Leading Us Forward
Our board members ensure that The Trust fulfills its mission to improve the quality of life for all New Yorkers.
Twelve dedicated New Yorkers—selected for their judgment, integrity, and understanding of philanthropic needs—serve as both the Distribution Committee of The Trust and as the Board of Directors of Community Funds, Inc.
Six members are nominated by civic authorities representing the public: one by the Mayor of New York City; one by the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit; one by the chairman of the Partnership for New York City; one by the chairman of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts; one by the president of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York; and one by the president of the New York Academy of Medicine.
These six members select five additional people to serve, and the president of The Trust is a member by reason of office. The Committee meets five times a year.
Subcommittees include Endowment, Finance, Audit, and Investment. The latter sets asset allocation, recommends investment managers and vehicles, and monitors investment performance.
The Fund Purposes subcommittee makes sure we honor the intent of each donor’s philanthropy and the Suggestion Review subcommittee evaluates donors’ grant suggestions to ensure they meet our guidelines.
HOOFING IT: (From L to R) Board members Jason Wright, Judith Rubin, Obaid Khan, Lorie Slutsky, Valerie Peltier, Buzz Tenny, Jamie Drake, and Ann Unterberg with donor Norma Kerlin Buchman at grantee GallopNYC, a therapeutic riding facility in Queens.
THE DISTRIBUTION COMMITTEE
Managing Director, Tishman Speyer; Trustee and Chairman of Buildings and Grounds Committee, American Museum of Natural History; Trustee, City Harvest; former Board Member: Visiting Nurse Service of New York, Harvard College Fund Executive Committee.
Nominated by the Chairman of the Partnership for New York City.
Founder and Principal, Drake/Anderson; Chairman, Alpha Workshops; Fellow, American Society of Interior Designers; Member: Parsons The New School for Design Board of Governors, Historic House Trust of New York Directors’ Council, Interior Design Hall of Fame; Honorary Trustee, Kips Bay Boys & Girls Club; Former Co-Chairman, Furnish-a-Future Industry Committee.
Nominated by the Mayor of the City of New York.
Partner, Smith Gambrell & Russell, LLP; President, NYC Bar Association; Member: Commercial Division Advisory Council, Board of Directors of the New York Bar Foundation; Referee, NYS Commission on Judicial Conduct; Vice President, United Neighborhood Houses.
Nominated by the President of the Association of the Bar of the City of New York.
Partner, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom LLP; Civilian Representative, NYPD Terrorism Committee; former U.S. District Judge and Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of NY; Director: Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Colin Powell School of the City College of NY; Member: Lincoln Center Education Committee, Innocence Project Lawyers’ Committee, Cornell Law School Dean’s Advisory Committee; Trustee, Cornell University.
Nominated by the Chief Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit.
Chairman: Playwrights Horizons, Theatre Communications Group’s National Council for the American Theatre; Trustee: Mount Sinai Health System and Chairman, Committees on Quality, Laurents/Hatcher Foundation, Collegiate School; Member: Tony Awards Administration Committee, American Theatre Wing Advisory Board, NYC Department of Cultural Affairs Advisory Commission; former President and Chairman, 92nd Street Y.
Private Investor; Co-Founder: Lincoln Center Family Council, Lincoln Center Kids, Lincoln Center Students Arts Council, Young Patrons of Lincoln Center; Member: Asian Art Circle, Guggenheim Museum, Lincoln Center Education and Community Engagement Committee; former Board Member, Jewish Community Project Downtown; former Board Chair, Metropolis Ensemble.
President: The New York Community Trust, Community Funds, The James Foundation; Member, NYS Permanent Commission on Access to Justice; Trustee Emerita: Colgate University, The New School; former Director: AllianceBernstein LP, AXA Financial, Council on Foundations (Chairman), BoardSource (Chairman), Independent Sector.Member ex officio.
Former Executive Vice President, Secretary, and General Counsel, Ford Foundation; Board Member: International Center for Transitional Justice (Vice Chairman), Native Arts and Cultures Foundation, Youth Orchestra of the Americas; Member: Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program Advisory Council.
Principal, Geer Mountain Holdings, LLC; former Senior Vice President, Merrill Lynch & Co.; former Senior Vice President, Nabisco Group Holdings Corp.; former President, Nabisco Foundation; Trustee, International Center for Journalists; Advisory Board Member: NYU Center for Global Affairs, Studio in a School Association; former Trustee: Cooper Union, James Beard Foundation, Madison Square Boys & Girls Club, Museum for African Art.
CONSULTING MEMBERS
FOUNDATION BOARD
Dale Akinla, II, Chair
Hon. Joaquin F. Alemany
James T. Ausili, Esq.
Anthony Bailey
Daniel C. de Menocal, Jr.
Howard Goldstein
Nancy Roberson Jasper, M.D.
Paul Jenkel
Sarah Jones-Maturo
Antoinette Klatzky
Michael Markhoff, Esq.
Jose A. Reynoso, J.D., LL.M
Hon. Jared Rice
Lee Van Allen Roberts
Ruth Suzman
Bradford J. Tito
Karen J. Walsh, Esq.
Laura Rossi, Esq.
Executive Director
(914) 948-5166
lrossi@wcf-ny.org
wcf-ny.org
FOUNDATION BOARD
Patricia C. Marcin, Esq., Chair
Marc S. Wong, Vice Chair
Natalie Abatemarco
Robert S. Barnett
Janet M. Barone
John T. DeCelle
Nancy Engelhardt
Sandra Krasnoff
James E. Meyer
Edward C. Palleschi
Phyllis Hill Slater
David M. Okorn
Executive Director
(631) 991-8800
dmokorn@licf.org
licf.org