LP² Advisory Board Elections 2024 Overview

The LP² Advisory Board advises and works with the Director to develop policy and, with committee input, ensures the continuation of our dynamic, peer learning community. The Advisory Board consists of twelve elected members, a Chair Emeritus and three core committee chairs (Admissions, Curriculum and Diversity). Board members serve for three years, with 1/3 of the Board elected annually. Advisory Board members act as the liaisons to the Board for a specific portfolio of committees. Board representatives also encourage members to coordinate study groups, assume leadership and administrative roles, and take part in LP² social activities and community services.

Read on for candidates' statements of their qualifications and what they hope to contribute as Board members. The order of the listings was determined randomly. You’ll have the opportunity to hear more from the candidates at the online Candidate Forum on Friday, April 12th at 2pm. Zoom link will be distributed to all members ahead of the meeting. Elections will be held online April 15-22. Questions can be directed to Maury Harris, Chair, Nominating and Elections Committee, at [email protected].

Linda Anstendig - LP² member since September 2015

Previous experience: As an English Professor and Associate Dean of Pace University, I developed the following skills that would enable me to be an effective Advisory Board member:

• Communicating successfully with students, faculty and administrators earning me a major faculty award and the Dyson College of Liberal Arts Distinguished Service award

• Bringing new writing programs to the university as the Director of the Writing Program

• Directing our Faculty Development Program: leading workshops, organizing conferences, and working with faculty across the university

• Serving as Associate Dean for 2 years; problem solving various issues with Dean, faculty, Provost and all top administrators.

• Becoming an early adopter of technology, leading workshops for students and faculty to enable them to become technologically adept.

• Publishing a variety of academic materials: including a book, chapters in books, articles, and presenting at conferences throughout the US

LP² experience: I have been an engaged member of our program since 2015.

• Co-coordinating successfully, with positive feedback 5 Study Groups, two of which were during the pandemic on zoom

• Serving on the Curriculum Committee, leading the Workshops for Coordinators for 3 years, helping to develop and leading the Integrating Zoom into the Classroom workshops, and recruiting coordinators

• Co-launching this year the Committee for Community Engagement,

• Mentoring 5 new LP² members over the past 7 years

• Serving on the Fri @1 committee, recruiting our fall speaker, Jeff Goodell, and interviewing him

• Participating in many of the community activities, such as the Art Sig and Photo Sig, Tuesdays with Friends and Pour @ 4, enabling me to meet many members of our community and benefit from the wonderful activities

Major issues: Among the issues I think would be important to address:

• Working to make our affiliation with the CUNY GC sustainable and successful.

• Problem solving issues relating to Hybrid Study Groups, class size, and balance between zoom and in person classes.

• Recruiting coordinators and ensuring that new members become integrated as contributing members of our community.

• Working towards the goals of our Strategic Plan.

Lynn Brenner - LP² member since January 2017

Previous experience: I spent most of my working life in journalism as a business reporter and personal finance columnist. I still write a weekly personal finance Q&A column for Newsday.

LP² experience: I joined the IRP in Spring 2017.

·     I was an IRP voter registration volunteer at The New School. I conduct tech workshops for coordinators every semester.

·      I served on the Curriculum Committee from Fall 2019 through Fall 2023.

·      I’ve coordinated or co-coordinated many SGs. (New Yorker Profiles; NYC & the Movies; Reel Justice; Hollywood Goes West; Screwball Comedy; Art & Avarice; What’s New in Documentary Film, etc).

Major issues:

Perennial issues: Developing new coordinators and maintaining a good mix of in-person and Zoom SGs. But communication and community are equally important.

Communication: I’d like to see more lines of communication between members of the Advisory Board and the LP² membership. Group meetings – e.g., GMMs and town hall meetings -- are important. But LP² members should also feel comfortable communicating their questions, suggestions and complaints to their AB representatives via email.

Community: When CUNY Grad Center comes through with the promised wine bar on the main floor, I’d like us to resume a weekly Pour at 4 there. I applaud our new initiative to create a permanent pool of mentors, and would like to see mentors stay in touch with their mentees for at least their first year as LP² members. (And let’s establish a nice lunch just for mentors at least annually.) Let’s bring back the New Year’s Day potluck open house! Other extra-curricular activities that lapsed during the pandemic but should be revived: Travel Committee; Theatre Sig; Summer Movie-Going.

Ed Brill - LP² member since September 2017

Previous experience: Service on non-profit boards including Dance NYC and FEGS Health and Human Services. Extensive legal experience in higher education representing colleges and universities.

LP² experience: I am a current member of Curriculum Committee. I have coordinated study groups on Jerome Robbins and George Balanchine and co-coordinated study group on Baseball and Literature. Have served as a Mentor and have hosted and presented at Tuesdays with Friends.

Major issues: We need to continue to address the appropriate balance between in-person and remote study groups as we look to restore and enhance the experience of LP² as a community through social gatherings and other extra-classroom activities.

Another significant issue is improving communications with members. While the website and Observer have been improved enormously, there are still significant gaps in reaching many members.

