Joseph I. Lieberman z”l
(1942-2024)

Joseph I. Lieberman was for 24 years, a member of the U.S. Senate from Connecticut. At the end of his service in January 2013, he was Chairman of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, and a senior member of the Armed Services Committee. Through both Committee positions, he became a leader in protecting the security of the American people and supporting American international leadership. Senator Lieberman was known as a national leader who works across party lines to get things done and who spoke his conscience regardless of the political consequences. Before his election to the Senate in 1988, Senator Lieberman served 10 years in the Connecticut State Senate and six years as Connecticut’s Attorney General. In 2000 he was the Democratic candidate for Vice President of the United States. He also served as Senior Counsel at the law firm of Kasowitz, Benson, Torres LLP in New York. Senator Lieberman also served on the board of several nonprofit organizations including the McCain Institute. Senator Lieberman was married to Hadassah Freilich Lieberman. Together they had four children and 13 grandchildren.

Dr. Billy E. Jones

Dr. Jones is a board-certified Psychiatrist and Health Care Administrator. He has served as President and CEO of the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation (HHC), the nation’s largest municipal health care system, which included the New York City Emergency Medical Service. Prior to his appointment as HHC’s President, Dr. Jones was Commissioner of the New York City Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Alcoholism Services, the largest local mental hygiene system in the world. Previously, he was Medical Director of the Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx and was Senior Associate Dean of New York Medical College, where he was a tenured Professor of Psychiatry.

Dr. Jones grew up in Dayton, Ohio as the middle of three children. His father was a factory worker and his mother was a part-time domestic worker, together they sent all three children to college. Dr. Jones earned his BS from Howard University and his MD from Meharry Medical College. He completed his residency in psychiatry at New York Medical College, and some years later, he was a Kellogg Fellow in Health Care Policy at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service, where he earned his MS.

Dr. Jones served on active duty in the U.S. Army and attained the rank of Major. He served for a year in Vietnam and a year in the Army Surgeon General Office in Washington, D.C.

Dr. Jones is the author of numerous articles, chapters, and books on caring for African Americans, the homeless mentally ill and LGBTQ+ members. He is a coeditor of “Black Mental Health, Patients, Providers, and Systems” published by APA press. Dr. Jones is a Distinguished Life Fellow of the APA, the American College of Psychiatrists, the New York Academy of Medicine and is a Past President of the Black Psychiatrists of America. He is currently Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at NYU Grossman School of Medicine and has a small private practice in New York City. Dr. Jones has been an active board member of SAGE, Black Agency Executives, and The Riverside Church Council, and is currently serving on the Health Care Board of Housing Works.

Dr. Jones married Mr. Lewis E. Duckett after 46 years as a couple, and this year, they will celebrate their 56th anniversary. They are the fathers of one son, Alexander (deceased), and the proud grandfathers of one granddaughter, Gabriella.

Eve Queler

Internationally acclaimed conductor Eve Queler is recognized as a pioneer in the world of opera, and one of the first women to establish herself in the traditionally male-dominated field of orchestral conducting. Ms. Queler is renowned for researching and unearthing seldom-heard masterpieces and featuring legendary opera stars including Montserrat Caballé, Plácido Domingo, Renée Fleming, and Dolora Zajick. As founder and music director of the Opera Orchestra of New York (OONY), she conducted over 100 operas in concert at Carnegie Hall and amassed a dedicated following that has been selling out houses for 50 years.

Maestro Queler has guest conducted on podiums worldwide, including engagements with the Teatro Colon in Buenos Aires, the Hamburg, Bonn and Frankfurt Operas in Germany, the Opera Australia in Sydney, the Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona, Spain, Opéra de Nice, the Rome Opera, Las Palmas Opera, Mariinsky Theatre in Saint Petersburg, the Smetana Divadlo in Prague and National Theater Brno in the Czech Republic, the Royal Festival Hall in London, the Salle Pleyel in Paris, the Pretoria Art Museum in South Africa, and more. Equally at home with symphonic repertoire, she conducted numerous symphony orchestras including the Philadelphia Orchestra, Cleveland Orchestra, Montreal Symphony Orchestra, Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra, and Orchestra Sinfonica Siciliana in Palermo, Sicily.

Maestro Queler is the recipient of numerous awards, including the 2010 National Endowment for the Arts Lifetime Achievement award and the Chevalier de l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, one of the highest awards presented by the French government, for her commitment to French operas. She has also received the Sanford Medal, Yale University’s highest musical honor, and the Touchstone Award from Women in Music in recognition of her visionary spirit.

Peter May

Peter W. May is President and a founding partner of Trian Fund Management, L.P. (“Trian”). Mr. May, along with Nelson Peltz and Ed Garden, founded Trian in November 2005. Trian invests in under-performing and undervalued public companies and looks to work constructively with the management and Board of Directors to create lasting shareholder value.

