Board of Directors

Chair

Laurence D. Belfer˚

Chair Emeritus

Marc S. Lipschultz˚

Vice Chairs

Jennifer Heyman Millstone
Andrea Olshan
Eva Colin Usdan

Treasurer/Chairman of the Finance Committee

Howard M. Lorber

Board of Directors

• Jody Gottfried Arnhold˚
  Glenn August˚
  Catherine H. Behrend
  Claire B. Benenson
  Michael Berland
  Len Blavatnik
  Thomas Block
  Matthew Bronfman*˚
  Kathy Chazen
  Andrew Crystal
  Stuart J. Ellman*˚
  Michael S. Feldberg
  Christine Ferer
  Lee Fixel
• Glenn Fuhrman
  Rick Gerson
  Jeffrey B. Goldenberg
  Jane H. Goldman
  Michael Goldstein*˚
  Todd Hirsch
  Thomas S. Kaplan*
  Lori A. Kasowitz
  Richard L. Kay
  Elena Hahn Kiam
  Jonathan Korngold
  Eric Lane˚
  William P. Lauder
  Paul Levy˚
• Honorable Joseph Lieberman
  Constance G. Littman
  Fredric Mack*
  Richard J. Mack
  Philip L. Milstein*
  Cheryl Minikes
  Martin J. Oppenheimer
  John Paulson
  Martin J. Rabinowitz
  David S. Rose
  Barry Rosenstein
  Michael S. Roth
  Steven Rubenstein
  Yossi Sagol
• Gail Michele Saltz, MD
  Curtis Schenker
  David M. Schizer
  Dov Seidman
  Wendy Siegel
  Lauren Hochfelder Silverman
  Oliver Stanton
  Ronald Stein
  Stuart Sucherman
  Kenneth L. Wallach˚
  Brian Wolfe
  Caryn Zucker

Honorary Directors

• Arthur Aufses, MD
  Clive Chajet
  Jerome A. Chazen
  Marcia Eppler Colvin
  Richard Crystal
  Gerald J. Grossman
• Joan L. Jacobson*
  Daniel R. Kaplan*
  Lee Katz, PhD
  Nancy Z. Lane
  Armand Lindenbaum
  Peter W. May
• Irwin Miller
  Mitchell J. Nelson
  Madeline I. Noveck
  Elihu Rose
  Marcella Rosen
  Judith O. Rubin*
• Bertram Teich
  Harriet Weintraub
  Myrna Z. Weiss

*Past presidents
°Executive Committee member

Executive Leadership

back to top

Marketing & Business Development

212.415.5450

• Digital & Creative Services

  Amy McDonald, Creative Director
  Catherine Pollock, Creative Director
  Doug Bachelis, Director, Brand Marketing

  Web & Web Development

  David Meyer, Director of Web & Web Development

  Digital Content

  Andrew Krucoff, Director of Digital Content

  Public & Media Relations

  Carrie Oman, Communications Director

• Marketing Strategy and Business Development

  Jennifer Shapiro Schutzman, Director, Marketing Strategy and Business Development

  Patron Experience

  Kim Kimball, Director, Patron Experience

  Patron Data Strategy & Operations

  Bob Taulty, Director, Patron Data Strategy
  Tatiana Jofat, Director, Patron Data Operations

  Patron Insights

  Jamie Thomas, Director, Patron Insights

back to top

Program Services

212.415.5607

• Bronfman Center for Jewish Life

  212.415.5765

  Rabbi Scott Perlo, Associate Director, Bronfman Center for Jewish Life
  Chelsea Bassman, Director of Administration

  Center for Arts Learning
  and Leadership

  212.415.5768

  Ava Lehrer, Director

  Charles Simon Center for Adult Life & Learning

  212.415.5433

  92Y Talks

  Susan Engel

  Executive Director, 92Y Talks

  Susan Engel is Executive Director of 92Y Talks, the world-renowned live events series that is now widely recognized as a premier forum for the best minds of our time.
  
