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Paula Barbag: A Whirlwind of Energy and Tireless Dedication

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Pamela Brown

Paula Barbag is a whirlwind of energy and tireless dedication to reaching her full potential while helping others. “I believe you’ll achieve the most success, personally and professionally, if you follow your passion, remain true to yourself, and be all that you can be,” said Paula, a Chappaqua resident who uses that motto to help nonprofit organizations discover their strengths and establish their vision. As Founder and President of Consulting For A Cause, Paula works collaboratively with nonprofits to encourage them to embrace growth and also to obtain their goals.

“I have a passion for the mission of nonprofits and the intrinsic reward and benefits of working with dedicated, hardworking employees,” she said. Paula has recently taken on a new role as Director of Major Gifts at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital, which is now part of the Montefiore Health System. She will be cultivating and soliciting major and planned gifts from individuals. When her schedule allows, Paula will assume a new role with Consulting For A Cause. In addition to teaching, she will continue to providing consulting services on a limited basis, and collaborate with her network of accomplished fundraising and organizational development professionals, to deliver quality services.

After 10 years in the corporate world, Paula enjoyed a thriving 23-year career at Richmond Community Services, where she served in various roles, including Human Resources Director, Special Projects Director, which focused on organizational development, and Director of Marketing & Development. After that time, she knew the time was right to pursue a new challenge. “It was a long, difficult decision,” said Paula who went back to school to pursue her master’s in fundraising management, volunteered at local organizations, and researched the growing needs of the nonprofit industry, finding that the unmet need of nonprofits was a business approach to fund development.

(L-R): Brian Skanes, Boys and Girls Club of America; Naomi Koller Fishman, Westchester Jewish Community Services and Pace University; Robert Nadel, The Nadel Consulting Group; Paula Barbag; Gregory Muth, Columbia University; Marian Gyzlo, Think to Lead; and Robert Cooper, R.L. Cooper and Associates.

In 2008, Paula became a Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), and in 2012, founded Consulting For A Cause, a results-oriented, boutique firm specializing in fundraising and organizational development for start-ups to fully-accomplished nonprofits and businesses. Its services include: fundraising counsel, major gift and capital campaigns, business development; strategic planning and analysis; education and training; board development and executive search. Some of the clients she has worked with include the Garrison Institute, Food Bank for Westchester, Rye Arts Center, Community Center of Northern Westchester, Stop Stigma Now, Latino U College Access, and the New Westchester Symphony Orchestra. Recently, Paula has begun working with a for-profit, providing outplacement counseling services.

Knowledgeable and experienced, Paula and her staff take pride in their professionalism and outstanding business practices. “Consulting For A Cause is guided by high ethical standards, integrity, and commitment to excellence. I can be trusted to deliver what’s promised,” said Paula who earned a Masters of Fundraising Management degree from Columbia University, an MBA in Personnel and Industrial Relations degree from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and a Professional Certificate in Philanthropy and Fundraising from New York University.

In 2013, the Chappaqua-Millwood Chamber of Commerce recognized the firm’s contributions to the industry with the New Business of the Year award, and in March of 2015, Paula received the Peter J. Gallagher Award for Leadership and Service from the Association of Development Officers (ADO). “Paula is a sincere, giving, and compassionate person, exemplifying outstanding community spirit and service. She has a passion for the nonprofit industry, their causes and their missions, and decades of experience and knowledge of the nonprofit and fundraising industry, plus she’s provided long-time personal community service to many nonprofits,” said Lydia Howie, former director of ADO. Paula is a former president of ADO and served as a member of its board of directors.

“I devoted 15 years of time and effort as a board member to a professional association that helped me grow professionally and eased my transition from human resources to fundraising,” she said. Paula is also a member of the Business Council of Westchester, Association of Fundraising Professionals and the Grant Writers Association of the Hudson Valley.

Paula has been married to her husband, David, for 30 years. They have three children: Erica, 20; Alexis, 23; and Scott, 25. In her free time, she enjoys cooking, entertaining, traveling, taking walks with her husband and dog in local parks, exercising, and pampering herself and her daughters. “Keeping priorities in order are essential. I must take care of my mind, body and soul first, because if I don’t take care of myself I can’t be a good wife, mother, business woman, sister, or friend,” she said.

