Dealing With Local Disasters at the Scarsdale Forum
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Two Scarsdale residents, Dr. Richard Garwin and Jonathan Lewis, will discuss Dealing with Local Disasters: What Can Nuclear and Pandemic Disaster Planning Teach Us? The talk is the third this year in the Sunday Speaker Series from the Scarsdale Forum and will be held on May 16th at 3pm at the Scarsdale Woman's Club.
With the recent storm that left almost 80% of Scarsdale residents without electrical power for multiple days, and the severe flooding that occurred in April 2007, many people are asking if there is something that we can do better to help mitigate the impact of future disasters. Dr. Richard Garwin and Jonathan Lewis, will present a discussion on what has worked in the past and how we can apply it to Scarsdale. Eric Rothschild, Sunday Speaker Series Chair, will welcome questions from the audience at the conclusion of the presentation.
Dr Garwin is a long time club member of the Scarsdale Forum and Jonathan Lewis is the past President. Both have relevant expertise in this area.
Dr. Richard Garwin was born in 1928 and earned a B.S. in physics from Case Institute of Technology in 1947, and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of Chicago in 1949. He began his work with nuclear weapons technology in 1950 at Los Alamos Laboratory. He joined IBM in 1952 and became an IBM Fellow at the Thomas J. Watson Research Center in 1967, where he worked until 1993. He has authored and co-authored numerous books, published more than 500 papers, and has 43 patents in his name. Dr. Garwin has extensive experience in nuclear arms policy having served on the Commission to Assess the Ballistic Missile Threat to the United States and JASON, an independent group of scientists which advises the US Government on matters of science and technology. He continues to be an influential voice in national security issues today.
Jonathan Lewis is the author of “Spy Capitalism: ITEK and the CIA” and the co-author of “Reflections of a Cold Warrior: From Yalta to the Bay of Pigs” and the past Scarsdale Forum President. In his work on both the history of the CIA and on partnerships between the private sector and the national security establishment, he has explored a variety of themes related to crisis management. He has spoken on intelligence related issues at the JFK School of Government at Harvard and at Yale University. He is a member of Business Executives for National Security (BENS) and for many years co-chaired the organization’s intelligence reform effort. He was a part of the BENS panel that reviewed the CIA’s venture capital initiative, In-Q-Tel, as part of a congressionally mandated study, and was also part of a BENS study for the CIA on pay for performance. The BENS panel was awarded the Agency Bronze Seal Medallion for their work in this area. He is a director of the Westchester chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation and a Trustee of the American Jewish Historical Society. He is a co-founder of Samson Capital Advisors where he is a member of the executive committee and chairs the investment committee.
The reception will begin at 3 pm on May 16 at the Scarsdale Woman's Club, 37 Drake Road in Scarsdale, and the program will start at 3:15 pm. Admission is free, plenty of free parking is available.
The Scarsdale Forum Sunday Speaker series is made possible in part by the Irving Sloan grant from the Liz Claiborne / Arthur Ortenberg Foundation.
Candidates Forum and Luncheon from the LWV
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On Thursday May 6 at 7:30 pm, the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale will sponsor a BOE Candidates Forum in the Scott Room at the Scarsdale Public Library. The candidates for the Scarsdale Board of Education will be invited to participate. After the candidates speak briefly, there will be a question and answer period. The public is invited and encouraged to attend. For more information, contact Jane Veron at 472-2933.
Dr. Jennifer Ashton, Medical Correspondent for the CBS News Network, will share her unique perspective on the devastation in Haiti and the challenges that face the Haitian people at a luncheon at Scarsdale Golf Club on May 14. In January, Dr. Ashton traveled with a medical team to Haiti, where she treated victims of the earthquake for eight days. She is a daily contributor to the Early Show and appears regularly on the CBS Evening News.