  In the course of her 30-year tenure at 92Y, Susan has been a primary force in shaping the talks program and exponentially expanding the size and scope of 92Y’s offerings, many of which are now available through digital channels and satellite broadcasts.
  
  A small sampling of those who have recently graced 92Y’s stage includes Ruth Bader Ginsberg, Amy Poehler, Daniel Radcliffe, Rachel Weisz, Ken Burns, Stephen Colbert, Woody Allen, Anna Deavere Smith, Nick Nolte, Gloria Steinem, Sally Field, Jon Stewart, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, Anna Wintour, Ehud Barak, John Oliver, Francis Ford Coppola, Aretha Franklin, Al Pacino, Meryl Streep, Madeleine Albright, Hillary Clinton, Jeremy Irons, Ethan Hawke, Rachel Brosnahan, Iris Apfel, Shonda Rhimes, Rachel Bloom, Jake Gyllenhaal, David Brooks, Ewan McGregor, Jennifer Lopez, Tina Fey and Tony Blair.
  
  Susan has brought thousands of luminaries to 92Y and developed partnerships with many organizations that help to enhance the caliber and reach of 92Y Talks, including Bloomberg Businessweek, Showtime, HBO, New York Comedy Festival and the World Science Festival. She has also developed popular, long-running conversation series with expert hosts and moderators including long-standing series, “In the News” with journalist Jeff Greenfield; “Reel Pieces” with Dr. Annette Insdorf; and “Fashion Icons with Fern Mallis.” New series include “Faith and Celebrity" with Rabbi Peter Rubinstein, "Science Talks" with Claudia Dreifus, "Imagining Men and Women" with Jennifer Finney Boylan and “TV Talks” with The Hollywood Reporter.
  
  Susan also leads on Jewish/Israel Talks, having presented thought leaders such as Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, Simon Schama, Deborah Lipstadt, Yuval Harari, Amos Oz as well as arranged for official Israel State visits from Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and former President Shimon Peres. She also produced a tribute to Elie Wiesel, in honor of his forty years of lectures at 92Y.
  
  Susan has her MA in Jewish Studies from the Jewish Theological Seminary as well as MS in Social Work from Columbia University.
  
  Susan is the proud mother of two daughters, Shira, a public school teacher, and Eve, an assistant teacher at the 92Y Nursery School.

  Susan Engel, Executive Director, 92Y Talks

  Sue Solomon, Associate Director, 92Y Talks
  Taj Greenlee, Assistant Director, 92Y Talks

  Adult Education

  Christine Chen, Director, Dance and Adult Programming

  92Y Residence

  Sandra Cohen, Director, 92Y Residence

  Himan Brown Senior Program

  Julia Zeuner, Director, Himan Brown Senior Program

  Early Childhood Programs

  Ellen Birnbaum

  Director, Early Childhood Programs

  Ellen Birnbaum is a 30-year veteran of 92nd Street Y’s Nursery School, where she began as an assistant teacher in 1981. She served as assistant and then associate director from 1996-2011, and assumed her new post as director in June 2011. Ellen is a member of 92Y’s Wonderplay Leadership Team, the organization’s “brain trust” of early childhood educators; she also ran 92Y’s Camp K’Ton Ton, a summer program for children aged three to five, from 1993-2003.
  
  As director, Ellen oversees the day-to-day operation of the pre-school as well as curriculum planning, parent education, staff supervision and admissions. She serves as a liaison with teachers, parents, and children; leads the Nursery School’s innovative parent- and caregiver-education programs; and works closely with classroom teachers to monitor and evaluate each child’s emotional, social and physical development. Ellen has been instrumental in incorporating the wealth of resources at 92Y into the nursery school’s curriculum and enrichment programs; she developed an intergenerational program with 92Y’s seniors, programs in gymnastics and science, all-school music and dance days and attendance at concerts offered through 92Y’s Educational Outreach program.
  
