Dr. Margaret Cuomo, Cristina Greeven Cuomo, Maria Cuomo Cole, Governor Mario Cuomo, and Matilda Raffa Cuomo

Hundreds of New York's leading "bag ladies" gathered at the fourth annual S.L.E. Lupus Foundation's New York Bag Ladies Luncheon to raise $250,000 for those struggling with the devastating disease lupus. The event included a silent auction of donated designer and celebrity handbags and a sumptuous luncheon at 583 Park Avenue in Manhattan. Two outstanding women were honored for their long-time support of the work of the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation: Matilda Raffa Cuomo, Former First Lady of New York State, Founder and Chair of Mentoring USA National/International and author of the new book The Person Who Changed My Life, and Mary E. Belle, President, Licensing at The Jones Group which includes iconic lifestyle brands such as Anne Klein, Jones New York and Nine West. Serving as Mistress of Ceremonies, opera legend and S.L.E. Lupus Foundation Board member Jessye Norman honored Mary Belle while Governor Mario Cuomo had the special privilege of presenting his wife with her award.

Jessye Norman, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, Susan Golick, Mary Belle, and Margaret Dowd

In addition to Governor Cuomo, several members of their family including Dr. Margaret Cuomo, Maria Cuomo Cole and Cristina Greeven Cuomo were among the audience recognizing Matilda's contributions. Additional S.L.E. Lupus Foundation Board members in attendance include Founder and Vice President Susan Golick; Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg, wife of Senator Frank Lautenberg and Michelle Gadsden-Williams, Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion at Credit Suisse. Also from the Foundation's Board were Fern Tessler; Betsey Selkowitz; Carol Weisman and Kate Kelly. Mary Belle and Jessye Norman The event turned generously donated designer and celebrity handbags into pocket-books full of miracles; a silent auction raised funding for the science needed to find a cure for lupus as well as the necessary services to help patients live with the disease day-to-day. "The funds raised today literally work miracles for those faced with lupus," said Margaret Dowd, Executive Director, S.L.E. Lupus Foundation. "We are able to offer direct support services to patients, send children with lupus to summer camp and provide families with emergency assistance. And on the science side, many discoveries in lupus have been made possible by research grants funded by the Foundation." Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), or lupus, is a chronic, complex and serious autoimmune disease affecting more than 1.5 million Americans. In lupus, the immune system, which is designed to protect against infection, creates antibodies that attack the body's own tissues and organs -- the kidneys, brain, heart, lungs, blood, skin, and joints. Lupus is difficult to diagnose, difficult to treat, and a leading cause of premature cardiovascular disease, kidney disease and stroke among young women. Formed over 40 years ago, the S.L.E. Lupus Foundation leads the nation in providing direct patient services, education, public awareness, as well as funding for innovative lupus research on the national level. The S.L.E. Lupus Foundation is a member of the Lupus Research Institute National Coalition of patient groups throughout the country.

Anne Keating, Dorothy Roberts, and Mary E. Belle

Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg and Jessye Norman

Anne Keating, Fern Tessler, and Carol Weisman

Jennie DeScherer, Phyllis Mack, and Richard DeScherer

Peggy Schleiff, Jane Dresner Sadaka, and Fern Tessler

Callie Schweitzer, Elizabeth Schweitzer Miller, and Kate Kelly

Carol Weisman, Susan Golick, and Jennie DeScherer

Kate Kelly, Betsy Selkowitz, and Patty Becker

Barbara Tracey and Anne Keating

Governor Mario Cuomo, Matilda Raffa Cuomo, Jennie DeScherer, and Richard DeScherer

Carol Weisman and Brett Heyman

Joanne P. Heyman and Bonnie Englebardt Lautenberg

Mary Belle and Matilda Raffa Cuomo

Susan Golick and Matilda Raffa Cuomo

More than 250 guests attended the annual Pratt Institute and Luxe Pack Art of Packaging Award Gala at a private club in Manhattan on April 17. The gala, which supports the Marc Rosen Scholarship and Education Fund for Packaging by Design and raises funds for scholarships for graduating package design students at Pratt, raised $300,000 at the event and has brought in more than $3.5 million dollars over the last 23 years. The glamorous black-tie fundraiser honored Shiseido for its outstanding commitment to package design and was hosted by Carol Alt, supermodel, actress, and best-selling author and skin care entrepreneur.   The Art of Packaging Award is presented each year to a beauty/cosmetics company that has excelled in the art form and was awarded to Shiseido. Heidi Manheimer, CEO, Shiseido Cosmetics America, and Katsuhiko Shibuya, creative director, Shiseido Co., Ltd from the headquarters in Tokyo, accepted the award. This year, 2012, marks the celebration of Shiseido's 140th anniversary, which coincidentally marks Pratt Institute's 125th anniversary.

