Second Annual Breakfast Benefit
Honoree Biographies

2006 Humanitarian Award

Robert M. Glickman, M.D.
Dean, NYU of Medicine/Affiliate Partner of HHC Bellevue
Chief Executive Officer, NYU Hospitals Center, NYU Medical Center

Since his appointment as 14th Dean of the New York University School of Medicine in 1998 and Chief Executive Officer of NYU Hospitals Center in 2002, Robert M. Glickman, M.D., has established an ambitious and far-reaching agenda for NYU Medical Center, one of the country's most respected and prestigious academic medical centers. He has brought a new sense of purpose and energy to NYU Medical Center's long-standing role as a leading research institution, as the home to first-rate physicians who provide outstanding medical care, and as the training ground for medical students who will be part of the nation's next generation of physician-scientists.

A native of Brooklyn, Dr. Glickman is the second of three generations of physicians in his family. His father was a prominent doctor in New York, and both of his sons, as well as their wives, are physicians in New York and Boston. After earning his A.B. from Amherst College and his M.D. from the Harvard Medical School, Dr. Glickman held internships and residencies at the Harvard Medical Services of the Boston City Hospital and clinical and research fellowships in gastroenterology at the Massachusetts General Hospital. He was appointed to the faculty of the Harvard Medical School in 1970.

In 1977, Dr. Glickman joined the faculty of Columbia University College of Physicians & Surgeons, where from 1982 to 1990 he served as the Samuel Bard Professor of Medicine and Chairman of the Department of Medicine. In 1990 he returned to Boston to become the Herrman L. Blumgart Professor of Medicine at Harvard Medical School and Physician-in-Chief and Chairman, Department of Medicine, Beth Israel Hospital. In 1996, he was named Physician-in-Chief and Chairman in the Department of Medicine of the newly-formed Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Dr. Glickman is active in many academic medical societies, including the American Society of Clinical Investigation (President 1984-85), the American Gastroenterological Association (President, 1992-93), the Association of Professors of Medicine (President 1992-93), and the Association of American Physicians (President, 1998). He serves as a trustee on various boards, including the New York University School of Medicine Foundation Board, the Mount Sinai-NYU Medical Center and Health System Board of Trustees, the Hospital for Joint Diseases Board of Trustees, and the New York Academy of Medicine Board of Trustees. In addition, he is a member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences and a Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine and the American College of Physicians.

Dr. Glickman has been an unswerving champion of public health - in 2000 he established the Institute for Urban and Global Health which houses HHC's Bellevue/NYU Program for Survivors of Torture.

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Community Service Awards

Roscoe Brown, Jr.

A former Army Air Force captain, Roscoe C. Brown, Jr. commanded the 100th Fighter Squadron of the 332nd Fighter Group, the Tuskegee Airman, in World War II and was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross and Air Medal with eight Oak Leaf Clusters. He is credited with being the first 15th Air Force pilot to shoot down a German jet fighter, and has been honored by the Intrepid Air-Space Museum for his outstanding leadership as squadron commander. In February, 2006, the US Congress voted unanimously to bestow the Congressional Gold Medal to Dr. Brown and the collective Tuskegee Airmen squad, including 1,000 pilots and 10,000 ground crew.

Dr. Brown was born in Washington D.C., the youngest of two children, his father working as a public health specialist and his mother as a teacher. He earned his Ph.D. from NYU and pursued a successful career in higher education. For more than 25 years, he's served as a full professor at NYU, and was founding director of that University's Institute of Afro-American Affairs. Upon retirement at the end of 16-year tenure as president of Bronx Community College of CUNY, Dr. Brown created the Center for Urban Education Policy at the CUNY Graduate School and University Center and has served as its director since 1993.

Dr. Brown has received numerous awards and honors for scholarly and community activities, among them the NAACP Freedom Award, the Congressional Award for Service to the African-American Community, and the Distinguished Alumnus Awards from his alma maters. He has been inducted into the National Association for Sports and Physical Education Hall of Fame and was bestowed the honor of "New York City Treasure," during that city's centennial celebration by the Museum of the City of New York.

Active in the arts and media, Dr. Brown has hosted numerous television programs, including the Emmy-Award-winning "Black Arts." In recent years, he has been Executive Producer and host of the TV series, "African-American Legends" on CUNY-TV.

Brown is active with a number of organizations, including more than 30 years with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He is also active with the Jackie Robinson Foundation and Libraries for the Future, among many others. Brown is also a founding member of the American College of Sports Medicine and the One Hundred Black Men, Inc., where is a past president.

Brown has also completed nine New York City marathons. He has four children; one of his sons is a physician at Harlem Hospital and his daughter-in-law works at Woodhull.

Dr. Brown recently celebrated his 84th birthday

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Mary Sansone

Social activism is a family tradition for Mary Sansone. From early childhood, she accompanied her father, a labor organizer, as he made speeches in Union Square and marched in parades. Fired by his spirit, Mary was an organizer while she worked to put herself through school. She received her certificate in social work in 1941 from the NY School of Social Work and until 1946 worked as an intake caseworker in the Social Service Department of the American Red Cross. After WW II, she served as Executive Secretary of the American Relief for Italy. As a diplomat for Italy, she traveled the US for the UN Appeal for Children, raising funds for the orphans of Europe.

In 1967, after years of volunteer efforts, Mary formed the Congress of Italian-Americans Organization (CIAO). A group dedicated to meeting the needs of its community, CIAO provides services in housing, education, unemployment, day care, and also helps crime victims and senior citizens. Mary's been Executive Director since 1970, developing scores of programs to help the poor and those in need regardless of color, creed or race.

Likewise, she became involved in many social and human rights causes. In the 1960's she worked with President Lyndon Johnson to secure acceptance and passage of his poverty programs initiatives. In 1971, together with the late Bayard Rustin and Msgr. Gino Barone, she formed the first coalition of Blacks, Latinos and Italians in New York City. The goal was to create racial harmony and support human rights causes for all.

In recognition of the 50th anniversary of the assassination of Sacco and Vanzetti in 1976, Mary organized a group of individuals to urge Governor Michael Dukakis of Massachusetts to review the case and as a result of their insistence, the following Proclamation was issued:

"The trial and execution of Sacco and Vanzetti should serve and remind all civilized people of the constant need to guard against our susceptibility to prejudice, our intolerance of unorthodox ideas and our failure to defend the rights of persons who are looked upon as strangers in our midst".

In 1987, aware of the rising racial, ethnic, and cultural tensions in New York, Mary and others founded CURE (Community Understanding for Racial and Ethnic Equality), an organization that promotes cooperation and understanding among all. She remains as active today serving on the Advisory Board of the NYS Division of Human Rights, and others.

Mary, born and raised in Brooklyn, will soon celebrate her 57th wedding anniversary with her husband, Zachary. They have two children, Carmela, and her late son, Ralph. They have two grandchildren, Gene-Paul and Zachary.

Mary will celebrate her 90th birthday on June 12th.

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