Faces and Places

Dr. Orrin Devinsky addresses the guests at the NYU Langone Medical Center's Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) Gala.

On Monday, March 3 at Pier Sixty at Manhattan's Chelsea Piers, the NYU Langone Medical Center's Finding A Cure for Epilepsy and Seizures (FACES) Gala attracted 750 guests raising more than $4.2 million to support life-enhancing programs in cutting-edge research, clinical care, and education and community awareness initiatives at NYU Langone Medical Center. David Remnick, editor of the New Yorker, and Brian Williams, anchor and managing editor of NBC Nightly News, served as the evening's co-emcees.

Affiliated with NYU Langone and its Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, FACES funds research to improve epilepsy care, advance new therapies, and foster a supportive community for children, families, and caregivers who live with the challenges of epilepsy. An estimated three million Americans suffer from some form of epilepsy. Robert I. Grossman, dean and CEO of NYU Langone, provided opening remarks, underscoring how NYU Langone has become the place to find support and treatment.

Temple Grandin, PhD, Eustacia Cutler, William Moller, Elisa Moller and Orrin Devinsky, MD

According to Dean Grossman,"Since 1989, our Comprehensive Epilepsy Center has helped more than 25,000 people get their lives back." Orrin Devinsky, MD, founder of FACES, professor of neurology, neurosurgery, and psychiatry, and director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center at NYU Langone, later presented, highlighting current research, including the use of the marijuana compound cannabidiol in the treatment of pediatric epilepsies, understanding the genetic, molecular, and imaging links between Autism and Epilepsy, and improving outcomes for people with epilepsy and depression who also suffer from healthcare disparities. In fact, seed funding raised at previous annual FACES galas has allowed the medical center to submit more than six federal and national foundation grants in the first half of 2014 alone.

Gala Chair Todd Boehly, Orrin Devinsky, MD, Robert I. Grossman, MD, Dean and CEO NYU Langone, and Elisabeth Cohen, MD

Many FACES supporters were also recognized, including Leah and Michael Weisberg for generously underwriting the event, gala chairs Katie Boehly and Todd Boehly, FACES board member and president of Guggenheim Partners, and auction chairs Carol Pressler and her daughter, Lauri Herman, member of the FACES steering committee. Highlights of the program included a speech by a grateful patient, 12-year-old William Moller and his mother Elisa Moller.

William, under the care of Dr. Devinsky, has been seizure-free for over three years. Additionally, best-selling author, Oliver Sacks, MD, professor of neurology at NYU School of Medicine, honored his friend, Temple Grandin, PhD, professor of animal science at Colorado State University and a widely cited proponent of the rights of autistic persons and of animal welfare. Dr. Devinsky spoke of Dr. Grandin's remarkable achievements and presented her with a special memento, a painting titled Jersey by Caryn King, commissioned for Dr. Grandin.

Oliver Sacks, MD

Orrin Devinsky, MD, Temple Grandin, PhD, and Oliver Sacks, MD

Hugh Hildesley

Also of note was the annual live auction — one of the largest held in New York — conducted by auctioneer Hugh Hildesley, executive vice president of senior business development at Sotheby's. Popular prizes were a private dinner for 20 at the Maialino restaurant and a Night of Too Many Stars package, a Comedy Central event at the Beacon Theater that included two tickets to a live taping of the show, access to the pre- and post-party, a two-night stay at the Gansevoort Park Avenue Hotel in New York City, and dinner for two at Asellina Ristorante.

Guests in attendance included: Leah and Michael Weisberg, Loretta Brennan Glucksman and Kate Cooney Picco, Matt Stone and Angela Howard, Amy Pollner Moritz, Ginny and Steven Spiegel, Randi and Jeff Levine, Anthony and Elaine Marden, Larry Davis and Donna Emma, Warren Lammert, Miranda and Lucas van Praag, Claudia and Harry Falk, Mike and Sukey Novogratz, Susan and David Swinghamer, Veronica Mainetti, and Anna and Jim Fantaci, among others.