The luncheon is sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Scarsdale. All League members are invited to the League’s annual meeting, which will be held before the luncheon at 11 am and will include electing a new board and adopting a budget and program. The luncheon will begin at 11:45 am. To RSVP, call Anne Lyons at 725-9810. The cost is $40 per person ($45 after May 7) and is payable at the door or in advance (make your check payable to League of Women Voters of Scarsdale and mail to Anne Lyons, 82 Greenacres Avenue, Scarsdale 10583).
Suzanne Seiden Candidate for Scarsdale School Board
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Suzanne Seiden is running for Scarsdale School Board in the first contested elections in at least 20 years. She was nominated by the Scarsdale School Board Nominating Committee and encourages you to vote on May 18th. Here are Suzanne's credentials:
Suzanne has been a tireless volunteer at all levels of the Scarsdale school system and in our community. In all her activities, including as president of the Middle School and Quaker Ridge PTAs, Ms. Seiden has continuously demonstrated a passion for the critical issues facing the our school district as well as a capacity to work with others to deliver meaningful results.
Over the past nine years, Ms. Seiden has had numerous leadership roles, starting with her efforts for two years as Co-Chair of the PT Council Young Writers’ Conference and as Co-Chair of the Scarsdale Schools Bond Committee in which she helped organize and lead the community’s efforts to pass a bond to support necessary construction on the Quaker Ridge School. She subsequently served the Quaker Ridge PTA president-elect and president where, among other efforts, she worked with the other PTAs to change the funding of elementary school playgrounds.
Following her experience at the elementary school level, Ms. Seiden served as the President-elect and then President of the Middle School PTA where she focused on creating a school of empathy and implemented a new fundraising program for the school. She has also had leadership roles on the Scarsdale Task Force on Drugs and Alcohol where she worked with other parents, school administrators, and Village representatives to create and deliver programs and educational material for youth and adults about drugs and alcohol. She also currently serves as the Publicity Chair for the Scarsdale High School Scholarship Fund.
In addition to her activities with our schools, she has volunteered on a number of community organizations including with the UJA Federation, Scarsdale League of Women Voters, and Temple Israel Center.
Her volunteer activities in Scarsdale build upon professional experience as a labor and employment lawyer at Clifton, Budd and DeMaria and service in the federal government. During the Clinton Administration Ms. Seiden worked as the General Counsel of the Office of Personnel Management, the chief legal officer for the federal government’s human resources agency, and in the Wage and Hour Division of the US Department of Labor where she helped coordinate the Administration’s anti-sweatshop initiative.
Ms. Seiden graduated from Tufts University and Boston University Law School; she is married to Kevin Thurm, and has three children in the Scarsdale Schools: Eric, 12th grade; Jason, 9th grade; and Samantha, 3rd grade.
Learn more about Suzanne Seiden at: http://www.vote4suzanne.webs.com
SHS Mock Trial Team Are County Champs
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Scarsdale High School’s Mock Trial team finished first in Westchester County this year, in a tournament sponsored by the Westchester County Bar Association. The team, in its ninth year of competition, also won the county championship in its first year of existence.
This year’s case imagined a Ponzi scheme concocted by Shawn Miller, a stand-in for real life schemer Bernard Madoff. In six rounds of trial – sometimes prosecuting Mr. Miller, and sometimes defending him – Scarsdale emerged victorious.
“We've been practicing hard since early December when the New York State Bar Association released this year's case,” said Ethan Gottlieb, a defense attorney for the team. Since “trial season,” which started in February, Gottlieb said the team has been practicing more frequently and fervently. The team faculty advisor and coach is SHS Social Studies teacher Daivd Heyman.
Team members pictured here are:
Curan Mehra - Defense/Prosecution Attorney
Ethan Gottlieb - Defense Attorney
Vidya Venkatakrishnan - Defense Attorney/Defense Witness
Callie Gilbert - Defense/Prosecution Attorney
Morgan Hecht - Prosecution Witness
Brian Guggenheimer - Defense Witness
Lisle Winston - Defense Witness
Peter Herman - Prosecution Witness
Harrison Shapiro - Prosecution Witness
Scarsdale Walks for Autism Research
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One out of every 110 children in America today has autism, according to the latest data from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. It’s a statistic that members of Team Scarsdale C.H.I.LD. know all too well.
