Shames JCC

Archaeology and the American Revolution in the Mid and Lower Hudson Valley with Eugene Boesch
2022-03-14 10:00 - 11:30 (America/New_York)
Well-known and little-known Revolutionary War sites Historic sites in the Lower and Mid Hudson Valley and their importance to our Revolutionary heritage will be discussed including the Battle of White Plains and the Battle of Pelham, fights that saved the Revolution.

Gross National Happiness: A New Measure for Countries with David Cheney
2022-03-21 10:00 - 11:30
Bhutan is known for using an unconventional measure of development since 1972: Gross National Happiness (GNH). Rather than using traditionally narrow economic criteria, Bhutan assesses its well-being on the basis of sustainable and equitable socio-economic development, environmental protection, promotion of culture, and good governance. Bhutan’s use of the GNH principles helped mobilize its whole population to avoid even a single COVID-19 death in 2020. Its positive experience offers lessons for other countries and spawned the World Population Review’s Happiness Report in 2002, which assesses the level of happiness in 149 countries.

Art Lecture with Suzanne Altman
2022-03-28 10:00 - 11:30
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is showing an exhibit of American Artist Winslow Homer’s iconic work in oil and watercolors. Renowned for his powerful paintings of American life and scenery, Winslow Homer (1836-1910) remains a beloved and consequential figure whose art continues to appeal to broad audiences. The centerpiece of the exhibition is Homer’s iconic The Gulf Stream, a painting that reveals his lifelong engagement with charged subjects of race, politics, nature, and the environment. Featuring approximately 90 oils and watercolors, Crosscurrents represents the largest critical overview of Homer’s art and life in more than a quarter of a century. Suzanne will give us a lecture on the life and work of Homer that pairs with this exhibit.
Suzanne Altman is an art educator and art historian who has presented art and art history programs throughout Rockland, Bergen and Westchester counties, for both adult and teenage audiences. She is also a painter who works out of her studio and art school in Ossining, NY and exhibits frequently.

The Jewish Roots of Flamenco with Anna de la Paz
2022-04-04 10:00 - 11:30
Flamenco is an art form that arose in Spain, influenced by various populations passing through or living in the southern region of Andalusia. Beginning in the third century BC, Gypsies, Sephardic Jews, Christians, and Moors all contributed to Andalusian culture. This presentation will discuss flamenco and its Jewish connection. Anna de la Paz is a Spanish dance artist specializing in classical and folkloric Spanish dances. After living in Spain and studying with such great master teachers as Mariemma and Pedro Azorín, she moved to New York City in 1999 and began working with Gabriela Granados and American Bolero Dance Company. As a freelance artist, she has performed throughout the New York area at various venues including Carnegie Hall. Anna de la Paz works in collaboration with mezzo-soprano Anna Tonna on many productions including, “Music and Dance in the times of the Duchess of Alba (1762-1802)”, created for the Hispanic Society of America in New York City.

She is the creator and producer of her own shows, which include Alegría Española, Migración and Memorias, and was on the creative team for Making Music Dance, a cross-fusion of flamenco, tap and world music. She was co-director of Walk to the Beat, an annual improvisational music and dance festival in Nyack, NY. In 2017, Ms. de la Paz was invited to perform in the Canary Islands, Spain at the Festival Atlántico in Gran Canaria. Anna de la Paz has been invited as a lecturer on Spanish dance at area colleges, universities and symposia, including the Foundation for Iberian Music’s international conferences on Enrique Granados in New York City and the “Transatlantic Malagueñas and Zapateados in Music Song and Dance” at University of California, Riverside. In 2018, Anna de la Paz co-founded with Anna Tonna, Hispanic Culture Arts, an arts education organization that brings the classical Spanish arts to the New York City schools. Current clients include PS 8 in Upper Manhattan, the New York School for the Deaf and the Hispanic Society Museum and Library. Ms. de la Paz currently lives in Nyack, NY with her husband and three children, where she continues to teach, produce and perform.

End of Life Details Presentation and Discussion: The Discussion Everyone Needs But Often Avoids Until Too Late with Glenn Eisen
2022-04-11 10:00 - 11:30
Unnecessary grief and expenses are not unusual when some of life’s most important decisions are overlooked or past decisions are not reviewed, updated and addressed. This presentation discusses the full range of issues about end of life issues. It is about living wills/advanced directives, estate plans, last wills and testaments and most of the other issues that might be important to consider. Changes in laws, investments and family situations, along with designated decision makers, funeral venues and disposal of personal assets, are all issues that need to be at least reviewed, discussed and possibly resolved to avoid unnecessary stress and disputes between family members, business associates, healthcare providers and government agencies.