Matt Stone and Angela Stone

Richard Shane and Jenny Diaz

Matthew Kennedy, Joey Lowenstein, Roberta Lowenstein, and Temple Grandin PhD

Sheila Lambert and Bill Lambert

Pamela Mohr and Daniel Weinstein

John Cooney Jr and Loretta Glucksman

Amy Pressler and Stacey Weiss

Xiaohong Sang and Warren Lammert

David, Susan, and Jake Swinghamer

Orrin Devinsky, MD and Carol Pressler

Kate Cooney Picco and Jacqueline French, MD

Jim and Anna Fantacci

Peter Schnall and Amy Pollner Moritz

Leah Weisberg, Randi Levine, and Nancy Novograd

Todd Boehly and Michael Weisberg

Veronica Mainetti

Ginny Spiegal and Steven Spiegel

Mike Novogratz and Sukey Cacere-Novogratz

David Remnick, Brian Williams, and Esther Fein

Tzili and Leon Charney

AJ Davis, Donna Emma, Emma Davis and Larry Davis

"Adults in Toyland Casino Night" raised over $850,000 to support the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone Medical Center. Held on Thursday, February 27, 2014 at The Plaza Hotel, "The Foodie Magician" Josh Beckerman amazed guests with close-up magic and mind readings, and NBC's Jeff Rossen served as the night's emcee.

The event, hosted by the Committee for the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and KiDS of NYU Langone, attracted 600 New York City professionals from finance, fashion, entertainment, and real estate, among other industries, committed to improving the lives of children who are being treated at NYU Langone and their families.

Susan Block Casdin

Catherine Manno, MD, Chair, Department of Pediatrics

The festive annual event featured casino games, buffet, cocktails, a DJ, and a silent auction of luxury items guests were invited to bid on, including a walk-on role on CBS hit comedy The Millers, a reservation for four at the famed Rao's Restaurant, and a three-night vacation on the Ferragamo family estate in Tuscany, Italy. A heartfelt video was also shown highlighting the impact past contributions have made on a few of the children treated at NYU Langone. The video can be seen here: http://giving.nyumc.org/aitvideo.

Attendees from NYU Langone included Robert I. Grossman, MD, dean and CEO, Joseph Lhota, senior vice president and vice dean, chief of staff, and Catherine Manno, MD, the Pat and John Rosenwald Professor of Pediatrics and chair, Department of Pediatrics. Physician co-chairs were William L. Carroll, MD, the Julie and Edward J. Minskoff Professor of Pediatrics, professor of pathology, and director, Laura and Isaac Perlmutter Cancer Center at NYU Langone, and Bret J. Rudy, MD, professor and vice chair, Department of Pediatrics.

Guests in attendance included Ellen Block, Alex Casdin, Janet and Howard Ginsburg, MD, Richard Mack, Stephen Mack, Maya and Edward Manley, Darcy Miller Nussbaum, Jonathan Patricof, Danielle Rossen, Kimberly and Jonathan Schulhof, Lauran Walk, Rob Wiesenthal, and Peter and Susi Wunsch.

Proceeds provide integral funding for the Stephen D. Hassenfeld Children's Center for Cancer and Blood Disorders and the Department of Pediatrics, including interim patient/family housing, bilingual child life therapy, and music and recreational therapy. In addition, funds support pilot research that can potentially improve patient care and outcomes.

Citi was the presenting sponsor, and Gotham Magazine returned as the media sponsor for this year's event.

Michael Weaver, Patti Kim, Kelly Kennedy Mack, Kimberly Goodwin, Susie Block Casdin, Harlan Fabrikant Saroken, and Morgan Hertzan

Joseph Lhota, Sr Vice President, Vice Dean and Chief of Staff and Robert Grossman, Dean-CEO NYU Medical Center

Susan Block Casdin, Kelly Kennedy Mack, Harlan Fabrikant Saroken, Adi Beltzman

Jeff Rossen

Abigail Scheuer Atema, Robert Grossman, Alice Tisch, Susi Wunsch, and Peter Wunsch

