Learn more about World Cares Center's:
Board of Directors
Advisory Board / Steering Committee
Adjunct Facilitators
For more information please contact us.
Board of Directors
Jeffrey M. Levy, President
President & Chief Executive Officer, RailWorks
Mr. Levy is President and Chief Executive Officer of RailWorks Corporation, the leading provider of track and transit system construction services throughout North America. He served as a Director and Consultant to the company prior to assuming his current position in September 2005. Mr. Levy previously served as the President and Chief Operating Officer of EMCOR Group, Inc. (NYSE), one of the world’s largest providers of electrical and mechanical construction and facilities management services. Prior to his association with EMCOR, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Lehrer McGovern Bovis, a New York based construction management firm. Mr. Levy is a licensed professional engineer and holds an MBA in Finance from New York University and a BA in Mechanical Engineering from The City College of New York.
Mr. Levy currently serves on the Council of Presidents of the New York Building Congress. He is a member of the Construction Industry Round Table, on the Engineering School Advisory Board of The City College, the Board of Directors of Nontraditional Employment for Women, and is also National Board Member & Secretary to the ACE Mentor Program. Mr. Levy previously served as Chairman and Treasurer of the New York Building Congress and is involved in many other professional and charitable organizations.
John Hennessy, Vice President
Partner, Hennessy & Williamson
Mr. Hennessy is a partner in the firm of Hennessy & Williamson, a project performance consulting firm. Hennessy & Williamson was founded to improve the execution of design and construction projects. Their unique approach, “The Roadmap to High Performance Projects,” combines existing tools and techniques to significantly improve the delivery of projects and virtually eliminate budget and schedule risk. He is the former Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer of the Syska Hennessy Group, one of the leading facilities consulting engineering, technology and construction firms in the United States. During his twenty-six years with Syska Hennessy, Mr. Hennessy has worked in offices in Los Angeles and San Francisco, California, and in New York City. He contributed to a number of the firm's larger projects during his tenure with the firm, including: Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, New York, NY; Los Angeles Convention Center, Los Angeles, CA; Proctor & Gamble Headquarters, Cincinnati, OH; The National Football League’s Headquarters, New York, NY; US Federal Courthouse, Islip, New York; NY; Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY; Phoenix Project at the Pentagon, Washington, D.C.; Corning Museum of Glass, Corning, NY. Mr. Hennessy received his MS degree in management in 1988 from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he was a Sloan Fellow, his BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1978, and his BA with a major in Physics in 1977 from Kenyon College.
Mr. Hennessy is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance company. His charitable and industry efforts include: Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Directors of the New York Building Congress, Chairman Emeritus of the New York Building Foundation, Director of the Greater New York Council of the Boy Scouts of America, Past President of the American Council of Engineering Companies of New York, Fellow of the American Council of Engineering Companies, Treasurer of the American Council of Engineering Companies (nationwide), Member of the Board of Directors of the International Alliance for Interoperability/North America, Former trustee of the National Building Museum, Trustee of the National Museum of Catholic Art and History, Past Chairman of the Advisory Board of the Salvation Army of Greater New York, Director of the Atlantic Mutual Insurance company, Former Board member of the USO of Greater New York, and Member of the Hope Lodge Fund Raising Cabinet of the American Cancer Society of New York.
Mr. Hennessy maintains an active membership in the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers; National Society of Professional Engineers; American Society of Mechanical Engineers; the New York Society of Professional Engineers; the Building Futures Council; the Design Professionals Coalition, and the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat. He is a licensed professional engineer, holding licenses in New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Virginia and Delaware.
Daniel Holtzman, Treasurer
Senior Vice President, U.S. Trust Company
Mr. Holtzman is a former Foreign Service Officer, working for the U.S. Department of State as Vice Consul at the American Embassy in Port-au-Prince, Haiti and as Trade Negotiator at the Bureau of Economic Affairs. He also worked for McKinsey & Company as Engagement Manager. Mr. Holtzman holds an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. He currently is the Senior Vice President and Director of Planning and Analysis at the U.S. Trust Company.
Jason Samuels, Secretary
President, Jason Samuels PC
Mr. Samuels graduated from Hofstra University School of Law in 1999 where he served as Managing Editor of the Hofstra Labor & Employment Law Journal. During his tenure at law school, Jason summer clerked for the Honorable Viktor Pohorelsky in the Eastern District of New York and for the United States Attorney’s Office in the Eastern District of New York.