The Disappeared of Guatemala
2022-04-25 10:00 - 11:30
“Guatemala has the dubious distinction of inventing the political condition of “disappearance” in late 20th century Latin America. In Guatemala’s long history of repressing its own citizenry, forced disappearance is rooted in the 1954 US-backed overthrow of democratically elected President Jacobo Arbenz and was used throughout the military dictatorships that followed. Driven by a Cold War ideology that conflated group identity with real or imagined political beliefs, three decades of successive military regimes expanded their repressive practices to include massive forced disappearances leading to a deliberate campaign of extermination of ladino (non-Maya) political activists and ultimately genocide of the Maya. This lecture traces state deployment of forced disappearance of opposition leaders in Guatemala from the 1966 mass disappearance of members of the Guatemalan Workers Party to the 1980 mass disappearance of union leaders in order to understand the systematic use of forced disappearance by a state so fragile that it disappeared children in the 1980s. Specifically, I consider the case of Dr. Marvyn Perez who was forcibly disappeared and tortured by Guatemalan security forces when he was 14. More than 30 years later, he continues to seek justice for himself and others who did not survive.
Victoria Sanford is Professor of Anthropology and Founding Director of the Center for Human Rights and Peace Studies at Lehman College. She is a member of the Anthropology Doctoral Faculty at the Graduate Center and an Affiliated Scholar at the Center for the Study of the Holocaust, Genocide, and Crimes Against Humanity, City University of New York. She holds a doctorate in Anthropology from Stanford University where she studied International Human Rights Law and Immigration Law at Stanford Law School. She was a Bunting Peace Fellow at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Studies, Harvard University.
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History of the Giants With Larry Hine
2022-05-02 10:00 - 11:30
May 6 will be Willie Mays’ 91st birthday. He is considered by most one of the two greatest ball players of all time (with Babe Ruth). Larry Hines will explore Mays’ amazing career as well as the history of the Giants and the eras of their five Hall of Fame managers.

Women in Art with Suzanne Altman
2022-05-09 10:00 - 11:30
Long overlooked and underappreciated, women have been a force in art history for centuries. From Renaissance portrait painters to the still life painters of the Dutch Golden Age, to accomplished Impressionists to the many important 20th century women in Surrealism, Abstract Expressionism and Feminist Art, this lecture explores artists both obscure and well known. Names such as Artemisia Gentileschi, Rosa Bonheur, Mary Cassatt, Helen Frankenthaler and Georgia O’Keefe will be shown and discussed in this approximately 60 minute talk.

Violinist at Metropolitan Opera House with Sylvia Danburg
2022-05-16 10:00 - 11:30
Join Metropolitan Opera Orchestra violinist Sylvia Danburg for an exploration of life in a major American orchestra! Engage with unusual performance stories, the audition process, how a violinist pursues a profession in the arts, and the benefits of following a discipline that begins in early childhood. There will be live violin performance and investigation into the making a life following your passion, as well as the benefits of engaging in group-think musical performance at any age. Come, listen, ask questions!
Sylvia Danburg, a native of Houston, Texas, began her musical education at Rice University and completed her Bachelor of Music at Juilliard with Glen Dicterow, concertmaster of the New York Philharmonic. She made her New York debut at Alice Tully Hall in 1996, where she was lauded by the New York Times for “both lyricism and virtuosity”. Sylvia performs chamber music and solo recitals worldwide, and is a regular performer in the Met Chamber Musicians series at Carnegie Hall. She has held the position of Associate Principal Second Violin at the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra since 2000, and makes her home in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Introduction to Journaling for Mental Health, Mindfulness and Memory with Jen Convissor
2022-05-23 10:00 - 11:30
It’s amazing what benefit one can get with just a notebook and pen! Jennifer Convissor, LCSW, author of Journaling For Non-Journalers: Your Expert Guide To Creating A Journaling Practice That Works For You, will teach you what you need to know to jumpstart your journaling, and how to stay motivated to keep up the habit.
Whether an avid journaler, never kept a diary a day in your life, or somewhere in between, this experiential workshop will leave you inspired to grab the nearest pencil and make time for yourself. Not only has journaling been proven to improve focus, hopefulness, self-awareness and memory, but it’s also a gateway to greater creativity, productivity and personal connection. Come see for yourself!
Jennifer is a psychotherapist in private practice in NY & CT. She teaches journaling for mental health and mindfulness for CEYou NY, educates clinicians at Westchester Center for Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy (WCSPP) on therapeutic journaling and has two online journaling courses. Jennifer is the former Shames JCC Partners-in-Caring social worker, where she taught a popular Creative Memoirs class and loves helping people create personalized journaling plans, so do come with your questions!
Supplies needed: Writing implement, notebook, a hard surface to lean on. Note – Choose a pen or pencil that feels comfortable in your hand and that does not bleed through the pages of your notebook.

