Alumni | Foundation Spotlight

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NYU Stern is honored to present the Paul J. Friedman Small Acts of Kindness Memorial Fellowship. Established in 2006 through a partnership between NYU Stern and the board of directors of the Small Acts of Kindness Foundation (SAKF), the program has annually supported exceptional MBA students who participate in the Stern Consulting Corps (SCC) and the Stern Social Impact Internship Fund (SIIF), now part of the SternWorks internship program. These programs enable students to apply knowledge gained in the classroom to help revitalize small and minority-owned businesses, as well as benefit nonprofit organizations in New York City. The Foundation's board elected to use all of its assets to endow this program to create a permanent tribute in honor of alumnus Paul J. Friedman (MBA ‘87), who perished in the attacks of September 11, 2001.
 
Born and raised in Brooklyn, NY, Paul Friedman was a shy, kind man with an incredible mind. Of the five Friedman siblings, he was both listener and problem solver. Throughout his academic and professional life, he played a similar role. Paul is an alumnus of the John Dewey High School in Brooklyn. Paul earned an undergraduate degree from Johns Hopkins University and advanced degrees from both New York University Stern School of Business and the University of Michigan. At the end of his life, he was a management consultant for Emergence Consulting in Lincoln, Massachusetts.
 
“While Mr. Friedman was easily the brightest person who worked at Emergence Consulting," said company co-founder Allen Rupple, "he had a dry sense of humor and often did silly things."* His career began at Bell Laboratories and also included stints at American Management Systems, Fleet Bank, and Cap Gemini.
 
Paul's passion for life was evident to all who watched, knew and admired him. He exhibited drive and persistence throughout his career and was an inspiration to those with whom he connected. His life reflects the courage and ideals that NYU Stern strives to instill in its students. “My brother, Paul, was deeply committed to improving the world around him,” noted Amy J. Radin, President of the SAKF. “As such, my entire family and I find supporting the SCC a particularly appropriate way to honor him, as it enables a new generation of Stern business students to gain valuable practical knowledge while fostering the social consciousness and importance of community involvement that he so greatly valued.”
 
NYU Stern is proud to partner with the Foundation's board to celebrate the School’s ideals and the resilience of the City and community of which Paul was a part for much of his life. Paul's legacy will now continue to be accomplished by generations of Stern MBA students.
 
*Quotation from "Remember September 11, 2001” by Dore Carroll published in the Star Ledger.

In Summer 2024, two students received the Paul J. Friedman Small Acts of Kindness Memorial Fellowship. Descriptions of their internships will be added in the coming weeks. 

Summer 2023
Leah Kraft (MBA/MPA '24)
Leah spent her summer internship working at the Belfer Center for Innovation & Social Impact at 92NY. During her internship, she worked on the strategy for expanding Share our America, a program aiming to fight political polarization by bringing together community members with opposing viewpoints for a moderated discussion and shared meal.

Flora Lau (MBA '24)
Flora interned with HelpMeSee, a nonprofit organization based in New York with a mission to eradicate cataract blindness globally. Her primary task was to develop a model to assess the potential of new deployment sites across Latin America, Africa, India, and Southeast Asia. Flora was able to apply her analytic skills and experience working in the healthcare industry during this summer internship.

Summer 2022
Paxton Voigt (MD/MBA '23)
Paxton spent her summer in the Dominican Republic with Saving Mothers, a nonprofit organization with the mission to reduce maternal mortality worldwide through sustainable programming. She took on a variety of roles as a student researcher, project manager, and partnership initiator to implement and execute their first interprofessional simulation training program at a local hospital. She also spearheaded Saving Mother's partnership with a technology software company to facilitate remote mentorship for hospital staff.

Summer 2021
Matthew Malenky (MBA '22)
Matthew interned with PEN America, a nonprofit that works on behalf of poets, essayists, and novelists to defend and celebrate free expression. There, he developed a new plan to quantify and communicate the impact of their work to internal and external stakeholders.

Viveka Mandava (MBA '22)
During her summer internship, Viveka worked with Hill House, an apparel and home brand. She spent her summer developing their supply chain sustainability strategy and learning about the global supply chain and sourcing practices of the apparel industry. Viveka continued to intern with Hill House throughout her MBA2 year, developing her expertise in supply chain operations and apparel sustainability.

