BOARD OF DIRECTORS - Bios
CHAIR
At our recent annual meeting Alison Snow, PhD was elected chair of the Helen Rehr Center for Social Work Practice. Alison is the Director of Cancer Supportive Services at Mount Sinai Downtown Cancer Centers. She completed her MSW at Columbia School of Social Work and obtained her PhD in social welfare from the Hunter College School of Social Work, CUNY. Alison has 13 years of postgraduate experience as an oncology social worker and co-authored a textbook chapter for Oncologic Emergency Medicine. She has given numerous educational presentations to social work students, fellow professionals, volunteers, and community audiences concerning the role of social work in oncology care and has presented nationally and internationally to professional audiences. Alison was recognized by the National Association of Social Workers NYC Chapter with a Mid-Career Exemplary Social Work Leader Award in 2015. She has received grants from the American Cancer Society both for her doctoral research and for her teaching of Master’s students.
Barbara Silverstone’s social work career – largely in the fields of aging and dis-ability – has spanned direct practice, teaching, and administration. From 1984 to 2005 she served as President and CEO of Lighthouse International. Dr. Silverstone is a former president of the Gerontological Society of America and was awarded the 1988 Outstanding Leadership Award by the American Society on Aging. Among her numerous publications is You and Your Aging Parent co-authored with the late Helen Kandel Hyman and now in its 4th edition. A doctoral alumna of the Columbia School of Social Work, she was awarded the 2012 Columbia University Alumni Medal.
TREASURER
Christopher Oates is currently the Social Work Manager in Palliative Care at New York University Langone Medical Center. He has also held the role of Hospice Liaison as well as Manager of Charity Care for Visiting Nurse Service of New York. He has extensive experience in the field of health and aging. He is the former Program Administrator for HealthOutreach at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell and Senior Social Worker at St. Vincent's Hospital Center for HIV Medicine. Chris is a former president of the New York City Chapter of the Society for Social Work Leadership in Healthcare as well as Vice President and Program Chair for the East Side Council on the Aging.
Jill Dovale is currently a Palliative Care Social Work Fellow at Mount Sinai Beth Israel and a recent MSW graduate from New York University, where she was selected for the American Cancer Society Master's Training Grant in Clinical Oncology Social Work, the Zelda Foster MSW Fellowship in Palliative and End-of-Life Care, and the Adaptive Leadership Fellowship. Before pursuing social work as a career, Jill was a Director of training and enablement in the social enterprise sector. Jill is also passionate about mindfulness meditation, social justice, and the intersection of social justice and contemplative practice.
Susan Gerbino is a Clinical Professor at the NYU Silver School of Social Work and the Director of the School’s Zelda Foster Studies Program in Palliative and End-of-Life Care.Dr. Gerbino teaches in the MSW program as well as in the Zelda Foster Studies Program. She has a private practice specializing in work with people with chronic or life-threatening illnesses and complicated bereavement. Dr. Gerbino received the Career Achievement Award (2014) from the Project on Death in America and the Social Work Hospice and Palliative Care Network, the Distinguished Teaching Award (2014) from the NYU Silver School of Social Work, and the Quality of Life Award (2015) from the American Cancer Society and the Association of Oncology Social Work.
Sue Matorin is a faculty member in the Department of Psychiatry, Weill Cornell Medical School, Payne Whitney Clinic, New York Presbyterian Hospital. Currently, she divides her time between clinic practice with clients with severe psychiatric disorders, administrative duties, and a private practice in the Physicians Organization for treatment of individuals, couples and families. A graduate of CUSSW she began her career in mental health as an intern at the New York State Psychiatric Institute on its first Community Psychiatry Service to become chief of social work services for that division. She then oversaw psychiatric social work at Presbyterian Hospital, organizing programs to bridge adult and child psychiatry services. She was recruited to Cornell to direct the department of social work at Payne Whitney Clinic. She oversaw graduate student internship programs at all sites, and for over a decade taught “Social Work with Families” at the Columbia School of Social Work. She currently teaches family therapy to psychiatry residents at Cornell. In addition to her work on the Helen Rehr Center Board, she serves on the Board of the Society for Social Work Leaders in Health Care, Metropolitan Chapter, served as the President and was honored nationally with the Hyman Weiner Award. She has published widely in the areas of mental health and family therapy, including numerous letters in the New York Times and can be seen on the video “Help Starts Here - On any Given Day”, produced by the National Association of Social Work. This year she has been recognized by Marquis Who’s Who Continental as an industry leader.
Lynn Ohrenstein has been a practitioner, supervisor, and director of a mental health clinic at the Jewish Board of Family and Children’s Services. For many years she taught within the Agency’s in-service training program as well as other agencies and conferences. She also developed a training program focused on practice for Russian students placed within the Agency and published journals on this work. Dr. Ohrenstein served as a consultant to special populations, and her focus has been on the impact of trauma on adults, children and their families. Lynn is currently active in a number of professional organizations and continues to maintain a private practice in New York City.
Lita M. Talbot is a healthcare magement consultant with more than 25 years experience as a ; Director of Social Work, Administrator at University teaching Hospitals, Professor at Medical schools, Graduate schools of: Public Heath, and Social Work. Developed and led workshops and seminars throughout the United States and Germany. Consultant to hospitals, nursing homes, healthcare organizations, professionals and colleges in the following areas: geriatric issues and programs, healthcare standards, quality/performance improvement, organizational strategic planning, customer satisfaction, restructuring of departments, interdisciplinary issues, program development etc. Has served on and has chaired a number of state commissions in Maryland, New Jersey and New York as well as a number of Local, State, National, International boards and Advisory committees. President of the Commission on Accreditation for Home Care, NJ. Creator and co-founder of Seniors for Seniors. Expert testimony for attorneys on healthcare issues and standards. Elected by her peers and honored by the National Association of Social Workers as a Social Work Pioneer for exceptional contributions to the social work profession.