President's Letter to our Members

By Melissa Goodstein

Happy New Year!

It is my privilege to begin my term as NYACP President with executive board members Ellen Jancko- Baken, VP, Meg Sussman, Secretary, Nancy Kaye, Treasurer and Ken Novenstern immediate past president. Board members Catherine Canadé, Kathleen Donelli, Randy Heller, Michelle Lewis, Stephen Linker, and Jeffrey Steiger. NYACP welcomes two new board members this year Ivan Alter and Jackie Caputo. And finally, to the person who makes everything happen, our ED, Abby Curro.

NYACP ‘s core strength lies and thrives is in its membership. It remains the board’s goal to connect more meaningfully with each of you. You matter. A lot. Your board is charged with delivering quality events and programs that further NYACP’s mission, vision and values which are as follows:

NYACP MISSION, VISION and VALUES
Vision:
   • NYACP Members will be widely recognized by clients and colleagues for excellence in Collaborative Divorce in the New York metropolitan area.

Mission:
   • Empowering members to achieve excellence in Collaborative skills and practice.

Values:
   • Achieve excellence in developing and perfecting Collaborative skills
   • Embrace dignity and respect in our relationships with divorcing couples and our colleagues
   • Have compassion and empathy for divorcing couples and their children
   • Be creative, open minded, honest and transparent
   • Build trust in our collaborative community

To that end, The Training and Education committee is hard at work planning programs through our annual day of training in December. Look for a combination of virtual Friday lunchtime webinars and in person evening training at convenient locations monthly on a variety of topics appealing to all disciplines and professional credit offered whenever possible. We are also co- sponsoring with other local collaborative associations and professional associations such as the Hudson Valley collaborative group and local bar associations trainings and events which will build stronger relationships with our larger professional communities. The membership committee is planning social events and networking opportunities in addition to the third year of our successful mentorship program. Our regional pod groups meet virtually once a month with a variety of topics and speakers and open to all members. Our support and Development groups will continue to meet monthly with case presentations and peer support. New this year, is a support and development group for MHP’s meeting quarterly. All of these initiatives are at no or at nominal charge for members. Please contact the office if you are interested in joining a SGCP group. The vibrancy and health of NYACP is dependent on member engagement and satisfaction. Tell us what you need to enhance your membership so we can make your experience a better one. Speaking on behalf of your board, we are listening and want to hear from you so we can all become better and stronger collaborative professionals together.

Take care, just breathe, and find beauty and gratitude in each day!