Aaron Mickelson showing Mike Pratt and Concetta Stewart his packaging design, which was on display at The Art of Packaging Award Gala

Packaging design by Scholarship Recipient Renato Martins Cerqueira

Special guests included Pratt President Thomas F. Schutte and his wife, Tess; Mike Pratt, chair of Pratt Institute's Board of Trustees; Concetta Stewart, dean of Pratt's School of Art and Design; Peter Barna, provost of Pratt Institute; Nathalie Grosdidier, executive director, Luxe Pack; Donald Stannard, jewelry designer; Elisabeth Thieriot, philanthropist; and Barbara Gyde, senior vice president, Lighthouse International. Special guests from the cosmetics and package design industry included Cosimo Policastro, executive vice president, Givaudan; Jerry Vittoria, president of fragrances, Firmenich; Theo Spilka, vice president, Firmenich; Henry Renella, senior vice president, global packaging development, Estée Lauder; John Downey, vice president tech driven supplier innovation, Estée Lauder; Peter Acerra, president/CEO, SGD North America; and Francois Sabate, sales and market general manager, Pochet du Courval.

Packaging design by Scholarship Recipient Wei-Hsin Lin

Packaging design by Scholarship Recipient Aaron Mickelson

Packaging design by Scholarship Recipient Maija Rozenfelde

This year's scholarship winners were Renato Martins Cerqueira (M.S. '13) of Brazil; Wei-Hsin Lin (M.S. '12) of Taiwan; Aaron Mickelson (M.S. '13) of New York City; and Maija Rozenfelde (M.S. '13) of Latvia. Each winner's fragrance package design work was on display in the lobby of the event venue.   The Marc Rosen Scholarship and Education Fund for Packaging by Design is the only scholarship in the world available to college students looking to pursue careers in cosmetics and package design. Each year the scholarship is supported by the cosmetics industry at The Art of Packaging Award Gala, an event that attracts the top-tier of New York City's multi-billion dollar cosmetics industry. At Pratt, Rosen teaches a course on cosmetic and fragrance package design, which is the only one of its kind in the world.

Marc Rosen and student scholarship winners Maija Rozenfelde, Aaron Mickelson, Wei-Hsin Lin, and Renato Martins Cerqueira

Barbara Gyde and Kevin Marshall

Josh Horowitz and Elisabeth Thieriot

Hong Mahe, Annik Klein, and Nathalie Grosdidier

Peter Accerra (center) and guests

Cosimo Policastro and Heidi Manheimer

Marc Rosen, Heidi Manheimer, and Katsuhiko Shibuya

Stephen Spilka, Francois Sabate, and Theo Spilka

Jeff Bellantoni, Concetta Stewart, Aaron Mickelson, Wei-Hsin Lin, Thomas F. Scutte, Maija Rozenfelde, and Renato Martins Cerqueira

Kaajia Cassin, Makiko Hagio, Gisela Ballard, Jennifer Vafile, and Nicole Carcillo

Constance Howlett, Sara Calsen, and Sushil Raghupathy

Elisabeth Thieriot and Carol Alt

Hilary Ernsberger, Frank Voelkl, Birgit Benayoun, and Carole Dumont

Marc Gobe, Mariannick Davy, and Ilias Ermenidis

Katsuhiko Shibuya (second from right) with guests

Tara Weedfalc, Andrea Fazio, Nessi Erkmenoglu, and Danielle Henderson

Ward Landrigan and Nico Landrigan, Chairman and President of Verdura, hosted an invitation-only party to honor FIT's Couture Council members and their tireless support of The Museum at FIT, Manhattan's premiere museum of fashion. Joining the Landrigan's at their jewelry-box salon overlooking Central Park was co-host Eleanora Kennedy, Couture Council Board member, and Valerie Steele, Director of the Museum at FIT.