  She is co-author, with Nancy Schulman, of Practical Wisdom for Parents: Raising Self-Confident Children in the Preschool Years (Knopf, 2007). She has spoken about the important role of caregivers in early childhood at meetings of the Association of Teachers at Independent Schools (ATIS), and presented “The Other Parent: Including Caregivers in the School Community,” at the 2009 NYSAIS (NYS Association of Independent School) Early Childhood and Lower School Heads Conference. In May 2006, Ellen attended the Reggio Emilia Study Tour in Italy, which teaches educators from around the world about the internationally renowned infant, toddler and early-childhood programs in this Northern-Italian town.
  
  Ellen received her B.A. from New York University, where she completed a major in Art History and a minor in Education and an M.A. in Fine Arts from the school’s Institute of Fine Arts. She has also taken many courses in early childhood education at the Bank Street College of Education in New York.
  
  She is the mother of two grown children and grandmother of two young children and lives in New York City with her husband.

  Ellen Birnbaum, Director

  Gilda and Henry Block School of the Arts

  Art Center

  212.415.5562

  Allison Valchuis

  Director, Art Center

  Allison Valchuis is a sculptor and educator with over ten years of experience in community arts education. Allison joined the 92Y Art Center staff in 2010. Prior to her 92Y career, Allison worked with the Smithsonian Institution’s Cooper-Hewitt, National Design Museum to bring design-thinking to the classroom across the country through professional development programs for educators, teen programs and curriculum development. She also served as an Americorps*VISTA at Rhode Island School of Design’s free teen portfolio prep and outreach program Project Open Door where she organized community partnerships and developed college readiness programs.
  
  She received her BFA in ceramics from Rhode Island School of Design and has been awarded residencies and scholarships at RISD’s European Honors Program in Rome, Italy, Watershed Center for the Ceramic Arts in Newcastle, ME, Ox-Bow, School of Arts and Artists Residencies in Saugatuck, MI, and Red Lodge Clay Center in Red Lodge, MT.

  Allison Valchuis, Director, Art Center

  Robert Silverman

  Director, Ceramics

  Robert Silverman joined 92nd Street Y as director of the Ceramic Center in August 2007. He oversees a large and diverse program offering more than 20 classes and serving 1,100 students a year. The program encompasses after-school classes for children and teenagers and a variety of day and night classes for adults. Along with program development, Robert’s responsibilities include recruiting and managing a faculty of a dozen working artists and managing the professionally equipped ceramics studios.
  
  Originally trained as a social geographer, Robert began his career as a ceramic artist more than 25 years ago while studying in Japan, where exposure to beautiful handmade objects used in daily life inspired him to pursue a career in the arts. He has exhibited internationally, and his work has been included in shows at The Museum of Art and Design in New York, the European Ceramic Work Center in the Netherlands, the Mint Museum in North Carolina and the Ramada Renaissance Hotel Corporation in Connecticut, among others. Robert came to 92nd Street Y from Louisiana State University, whose graduate ceramics program, under his leadership and that of his co-chair, was ranked among the top five such programs in the country. He has also taught at Arizona State University and the Massachusetts College of Art. He has been awarded a variety of grants and fellowships and his work has been included in gallery and museum shows across the US and in magazines such as Ceramics Monthly, American Craft Magazine and Studio Potter Magazine, as well as in the books The Craft and Art of Clay (Susan Peterson, Prentice Hall, 2004) and Post Modern Ceramics (Mark Del Vecchio, Thames and Hudson, 2001).
  
  Robert holds a B.A. in Social Geography from Clark University, a B.F.A. from the Kansas City Art Institute and an M.F.A from Alfred University.

