fiscal crisis. She went on to volunteer for President Jimmy Carter’s 1976 campaign against Ford and noticed literature was ending up in the garbage. She visited campaign headquarters and was challenged to come up with a more interesting product.
“That started me on my path to politics and government,” she says.
Shafran then got a job at Queens Borough Hall, focusing on transforming Queens. She helped launch the Queens Festival and worked on projects to showcase the local economy.
She also found ways to advance women in government. She worked her way from the periphery of the conference room to a seat near the head of the table. She pioneered the use of Ms. instead of Mrs. in the office. She refused the narrow cultural affairs portfolio, insisting on economic development.
“I didn’t break the glass ceiling, but I certainly tried,” she says.
Shafran went on to run the Flushing Boys Club and a health care coalition. Shafran, who was raised in a household that valued organized labor, is now a key staffer at Teamsters Local 237, which represents 24,000 municipal workers in New York City and Suffolk County.
“My career path wasn’t a straight line,” Shafran says. “It had many unexpected twists and turns, from honing my communications skills as a high school teacher to returning to my love of politics and organized labor.”
– J.C.
Ronnie Silverman
Ronnie Silverman believes that flexibility is the key to being impactful and successful in the nonprofit sector.
As the chief program development officer of HELP USA, she secures government funding, processes renewal applications and advances new project sites for the homelessness prevention organization. The organization runs shelters for adults, families and domestic violence survivors as well as supportive housing, affordable day care programs and budgeting programs for survivors.
The nonprofit and homeless service sectors are “changing daily,” she says, so the ability to be flexible and understand various lines of business and the needs of clients is critical.
“The more knowledge you gain about the sector, about the population, the reasons that we’re doing this work, you contribute much more,” Silverman says. “It makes it a much richer experience, but it also strengthens your ability to do the work.”
One success Silverman is proud of is the HELP USA-owned Logan Fountain, which is opening this spring and will include a purpose-built family shelter and supportive, affordable and moderate housing. Another is a Women’s Assessment Center, set to open in the fall, that will act as an intake center in Brooklyn.
“A lot of exciting things to come for HELP,” Silverman says. “I look forward to continuing to be able to grow and learn as we look to embrace best practices for working with the different populations we serve. I think that that’s always been what keeps me going, the opportunity to learn something new that will ultimately benefit the clients we serve.”
– A.G.S.
Wayne Spence
Wayne Spence has seen a lot of things as a parole officer.
Early in his career, the Jamaican immigrant joined the New York City Department of Probation. He became a parole officer two years later and was eventually assigned to a special offender unit on the East End of Long Island that dealt with organized crime and narcotics. He also worked with the state Liquor Authority and Drug Enforcement Administration to bust drug dealers in high-end bars.
“We would make deals with parolees where instead of putting them in jail they’d have to be an informant, introduce me, wire them up and get them to go in and buy more drugs,” he recalls. “It felt like ‘Miami Vice.’”
Spence got more involved with his public sector union when parole officers attempted to leave to join a law enforcement union. They ultimately stayed with PEF and Spence became the union’s first Black president in 2015. Last year, he was reelected to his post for an unprecedented fourth three-year term.
This year, he has negotiated with the governor over the limited roles PEF nurses and officers should fill while state correction workers were on strike. And he has advocated for improved safety in the workplace in correctional facilities.
“What good is a salary if the workplace you have is killing you mentally or physically?” he asks. “I’m not going to talk about money until we talk about safety and members of the public can appreciate that.”
– A.S.
Ramon Tallaj
Health care is at a crossroads, with a chance to shift toward preventative and holistic care, according to Somos Community Care’s Dr. Ramon Tallaj.
The COVID-19 pandemic only exacerbated this paradigm and made it more apparent that there is a new perspective of health care gaining traction.
“I really feel that in this day, in New York, we have two different health care systems,” he says. “One which is disease care, which is important, and it’s based on the building called a hospital and other institutions that take care of people who are very sick. But this is an opportunity, for the first time, for health care based on prevention, based on people out of the hospital.”
