The Inside Press

Magazines serving the communities of Northern Westchester

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A Love of Music and Faith: Notes on the life of Cantor Dana Anesi

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Cantor Dana Anesi with a song in her heart and guitar in hand. Photo by Ronni Diamondstein
Cantor Dana Anesi with a song in her heart and guitar in hand. Photo by Ronni Diamondstein

By Ronni Diamondstein

It’s always been about music for Dana Anesi, Senior Cantor of Chappaqua’s Temple Beth El of Northern Westchester. From growing up on the 1960’s folk music of Joan Baez and Peter, Paul, and Mary and the contemporary tunes she heard at Jewish summer camp to the Israeli songs, Anesi developed a deep connection to Judaism and Israel through music. On any given Friday evening you can hear her, guitar in hand, in full mezzo soprano voice leading the congregation in melodic song and prayer. Anesi came to Temple Beth El in 1982 as a part-time Cantor excited about the prospect of working with the renowned Rabbi Chaim Stern. She has now spent more than three decades nurturing this Jewish community and incorporating lots of music into the services and the life of the synagogue–from directing the High Holiday choir, bringing in well-known Jewish musical performers like Danny Maseng to her weekly mellifluous Shabbat melodies.

In addition to singing, Anesi’s greatest joy is working with the children who are studying to become bat/bar mitzvah. “There are many negative stereotypes out there about 6th and 7th graders but these kids are just great,” says Anesi. “I am in awe of what they’re able to accomplish both for the momentous rite of passage with us, and in their lives in general.” Anesi can relate to how many of the students feel too. “I was a very reluctant Hebrew School student, and ironically had to have my arm twisted to become a bat mitzvah.” Anesi says that her very open-minded rabbi allowed her to put together and lead a “creative service” so she consented.” That experience in 1970 was fairly revolutionary,” says Anesi. She played her guitar and sang in public for the very first time.

“We clergy have the extraordinary privilege of regularly being invited into people’s private lives: for joyous events like weddings and b’nei mitvah, but often too at extremely difficult moments like the death of a family member,” says Anesi. Her devotion to the Jewish community and her students motivated Anesi to further her Jewish education. In 2010 Anesi was awarded a Doctor of Ministry degree from Hebrew Union College. It is no surprise that her thesis project was “Deepening the Experience: the Potential for Spiritual, Moral & Psychological Growth of B’nei Mitzvah.” Continuing to be the consummate mentor, in July, Anesi took on a very part-time position, on her day off from the temple, to become Director of Student Placement for the cantorial students at Hebrew Union College-Jewish Institute of Religion in New York City.

At the end of this June, Anesi will leave her position as Temple Beth El’s Senior Cantor. Rabbi Joshua Davidson says that Anesi’s contributions to the temple cannot be quantified in the extraordinary number of students she has tutored, couples she has married or troubled souls she has comforted. “For our congregation, she has been a loving and inspiring presence to young and old and everyone in between,” says Davidson. “And for me she has been a wonderful colleague, teacher and friend.”

Like her own very inventive Bat Mitzvah, Dana Anesi’s legacy will reflect the innovation she has brought in her tenure at Temple Beth El. When she came to the temple they’d had only student cantors and didn’t know what having a full-time cantor could mean for the congregation. “I believe they now understand how much a cantor brings, not only to the singing of liturgy but to the breadth of synagogue life, ” says Anesi. Clearly she has strengthened a connection to Judaism for the congregants and enriched the lives of so many.

Anesi is not quite sure yet what she’ll be doing professionally, but spending time with her family is pretty high on the list. “We clergy miss an awful lot in our personal lives, because we often work long hours, including weekends, tending to congregational needs,” says Anesi and she adds “I’m going to be a grandmother in the spring, and I look forward to being a real presence in my grandchild’s life!”

Ronni Diamondstein, owner of Maggie Mae Pup Reporter is a Chappaqua based freelance writer, PR consultant, award-winning photographer and a School Library Media Specialist and teacher who has worked in the US and abroad.

Dentist’s Unique Techniques Benefit Deaf Patients

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dentistBy Susan Youngwood

When a hearing-impaired patient goes to Westchester dentist Sabrina Magid, the treatment is not lost in translation.

Dr. Magid and her staff know sign language and use an innovative computer program to communicate to the hearing-impaired. “It’s a niche that I’ve created that I enjoy doing,” Dr. Magid said. “I’m providing comfort and care for patients who wouldn’t ordinarily get that, or who would avoid care all together.”

