Workers Circle Welcomes Members to the Board of Directors, Names New Vice Presidents and Secretary
October 22, 2021
Contact: Jeff Simmons, jeff@anatgerstein.com, 917-673-0024
(NEW YORK) — The Board of Directors of the Workers Circle today approved six new members to its Board of Directors, re-appointed two Board members, and named Eva Zasloff and Jay Sackman as Vice Presidents and Daniel Katz as Secretary to the Board.
“I am pleased to welcome such a talented group of new members to the Workers Circle Board. Each of them brings a unique perspective and set of skills that will contribute to our mission of advancing social justice through a Jewish lens,” said Board President Richard Rumelt.
Current members Zeev Dagan and Michelle H. Green were re-elected to the Board. The new Board members – who each serve three-year terms – are: Hasia R. Diner, Barry Eisenberg, Sally Guttmacher, Nedra Hoffman, Jack Lusk, and Jeffrey G. Stein.
Zeev Dagan is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the City College of New York (CCNY). Affiliated with CCNY since 1983, Dr. Dagan had served as Department Chair (1990-93), Associate Dean of the Grove School of Engineering (1993-97), Deputy Provost (1997-99), and Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs (1999-2010). He received several awards, including the Pi Tau Sigma Teacher of the Year Award, Goldene Ehrenzeichen from the Austrian Ministry of Education, and the prestigious Townsend Harris Medal from the Alumni Association of CCNY. He is the author and co-author of over forty scientific articles. He also served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Structural Biology Center, regional College Board, and executive committee of the NYC Town & Gown consortium involving 15 universities and the New York City Department of Construction.
Hasia Diner is the Paul and Sylvia Steinberg Professor of American Jewish History at New York University. A faculty member in the Departments of History and Hebrew and Judaic Studies, she has written about and taught on a wide array covering the history of America's Jews, American immigration, and the history of women. She grew up in a Yiddish-speaking home and continues to immerse herself in the world of Yiddish. Likewise, her commitment to social justice work began in high school civil rights organizing and remains deeply committed to the idea that we all have a responsibility to tackle the injustices in the world around us.
Barry Eisenberg, has an extensive background in healthcare management, starting at Memorial-Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and later was vice president of hospital operations at Union Hospital in NJ. Currently, Barry consults with healthcare organizations on strategic planning, mergers and acquisitions, and board development and is associate professor at SUNY Empire State College where he directs the college’s MBA in Healthcare Leadership. He has published in numerous professional journals and The New York Times and is co-author of Mastering Leadership: A Vital Resource for Healthcare Organizations. Barry’s first novel, Primal Calling, was recently published and a second is in progress.
Michelle “Mickey” Green has served on the Workers Circle Board since 2018. In her 40- year career at District Council 37, AFSCME and the New York State Nurses Association, Mickey has had the privilege of negotiating contracts on behalf of public and private sector union members. She also serves as a Trustee on several and pension health and benefit funds. Mickey her husband, Rob Stulberg, have three children and a 3-year-old granddaughter, Cecily, who was recently elected shop steward for the whole family.
Sally Guttmacher is Emeritus Professor of Public Health at NYU, where she currently teaches ‘Global Issues in Reproductive Health and Human Rights’. She received her Ph.D. in Public Health from Columbia University. In the early 1970s she worked in the Ministry of Public Health in Cuba. She has worked in several African countries and has been a visiting Professor at the University of Cape Town and the University of the Western Cape in South Africa. She is currently on the Steering Committee of Community Rising Africa Network and The Faculty Network for Student Voting Rights.
Nedra Hoffman has a bachelor's degree in telecommunications and business from the University of Florida, and a master's degree in global public health from New York University. She works in pharmaceutical sales, with medication for Parkinson's disease, in NYC. Previous roles have included working as a Technical Advisor with Population Services International (PSI), training local health workers in Uganda, and Senior Partnership Manager for FHI360, both global NGOs.
Jack Lusk is the CEO of Harris Rand Lusk; an executive search practice that has placed hundreds of leaders in the government and nonprofit sectors. Prior to joining this field, Jack spent two decades in various government positions, including in NY City Hall with Ed Koch, and later at the Taxi and Limousine Commission, and MTA. This followed a Washington tour as an Attorney and Special Assistant to the US Secretary of Transportation after graduating from George Washington University Law School. He is also a graduate of the University of Wisconsin where he majored in history and political science.
Jeffrey G. Stein served as General Counsel to over 20 Taft-Hartley funds and related organizations serving more than 400,000 members of 1199SEIU United Health Care Workers East in New York City until June 2021. Semi-retired, he now works part-time as Senior Advisor to the 1199SEIU Funds. Previously, he was an associate at a union-side law firm in New York City, Levy Ratner, and earlier served on the faculty at New York University School of Law and was a criminal defense attorney at the Legal Aid Society of New York. In 2013, he was inducted as a Fellow of the American College of Employee Benefits Counsel. In 2014, the U.S. Secretary of Labor appointed him as a member of the U.S. Department of Labor’s Advisory Council on Employee Welfare and Pension Benefit Plans (ERISA Advisory Council).
About the Workers Circle
Founded more than 120 years ago, the Workers Circle (formerly known as the Workmen’s Circle) is a social justice organization that powers progressive Jewish identity through Jewish cultural engagement, Yiddish language learning, multigenerational education, and social justice activism. For over a century we have provided this 360-degree approach to Jewish identity-building. Through contemporary cultural programs, strategic social justice campaigns, vibrant Yiddish language classes, interactive educational experiences and more, we connect Jewish adults, kids and families of all affiliations with their cultural heritage, working to build a better and more beautiful world for all. Learn more at www.circle.org.ll. Learn more at www.circle.org.