Anne Keating, Susan Block Casdin, Ellen Block, and Kelly Kennedy Mack

Jacqueline Stroyman and Matthew Stroyman

Michael Block, Susan Block Casdin, and Laurie Block

Kristen and Drew Goldman

Blake Vazques, Emily Vazques, Karen Mc Morrow, and Josh Powe

Eric Wunsch and Roisin McElroy

Greg Randolph and Matt Hall

Catherine Manno, MD, Peter and Jane Manno

Shana Forand, Tim Sullivan, Mel Given, and Drew Hall

Brian Hewitt and Tim Sullivan

Lindsey Cuperman and Michael Levine

Janet Ginsburg and Howard Ginsburg, MD, Trudy Gottesman

Kabatine Tutan, Cathy Walsh, Emily Borell, and Elizabeth Katz

Maya and Edward Manley

Fred Steinberg and Sharon Casdin

Christine Beauchamp, Alex Casdin, and Jillian Sandler

Dr Tom Roland and Abigail Scheuer Atema

Johnny Shulhouse, Laurie Block, and Rachel Cameron

Susi Wunsch and Alice Tisch

On Thursday, February 27th, The New York Botanical Garden Conservatory Ball Gala Chairmen hosted the annual leadership luncheon at Caravaggio, 23 East 74th Street. This year's Conservatory Ball, to be held on June 5th, will honor Gregory Long's 25th anniversary as Chief Executive Officer and The William C. Steere Sr. President. Proceeds will support the Garden's acclaimed programs in children's education and plant research and conservation.

Guests at the luncheon included Gala Chairmen Patti Fast, Cosby George and Gillian Miniter. Other guests attending included Noreen Buckfire, Fe Fendi, Sabrina Forsythe, Dr. Amy Goldman Fowler, Jacquie Garrett, Karla Harwich, Tracey Huff, Sharon Jacob, Jeanne Jones, Jill Nuckel Joyce, Edie Kean, Memrie Lewis, Gregory Long, Elyse Newhouse, Kimberly Putzer, Amy Todd Middleton, Barbara Robinson, Anne Rohrbach, Deborah Royce, Joan Steere, Lydia West and Caroline Williamson.

Gregory Long, Gillian Miniter, Cosby George, and Patti Fast

Barbara Robinson, Edith Kean, and Jill Joyce

Cosby George and Anne Rohrbach

Elyse Newhouse, Caroline Williamson, and Tracey Huff

Barbara Tober, Noreen Buckfire, and Deborah Royce

Fe Fendi and Gillian Miniter

Amy Goldman Fowler and Barbara Robinson

Barbara Tober and Sabrina Forsyth

Julie Lanning and Jeannie Jones

Last Wednesday, at its inaugural Eight Over Eighty benefit gala, Jewish Home Lifecare celebrated eight New Yorkers who, in their ninth and tenth decades, continue to live lives of remarkable achievement, vitality and civic engagement.

The honorees – Dominic “Uncle Junior Soprano” Chianese; RichardEisner, founder of what is now EisnerAmper LLC, one of the country’s largest accounting firms; Emily & Eugene Grant, President, Eugene M. Grant & Co., a real estate investment and development firm; Larry Silverstein, President and CEO of Silverstein Properties, Inc., a real estate development and investment firm, and his wife, Klara Silverstein, a leader in the Jewish philanthropic community; Joan Wachtler, an award-winning advocate for the elderly; and Edie Windsor, theLGBT trailblazer who brought down DOMA with her US Supreme Court case.

The Eight Over Eighty gala raised more than $1.25 million to date for the New York City nonprofit provider of eldercare services, surpassing its goal by 25 percent. The event, which took place at the Mandarin Oriental New York, was Jewish Home’s first major fundraiser in 12 years.