Mr. May serves as the non-executive Senior Vice Chairman of The Wendy’s Company. He previously served as Wendy’s non-executive Vice Chairman from June 2007 to November 2021. From May 2008 through May 2017, Mr. May served as a director of Tiffany & Co., and from March 2018 until 2022, he served as director of Mondelēz International, Inc. From April 1993 through June 2007, Mr. May served as President, Chief Operating Officer and a director of Triarc Companies, Inc., which during that period of time owned Arby’s Restaurant Group, Inc. and the Snapple Beverage Group, as well as other consumer and industrial businesses.

Mr. May was President and Chief Operating Officer and a director of Triangle Industries, Inc. from 1983 until December 1988, the largest packaging company in the world and a Fortune 100 industrial company, when that company was acquired by Pechiney, S.A., a leading international metals and packaging company.

Mr. May is the Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Trustees of The Mount Sinai Health System in New York, where from October 2002 to April 2019 he led the turnaround of this major academic health center from serious financial difficulties to what is today one of the most successful and fastest growing academic medical centers in the United States. Mr. May is Co-Chairman of the New York Philharmonic, a director of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, a trustee of the New-York Historical Society and a partner of the Partnership for New York City. In addition, Mr. May is an Emeritus Trustee of The University of Chicago and a Life Member of the Advisory Council of The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, and was the past Chairman of the UJA Federation’s “Operations Exodus” campaign. He is Chairman of the Board of The Leni and Peter May Family Foundation.

A native of New York, New York, Mr. May received A.B. and M.B.A. degrees from The University of Chicago and is a Certified Public Accountant (inactive). Mr. May also holds an Honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from The Mount Sinai School of Medicine of New York University.

Bruce McIver

Bruce McIver is the former President of the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes of New York, which serves as the bargaining agent for over 100 voluntary hospitals and nursing homes in New York City. Over his 27-year tenure as President, Mr. McIver helped the League conclude seven rounds of bargaining on behalf of the industry, including bargaining for nurses in 17 hospitals and nursing homes. Since his retirement in 2018, he has continued to work with healthcare institutions, including The New Jewish Home, as a volunteer consultant.

Mr. McIver has a long history serving the City and State of New York, he was formerly President and General Manager of the Long Island Rail Road, the nation’s largest commuter railroad with an operating budget of $600 million and 6,000 employees represented by 15 separate unions. He also served as Director of Labor Relations for the New York State Metropolitan Transportation Authority, representing the Authority in its negotiations with 50,000 rail and transit employees. While in that capacity he served simultaneously as the New York City Transit Authority’s Acting Vice President of Labor Relations, completing a major reorganization of their represented supervisory workforce.

Mr. McIver has extensive productivity bargaining experience both in a private and public capacity. Prior to joining the League of Voluntary Hospitals and Homes in 1991, he was a private consultant providing services to clients in all aspects of labor relations. He also served as New York City’s Chief Labor Negotiator in negotiations with over 100 unions representing 300,000 employees including police officers, firefighters, teachers, sanitation workers and healthcare workers.

Mr. McIver holds a B.A. in Sociology from Columbia University.

He is married to Sheila Walsh, and has four children and six grandchildren.

Ron Carter

Ron Carter is a three-time Grammy winner and is among the most original, prolific, and influential bassists in jazz, having recorded over 2,200 albums across a variety of genres, and has a Guinness world record to prove it! From 1963 to 1968, Carter was a member of the acclaimed Miles Davis Quintet, and can be heard on many iconic jazz records of the 60s and 70s such as “Speak No Evil,” “Maiden Voyage,” “Speak Like a Child,” and “Red Clay,” to name a few. After leaving the quintet, he embarked on a 50-year freelance career that spanned vastly different musical genres and continues to this day. He has recorded with artists including Aretha Franklin, A Tribe Called Quest, Billy Joel, Bette Midler, and Paul Simon. In addition to Carter’s personal creative endeavors, he is also deeply engaged in teaching music to the next generation. He was the Artistic Director of the Herbie Hancock Institute of Jazz (formerly known as Thelonious Monk Institute of Jazz) and, after 18 years on the faculty of the Music Department of The City College of New York, he is now Distinguished Professor Emeritus. He has also taught at The Juilliard School and at the Manhattan School of Music, and has shared his expertise in a series of books that explain his creative process. Carter has seven honorary doctorates from The Juilliard School, Berklee College of Music, University of Michigan, New England Conservatory, Clark University, Manhattan School of Music, and University of Rochester. Carter spends at least half the year on worldwide tours with his various groups, and was awarded the Order of the Rising Sun, Gold Rays with Rosette for his contributions to Japan-US relations, the medallion and title of Commander of the Order of Arts and Letters by France, and numerous MVP and Outstanding Bassist awards by the music press. PBS released a full-length feature film documentary about Carter’s life and legend based off of his autobiography, “Finding the Right Notes.”

Stanley Pantowich

Stanley “Stan” Pantowich is the co-founder of TAG Associates, an independent, privately owned wealth management firm offering investment management and family office services to individuals, families, endowments, and foundations with more than $8 billion in assets for over 110 clients. Mr. Pantowich founded the firm in 1983 to offer a more effective and personalized way to serve the family office, with the principle of always putting clients first and providing a service free of the conflicts that so often exist elsewhere in the industry.