Summer 2020
Tiffany Cole (MBA '21)
Tiffany spent her summer with the non-profit Global Brigades, helping them develop their business plan around their telemedicine program. Tiffany had taken two years off from medical school to attend business school and had prior experience working with Global Brigades. The team was excited to bring her back to the organization and have her be able to leverage her new experiences to accelerate impact in partner communities abroad.

Summer 2018
Leslie Chao (MBA '19)
Leslie worked with the Aspen Institute to refresh their newsletter, which is read by leading minds in a variety of sectors (80% of whom are business school professors). Through conducting surveys and meeting with others in the field, Leslie proposed a plan to make the newsletter more engaging, more user-friendly, and financially sustainable. She was able to reach her stated goal of enabling professors to integrate social issues and discussions into their curricula, ultimately leading to a positive impact on the next generation of business leaders.

Summer 2017
Andrew Karas (MBA '18)
Andrew worked with SpringBoard Collective's summer school program. He oversaw 4 sites across NYC and worked closely with the ED to engage with principals, teachers, parents, and students. He analyzed daily student data, lead site team meetings, and helped troubleshoot as necessary.

Summer 2016
Joseph Nelson (MD/MBA '17)
Joseph worked with Community Healthcare Network to isolate patient bottlenecks, forecast workflow, direct nurse practitioners, and create a curriculum for their education. His work was supervised directly by the Chief Medical Officer, also an MD/MBA.

Summer 2015
Haley Garrett (MBA '16)
Haley spent her summer at Enterprise Community Partners as an Impact Investing Intern. She worked on projects focused on expanding access to affordable housing and expanding initiatives to green public housing.

Summer 2014
Irma Alvarez (MBA '14)
Irma spent her summer at the Taproot Foundation, a non-profit organization that engages design, marketing, IT, strategic management, and human resources professionals to build the infrastructure of other nonprofit organizations. She was a fellow on the advisory services team and developed a business plan that guided the expansion of Taproot's "probono as a talent development" strategy for corporate clients.

Summer 2013
Minden Koopman (MBA '14)
Minden spent her summer as an intern in the NYC Center for Economic Opportunity. In the internship, she benchmarked the program's financial data and impact data against similar organizations as well as conducted research to create "case studies" of program's success.

Summer 2012
Lauren Anderson (MBA '13)
Lauren spent her summer interning for The Real Food Challenge where she developed a fundraising strategy and operations plan for the next 5 years of the organization's growth. The Real Food Challenge is an organization designed to leverage the power of youth and universities to create a healthy, fair, and green food system. Prior to starting her MBA at NYU Stern, Lauren worked as a management consultant in Washington, DC and volunteered with StreetWise Partners and Ashoka where she became interested in strategic development and social impact.

Summer 2011
Stephanie Johnson (MBA '12)
Stephanie served as Partnership & Business Development Intern at DonorsChoose.org.
The organization, which grew out of a Bronx high school where teachers experienced first-hand the scarcity of learning materials in our public schools, engages the public in public schools by giving people a simple, accountable and personal way to address educational inequity. Stephanie analyzed trends from the DonorsChoose.org Partnerships and Business Development team's pipeline, streamlined the partnership process, and developed key training materials for the staff.

Summer 2010
Orson Robbins-Pianka (MBA '11)
Orson interned at the Teach for America Headquarters. Within the Alumni Affairs team, Orson worked with the Director of the Social Entrepreneurship Initiative on two specific projects: writing a federal fundraising guide and designing an award to give to promising alums who want to start their own social enterprise ventures in the education space.

Spring 2009
Paula Rodriguez (MBA '10)
Paula worked with Housing + Solutions on a market analysis project to identify sectors where women who face significant obstacles may be able to secure good jobs. Paula helped to identify specific industries and jobs that could offer the Housing + Solutions tenants the opportunity for future employment success.

