Recipients of the prestigious Laurance S. Rockefeller Award have made significant and lasting contributions to the Family YMCA at Tarrytown and other community-based organizations that serve children and families, have served as leaders in the community, and/or have made a significant contribution to the Hudson River Valley. The Leonard Andrew Spirit of Service award was created to acknowledge the commitment of former Y Board Member Leonard Andrew to the Y's mission.
Want to learn more? Email the Circle of Caring Committee at coc26@ymcatarrytown.org
6th Annual Circle of Caring
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WPB Development, LLC is being honored for their efforts to improve the lives of residents of the Hudson River Valley. For the past 30 years, WPB Development has created housing and community development in Westchester County and beyond. The Family YMCA at Tarrytown is proud to present them with the Laurance S. Rockefeller Award for all their efforts to reshape local communities.
WBP Development LLC is a leading residential real estate development firm in Westchester County, New York. WBP, its general contracting arm, Griffon Construction LLC, and its property management division, WB Residential, have helped shape the residential landscape of the Hudson Valley. Since 2006, they have been industry leaders in the "green movement," utilizing many of the high-performance standards like ENERGY STAR and LEED. WBP works to create well-planned communities with high-performance affordable homes that provide a great lifestyle for residents.
Recently, WPB Development completed the transformation of the Family YMCA at Tarrytown's 100-plus-year-old building into 108 affordable and energy-efficient apartments. This property also provides much-needed parking for the village. Senator Andrea Stewart Cousins praised Wilder Balter Partners for their dedication to ensuring that the former YMCA residents had a home during this project. “The completion of 62 Main in Tarrytown provides safe, affordable, and sustainable housing for seniors and families, including the 23 former residents of the Single Room Occupancy units. I commend Wilder Balter Partners Development for their commitment to ensuring that these residents were not displaced and can now enjoy modern, energy-efficient homes that they can afford."
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Currently, Dr. Raymond Sanchez is the Superintendent of the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns. Dr. Sanchez started as a classroom teacher then progressed through building, curriculum, and district leadership roles before being appointed as superintendent of the Ossining Union Free School District in 2013, a position he held for over 10 years.
Over the course of his career, Dr. Sanchez has built bridges between the school and the community while developing a strong educational setting for both teachers and students. He has maintained a solid focus on the instructional core and made data-driven decisions to upgrade curriculum, set instructional direction, and strengthen overall services. Dr. Sanchez led a district of more than 5,000 students during a period of tremendous growth in student population, successfully conveying both internal and external messages to inform, educate, and garner support for initiatives. By fostering community connections, Dr. Sanchez created a framework for student achievement and positioned Ossining as a leader in the educational equity movement.
Dr. Sanchez has been widely applauded for his efforts in promoting instructional equity, closing achievement gaps, and initiating programs that encourage community involvement in meaningful ways. He has received numerous awards and peer recognition for his leadership, vision, and outreach, including NYS Superintendent of the Year. His commitment to meeting the needs of children and their families is further reflected in his vast community work, where he currently serves on the boards of several organizations. Dr. Sanchez is also a leader among his colleagues as a board member, advisor and delegate on numerous professional organizations while contributing to the next generation of educators as an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College and Bank Street College of Education and member of the Future School Leadership Academy advisory board.
Dr. Sanchez received his doctorate in Educational Leadership from Manhattanville College, earning the Doctoral Outstanding Leadership Award in 2019. He also holds advanced education degrees and certificates from Fordham University, Columbia University and Long Island University. He earned his undergraduate degree from the State University of New York at Geneseo.
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Joanne Landau and Rabbi Fredric Schwalb have always worked to better their community. With this community-minded spirit, the Family YMCA at Tarrytown is honoring them with the Laurance S. Rockefeller Award.
The Landau–Schwalbs live in Croton-on-Hudson and have 5 children, including a daughter they adopted from Siberia, Russia at 14 years old, and 8 grandchildren spanning 3 continents. Rabbi Schwalb has been in commercial real estate for almost 40 years. Before forming his company, he was the Director of International Sales for Burlington Carpet Group/Export having risen to this position from a management trainee. He attended the University of Wisconsin for his undergraduate degree and at 51, entered the Reconstructionist Rabbinical College. While continuing to run the family real estate business, he commuted to Wyncote, PA for six years, received a master’s degree, and was ordained a Rabbi. He served as the rabbi of the Hebrew Congregation of Somers, NY for 15 years and continues to serve as Rabbi Emeritus. Rabbi Schwalb is Chair of American Friends of Beit Morasha Jerusalem in the US and serves on the Israeli board of this organization.
Since 2000, Ms. Landau has been President of several female-owned regional commercial real estate firms. Her most recent acquisition was the purchase by Wildey Group LLC of the Tarrytown Station Center, now the home of the Family YMCA at Tarrytown’s Early Learning Center. Before establishing the Wildey Group, Ms. Landau was the Chief Marketing Officer of two Fortune 100 firms: Deutsche Asset Management’s $750 billion investment business and Citigroup’s $100 billion private client group. She earned her undergraduate degree from the University of Geneva, BSFS from Georgetown University School of Foreign Service, and MBA from Yale School of Management.
Ms. Landau was named a Top 100 International Board Candidate by Agenda, a Financial Times magazine and a “Director to Watch” by Directors & Boards Magazine for her service to several educational and environmental organizations. She is 1 of only 2 NYS members on the US Environmental Protection Agency’s Financial Advisory Board and a former Westchester County Soil and Water Conservation District Committee appointee. She is currently a board director and was the prior Chair of the Westchester Community College Foundation. She also is Treasurer of the American Friends of Reichman University in Israel.
