Staff / Board
Staff
Sarah Gerstenzang, Executive Director
sgerstenzang@nysccc.org 718-369-7363
Sarah was formerly Associate Director of AdoptUsKids and a Senior Policy Analyst at Children’s Rights. She holds a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University. Her child welfare policy and practice experience includes research and publication on a range of foster care and adoption issues as well as presentations at national and international conferences. Sarah’s most recent book is Another Mother: Co-Parenting with the Foster Care System
Sarah has been a foster parent and one of her three children was adopted from the New York City foster care system.
Susan Collins, Program Director
scollins@nysccc.org 607-272-0034
Susan has been the Program Director for the NYS Citizens’ Coalition for Children for over twelve years. Prior to coming to NYSCCC, she served as the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Program Director in Chemung County and was the Chemung County Department of Social Services Director of Long Term Care and Adult Services. Susan has enjoyed a lengthy and varied career in volunteer community service and remains active today as President of the Chemung County Task Force on Children and Families, co-chair of Chemung County’s annual Strong Kids Safe Kids Festival, a lay Eucharistic Minister at Trinity Episcopal Church, Elmira and a BSA Citizenship Merrit Badge Counselor. She is the proud grandmother of Jaime and mother to Alexandra, a supported independent living case-manager, and Cameron, an I.T. professional in St. Louis, MO.
2011 Board of Directors
Dr. Stewart Blechner – President
NYSCCC Board President since 2001, Stewart is a an adopted father and lifelong adoption advocate who lives in Queens County. His wife, Maris Blechner, is the Executive Director of Family Focus Adoption Services in New York City. sblechner@nyc.rr.com
Antoinette Sumter-Cotman – Eastern Vice President
Antoinette has been a certified licensed foster parent for 27 years and is a mother of seven children, including three adopted sons. She holds a masters degree in Public Administration, recently retired from the City University of New York, and is currently President of Share Family Support a parent led foster/adoptive parent support and advocacy group in Queens. Her volunteer affiliations include service as the Natl. Foster Parent Association Region 2 Vice President, President of the Little Flower F/A Parent Association, and a former NYC Circle of Support Anchor Parent. Antoinette is an active advocate in promoting effective communication between agency staff and foster parents; and providing information, support, and resources to foster parents and the children they care for. She strongly believes that it is very important for foster and adoptive parents to be active in their agency, state, national foster parent associations and any other venues offering information and resources. ascoznprk@aol.com
Marie Dolfi, LCSW – Western Vice President
With a strong belief in the need for adoption education, post adoption services and adoption advocacy, Marie is active in the field of adoption in the Capital Region of New York in numerous capacities. She is a founding member of the parents’ support group Adoptive Families of the Capital Region and is currently on the board of AFCR. Also, Marie is a member of the Advisory Board of the Post Adoption Resource Center at Parsons Child & Family Center. As an advocate for better foster care and adoption services and laws, Marie has often participated in NYSCCC Legislative Awareness Days. Additionally, Marie is a licensed clinical social worker with a private practice that provides services to prospective adoptive parents and members of the adoption constellation. mdolfi@nycap.rr.com
Reinier Prijten – Treasurer
Reinier, an MBA graduate of the Stern School of Business in Finance has worked in Banking for fifteen years. He came to the U.S. in 1988 and became a citizen in 2009. A political fundraiser and adoptive father, Reinier was adopted himself as a child by a Dutch family. Reinier.Prijten@cmegroup.com .
Joan Siegel – Secretary
Joan Siegel is the pre-adoptive mother to a 20 year old girl from foster care and grandmother to the girl’s son. She has been involved in child welfare and child advocacy for 15 years, including 12 with the Administration for Children’s Services. She has spoken nationally about adoption of teens from foster care. She is an attorney by training but does not currently practice law. She lives and works in Manhattan. joanie925@gmail.com
Lisa Maynard – Member at Large
Lisa Maynard, an adoptive parent and Adoption Services Director of Hillside Children’s Center, has been a long time coalition member and volunteer. NYSCCC gave Adoption Resource Network, Inc.(now ARN at Hillside) the original grant to incorporate and organize in 1991 with the goal to provide information, and support to members of the adoption triad in Monroe and surrounding counties. She was recently named as the Social Work Student of the Year by the National Association of Social Workers (NASW) upon nomination by the University of Buffalo School of Social Work, where she is working toward a Masters Degree in Social Work. Lisa says she is “proud to have been a part of NYSCCC for many years, and now have the good fortune to assist with their work in the coming years.” lmaynard@hillside.com
Pat O’Brien, MSW – Member at Large
Pat is the Executive Director and Co-Founder of You Gotta Believe! The Older Child Adoption & Permanency Movement, Inc, a New York City area based agency that specializes in placing teens and pre-teens into legally or morally adoptive homes. Pat has worked for nearly 25 years to provide permanent parents for teens and young adults in foster care before they age out of care and he is a nationally known presenter and trainer. ygbpat@msn.com
Dianne O’Connor – Member at Large
Dianne O’Connor is the mother of 9 children, 3 birth children and 6 children who were adopted through the foster care system who have varying degrees of FASD. Dianne has had to learn from the real experts, her children, on what they need to be successful at home, school, and in the community. She and her husband, Mickey, were foster parents in Schenectady County for 23 years, reuniting over 100 children back home to birth family members. Dianne currently works for the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services on a federal subcontract to prevent FASD. She is a certified FASD trainer through the Center for Disease Control and sits on the NY State FASD Task Force and The FASD Interagency Workgroup. doconno2@nycap.rr.com
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