It’s this second approach to medicine that Somos, a value-based care organization, takes. Tallaj believes in caring for people before they get sick and require expensive hospital stays, and in caring for people in ways that circumvent the need for expensive prescriptions.
“The achievement that I feel the most is that we were able to put together a large group of primary care physicians – who are working in poor neighborhoods, who know that they want to care as small businesses for Medicaid and Medicare patients – who are able to show and prove that they would like to stay and work in the community,” he says. “While in other places, primary care consulting is disappearing or they are being bought by institutions who want to take care of patients, but not in the same way that we do.”
– A.G.S.
Wayne Tyre
Listening to what each and every client needs and wants is the “winning formula” in social work, according to Goddard Riverside Resource Center Director Wayne Tyre.
“I look at it like the families are driving the car and we’re merely passengers,” Tyre says. “As the social workers, our job is to help them to accomplish their desires, their goals.”
Tyre oversees a handful of programs for the nonprofit that provide resources and services that elevate families out of poverty, including Three Gen Program and the Manhattanville Program.
The organization’s Manhattanville Program, which opened in March, was just a concept back when Tyre was featured on last year’s 50 Over 50 list. The program now provides support services to roughly half of the Manhattanville Houses’ public housing residents. These include helping people dealing with food insecurity access Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits, supporting job seekers and providing tech training to older residents.
Another successful program he’s proud of is the Three Gen Program that works with three generations of a family to break the cycle of poverty.
Tyre advises young social workers to “start where the client is” and to remember that it’s their own priorities that matter most, and that they’ll be most eager to work toward. The best client advocate is adaptive in helping them actualize their goals.
“What I learned is that the need to be flexible in social work,” Tyre says. “What happens today changes tomorrow.”
– A.G.S.
Edward Wallace
In every election, candidates run hard for office. In the end, some win and some lose. Then there’s Edward Wallace, whose former office was abolished by a court order right before the election.
Wallace had been appointed by party leaders to fill a vacancy as one of Manhattan’s at-large members of the New York City Council in 1981, but as he sought to keep his seat, a federal court ruled the at-large seats unconstitutional.
“Having held elective office, I am very empathetic to people who hold elected office,” he says.
Wallace’s impressive career includes dealing with some of the city’s top real estate projects and personalities, including President Donald Trump. Through it all, he has pursued some extracurricular activities that mean a lot to him.
A Francophile who hitchhiked through Europe during college, Wallace is now chair of the French-American Foundation. Wallace loves French food and culture, learned French in third grade and considers the French countryside perfect for hitchhiking. He speaks with pride of the foundation’s Young Leaders Program, which honors promising individuals under 40.
“We select people before they hit the biggest time of their lives,” Wallace says.
Alumni include Bill and Hillary Rodham Clinton, former Secretary of State Antony Blinken, French President Emmanuel Macron and former Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti.
A competitive swimmer, Wallace says he’s ranked as the fastest in his age bracket in the 50-meter freestyle nationally.
“The swimming and French is a counter to the grind and grit of New York City politics,” Wallace says.
– J.C.
David Weinraub
David Weinraub’s introduction to politics came when he accompanied his mother while she was working as a poll watcher in the 1960s. But it wasn’t until he watched Mario Cuomo debate Ed Koch in the 1977 New York City mayoral race that he was drawn in.
“Those debates in the primary were incredible,” Weinraub recalls. “Technology was not a factor in any way. These guys had to bring the receipts.”
In 1980, Weinraub hit the road to help Jerry Brown’s presidential bid. He found his way into then-Gov. Mario Cuomo orbit seven years later while he was a practicing lawyer and was asked to join the administration.
In 2001, he founded Brown & Weinraub to promote political candidates and advance legislation for clients. His firm helped the UFC get the state to allow martial arts fighting events. He also represents health care clients critical of the governor’s proposals to consolidate the home care industry and strengthen involuntary commitment.
“We’re of the position that it’s not the best thing for the patients, but it’s a volatile emotional conversation,” he says of the latter.
Weinraub is most proud of the longevity and work ethic at his firm – perennially ranked No. 1 in Albany – but he notes that the skills needed to succeed in politics have changed substantially.
