Candidates for the 2021 Three Parks
Board of Directors
Lorraine Zamora, President--upon retiring as a professional fundraiser, Lorraine joined Three Parks to help with the Obama/Biden campaign storefront. A year later, she came on the board and in 2016 co-managed of the Clinton/Kaine campaign storefront. From 2017-2019, as corresponding secretary, she published the club's monthly newsletters with the technical assistance of her husband, Richard Luna, and coordinated Three Parks' holiday parties and fundraising benefits. She was elected board president in 2019 and would be honored to continue serving in that position in 2021.
Daniele Gerard, 1st Vice President—is a lifelong New Yorker. Currently a senior staff attorney at Children’s Rights, Daniele worked for NYC Council President Carol Bellamy, attended Columbia Law School, practiced at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, and worked at Food & Water Watch. A Three Parks member since 2004, she’s been a five-term president, a four-time campaign center veteran, and a critic of fracking/Indian Point, the “grand bargain,” and all things Republican.
Merle McEldowney, 2nd Vice President--Merle met Three Parks during the 2006 John Hall Campaign. But it was during 2008 Obama campaign that she began to volunteer at the Obama storefront. Then she really learned about the club and became a TPID member. In 2016 she coordinated TPID efforts to aid the Zephyr Teachout campaign. She has worked on issues such as hydraulic fracturing, TPP, Social Security, Medicaid, and Medicare. Merle strongly believes that TPID’s grassroots efforts—sending letters, making phone calls, and creating whatever legal mischief we can—will help hold our elected officials’ feet to the fire. Merle served as Three Parks president from 2017-2019.
Ellen Flax, Treasurer--is a philanthropy consultant, serves as the rabbi of several eldercare facilities, and is delighted to continue serving as Three Parks’ Treasurer. She has been an active participant in numerous Three Parks campaigns for President, Congress, and for state and city officials.
Theresa Canter, Membership Director—As a member for over twenty-five years, Theresa has served the membership as President, First and Second Vice President, Treasurer and Judicial Delegate, She would be honored to continue to serve another year as Membership Director. Utilizing her deep campaign and fundraising experience over the years, she will continue to work to make Three Parks a more visible presence in NYC County politics. She looks forward to working together to elect our club-endorsed progressive Democratic candidates in this important city-wide election year.
Jessica Haberstock, Recording Secretary—is a Missouri native who moved to NYC six years ago. She has lived on the Upper West Side for the last six years, working as a structural engineer at Silman. As a board member, she has helped design TPID’s website, captained for the Biden phone bank, and petitioned for statewide offices. Outside of the club, Jessica is the current Treasurer for Dan Cohen's City Council race and is training her quarantine rescue puppy. She is looking forward to continuing her role as the recording secretary
Chuck Wall, Corresponding Secretary-- enjoyed a long career as an editor and publisher for major New York book publishing firms. Chuck has been active in progressive causes from the Vietnam era to the present. With Three Parks, he campaigned actively in 2016 for the Clinton/Kaine ticket. After becoming a TPID Board member, he helped lead the Take Back Congress committee, organizing and coordinating numerous phone banks, postcard campaigns, and canvassing trips for congressional candidates through the 2018 midterms and the 2020 presidential elections. In 2019 he became editor of the TPID newsletter, and he now creates and produces its monthly electronic issues. He looks forward to supporting Democratic candidates and working on progressive issues in 2021 and beyond.
Vincent Brancato-- has lived most of his life in New York City, the last ten years on the Upper West Side. He spent his career mostly in the industrial world, primarily in the steel business. Community service activities have included Rotary Club and the Lions Club. He is active in environmental issues, working with the Gore Climate Reality Project and other groups. At the NY Society for Ethical Culture, he volunteers at the women’s shelter and is on the Environmental Committee and Social Service Board. He currently serves on the board of My Own Book Fund, which enables many third graders in Title One schools to buy their own books as a reading improvement tool. He was originally drawn to Three Parks by the anti-fracking content on the club’s web site and has been a member for about six years. He has participated in petitioning, phone banks, tabling, and campaigning both within and outside of the City.
Corinne Constantine — has lived on the Upper West Side since 1976. Now retired, she held professional administrative positions at all the major institutions of higher education in NYC. Following her participation in the Clinton/Kaine Campaign Center as captain of the bus trips to PA, she joined the board and focused on the 2018 midterm election and “taking back Congress.” She has also coordinated the annual Fundraiser and the Winter Holiday Party. Most recently, she coordinated all phone banking for the Biden/Harris ticket and for the Georgia run-off election. She also participated almost every day in the tabling on Broadway during the Biden/Harris election.
Wendy Diller--is a long-time resident of the Upper West Side and proud member of the board of Three Parks Dems, who views the club as a vital and effective force for carrying out civic responsibilities, educating the community about important political issues, and fostering Democratic values that we all care about. Professionally, she is a journalist and analyst focused on the intersection of business and science. She has been actively involved in Three Parks' election activities at both the national and state levels and fought hard to turn the New York State Legislature solid blue in 2018 and to defeat Donald Trump as president in 2020. This year, she is committed to working on the all-important upcoming NYC elections and encouraging civic discourse about the future of NYC’s economic and social recovery. At the federal level, her priority is to help at the local grassroots level to help the Biden Administration and Democratic Congress succeed. She is the mother of 3 grown children, who attended Upper West Side schools.