Honorees Dick Eisner, Edie Windsor, and Dominic Chianese

The 500 guests included gala co-chairs Marcia Riklis, Tami Schneider, a Jewish Home Lifecare board member, and Morris Offit and his wife, Nancy Offit; honoree Joan Wachtler, a Jewish Home board member, and The Honorable Sol Wachtler; Judith Stern Peck; Carol and Larry Zicklin; Pat and John Klingenstein; Carole and Jerry Levin; Susie and Jeff Stern;Lisa Silverstein, Senior Vice President, Silverstein Properties, and daughter of honorees Klara and Larry Silverstein; Tal Kerret, Chief Investment Officer, Silverstein Properties; Lou-Ellen Barkan, ‎President and CEO, Alzheimer’s Association New York Chapter, and her husband, Mel Barkan, a prominent attorney and a Jewish Home board member; Washington Post columnist Richard Cohen; former councilwoman Jessica Lappin, President, Alliance for Downtown New York; Alisa Robbins Doctoroff, President, UJA-Federation; Linda Mirels, Chair of the Board, UJA-Federation; and Elizabeth Grayer, Chairman of the Board, Jewish Home Lifecare, and former President, Legal Momentum: The Women's Legal Defense & Education Fund.

“Trailblazing is ageless, as our honorees demonstrate every day,” said Dr. Audrey Weiner, President and CEO of Jewish Home Lifecare. “The excitement this event has generated is proof that people are beginning to get the message.”

Audrey Weiner, CEO, Jewish Home Lifecare, and honoree Edie Windsor

Funds raised by Eight Over Eighty will support Jewish Home Lifecare’s person-centered approach to eldercare, such as the radically new GREEN HOUSE® model of care that will be incorporated into a residence on the Upper West Side. Called The Living Center of Manhattan and slated to open in 2018, the 20-story, 414-bed facility will be the first GREEN HOUSE building in New York City and the first to be built in a major metropolitan, high-rise environment.

The nationally-acclaimed GREEN HOUSE model upends traditional approaches to long-term care. Rather than living in a standard nursing home environment, residents live in small group households (apartments), enabling them to receive skilled nursing care in a setting that nurtures and supports not only their physical well-being, but also their individuality, dignity and joy of life.

Jewish Home Lifecare is also bringing this new model of care to its Sarah Neuman Center in Westchester, which is being renovated to incorporate GREEN HOUSE design.

Richard Cohen; gala co-chair Marcia Riklis; Judith Stern Peck; Jeffrey Schoenfeld; Tal Kerret; Lisa Silverstein, daughter of honorees Klara and Larry Silverstein; Talia Day; and Ari Ackerman

Serving New Yorkers of all faiths and ethnicities for 166 years, Jewish Home Lifecare is transforming eldercare as we know it. As one of the nation’s largest and diversified not-for-profit geriatric health and rehabilitation institutions, it serves 12,000 older adults each year in their own homes, and in post-acute and long-term residences on three campuses in the Bronx, Manhattan and Westchester. They believe that high-quality care and personal dignity are the right of everyone, regardless of background or economic circumstances. Technology, innovation, applied research and new models of care put Jewish Home Lifecare at the vanguard of eldercare providers across the country. For more information, visit www.jewishhome.org.

Gala co-chair Tami Schneider, Jewish Home Lifecare CEO Audrey Weiner and gala co-chair Marcia Riklis

Honoree Edie Windsor greets Jessica Lappin, President, Alliance for Downtown New York

Gala co-chair Morris Offit and his wife, Nancy

The Honorable Sol Wachtler and honoree Joan Wachtler

Jane Pittson (Mrs. Dominic Chianese) and honoree Dominic Chianese

Honoree Dominic Chianese, Lou-Ellen Barkan, CEO, Alzheimer's Association NY Chapter, and Mel Barkan, Jewish Home Lifecare board member

Tobi Kahn, UJA president Alisa Robbins Doctoroff, and Rabbi Michael Paley

Lisa Silverstein, Marcia Riklis, and Tal Kerret

Last week, Escada presented an exclusive evening of shopping and celebration to benefit Women's Initiative NY with host Alisa Cohn (executive career coach), Hillary Cooper (NYC-based fashion stylist), Jan Mercer Dahms (founder of 6 Figures), and Dee Dee Taylor Eustace (architect, designer, and TV personality). Gossip Girls'Kelly Rutherford was on hand to support the cause. Women's Initiative NY empowers high-potential, low-income women to start their own businesses and strive upwards to success.

Guests also had the opportunity to shop the spring/summer/pre-fall '14 at Escada's flagship store located at 7 E. 55th Street.