Since becoming a CFRE, Paula has obtained a wealth of information as she’s taken on demanding projects for a wide spectrum of clients. The firm’s most exciting project has been CHOICE of New Rochelle. “Consulting For A Cause raised over 25,000 for the agency’s art program through partnering with Charles Fazzino, world-renowned artist that has its headquarters in New Rochelle. Charles championed the art program and held annual art fundraisers,” Paula explained. She’s found immense satisfaction seeing the positive results of working collaboratively with nonprofits to advance their mission. “I’m most proud of making it through three years of growth, personally and professionally, and having the courage to pause in 2015 to scale down my business to obtain a clearer vision of what success will look like for me and Consulting For A Cause.

To add to her already-busy schedule, currently, Paula is a teaching assistant at Columbia University and serves on the board of directors of a women’s empowerment organization, POWHERNY, an exclusive statewide network committed to securing economic equality for all New York women, and is a member of the Nonprofit Leadership Summit committee. Her summer will focus on her new job at Burke, writing her own strategic growth plan and developing educational programs for nonprofits (or businesses) to develop their own plans while guided by her goal of striving to lead a full, meaningful, and balanced life.

Paula will be presenting at the Nonprofit Leadership Summit sponsored by United Way of Westchester and Putnam, on Monday, May 2nd, on the topic of Benefit Corporations.

For more information on Consulting for a Cause, visit consultingforacause.com

Chappaqua’s Newest Novelist Lynda Cohen Loigman Debuts “The Two-Family House”

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Debra Hand

On March 8, 2016, surrounded by friends, family and admirers at the Chappaqua Library Theater, New Castle resident Lynda Cohen Loigman officially launched The Two-Family House, an engrossing family saga about two brothers and their families living in postwar Brooklyn that has drawn rave reviews for its compassion, thoughtfulness and complex, vivid character development from the likes of the Associated Press, Publisher’s Weekly, Bookreporter, Booklist Reviews, RT Book Reviews and the Jerusalem Post.

“I am so grateful for the tremendous community support I have received, both from the Chappaqua Library and our town residents,” Loigman said, after reading several passages from the book and answering attendees questions about its background. “It was a thrilling night!”

From Idea to Manuscript

Loigman, who lives in Chappaqua with her husband Bob (“my biggest advocate and Googler”) and children Ellie, 17, and Charlie, 13, did not set out to be a novelist. A graduate of Harvard College and Columbia Law School, Loigman practiced trusts and estates law at a large Manhattan law firm for eight years, and was then a legal recruiter. She had written poetry throughout high school and college –and considered writing children’s songs because of her facility with rhyme–but had never even taken a creative writing class. She had a story in her head, though, that would not release its grip for 16 years.

Loigman’s mother grew up with her sisters in a two-family house in Brooklyn shared with their three cousins, also girls. The mothers got along well, the six cousins practically siblings. But Loigman’s grandmother always spoke of how she would have liked a boy. Loigman wondered: what if one family only had girls, and the other only boys? Would each crave what the other had?

After losing her mother, Loigman decided to finally write the story that had been evolving in her mind and which she had been bouncing off friends. She registered for “The Writer’s Essential Selves” course at the Writing Institute at Sarah Lawrence College, a weekly, unstructured class in which the students wrote and discussed whatever they chose. Six and a half years later, Loigman remains a student in the class.

That first class “was a magical, unbelievably talented group of people,” said Loigman, crediting it with truly teaching her how to write. When she began, she had only written the “hook” of her story, yet was encouraged by her teacher and classmates to continue until the story was told.

The Path to Publication

Loigman acknowledges her luck in getting her book noticed and eventually published. Nearing completion of The Two-Family House, she registered for Sarah Lawrence’s June 2014 Publish and Promote Your Book Conference, which included interactive panel discussions with literary agents, editors and publicists and three “pitch sessions” for each registrant. Coincidentally, she was assigned to meet Marly Rusoff, the agent for an old acquaintance. Rusoff liked that Loigman’s story had that “hook” as well as a clear beginning, middle and end, and asked to see the manuscript upon its completion.

Loigman sent the manuscript in late July 2014; two days later, Rusoff called after reading the book in a day and offered to represent her. At Rusoff’s suggestion, Loigman wrote an essay about the inspiration behind the book, which with the manuscript was sent to editors that August.

The Two-Family House was bought that November by editor Jennifer Weis of St. Martin’s Press. The book would be released at the end of winter 2016 (one of three publication periods); cover art was chosen, and advance copies were sent out for feedback and cover “blurbs.”

Promotional Tour and Future Plans

After a launch-week book signing at Scattered Books in downtown Chappaqua, scheduled spring promotional events included (at press time) author readings at Sarah Lawrence, UJA-Federation of New York, the Museum at Eldridge Street, Temple Israel in Westport, and Brookline Booksmith in Massachusetts. Loigman has also received a great deal of support–interviews or “guest blogging” appearances –from writing and book club blogs and websites. The Jewish Book Council has even created a discussion guide for The Two-Family House, which was listed under “Best Books of the Month” in the Goodreads March Newsletter.

