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NYC-Parents in Action, Inc. recognizes that effective parenting in early childhood is a primary form of substance abuse prevention for children and teenagers. We provide parenting education, information and a communications network to help parents prepare their children and teenagers to cope with social pressures and make sound choices towards a future free of alcohol and drug abuse.
Our programs are designed to promote:
This year, NYC-Parents in Action will offer two seminars, a luncheon speaker series, Teen Scene and over 250 facilitated discussion groups in member schools and more. Our programs are designed to inform parents about alcohol and drug abuse and to facilitate communication among parents, young people and schools.
PUBLICATIONS
Newsletters
Our Newsletter is published three times a year and has a print and email circulation of over 26,000 families. It covers our seminars, featuring information on child and adolescent development, health, and the effects of alcohol, tobacco, and drugs on children and adolescents.To download a copy of our latest newsletter, click here. 
FOCUS: A Practical Parenting Guide
"FOCUS: A Practical Parenting Guide" is designed to help parents communicate more effectively with their children and to prepare families to cope with critical issues facing children and adolescents in New York City today. This publication provides information on a variety of topics, including health and safety, media influences and substance abuse. NYC-PIA now offers a revised and expanded edition of FOCUS to participating independent schools in New York City. For a copy, please contact your NYC-PIA School Rep.
Online Exclusives
From time to time, NYC-PIA will put helpful information from psychologists, educators and physicians up on our web site as an "online exclusive."
Our Parent Discussion Groups help in the development of parent-parent and parent-child communication. Parents are encouraged to share their parenting strategies, experiences, and concerns with other parents in their grade in a facilitated meeting. These meetings are designed to promote better understanding and awareness of social, developmental and parenting issues. Facilitated Parent Discussion Groups are scheduled at the request of New York City independent schools.
We are always looking for talented volunteers to go through our facilitator training. If you are interested, please e-mail us at facilitation@parentsinaction.org. SEMINARS
TEEN SCENE
The Advisory Board is made up of professionals who relate to the issues facing NYC–Parents in Action. The Board draws upon the expertise of the Advisory Board.
George Davison has been the Head of Grace Church School since 1994. Before coming to GCS in 1987, he was Head of the Middle School at Birch Wathen, and before that, a teacher at Saint David's School.
Mr. Davison is active on several professional and community nonprofit boards. He is the President of the Guild of Independent Schools of New York. He serves as the Chair of the Committee of Trustees of the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY). He is on the board of NYSAIS as well as a member of its commission on accreditation. He is a board member and past President of iMedia, which makes various forms of visual media available to independent schools in the New York area. He is a longtime board member of Learning Leaders, which trains and places volunteers as tutors and in other academic support positions in the New York City Public Schools. This past year 15,000 volunteers worked with 200,000 students under its auspices.
Mr. Davison received his BA in History from Yale University and his MA in the History of Education from Teachers College of Columbia University.
Ernesto Ferran, Jr., M.D. is Clinical Professor of Psychiatry at New York University Medical Center and Executive Director of the NYU Health Center, managing student medical, drug and alcohol education, and health promotion services in addition to overseeing the University’s faculty/staff admittance program. He previously served as the Acting Director of Clinical Services at the NYU Child Study Center and was Co-Director of its NYU School Partnership.
Dr. Ferran has served on numerous boards and advisory groups, including the New York State Hospital Review and Planning Council and the New York State Mental Health Service Council. He has published on topics from teenage homelessness to workplace diversity and appeared on radio and TV.
He received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in the Bronx, followed by a residency in General Psychiatry and a fellowship in Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at NYU Medical Center–Bellevue Hospital. He is certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology in both General Psychiatry and Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry.
Jeanette Friedman, MS, LCSW has worked with adolescents and families since 1971, first as an award-winning educator in both public and independent schools, and subsequently as a clinical social worker and consultant on addictive behaviors among youth. Her focus over the past 10 years has been the particular causes and effects of substance use for the developing teenager, family, school and larger community.
Her previous positions include Phoenix House’s IMPACT (Intervention Moves Parents & Children Together) Program where she worked with groups of teens and families struggling with the social, emotional and behavioral problems that result from alcohol and other drug use. She also served as Director of Adolescent Services for the Caron Foundation of New York where she designed and developed an innovative outpatient program for adolescents and their families. She went on to assist the soon-to-open New York Center for Living as consultant for clinical programming, and developed a course on Adolescent Substance Abuse for Psychiatry fellows at NYU School of Medicine.
As a consultant and family therapist in private practice, Ms. Friedman specializes in educating her clients about the unique difficulties of adolescence, substance abuse and related family and educational challenges. She holds Masters Degrees from Middlebury College and Columbia University and is an acknowledged leader in the field within the greater New York area.
Charlene C. Giannetti is a journalist and the author of ten books, including The Roller-Coaster Years: Raising Your Child Through the Maddening Yet Magical Middle School Years and Cliques: 8 Steps to Help Your Child Survive the Social Jungle, both of which she co-wrote with Margaret Sagarese. Their newest book, Boy Crazy! Keeping Your Daughter’s Feet on the Ground When Her Head Is in the Clouds, was published in February 2006. A graduate of Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Communications, she was formerly an editor for Business Week magazine and for Working Smart, the newsletter of the National Institute of Business Management. Her articles have appeared in a wide variety of publications, from Advertising Age to The New York Times.
