Constance J. Milstein

Attorney, Businesswoman, Humanitarian, and Social Entrepreneur

Attorney, businesswoman, humanitarian and social entrepreneur.

Meet Connie

Blue Star Families Releases E-Book for Military Families and Friends

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Board Member Connie Milstein and all those who work with Blue Star Families celebrated the release of a new, free e-book last month titled “Everyone Serves: A Handbook for Family and Friends of Service Members During Pre-deployment, Deployment and Reintegration” as part of their partnership with Vulcan Productions and Health Net Federal Services, LLC, a subsidiary of Health Net, Inc. The book hopes to assist those closest to active military members cope with the emotional toll of deployments and reintegration.

“Everyone Serves” was developed by military family members for the family members, friends and larger support network of U.S. service members, sharing what they can except during deployment and reintegration, and offering tips for acting as a strong, cohesive support system throughout the process. The e-book features videos, interactive worksheets and a resources section all aimed at helping those touched by the military lifestyle. In the last 12 years of war, military deployments have affected more than 3 million military family members and friends, 2 million of whom are children.

“When your service member is deployed, you live for the day they come home,” said Vivian Greentree, Ph.D., a military spouse and Director of Research and Policy or Blue Star Families. “Even through the joy of being reunited, both deployments and homecomings take an emotion toll on everyone and each presents unique challenges. The Everyone Serves handbook is the first comprehensive resource for military family members and friends to help guide them through the many stages of deployment and reintegration.”

To view the e-book, visit Blue Star Families or download it from Amazon, Apple, Barnes & Noble, Google, Kobo or Sony.

Blue Star Families Offers Scholarships to Military Spouses

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Blue Star Families, a non-profit organization for which Connie Milstein serves as a Director, recently announced the creation of Blue Star Scholarships. This program will enhance education and career prospects for military spouses by connecting them with superior online degree programs they can access from anywhere. Blue Star Scholarships officially launched on March 25 with the help of its first partner, the University of Southern California School of Social Work. As the program grows, BSF plans to place an emphasis on expanded career opportunities while helping fill a serious need within the military community. The USC partnership is especially attractive to those with military connections as it offers a specialization in military social work.

“The country doesn’t have sufficient resources to respond to the current health and mental health needs of our returning soldiers and their families, so the immediate training of professionals is critical,” said the dean of the USC School of Social Work Marilyn Flynn. “Partnering with Blue Star Families is a great way to increase access to graduate education for military spouses, which will ensure we turn out more qualified providers who can take care of our service members and their families in a way they deserve.”

The most important aspect of these scholarships is that participants are able to attend classes remotely and at times that work best with their schedule. For example, the military social work degree at USC requires no campus visits. Students communicate with professors and classmates via webcam discussions and specialized social networking tools. Even the program’s hands-on internships take into account the student’s location.

HDI Cultural Ambassador Gives Presentation at Wilkes University

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In 2010, singer/songwriter Mary McBride founded The Home Tour as a way to bring live music into the homes of people who would otherwise not have access to concerts, etc. After learning about her mission through a Washington Post article, McBride was asked to be a cultural ambassador by the U.S. Department of State and the Humpty Dumpty Institute, Connie Milstein’s non-profit that was created to serve people in developing countries.

Two and a half years later, McBride has performed in Russia, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Iraq, Pakistan, Laos, Vietnam, Taiwan, Turkey, Afghanistan, Algeria, Italy and Albania.

“We did 2.5 weeks in Pakistan, which I would say was one of my favorite tours, not just because of the unbelievable food, but also the people and the number of people we played for who had never been to a live show, had never been to a club, have never even been in a room with somebody doing anything resembling a public performance,” she said.

Last month, McBride gave a presentation at Wilkes University in Pennsylvania on “Cultural Diplomacy in Action.” During her talk, she described cultural diplomacy using the words of political scientist Milton Cummings: the exchange of ideas, information, value systems, traditions, beliefs and other aspects of culture with the intention of fostering mutual understanding. Music, McBride added, can be a bridge for the exchange of values.

10 NewYork-Presbyterian Physicians Named Samberg Scholars in Children’s Health

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Earlier this month, 10 physicians at NewYork-Presbyterian/Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital were named as the first Samberg Scholars in Children’s Health, thanks to a $25 million donation by hospital trustee Arthur Samberg and his wife, Rebecca. The program is intended to help the hospital recruit, retain and sustain the best doctors in pediatric medicine. Over the next five years, the Samberg Scholars in Children’s Health endowment will support 40 pediatricians.

To be selected as a Samberg Scholar, a physician must be a pediatrician or pediatric subspecialist who demonstrates excellence in patient care and meets additional criteria in community commitment, teaching, expertise, leadership and being a catalyst for program development.

“We were proud to be leaders in the building of the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital, abut have always been more inclined to support ‘people projects’ rather than bricks and mortar,” Mr. Samberg said. “We are thrilled to establish the Samberg Scholars program and bring needed resources to the people side of a fantastic building dedicated to improving the health care of young people.”

Connie Milstein has served as a member of the NewYork-Presbyterian Board of Trustees since 2000 and has served on several key committees, including the Quality and Performance Improvement Committee. She was instrumental in opening the Vivan and Seymour Milstein Family Heart Center at NewYork-Presbyterian/Columbia in 2010. Her family donated countless hours and millions of dollars to the hospital throughout the years.

NYU Recognized As Top Study-Abroad University

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New York University has been recognized by the Institute of International Education as being among the top universities in the U.S. in the number of American students who study abroad as well as universities that attract the most international students. During the 2010-2011 academic year, NYU sent more students to study abroad than any other university, with a total of 3,799 participating students. During the 2011-2012 academic year, NYU attracted 8,660 international students, placing third after the University of Southern California and the University of Illinois: Urbana –Champaign.

“These findings demonstrate that NYU is becoming a truly global network university,” said President John Sexton in a statement. “The core idea behind NYU’s international expansion is to enrich the research and learning of our faculty and students by offering them participation in the idea capitals of the world without compromising their connection to the rest of the university.”

Connie Milstein is a NYU graduate and currently serves as a trustee for the school. In the past several years, Connie has worked closely with the university to launch the Constance Milstein and Family Academic Center in Washington, D.C. The academic facility is just one of 14 NYU “Study Away” centers around the world and offers NYU students the opportunity to study government, policy-making, journalism and more firsthand.