Loigman has already started work on her second novel. But in the interim, she hopes to meet someone with a connection to Natalie Portman, who she envisions as the perfect “Rose” in a film adaptation of her debut!

You can “Like” Lynda Cohen Loigman, Author, on Facebook. Also, please visit: lyndacohenloigman.com

Debra Hand is a longtime writer and editor for Inside Chappaqua, thrilled for her friend’s successful debut and inspired to follow in her footsteps!

Centered on Good Health: Dina Khader’s Innovative Guidance

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Deborah Raider Notis

In 2010, Dina Khader opened the Khader Center in Mount Kisco for health and wellness. Khader, a practicing dietitian and nutrition consultant for more than 26 years, is dedicated to developing personalized regimens to help her clients become increasingly stronger and healthier.

Khader, originally from Jordan, lived all over the world throughout her childhood and she eventually settled in New York. She experienced and learned from many different cultures–witnessing malnutrition first hand in many poor countries. With an incentive to study nutrition to help fight hunger, she pursued becoming a registered dietitian and integrative nutrition consultant.

“I had a serious reaction to the polio vaccine when I was 15 months old,” says Khader, who faced a variety of health issues at an early age. “Originally, no one thought that I would be able to walk, and when I did walk, I walked with a limp.”

When she was 13 years old and living in Abu Dhabi, Khader attended a yoga class during which the instructor told her that eating red meat could be harmful to her joints. Khader did her research and decided to change her diet and exercise routine to strengthen her body and immune system. Realizing the incredible impact that a regulated diet and lifestyle routine could provide, Khader dedicated her life to studying nutrition.

Khader leverages her strong clinical background as a dietitian and nutritionist, her unique knowledge of the effects that specific medicines have on the body, and her healing techniques to help her clients. A graduate of New York Medical College with an MS in Nutrition, she worked in several hospitals and started the nutrition program for the Saw Mill Club in Mount Kisco before opening the Khader Center.

“I do practice what I preach,” says Khader, who is committed to “eating really, really well,” and exercising a lot. After developing her own, personalized health and nutrition plan, Khader started building targeted nutrition strategies for her clients. She works with clients with a variety of objectives, from those focused on weight loss to clients looking for anti-aging techniques to people suffering from cancer or those struggling with hormonal issues. “I incorporate a number of cutting-edge, integrative strategies, individually tailored to the needs of each client.”

Khader’s cutting-edge techniques include a computer software program that helps to determine which organs in a client’s body are most stressed. She also employs epigenetics, a method of genetic testing designed to identify and alter a client’s overall health. Additionally, Khader’s mud-packing technique helps people to heal after injuries or surgical scars. “We address the trauma through a targeted application of specially mixed volcanic clay that is designed to restore the body’s natural electrical circuit. The results have been life-changing as the clay is very effective at addressing toxicity,” notes Khader.

“I can help clients achieve dramatic health improvements without relying on extreme diets or potentially dangerous drugs,” states Khader. Ultimately, her goal is to change lives for the better. And, in the end, isn’t that what we all want?

Deborah Raider Notis is a writer and co-owner of gamechanger, LLC (gamechangernow.com), a free referral service connecting Westchester families to highly qualified, competitively priced academic, athletic, music, and art instructors. In addition to contributing to the Inside Press, Deborah’s writing can be found on suburbanmisfitmom.com.

Dr. Maria Briones: Transforming Lives One Pound at a Time

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

By Miriam Longobardi

Anyone who has ever struggled to lose weight knows how difficult and frustrating it can be, both losing the weight and keeping it off. Those who have significant weight to lose –beyond a few extra pounds after a vacation–face a greater challenge. Enter Dr. Maria Briones, owner of Dr. Briones Medical Weight Loss Center located in Mt. Kisco.

Photo by Carolyn Simpson/Doublevision Photographers

Dr. Briones began her career as an internist in New York City in 1994 and in addition to her weight loss clinic works at Burke Rehabilitation Center in White Plains. During her career she has always been concerned about obesity and its related diseases such as hypertension, diabetes, heart disease and stroke as well as some cancers. At Burke she also noted that some of her patients who had undergone hip and knee replacements needed the surgery as a result of obesity. “I want to help people before obesity takes a toll on their health and body and possibly avoid surgery and some of the diseases connected to obesity.”