Fall 2008
Kate Kibler (MBA '09)
Kate was selected to participate on the Clinton Foundation's Harlem Restaurant Program project. During this project Kate conducted research on the creation of a purchasing consortium for Harlem restaurateurs. Kate went over and above to interview various constituents on the viability of a purchasing consortium. Working with her team members and Booz & Co. mentors, she presented a clear analysis of the benefits and challenges of implementing a consortium for Harlem restaurant owners.

Spring 2008
Daniel Fisher (MBA '09)
Daniel consulted with the Clinton Foundation on their Harlem Restaurant Program. In this capacity, he conducted research and completed a competitive analysis resulting in recommendations for a self-assessment tool and curriculum development.

Fall 2007
Elizabeth R. Greenbaum (MBA '08)
At the Legal Aid Society, Liz conducted an analysis of its grant management system and provided actionable recommendations for an improved and more efficient system.

Spring 2007
Diana Gonzalez Blanco (MBA '08)
Diana completed her internship with Step Up Women's Network, a national nonprofit membership organization dedicated to strengthening community resources for women and girls.

Fall 2006
Jennifer Mayer (MBA '07)
As the first Fellow, Jennifer completed her SCC fall internship with the Clinton Foundation's Urban Enterprise Initiative. As part of a greater team, she was consulting JP Design, a Harlem architecture firm. Born and raised in Harlem, JP Design founder Zemilla Jackson started her solo practice with $200, a drawing table, paper and pencils after she was laid off from a major firm. She has gone on to design several affordable housing and nonprofit developments around New York. Ms. Preston became involved with the program to update her business plan, improve cash flow and improve general operations. JP Design is one of only a handful of African-American, female-owned architecture firms in the nation.

We would like to gratefully acknowledge the contributors to the Paul J. Friedman Small Acts of Kindness Memorial Fellowship, whose generosity has made this initiative possible. We invite you to contribute to the Fund.