Dr. Magid started taking American Sign Language in high school, going to classes with a close friend who had a health condition that could lead to hearing loss. That friendly gesture started a lifelong interest.

She started an ASL club in high school (she grew up in Westchester), and taught a class on ASL and deaf culture as a college student at Duke University. At dental school at University of Pennsylvania she started a sign language club and taught classmates basic sign language. Deaf patients were assigned to her for treatment.

“From what I’ve found, a lot of dentists see underserved patients, but I haven’t found many dealing with the deaf population,” she said. She soon learned the challenges that deaf patients have at the dentist. She came up with procedures that she now uses in her family practice in Harrison with her father, Dr. Kenneth Magid.

Because dental practitioners wear face masks, hearing-impaired patients can’t read their lips. More sensitive to vibration, many deaf patients find dental treatment with drills to be particularly unpleasant. Clues that hearing patients use to understand their treatment –like hearing the sound of the drill –are lost on the hearing impaired.

Dr. Magid said she understands the importance of using other forms of communication with her patients. She takes photos before and during procedures. She uses email and texts to set up appointments.

“It starts with our front desk,” she said. “Our front desk understands something as simple as making their face visible, which is helpful for lip reading. We have a hygienist who knows sign language, as I do.”

And she uses a computer program that converts speech to text on a monitor overhead.

“That’s especially useful when I have my hands full and my face is in a mask,” she said.

She avoids the drill when possible, using air abrasion and lasers. And she will tap her patients on the shoulder to alert them that treatment is about to begin.

“To my knowledge, there is no one in our area or even far away that is doing this,” Dr. Magid said. She says she has been contacted by dental practices in other states on how to replicate her services. “I have patients who e-mailed me from hours away who want to come and do all the work in one weekend,” she said.

Dr. Magid would like to take her approach to treating the hearing-impaired to a wider audience, training other dentists in her techniques. “That’s my future goal,” she said.

Open Door’s Open Heart – Affordable Health Care at Our Doorstep

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opendoorBy Vicki de Vries

How many times does someone walk into a health-care facility right after a movie has just been filmed there? Not very often, but that’s exactly what happened when this Inside Chappaqua writer recently visited the Open Door Family Medical Center in Mount Kisco.

The Mount Kisco office, which opened in 2005, has three physicians, several nurse practitioners and health advocates who work one-on-one with patients, helping them to manage their health-care needs and goals. About 4,500 patients annually come through its “open doors” with approximately 15,000 visits.

People are surprised to learn that the Open Door in Mount Kisco began as an outpatient health center for two years at Northern Westchester Hospital until it moved to its present location on W. Main Street.

Rewind: the stars of the movie?

Actual patients who have benefited from Open Door’s generous policy of working with people regardless of their economic situation. Director of Development Desta Lakew explained the background on one woman in particular:

Patient X had recently lost her job and thus her health insurance. When diagnosed with cancer, she was distraught until she heard about Open Door. Could the center help her? Now, Patient X is grateful to Open Door, just like the thousands of people this community health center has helped through the years–41 to be exact.

Started by volunteers in the basement of First Baptist Church of Ossining, Open Door eventually moved to its current Ossining headquarters and expanded to four branch offices: Mount Kisco, Port Chester, Sleepy Hollow, and in early 2013, Brewster, which will be the first federally qualified health facility of its kind in Putnam Country. Five school-based health centers are also maintained in the Port Chester school district. All told, over 43,000 patients are currently served in the Open Door network, adding up to almost 200,000 patient visits a year.  As a nonprofit facility, Open Door provides primary health care services that include family medicine, pediatrics, women’s health, dental and social services.

How is that so different from other community health centers?  “Open Door is federally qualified,” said Lakew, “meaning that it serves people in high need communities.”

About 60% of its patients are women and children, while some 50% are uninsured when they come to Open Door.  Ninety percent of the patients come from households making less than $40K per year.

Thanks to its community-based, patient-directed focus, Open Door plays a crucial role in the communities it serves. During the current economic slow-down, being able to secure health care has been a literal lifeline for the uninsured and newly jobless people. The fact that patient fees are set according to the ability to pay has helped many single mothers and working families.

A Critical Buffer

“There’s nothing more gratifying than to see how Open Door makes a difference in the lives of families with limited resources who face the difficult decision to delay basic health care needs,” said Lakew.  With this type of buffer, Open Door patients do not feel the need to seek medical care in hospital emergency rooms, which are costly and often inappropriate. In addition to its comprehensive primary health care services, Open Door provides supportive services such as health education, language translation, and transportation for patients.