Jason was a litigator representing developers, contractors, owners and their surety companies on major commercial, government and private construction projects. He has been with the law firm of Torre, Lentz, Gamell, Gary & Rittmaster, LLP, from its inception and at its predecessor firms, Torre & Gary and Tunstead Schecter & Torre. Mr. Samuels is experienced in all aspects of litigation including trial and appellate practice. In addition, he has extensive experience in various areas of transactional law including contract negotiations and real estate practice. Before founding Jason Samuels PC, he served as a partner with MKG Construction.
Lisa Orloff, Founder and Executive Director
World Cares Center
Ms. Orloff founded World Cares Center after her experiences as a volunteer in New York City’s 9/11 relief effort, during which she managed over 300 other spontaneous unaffiliated volunteers and supported official responders. She emerged as a liaison between community volunteers and government agencies, most notably FEMA and OEM. She remains committed to supporting community-led response and recovery efforts in areas affected by disaster, and filling gaps in available mental health support for the responders who often become secondary disaster victims. In only five years, Ms. Orloff has keyed World Cares Center’s growth from a grassroots volunteer-led effort to a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. She is an established international speaker on spontaneous volunteer management, responder self-care, community preparedness initiatives, and building resiliency within disaster-affected communities.
Ms. Orloff is a member of the UN WHO Mental Health Committee, NYC-VOAD Volunteerism Leadership Team, NOVA’s National Community Crisis Response Team, and the Advisory Boards of Citizen Corps and the WTC Health Registry. She is also a board member of One Day’s Pay and Arts for All. Ms. Orloff is a graduate of the Institute for Not-for-Profit Management’s Executive Level Program at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Business.
Richard Kennedy, Board Member
Senior Director, Cushman & Wakefield
Mr. Kennedy is a Senior Director for Cushman & Wakefield and has twenty-three years of real estate brokerage and consulting experience. He is actively involved in helping restructure the Lower Manhattan community. He serves on the Board for the Alliance for Downtown New York, is Vice Chairman of Community Board 1 and Chair of its WTC Committee. Mr. Kennedy serves on the Advisory Council for the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, on the Board of NYU Downtown Hospital, Borough of Manhattan Community College and is President of the Tribeca Performing Arts.
Bernard London, Board Member
Partner, London Fischer LLP
Mr. London is one of the founding partners of London Fischer LLP. He received his JD from St. John’s University School of Law in 1977 and BS from the Stern School of New York University in 1972. Bernard started his career with one of the largest New York-based law firms and rose to become a partner before starting London Fischer in 1991. He has served as an American Arbitration Association Panel Arbitrator and lectures and writes about issues of importance to the insurance industry. Mr. London is an elected NYS Official having served as a trustee of the Village of Lloyd Harbor.
Mr. London was admitted to the bar in 1978 in New York, the U.S. District Courts for the Southern, Eastern and Western Districts of New York and U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit. Mr. London is a member of the New York State and American Bar Associations, Select Arbitration Panel, and American Arbitration Association. From 1985-2000 he served as the Trustee and Police Commissioner of the Incorporated Village of Lloyd Harbor. Mr. London has lectured on insurance contract and professional liability issues, A.S.C.E. with numerous insurance and other industry groups. His areas of practice include trials and representation of various interests in the insurance and reinsurance industries and the construction industry.
Monique Ribando, Board Member
Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP
Monique Ribando is a lawyer at Dewey & LeBoeuf LLP.
Areas of expertise include advising on intellectual property matters in financial transactions, such as mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, venture capital and initial public offerings. Specifically, her experience includes all aspects of due diligence with respect to trademarks and domain names, licensing transactions and assignments and maintenance of trademark portfolios and domain names in the United States and abroad. Monique’s practice also includes Opposition and Cancellation proceedings before the Trademark Trial and Appeal Board of the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, as well as conflicts and litigation matters in federal courts and foreign courts in connection with trademark infringement, unfair competition, dilution, and trade dress infringement.
Ms. Ribando received her JD from St. John's University School of Law. She is a member of the American Bar Association where she serves on the Intellectual Property Section's Committee for Women and Minorities in the Profession, Special Committee on IP Security Interests, and Committee on Licensing and Related Transactional Issues; the International Trademark Association where she is a member of the Online Public Education Committee; the New York State Bar Association; and the Bar of the City of New York.