After fighting a seven-year battle with infertility, Giannetti and her husband decided to adopt children. Since then, Giannetti has remained committed to the issues of adoption. In 2004, she and her husband received the Catholic Home Bureau’s Humanitarian Award in recognition of their work in adoption. As president of the Catholic Adoptive Parents Association, she helped organize a yearly luncheon honoring those in the media who have presented a positive portrayal of adoption. Books by this author
Edes Gilbert, after 22 years as Head of School, first at Mary Institute in St Louis and then at the Spence School, Edes Gilbert has “re-cycled” or reinvented herself as President of Resource Group 175, a consulting firm based in Manhattan specializing in work with leadership and governance in independent schools in the USA and abroad. Before becoming a head of school, she served as classroom teacher in grades 4-9, admissions director and division head for grades K-8 in the Boston and St Louis areas. Throughout her career, teaching English and Latin to middle schoolers was an on-going source of pleasure and satisfaction.
In addition to her work in schools, has served as President of several educational organizations, been a member of the Board of TIAA-CREF where she served on the Personnel Committee, the Social Responsibility Committee and the Committee on Corporate Governance and been President of the Board of Lesley University. She currently serves on the New York Advisory Board of Teach for America and the Board of the Theater Development Fund. She has published in a number of educational magazines and journals.
After graduating from Friends Seminary, she earned her BA and teaching credentials at Vassar College and went on to work on her Masters’ Degree at NYU, University of Massachusetts and Lesley University from which she received her degree.
Currently, she is working with several New York area schools and a charter school in Philadelphia as well as completing a search for a new Head in Washington DC. Ms. Gilbert has three adult “children” and three grandchildren.
Sherry M. Grand is Director of Counseling Services at The Hewitt School. She received her B.A. from the University of Michigan and her M.A. from New York University, and has done course work at Hunter College School of Social Work. Ms. Grand served as Head of the Upper School at Hewitt for 19 years. Prior to Hewitt, from 1980-1986, Ms. Grand was the college counselor at The Lenox School. She currently serves on the Board of the Association of Teachers In Independent Schools and is on the Advisory Board of the Caron Foundation. Ms. Grand has organized workshops for parents and adolescents since 1986.
Harold S. Koplewicz, M.D. is the Founder and Director of New York University Child Study Center. He is Vice-Chairman of the Department of Psychiatry, Arnold and Debbie Simon Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, and Professor of Clinical Pediatrics at NYU School of Medicine. Dr. Koplewicz serves as the Director of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at Bellevue Hospital. Books by this author
His awards include the 1997 Reiger Service Award from the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry for work in the development of school-based mental health programs.
Dr. Koplewicz received his medical degree from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in 1978. He has served on the National Board of Medical Examiners and the New York State Commission on Youth, Crime and Violence and Reform of the Juvenile Justice System. Since 1997 he has been Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Child and Adolescent Psychopharmacology. His books include It's Nobody's Fault, New Hope and Help for Difficult Children and Their Parents (Times Books/Random House, 1996), which received the Parent’s Choice Award. He has published numerous articles on children’s behavioral disorders and has made frequent radio and TV appearances. His advocacy for the rights of children with mental illness was instrumental in naming November “Child Mental Health Month.”
George M. Lazarus, M.D. is on staff at New York Presbyterian Hospital and Lenox Hill Hospital and teaches Pediatrics at Columbia. He serves as a school physician for the Allen-Stevenson School and for Park Avenue Methodist Day School. Dr. Lazarus received his B.A. from Yale and his M.D. from Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons. He did his internship, residency and chief residency in Pediatrics at Babies Hospital, Columbia Presbyterian Medical Center. After two years in the Air Force Medical Corps (rank Major), he was Coordinator of Medical Education for the Department of Pediatrics at Roosevelt Hospital from 1976 to 1979. He began private practice in pediatrics in 1976 and today his patients range from newborns to men and women in their early thirties.
Thomas Lickona, Ph.D. is a developmental psychologist and Professor of Childhood/Early Childhood Education at the State University of New York at Cortland, where he directs the Center for the Fourth and Fifth Rs (Respect and Responsibility), dedicated to helping families, schools and communities develop good character in youth.
Dr. Lickona got his Ph.D. in Psychology from the State University of New York at Albany and has done research on the growth of children’s moral reasoning. He is a frequent consultant to schools on character education and a frequent speaker at conferences for teachers, parents, religious educators and other groups concerned about the moral development of young people. He has lectured across the United States and in Canada, Japan, Switzerland, Ireland and Latin America on the subject of fostering good character in the school and home. Books by this author
His books include Educating for Character: How Our Schools Can Teach Respect and Responsibility and Character Matters: How to Help Our Children Develop Good Judgment, Integrity, and Other Essential Virtues. Dr. Lickona is the recipient of the “Sandy Award” for Lifetime Achievement in Character Education from the Character Education Partnership and has appeared on national TV and radio talk shows. He and his wife Judith live in Cortland, New York, and have 11 grandchildren.
