Steven Zelin, senior managing director in the Restructuring & Reorganization Group at Blackstone, spoke to members of UJA-Federation of New York's Westchester Business and Professional Division today about his work in the industry, the changing finan

Steven Zelin, senior managing director in the Restructuring & Reorganization Group at Blackstone, spoke to members of UJA-Federation of New York’s Westchester Business and Professional Division today about his work in the industry, the changing financial landscape in a world of distress, and his involvement in philanthropy and UJA-Federation. More than 150 guests attended the event, which took place on Wednesday, October 29, 2014, at Willow Ridge Country Club in Harrison.

A Larchmont resident, Zelin has advised in both domestic and cross-border restructuring, capital raise, financing, and merger and acquisition advisory transactions since 1988. He joined Blackstone in 1998 from Ernst & Young, where he was a partner in the Restructuring & Reorganization Group.

“Business and Professional Division members share a number of deeply held values and we come together for a number of reasons,” said David Singer of Bedford Hills, who chaired the event with Susan Slater-Jansen of Somers. “We come together to network, we come together to form meaningful relationships, and we come together because we share a deeply held commitment to philanthropy and to supporting UJA’s network of agencies, here in Westchester, in New York, in Israel, and in 70 other countries around the world.

“If you ever wondered if your gift makes a difference, know that it does,” he continued. “Your gift — and your donation of clothes — certainly makes a difference to 12-year-old Rachel, who relies on your generosity for a warm winter coat in her size this year.”

Singer was referring to the gently used children’s clothing brought by guests for donation to Kids’ Kloset in White Plains, an innovative program run by UJA-Federation’s beneficiary agency, Westchester Jewish Community Services (WJCS). The largest mental-health provider in Westchester, WJCS offers a diverse range of mental-health services, residential home care, and human-service programs. Kids’ Kloset is a volunteer-driven program that provides Westchester County children with donated clothing and related items free of charge.

The gathering heard from Roy Stillman of Katonah, a member of the Westchester Business and Professional Division board and the WJCS board. President of Stillman Property Management, Stillman donates the space in which Kids’ Kloset operates.

“The most amazing things happen through the connections made by UJA,” Stillman said. “It’s these relationships, borne of shared values and concerns, that make so much possible.”

Following the event, Westchester Business and Professional Division board members visited Kids’ Kloset to learn about the operation and donate the clothing and clean socks and undergarments that served as centerpieces at the breakfast.

Leslie Effron Levin of White Plains and Budd Wiesenberg of Mamaroneck are chairs of the Westchester Business and Professional Division.

Photo: (From left)Westchester Business and Professional Division Chair Leslie Effron Levin of White Plains, Event Chair David Singer of Bedford Hills, speaker Steve Zelin of Larchmont, Event Chair Susan Slater-Jansen of Somers, Westchester Business and Professional Division Board Member Roy Stillman of Katonah, and Westchester Business and Professional Division Chair Budd Wiesenberg of Mamaroneck.

About UJA-Federation of New York 
For more than 95 years, UJA-Federation has been a central force for communal planning and philanthropy in the New York Jewish community. Through UJA-Federation, more than 55,000 donors pool their resources to help people in need, inspire a passion for Jewish life and learning, and strengthen Jewish communities around the world — to address the issues that matter to us most as Jews and as New Yorkers. Working with nearly 100 network beneficiary agencies, synagogues, and other Jewish organizations, our reach spans from New York to Israel to more than 70 other countries around the world, touching 4.5 million people each year. Because we do the most good when we do it together. For more information on how to donate or volunteer, please visit our website at www.ujafedny.org.