Wild in the City

Under the tent for the Wildlife Conservation Society's annual gala at the Central Park Zoo.

Last Thursday night, the Wildlife Conservation Society held its annual gala at the Central Park Zoo. They honored Ward W. Woods, Chairman of the Wildlife Conservation Society’s Board of Trustees. Mr. Woods, who has shown his commitment to wildlife and wild places through decades of support for environmental causes, has served on the WCS Board for thirteen years. He was cited for his dedication and support to global conservation spanning several decades.

The theme of this year’s gala was “Wonders of Southeast Asia.” This year’s gala honorary chairs were Amie and Tony James, Lisa and David Schiff, and Mary and Howard Phipps Jr.

This is a wonderful evening which begins with cocktails around the sea lions’ pool at the zoo’s entrance (which is on Fifth Avenue and 64th Street), followed by dinner in the pavilions surrounding the pool. The dinner is followed by dancing and an after party for the Junior members and their friends – a big party in numbers.

Dr. Sherrell Aston, Jim Breheny, and Muffie Potter Aston

Greg Kelly

Zach and Aubrey Crowley

Maytinee Pramawat

Bonady Chhim

Robin Dubin Avram

Ana Guimaraes, Beatrix Carroll, and Laura Salibello

Allison Stern and Rikki Klieman Bratton

Annie Warren and Harriet Manice

Roman Martinez and Helena Martinez

Gordon Pattee and Missy Taylor

Tony James and Jodi Hilty

Katie Couric and John Molner

Kristen Kenny and Kyle Veatch

Brittany Dawson and Maggie Taplett

Kelly van Ingen and Jenni Tseretopoulous

Madeline Haddon, Arielle Patrick, and Chantelle Fernandez

Gilbert Butler, Gordon Pattee, and Roman Martinez

Taryn Talmadge, GFrace Kelly, and Holly Donaldson

Dance-Mosphere

Jean Shafiroff and Gregory D'Elia

Gary Simpson and Sandi Simpson

Kristina Nugent, Heather Sutherland, and Jessica Curley

Daniel Taylor and Paige Rattner

Padget Crossman and Eliza Whetzel

Melissa Berkelhammer and Natasha Das

Mary and Sean Meehan

Deni Tseretotoulos, Peter Holowesko, and Alixe Laughlin

Sasha Cohen, Natasha Das, Lily Hoagland, and Elizabeth Brown

Virginia Schwerin and Paul Schwarzbaum

James Tang, Victoria Harman, Connor O'Brien, Christine O'Brien,and Liz Tang

Kate Erickson, Micaela English, and Aimee Ruby

Linda Fraser and Randall Gianopulos

Aya Devin and James Andrew

Paul Zofnass and Renee Ring

Sarah Pullman and Carter Boardman

Marissa Troiano and Lydia Leinstorf

Sean Bruns and Sharon Kerr

Michael Kowalski, and Ramiro and Patricia Ortiz

William Luers, Steve McPherson, Ward Woods, and Bill Miller

Martha Baker and Arthur Frasier

Maureen Reidy, Muffie Potter Aston, and Caroline Hirsch

Rodney Berens, Liz Berens, Kim Coleman, and Payson Coleman

Jennifer Caldarella, Robert Caldarella, and Hilary North

Jennifer Gould Keil and John Wambold

Gilbert Butler and Dailey Pattee

Fletcher Hall, Caroline Cannon, and Schuyler Friedland

Lisa Schiff and Stan Shuman

Sue Ann Weinberg, Nick Homma, and Allison Morrow

Sandy Bender, Gary Bender, and Linda Hoffman

Joy Ingham and David Schiff

Robert Zimmerman and Andrew Fox

Barbara Zucker and Steven Sanderson

Gordon Pattee and Helena Martinez

Sasha Cohen and Tom Murro

Payson Coleman, Rose Harvey, Tina Sloan McPherson, and friend

Kim Coleman and Muffie Potter Aston

Sydney Shuman, and Scott and Dana Schiff

Tim Rooney and John Hopkins

Trevor Kempner and Meghan Murphy

Leigh McCoy and Taylor Simmons

Martha Hyatt and Cynthia Reich

Hartley and Amy Rogers

Preston Bailey

Chelsea Leyland

Daniel and Robert Taylor

Emily Mendez-Penate, Georgina Schaeffer and friend

Matias Molina, Deline Crosa Di Vergagani, Devon Butler, and Nicolo Foscari

Lynden Volpe and Harrison Waterstreet

Eugenia Zobel and Andrew Duplessie

Scott Buccheit and Amanda Tambling

Barbara Zucker and Daniel Brodsky

Bebe Brook and Paul Zofnass

Amanda Watts, Julie Crandell, Beau Allen, Margaret Hathaway, and Allison Cheek

George Wambold, Melanie Wambold, and John Wambold Jr.

