Leaders in LGBTQ+ advocacy join SAGE’s growing Board of Directors
[New York] SAGE, the nation’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of LGBTQ+ elders, has welcomed Dawn Fischer, Carlene Jadusingh (CJ), and Myron Sulzberger (“Mickey”) Rolfe to its national Board of Directors. These esteemed members bring with them decades of insight and experience that will help elevate SAGE’s work on behalf of LGBTQ+ elders on a national level as it continues its 40th anniversary celebrations.“With tremendous ongoing growth both in New York City and around the country, SAGE is reaching more LGBTQ+ older people than ever before,” said SAGE CEO Michael Adams. “We welcome Dawn back to the board, and the addition of CJ and Mickey, takes our Board of Directors to the next level. The knowledge and expertise offered by these board members make them true assets for the next phase of SAGE’s work.”
Dawn Fischer is a registered nurse who has worked in the HIV Unit at Sherman Oaks Hospital in Los Angeles, the Intensive Care Unit at NYU, The Wellington Hospital in London and The New York Organ Donor Network. Her work as a direct care provider allows her to bring a unique perspective to her LGBTQ+ advocacy work.
Fischer is a former SAGE Board member who served on the Nominating & Governance and Development Committees, and was Chair of the Development Committee. Fischer is currently serving on the Board of Trustees of The Packer Collegiate School.
In her spare time, she enjoys playing tennis and coaching softball, and has been a member of the 37-year-old Prospect Park Women’s Softball League Executive Committee for eight years. Dawn lives in Brooklyn with her wife of 24 years, Stacey Friedman, and their two children.
Carlene Jadusingh (CJ) is an attorney at the Law Office of Carlene Jadusingh in New York, specializing in general civil litigation as well as immigration law. She is a former U.S. Probation and U.S. Pretrial Services Officer in the federal court, Eastern District of New York, where, among her many achievements, she created and supervised their first alternative to incarceration program for young adult offenders.
In addition to serving as a SAGE board member, Jadusingh is the former president of the LGBTQ+ Bar Association of Greater New York (LeGaL) and the former chair of LeGaL’s Solo & Small Firm Practitioners Committee. She has published written work for the New York State Bar Association and has also been published in the New York Law Journal, as well as the University of Idaho Law Journal.
“We are all getting older, so let us work together to make our world feel less threatening, less lonely, safer and more inclusive for our LGBTQ+ elders,” said Carlene.
Myron Sulzberger Rolfe is president and founder of the Rolfe Company Inc., the theatrical design representation firm in New York City. He also serves as president of the Edward Sulzberger Foundation Inc.
A former four-term chairman of the board of directors at the Gay Men’s Health Crisis, Rolfe has been the recipient of the Judith Peabody Humanitarian Award and the Imperial Court of New York Community Hero Award. He was honored to have the Hazel Dukes/Mickey Rolfe annual Advocate Award co-named for him. Rolfe also serves as chair of the Theater Development Fund’s Library Committee and is an advisor to Visiting Nurse Service of New York’s LGBTQ+ Initiative.
Rolfe is a member of the Dramatists’ Guild and the American Theatre Wing at the Director level. Mickey, as he is less formally known, and his husband Bruce Tracy, a senior editor at Workman Publishing Company, were sponsors of the AIDS Memorial Park at the site of the former St. Vincent’s Hospital, and their charitable involvement extends to such organizations as the Central Park Conservancy, Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, and the New York Public Library. They are members of the Tilden Society, FoodBank, the Fresh Air Fund, and other NYC-centric quality-of-life causes. They have been together since 1980 and have been married for 10 years. They reside in Manhattan and also have homes in Litchfield County, Connecticut, and Miami Beach, Florida.
“After several years of philanthropic work and Board service I’m delighted to become a member of the SAGE USA family, and privileged to do so in such a meaningful way,” said Mickey. “We’re at a fascinating time in LGBTQ+ history, one that is being defined right as we live it. Our un-closeted brothers and sisters are actually “aging out,” so SAGE’s erstwhile mission rapidly becomes more urgent and indeed more poignant. It’s a pleasure to contribute more than just financially to such a strategically poised organization; it’s a distinction to be in the fore of SAGE USA’S adaptive yet unwavering dedication to arguably our most precious asset: our elders.”
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SAGE is the country’s largest and oldest organization dedicated to improving the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBTQ+) older people. Founded in 1978 and headquartered in New York City, SAGE is a national organization that offers supportive services and consumer resources to LGBTQ+ older people and their caregivers. SAGE also advocates for public policy changes that address the needs of LGBTQ+ elders, provides education and technical assistance for aging providers and LGBTQ+ community organizations through its National Resource Center on LGBTQ+ Aging, and cultural competency training through SAGECare. With staff located across the country, SAGE also coordinates SAGENet, a growing network of affiliates in the United States.
