May Magic

Longtime Bronxville resident Mary Taylor Behrens will be honored on Sunday, May 6 at the Gramatan Village May Magic Benefit to be held at Siwanoy Country Club from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Gramatan Village will present the Judge J. Rockhill Gray Award to Mary in recognition of her "dedicated commitment to sustaining the quality of life in Bronxville." 

Mary is the third recipient of the J. Rockhill Gray Award. It was established by Warren Ilchman, a member of the Gramatan Village Board of Directors, to honor Judge Gray, a founding vice-president of the organization. The previous recipients are John Corry and Sarah Underhill.

Many organizations and institutions in the Bronxville community and beyond have benefitted from Mary's dedicated service over the years.  She is currently a member of the Board of Lawrence Hospital Center.   She served as the chairperson of The Bronxville School Foundation and as Senior Warden at Christ Church Bronxville.

Outside the Bronxville Community Mary was president of the Winthrop H. Smith Foundation, a philanthropic organization supported by Merrill Lynch & Co. In addition she served on the Board of Directors of the YMCA of Greater New York and was a member of the Women's Forum and the Financial Women's Association.

Mary is currently a member of Georgetown University's Board of Directors Ad Hoc Committee on Athletics.  She served on Georgetown's Board of Regents and headed its Athletic Committee. Georgetown presented Mary with its highest alumni award, the John Carroll Award, in 2011. She earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Georgetown in 1983.

Professionally, Mary is the president of Newfane Advisors, a private consulting firm, which she formed after a twenty year career on Wall Street including thirteen years as a senior executive with Merrill Lynch & Co., Inc.

Mary is married to Chris Behrens, a senior partner at CCMP Capital Advisors, a New York based private equity firm. They have two sons, Christopher (age 17) and Matthew (age 15). The Behrens family resides in Bronxville as do Mary's parents.

Co-chairpersons of May Magic, Suzanne Bloomer and Ruth Shearer say that Benefit attendees will enjoy a performance by New York City's Magical Nights Entertainment.  Admission to the Benefit is $100 per person, all but $25 of which is tax deductible. They invite the entire community to attend and add that contributions by everyone are welcome. All proceeds from the benefit will go to support Gramatan Village programs and services.

Gramatan Village is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to offer support and information to Bronxville-area seniors so that they can continue to live safely and comfortably in their homes as they age.  During its four years of operation its members have enjoyed social events and cultural outings, discounts from local businesses, assistance from a dedicated corps of volunteers, and referrals to screened local service providers.

To make a reservation to May Magic or for additional information, please call the Gramatan Village office at 914-337-1338.