Promotions & Announcements – August 20128
Owens elected to WCC board
The Women’s City Club of New York elected a Deborah Martin Owens of Queens as new vice-chair of the board at its 102nd annual meeting.
“I feel incredibly blessed to hold a leadership position in such a strong and vibrant organization that has led this city for the past 100 years, and will continue to do so for the next 100 years,” she said.
Martin Owens is an attorney in the New York office of Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan, LLP. At the end of July 2018, she will begin in her new role as executive director of Diversity & Inclusion at the New York City Bar Association.
At WCC, she is a member of the Strategic Planning Advisory Committee, Executive Committee and Development Committee. She previously served on the board of Friends of Island Academy and held positions of leadership in the Metropolitan Black Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association and the National Bar Association.
The new leadership comes as WCC moves to broaden its reach and become more inclusive to reach more women in New York, particularly those who are seeking access and opportunities to affect change and have an impact.
Pantin takes over at Outreach
Debra Pantin, formerly CEO of VIP Community Services in the Bronx, will take over as president and CEO of Queens-based addiction treatment center Outreach.
Pantin has more than 30 years of experience in the fields of addiction and mental health treatment services, housing and homeless services, and health care, beginning as a practitioner and later
as a leader in establishing programs.
At VIP, she successfully propelled the organization that provides comprehensive social services in the Bronx toward an integration of services. During her tenure, VIP opened a mental health clinic and transformed its health services into a federally qualified health center (FQHC) with care coordination services.
Prior to joining VIP Community Services in 2013, Pantin served as COO of Palladia, Inc. (formerly Project Return), where she spent 25 years directing program and operational services serving 26,000 clients annually.
Pantin earned her Master’s Degree in Social Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work and her Master’s of Science in Management and Health Care Management from the University of Rochester’s Simon Business School. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from SUNY College at Purchase.
2nd term for Certilman
Lee Certilman, co-owner of the oldest Honda dealership on Long Island, Nardy Honda Smithtown, has been named chairman of the influential Whitestone-based Greater New York Automobile Dealers Association (GNYADA) for a second term.
The Association – established 108 years ago – is an organization that supports more than 400 local businesses that generate annual economic activity of $48.5 billion while providing 68,600 jobs.
“Auto dealers in our area provide tens of thousands of well-paying jobs, so, when I’m talking to legislators about our industry, I think about all these individuals
who will be impacted by every decision made,” Certilman said. “It’s an incredible motivator to keep fighting for this industry.”
Certilman is a third-generation automobile dealer.
“My job over the next 12 months is to continue to promote and defend a strong franchised system that benefits local people, local communities and the local business owners who manage them while at the same time being forever mindful of those less fortunate,” he added.
Certilman is a supporter of the Long Island Alzheimer Association, Big Brothers, American Cancer Society, and Juvenile Diabetes. In addition, through Nardy Honda’s community outreach program he provides time and funds to local educational and charity drives.
He is a graduate of Syracuse University and was director of Affiliate Relations at CBS Television before joining his family’s automobile business in 1985.
QCA head to attend art forum
Hoong Yee Lee Krakauer, executive director of the Queens Council on the Arts, will be one of the 16 top-level arts executives gathering to brainstorm, reflect, and strategize on the future of arts administration at the annual Executive Leadership Forum.
The forum will be hosted by Americans for the Arts from September 12-15 in Sundance, Utah.
“It is a great honor to be representing Queens and to be included among the top arts leaders of the country at this important gathering,” said Krakauer.
The Executive Leadership Forum is designed to create opportunities for CEOs, executive directors, and senior staff of local arts advancement organizations to focus on long-term thinking, professional growth, and personal renewal.
Krakauer will attend seminars on improving overall strategy, handling transitions, and preparing Queens Council on the Arts to benefit locally from national trends in the arts world.
A wide range of topics—including equity, cultural democracy, community development, and long-term visioning—will be explored through discussions, presentations, and screenings.
“I am thrilled that 16 strong arts leaders from communities across the country are participating in this year’s forum,” said Robert L. Lynch, president and CEO of Americans for the Arts. “The arts can be a tool for social and economic improvement and community transformation, and my hope is that this gathering of cultural sector executives will lay the groundwork for future action in new ideas, insights, strategies, and real innovation.”