Open Door is governed by a community board, 51% of which is composed of actual patients who represent the people served and help to ensure quality healthcare. Furthermore, Open Door meets all performance and accountability requirements that govern administrative, clinical, and financial operations.

“We’ve made incredibly smart decisions in terms of how we manage our practice and provide excellent care to our patients,” said Lakew, who started working at Open Door as director of marketing and outreach. For example, “We’ve embraced electronic medical record technology, which has truly allowed us to not only serve our patients better but also to provide the right care at the right time.”

Little wonder that Open Door was awarded the 2010 Nicolas Davies Award for Community Health by the international Healthcare Information Management Systems Society for the center’s pioneering work in clinical decision support/analytics. Then, in November, Open Door won the 2012 New York Community-New York Magazine Nonprofit Excellence Award for its outstanding management practices. Open Door has the distinction of being the first Westchester nonprofit to win this award.

And recently, the NCQA Diabetes Recognition Program praised Open Door for its use of “evidence-based measures” to provide excellent care to their patients with diabetes.

Lakew also gives high praise to Open Door’s current president Lindsay Farrell: “Lindsay is a visionary leader who has guided Open Door to its phenomenal success.” Farrell has innovated with professional skill and personal passion.

Of course, part of Open Door’s success can also be attributed to the volunteers that have been attracted to its mission over the years. While its dedicated medical providers are on staff and salaried, Open Door depends on volunteers to play important roles on a daily basis. Many volunteers keep an eye on children in the waiting rooms as part of the Reach Out and Read early childhood literacy program, while other volunteers advocate for health center funding.

Every other year, Open Door Foundation, the fund-raising arm that accepts contributions on behalf of Open Door Family Medical Centers, sponsors a major concert at the Performing Arts Center in Purchase, NY. In 2012, the star attraction was Crosby, Stills and Nash, while earlier performers have included Joan Osbourne and Elvis Costello. The concerts typically attracts upwards of 1400 people. Stay tuned for the next one slated in the spring of 2014.

Without a doubt, Open Door provides “true value” for its patients, providers and the community. Undergirding that value is “seeing that what we’re doing benefits so many people,” said Lakew.

That is, after all, the greatest gift Open Door offers and, with continued funding, will continue to offer.

Vicki de Vries is a writer, editor, and educator living in Westchester “country.”

How Stacey Cohen Made Co-Communications Soar

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Stacey Cohen

Hint: A Can-Do Attitude and Great Heart are her Best Trade Secrets

By Vicki de Vries

What does a committed entrepreneur do for fun? If she’s Stacey Cohen, Founder and CEO of Co-Communications, Inc., it’s likely reading an historical novel.  Not exactly what one might expect from someone used to negotiating contracts and high-powered PR and marketing campaigns for a five-star, full-service public relations and marketing agency with satellite offices in Hartford and Manhattan.

Then again, Stacey Cohen is accustomed to breaking molds, ever since starting her first business at age 14. When she and a girlfriend decided that babysitting did not pay so well, they created an at-home waitress service.

“We really learned a lot from that experience,” said Cohen. “We placed an ad in the local PennySaver, set up at clients’ homes, served guests, and cleaned up.” Wearing white shoes and uniforms, the girls made a lot more money than they could have from 
babysitting, which they still did on 
off-weekends.

The Building Blocks of Business

Business is definitely in Cohen’s blood. “Both of my parents were serial entrepreneurs, and I saw how hard they worked,” said Cohen, who has fond memories of her family discussing business issues around their dinner table in Brooklyn. When her father started a women’s sportswear company, Cohen enjoyed creating a logo for the new company.

Her father, who had lost both of his parents when he was a teenager, vowed that his future family would have it easier than he had. When he was able to move his family from their tight apartment to a roomy house in New City, Rockland County, Cohen and her two sisters, one of whom is her fraternal twin, were thrilled. After high school, Cohen attended Syracuse University and majored in family and community services with a strong focus on field studies.

“Working with all kinds of people–from young to old, poor to wealthy, emotionally stable to unstable–was a tremendous experience,” said Cohen. That kind of exposure to people and needs would become a vital ingredient in her future success.

After graduating from Syracuse, Cohen worked at an advertising agency in Manhattan, followed by several years in the international marketing department at CBS/Fox, then the world’s largest home video company.

Sensing the need for further education, Cohen enrolled in Fordham University’s evening MBA program. CBS paid 100% of the tuition, and she applied basic theory to her day-to-day business activities. In particular, her business policy course, which explored the real-life challenges and opportunities of various industries, gave her the added confidence to be a risk taker–
basic to Entrepreneurship 101.