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Kelly Murphy, a resident of Tarrytown, has dedicated her personal life and professional career to the service of others. Kelly, a NYC physical education/health teacher for 19 years, is a dedicated firefighter for the Village of Tarrytown. For the past 17 years, she has been one of the steady volunteers helping the Rotary Duck Derby/Y Healthy Kids Day.
Kelly joined the Tarrytown Fire Department in August 2003. She has worked up the ranks from firefighter to company officer. Kelly was named the first female Fire Chief in 2016, overseeing the department from 2016-2017 and then again in 2021. Additionally, she has been the Village of Tarrytown’s Recreational Pool Director for over seven years and was previously the Tarrytown/Sleepy Hollow Day Camp Director.
Kelly, a graduate of Sleepy Hollow High School, earned her BA from West Virginia Wesleyan College, and Masters’ Degrees in Health Education from the City University of NY Lehman College and a MEd in Educational Leadership and Administration from the American College of Education. She is currently working on another Master’s Degree in Educational Leadership.
Kelly is a former employee and current supporter of the Family YMCA at Tarrytown and the Y Movement. Having taught swimming and lifeguarded for our Y for many years, Kelly became our official trainer for lifeguards and swim instructors, currently trains our childcare staff in CPR and First Aid and was instrumental in helping our Y Cheer team raise over $1800 for their efforts to go to nationals. Her community-minded spirit and volunteerism make her the perfect recipient of the 2nd annual presentation of the Leonard Andrew Spirit of Service Award.
The Family YMCA at Tarrytown is honored to present the Laurance S. Rockefeller Award to Rosemary and Kevin Plunkett for their dedication to the Rivertowns.
Rosemary Plunkett, originally from Baltimore, Maryland, a mother of five and a grandmother to nine, has always been invested in her community of Tarrytown. Rosemary has a Master of Early Education from Fordham University and has taught preschool and elementary school-age children locally for over 25 years. She has been heavily involved in the Rivertowns and is a member of the Junior League of Westchester and served as a board member of the Donald Reed Speech Center for eight years. Additionally, Rosemary is a Eucharistic Minister at Transfiguration Church in Tarrytown and is part of their Twinning Ministry, which connects with a parish in El Salvador. She also volunteers as a teacher in the Parish School of Religion at Transfiguration and has worked with Open Door to collect items for their Baby Bundle Project.
She, along with her husband, Kevin Plunkett, have been strong supporters of Phelps Hospital/Northwell Health and were instrumental in one of the most successful fundraising efforts the hospital has hosted in recent years, the 2021 Champagne Ball, where Kevin served as co-chair. In 2022, Kevin was elected as the hospital’s Community Board Chair.
Kevin has been dedicated to his community and has a long and distinguished career in both the public and private sectors, having served as Deputy County Executive of Westchester from 2010-2018. He is currently the Director of Strategic Initiatives for Simone Development Companies, a full-service real estate development company. Kevin, who has practiced law for more than four decades, began his law career in 1975 as an Assistant District Attorney for Westchester County. He later joined the law firm of Plunkett & Jaffe, where he was an equity member of the firm for more than 20 years. He became a partner in the international law firm of Thacher Proffitt & Wood from 2000 to 2008. Before becoming Deputy County Executive, he was a partner in the regional law firm of DelBello Donnellan Weingarten Wise and Wiederkehr. Throughout his law career, Kevin has represented numerous governmental entities including the Villages of Tarrytown, Irvington, Dobbs Ferry, Mamaroneck and the City of Rye. He is a former board member of the New York State Thruway Authority/Canal Corporation, Taconic State Park Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission, New York League of Conservation Voters and the Greenway Conservancy for the Hudson River. He served on four Governor Judicial Screening committees from 1997 to 2017 and served as chairman from 1997 to 2006. Well-known in Westchester’s business and not-for-profit community, Kevin has served on various public bank boards, most recently on the board of Tompkins Mahopac Bank, and is currently the chair of the Tompkins Community Bank Development Board. Additionally, he has served on the boards of numerous not-for-profit and educational institutions, including ArtsWestchester, Westchester ARC Foundation, and Iona College. Kevin is a lifelong resident of Tarrytown, and he and Rosemary have supported and been members of the Family YMCA at Tarrytown for many years.
The Family YMCA at Tarrytown is pleased to present Drew Fixell with the Laurance S. Rockefeller Award for his many years of devotion and service to the Village of Tarrytown and its surrounding communities. Drew, a 37-year resident of Tarrytown, served as a village trustee for five years and then as its mayor for fifteen. In 2020, due to the pandemic, Drew stepped down as mayor to be able to care full-time for his grandchildren and elderly parents.
In addition to these roles, Drew has served on several boards, committees, and task forces, including the NYS Governor’s Tappan Zee Bridge Mass Transit Task Force, Westchester County Transportation Board, Tarrytown Architectural Review Board, Open Door and the Historic Hudson Rivertowns. He also was a co-founder of the Foundation for the Public Schools of the Tarrytowns and served for many years as its Vice-President.
Drew earned his bachelor’s degree in economics at Harvard and then went on to Cornell to earn a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics, focusing on energy conservation. This background served him well as he endeavored to stop the proposed concrete crushing plant on the waterfront and his involvement with the Clearwater, Scenic Hudson, and Sierra clubs. Professionally, he worked as a Financial Analyst with the New York State Comptroller’s Office for twelve years and is currently the Chief Financial Officer at a private investment firm.
Drew has been married for 38 years to Victoria Hudson, a neonatal intensive care nurse (now retired), and is the proud father and father-in-law of his daughters Nina and Liana and their spouses Marino and Joey.
Victoria and Drew have 3 young grandsons: Elias, Amiel and Simon!