Each year hundreds of ILR Alumni and friends gather together to celebrate the School and to honor our Groat and Alpern Award winners. The Groat & Alpern Celebration is the ILR alumni event of the year. We look forward to seeing you at our next Celebration.
Judge William B. Groat Alumni Award Recipients
- 2024 JAMES MILLER ’88, Managing Partner at Miller Shah Attorneys at Law
- 2023 CHRISTY PAMBIANCHI ’90, Executive Vice President and Chief People Officer at Intel Corporation
- 2022 DAVID M. COHEN ’73, Former executive deputy commissioner for administration for the New York City Department of Environmental Protection
- 2021 JOHN BICKERMAN ’78, MS ’80, Principal, Bickerman Dispute Resolution
- 2020 KATHLEEN WESLOCK, MILR '83, Chief Human Resources Officer, Livent Corporation
- 2019 CAROLYN D. RICHMOND '91, Attorney, Fox Rothschild LLP
- 2018 JOAN PARKER B.S. '70, M.S. '73, Ph.D. '74, Arbitrator and Mediator
- 2017 FRANCINE D. BLAU '66, Frances Perkins Professor of Industrial and Labor Relations and Professor of Economics at Cornell University
- 2016 ROBERT D. MANFRED, JR., ’80, Commissioner, Major League Baseball
- 2015 SARA HOROWITZ ’84, Executive Director, Freelancers Union
- 2014 PAMELA O. KIMMET '80, Senior Vice President of Human Resources, Coca-Cola Enterprises, Inc.
- 2013 ALAN KRUEGER ’83: Chair of President Obama’s Council of Economic Advisors & Bendheim Professor of Economics & Public Policy, Princeton University, Woodrow Wilson School
- 2012 EVA SAGE-GAVIN ’80: Executive Vice President, Global Human Resources and Corporate Affairs, Gap, Inc.
- 2011 BARRY HARTSTEIN ’73: Shareholder, Littler Mendelson, P.C.
- 2010 LAURIE BERKE-WEISS '71: Founder of Berke-Weiss & Pechman LLP SETH HARRIS '83: Undersecretary of Labor, the second highest position in the U.S. Department of Labor
- 2009 BONNIE SIBER WEINSTOCK '75: Labor and Employment Arbitrator
- 2008 MARK E. BROSSMAN ’75: Partner/Attorney, Schulte Roth & Zabel LLP ROBERT A. MOLOFSKY ’72, Vice-President/Special Counsel of the AFL-CIO Investment Trust Corporation (ITC)
- 2007 JAY W. WAKS ’68, LAW, ‘71: Partner/Attorney, Kaye Scholer LLP
- 2006 MARTIN SCHEINMAN ’75: Arbitrator/Mediator
- 2005 HARRIS L. RAYNOR ’69: Southern Regional Director and International Vice President of UNITE HERE
- 2004 GARY B. BETTMAN ’74: Commissioner, National Hockey League
- 2003 ELIZABETH D. MOORE ’75: Partner/Attorney, Nixon Peabody LLP
- 2002 PAUL SALVATORE ’81: Partner/Attorney, Proskauer Rose, LLP
- 2001 RANDI WEINGARTEN ’80: President, United Federation of Teachers
- 2000 FRANCIS N. BONSIGNORE ‘68: Senior Vice President, Human Resources and Administration, Marsh & McLennan Companies, Inc.
- 1999 BRUCE S. RAYNOR ’72: Secretary-Treasurer, Union of Needletrades, Industrial and Textile Employees, AFL-CIO
- 1998 DAVID B. LIPSKY ’61: Professor, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University and director, Cornell/PERC Institute on Conflict Resolution
- 1997 KENNETH F. KAHN ‘69: President, LRP Publications and Human Resource Executive Magazine
- 1996 CAROLYN J. JACOBSON ‘72: Director of Public Relations, Bakery, Confectionery and Tobaccao Workers International Union, AFL-CIO
- 1995 SHEILA H. AKABAS ‘51: Professor and Director of the Workplace Center, Columbia University School of Social Work
- 1994 STEPHEN A. PLOSCOWE ‘62: Partner, Grotta, Glassman & Hoffman, P.A.