Nina Kempner, Meggie Kempner, and Jackie Rohrbach

Christiana Bromberg and Madeleine Casella

Amelia Hemphill, Chaitanya Mahra, and Beijia Naa

Amy Rogers, Hartley Rogers, Terry Lindsay, and Bob Lindsay

Amy van Lou, Jade Whiteland, Danielle Palmer, Vicki Jessep, and Katrina Wong

Serena and Peter Tufo

Kate Tobuda and Taylo Sinclair

Allison Hodge and Dina Davalle

Alice George and Elena Hawila

The Museum at Eldridge Street, located in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a stunning National Historic Landmark, held its annual Spring Gala & Celebration on Wednesday, May 29th at Manhattan’s Gotham Hall. The event raised nearly $625,000 and honored the contributions of prominent law firm Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP, Richard Rabinowitz and Steven Walsey, for their roles in the museum’s ongoing success. The evening included a silent and live auction, awards ceremony and entertainment for the more than 300 people in attendance. This year’s gala was chaired by Arlene Goldfarb, and co-chaired by Wendy and Jonathan L. Mechanic; Jeffrey R. Gural; Valerie Ford Jacob; and Michael Weinstein and Millen Magese.

Fried Frank was presented the award by the Honorable Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, and Mr. Rabinowitz and Mr. Walsey, were presented theirs by Roberta Brandes Gratz and Bonnie Dimun, respectively.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, Valerie Jacob (Fried Frank), and Jonathan Mechanic (Fried Frank)

The funds raised go to strengthening, supporting and promoting the 1887 landmark Eldridge Street Synagogue as a dynamic cultural and educational center that tells the story of Jewish immigrant life at the turn of the last century.

The Eldridge Street Synagogue is our nation’s first great house of worship built in America by East European Jews. Today it is the only remaining marker of the great wave of Jewish migration to the Lower East Side that is open to a broad public. The Museum received nearly every major preservation honor, including the prestigious National Trust for Historic Preservation 2008 Preservation Award and the Metropolitan Chapter of the Victorian Society in America Restoration Award for its restoration of the Eldridge Street Synagogue – conducted with a “combination of rigor and affection” in the words of New Yorker architectural critic Paul Goldberger.

Richard Rabinowitz (Gala Honoree) and Roberta Brandes Gratz (Eldridge Street Founder)

Leslie Harwood and Richard Ruben

The Museum at Eldridge Street is located in the Eldridge Street Synagogue, a magnificent National Historic Landmark that re-opened in December 2007 after an extensive, $20 million restoration. Since its re-opening more than 100,000 people from around the world have participated in exhibits, tours, cultural events and educational programs that present the history and heritage of this historic house of worship and the Jewish immigrant community of the Lower East Side.

For more information on how to support The Museum at Eldridge Street, please visit www.eldridgestreet.org.

Helene Walsey, Romy Silverstein, Steven Walsey (Gala Honoree), Craig Walsey, Lisa Africk, and David Walsey

Jonathan and Wendy Mechanic with Morris Bailey (JEMB)

Wendy and Jonathan Mechanic, Arlene Goldfarb, Todd Kahn, and Ann Marie Kahn

Craig Reicher (CBRE), Jonathan Mechanic (Fried Frank), and Tim Dempsey (CBRE)

Michael Weinstein, Millen Magese, and Funmi Alaiyemola

Richard and Amy Ruben, Lorinda Ash, William Rubenstein, and Melissa Warshaw

Rick Leland (Fried Frank), Jonathan Mechanic (Fried Frank), and Brian Baker (JP Morgan)

John F. Prato, Consul General of Canada in New York, honored Canadian relationship and parenting expertDr. Karyn Gordon at Canada’s official residence on Tuesday, June 4. The evening was held as part of an ongoing “Women in Leadership” series honoring noteworthy Canadian women. Dr. Karyn, an educator, speaker, and media personality, was acknowledged for her wide-ranging work with families and professionals.

To begin the evening, guests mingled in the lovely Park Avenue residence formerly home to Ken Taylor, who was instrumental in the covert “Canadian Caper” operation depicted in the Oscar winning film Argo.

Dr. Karyn Gordon

Among those in attendance were Hon. Vice Consul Steve Acunto, Honorary Vice Consul of Italy, Michael Gelman, Executive Producer, Live! with Kelly and Michael and wife Laurie Gelman, Television Personality, Melissa de Roquebrune, Director, UNICEF Quebec, Melinda Estabrooks, Producer/Host, CTS Television, Pamela Falk, CBS News TV & Radio, United Nations Resident Correspondent, Michele Wucker, President of World Policy Institute, Anne-Marie Mediwake,CBC News, anchor, and Nicholas Mellamphy, Vice President and Buying Director, The Hudson's Bay Company. In addition, Dr. Karyn’s husband and Vice President of Operations at dk Leadership Brent Penner, father Grant Gordon, and aunt Janis Dixon made the trip to New York from Canada to celebrate the evening.

Jeff Breithaupt and Consul General John F. Prato

Alexandra Guest, Nicholas Mellamphy, and Shelley McPherson

In his introduction, John F. Prato spoke of Dr. Karyn’s work in New York City as being representative of the healthy relationship and strong bond between Canada and the United States, calling her “an incredible part of the Canadian fabric.” Dr.Karyn has taken her deep understanding and used it to build a larger platform to facilitate dialogue regarding parenting and relationships, Consul GeneralPrato noted.

Following John F. Prato’s warm introduction, Dr.Karyn shared a heartfelt story about being told by a school counselor that it was unlikely she would ever graduate high school. It was at that moment when Dr. Karyn recognized that her key to success in overcoming obstacles would lie in hard work. This experience serves as the bedrock of her core belief: with the right help, anyone can use their enormous potential to accomplish their goals.