board of directors
Professionals Dedicated To Providing Education for Women
Lee H. Perlman founder & Treasurer
Lifelong New Yorker Lee H. Perlman has dedicated his career to serving others. From 1983 to 2020, he was the driving force behind, and longtime President of, GNYHA Ventures, Inc., the for-profit business arm of the Greater New York Hospital Association (GNYHA).
As GNYHA Ventures President, Mr. Perlman oversaw a portfolio that included subsidiaries engaged in group purchasing, management outsourcing, and health care consulting. He managed the development of the companies created under GNYHA Ventures, all of which were ultimately sold.
Mr. Perlman continues his 40 years of service as GNYHA’s Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative and Financial Officer.
A dedicated volunteer and philanthropist, Mr. Perlman devotes significant energy to not-for-profits involved in health care, education, and the arts. In 2023, he received City and State’s Responsible 100 Award, which honors a selection of New Yorkers for their social responsibility and community involvement. In 2022, Governor Kathy Hochul appointed him Chairman of the New York Convention Center Operating Corporation (Javits Center). Additionally, he serves as Chairman of the International Sports and Music Project, which brings sports and music opportunities to kids facing hardship across the globe.
Mr. Perlman is Board President of the Berkshire Theatre Group in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Vice Chair and Compliance Officer of the American Theatre Wing, and Vice Chair of Musicians on Call. He also serves on the Board of Entertainment Community Fund (where he previously served as Treasurer for many years) and was recently named Board President of the Actors Fund Home in New Jersey.
Mr. Perlman also serves many Jewish philanthropic agencies. He was recently named Chairman of Commonpoint, a citywide set of Jewish community centers and social services agencies. Additionally, he serves on the Board of the UJA Federation of New York, where he was previously Chair of the Healthcare Executive Committee.
Mr. Perlman received his Bachelor of Arts degree from Binghamton University and his Master’s degree in Business Administration from Cornell University, where he is a distinguished lecturer for the Brooks School of Public Policy.
Dr. Linda Brady President
Dr. Brady is a board-certified psychiatrist and seasoned healthcare executive with more than thirty years of leadership experience across hospitals, health systems, governance, and public service.
She served for nearly two decades as President and CEO of Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, a large Brooklyn-based community teaching hospital and long-term care facility, until her retirement from Kingsbrook.
She successfully guided the repositioning of the Medical Center to become a member of a newly formed safety-net healthcare system, One Brooklyn Health System, which, as a critical component of the New York State Governor’s $1.4 billion investment in the “Vital Brooklyn” initiative, was awarded $664 million in capital funding and ongoing operational support in recognition of its critical role to transform health care in the borough and as a bridge to future sustainability.
In an environment of hospital closures across the State and nationally, Dr. Brady credits her achievements to her embrace and development of diverse multi-stakeholder collaborative partnerships and a team-based philosophy. This is coupled with her passionate mission-driven focus to continuously improve performance outcomes. Dr. Brady has a particular interest and experience in governance matters including board education.
She has served as a member of various committees, including executive, audit, and compensation committees, and as Chair of the non-profit and for-profit Boards of the Healthcare Association of New York State and the Greater New York Hospital Association. As a delegate of the American Hospital Association Regional Board, she testified before the Congressional Committee on Small Business. She has also served on the Editorial Board of the Governance Institute and is a member of the New York State Board of Professional Medical Conduct, where she works to protect public safety, as well as a consulting medical expert for New York State.
Dr. Brady graduated cum laude from Barnard College, received her medical degree from the New York University School of Medicine and psychiatric training at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She is a board-certified psychiatrist.
Dr. Brady has received numerous awards and recognition from community-based organizations and elected officials.
Chinyere Mba-Jonas Vice-President & Secretary
Chinyere Mba-Jonas, MPH is the Director of Endoscopy and the Center for Comprehensive Stroke Care at Montefiore Medical Center in Bronx, New York. She is responsible for overseeing operations of all Endoscopy Units for the three flagship hospitals within the Medical System in addition to Neuroscience services. Additionally, in this role, she is responsible for launching special initiatives for the office of the Senior Vice President, Operations. Special Projects include launching the System’s Lung Transplant Department and obtaining UNOS(United Network for Organ Sharing) and CMS certification. As a result, the Medical System has performed over 30 Lung Transplants within one year of operation. Additionally, Chinyere successfully launched and obtained Joint Commission Certification for the System’s Comprehensive Stroke Center. Chinyere received her bachelor’s degree from Columbia University and holds a graduate degree from New York Medical College.
