[photograph] Wilma Stein Tisch '48 WILMA STEIN TISCH '48 A philanthropist and volunteer whose leadership has guided a number of major foundations and service organizations, Wilma “Billie” Stein Tisch has had a significant impact on the public-service sector of New York City and selected areas of the broader national community. Tisch is committed to the idea that pro bono service — i.e., volunteerism — is essential to the American way of life. “What one chooses to do with one’s leisure time, energy, and financial resources is the truest expression of what one cares about most deeply,” she says. Over the past 30 years, Tisch has held major positions with the Federation of Jewish Philanthropies of New York, an important provider of health, education, and community services under Jewish auspices through 130 agencies in the five boroughs of New York and in the surrounding counties. She was the first woman to be elected as the federation’s president, a post she held from 1980 to 1983, and she continues to serve as a trustee for the group’s successor organization, the UJA Federation. Stephen Solender, executive vice-president of the UJA Federation, summed up her role in this way: “The bottom line is that Billie Tisch is one of the greatest philanthropists of our generation. She and her husband (Laurence Tisch) have probably had more impact on education and culture in New York than any other couple of our time.” One of Tisch s other interests has been public broadcasting. As chairman of WNYC from 1987 to 1991, and now chairman emerita, she has been directly involved in all aspects of public radio. She played a key role in the community’s acquisition of WNYC AM and FM, and in the successful sale of WNYC TV by the city of New York, former owner of the three broadcast properties. In 1994, Tisch was elected to the board of directors of the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a foundation whose groundbeaking efforts in promoting the healthy development of young people and in the prevention of deadly conflict have been influential in the public policy arena. Prior to that, she served for 10 years on the Carnegie Council on Adolescent Development, where she co-chaired a task force whose final report, “A Matter of Time,” is a prime resource for communities and organizations seeking to implement youth services. Tisch is also a trustee and member of the executive committee of the United Way of New York City, and she served until recently on the advisory council of the Hunter College School of Social Work. Among her pro bono government activities are membership on the Governor’s Select Committee on capital health-care needs of New York (1983-84) and Mayor Rudolph Guiliani’s transition committee. “Skidmore is where I broadened my horizons and tested my skills.” Recalling her college years, Tisch remembers a time of optimism despite forces to the contrary. “My first two years at Skidmore were the last two years of World War II,” says the economics major who minored in business/accounting. “Even though those were deeply troubled times, the mood was one of hope and opportunity.” She also recalls a time of profound growth. “Skidmore is where I spoke into my first microphone, where I studied the Greek dramatists and the then-modern economists, where I broadened my horizons and tested my skills. Skidmore is where I first heard other voices, saw other rooms. . . where I learned that being is better than seeming, that doing is better than having, that ‘things’ are just ‘things,’ that the rewards of service are intrinsic. Here is where I found myself.” On the Skidmore campus of today, the Tisch Learning Center, dedicated in 1994, and the Tisch Professorship of Arts and Letters, established in 1995, acknowledge the support of Billie and Laurence Tisch. And she continues a leadership role as a trustee of the College, a role she assumes “with a great sense of pride and accomplishment,” she says. Tisch’s honors include a Milender Fellowship at Brandeis University and the Louis D. Marshall Medal of the Jewish Theological Seminary. She received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Skidmore in 1990, and in the same year, an honorary doctorate from the Mount Sinai School of Medicine. [photograph] Anne Chorske Stuzin '86 with Madeleine ANNE CHORSKE STUZIN '86 Anne Chorske Stuzin decided to leave behind a rising career in advertising in which she had managed a multimillion-dollar annual advertising budget for General Electric and had worked for 10 years with clients like Federal Express, Lever Brothers, Noxell Corporation, and SmithKline Beecham. “Balance is the operative word,” she says of her decision to step out of the corporate world and devote her time and energy to her family. The French and business major built her resume as an account manager at the prestigious New York City agencies of Lintas and BBDO Worldwide, and later at a Los Angeles firm. Working at BBDO during 1988-94, she spent three years as a key player on the team that took GE— and its “we bring good things to life” ad campaign — into the international arena. “GE was becoming a global brand and the marketing effort had to reflect that. We wanted to take the message to other shores,” she says, noting that her team also helped GE broaden its international image here in the United States. “My interdisciplinary studies at Skidmore were a great foundation for a field like advertising, which blends business with creativity and draws inspiration from all aspects of culture,” says Stuzin. In addition, she credits her athletic experience at Skidmore — she was a field hockey co-captain and also played lacrosse — with giving her valuable lessons in teamwork and leadership. “New York City is the nerve center of advertising — it’s fast-paced and high-intensity,” says Stuzin, who explains that the role of account manager is often exhilarating because it’s right in the middle of the action. Through her work, she gained new insights into a range of industries by “getting an inside peek into each company and finding out what makes them tick.” But it was also the pace and intensity that planted the seeds for Stuzin’s lifestyle shift. She recalls the typical workday, where lunch meant grabbing a coffee and fruit salad at her desk, and the conclusion of a long day meant returning to a shoebox-sized apartment, donning running clothes, and jogging in Central Park. So she and her husband, Ken, then a portfolio manager at Morgan Stanley, decided to “throttle back” and to seek a proper balance in their lives. Their first opportunity came when Ken was offered a transfer to Los Angeles in 1995. Jumping at the chance to “move to a new coast,” the couple settled in Manhattan Beach and savored their new surroundings. “It wasn’t the stereotypical laid-back California lifestyle, but it helped us achieve a balance,” says Stuzin, who transferred her skills to the midsize LA ad agency of Lois/EGO. Once settled in, she resumed her active role in Skidmore activities by participating in the LA alumni club and serving as an admissions contact for the College. Two years later the couple moved to San Francisco, where Stuzin decided to put her career on hold with the birth of her daughter, Madeleine. “I worked very hard in advertising and I thrived on it. But the intensity of the feeling is no longer there,” she says. “With a baby, I don’t want to return to that sort of pace. Now it’s on to the next chapter.” As she looks ahead, she plans to continue her role as a volunteer on behalf of both Skidmore and the community, a role she started early on in her career. While working at BBDO she did pro bono projects as part of the firm’s commitment to public service, including public-awareness work for the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation and the American Cancer Society. In LA she put her marketing skills to work for My Friend’s Place, a homeless center for teens, to help attract funding. And, of course, says Stuzin, there’s always the possibility of an entrepreneurial enterprise drawing on her work experience and her Skidmore dual major. “Whatever the professional path may be, I’ll always be looking to achieve a healthy balance between it, my family, and community involvement.”