  Robert Silverman, Director, Ceramics

  Jonathan Wahl

  Director, Jewelry

  Jonathan Wahl joined 92nd Street Y in July 1999 as director of the jewelry and metalsmithing program in 92Y's School of the Arts, the largest program of its kind in the nation. He is responsible for developing and overseeing the curriculum, which offers more than 60 classes weekly and 15 visiting artists annually. Jonathan is also responsible for hiring and supervising 25 faculty members, maintaining four state-of-the-art jewelry and metalsmithing studios, and promoting the department locally and nationally as a jewelry resource center.
  
  Named one of the top 10 jewelers to watch by W Jewelry in 2006, Jonathan is an accomplished artist who, from 1994 to 1995, served as artist-in-residence at Hochschule Der Kunst in Berlin, Germany. He has shown his work in the exhibitions Day Job (The Drawing Center), Liquid Lines (Museum of Fine Arts Houston), The Jet Drawings (Sienna Gallery, Lenox MA, and SOFA New York), Formed to Function (John Michael Kohler Arts Center), Defining Craft (American Craft Museum), Markers in Contemporary Metal (Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art), Transfigurations: 9 Contemporary Metalsmiths (University of Akron and tour), and Contemporary Craft (New York State Museum).
  
  Jonathan was awarded the Louis Comfort Tiffany Emerging Artist Fellowship from the Louis Comfort Tiffany Foundation, two New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowships in recognition of "Outstanding Artwork," and the Pennsylvania Society of Goldsmiths Award for "Outstanding Achievement." As part of the permanent collections of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, The Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, TX,, and The Museum of Arts and Design in New York, his work has been reviewed by Art in America (June, 2000), The New York Times (June 2005), and Metalsmith Magazine (1996, 1999, 2000 2002, 2005, 2009); his work was also featured in Metalsmith Magazine's prestigious "Exhibition in Print" (1994 and 1999). Jonathan’s art work can be seen at Sienna Gallery in Lenox, Massachusetts, which specializes in contemporary American and European art work, and De Vera in Soho, New York. His work can also be seen in the publications The Jet Drawings (Sienna Press, 2008), and in three collections by Lark Books: 1,000 Rings, 500 Enameled Objects and 500 Metal Vessels.
  
  Before joining 92Y, Jonathan was, first, director of the jewelry and metalsmithing department at the YMCA's Craft Students League, and later assistant director of the League itself. Mr. Wahl holds a B.F.A. in jewelry and metalsmithing from Temple University's Tyler School of Art and an M.F.A. in metalsmithing and fine arts from the State University of New York at New Paltz. He is a member of the Society of North America Goldsmiths.

  Jonathan Wahl, Director, Jewelry

  Harkness Dance Center

  212.415.5552

  John-Mario Sevilla

  Director, Harkness Dance Center

  John-Mario Sevilla, BA, MA, MFA, directs the Dance Education Laboratory at 92nd Street Y Harkness Dance Center and teaches at New York University Steinhardt and Gallatin. John-Mario has danced in the companies of Pilobolus, Rebecca Stenn, From the Horse’s Mouth, Daman Harun, Erin Dudley, Lisa Giobbi, Nikolais and Louis, Shapiro and Smith, Janis Brenner, Anna Sokolow and Bill Cratty. John-Mario also performed with juggler Michael Moschen, film animator Laura Margulies, drag artist Sherry Vine, poet John Unterecker and Navajo sandpainter-healer Walking Thunder. John-Mario’s choreography has appeared in New York City at LaMaMa, NYU Steinhardt, Movement Research at Judson Church, 92YTribeca, Dance Theatre Workshop, Columbia University, ABC No Rio, the Lower East Side Tenement Museum, The Asia Society, Bronx Academy of Art and Dance, as well as at universities throughout the country. He was the Director of Education at New York City Ballet. He hails from Maui, is a dance student of Betty Jones and has studied the hula with Kumu Hula June Ka‘ililani Tanoue and Hōkūlani Holt.