Finally, we need to consider both our short-term and long-term relationship with CUNY. In the short term, can we improve our classroom experience, technical and administrative support? Longer term, will we continue to be affiliated with CUNY on a long-term basis and what steps can we take to ensure that relationship or to identify alternatives if that becomes necessary.

Michael Kessler - LP² member since January 2017

Previous experience: I joined the IRP in 2017 after 41 years as a practicing attorney and 30 years as a partner in major New York law firms. During my career I served on law firm committees, taught legal education seminars, and received many awards, including an award from the New York City Bar Association as pro bono counsel of the year for my pro bono representation of underserved New Yorkers.

LP² experience: I am currently on the LP² Advisory Board and serve as Vice Chairperson on the Executive Committee and I am on the IER legal committee. Earlier in my term I was Secretary of both LP² and IER. And previously I served on the Curriculum Committee and I coordinated three study groups. For the past five years I have written all the LP² obituaries and I coordinated the production of our New Members and in Memoriam videos shown at our General Membership Meetings.

Major issues: LP² is an extremely successful, viable and thriving organization. It is not broken and does not need major fixing. It has been administered and guided well for many years by devoted, capable, and extremely hard-working members of our LP² community. That said, we cannot and will not rest on our laurels. My vision is to carry through with our future plan for the LP² of tomorrow – through our Strategic Plan we are in the process of reaching out to members to get a better sense of what is working best and how we can improve and expand to meet the challenges of our future. We need to do a better job attracting members of color, integrating modern technology into our study group learning, getting more of our members involved in our many activities beyond attending study groups, improving our information highway and more. For all this I believe that my past experience in LP² and beyond qualifies me to earn your trust by selecting me for another term on our LP² Advisory Board. If chosen, I am committed to doing my best to maintain our reputation as the leading lifelong peer learning program for seniors.

Audrey Lipton - LP² member since September 2016

Previous experience: In addition to being a Fortune 500 general council, I have extensive experience managing people and projects and managing complex budgets. Also have a keen interest in fine and decorative arts. Founded an arts organization and produced lectures about decorative arts. In other words, I am comfortable interacting with people within and outside of organizations. This background is particularly applicable to ensuring and enhancing the stability and growth of LP².

LP² experience: Co-publisher of “Outlook”, an IRP publication devoted to showcasing members, popular study groups and SIG activities. I have served on the IRP and LP² Marketing Committee for several years.

Major issues: It is vital for LP² to remain viable and relevant. Would like to see our organization properly promoted. The continuity and relevance we provide is uniquely designed to continue to enhance the lives of our members. Would like to pursue greater involvement with the city’s cultural, business and educational venues as well as recreational opportunities, including sports, entertainment and special events. And would eagerly participate in designing and implementing projects that might generate financial enrichment from outside our organization so we can ensure our growth and continuity.

Joe Daley - LP² member since September 2022

Previous experience: I have extensive experience working on Boards and Committees. I was on the Ithaca City Council, the Planning board and numerous committees during my twenty-year service in city government. Many times, I was chosen to head the committees because of my ability to bring consensus within the group.

LP² experience: I led the Study Group on the "Troubles" in Northern Ireland and have submitted a course on the Dark Ages to be taught in the Fall.

Major issues: I think that the debate over how many Zoom classes we provide is an important debate. I also think that we need to encourage more participation from some members of our group. Adding more social/outside engagements is something I would like to encourage

Previous experience:

Professional Experience: Several key responsibilities as an economic analyst included: organizing and facilitating seminars and interagency meetings, drafting written testimony for senior government officials, building and running war games, and managing contracts with data vendors. I have lectured as a guest at several universities. Later in my career, I structured my own research program to identify geopolitical risks to the US financial system. The deliverables for my research were statistical and written analysis for senior government officials.

Volunteer Experience: Fundraising and community service for The Potomac School (McLean, VA); fundraising for Children's Hospital and Jubilee Jobs, a non-profit helping the homeless find work (Washington, DC).

LP² experience: Since joining LP² in Fall 2022, I presented a 30 minute PowerPoint summarizing an academic paper on political polarization (Spring 2023), coordinated a three-week SG on "Homage to Catalonia" in Narrative Non-Fiction (Fall 2023), and am about to coordinate a six-week SG on “Fascism, Can it happen here?” (April-May 2024). I joined the Tech Committee in Spring 2023 and have offered PowerPoint training. Currently, I am a “classroom tech helper” for the Outsider Art SG. I recently joined the Mentoring Committee.

Major issues: From my “newby” perspective, LP² is facing ongoing challenges, including diversity, technology, and participation. By addressing these and other concerns with continued tenacity and sensitivity, LP² will grow stronger. Regarding diversity, perhaps the community could look within – for example SGs, cultural outings,etc., that explore Black, Asian and other cultures. On tech, I hope LP² will continue to offer Zoom as a courtesy, while also enticing members to CUNY. Tech training and support in the classroom continue to improve. On participation, I’ve heard grumbling about passive members. I don’t yet know enough about the workings of LP² to address this issue and am keen to listen and learn.