Dirk Salomons
Director of Humanitarian Affairs Program, Columbia University School of International and Public Affairs
Mr. Salomons serves as Director for the Program of Humanitarian Affairs at the School of International Public Affairs, Columbia University. Dirk focuses on the interaction between policy and management in humanitarian operations, and has a particular interest in the demobilization and reintegration of former combatants after armed conflict. Prior to joining the SIPA faculty in 2002, he had served since 1997 as Managing Partner of the Praxis Group, Ltd., an international management consulting firm based in the USA and Switzerland. Praxis works mainly with public service entities, applying its expertise in humanitarian assistance, peacekeeping, and post conflict recovery as well as in human resources management.
Dirk has served in a wide range of management, peace building, and policy advisory functions including FAO, UNDP, UNAIDS, UNOPS, and the UN Secretariat. His most cherished assignment was that of Executive Director for the United Nations peacekeeping operation in Mozambique, from 1992 to 1993. Salomons' recent works include "Probing the Successful Application of Leverage in Support of Mozambique's Quest for Peace," in Leveraging for Success in United Nations Peace Operations, edited by Jean Krasno, Donald Daniel, and Bradd Hayes (2003) and "Good Intentions to Naught: The Pathology of Human Resources Management at the United Nations," in Rethinking International Organizations: Pathology and Promise, edited by Dennis Dijkzeul and Yves Beigbeder (2003). He is the author of a wide range of United Nations documents and reports on management. Publications include The Conjurers' Hat: Financing United Nations Peace-Building in Operations Directed by Special Representatives of the Secretary-General, with Dennis Dijkzeul (Fafo Institute for Applied Social Science, Oslo, and Center on International Cooperation, New York 2001) and Recovering from Conflict: Strategy for an International Response, with Shepard Forman and Stewart Patrick (New York University 2000). Since 1997, Mr. Salomons has contributed several chapters in edited volumes on topics such as humanitarian mine action, United Nations human resources management, field coordination and the reintegration of former combatants. Dirk received a kandidaats (BA) degree from the University of Amsterdam in 1964, and subsequently obtained his doctoral (PhD), also at the University of Amsterdam, in 1967.
Glen Zaintz, Board Member
Vice President – Financial Consultant, RBC Rauscher
Mr. Zaintz is a Vice President – Financial Consultant with the firm RBC Dain Rauscher, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Royal Bank of Canada. His practice is focused on helping families create and distribute their monies efficiently. He has been employed in the financial services industry since 1981, when he graduated with a BS degree in economics from the State University of New York at Albany. Glen resides in Bergen County, New Jersey, with his wife and daughter.
Advisory Board / Steering Committee
David S. Brown
Director, INVST, University of Colorado
Michael J. Chumer, PhD
Information Systems Department, College of Computing Sciences
New Jersey Institute of Technology
A former Marine Corps officer Michael Chumer; Ph.D., teaches and conducts research within the Information Systems Department at the New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT). His research focuses on Homeland Security and Homeland Defense to include command and control (C2) as used in the military and its application to State, Port, and Private sector emergency management focusing on preparedness, prevention, response and recovery operations. A graduate of the U.S Naval Academy and Georgia Tech, he earned a Ph.D. from Rutgers University in Communication and Information Science. He has been nominated by the NJIT IS Department for excellence in teaching from 2003-2006. As a Marine Corps Officer he started the first Systems Analysis and Design function at the United States Marine Corps (USMC) Automated Services Center on Okinawa Japan and consulted with the Chinese Marines on Taiwan in the development of large mainframe systems. He also worked with the C4 (command, control, communication, and computers) organization at Headquarters Marine Corps assisting in the design of satellite based Battlefield Information Systems.
Chris Dowd
Retired, FDNY
Mr. Dowd, a 20-year veteran of the New York Fire Department, is certified by the Red Cross and was one of the first people trained in the Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program. Currently, he serves with Rescue 5 in Staten Island. His training as a rescue technician includes confined spaces rescue, high angle role rescue, trench rescue, collapse and fireman rescue. He is certified as a municipal black water rescue diver and first responder defibrillation. Mr. Dowd is a hazardous materials technician and has completed the live agent training COBRA class.
