Great Neck resident Steven Markowitz was appointed to the Viscardi Center’s board of directors after leaving the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center of Nassau County.
Markowitz, who spent eight years as the holocaust center’s board chairperson, was appointed to the Viscardi Center board last week. Since moving to Great Neck in 1975, he has been an active member of the community.
He is one of the Great Neck Student Aid Fund’s longest-serving members and also served as a member of the Gold Coast Arts Center’s executive board. Markowitz also served on the Village of Great Neck’s Board of Zoning Appeals and as a Temple Israel trustee for more than 40 years, three of which he was president. Markowitz’s reach also extends into politics, serving as president of the Democratic Club and vice chairman of the Nassau County Democratic Committee.
John D. Kemp, president and CEO of the Viscardi Center, cited Markowitz’s previous experiences as a reason for bringing him on the board.
“Steven’s wealth of knowledge, particularly his government relations skills, will prove beneficial to the Viscardi Center as it continues to influence policy change on issues directly affecting the lives of the children and adults with disabilities we serve and the programs we deliver on a local and national level,” Kemp said.
The Viscardi Center was founded in 1952 by Dr. Henry Viscardi Jr., who served as the disability adviser to eight U.S. presidents. The center, located in Albertson, educates, employs and empowers people with disabilities, from children to adults. The center provides children with an education from pre-K through high school. It also provides transitional services for people who graduated from school and want to begin their careers and provides diversity training and prospective candidates to a wide range of companies.
Markowitz lauded the center’s accomplishments and services it provides and expressed gratitude for being appointed to the board of directors.
“I have served on a number of not-for-profit, corporate, religious and political organization boards and none of those experiences compares to the meaningfulness and importance of the work of the Viscardi Center,” he said. “I am deeply honored that I have been asked to participate and will do my utmost to assist the organization and the children and adults that it serves.”
Markowitz was elected as the Holocaust Memorial & Tolerance Center’s third chairman in 2012 and served four two-year terms prior to the center appointing Glen Head resident Andrea Bolender as his successor this year. Markowitz touted the importance of cultivating fresh ideas from new people and said choosing Bolender placed it in the right hands.