The Language of Gender Identities and Sexual Orientation
2022-06-13 10:00 - 11:30
As society progresses, our language evolves. New terms emerge and some words no longer have the same meaning. We live in a world where children, teens and adults identify as a range of genders and sexualities. We no longer can have the narrow view that “girls are girls and men are men”. Join us for a comprehensive introduction to the essential terminologies and definitions of gender identities and sexual orientation. What does LGBTQIA+ stand for? What is the difference between sex and gender? What are preferred pronouns? What does it mean to identify as queer? What is homophobia and gender discrimination? Learning these terms and definitions will pave the way for tolerance, respect and embracing the uniqueness that make us human.

Juliet Gobler is the principal of The Law Office of Juliet Gobler in White Plains, New York. Her practice focuses on Wills, Trusts & Estates. She has been a feminist social activist and community leader for the last fifteen years. Most notably, Juliet proudly served as the President of the National Organization for Women’s Suffolk County Chapter. She earned her Bachelor of Arts from Stony Brook University in Women’s and Gender Studies, with a focus on Gender and Social Change, and her Juris Doctorate from Hofstra University School of Law.

Chamber Music Performance -- Woodwind Quintet
2022-06-20 10:00 - 11:30
The Hudson Valley Chamber Musicians will be playing music written for chamber ensembles such as our woodwind quintet. They will also be performing music that has been arranged from larger works such as operas and hopefully the audience will recognize these familiar melodies. They will present to the audience a mix of styles and musical periods that they hope the audience enjoys.

Welcome Party with Coffee and Bagels
2022-09-12 10:00
FREE – Welcome Back Bagels and Schmooze with CEO Adam Weiss and Carly Jacobs, Director of Adult Programs

Stop by for bagels and coffee and learn about upcoming Renard lectures as well as new and expanded programs for active older adults this fall. Have an idea for a workshop, class, or outing? Let us know….we’re open to all suggestions!

Exploring DNA and Judaism: Poetry Discussion with Robin Dellabough
2022-09-19 10:00 - 23:30
At age 67, Robin Dellabough was surprised to learn through 23andMe that her biological father was not the man who raised her and that she’s 50% Ashkenazi Jewish. Her new book of poetry, Double Helix, explores the fallout from that discovery and the process of reconciliation with her mother and both fathers, all of whom are deceased. Books available for purchase or pre-order by emailing cjacobs@shamesjcc.org.
Robin Dellabough is an Irvington-based poet, editor, and writer with a master’s degree from UC Berkeley School of Journalism. Her poems have appeared in Stoneboat, Fifth Estate, Lines + Stars, Halfway Down the Stairs, The Gentian Journal, Tiny Spoon, Maryland Poetry Review, Blue Unicorn, Westchester Review, and other publications and anthologies. A founding partner at Lark Productions: A Book Company, she has written, edited and contributed to more than sixty books. Her current position is Projects Director, Publishers Marketplace/Publishers Lunch.

Baseball in the American Culture with Evan Weiner
2022-10-03 10:00 - 11:30
Baseball has been embedded in the American culture since the end of the Civil War. There have been poems, songs, comedy routines, movies, TV shows, books with baseball themes. Baseball cards also were a big part of the culture. Casey At the Bat was required reading for elementary school students at one point. Abbott and Costello’s Who’s On First routine debuted on radio and led them to the Hall of Fame. The name Cooperstown means something special. And even Broadway got into the act with a play. Nobody ever wanted to be “Wally Pipped”. Even today business analytics may have evolved from Money Ball. Baseball was once the king of American sports, that may have ended but baseball in the culture has never gone away.