Ward Landrigan, Antoinette Denisof, and Lee Ballinger

Melissa Morris, Barbara Regna, Bonnie Cantor, and Alyson Cafiero

Ward and Judith Landrigan with Jon Fondas

Sipping cocktails, guests perused the Spring 2012 Verdura collection and recent additions to the company's Museum Collection of vintage Verdura. Mrs. Kennedy wore one of these, a 1967 Lily of the Valley Brooch of gold, platinum, emeralds, diamonds and pearls which was commissioned in the 1940s by Baroness Liliane de Rothschild and crafted from the baby teeth of her children (now replaced by pearls). Dr. Steele wore the "Comedy and Tragedy Mask" brooch of gold emeralds, sapphires, pearls and diamonds created for Claire Booth Luce. When she won a Tony award for "The Women" in 1940, Luce was disappointed to learn that her beloved Tony was too heavy to be converted into a brooch so her good friends Jock and Betsy Whitney commissioned this as a Christmas present in 1941.

Michael and Eleanora Kennedy

Sarah Wolfe and Jeff Peek

Barbara Regna and Yaz Hernandez

Valerie Steele and Liz Peek

Kim Landrigan, Colleen Caslin, and James Haag

Michael and Bonnie Koblenz

Montague and Mayme Hackett

Geoffrey Bradfield, Melissa Berkelhammer, and Roric Tobin

Robyn Joseph, Karen Karlsrud, and Catherine Carey

Caroline Stetson and Jeff Goldstein

James Haag and Brenda Levin

James Andrew and Jon Fondas

Alison Minton and Adele Bove

Kamie Lightburn and Rema Parchini

Alexandra Lebenthal and Sharon Hoge

Robert Strawbridge and Bambi Putman

Clint and Susan Rodenberg

Liliana Cavendish, Susan Calhoun, and Anna Safir

Maggie Norris and Valerie Steele

Gillian and Sylvester Miniter

Dr. Annette Rickel and Dr. Dan Ahlberg

Jawan Young and Silvana Suarez

Janice and Lindsay Moore

Rosemary Ponzo

Susan Gutfreund and Louisa Beccaria

Mary Hilliard

Michael and Anna Safir

Angela Rothfeld

Nico and Ward Landrigan, and Eleanora and Michael Kennedy

Anna Safir, Chloe Malle, and Michael and Eleanora Kennedy

Geoffrey Thomas and Sharon Sondes

Carole and Bruce Harding

On April 24, alumnae and friends of Barnard College gathered at New York's historic Plaza Hotel for the Annual Gala, a dinner and auction to benefit the College's financial aid program. The event honored recipients of the Frederick A.P. Barnard Award—Patricia Harrigan Nadosy '68, botanist, former foreign exchange options trader, and trustee emerita, and Elizabeth S. Boylan, professor of biology, provost, and dean of the faculty emerita. Taline Aynilian '03 served as auctioneer.  The event raised $2.3 million for scholarship aid.

Honorees Patricia Harrigan Nadosy and Elizabeth Boylan

"Scholarships are key to the future of Barnard and the lives of our students—students who will always be grateful for the financial aid they received, and who, I'm sure, will ultimately offer their own support to future generations of deserving Barnard women," said President Debora Spar.   Scholarship recipient Jade Bonacolta '15 added, "Many things in life are uncertain, but there is one thing I know. Barnard College will have the greatest influence on my life and will lead me to move mountains."

Barnard President Debora Spar

Scholarship student Tess Gannaway

"More than $30 million of scholarship support was offered to Barnard students in the 2011–12 school year," said Nanette M. DiLauro, Barnard's director of financial aid. "The proceeds from the Annual Gala directly underwrite this expense, and help Barnard maintain one of its hallmarks—educating exceptional women regardless of their financial means."   Later in the evening, the College introduced Gala Nights, which gathered young professionals for cocktails, desserts and dancing. This initiative, founded and spearheaded by a committee of socially engaged young alumnae, aimed to encourage young professionals to support current students, give back to their college and community, and participate in the New York philanthropic scene.  Gala Nights, which also took place at the Plaza, featured DJ Jason Fioto of Generation Events and proceeds will benefit Barnard's financial aid program, as well.