The next step in Cohen’s odyssey was “chance”–meeting the woman who had been the head of the PR department that CBS/Fox had just eliminated. She had started her own agency with CBS/Fox as a client and made Cohen an offer she could not refuse: “Please come work in my new venture as a senior account executive.”  “I helped her start her business,” said Cohen, “and we made everyday, as well as long-term, decisions together. I learned first-hand at age 27 how to build an agency. It came naturally to me.”

Since learning what not to do can be just as important as knowing what to do, Cohen is grateful for a freelancing project during the mid-1990s that involved writing an annual report for a biotech company going public. The only hitch: no direct client contact.

Instead, she had to forward questions to the agency. That indirect form of communication struck Cohen as out of sync with maximizing service to a client.

The next logical career step for Cohen was starting her own business– Co-Communications, Inc., in December 1997.

In the early days, one of Stacey’s clients asked if she could run an advertising campaign, and her response was “Of course!” Lacking the experience, she sought help from a friend who was a New York Times ad rep and taught her all about column inches and frequency rates. Her moxie paid off.

And right from the beginning, Cohen involved her family in the business–just as her parents had years before. While her husband, a practicing attorney, reviewed news releases, their two daughters stuffed bags for special events. “I made sure the kids were part of the experience,” said Cohen, whose office soon moved to 295, then to 344, and finally to 332 Main Street in Mount Kisco.

Cohen worked long hours often starting at 7:15 a.m. and, during heavy event seasons, ending at 10 p.m. “My incredible husband pitched in, shared household and childcare responsibilities and even did the cooking!” Not about to sacrifice her close family to the corporate gods, she tackled her biggest personal challenge head on: creating boundaries for her work life and home life.  “I realized I could get lost in the process of running a business,” said Cohen. “I couldn’t wait to get to the office, but I also enjoyed playgroups a few times during the week. It was all a matter of finding the right balance that would work for me and my family and the growing business.”

Best of Show 2012/Big W awards: Co-Communications Captures “Best of Show” at “Big W” Advertising Club Gala for a Recordsetting Third Time Left to right: Elizabeth Crenson, Account Coordinator, Co-Communications; Barbara Wollenberg, Senior Account Manager, Co-Communications; Stacey Cohen, President, Co-Communications; and Corinne Zola, President, Westchester Children’s Museum Board of Directors gathered together to show off the
Advertising Club of Westchester’s 2012 “Best of Show” Award for Co-Communications’ work on the Museum’s “T.A.G. You’re It!” Campaign.
Photo by Cathy Pinsky, Pinsky Studio

Looking back over the early years of her business, Cohen is so grateful her gamble worked out. “Our daughters are independent with a can-do attitude,” she said, in a justifiably proud tone, “and most important of all, they have great heart.”

Pinpointing resources and an attitude of constantly learning, along with a strong focus on excellent staff, creative strategies, unique solutions and superior results, would eventually lead to Co-Communications winning numerous industry awards.

To date, Co-Communications has received the “Best of Show” award by Gannett/The Journal News (2002, 2010, 2012), 48 Advertising Club awards and five Gold PRSA Mercury awards, among others. To Cohen’s delight, the company was also awarded the 2006 Forbes Enterprise award and was inducted into the Westchester County Business Hall of Fame in 2008. Westchester Magazine’s 914 Inc. recognized Cohen as one of Westchester county’s Most Accomplished Women Entrepreneurs.

Accolades aside, Cohen defines success as “a matter of constantly improving ourselves. Client success translates into our success.” The full-service agency has been able to attract and retain a diverse client base from a wide variety of industries–education, hospitality, IT, professional services, real estate and not-for-profits.

Clients as Partners

People often assume that the “Co” in the company name is from Cohen’s last name, but it’s actually from the Latin prefix meaning “with, or together.” The whole thrust of the company revolves around working with clients as partners. “Developing a true partnership takes time, but it’s worth it.”

A born optimist, Cohen believes that “in an economic downturn, there is opportunity. After all, in the depths of the Great Depression, the cosmetics industry was born!”  During the recent recession, Co-Communications was down only 5% in terms of client retention, an enviable percentage Cohen does not leave to chance.

“We have great client retention, because we invest in our clients.” Given the current economic state of affairs, resiliency and a dedicated staff of fifteen professionals have also greatly contributed to the company’s ability to retain “client-partners.” Last but not least, Cohen said that understanding the current environment and innovation are key: “We work closely with our clients to develop innovative, hard-working marketing tactics that produce bottom-line results and bring them closer to their target audience. Fresh ideas lead to growth, so we continue to break out of our comfort zone and try new approaches.”