“You have to be very conscious of how to move an issue forward or stop an issue,” he says. “You have to contemplate communications technology, that has to be part of your strategic and tactical skill set.”
– A.S.
Tom Wright
After college, Tom Wright met an architect whose career melded his interests in architecture and politics. That spurred Wright to enroll in a Columbia University master’s degree program, where urban planner Robert Yaro offered him an internship at the Regional Plan Association.
“I was interested in why so much growth was happening outside cities and how we could reenergize cities and protect rural landscapes,” Wright says. “I don’t think you could fix what was happening in cities without thinking on a larger scale.”
Wright has been affiliated with RPA ever since. In 1996, he produced its third regional plan, which envisioned congestion pricing, the Second Avenue subway expansion, Hudson River rail tunnels and the East Side Access project. In 2017, he wrote RPA’s fourth plan, which focused on overhauling Penn Station, expanding bus service and building a subway line between Brooklyn and Queens.
Wright began studying congestion pricing as an intern 30 years ago – and he pressured the governor to revive it last year.
“It was a single policy to achieve two ends: investment in mass transit and and relieving traffic congestion,” he says. “Until they saw it with their own eyes, I don’t think many New Yorkers believed that piece of it would come true.”
Wright believes other long-term plans such as the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s Interborough Express will eventually get done.
“You can’t control everything, but you hope that good ideas get support and move forward,” he says. “If I get to see just a handful come to fruition I’ll be happy.”
– A.S.
S. David Wu
In a tumultuous era for higher education, with threats of funding cuts and fears of censorship, Baruch College President S. David Wu remains focused on building up students. Amid the uncertainty, Baruch has seen an increase in applications.
A major goal for Wu and his administration is to be an equalizer for students by giving them the skills and experience necessary to find their footing in a rapidly changing workforce.
“What I have learned is that the core purpose of education is to provide opportunities to as many young people as possible, to offer them the opportunity to have a fulfilling life, to have a successful career and to have the foundation to succeed,” he says. “That’s what we are focusing on at Baruch.”
It’s an approach that has garnered recognition from Bloomberg Philanthropies and the Aspen Institute, which designated Baruch as an American Talent Initiative High-Flier for its high graduation rate and its many low-income students.
The Manhattan institution has some exciting developments underway, including a new 120,000-square-foot building at 63 Madison Ave. that will house classrooms and offices, a $250 million capital project to renovate 14 floors of Baruch’s historic building at 14 Lexington Ave. and an artificial intelligence hub to help students adapt to an artificial intelligence job market.
“Having this student-centric approach, everything we do is for the benefit of our students,” Wu says. “Remembering what our mission is and who we’re here to serve is probably most important. I think that’s our North Star, and that certainly keeps me grounded.”
– A.G.S.
Michelle Yanche
After 35 years in the social services field, Michelle Yanche has learned that everything has a season.
“There are good times and good chapters, and there are also challenging times and challenging chapters,” she says. “Regardless of whether it’s good times or bad, that chapter will come to an end, and there’ll be something on the other side of it.”
As the CEO of Good Shepherd Services, a nonprofit offering a range of services, including child welfare and supportive housing, Yanche oversees more than 100 family-based programs. After guiding the organization through the COVID-19 pandemic, what has remained a constant for her is the need to withstand unstable times.
“I want to make sure that I see Good Shepherd through whatever challenges are coming our way,” Yanche says.
A recent programmatic success is the Entrepreneurial Business Development Institute, which supports young people looking to start their own businesses. Participants learn how to generate and build out ideas and to develop business plans, and even can receive seed money to get started.
Something Yanche is actively working on is expanding career engagement opportunities for high school students and graduates who aren’t planning on going directly into college. The organization is offering microinternships and early work experiences, such as in solar and maritime businesses in Red Hook, Brooklyn.
“One of the most exciting things that I’m involved in right now is giving ourselves space and information to be curious about what impact we’re making and how we can deepen that impact,” Yanche says.
– A.G.S.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly stated that Alfred Cerullo III was a commissioner in the Bloomberg administration.
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