Ellen Futter and Binta Niambi Brown

Gala Nights Chair Caroline Bliss Spencer and Ashley Walker Bush

Nancy Garvey, Diana Vagelos, and Ellen Futter

The gala dinner ..

On Wednesday, April 11, the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra (NJSO) hosted its annual spring fundraising event at the Harborside Financial Center Atrium. The evening began with cocktails and a silent auction at 6 p.m. Music Director Jacques Lacombe then led the Orchestra in a concert program featuring Strauss Jr.’s Die Fledermaus Overture, The Blue Danube and Thunder and Lightning Polka. Special guest Greater Newark Youth Orchestra concertmaster Janice Cheon—the winner of the youth orchestra’s concerto competition—performed the first movement of Saint-Saëns’ Violin Concerto No. 3. The performance was followed by dinner. The evening’s honorees were A. Michael Lipper and NJSO Board Co-Chair Ruth C. Lipper, recognized for their extraordinary support of and dedication to both the New Jersey Symphony Orchestra and the arts in New Jersey. All proceeds from the gala event supported the NJSO as it enriches lives through outstanding artistic, music education and community engagement programs.

Janice Cheon violin, Jacques Lacombe conducts

The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra comprises some of the country’s finest musicians. To best serve the people of New Jersey, the orchestra brings its programs to seven outstanding venues throughout the state. Education and community engagement programs enrich the listening experience for children and adults alike. Select performances of the NJSO are broadcast regionally and throughout North America. United is the official airline of the NJSO. The New Jersey Symphony Orchestra continues its major fundraising initiative—the NJSO Comprehensive Campaign. To date, more than $30 million towards a $32 million goal has been raised in support of the Orchestra.

Jacques and Janet Lacombe, Ginette Gremillet, Antoinette Cooper, and Andre Gremillet

Gay Doherty, Robert Doherty, Linda Bowden, and Kathy Regan

Bea Daggett, Kate Tomlinson, and Josh Weston

Honorable Claude Coleman, Barbara Bell Coleman, ShanÇ Harris, and Stefon Harris

Robert and Mary Ellen Waggoner, and Ruth and A. Michael Lipper

John Schreiber and Ruth Lipper

Ellen and David Huber

A. Michael and Ruth C. Lipper, and Janet and Jacques Lacombe

A. Michael Lipper, John Strangfeld, and Ruth Lipper

Mary Ellen Brook and Gerald Applestein

Baruch College honored three members of its outstanding alumni during the 23rd Annual Bernard Baruch Dinner, Wednesday, April 25, 2012 at New York City's Gotham Hall. Friends, colleagues and alumni paid tribute to Joseph Macnow '67, Francis Greenburger '74, and William M. Newman '47, Hon., LLD '97 for their professional leadership and continued support for the College. Francis Greenburger '74, Founder, CEO and Chairman, Time Equities, Inc.; and Joseph Macnow '67, Executive Vice President of Finance & Administration, Chief Financial Officer, Vornado Realty Trust were presented with the Distinguished Alumnus Award.

Honoree Francis Greenburger '74, Baruch College President Mitchel Wallestein, Honoree William M. Newman '47, Hon., LLD '97, Alumni Speaker Catherine Kuo '11, and Honoree Joseph Macnow '67

City University of New York Chancellor Matthew Goldstein

Alumni Speaker Catherine Kuo '11

President of the Baruch College Fund Joel Cohen (YEAR) (at right) presents the Distinguished Alumni Award to Francis Greenburger '74

Joe Schenker presents the Distinguished Alumni Award to Joseph Macnow '67

Baruch President Mitchel B. Wallerstein (at right) presents the President's Medal to 2012 Honoree William M. Newman '47, Hon., LLD '97

Samantha Bernstein, Beverly Salty, William M. Newman, Matthew Bernstein, and Debbie Bernstein

Photographs by www.AnnieWatt.com [1] (Verdura); Asiya Khaki (Barnard College).

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