Development News

Who’s Who in the office of External Affairs

CSPH associate Dean for External Relations Diana Landreth joined CSPH in 1996 after earning her master of public health degree from the School. She is a registered nurse and former Peace Corps volunteer in Ecuador with special expertise in the fields of psychiatry, infectious diseases, population and family health, environmental health and public health education. to CSPH she brings not only her knowledge of public health issues, but also invaluable development and communication skills, honed over years of service on numerous boards of directors, including Planned Parenthood of New York City and the New York Botanical Garden.

Newly appointed Director of Development Priscilla Goldfarb is a seasoned development professional with extensive experience in fund raising, public affairs and government relations. Most recently she was director of community resources for the association for the Help of Retarded Children, Nassau County, Long Island, Chapter. Previously, she was associate director of development for North Shore University Hospital and executive director of Friends of Hospice, a grassroots organization that co-founded the first certified hospice program on Long Island. A former Peace Corps volunteer in Uganda, East Africa, she has served on the boards of numerous organizations.

Marlene Bloom, a new development officer, comes to CSPH with a background in development, operations and administration. She was director of operations at SHARE, a not-for-profit agency that addresses the needs of women with breast and ovarian cancer, where she researched and composed funding proposals and wrote, edited and produced newsletters and annual reports. She has designed integrated computer software for small businesses, written computer training manuals, and researched and updated the second edition of The Guide to NYC Public Records. She has been involved in community board and other local activities.

Ginny Carolan, recently named director of alumni relations, is an original member of the development office. for the past six years, she has been working exclusively with the alumni of the School, building bridges and strengthening relationships, overseeing conferences, special events and a wide range of special projects. Prior to her alumni responsibilites, she was assistant to the dean. A long-time member of the Columbia family, she spent 10 years on the Morningside campus in various administrative positions including a three-year assignment as executive assistant to the vice president for university development and alumni relations.

In her fourth year as CSPH’s director of public relations, Jean Llewellyn is responsible for the School’s media relations and publications. Prior to Columbia, she was with The College Board as national dissemination coordinator, EQUITY 2000, a $30 million initiative advocating educational excellence for all students. She served Elwyn institutes (PA), the nation’s oldest and largest provider of services to people with disabilities, as director of communications; and Girl Scouts of the USA, Freedom Valley (PA) and Bergen County (NJ) councils, as director of marketing and program. She holds a master of management degree from Penn State and has newspaper and school board experience.

As editor of Columbia Public Health magazine, Christopher Zurawsky brings a wealth of medical writing and editing experience to the office of External Relations. He earned a master of science degree from the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism and has worked as a writer or editor for The New York State Department of Health AIDS institute; medical publishers Slack incorporated and Dowden Publishing; The Philadelphia inquirer; the McKeesport Daily News (PA); and The Eisenhower Center for the Conservation of Human Resources, directed by legendary health economist Eli Ginzberg, Ph.D.

An attorney, Elia Desruisseaux entered fund raising at New York University Medical Center and went on to develop a planned giving program for Brooklyn Hospital Center. She joined Columbia Health Sciences in 1997 to assist donors who wish to arrange planned gifts, including bequests and trusts, to benefit the professional health care schools including CSPH.

Jean Armitage came to the Health Sciences Development office in 1992 as a writer and researcher. She became director of annual giving for the health sciences in 1994 to oversee the planning and implementation of mail campaigns and telethons for CSPH and its sister health care schools.

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