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Peter W. May, a Transformational Leader, Steps Down as Chairman

Updated on Jun 4, 2019 | Community, Featured

Nearly 1,400 physicians, faculty, staff, trustees, and friends of the Mount Sinai Health System gathered on Thursday, May 2, to celebrate a year of clinical and scientific achievements at the 34th Annual Crystal Party, and to honor Peter W. May, a transformational leader, who had just stepped down as Chairman of the Mount Sinai Boards of Trustees after 17 years.

The festive celebration, held beneath an enormous, colorfully decorated tent in the Central Park Conservancy Garden, began with a tribute to Mr. May by three violinists from the New York Philharmonic who played several selections from West Side Story. Lead violinist Michelle Kim said the trio was honored to perform at a celebration for Mr. May, with whom they were acquainted through his service on the Board of Directors of the New York Philharmonic.

Peter W. May and Kenneth L. Davis, MD.

Indeed, Mr. May’s wide circle of friends and large philanthropic footprint were evident at the Crystal Party. But it was his strong business acumen that was most in need in 2002, when he became Chairman of Mount Sinai and a short time later tapped Kenneth L. Davis, MD, to serve as Dean and Chief Executive Officer. During that tumultuous time, Mr. May’s experience in turning around failing consumer and industrial businesses was put to the test at Mount Sinai, which had experienced a series of setbacks that left it in desperate financial shape. In fact, the early days of his tenure were so dramatic, Mr. May said in a recent interview, “We didn’t know if we would make payroll.”

As Chairman, he turned Mount Sinai around in less than three years. Rather than instituting layoffs and cutting costs in food services, housekeeping, and transport, as he was counseled to do by an outside consulting firm, he built and expanded Mount Sinai through fundraising, marketing, and recruitment, and creating a sense of teamwork. Looking back, he said recently, “My experience has always been that you don’t cut your way out of a problem, you build your way out of a problem.” Mr. May put a new management team in place and began to focus on rebuilding a great medical center by drawing the school and hospital closer together and concentrating resources in clinical and research specialties where Mount Sinai excelled.

View a timeline showcasing a Legacy of Growth and Excellence

Mr. May recently told an interviewer, “Mount Sinai has always seen its mission as being able to improve society.” That mission-driven ethos went back to the hospital’s earliest days in the 1850s, when Mount Sinai cared for all patients, regardless of their ability to pay. He said, “Even when we had two weeks’ payroll in the bank, we did not cut our charitable giving, and we continued to take care of everyone.”

In his opening remarks at the Crystal Party and in a video that was shown at the event, Dr. Davis said, “We would not have achieved what we achieved if Peter May had not been here. There would be no Crystal Party, no Mount Sinai, without Peter May and his leadership and guidance. Our partnership has lasted 17 years. There has never been a bump in the road. The Mount Sinai family will remember him for decades to come.”

Peter W. May, center, with, from left, Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System; and David L. Reich, MD, President, The Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens.

During the early days, as Mr. May rolled up his sleeves and devoted himself to recreating Mount Sinai and restoring its reputation as a venerable institution that served all patients who walked through its doors, he impressed those around him with his work ethic, his keen business judgment, and his generous spirit.

“He is an extraordinary man,” said Dr. Davis in an earlier interview, “one of the most wonderful human beings I’ve ever known. Health care is very complicated. Peter understood that knowledge about investing, or working on Wall Street, does not always transfer to a nonprofit institution where innovation, research accomplishments, education, and saving lives are a priority. Peter trusted the management team. He was supportive. He was always there. Under his Chairmanship, Mount Sinai grew multifold. We grew faster in size and stature than we ever did in the 160-year history of our institution.”

See photos from the 34th Annual Crystal Party in Central Park honoring Peter W. May

Dennis S. Charney, MD, Anne and Joel Ehrenkranz Dean, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, and President for Academic Affairs, Mount Sinai Health System, was among the Mount Sinai trustees, hospital presidents, department chairs, and other institutional leaders and staff who expressed their respect and gratitude and wished Mr. May well in the video that was shown at the Crystal Party.

“We will miss your inspirational leadership and wisdom,” said Dr. Charney, who has credited Mr. May for recognizing the central role of the Icahn School of Medicine in elevating Mount Sinai to the ranks of the best health systems in the country. In an earlier interview, Dr. Charney said, “Peter enabled me to build a culture that was innovative and entrepreneurial, and I know that stems from his own successful business career.”

When the video ended, Mr. May walked to the podium to speak and was greeted with a standing ovation. “I have been blessed with a number of incredible partnerships,” Mr. May told the crowd, citing his 55-year marriage to his wife, Leni May, his beloved children and grandchildren, and his 46-year business partnership with Nelson Peltz. “Mount Sinai is the other part that has really enriched my life.”

