Ellen Gustafson, Chair
Of Counsel, Greenberg Traurig
Ellen M. Gustafson, Of Counsel at Greenberg Traurig, advises clients on legislative, public policy, and regulatory matters, with a particular focus on the New York City budget. Drawing on years of experience in the City Council and a deep understanding of New York City's policymaking process, she helps organizations in the nonprofit and hospitality fields effectively negotiate and navigate the complexities of city government. Ellen’s local park is Socrates Sculpture Park in Astoria, which she enjoys weekly with her senior rescue dog Teddy.
Bryan Grimaldi, Secretary
Vice President of Corporate Affairs, National Grid
Bryan Grimaldi is the Vice President of Corporate Affairs for National Grid in New York, where he oversees the company’s communications, government relations, economic development community relations and transmission connection services in the state. Prior to joining National Grid, he practiced law with the law firm of Greenberg Traurig, LLP, counseling corporate clients, trade associations, destination marketing organizations, and public-private partnerships (P3) nationwide, which was a natural extension drawing from his nearly 15 years as Chief Operating Officer & General Counsel at NYC & Company, Inc, the destination marketing organization for New York City.
He previously served as General Counsel in the Mayor’s Office of International Affairs, where he provided legal counsel and support to city agencies and senior administration officials in dealings with the United Nations, foreign governments, diplomats, and federal agencies. Prior to joining the Mayor’s Office, Mr. Grimaldi practiced law in the private sector where he represented several large investment firms and corporate clients.
In addition to the Board of New Yorkers for Parks, he is a Trustee of the Destinations International Foundation; he previously served on the Destinations International Association Board sitting on the organization’s Executive Committee. Bryan is also an appointee to the National Advisory Committee on Travel & Tourism Infrastructure and has previously served on the Board of the Javits Convention Center Development Corporation. A graduate of Benjamin N. Cardozo Law School, he received his B.A. in Economics from NYU and resides in Brooklyn, NY with his wife and son.
Fern Thomas, Treasurer
Chief Financial & Administrative Officer, Grunfeld, Desiderio, Leibowitz, Silverman & Klestadt
Fern Thomas is the Chief Financial & Administrative Officer of Grunfeld, Desiderio, Leibowitz, Silverman & Klestadt, responsible for all aspects of its national and international operations, including finance, human resources, technology, risk management, real estate, and practice facilitation. Before joining the firm, Fern served as a senior finance executive, providing strategic financial expertise to a variety of organizations across multiple industry sectors from start-up to established multinationals. Fern was most recently President of Cornerstone Capital Group, where she oversaw the design, enhancement, implementation, reporting, and oversight of the firm’s financials, operations, human resources, technology, and compliance. She began her career at PWC and has served in CFO roles at several organizations over her career. She serves as a Board Member of several nonprofit organizations and is a former Board Member and Membership Chair for the New York City Chapter of Financial Executives International. Fern is a CPA and holds an MBA from Rutgers University.
Gabrielle S. Brussel
Executive Vice President, Business Development & Properties, JCDecaux North America
Gabrielle Brussel is the Executive Vice President of Business Development and Properties at JCDecaux North America, the US subsidiary of the largest out-of-home media company in the world. In that role she manages on a day-to-day basis, the public-private partnerships of JCDecaux for street furniture concessions in the cities of New York, Boston and Chicago and works with the western team in connection with programs in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Gabrielle joined JCDecaux over 13 years ago as its first in-house U.S. lawyer. In her role of General Counsel, she built the in-house legal department before moving to the business side. During her many years in private practice both in New York and London, she worked on international corporate transactions in Europe and in Latin America at both Sullivan & Cromwell and Linklaters. Gabrielle has volunteered as a mentor in numerous high school and college-related roles, she currently is a mentor with the SEO Scholars High School program and volunteers at Y Tu También NYC (both programs working on providing higher education access to underserved students in NYC).
Gabrielle graduated from CUNY-Hunter College and holds a Master’s in International Affairs from Columbia University and a J.D. from Brooklyn Law School.
Audrey Feuerstein
Retired Director, Hunter College Teacher Center
Mrs. Audrey Feuerstein is the former Director of the Hunter College Teacher Center, and Supervisor of Elementary Student Teachers in Department of Curriculum and Teaching at Hunter College. For the past thirty years, Mrs. Feuerstein has also worked in various capacities as an educational consultant, following her tenure in the New York City Public School system. She has earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Hunter College and served on the board of the Dalton School and the Board of Advisors to Park East – ESHI Day School.
Catherine Morrison Golden
Catherine Morrison Golden has had a long career in parks, open space and non-profit management in both New York and Washington. Working for the Nassau-Suffolk Regional Planning Board on Long Island she designed or planned gardens, parks and wildlife areas in fragile coastal regions. In Washington, at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) she worked on specific issues of Coastal Zone Management, and aspects of deep seabed mining relative to the Law of the Sea negotiations. She served as Deputy Director of the Marine Systems Laboratory at the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of Natural History and as Special Assistant to the Director of the Museum. She also headed The Conference Board’s Washington Office of Public Policy. After returning to New York she became Senior Advisor to the New York Tree Trust at the New York City Department of Parks and Recreation.
For five years, Catherine wrote a regular column on gardens for the Staten Island Advance, and now writes a blog, The Sunday Gardener. She serves on the boards of the National Museum of the American Indian, The American Trust for the British Library, The Historic House Trust of New York City, Riverside Park Conservancy, the Leadership Council of Black Rock Forest, and the Advisory Committee of Mt. Sinai Hospital’s Center for Multicultural and Community Affairs. Mrs. Golden holds a bachelor's degree from Bennington College, and an M.S. in Urban and Regional Planning from the Pratt Institute.