By the same token, the ideal client “sees us as their partner, not as a vendor,” said Cohen. A major focus of Co-Communications is helping companies see marketing as an investment, rather than as an expense. “We help them create a company-wide marketing culture. The company’s brand needs to be promoted internally, and the entire staff, who is often on the front lines, must play a role in marketing the company.”

Cohen family in France (Beaune) April 2011

Not-for-profits, such as the Boys and Girls Club of Northern Westchester, have brought Cohen a great deal of personal satisfaction: “They were our first client, and I’ve been blessed to have an ongoing relationship with them for fourteen years! In many ways, we’ve grown up together. I have enormous admiration for the Club’s dedication and positive impact on the youth and their families in the community.”

Cohen is also very pleased with helping the “Build the Bridge Now” campaign to raise awareness about replacing the Tappan Zee Bridge with a New Hudson River crossing, the largest public works project in state history. Working with the Construction Industry Council, the Business Council of Westchester, Rockland Business Association, and local/national media, Co-Communications has been instrumental in setting up press conferences, social media, and the website www.BuildTheBridgeNowNY.org.

What does the future hold for Cohen? “I want to create the agency of the future that will continue to be innovative and collaborative. The groundwork has already been laid, but we will continue to work hard to find new and different ways to help our clients grow and prosper.”

Spoken like a seasoned entrepreneur.

Vicki de Vries is a writer/editor/educator living in Westchester “country.”

In Full Bloom! Geri Shapiro Sets An Example for Women of All Ages

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Geri Shapiro, Westchester Regional Director for Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) in Chappaqua this fall.
Photo by Ronni Diamonstein

By Ronni Diamondstein

As a stay at home mom for most of her life, Geri Shapiro, Regional Director for United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) never expected to start a career in public service at the age of 59. Now nearly 12 years later, on December 13, Shapiro will receive the National Association for Female
Executives (NAFE) 2012 Women of Excellence Award for Service to New York. Betty Spence, the NAFE President will present this honor at a breakfast at the Yale Club in New York. States Spence: “The annual NAFE Women of Excellence Awards honor the achievements and accomplishments of NAFE members in their careers, businesses and communities. Winners are chosen for their vision, courage, compassion, proven success and generosity as demonstrated by how they help other women succeed.”

As Regional Director, Shapiro says her main job as Senator Gillibrand’s surrogate is to be a problem solver. She is the Senator’s eyes and ears in the county often stepping in to represent the Senator. Shapiro fields questions and addresses the concerns of her constituents from non-profits, hospitals, various levels of governments to individual citizens. She is intimately involved with all of the issues that impact Westchester residents.

As a long time Westchester resident who grew up in New Rochelle, this job seemed just right for her. She had honed her problem-solving and communication skills as an Edgemont P.T.A. President. As she raised her daughter, she took courses at Columbia University and became a stockbroker so she could help her ailing father with his business. After caring for her elderly parents and in-laws, Shapiro, an only child, learned a lot about health care issues first hand. Shapiro credits Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton who hired her as Westchester Regional Director in 2000 for launching her career. “It gave a whole new meaning to the term ‘late bloomer’,” she says about this opportunity. She was drawn to Clinton because of her passion for health care and volunteered in her U.S. Senate campaign in 2000. When the Regional Director position for the newly elected Senator became available she got the job and was rehired for that position when the current Senator, Kristen Gillibrand was sworn in 2009.

Shapiro sees herself as an example of the possibilities that can be available for older people and especially women. “One of my goals is to mentor and help women of a certain age.” She says that everyone needs someone to believe in him or her and as you age that becomes even more important. “Hillary changed my life and Kirsten continues to give me opportunities,” says Shapiro.

When asked what receiving the NAFE award meant to her, she said she felt humbled and honored. “I’m a staffer just doing my job,” she said. She hopes this award brings awareness to people over fifty, both men and women, who are still in the job market. “ I believe there are so many people like me.”

Spence says that Geri Shapiro is a great example of the amazing members of NAFE who are quietly doing their work and empowering other women who have no power to be successful in their own right. “These women make sure that more women are in leadership positions alongside men,” and she adds, “Geri is making this happen.”

Ronni Diamondstein, owner of Maggie Mae Pup Reporter, is a Chappaqua based freelance writer, PR consultant, award-winning photographer and a School Library Media Specialist and teacher who has worked in the US and abroad.