He highlighted Mount Sinai’s success as the largest health care system in New York City and the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai’s national standing as a top medical school and one of the most important research institutions in the world. Mr. May said he was pleased that Richard A. Friedman and James S. Tisch would be taking on the role of Co-Chairmen of the Boards of Trustees, as the size and complexity of Mount Sinai now warranted two people with immense experience. Handing over the reins marked a “bittersweet time,” he said, acknowledging that he knew the evening would be an emotional one. “I have loved every minute of my work at Mount Sinai.”

Violinists from the New York Philharmonic honored Peter W. May by performing music from West Side Story.

Two Longtime Trustees Elected Co-Chairmen

“Dream Big”: A Conversation with Kathryn Stella, MBA, a Leader at Mount Sinai West

Updated on Nov 14, 2025 | Community, Engagement

Kathryn Stella, MBA, Vice President of Ambulatory Operations, Mount Sinai West

Discover who you are. Be authentic. Plan your work, and work your plan. Dare to dream big.

These were some of the takeaway messages from Kathryn Stella, MBA, Vice President of Ambulatory Operations at Mount Sinai West, who recently was featured in a “Conversations With Leaders” event at the Corporate Services Center. The talk was held in honor of Women’s History Month.

Ms. Stella said her journey began when she was a high school student in the Bronx with good grades but few role models for professional success. She graduated from high school and spent years as an administrative worker in medical practices. Finally, when Ms. Stella was working in the Department of Dermatology at New York University, a supportive boss steered her toward an employees’ tuition remission program and challenged her to earn a bachelor’s degree.

She felt some self-doubt at the prospect of starting college at age 29. But she was inspired by accomplished women of the past, including Eleanor Roosevelt, who said, “You must do the thing you think you cannot do.” She earned a bachelor’s degree in Health Care Administration quickly— in just two years—by attending classes all year, even during summer and winter breaks. In 2001, she earned an MBA in Accounting from Seton Hall University, and in 2012 she joined the Mount Sinai Health System.

Ms. Stella encouraged the attendees to reach out to her for any needed information or career advice. And she recommended a helpful exercise: “Make a list of what you hate to do, and what you love to do,” she said. Personally, she loves accounting, confronting challenging situations, helping people, and working in the health care industry. “If you look at my list of things that I love, my job encompasses so much of that list.”

Ms. Stella with attendees of the “Conversations With Leaders” event at Mount Sinai’s Corporate Services Center.

Celebrating Patient Experience Week: Events Honor a Commitment to Care

May 29, 2019 | Community, Your Voice Counts

The Mount Sinai Hospital STAR Awards

Patient Experience Week at the Mount Sinai Health System, celebrated from April 22 to April 26, was an opportunity to honor employees for their commitment to patient care. Each site developed an agenda of activities, which included traditional town halls and award ceremonies, but also flash mobs and an “Empathy Olympics” to help staff understand the challenges faced by patients with impaired abilities.

“During this week, we were pleased to recognize the hard work and dedication of our employees,” says Erica Rubinstein, LCSW, CPXP, Vice President, Patient Experience, Mount Sinai Health System. “We are also deeply grateful to the Joseph F. Cullman, Jr. Institute for Patient Experience for their ongoing support of the work we are doing to continuously improve the employee and patient experience.”

Mount Sinai Brooklyn

Mount Sinai St. Luke’s

Mount Sinai West

New York Eye and Ear Infirmary of Mount Sinai

Mount Sinai Queens

Mount Sinai Beth Israel

David L. Reich, MD, President and Chief Operating Officer, The Mount Sinai Hospital, far left, with hospital leaders and STAR award winners.

Mount Sinai West: The administrative leadership team of Ambulatory Services.

Mount Sinai Queens: Jill Goldstein, MS, RN, left, Vice President, Nursing, and Claudine Brown, RN, Clinical Nurse Manager.

Mount Sinai St. Luke’s: Sonny E. Raimundi, left, and Augustus A. Lawrence, Security Officers.

Mount Sinai Brooklyn: From left: Linda Valentino, MSN, RN, Vice President, Patient Care Services; Heather Brener, PharmD, Assistant Director, Pharmacy; Margreth Baldonado, RN; Ann O’Neill, RN, Director, and Robert Lynch, RN, Assistant Manager, Patient Care Services, Emergency Medicine; Valerie Merrell, RN; and Lucy Cannizzaro, PharmD, Director, Pharmacy.