Registration to come later

Introduction to Plant-Powered Nutrition
2022-10-24 10:00 - 11:30
If you’ve ever struggled with chronic illness — or supported someone else who has — join Plant Powered Metro New York for this empowering introduction to the evidence behind whole food, plant-based nutrition for lifelong health.
You’ll learn how a diet comprised largely of unprocessed plant foods can clear arteries, improve gut health, put diabetes into remission, and prevent cognitive decline, among many other feats!
Learn the basics with Lianna Levine Reisner, PPMNY’s Network Director, and get inspired with simple meal ideas from Karina Pearse, a certified health coach and certified Food for Life instructor.
Take away tips, tools, and resources to take charge of your health now, in the comfort of your own home and kitchen. Enjoy a cooking demo during the class as well!
Plant Powered Metro New York empowers people to find better health and overcome chronic disease through whole food, plant-based nutrition. Learn more here

Triangle Shirt Waist Factory Fire with Eugene Boesch
2022-10-31 10:00 - 11:30
On March 25, 1911, the Triangle Shirtwaist Company factory at Washington Square in New York City burned, killing 145 workers. It is remembered as one of the most infamous incidents in American industrial history as the deaths were largely preventable – most of the victims, young immigrant women, died as a result of neglected safety features and locked doors within the factory building. The tragedy brought widespread attention to the dangerous workshop conditions of factories of the day and lead to the development of laws and regulations that better protected the safety of workers.

Improving Balance & Reducing Fall Risks with Glenn Eisen
2022-11-07 10:00 - 23:30
Explore balance improvement techniques to reduce falls with Tai Chi instructor Glenn Eisen. The likelihood of falling increases as we get older, and the fear of falling can actually increase the probability that a fall will occur. Glenn Eisen will provide helpful information and movement exercises that focus on balance improvement in accordance with The National Institute of Aging’s recommended balance program.

Famous African American Artists with Sue Altman
2022-11-14 10:00 - 23:30
From colonial times to the present day, African American artists have had an impact on the art world. This course covers the artists of the Harlem Renaissance including famous names like Jacob Lawrence, Augusta Savage, Faith Ringold, and Romare Bearden, and several self-taught or outsider artists. Also included are some contemporary standouts like Kehinde Wiley, Kara Walker, and Mark Bradford.
Suzanne Altman is an artist, art educator, and art historian who teaches and lectures throughout the Hudson Valley, New Jersey, and Connecticut. She also paints out of her studio in Ossining and exhibits her paintings frequently.

World Folklore and Folktales
2022-11-21 10:00 - 11:30
World Folklore and Folktales
Join us for a presentation about all the different folklore and folktales from around the world!

About the presenter:
Actor/entertainer and acclaimed storyteller Richard Mann has performed at the New Jersey Storytelling Festival and was featured at the Morris World Storytelling Festival. His programs embrace many cultures and languages. He also has performed his Irish Balladeers show at the JFK Presidential Library in Boston. Today he will present “World Folktales” and will regale you with stories and folklore from around the world and enchant your imagination!

Live Performance and Lecture from Yiddish Musical Theater
2022-11-28 10:00 - 11:30
Join us for a live performance that takes you on a journey through the music and history of a bygone era but one whose effects are still felt today. Native Yiddish speaker, Dr. Diane Cypkin, will sing and discuss the wonderful songs made famous by legends like Molly Picon and Menasha Skulnik, while discussing the great Yiddish songwriters and anecdotes from the Yiddish stage.

Music of The Great Migration
2022-12-05 10:00 - 11:30
In one of the greatest mass migrations in history, between 1910 and 1970 an estimated six million American blacks left the rural South for the industrial cities of the North . Their music came with them and was transformed and vitalized by the sounds and energy of the big cities. In this lecture we will listen to and discuss some of the songs that reflected the dreams, romance, and homesickness felt by those who boarded the trains for new places and new lives that would change them and music forever.

Film Screening followed by Q&A with Director Jeremy Newberger: Heading Home
2022-12-12 10:00 - 12:00
Heading Home: The Tale of Team Israel.

Join us to watch this riveting David-and-Goliath story of Israel’s national baseball team as it competes for the first time in the World Baseball Classic.
After years of crushing defeats, Israel finally ranks among the world’s best in 2017. Its roster includes many Jewish-American major leaguers, most with a tenuous relationship to Judaism, barely any ever having set foot in Israel. Their odyssey takes them from the Holy Land where they are hailed as modern-day Maccabees to the tournament in South Korea where they must debunk their reputations as has-beens and wannabes. The connection to Israel that the players forge pushes them to unexpected heights as they represent the country on the world stage.
The screening will be followed by a Q&A discussion with the director. Watch the trailer here.

Protect Yourself Online with Roberta Goodman
2022-12-19 10:00 - 11:30
Even the savviest of consumers can still be compromised by online scams. Attorneys from the Pace Women’s Justice Center will highlight current tech scams to help you protect yourself online, especially during the busy holiday season. You’ll come away with helpful tools to safely use the internet while protecting your online identity.