Melvin Galloway
Melvin J. Galloway is the Chief Operating Officer of Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). His distinguished career has included executive-level positions in operations, administration, policy, and programs. His management philosophy promotes the ideal of connecting operations and shared services to an organization’s mission and strategic goals, and his leadership fosters an environment of experimentation and innovation that helps organizations continually learn and evolve. Moreover, he possesses a profoundly deep commitment to embedding equity, diversity, and inclusion into business processes.
Galloway was drawn to the Foundation by its focus on ensuring that everyone has a fair and just opportunity to be as healthy as possible. He credits his mother’s lengthy career in social work at a food bank in Cincinnati—and the time he spent there in his younger years helping to provide nourishing food to people in need—with inspiring him to pursue a career in public service. He praises RWJF’s vision for a Culture of Health as a pathway to addressing the fundamental equity issues that he experienced and witnessed in his community.
As a strategic senior leader, he works to develop and implement a plan to assume oversight of Human Resources and Administration (including buildings/facilities and business/administrative services management), IT, and Finance. He is also responsible for operational crisis management and continuity of operations, including cybersecurity.
Galloway came to the Foundation with 15 years of operations, business management, and security experience. Previously, he served as the executive vice president and chief operating office for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and Planned Parenthood Action Fund. In this role, he oversaw operations, business, and security functions and was responsible for ensuring that the national organization was set up to deliver on its important strategic goals.
Prior to joining Planned Parenthood, he served as the chief operations officer for the New York State Governor’s Office of Storm Recovery, where he oversaw operations for a complex federally-funded U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) disaster recovery program. Galloway’s experience in disaster recovery also extends to his role as the assistant vice president of the Lower Manhattan Development Corporation, where he managed affordable housing, business, and infrastructure HUD-funded recovery programs following the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Earlier in his career, Galloway held the position of associate director of operations at The Rockefeller Foundation, where he served as the deputy for the chief operating officer, overseeing shared services units across U.S. and international offices.
Galloway received his Bachelor’s degree in Spanish and International Studies from Miami University of Ohio and a Master’s in Public Administration and Finance from New York University. He is a former Fulbright Scholar who worked with a variety of civil society organizations in Venezuela.
Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, Galloway now resides in Brooklyn, N.Y. He enjoys early morning fitness activities and what he calls “non aggressive hikes.”
Martha Kamber
Martha Kamber has been the Chief Executive Officer and President of the YWCA Brooklyn for the past 20 years where she led the organization through a successful turnaround that saved its historic downtown Brooklyn building and created over 300 units of affordable, permanent homes for homeless survivors of domestic violence, a community center that offers college access and leadership programs for girls from poverty impacted communities, and trauma-informed programs that promote holistic wellness and economic independence.
Martha has over thirty years of nonprofit management experience and has worked extensively in the areas of women’s empowerment, gender-based violence prevention, health, education, housing and advocacy. She holds advanced certificates in executive nonprofit leadership from the Harvard Business School and Columbia University as well as a master’s degree in education from Brooklyn College.
Martha is also a director for various New York City, national and international boards. She is the former Vice President of UN Women, New York Metro Chapter and the recipient of numerous prestigious awards including the Woman of Distinction Award from the New York State Assembly, the Public Service Award from the Brooklyn Borough President, and the Shirley Chisholm Woman of Distinction Award from the New York City Council. Martha lives in Sunset Park, Brooklyn where she is active in various neighborhood initiatives.
Sahar Zodeh
Sahar Zodeh is the General Manager, Northeast for Lumeris, Inc. She is responsible for leading healthcare organizations in their transformation from fee-for-service to value-based care by aligning providers and payers across populations with technologies, processes, and data to achieve high-quality, cost-effective care. Prior to joining Lumeris, Sahar worked as the Senior Assistant Vice President of Operations for NYC Health+Hospitals, the city's public hospital system, and has deep experience leading private and public health enterprises to build and implement systems that prioritize growth through innovation and consensus-building.
Sahar received her Bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).