Dr. Eric Frost, Ph.D.
San Diego State University:
Co-Director, Homeland Security Master's Program
Co-Director, Center for Homeland Security Technology Assessment
Co-Director, Visualization Center
Co-Director, Center for Information Technology and Infrastructure
Dr. Sandro Galea, M.D., Ph.D, M.P.H.
Associate Professor, University of Michigan Center for Social Epidemiology and Population Health
He did his graduate training at the University of Toronto Medical School, Harvard University School of Public Health, and Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health. He formerly served as a Medical Epidemiologist and Associate Director at the Center for Urban Epidemiologic Studies at the New York Academy of Medicine.
Dr. Galea’s work includes basic epidemiologic research, theoretic development, and the application of innovative methods to epidemiologic problems. His most recent work includes researching contextual determinants of population health. This research studies the relations between macro-level social and economic factors (e.g. income distribution, policies, etc) and patterns of health in populations concentrating in the role played by the urban context. Dr. Galea’s work also focuses on the epidemiology of mental health and substance misuse with a particular focus on post-traumatic stress and illicit drug abuse/dependence. A third area of focus for Dr. Galea is the health of marginalized populations. This research seeks to understand the factors that shape the health of marginalized populations, including habitual drug users and new immigrants with particular interest in fatal and non-fatal accidental drug overdose.
Dr. Galea is an elected member of the American College of Epidemiology and a fellow of the Royal Institute of Public Health. He is Canadian board certified in Family Medicine and Emergency Medicine. He has worked as a clinician in remote rural communities in Northern Canada and in Mudug Region, Somalia. He is a licensed physician in Ontario, Canada and New York State.
Robert Klein
Former International Director, Lions Clubs International
Mr. Klein is the former International Director of the Lions Club. In addition, he is a former member of the board of directors of the Westchester Education Coalition, founder of Van Tassell Society, and former chairman of the board of Associates for the Visually Impaired. Mr. Klein is a progressive Melvin Jones Fellow, Helen Keller Fellow, Governor of Excellence and founding president and steering committee member of the New York State & Bermuda Lions Foundation.
Mr. Klein is a member of North Rockland Lions Club since 1975 and currently holds a seat on the WHO/NGO Committee of the United Nations.
Brigadier General William Marshal
New Jersey Institute of Technology
Dr. Randall Marshall, MD
Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons
Director of Trauma Studies and Services, New York State Psychiatric Institute
Associate Director of the Anxiety Disorders Clinic, New York State Psychiatric Institute
Dr. Marshall received residency and research fellowship training from the New York State Psychiatric Institute, Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York City. He has published over 100 articles, case reports, chapters, and editorials, and is an editor of 9/11: Mental Health in the Wake of Terrorist Attacks, a scholarly book reviewing 9/11 research and service programs, published in 2006 by Cambridge Press. Dr. Marshall has received more than 25 research grants funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), private industry, and various additional philanthropic sources. His research related to psychological trauma has encompassed the role of trauma and dissociation in the anxiety disorders, nosology of trauma-related diagnoses, pharmacotherapy, cognitive-behavioral therapy, dissemination of evidence-based treatments, and the biology of treatment response in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD.) Recently, he has turned to the study of serious mental health complications in bereaved persons. In addition to the study of psychological trauma, he explores a wide range of academic interests, including the study of pharmacotherapy strategies for refractory depression, pharmacotherapy algorithms for social phobia and PTSD, group therapy for social phobia, and psychodynamic principles in psychotherapy.
Dr. Marshall has been interviewed as a national expert for articles in U.S. News and World Report, Wall Street Journal, Fortune Magazine, The New York Times, The New York Times Magazine, The New Yorker, New York Newsday, New York Magazine, Conde Nast Traveler, The Daily News, Consumer Reports, Le Figaro, The Mental Health Newsletter, WNYC radio, Fathom.com, and ABCNEWS.com. On the radio, he has appeared as a guest on The Infinite Mind (WNYC) and the German Radio Network. On Television, he has been interviewed as an expert on FoxNews, NY1, NY1 News, Fuji Television (Japan), and Good Morning America.
