Community leaders committed to serving Long Island join The Trust.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JULY 25, 2024
Contact: Marie Smith, Director, Long Island
(631) 991-8800, ext. 223
msmith@thenytrust.org
COMMACK, NY (July 25, 2024) – The New York Community Trust’s Long Island office recently named six new members to its advisory board.
“We are thrilled to welcome these talented and iconic community leaders to our board,” said David M. Okorn, The Trust’s executive director for Long Island. “We are looking forward to the invaluable experience each member will bring to help The Trust fulfill its commitment to Long Island.”
Brian P. Corrigan is a partner at Farrell Fritz and focuses on the areas of trusts, estates, and fiduciary litigation. He has represented clients successfully in a variety of Surrogate’s Court matters, including will contests, contested accounting, fiduciary removal, fiduciary surcharge, will construction/reformation, and discovery proceedings. Brian has further achieved favorable results for clients in disputes related to powers of attorney, the spousal right of election, and joint accounts/payable-on-death accounts. He is experienced in contested and uncontested guardianship proceedings in New York State Supreme Court and New York Surrogate’s Court. Prior to joining Farrell Fritz, Brian was a partner at Holland & Knight LLP, where he practiced for the first 15 years of his career. He was a member of the firm’s litigation and dispute resolution practice, concentrating on estate litigation.
Vivian Garrastegui is a partner at Schneider Garrastegui & Fedele, PLLC. She has been practicing in the fields of elder law, Medicaid planning, asset protection, estate planning, guardianship proceedings, special needs planning, Medicaid Fair Hearings, real estate, preparation of wills and trusts, contested and uncontested guardianship proceedings, and probate and administration proceedings since 1987. As an elder law attorney, her primary focus is to preserve and protect the client’s assets, resources, and income to the extent permitted in accordance with the statutes. Vivian is fluent in Spanish. She is appointed and redesignated every year by the Presiding Judge of the Appellate Division of the First and Second Departments as a Court Examiner in Guardianship Proceedings to review the annual accounts and final accounts of court-appointed guardians. She is on the New York State Part 36 Fiduciary list of appointments and is appointed by the Judges of the Supreme Court as Counsel to Guardian, Attorney for Alleged Incapacitated person, Court Evaluator, Receiver, and Guardian ad litem in both the Supreme Court and the Surrogate’s Court.
Donald R. Hehir, Jr., is the managing principal of Donald Hehir & Associates and has been helping clients protect their assets and meet their sophisticated planning needs for more than four decades. Donald offers clients the highest standards of personal service and financial planning insight gained through decades of experience meeting complex financial challenges in a wide range of market environments. He earned his Chartered Life Underwriter, Chartered Financial Consultant, and Accredited Estate Planner designations at The American College in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He is a registered principal, holding the Series 6, 7, 24 and 63 through Commonwealth Financial Network, and serves clients in states across the country.
Neil D. Katz is the managing partner of Katz Chwat, PC, and is responsible for the administration of the firm’s overall practice. He serves as lead attorney for the firm’s estate planning matters, as well as tax controversy and planning, corporate sales and acquisitions, and business planning and transactions. In addition, Neil is the president and primary lecturer for Katz Tax Seminars, LLC, a well-recognized, widely attended provider of continuing education in taxation for CPAs. He is a regular contributor and speaker for local and regional professional organizations, including the New York State Society of CPAs, National Conference of CPA Practitioners, Nassau and Suffolk County Bar Associations, Financial Planners Association, and the Long Island Estate Planning Council. Neil has also been a featured speaker for a number of The Trust-Long Island’s Professional Advisor Forums.
Raymond C. Radigan is a senior managing director with Peapack Private. Ray has more than 35 years in the industry serving as a private banker. He is responsible for leading and managing top performing trust officers, portfolio managers, private bankers, wealth strategists, and sales teams. Raymond holds a bachelor of science degree in accounting from Boston College and is a graduate of the School of Management’s honors program. He holds a J.D. from St. John’s University of Law. He is a frequent speaker at various estate planning seminars offered by the American Bankers Association, New York State Bankers Association, the Practicing Law Institute, and the New York State CPA Society. He is also an accomplished writer, having authored several articles on estate planning that were published in Estate Planning Magazine, New York Law Journal, and Trust and Estates Newsletters for the New York Bar Association. He is a member of the Trust and Estates Section of the NY State Bar Association, the Long Island Estate Planning Council, and a former member of the Foundation Board for Eastern Long Island Hospital.
Stacey I. Sikes currently serves as the vice president of government affairs and communications for the Long Island Association (LIA), the leading business organization in the region that supports Long Island’s economic growth, where she manages the organization’s federal, state, and local legislative agenda, as well as its press and digital communications and member committees. Stacey is the chair of the board of Accelerate Long Island, a nonprofit collaboration among the region’s research and academic institutions and business community to support the growth of high-tech startup companies. Her prior positions include executive dean of entrepreneurship and business development at Hofstra University, where she oversaw millions of dollars in government and private grant funding, and deputy regional director for U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer.
About The New York Community Trust
As New York’s largest community foundation, The New York Community Trust fosters and engages in enduring and innovative philanthropy, making grants that bring together the diverse, local knowledge and expertise of its team, nonprofits, and partners to help donors fulfill their vision for the causes they love. From education and the arts to health care and the environment, The New York Community Trust seeks to improve every aspect of the cultural and civic life of New York City, Long Island, and Westchester. The New York Community Trust celebrates 100 years of impact and looks forward to the next 100 years of improving life for New Yorkers. This is philanthropy for New Yorkers, by New Yorkers.