View the following slide show featuring Connie Milstein and Susan Axelrod, co-hostesses of the CURE Epilepsy event that honored well-known TV producer and supporter of CURE, Tammy Haddad. Haddad was this year’s recipient of the ‘Friend of CURE’ Award. The event took place at the Newseum in early December with hundreds of guests in attendance.

Connie Milstein with Former Prime Minister Gordon Brown

Connie Milstein honored the former Prime Minister of England, Gordon Brown with a “swanky D.C. book party” at the Jefferson Hotel on Saturday last week.  Connie Milstein hosted the party along with her husband J.C. de La Haye St. Hilaire, and friends Tammy Haddad and Ted Greenberg. Ex-Prime Minister Gordon was there not only to be honored, wined and dined, but also to promote his new book, “Beyond the Crash: Overcoming the First Crisis of Globalization.”

Gordon Brown is still a Member of Parliament although no longer Prime Minister. He has continued to represent his district, which is a group of small mining villages in the south of Scotland. Although thought of as just a “backbencher” at home in England, traveling the world and discussing his book, Brown is considered a “global thinker” around the world.

Connie Milstein is the owner of the Jefferson Hotel where the party took place.

At the Kennedy Center’s gala in honor of the 50^th anniversary of John F. Kennedy’s presidency, Denyce Graves sang a powerful tribute to Grace Bumbry and the White House concert in 1962, in which Bumbry was introduced to America. Bumbry, a 2009 Kennedy Center Honoree, pushed past racial, social and artistic boundaries through her voice.

The event is part of the Rubenstein Program, and is supported by David and Alice Rubenstein, Connie Milstein and others.

This is a picture from the New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s Black-Tie Gala in 2008. Philanthropist Connie Milstein and Abby Elbaum smile for the camera at this fundraising event for emergency medicine departments

Connie Milstein

The Collegiate Seminar Program is an exclusive program established by NYU graduate Connie Milstein in 2007. This special program, unique to NYU’s College of Arts and Science, provides seminars for freshmen students and creates a mentoring relationship with the faculty of the Seminar program with each student; a relationship that continues throughout the student’s undergraduate careers.

Connie Milstein has been the force behind other innovative programming at the University, including the establishment of a branch of NYU in Washington, D.C., the Constance Milstein and Family Academic Center. With a branch in the nation’s capital, students of politics have a ‘home away from home’ in which to observe the workings of government up close.

The Humpty Dumpty Institute, with co-founder Connie Milstein, is an organization with many programs. One of them is The Global Creative Forum, who recently brought representatives from three U.N. projects to Hollywood, California with hopes of exposing famous film and television writers and producers to the problems and efforts of the U.N. Writers from famous shows such as Law and Order, Burn Notice and Private Practice were present at the event.

The event began with an introduction by Bill Rouhana, chairman of HDI and GCF, who was followed by U.N. Assistant Secretary General Robert Orr and Juan Carlos Brandt of the U.N. Department for Public Information. The first speaker was Elizabeth Jennings, who works for the World Food Program in Haiti. She described the flexibility of the Haitians when they are faced with the disasters of earthquakes, hunger and cholera. Jennings was followed by Olivier Mukarji from the United Nations Department of Peace Keeping in Darfur, Sudan. He explained how the U.N. works to save refugees from Darfur as well as to negotiate an end to the conflict between the political parties in Sudan. Gary Lewis of the U.N. Office on Drugs and Crime in Thailand spoke of the efforts being put into stopping the human and drug trafficking in the region.

In February, the US Department of Agriculture provided the Humpty Dumpty Institute (HDI) with $4.1 million by giving them the Dole-McGovern Food for Education Grant. The Dole-McGovern program supports education, child development and food security in low-income countries. It provides financial and technical assistance, as well as agricultural products in order to aid child nutrition.

HDI is an organization which works to find solutions to humanitarian problems around the world. Its current goals are to eliminate mines and other UXOs (unexploded ordinances) around the world, as well as to ease domestic and international hunger issues. Connie Milstein is a co-founder of HDI.

The grant provided $3.2 million in cash, as well as $900,000 which covered the transportation cost of 910 tons of beans, canned salmon, corn-soy blend, milled rice and vegetable oil with hopes to feed approximately 19,000 children daily.

Many organizations, such as CURE (Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy), with board member Connie Milstein, are working fervently to find ways to improve the condition and livelihood of people afflicted with epilepsy. One example of a creative approach is the use of seizure-assist dogs.

Dogs are used to assist humans in many different ways. Some are used just as companions, while others are used as guides, guards, shepherds and mush dogs. Lately, scientists have been studying an unusual ability that has become apparent in many dogs- the ability to detect an epileptic seizure before it happens.

This talent is a relatively new discovery, and the results of the studies are not yet consistent. Many dogs are being trained to be seizure-assist/ response dogs, as opposed to seizure-alert. This means that the dog is taught to either stick by their master for the duration of the seizure, or to quickly fetch medications, a telephone or a designated caretaker.

Some dogs are capable of detecting an oncoming seizure. However, it is difficult for dog owners to recognize the dog’s attempts to alert them of an approaching seizure. The dog’s normal behavior will change, although these changes may be very subtle. In order for this method to be helpful, the owner must have a very strong relationship with the dog, and be aware of even the smallest changes in its demeanor.

For the second year in a row, the NCCU Veterans Law Program will be sending two teams to take part in the Veterans Law Appellate Advocacy Competition sponsored by the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims and the Court’s Bar Association. At last year’s inaugural competition, NCCU defeated Boston University School of Law, Georgetown University School of Law, and the American University School of Law.   The competition will take place mid-October in Washington, D.C.  Connie Milstein has a degree from the North Carolina Central University Law School (as well as NYU).

Connie Milstein, owner of Connie’s Bakery and General Store, selects six non-profit organizations each year to be Charitable Patners.  All profits from the bakery are distributed among these six charities.  In addition, Connie’s Bakery and General Store promotes their partners on their website to draw attention to the great work they are accomplishing.

One of these partners, the Veteran’s Hospital of Castle Point, provides health care for America’s Veterans.  The hospital, located along the Hudson River in Dutchess County, New York, provides a large array of services to veterans who have given their time to their country.  In addition to the health care, research and education offerings from the hospital, they are a back up for national emergencies and an active community partner.