See more Your Voice Counts stories

Two Mount Sinai Diversity Councils Are Among the Nation’s Top 25

Updated on Nov 14, 2025 | Community, Engagement

Ana M. Rodriguez, left, and Elizabeth Diaz accepted the ERG & Council Honors Awards.

The Association of Employee Resource Groups and Councils ranked two Mount Sinai Health System diversity councils among their Top 25, honoring them on Friday, May 3, with the ERG & Council Honors Award™. The Mount Sinai St. Luke’s Diversity Council (ranked No.16) and the Mount Queens Diversity Council (ranked No. 20) were recognized for the impact of their diversity and inclusion efforts, having excelled in four categories—Demonstrated Results, Demonstrated Management Commitment, Measurement and Accountability, and Communication and Education. Significantly, the groups were recognized in the first year they applied.

The awards were accepted at the 2019 ERG & Council Conference in Orlando, Florida, by Elizabeth Diaz, Senior Project Coordinator, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Mount Sinai Health System, and Ana M. Rodriguez, LMSW, Director of Patient Experience, Volunteer Services and Community Affairs, Mount Sinai Queens.

The diversity council at Mount Sinai St. Luke’s is chaired by Rubiela Guzman, Senior Director of Patient Transport, and Pascal Kolak, PharmD, MS, MPA, Pharmacy Manager, and it is sponsored by hospital President Arthur A. Gianelli, MPH, MBA. The council was recognized for its dedication to creating an inclusive environment for staff and patients in alignment with the hospital’s values—teamwork, empathy, transparency, creativity and optimism—and for its support from senior leaders, who have encouraged innovation in thoughts and ideas. With this support, the council outlined education and training, supplier diversity, leadership and staff development, and employee engagement as strategic priorities for the past year. The resulting events included “Taste of Harlem” to introduce local minority- and women-owned businesses to managers as new vendors; “Leaders of Color” panel discussions; and professional development expos to help staff advance their careers. The events have since been replicated by other diversity councils within the Mount Sinai Health System.

At Mount Sinai Queens, the diversity council is chaired by Ana M. Rodriguez, LMSW, Director of Patient Experience, Volunteer Services and Community Affairs, and sponsored by the Executive Director Caryn A. Schwab and Chief Operating Officer Judy Trilivas, RN, MA. The council was recognized for aligning hospital-based ERGs to function as one successful unit. It also was recognized for its strong support from senior leadership and middle management, many of whom are council members and ERG leaders who integrate council activities and events into their departments. The council organizes activities and training that enhance the patient experience, increase staff participation and engagement, promote an inclusive culture, provide leadership development opportunities for staff, and increase the hospital’s visibility in the community.

“Congratulations to all of the diversity council members for their hard work, which led to this well-deserved honor,” says Pamela Y. Abner, MPA, CPXP, Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer, Office for Diversity and Inclusion, Mount Sinai Health System.

Becker’s Healthcare: Mount Sinai Health System Among the 150 Top Places to Work in Health Care

May 23, 2019 | Community, Featured

Mount Sinai Health System is included in the “150 Top Places to Work in Healthcare 2019” compiled by Becker’s Healthcare. The list highlights hospitals, health systems, and health care companies that promote diversity within the workforce, employee engagement, and professional growth.

Read the article in Becker’s Hospital Review

Creating a “Circle of CARE”

May 13, 2019 | Community, Patient Stories

Navjot Kauer, RN, left, and Wendy Chow with patient Mohammed Choudhury.

On a recent Friday afternoon, patient Mohammed Choudhury was delighted to see Navjot Kaur, RN, and Wendy Chow, a recent nursing school graduate and volunteer in the Care and Respect for Everyone (CARE) program, walk into his room on the sixth floor of the Klingenstein Clinical Center. CARE is a Mount Sinai volunteer program that helps promote mobility and physical activity in patients to improve patient outcomes.

The two assisted Mr. Choudhury as he walked down the corridor, making certain he did not lose his balance.

Before becoming a Mount Sinai clinical unit nurse, Ms. Kaur had been a CARE volunteer when she was a nursing student, and she was wearing an “I’m a proud CARE Volunteer Alum!” button on her uniform.

Today, she is one of several CARE alumni who mentor nursing students or recent graduates interested in becoming a CARE volunteer, an effort that not only enhances the overall program for patients but strengthens the pathway for these volunteers to become Mount Sinai staff.

Ms. Kaur says CARE has helped her form stronger bonds with patients. “Talking to people and providing comfort is very important,” she says. “Some people don’t have visitors, so this also helps change their mood.”

Established in 2012 in the Emergency Department, the CARE program now has more than 100 volunteers throughout The Mount Sinai Hospital.

“They do an excellent job,” Mr. Choudhury said after his walk.