Paul R. Gottsegen
Paul Gottsegen previously held positions as President and Director of Management of the Halstead Management Company, Managing Director at the Insignia Residential Group, Owner and Chief Executive of Soren Management, Inc., and Vice President at Douglas Elliman-Gibbons & Ives. He was awarded Certified Property Manager of the Year in 2007 by the Institute of Real Estate Management in Chicago and is currently on the executive committee of the New York Chapter. In 2009, he was voted Management Executive of the Year by the Real Estate Board of New York. He is also an Honorary Member of the New York Building Managers' Association, an Honorary Associate Member of the Scandinavian American Building Managers Guild, and a member of the Real Estate Board of New York's Residential Management Council.
Carol Loewenson
Partner, Mitchell Giurgola Architects in New York
Carol Loewenson is a Partner at Mitchell Giurgola Architects in New York. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Barnard College and a Master of Architecture degree from Columbia University. Ms. Loewenson was elected to the College of Fellows of the American Institute of Architects in 2013.
She was the 2016 President of AIA New York and has served as a Board member of the Center for Arts Education and the Center for Architecture Foundation. Her Expertise ranges from highly technical buildings, renovations and façade replacements to work involving both the private and public sector.
Jonathan Meyers
Partner, HR&A
Jonathan Meyers is a partner at HR&A with deep experience advising public and private sector clients on the financing and implementation of complex real estate projects.
Following 9/11, Jon managed HR&A’s work to support recovery efforts with the Alliance for Lower Manhattan. He was later instrumental in creating an economic rationale for the re-use of the High Line, leading the firm’s efforts to estimate the impact of saving the historic structure as a public open space as an alternative to demolition.
Jon also spent ten years in the public sector, including as Chief Operating Officer at the Trust for Governors Island.
Lynden B. Miller
Public Garden Designer
Lynden B. Miller is an internationally renowned public garden designer who has changed the face of New York City's public places by providing beautiful plantings and a connection with nature for neighborhoods rich and poor. Beginning in 1982 she rescued and restored the Conservatory Garden in Central Park. Mrs. Miller has designed gardens for many of New York's most prominent public spaces such as Bryant Park, The New York Botanical Garden, Madison Square Park, Hudson River Park, and Wagner Park. Her work includes landscape improvements for several important campuses such as Columbia, Princeton, and Stony Brook University.
In response to 9/11, Mrs. Miller inaugurated the planting of 1 million daffodils given to the City of New York. The Daffodil Project, now under the leadership of New Yorkers for Parks, has planted daffodils in parks, schools, and public housing to beautify the city she loves.
Trained as a painter and horticulturist, she has received many awards, and she lectures widely to promote her belief in the social and economic benefits of beautiful public space as well as teaching at New York University and Columbia. Her motto is "Make it gorgeous and they will come. Keep it that way and they will help."
Mrs. Miller has written an inspirational and practical book based on 30 years of experience about the benefits of enhancing cities with well-planted gardens, parks, and streets. Parks, Plants, and People: Beautifying the Urban Landscape describes the elements of successful public space and explains how to design, improve and maintain year-round plants, work with volunteers, advocate for increased public funding and attract private dollars.
Mark Minkley
Principal, Cumming Group
Mark Minkley is a Principal at Cumming Group with more than three decades of experience leading the planning, design, and construction of civic, educational, public realm, and private development projects.
A Registered Landscape Architect in New York and California with experience in nonprofit governance, site logistics and phasing, he is known for building strong, collaborative partnerships, engaging communities, and guiding complex projects from vision to completion.
Laura Montross
Vice President, Communications, Brookfield Properties
Laura Montross is Vice President of Communications and Strategic Projects at Brookfield Properties, responsible for overseeing internal and external communications for the firm’s North American business. Prior to joining Brookfield, Laura served as Deputy Director of Communications for New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo and a Principal at Kivvit, a leading public affairs firm. Laura serves on the Board of Directors for the New York Foundation for the Arts. She earned a bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, in Social and Cultural Analysis from New York University and lives in Brooklyn.
Marlene Pantin
Executive Director, Red Hook Conservancy
Marlene founded Red Hook Conservancy in 2011 to support the Red Hook Recreation Center, and a few years later partnered with others to expand the organization’s work to include local parks. In 2018, she co-founded Brooklyn Parks and Open Spaces Coalition, a borough-wide parks organization advocating for greater investment in Brooklyn’s green spaces. Marlene brings many years of experience in behavioral health and applied research to the conservation effort and utilizes her public speaking skills to share strategies and insights on volunteer recruitment and management, capacity building, and partnership engagement. She has received several awards for leadership and parks stewardship.
Joel Steinhaus
Entrepreneur
Joel Steinhaus is an entrepreneur, non-profit leader and writer. He is the former Head of Strategic Initiatives at WeWork.
Prior to WeWork, Mr. Steinhaus was Managing Director and Chief of Staff to the Chairman at Citigroup, and was previously Senior Vice President for Global Public Affairs at Citi. Before joining Citi, Mr. Steinhaus helped launch NBC News’ Education Nation, a multi-media enterprise focused on engaging the public in a conversation about improving education in the U.S.
Mr. Steinhaus has an MBA from the Yale School of Management, where he was a Sutphin Fellow. He earned an AB, magna cum laude, from Harvard University.
Ann L. Buttenwieser
Ellen Chesler
Barbara S. Dixon*
Barbara Fife
Richard Gilder *
Michael Grobstein
George J. Grumbach
Ira M. Millstein*
Philip R. Pitruzzello
Edward C. Wallace
* - in memoriam