Since 2002, this dedicated group of parents, friends and educators has joined forces and fund-raising talents to walk in the annual Westchester/Fairfield Walk Now for Autism Speaks. Their mission is two-fold: to promote greater awareness of this devastating disorder in our community, and to raise money for desperately needed scientific research. In its nine years as a team, Scarsdale C.H.I.L.D. has raised more than one million dollars for autism research; each year, it wins Autism Speaks’ award for most successful fund raising walk team in the nation. “It’s the best way we know to address this urgent global health crisis that has impacted so many of us personally,” says Scarsdale C.H.I.L.D. team captain Liane Carter.
On Sunday, June 6th, the team will again be walking in the 2010 Walk Now for Autism Speaks on the campus of Manhattanville College in Purchase, New York. A fun-filled, family friendly event, it will feature a petting zoo, bounce castles, face painting, temporary tattoos, music, a stage show, costume characters, kids’ games, refreshments and a Resource Fair featuring special needs service providers and programs. “It’s a wonderful experience to be with so many others who are passionate about this cause,” says Liane. “We pull together as one strong voice for the autism community.”
And it also takes a village. A dedicated group of Scarsdale High School students have organized their own Autism Speaks Student Club that runs fund-raising events throughout the school year. “When I first started the club almost two years ago, I wanted to change the way people looked at and treated individuals with autism spectrum disorders,” says Max Rolison, SHS junior. “I knew raising awareness about autism was an important step to take; however, it wasn't until I had already started the club and it became one of the largest and most successful clubs in the school that I really realized how crucial it was that people better understand autism.”
In support of Autism Awareness Month in April, club members enlisted the help of Leah’s Hair Salon to offer free blue hair extensions for a $10 donation, have run a trunk show at LF, and will be hosting an hors d’oeuvres and silent auction benefit April 24th. Club officer Toby Millstein, a senior, says that for her, the walk in June is particularly significant: “It's a day where I am reminded of just how important my work for SHS Autism Speaks really is. ”Last year, the club received the 2009 Top Autism Speaks student club recognition award. Christie Godowski, Greater Hudson Valley, Westchester & Fairfield County Regional Walk Director for Autism Speaks, noted, “Scarsdale High School is the standard to which we hope all of our clubs across the country will strive.”
SHS Club members and Team Scarsdale C.H.I.L.D. also work closely with Walk Chair Ellen Cohen, another Scarsdale resident. A tireless and longtime community activist on behalf of children with special needs, Ellen has been responsible for several years for recruiting and organizing the 200 volunteers who participate on walk day; this will be her second year chairing the event. “I so admire the strength, courage and unswerving optimism of our families,” Ellen says. “That dedication and sense of community is what I cherish every year at our walk. It stays with me and lifts me up for the rest of the year.”
Autism Speaks is the nation’s leading advocacy organization for the complex neurobiological brain disorder, which inhibits a person’s ability to communicate and develop social relationships, and is often accompanied by behavioral challenges. Walk Now for Autism Speaks is their signature event, taking place in communities across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
“Our kids deserve our commitment and hope,” says Liane. “We won’t stop walking until there’s a cure.”
If you are interested in volunteering, please contact Ellen Cohen at elco428@hotmail.com. All teen volunteers will receive an individual certificate of community service for their efforts. To make a tax-deductible donation, please visit the team page at: www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/westchesterfairfield/scarsdalechild
Where: 2900 Purchase St, Purchase, NY 10577 (Manhattanville College)
Date: June 6, 2010
Time: 9:30am–2:00pm
Phone: 914-934-5138
Email: westchesterfairfield@autismspeaks.org http://www.walknowforautismspeaks.org/westchesterfairfield
For more information, contact Liane Carter at lcarter@cloud9.net