Ukraine and the Power of Music with Irena Portenko
2023-01-09 10:00 - 11:00
Ukraine and the Power of Music with Irena Portenko
Since the start of the conflict in Ukraine nearly one year ago, internationally renowned Ukranian concert pianist and music teacher Irena Portenka has raised more than $70,000 by organizing and performing in concerts to assist displaced Ukrainian musicians and to support displaced families. She will draw from research and her own personal experience, to speak on how the transformative power of music affects people inside and outside Ukraine. This presentation includes a lecture and music listening experience.
About the Presenter:
Named to a “select circle” of pianists by The New York Times, Irena Portenko, DMA is a sought-after concert pianist, music educator and mentor. Born in Kyiv, Ukraine, Dr. Portenko first displayed a talent for the piano at age three, making her debut performing Haydn’s Keyboard Concerto in D Major with the Ukrainian National Orchestra at the age of eight.
Dr. Portenko has served as piano faculty at Sacred Heart University in Connecticut and at The Music Conservatory of Westchester in New York, teaching music history and theory classes and piano instruction. She received her bachelor’s degree from the Kyiv National Academy of Music, followed by her postgraduate degree from the Ukrainian National Academy of Music. She received her master’s and doctoral degrees in music and piano performance from the University of Michigan School of Music. She currently resides in Dobbs Ferry, New York.

"The Diversity of Westchester Birds: From Eagles to Warblers."
2023-01-23 10:00 - 11:30
Join the Executive Director of the Saw Mill RIver Audubon as she shares beautiful images, sounds, videos of Westchester birds across the seasons and in various county birding hotspots. Tips on how to start birding and how to have bird-friendly, bird-safe properties whether residential, business or community-owned will also be covered.

America Calling: How our universities attract the world's talent and why it matters with Dr. Rajika Bhandari
2023-01-30 10:00 - 11:00
America Calling: How our universities attract the world’s talent and why it matters with Dr. Rajika Bhandari
For over 200 years, American colleges and universities have attracted students from around the world, with this type of educational exchange being a critical form of soft diplomacy for the U.S. Drawing upon her research and her award-winning memoir, America Calling: A Foreign Student in a Country of Possibility, Dr. Rajika Bhandari, an international higher education expert and local Irvington resident, will discuss the value of international students and skilled immigrants to the U.S., and how continuing to keep the doors open to global talent is critical to the economic, social, and cultural future of the country. Books will be available for sale and signing.

Challenging Times, Ageless Insights
2023-02-03 10:00 - 11:30
Challenging Times, Ageless Insights
Student Rabbi Solomon Hoffman from Mishkan Ha’am will draw from ancient Jewish stories from the Torah and Talmud to explore multiple perspectives on how we face the universal human challenges of sickness and death. The discussion will explore how these stories resonate today, and how they intersect with our recent experience of living through a pandemic. We will focus on how community and resilience show up in these narratives, and how these texts can support our individual and collective healing.

“Challenging Times, Ageless Insights” offers participants the opportunity to engage with clergy in exploring contemporary issues through a Jewish lens. These discussions will provide insights, debate, and if we are successful, even more questions.

Can the UN be made more effective?
2023-02-06 10:00 - 11:00
The UN recently celebrated its 75th anniversary. But the nature of conflict and crisis has shifted, and the UNd needs to be adapted and strengthened to meet today’s global challenges and maintain credibility. This is worth the effort as the UN remains the key global institution with the all-important goal of securing world peace and security and controlling political violence. David Cheney will discuss the reforms needed, and what it will take to get there.
David M. Cheney is a consultant to international economic institutions, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, and UN. He spent 24 years as Division Chief at the IMF. Previously. David was an economist at Chase Bank and at the US Export-Import Bank. He currently teaches courses on international economics and writing at the Global Affairs Center of NYU’s School of Professional Studies and runs a weekly discussion group on foreign affairs at the Manhattan JCC.

The Climate Crisis and Emerging Climate Technologies
2023-02-27 10:00 - 11:00
In the last few years, it’s been clear to most Americans that climate change is with us already and its destructive impacts are growing. Scientists are researching ways to pull C02 out of the atmosphere and develop other new technologies to decrease climate risks. Join us to learn about these and explore the potential benefits and risks–, and how do they compare to the risks of not intervening.
About the presenter: Cynthia Scharf was the head of strategic communications and speechwriter on climate change for former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon from 2009-2016. She previously worked for the UN and numerous NGOs on emergency humanitarian relief. She and her family live in Sleepy Hollow.