  John-Mario Sevilla, Director, Harkness Dance Center

  Megan Doyle

  Director, 92Y School of Dance

  Megan Doyle, Director 92Y School of Dance, holds a Masters Degree in Dance Education from NYU and is a graduate of the Dance Education Laboratory. Megan has choreographed for American Girl, Netflix, Disney and Lululemon Atheltica. Megan’s company, Community Dance Project NYC (CDPNYC), has presented works of Musical Theater and Contemporary Jazz throughout the city including at the Ailey Theater, Peridance, Symphony Space, White Wave, Green Space and as a five time presenter with Jazz Choreography Enterprises. CDPNYC is committed to serving the community through dance and works closely with the Harkness Dance Center’s Jr. Performance Team to perform monthly at nursing homes and community centers.
  
  As a performer, Megan has worked extensively for Disney appearing in the How to Dance with Hannah Montana video, voice overs for Lizzy McGuire Merchandising and industrials and concerts with the Jonas Brothers, Emily Osment and Demi Levato. In addition to her commercial work, Megan has had the opportunity to perform with a variety of dance companies, including as a soloist in When Paths Collide with Mad Cap Dance Company at Lincoln Center. Megan is proud to have spent 5 years on tour as Anne in The Diary of Anne Frank. Other favorite touring/regional theatre credits include: Class Dismissed: The Bullying Project, The Sound of Music, Sugar Babies, Into the Woods, West Side Story, Joseph …, and the world premiere of Markings.
  
  Megan has had the privilege of teaching at many different schools and studios including recreational and competitive dance studios throughout the United States, dance conventions including Kids Artistic Review, in the NYC public school system as a teaching artist for Dancewave, The Village Community Middle School and at Merrick Academy Public Charter School. Megan also wrote and developed the dance curriculum for Gymboree Play and Music.

  Megan Doyle, Director, 92Y School of Dance

  School of Music

  212.415.5580

  Yana Stotland

  Director, School of Music

  Yana Stotland is director of 92Y’s School of Music, which was established in 1917 and offers group classes, ensembles and private music instruction in a huge variety of musical styles and instruments for adults and children of all ages and ability levels. The music school is part of 92Y’s School of the Arts, which offers more than 500 classes and other educational opportunities in art, music and dance every year.
  
  As a musician, music educator and arts administrator, Yana continually surveys the ever changing landscape of music education to bring current best practices to 92Y’s School of Music. As director, she works closely with individual students and parents to help them choose classes, instruments and lesson plans that will make their musical journeys fulfilling and instill a lifelong love of music. Yana also recruits and retains the school’s outstanding faculty; oversees 92Y’s music scholarship program (for children aged 7-17); and directs the annual High School Guitar Day, a free day of guitar instruction, performances and jam sessions for teens. Since she arrived at 92Y in August 2010, Yana has expanded 92Y’s School of Music offerings, adding new programs and classes, including a Klezmer Ensemble and 92Y Glee for adults, Dalcroze programming for young children and children’s guitar and chamber ensembles.
  
  Prior to joining 92Y, Yana was associate director at American Classical Orchestra, where she played a key role in presenting concerts and events and led marketing and public relations efforts. She was also music director at the Lucy Moses School, one of the largest community music schools in the country, and she served as the executive director of the Dalcroze School of Music (in New York).
  
  Yana has taught music theory at Long Island University (C.W. Post) and piano at the United Nations International School; she has also taught private piano lessons (she started playing when she was 7) for many years. Yana has an M.M. in Music History and a B.M. in Piano Performance from Queens College and is fluent in Russian.

  Yana Stotland, Director, School of Music

• Lillian & Sol Goldman Family Center for Youth & Family

  212.415.5600

  Parenting Center

  Sally Tannen

  Director, 92nd Street Y Parenting Center

  Sally Tannen joined 92nd Street Y in 2002, taking the reins of its groundbreaking Parenting Center. Created in 1978, the Center helps new and expectant parents manage their responsibilities, offering classes, workshops and social groups that help caregivers and expectant families.Sally is also one of four directors of 92nd Street Y Wonderplay™: Early Childhood Learning, the 2007 initiative that brought together 92Y's vast resources and more than 400 programs for children ages five and under and their parents.
  