- 1993 VICKI A. SAPORTA ‘74: Director of Organizing, International Brotherhood of Teamsters
- 1991 EILEEN BARKAS HOFFMAN ‘69: General Counsel, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service
- 1990 THEODORE HAWRYLUK ‘49: Director, Employee Services and Programs, Philip Morris Management Corporation
- 1989 ROBERT F. RISLEY M.S. ’49, Ph.D. ‘53: Professor, School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Cornell University
- 1988 No awardee
- 1987 CARL D. BEHNKE ‘61: V.P., Human Resource Management Division, Edison Electric Institute
- 1986 JOAN GREENSPAN ‘64: National Director, Industrial Organizing, Screen Actors Guild
- 1985 STANLEY L. AIGES ‘58: Labor-Management Arbitrator
- 1984 SAUL G. KRAMER ‘54: Attorney-at-Law
- 1983 WALTON E. BURDICK ‘55: V.P., Personnel, IBM Corporation
- 1981 MARCIA L. GREENBAUM ‘62: Labor-Management Arbitrator and JACOB SEIDENBERG ‘51: Labor-Management Arbitrator
- 1980 PETER CUSACK ‘56: V.P., Personnel, ABC
- 1979 JACK GOLODNER ‘53: Director, Department for Professional Employees, AFL-CIO
- 1978 HARRY T. EDWARDS ‘62: Professor of Law, University of Michigan Law School
- 1977 PAUL YAGER M.S. ‘49: Director, Region I, Federal Mediation & Conciliation Service and WILLIAM J. KILBERG ‘66: Attorney-at-Law and Former Solicitor of Labor
- 1976 RICHARD GOLDSTEIN ‘49: V.P. of Labor Relations, NBC
- 1975 GERALD L. DORF ‘57: Counselor-at-Law
- 1974 PAUL J. FASSER, JR. ‘51: Assistant Secretary of Labor for Labor-Management Relations, US Dept. of Labor
- 1973 ROBERT D. HELSBY EdD. ‘58: Chairman, NYS Public Employment Relations Board
- 1972 CHRIS ARGYRIS Ph.D. ‘51: James Bryant Conant Professor of Education and Organizational Behavior, Harvard University
- 1971 ERIC F. JENSEN ‘51: V.P., Industrial Relations, ACF Industries and JACOB SHEINKMAN ‘49: General Counsel, Amalgamated Clothing Workers of America, AFL-CIO
Jerome Alpern Distinguished Alumni Award Recipients
- 2024 LAUREN EZROL KLEIN ’88, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts
- 2023 ED BAUM ’81, Partner in the litigation department at Perkins Coie LLP
- 2022 RUSSELL HERNANDEZ ’88 President, Atlantic State Advisors
- 2021 MARY ZITWER MILLMAN ’78, President, Eugene Zitwer Foundation
- 2020 BARRY BECK '90, Co-Founder and Chief Operating Officer of Bluemercury, Inc.
- 2019 DIANE C. ROSEN '71, Counsel, Ortolio Rosenstadt LLP
- 2018 GLENN R. AUGUST '82, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Oak Hill Advisors
- 2017 JOANNE RESTIVO JENSEN '84, Managing Director and Private Banker, Deutsche Bank Wealth Management
- 2016 JONATHAN l. DOLGEN, ’66, Principal and Senior Consultant at Wood River Ventures, LLC.
- 2015 BETH FLORIN, M.S. ’85, Managing Director, Pearl Meyer & Partners
- 2014 K. LISA YANG, '74, Philanthropist
- 2013 JEAN BADERSCHNEIDER ’78: Vice President for Global Procurement, Exxon Mobil.
- 2012 TRACY DOLGIN ’81: President and CEO, YES Network.
- 2011 JOHN SCELFO ’79: Senior Vice President of Finance and Corporate Development, Hess Corporation.
- 2010 SETH “YOSSI” SIEGEL '74, JD '78: Vice Chairman of The Beanstalk Group.
- 2009 DOUG BRAUNSTEIN ’83: JP Morgan, Head of Investment Banking.
- 2008 RUBÉN J. KING-SHAW JR. ’83: Chairman & CEO Mansa Equity Partners, Inc.
- 2007 PAUL COLE: Secretary-Treasurer Emeritus, New York State AFL-CIO.
- 2006 ADELE SMITHERS-FORNACI: President, The Christopher Smithers Foundation.
- 2005 ROBERT A. HURET ’65: Founding General Partner, Financial Technology Ventures.
- 2004 MICHAEL F. NOZZOLIO, ’73: New York State Senator.
- 2003 No award given.
- 2002 HAROLD TANNER ‘52: President, Tanner & Co.
- 2001 HAROLD O. LEVY ’75: Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education.
- 2000 ROBERT H. BLUESTEIN ’67: President, R. H. Bluestein & Company. L. WILLIAM KAY II ’51: Managing Partner, Drexelbrook Associates.
- 1998 ANNE EVANS ESTABROOK ’65: Owner, Elberon Development Co.