Ira Lustbader, associate director

Ira Lustbader has been with Children’s Rights since 1999, and is actively involved in overall organizational management, the direction of Children’s Rights’ national program of campaigns to reform failing child welfare systems, and the development of national partnerships and coalitions.

Prior to joining Children’s Rights, Mr. Lustbader practiced law at Wolf Haldenstein Adler Freeman & Herz, LLP, in New York City, concentrating in national plaintiffs’ class action litigation in consumer fraud, securities fraud, and antitrust cases. Before that, he handled matters on the defense side involving products liability and malpractice at the firms of Parker Chapin Flattau & Klimpl LLP, and at Bower & Gardner, both in New York City. From 1998 to 2006, Mr. Lustbader served as a board member of Neighborhood of Youth & Family Services, a large nonprofit family preservation agency in the South Bronx. He is a past chair of the Committee on Public Service and Education at the Association of the Bar of the City of New York, and is currently a Member of the leadership of the Children’s Rights Litigation Committee of the Section on Litigation of the American Bar Association, the National Lawyers Guild, and the National Association of Counsel for Children.

He received his B.S. from the State University of New York at Albany, magna cum laude, and received his law degree from Boston University School of Law.

 

Wende Gozan Brown, director of communications and marketing

Wende Gozan Brown joined Children’s Rights in October 2011. She brings with her 12 years experience from Amnesty International USA, where she spearheaded communications strategies for some of the organization’s most notable campaigns, including an internationally recognized clemency effort on behalf of Georgia death row inmate Troy Davis and the campaign to highlight rampant sexual violence against Native American and Alaska Native women. The latter played a critical role in shaping the historic Tribal Law and Order Act, which President Obama signed into law in 2010.

Prior to Amnesty International USA, Ms. Brown served as manager of communications at Newsweek magazine and Publicist with HarperColllinsPublishers, where she focused on the promotion of works by authors of color. She holds a B.A. from the State University of New York at Binghamton.

 

Bill Meezan, director of policy and research

Prior to joining Children’s Rights in July 2010 as director of policy and research, Bill Meezan was a professor of social work at the Ohio State University, where he also served as dean of the College of Social Work from 2005-2009. He had previously held endowed chairs in child welfare at the University of Michigan and the University of Southern California. As a Senior Fulbright Scholar in the Baltic States, he helped organize the first schools of social work in Lithuania and Latvia.

Over the course of his career, Dr. Meezan has been at the forefront of social work research and has served as a consultant to numerous social agencies, foundations, universities, and national organizations. He is an accomplished author in the fields of social work and child welfare services, having co-authored four books, edited six other volumes, and published more than 50 articles and chapters in peer-reviewed journals and anthologies.

Dr. Meezan received his bachelor of arts degree from the University of Vermont and master of social work from Florida State University. He received his doctorate in social welfare from Columbia University where he has been inducted into the Alumni Hall of Fame.

 

Joan Siffert, senior director of development

Joan Siffert brings more than 35 years of experience in philanthropic fundraising to her position as senior director of development at Children’s Rights. In the course of her career, she has worked to help fund such organizations as Mount Sinai Medical Center, United Jewish Appeal — Federation of Jewish Philanthropies, NYU Medical Center, and Gilda’s Club Worldwide. Just prior to joining Children’s Rights, she was responsible for development efforts at the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation.

Ms. Siffert’s expertise extends to the full array of fundraising strategies for both annual and capital campaigns. Throughout her career, she has created numerous first-ever programs that resulted in record levels of giving.

Ms. Siffert holds a B.S. from Mills College of Education.

 

 

Sally S. Weissman, director of operations

As director of operations, Sally S. Weissman is responsible for the organization’s support structure. Ms. Weissman directs human resources, facilities management, and office services (including information technology management and systems development), with a focus on integrating those functions with the operations of the organization.

Ms. Weissman has been working in the nonprofit arena as an administrator for more than 15 years. She started her nonprofit career at the Legal Aid Society, Civil Division. She came to Children’s Rights from the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, a legal advocacy organization, where she worked with the executive director to establish and guide the organization in its initial years. She graduated from Brooklyn College, City University of New York, with a degree in sociology.