Prior to founding TAG Associates, Mr. Pantowich spent 20 years with Arthur Young and Company (now EY), where he became a Senior Partner. In 2005, he was honored with the inaugural Private Asset Management Lifetime Achievement Award, recognizing his pioneering work in the field of family wealth management.

Mr. Pantowich has served as a Director of the Alpine Capital Bank and Berkshire Bank for the last 30 years. He is also an active patron and member of the Jewish community, and he credits his loving “blue-collar” parents for instilling a charitable ethos in him. He spent about 25 years in various capacities with The New Jewish Home, ultimately becoming Chairman. He was a trustee of the American Jewish Committee, The Foundation for Jewish Culture, and The U.S. Committee for UNICEF.

Mr. Pantowich graduated with a major in accounting from his state college, the University of Illinois, and later graduated from the Advanced Management Program (AMP) at Harvard Business School.

He married his college sweetheart, Marcey, 60 years ago and shortly thereafter welcomed a daughter, Robin, and son, John. Mr. Pantowich maintains that the real bonus of having children was the grandchildren that were eventually born. Samantha, Jessica, and Arielle, are the joys of his life and his “highest honor” has been his Grandpa of the Year award. Today, after 60 years in business, he is retired and spends much of his time reading and studying Jewish history.

Erica Jong

Erica Jong is a poet, novelist and essayist whose works have been influential all over the world. Her first novel Fear of Flying, never out of print, has sold 35 million copies from the U.S. and Europe to Russia, Turkey, China, Japan, Korea and the rest of Asia. Fear of Flying celebrates its 50th Anniversary in 2023 with new editions in many languages.

Erica Jong is the author of seven widely honored volumes of poetry, eight novels and seven non-fiction books including Fear of Fifty, a mid-life memoir; Witches, an illustrated book rehabilitating the figure of the witch; The Devil at Large, a study of Henry Miller, her mentor and friend; and many other important books.

Erica Jong’s latest novel, Fear of Dying was published by St. Martin’s Press in the U.S., from Canongate in the U.K. and from Bompiani in Italy. Other editions will follow in Germany, France, China, Turkey, the U.K. and markets worldwide.

Fear of Flying is currently being adapted for television. Other books by Erica Jong are being adapted for television and film.

Among awards that have honored Erica Jong’s amazing oeuvre are: the Fernanda Pivano Award for Literature in Italy (named for the critic who introduced Ernest Hemingway, Allen Ginsberg, and Erica Jong to the Italian public); the Sigmund Freud Award in Italy; the Deauville Literary Award in France; the United Nations Award for Excellence in Literature; Poetry magazine’s Bess Hokin Prize (also won by Sylvia Plath and W.S. Merwin).

Erica Jong’s books have been controversial the world over. Her first book was published in 1971—Fruits & Vegetables, her second in 1973 –Half-Lives, also poetry. Six months later, in November of 1973, Fear of Flying astonished and amazed the world.

Letty Cottin Pogrebin

A founding editor and writer for Ms. magazine, Ms. Pogrebin is also the author of twelve books, most recently, Shanda: A Memoir of Shame and Secrecy. Her diverse titles include How to Be a Friend to a Friend Who’s Sick; Getting Over Getting Older; two novels, Single Jewish Male Seeking Soul Mate and Three Daughters; and the feminist classic, Deborah, Golda, and Me: Being Female and Jewish in America. She is also the editor of the anthology, Stories for Free Children, and was consulting editor on Free to Be, You and Me, Marlo Thomas’ ground-breaking children’s book, record and television special.

Besides her nearly 20 year affiliation with Ms. magazine, Ms. Pogrebin has published articles and op-eds in The New York Times, Washington Post, Time magazine, Huffington Post, Boston Globe, Philadelphia Inquirer, L.A. Times, Toronto Star, The Nation, Harpers Bazaar, and Travel & Leisure, among other publications.

A leader in many social justice causes, she served two terms as president of The Authors Guild, and two terms as Chair of the Board of Americans for Peace Now.

Her devotion to advancing inter-group harmony inspired her participation in a longstanding Black-Jewish dialogue group, as well as in a number of Jewish-Palestinian dialogue groups, one of which is still ongoing after 14 years. She was also a founder of the National Women’s Political Caucus; the Ms. Foundation for Women; the UJA-Federation Task Force on Women; and the International Center for Peace in the Middle East.

Ms. Pogrebin currently serves on the boards of Americans for Peace Now, the Ms. Foundation for Education & Communication, the Free to Be Foundation, the Brandeis University Women’s and Gender Studies Program, Combatants for Peace and The Authors Guild (ex officio). Her honors include a Yale University Poynter Fellowship in Journalism; an Emmy Award for Free to Be You and Me; inclusion in Who’s Who in America; and dozens of commendations from a variety of NGOs, civic organizations and religious and educational institutions.

A graduate of Brandeis University, she is a 2018 inductee in the Manhattan Jewish Hall of Fame. In December, she and her husband will celebrate their 60th anniversary. They split their time between New York City and Stockbridge, MA.