  Sally is the ever-present "face" of the Parenting Center, which has become a dependable and depended-upon resource for more than 2,000 families. She leads the weekly New-Parent Get-Togethers and created a monthly Toddler-Parent Get-Together. She also launched 92Y’s popular year-long programs for two- and three-year olds, “2s Together” and “3s Together.” She also meets with parents informally and fields inquiries on a huge range of parenting topics.
  
  Sally has over 28 years of experience working with parents and helping them cope with their questions, fears and challenges. Before coming to 92nd Street Y, she worked at three local elementary schools. She was director of admissions at the Little Red Schoolhouse, a private school in New York's West Village, for nine years. Before that, she spent 16 years at the Village Community School, first as a teacher and later as the director of admissions. Last, she served as head of the lower school at St. Luke's School. Sally has also taught in the Early Childhood Department at Kingsborough Community College and has led workshops at Bank Street College of Education on how to choose a school.
  
  Sally has an M.A. in Early Childhood Education from Bank Street and a B.A. in English from Washington University in St. Louis. In May 2006, she attended the Reggio Emilia Study Tour in Italy, which teaches educators from around the world about the internationally renowned infant, toddler and early-childhood programs in this Northern Italian town. Sally lives in New York with her husband.

  Sally Tannen, Director

  Nursery School

  Shereen Rutman, Director

  Camp Programs

  Lauren Wexler, Director Camps

  Noar After-School Program

  Julian Levine, Program Director

  May Center for Health, Fitness & Sport

  212.415.5700

  Stacey M. Eisler

  Director, 92nd Street Y May Center for Health, Fitness & Sport

  A service-industry management and marketing expert with more than two decades of experience, Stacey Eisler joined 92nd Street Y's health and fitness center as Associate Director in 1996. Between then and 2003, when she was promoted to Deputy Director, she played a critical role in expanding the May Center's offerings for adults, teens and children – more than 100 different fitness classes each week and a dedicated youth-fitness program for teens. Promoted to Director in 2014, Stacey directs a 55,000-square-foot, 5,000-member health and fitness center with a 5,000-square-foot cardiovascular training area, two weight-training rooms, two gyms, an indoor track, 25-yard pool and state-of-the-art gymnastics facility.
  
  Over the years, Stacey has been instrumental in developing highly successful membership referral programs, large-scale open houses showcasing youth and adult offerings, a concierge service that assists new members in becoming fully acquainted with the May Center's offerings and an email-based communication program to retain existing members.
  
  Stacey has also collaborated with highly respected sports and medical entities to deliver specialized revenue-sharing and rental-based programs; including Gleason’s Boxing Gym, Yogi Beans®, InShape Circus, CityView Racquet Club, Girls on the Run and the Mount Sinai Health System.
  
  Among her other accomplishments was the expansion of the To Your Health lecture series, which brings nationally known doctors and other medical professionals to 92Y to share the latest research and advice on wellness, disease-prevention and healthy living. In 2000, Stacey created 92Y's Women's Health Symposium, a full-day event featuring keynote speeches by nationally recognized healthcare leaders and seminars addressing a wide range of physical-and emotional-health issues. This program included exhibit halls and free health screenings by Mount Sinai Health System. Each spring, hundreds of women from the greater tri-state area attended this event to learn both about the latest research on women's health and practical ways to take care of themselves.
  