After the 9/11 attacks, Dr. Marshall founded the NYC Consortium for Effective Trauma Treatment and directed a project that provided intensive training in evidence-based psychotherapy for over 1500 clinicians in the treatment of persons with PTSD and with Complicated Grief. He is currently conducting an NIMH-funded treatment study of persons with PTSD related to the 9/11 attacks. Most recently, he and Dr. Yuval Neria have founded the Center for the Study of Trauma and Resilience, which aims to conduct state-of-the-art research, training, and educational projects to enhance preparedness for terrorism- and mass violence-related trauma; promote resilient coping with adversity; and improve the medical and psychological treatment of individuals affected by trauma of all kinds, including terrorist attacks and major disasters.
Scot Phelps
Assistant Professor/Director of the Emergency and Disaster Management Program, School of Public Affairs and Administration, Metropolitan College of New York
Dr. Phelps has over two decades of emergency response experience, working as a paramedic and paramedic instructor in both Manhattan and throughout the metropolitan area. He formerly served as Assistant Commissioner for Emergency Management at the NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, as a hospital emergency manager, and as a professor of emergency medicine at George Washington University School of Medicine.
Dr. Phelps has a Juris Doctor degree from Brooklyn Law School, a Masters in Public Health in Policy and Administration from Yale Medical School (where he was both a Farr Scholar and a Schlesinger Fellow for public service), and a Bachelor's in Anthropology with honors from Columbia University. He is a Certified Emergency Manager, Certified Business Continuity Professional, and a FEMA Master Exercise Planner.
Dr. Phelps’ research interests are focused on economic dimensions of hazard vulnerability analysis, the importance of personal preparedness as part of organizational preparedness, emergency preparedness of underserved communities, and CBRNE (Chemical, Biological, Radiological/Nuclear, and Explosive Incidents) decontamination issues. Dr. Phelps lives in lower Manhattan with his wife and two daughters.
Richard A. Rotanz
Special Advisor to the Provost Emergency Management Studies, Adelphi University
James Shanahan
Police Academy
Mr. Shanahan is presently the Senior Instructor for the academy of a large metropolitan police department. He is a decorated veteran of nearly 25 years in law enforcement and has served in a number of positions in high crime assignments throughout his tenure. Mr. Shanahan’s specialization is teaching. He is the curriculum coordinator for his department’s Conflict Resolution/Tactical Communications program, where he teaches Verbal Judo and Police Tactics as well as Behavioral Science. He is a trained peer counselor for his agency and has received advanced certification in substance abuse counseling and Critical Incident Stress Debriefing. Mr. Shanahan has brought several of these courses to World Cares Center.
Marilyn Shigetani
FEMA Voluntary Liaison Individual Assistance FEMA Region IX
Dirk Solomons
Professor, Columbia University
Mark B. Stahl
Assistant Dean for the University of New Orleans Metropolitan College
Director of the Division of Professional Development
Director of the UNO Downtown Campus
John Trottman
Fort Meade Department of Fire and Emergency Services
Mr. Trottman is a Department of Defense Level III Fire Instructor and has training in Critical Incident Stress Management, Community Crisis Response, Applied Suicide Intervention and Mental Health Response to Weapons of Mass Destruction. He serves on the Capital Area Crisis Response Team. After September 11th Mr. Trottman provided crisis response services to the National Geographic Society, airline flight attendants, and hospital staff in the Washington, D.C. area. Additionally, he has provided crisis support through World Cares Center's September Space Community Resiliency Center program, FEMA's Disaster Recovery Centers (following Hurricane Francis), and the Brevard County Emergency Operations Center (during Hurricane Jean). He coordinated NOVA's crisis response to the Mississippi Coast region following Hurricane Katrina.
Adjunct Facilitators
Matt Bergert
Project Leader, NLECTC-West - National Institute of Justice
Chris Dowd
Retired, FDNY
HASMAT Specialist
CERT Instructor
Dr. Scot Phelps, JD
Director of the Emergency and Disaster Management Program, Metropolitan College
Dr. Jack Poe
Oklahoma City Police Chaplin
Dr. Jay Reich
Lieutenant Bill Reddan
Executive Officer to the Director of Training FDNY
Commanding Officer, FDNY Technical Rescue School
Detective James Shanahan
Senior Instructor, Police Academy
John Trottman
Fort Meade Department of Fire and Emergency Services
National Organization for Victim Assistance
National Response Team
Pam Weeks
State Citizen Corps Program Manager, PEMA