Genora Bennett Johnson-- was born in Harlem, lived in upper Manhattan all her life, and raised her 3 now adult children here on the Upper West Side. She is also the grandmother of a 20-year-old who’s in her third year at Barnard College. Genora has served on the Board of Three Parks for a year. Additionally she has served on the board of several community-based organizations including Community Board 7 and is co-founder and executive director of Alms Chic, an organization dedicated to bringing awareness to the unserved and underserved in her community, extending a helping hand to older adults. Genora has been a member of the Three Parks Independent Democrats county committee for over 10 years.
David Lazarus — now retired, David worked as a math teacher and as a programmer. He has participated in many Three Parks activities over the last two decades, including (in the distant past before social distancing and quarantines) bus trips to Pennsylvania, trips upstate and to Staten Island, tabling, passing out fliers, posting election site information and other activities. He has been a member of the Three Parks Board for two years and feels that he has been able to make valued contributions. He would be very honored to have your support to continue in this position. Also, he would be happy to hear from anyone who has ideas or concerns that they would like brought before the Board.
Mary Ann Marks—has been a resident of the Upper West Side for 39 years, a club member for 17 years, and a board member for 16 years. In addition to actively participating in the Three Parks ’04, ’08, ‘12, and ’16 storefront campaign centers, Mary Ann has worked on campaigns for rezoning, health care, anti-fracking, and closing Indian Point. She campaigned for Cynthia Doty for City Council and for Hilary Clinton for President, and in 2020 she campaigned at the club’s sidewalk tables for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris. Mary Ann has coordinated the mailings of the club’s print-version monthly newsletters.
Lynn Max – a leader in the Take Back the Presidency and Take Back the Senate campaigns in 2020. Co-managed Campaign Centers in ’04, ‘08 and ’12 and a leader in the 2016 Campaign Center. A lead organizer in the 2018 Take Back Congress campaign. In addition to being Membership Director 2007-2012, she served on the steering committee for Three Parks’ successful Rezoning Campaign and served on its Health Care, Social Security and anti-fracking committees. Lynn looks forward to campaigning for our Three Parks endorsed candidates for City offices and continuing to work for a fair and equitable City government.
Steve Max (Three Parks webmaster) — a manager in the ‘08 and ’12 Obama Campaign Centers and helped staff the ‘16 Clinton Campaign Center. Bernie Sanders socialist. He co-chaired TPID committees on Social Security, health care, and anti-fracking and worked to defeat the proposed NY State constitutional convention, re-authorize rent regulation laws, and pass neighborhood rezoning. In 2018 and 2020 he was a leader in TPID’s Take Back the Presidency and Congress committees. In 2021 Steve has been the tech person for the Club’s Zoom meetings, web site and electronic endorsement voting. He is looking forward to campaigning for the Club’s candidates for City offices, as well as pressing passage of the NY State Health Plan (Single Payer, Medicare for All). Steve is employed part time by The Midwest Academy, a training school for progressive organizers, and has been training the organizing staff at Food and Water Action, the leading anti-climate change organization.
Miriam Rabban -- has served on the TPID Board for the past two years and remains interested in doing her part to sustain its progressive activities. During 2020, she coordinated 9 weeks of phone-banking for Representative Antonio Delgado, hosted by Three Parks. Rep. Delgado won re-election. She was also an active participant in phone-banking for Biden/Harris, hosted by Three Parks. She is currently serving on a Three Parks Committee focused on single-payer health legislation. She remains interested in expanding voting rights and affordable housing. She has worked with the Club in collaboration with the SWEAT campaign to protect the right of workers in our neighborhood to get paid for all the hours worked and to strengthen protection against attempts by employers to evade responsibility for payment.
Lois Safian — has lived on the Upper West Side for over forty years. She is retired from her career as a producer of corporate meetings, where she interacted with high-level corporate executives, and was responsible for managing budgets, writers, designers, video production, and on-site staging teams. In 2012 Lois became an active volunteer with Three Parks at our Obama/Biden Campaign Center, and in 2016 was an integral part of our Clinton/Kaine Campaign Center. Lois has been a board member since 2017, managing the 2019 Holiday Party, the 2020 Fundraiser Event, and is looking forward to continue working with Three Parks.
Irene Shrier — has been a West Sider since the late 1960s. Irene is a retired NYC high school math teacher who also taught GED in an alternative high school program for women living in shelters. Irene has been member of Three Parks since 2004 and was active in the club’s storefront campaigns for John Kerry, Barack Obama, and Hillary Clinton. In 2020 she campaigned for the Biden/Harris ticket and organized phone banks for Max Rose’s congressional campaign. She is also a member of the Democratic County Committee. Irene believes we need to stay strong and remain actively engaged in local politics for the upcoming years.
Daniel Tsadok-- is a software developer and instructor. He first discovered Three Parks though the Clinton/Kaine storefront. In 2020, he served as co-captain for the club’s phone banks for the Biden/Harris campaign, and moderated the climate change panel for the September 2019 meeting. He is particularly concerned about protecting human rights, the environment, and the internet.