  Using the successful model of the Women's Health Symposium, Stacey went on to create two other targeted full-day events. Healthy, Wealthy & Wise: Life After 50 addressed the record number of baby boomers in America today and their desire to age differently than previous generations. In 2009, Stacey conceptualized The Partnership Symposium: Conquering Breast Cancer which brought together, for the first time, three of the leading breast cancer research organizations: The Avon Foundation Breast Cancer Crusade, The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and the Greater New York City Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. Cancer prevention, care and support services information was provided on-site by Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center.
  Before joining 92nd Street Y, Stacey was vice president of Marketing for Plus One Fitness Clinics and Physical Therapy and Director of Sales and Marketing for Sheraton Hotels in Philadelphia, Dallas and Miami, as well as various other destination resorts. She graduated with highest honors from Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Hotel and Restaurant Management.

  Stacey M. Eisler, Director

  Membership Services

  Marisa A. Scotti, Director

  Aquatics

  Lane Wineski

  Director, 92nd Street Y Aquatics Program

  An expert on pool safety and swimming instruction, Lane Wineski directs a swimming program that offers instruction to swimmers of all skill levels ranging from six months to 95 years. She supervises a staff of 35 lifeguards, instructors, and coaches, and oversees a wide range of classes from Perfect Strokes and Lifeguard Training to American Red Cross swimming courses. She also oversees the Flying Dolphins Swim Team, a competitive team for young athletes.
  
  Lane has been teaching swimming for more than 13 years and CRP/AED, First Aid and Lifeguarding for 10 years. She currently holds Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard Training Instructor certifications from the American Red Cross.

  Lane Wineski, Director

  Children’s Physical Education & Gymnastics

  Katera Noviello, Director of Athletics

  Sports & Programs

  Brian Kaplan, Director, Sports

  Tisch Center for the Arts

  Hanna Arie-Gaifman

  Director, 92nd Street Y Tisch Center for the Arts

  As Director of 92nd Street Y's Tisch Center for the Arts, Hanna Arie-Gaifman oversees 92Y’s concert series and Unterberg Poetry Center.
  
  Since her arrival in 2000, Hanna has revitalized 92Y's concert series and carved out a distinct place for 92Y among the many first-rate presenters in New York. Fluent in English, German, Hebrew, French, Czech and Russian, she is able to speak to many of her artists and colleagues in their native tongues — and does so every day.
  
  During her tenure, Hanna has developed and grown a number of new concert series, including Art of the Guitar, the Guitar Marathon, Family Music and interdisciplinary and thematic projects such as the critically acclaimed Seeing Music, a festival at the intersection of sight and sound presented in 2016. Under her leadership, 92Y created SoundSpace, a series of concerts in an informal setting where audiences can discover new artistic voices, new works, and new approaches to the musical canon.
  
  Hanna also oversees 92Y's Unterberg Poetry Center, which presents a world-renowned reading series featuring established and emerging novelists, poets, playwrights and biographers reading from and discussing their work; programs that examine the role of the critic; and staged readings, verse dramas and dramatic adaptations of literary texts. In addition, the Poetry Center offers a wide range of writing courses designed for both beginning and advanced writers.
  
  Before joining 92Y, Hanna served as dean of the Mozart Academy in Prague, director of artistic management and international relations of the Czech Philharmonic and director of Prague’s annual Musica Judaica Festival. In these roles (from 1993 to 2000), she helped to recreate Prague’s cultural life in the post-Communist era and reinvigorate the strong tradition of Czech Jewish culture. She has also taught at University of California, Berkeley and New York University. Hanna earned an undergraduate degree in Russian studies and English literature at Hebrew University, a master's degree in Slavic Languages and Literature from Stanford University and a PhD in Comparative Literature from Hebrew University. She also studied piano at the Rubin Academy of Music in Jerusalem. Hanna lives in Manhattan with her husband, Haim Gaifman, a professor of logic at Columbia University. She has two daughters, Milette and Morit.

  Hanna Arie-Gaifman, Director

  92Y Concerts

  212.415.5740

  Unterberg Poetry Center

  212.415.5760
  Bernard Schwartz, Director
   

  Beth Teitelman, Director, Scholarship Services

back to top