Ralph I. López, M.D. received his B.A. from Fordham College and his M.D. from N.Y.U. Medical College. He did an internship and one year of residency at Bellevue Hospital before completing his pediatric residency at Boston Children’s Medical Center at Harvard, with a fellowship in Adolescent Medicine completed in 1971. Entering the U.S. Navy as Lt. Commander, he set up the first Adolescent Medical Unit at the Naval Hospital in Portsmouth, VA. In 1973 he joined Cornell Medical College as Director of Adolescent Medicine and Director for Medical Education for the Department of Pediatrics. In 1983 he set up the first fulltime private practice in Adolescent Medicine in New York City, limited to teenagers and college students.
Books by this author
Jean Mandelbaum, Ph.D. has been Director of All Souls School in New York City since 1981 and an adjunct faculty member at Bank Street College since 1986. She is a member of the Heads of Schools Advisory Board of the Independent Schools Admissions Association of Greater New York (ISAAGNY), a member of the NYC Committee for the Hundred Languages of Children, and a Mentor for the National Academy of Early Childhood Programs. She is an active consultant to school districts throughout the New York region: Mamaroneck/Larchmont School District, NYC Districts #2 and #3, The City School District of White Plains and The City School District of New Rochelle. She conducted a gender equity study for Ethical Culture School.
Dr. Mandelbaum received her B.S. in Sociology and Psychology from the University of Michigan, her M.S. from Bank Street College of Education, and her Ph.D. in Early Childhood Education from New York University. She was an Instructor and Assistant Professor in the Department of Elementary Education and Assistant Director of the Comprehensive Day Care Training Program at City College.
Bruce Polsky, M.D. is Vice Chairman of the Department of Medicine, Chief of the Division of Infectious Diseases, Medical Director of the Clinical Virology Laboratory and Epidemiologist at St. Luke's–Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. Dr. Polsky is also a member of the faculty at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. He has an active practice focusing on infectious diseases of adults and adolescents and has conducted clinical investigations into HIV and other viral infections since the early 1980s.
Dr. Polsky is a graduate of Wayne State University School of Medicine. He completed his residency in Internal Medicine at Montefiore Hospital Center and his fellowship in Infectious Diseases at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. He is a member of the governing Council of the Infectious Diseases Society of New York and numerous advisory committees at the local, state and federal levels. Dr. Polsky has published extensively on antiviral chemotherapy and on infectious complications of cancer and AIDS.
Julie A. Ross, M.A. is the Executive Director of Parenting Horizons, a company devoted to enriching children’s lives through parent and teacher education. A certified Active Parenting Group Leader, she has taught parenting courses and workshops nationwide. In the New York City area, Ms. Ross has run workshops for The Board of Jewish Education, the New York City Public School System, various private and public schools, The Parent’s League and NYC–Parents in Action as well as corporations and private organizations. She has lectured widely and participated in numerous conferences and symposiums. Her TV, radio and online appearances include the “Montel Williams Show” and the award-winning national radio show "The Parent’s Journal" with Bobbi Connor.
She is the author of Practical Parenting for the 21st Century: The Manual You Wish Had Come With Your Child and Now What Do I Do?; Joint Custody With a Jerk: Raising A Child With An Uncooperative Ex; and A Guide to Parenting Elementary-aged Children. Her articles and interviews have appeared in Working Mother Magazine, Good Housekeeping, Family Life, among others. She writes a monthly column for Manhattan Plaza News in NYC. Books by this author
Ms. Ross holds a M.A. in Psychology from New York University.
A member of the American Counseling Association, she has had a private practice in New York City for over 10 years.
Charlotte Weber is a co-founder and past President of NYC–Parents in Action.
Sophocles Zoullas is CEO, Chairman and Director of Eagle Bulk Shipping, which he founded. He received a BA from Harvard and an MBA from IMD (MEDE) in Lausanne, Switzerland. Mr. Zoullas is currently a member of the USA Advisory Committee of Lloyd’s Register and the American Bureau of Shipping. He has two children in the NYC independent schools.
Executive Committee
Board
Participating Schools 2009-10
Alexander Robertson SchoolAllen-Stevenson School Berkeley Carroll School Birch Wathen Lenox School Brearley School Browning School Buckley School Caedmon School Calhoun School Chapin School Claremont Preparatory School Collegiate School Columbia Grammar & Preparatory School Convent of the Sacred Heart Dalton School Dwight School Ethical Culture Fieldston School Fieldston Lower Fieldston Upper Friends Seminary Gateway School Grace Church School Heschel School: Abraham Joshua Hewitt School Horace Mann School Little Red Schoolhouse & Elisabeth Irwin High School Loyola School Marymount School Nightingale-Bamford School Packer Collegiate Institute Poly Prep Country Day School Professional Children's School Riverdale Country School Rodeph Sholom School Saint Ann's School Saint David's School Spence School St. Bernard's School Town School Trevor Day Trinity School United Nations International School Winston Prep Windward York Preparatory School |
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