New 42 Appoints Ann Unterberg, Isaac Mizrahi, and Yemi Benedict-Vatel To Board Of Directors

Today, New 42 announces the addition of Ann Unterberg, Isaac Mizrahi and Yemi Benedict-Vatel to their Board of Directors. Each shares in the cultural nonprofit's mission to make extraordinary performing arts a vital part of everyone's life, from the earliest years onward.

"Ann, Isaac and Yemi have all been a part of the New 42 community and we're thrilled that they have deepened their commitment by joining our Board of Directors. Their interest in mentorship and theater for young theatergoers in New York, and beyond, is in keeping with our not-for-profit's mission to put performing arts at the forefront of conversations addressing access and equity in education," says Fiona Rudin, New 42 Board Chairman.

Ann Unterberg brings with her years of Wall Street and philanthropic experience. She has served as a trustee for several New York institutions, including Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, where she also serves as the Education Committee Chair. Isaac Mizrahi is a renowned designer, author, and entertainer. He has appeared in movies and on TV and has directed several theatrical productions. He had a talk show on the Oxygen network for seven years, and has had an ongoing residency at Cafe Carlyle for the past five years. He is currently working on a show for the Guggenheim Works and Process, a companion to his long running adaptation of Peter and the Wolf. He appears regularly on QVC and has written a New York Times best selling memoir. Yemi Benedict-Vatel is a philanthropic consultant, bringing to the Board her expertise in philanthropy advising, grantmaking, fundraising strategies, as well as content and event marketing. Ms. Benedict-Vatel serves on the President's Advisory Council at Brown University, is a Trustee of the Franklin Lakes Board Of Education in New Jersey and is a member of New Victory Circle and the New 42 Development Committee.

In addition to Board Chairman Fiona Howe Rudin and New 42 President & CEO Russell Granet, Board Officers include Vice Chairs Shahara Ahmad-Llewellyn and Marc A. Spilker, Stefanie Katz Rothman, Secretary and Andrew Sommers, Treasurer. Comprised of 27 professionals spanning the industries of finance, education, media and the arts, New 42 Board membership is re-elected on an annual basis.

The New 42 Executive team additionally includes Lisa Lawer Post, Chief Operating Officer; Mary Rose Lloyd, Artistic Director; Elizabeth Cashour, Vice President, Development; Lindsey Buller Maliekel, Vice President, Education and Public Engagement; Courtney J. Boddie, Vice President, Education and School Engagement; Elizabeth Hines, Vice President, Finance; Lauren Fitzgerald, Vice President, Marketing & Communications; and Jessica Baker Vodoor, Vice President, Operations.

After a successful career in retail sales, Ms. Unterberg most recently served for eight years as a Senior Vice President at the investment banking firm, L.F. Rothschild, Unterberg, Towbin, where she concentrated on new business development and corporate finance, and recruitment of recent college graduates. She is a philanthropist for many different causes, serving as a former trustee for the Wildlife Conservation Society and former President for the Grand Street Settlement, as well as current trustee and Education Committee Chair at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, Chair and Endowment Committee member at the New York City Community Trust, Advisory Board Member and Nominating Committee member at the Monmouth Medical Center Foundation and Board Member Emeritus at the New Jersey Pandemic Relief Fund. She also supports International Women's Health Coalition, Planned Parenthood of New York City, The International Women's Health Foundation, NARAL Pro-Choice American Foundation and Garden State Arts Foundation. Ms. Unterberg was born in New York City, raised in rural Massachusetts, and is a graduate of Boston University.

Mr. Mizrahi is a fashion designer, creative director and media personality. After attending the Parsons School of Design, he presented his first fashion line in 1987 at a trunk show in Bergdorf Goodman, immediately earning praise from fashion editors. He has launched multiple collections over the years, including IS New York, IS**C, Isaac Mizrahi for Target and IsaacMizrahiLIVE!. Mr. Mizrahi is a shareholder, creative director and media personality for his namesake brand under Xcel brands. In the media, he is known from his shows The Isaac Mizrahi Show and Isaac, as a judge on Project Runway and Project Runway: All Stars and for his red carpet appearances. He received a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Costume Design on 2001's The Women, and also designed for Barefoot in the Park (2006) and Threepenny Opera (2006). Mr. Mizrahi supports several philanthropic organizations including ASPCA, Good Shepherd Services, The Point Foundation, The Nature Conservancy and United Nations Environment Programme. Mr. Mizrahi was born in Brooklyn and attended Yeshivah of Flatbush, High School of Performing Arts and the Parsons School of Design.

Yemi Benedict-Vatel is a philanthropic consultant, with work helping benefit: The New York Mission Society, United Neighborhood Houses, The Franklin Lakes Education Foundation, Room to Grow, The Boys and Girls Club of Paterson and The Center for Food Action. She previously worked at JP Morgan as a Program Officer in Private Client Philanthropy, where she guided private client foundations' grant-making to nonprofit institutions and managed fiduciary requirements, distributing over $70MM to art, health, education and social welfare nonprofit organizations. She then became a Senior Associate in Global Strategy, where she served as COO of Global Strategy Group. She managed multiple projects in Europe, Latin America and the U.S; Supported business-planning initiatives to deepen existing client relationships and attract new business. She was a former trustee for the Franklin Lakes Education Foundation where she was the Grants Manager and Executive Board Secretary, and currently Chairs the Education committee, and serves on the committees of Diversity and Inclusion, Finance and Policy. She is also a member of the Executive Board of the Parent Council on Diversity and Inclusion at Delbarton School, and a member of the New Victory Circle and the New 42 Development Committee. Ms. Benedict-Vatel graduated from Brown University in 1996 with a BA in Development Studies, and received a Masters of Philosophy in Modern Middle East Studies from The University of Oxford.

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