At her weight loss center, Dr. Briones assists patients far beyond helping them develop healthier eating habits to lose weight. Her approach is very personal and addresses the many psychological effects of obesity. “In addition to the effects on the body, being obese changes how people feel about themselves. The most common are loss of self-esteem and depression. As I help them lose weight I didn’t have to use any medication.”

All patients must undergo a health evaluation and obtain medical clearance to participate in the diet plan. After that, patients come for weekly visits to be weighed and spend time being counseled by Dr. Briones. “They need to change the relationship they have with food.” She helps them develop a plan which they must be disciplined enough to follow. Part of her plan involves using Optifast, a meal replacement program that must be medically supervised. “With Optifast patients can see results similar to surgery sometimes in as little as six months,” Briones reports. Depending on the amount of weight to be lost, patients begin with the Optifast meal replacements very strictly for approximately four to six months. “It’s like people that want to quit smoking –they have to really be ready for it and commit to following the program.”

Elysa Belessakos, a patient and one of Dr. Briones’s many success stories, says that working with Dr. Briones changed her life. “The woman is brilliant,” said Belessakos. “She completely devotes herself to her patients and gives us one-on-one personal attention.” While some people relate to group support such as Weight Watchers, Belessakos feels the emotional support she receives from Dr. Briones helped her sort through emotional eating issues that in the past always caused her to gain back weight she had lost. “A lot of people dealing with obesity don’t want to sit in front of a group and talk about their weight loss struggles,” says Belessakos. Through a combination of the Optifast meal replacements, Lipo-Light, which is a machine that burns fat cells in targeted areas of the body, and Dr. Briones teaching her about nutrition and talking her through strategies to avoid emotional eating, Belessakos is down 40 pounds. “I get so many compliments!” she enthusiastically reports.

After sticking closely to the Optifast plan, which also offers nutrition bars and soups in addition to the meal replacement shakes, transitioning back to mainstream food can be challenging. Dr. Briones is considering adding a nutritionist to her staff but Briones helps her patients with meal planning, food shopping and menus to help them keep the weight off and follow up with her for maintenance.

Belessakos says that it is the level of devotion she and the other patients receive from Dr. Briones that gives them the support and encouragement they need to maintain their weight loss. “It’s her personality that sets her apart from other doctors. So much of weight loss is psychological and you get one-hundred percent of her attention. She listens, gives you feedback and is so warm and encouraging that nobody wants to stop seeing her.”

A wife and mother of three children, Dr. Briones continues to learn and explore new medical breakthroughs through professional associations and by attending conferences regularly. She recently added anti-aging and skin care products at her center. Belessakos adds, “She absolutely loves what she does and genuinely cares about each of her patients with compassion.”

Dr. Briones feels that in addition to being healthier physically, one of the greatest accomplishments she sees in her patients is their attitude toward life. “Not only are they active and have more energy but their social and intimate lives improve. It’s amazing the effect weight loss can have on a person’s life.”

For more information, visit http://www.brionesweightloss.com/.

Miriam Longobardi is a freelance writer, fourth grade teacher and single mother of two daughters living in Westchester. A breast cancer survivor, she volunteers for the American Cancer Society, has completed four marathons and travels the world. Follow her on Twitter @writerMimiLong.

Health Reasons to Groom your Dog

April 21, 2016 by The Inside Press

Inside Wags and Whiskers on King Street: Chappaqua's Tracey Appel with Charlie, a Kerry Blue Terrier — Inside Wags and Whiskers on King Street: Chappaqua’s Tracey Appel with Charlie, a Kerry Blue Terrier

Editor’s Note: Christine Meyer, owner of Wags and Whiskers in Chappaqua since May 1991, says her shop now grooms approximately 100 dogs weekly. We asked Christine to explain the different health benefits of grooming your dog. Here is some advice that Christine shared!

“A good groomer will always check for skin issues, ear infections, and toenails (long nails can impede the dogs ability to walk properly) and are often the first people to let a dog owner know that a trip to the vet is a must. Dogs not groomed regularly can end up with “hot spots,”–shaved dogs can act out badly from sensory overload plus act traumatized (and be prone to biting) because they aren’t accustomed to it. All pups should start a grooming routing at around 16 weeks of age to get used to all aspects: brushing, bathing, teeth brushed, blow dryers…all of which can be scary, so getting acclimated early is critical.

The average non shedding dog should be groomed every 4-8 weeks depending on the length of coat and how much maintenance is done at home. To make an appointment for your pet, call Wags and Whiskers at 238-0244 or visit http://www.wagsnwhiskersdoggrooming.com/.

Cover Stories

Paula Barbag: A Whirlwind of Energy and Tireless Dedication