Stephen and Sandra Abramson
Audrey Ades
Richard and Elaine Ades
Yasmine Anavi, Stern MBA 1983
Tom and Moira Apperson
Apogee, Inc.
Norma Arnold
Mara and Keith Aspinoll
Judy and Michael Bailit
Anne Calhoun Baker
Gary and Rochelle Barron
Rabbi Stephen Bayer
Gary Belowich
Raphel Benaroya
Naftali and Gilat Bennett
Rose and Michael Bergamo
Noel Bigman
Sebastian Bio
Amy Blau
Paul W. Brandow
Richard Breed, III
Helane and Michael Brendsel
Judith Bresler
Jonathan Bressman
Cheryl and Craig Brod
Karen F. Brodman
Alison B. Brotman
Jon and Carol Brodsky
Michael and Lisa Bronner
Stanley and Suzanne Brotman
Greg and Patti Bruns
Elaine C. C. Carroll
Jennifer A. Carroll
Kenneth P. Carroll, Esq.
Anand and Padmini Cavale
Geoffrey and Donna Chellis
Ellen Cohen
Jeanne T. Cohn-Connor
Jess and Jane Colen
Jennifer A. Connors
Thomas F. Cooley
Robert R. Craig
Paul M. Da Silva
Murray and Bea Diamond
Alice and Bob Dillon
Pamela Dorman
The Drimer Family
Phyllis and Ken Ellenbogen
John Epstein
Michele Falkow
Grace and Sidney Falow
Caig Feinson
Janice Feinson
Kathy and Jeff Feld
Wendy and Bob Fishler
Robin and Matthew Fishman
Bill and Stacey Fisse
Steven Flessig
Gregory Framke
Steve and Neena Freiberg
Bob and Barbara Friedman
Iris Friedman
James Friedman
Mark and Carolyn Friedman
Krista Friedman
Philip and Paula Friedman
Selma Friedman
Thea Fuhrmann
Susan Gerould
Denise Giacomozzi
Tom and Tina Gibian
Robert D. Ginsberg
Joel Glucksman
Lori Ellen Gold
Steven M. Gold
Nancy Golding
Harry Goldstein
Clint and Elisa Greenbaum
Alan Greenberger
Elaine and George Greenberger
Hilary Greenberger
Randy and Lee Greenberger
Andy and John Grissinger
Randy and Janet Grossman
Joseph and Sara Harrington
Heidi and Robert Harrington
Amy Harris
Michael Hedden
Ann Harrington Heider
Diethild Harrington Heider
Bob and Nancy Hartheimer
Michael Hiles and Janey Place
Derene A. Hinchliff
Ken and Vicki Hoffman
Harry and Sue Horowitz
Julie House
Jeffrey Infusino
Brian and Tammy Jersey
Geoffrey Judge
Michael Kay
Andrew Kass
Mark and Carole Kaufmann
Michele Whitman and Jesse Keefe
Bob Kettenmann
Katherine A. Kibler
Wendy and Gerald Kleinbaum
Ronnie and Peter Knitzer
George and Lisa Kok
William H. Korman
Kim and Robert Krauss
Monish Kumar
Barbara and Richard Kurz
Gary Lattin
Joseph Lambariello
Julie and Stan Lekach
David Lenefsky
Kimi and Pepe Levene
Leslie and Samuel Levene
Benjamin Levy
Jane Liebschutz
Karyn Likerman
Cecilia Lindenfelser
Jayne and Stephen Luger
Rhoda and Irving Mansfield
Andrew and Heather Meyer
Lauren and Peter Meyer
Michael Meyer
Susan and James Millen
Risa and Cliff Millot
Tirza and Warren Mitlak
Helene and Steve Moehlman
Janina Montero
Mark and Barbara Morgenlender
Scott and Laurie Moss
Karen Muchnick
Andrea and John Nadai
Gregg and Cheryl Nathanson
Georgeann O'Keefe
Sandra and Wayne Paradis
Pam and Jeff Paro
Patricia Parsighian
Rebecca and David Pietrowski
Janey Place
Keith Powell
Meryl and David Price
Kimi Puntillo
Brian and Stacey Radin
Doris Radin
Joan and Carl Radin
Amy and Mitchell Radin
Roy Radin
Selma Joy Radin
Jo Recht
Andy Riddles
Ann and Larry Rubin
Joseph B. Rubin
Amy Rubinstein
Melvin and Helen Rubin
Donald and Susan Rudnick
Peter and Cheryl Rung
Lawrence Sager
Robert and Lisa Sapolsky
Jeff and Debbie Schumacher
Sid and Albee Schunkenwitz
Lenore Schupak
Sandra Schwartz
Phillip and Wendy Schwartz
Wendy and Matt Seiden
Isaak and Bela Shandler
Phyllis Shaw
Mr. and Mrs. Robert Sherman
Bijal and Dwight Shipman
Simon and Irene Shtofmakher
Mr. and Mrs. George Shockey
Mr. and. Mrs. David Siver
Renee Silverman
David and Melissa Simon
Frank Sisti (Clarfeld Financial Advisors)
The Small Acts of Kindness Foundation and all of its donors
Steve and Jan Smith
Dale Smith
Joan Smith
Harold Somer
Bill Staikos
Jean Stapleton
Nancy T. Stark
Rob and Lianne Steele
David and Debbie Stepansky
Wendy and Don Susswein
John and Noreen Sweeney
Marcia and Naftali Tal
Isa and Michael Tcheyan
Larry and Sheila Toal
Bert Tobin
Jill Totenberg
Alexandra Tyler
United Retail Group
Brian C. Vail
Michael and Anna Van Huyster
Brent D. Vicknair
Françoise and Roland Weiser
Norman Weissman
Michele Whitham
Elaine Winic
Joan and Corrine Winston-Rubin
Karl and Joanne Wohler
Tim and Cathy Woodlock
Joseph Woolf
Joanne Zalac
Dawn Zappetti
Steven J. Zier
Jean E. Zoeller
Jane and Michael Zuckerman

NYU Stern School of Business is dedicated to creating opportunities for its students to express their social consciousness and sense of community involvement. If you would like to contribute to The Paul J. Friedman Small Acts of Kindness Memorial Fellowship, you may do so by clicking here.

If you would prefer to contribute by check, please mail a check payable to the NYU Stern School of Business (write “Paul J. Friedman Fellowship” in the memo line) to:

NYU Stern
Gift Processing Center
547 LaGuardia Place
New York, NY 10012

Please contact giving@stern.nyu.edu with questions. 

Your contributions are 100% tax deductible. We are grateful for your generosity and support.