The Quest Council consists of four officers: president, vice president, secretary, treasurer, and seven members-at-large. Each year, in compliance with the Quest By Laws, we hold an election to fill vacancies. By the end of this fiscal year, we need to elect a vice president, a treasurer, a secretary, and three members-at-large.

Each Council position is a two-year term that begins June 1. There will be four candidate forums held on March 25, 26, 30, and 31 from 12:10 – 12:50 PM in Room 15-17. The meetings are all hybrid and will be recorded. Electronic voting begins at noon on Friday, April 3, and ends at noon on Sunday, April 5.

Below are biographies for all candidates for this election.

I grew up just outside of New York, in Bergen County, New Jersey, and spent my formative years at UConn majoring in accounting and getting my law degree at UPenn Law school. Since then, I have been a New Yorker, working at law firms and in corporate law positions, including 20 years as in-house counsel at HBO, handling corporate, technology and intellectual property matters. Juggling my career, I also raised my family of three girls on the Upper East Side of Manhattan. Having had a long career focused on business law, in retirement I wanted to find opportunities to delve into areas I had not had a chance to explore during my busy working years.

What a joy it has been to find some place as unique as Quest which provides such diverse opportunities to learn and become involved in so many areas of learning, including the arts, philosophy, literature and science. The surprise of attending a course on a subject that I know little about and being absorbed in the new information is an unexpected pleasure. I joined Quest in the fall of 2022 and have done more presentations than I ever thought I would. The subjects have been varied, covering the History of Mental Health Treatment in America, Book Banning in Education, two presentations in the AI course, two presentations on Great Directors and presentations on Happiness and on Profiles in Courage (as well as being a co-coordinator in the latter course). I have learned so much from researching and presenting these classes.

In July, I attended a conference of Osher Lifelong Learning Organizations in Atlanta and was able to bring back ideas from that experience to our own community. Most recently, I have been co-chairing the new members committee for the 2025–2026 term.

Quest Lifelong Learning blends the love of learning with a vibrant community where ideas and opinions can be shared and challenged. As a candidate for vice president, I have the experience to fulfill the important corporate governance role at council meetings. I also will bring my broader experience to the council in their decision-making role. I see joining the council as my opportunity to give back to our community by contributing time and perspective to help ensure Quest continues to enhance both the intellectual and community life of its members.

I was born in Manhattan, but my family moved to suburban Wayne, New Jersey where I had my K through 12 education. Never a fan of school (until Quest), I was lucky to get my start in computer programming with only a certificate from what was then the NYU School of Continuing Education. After 32 years as a programmer/analyst (that’s what the certificate said, and the title stuck), working on business applications, I retired in 2005.

I always wanted to continue learning, and when I discovered Quest in 2022, I was hopeful that I finally found a suitable environment. I have. Here, we work and play cooperatively and with a minimum of hierarchy.

Many of you know me as a member of the tech committee. I really enjoy this “job,” especially in Quester’s Choice, where I often meet newer members making their first presentation at Quest, and in the three-semester Beethoven course, where I get to spend time with people who love Beethoven.

I was treasurer of The Friends of the Hoboken Public Library for seven years, and though it was a much smaller organization than Quest, the tasks were similar and I think helped prepare me for this larger role. Also, my many years developing and supporting business systems, including accounting systems, give me some experience with “keeping the books.” I am fortunate to follow Peter Fleischman in this role, as he has set up a sensible workflow for managing Quests investments and expenses. He did this primarily using Quicken, which I am familiar with, having used it for personal financial management for several decades.

I want to see Quest thrive, and as treasurer and as a council member, I want to understand what makes Quest tick and help lead it into a secure future.

It’s hard to believe I’m already in my fourth year at Quest. And I still love every minute of it: lunches and dinners with friends, Culture Quest tours, and even watching basketball with Sheryl and Andrea. And the classes&mdashthe best part! I’m finally reading Hamlet (having cut most of my college Shakespeare classes), learning a lot more about the Supreme Court than I ever did in law school, and indulging my fascination with the earth sciences—thank you, Judy Weis.

I am running for a second two-year term as Secretary. In this role, I take the minutes for Council and General Membership meetings, track Council motions, and maintain a couple of organizational schedules. I also keep track of a few compliance issues, such as annual Conflict-of-Interest forms and committee chair reports. In addition, as Secretary, I serve on the Document Management Committee, where we are building and organizing the Quest Archives in Google Drive.

Serving on Council has given me a deeper appreciation for how Quest truly works: it is the committees—and the dedicated members who serve on them—that generate the ideas, energy, and programming that make this organization thrive. And Council work has shown me firsthand how generous Questers are with their time, expertise, and passion for learning. I would be honored to continue serving as Secretary for another term—not just because I genuinely enjoy the organizational work (yes, including spreadsheets), but because I care deeply about supporting Quest’s mission of high-quality peer-to-peer learning in a community defined by education, curiosity, and fellowship.

Many thanks to everyone for the opportunity to serve and for making Quest so special.

To All Quest Members: Babette Ceccotti here, candidate for Council. I joined Quest in 2023, almost ten years into retirement from practicing law in NYC. There was rarely a dull moment in my law practice: we represented labor unions in what turned out to be very interesting and challenging times. Our clients were everywhere: Postal Service employees adjusting to the ramifications of digital communications. Airline employees fighting for their jobs in the post-9/11 financially strapped airline industry. Steelworkers facing cyclical restructurings in a shrinking domestic industry. City employees caught in the financial maelstrom of the Detroit bankruptcy. By 2014, enough was enough—it was time to move on!

Public service followed me around for a time after my retirement. I was invited to join the National Bankruptcy Conference (NBC), a group of practitioners and academics that advises Congress on changes to the federal bankruptcy law, and served there for ten years. I also spent three years on an Advisory Committee for the federal government’s private sector pension insurer (do people even know that there is such an agency?), appointed by President Obama. In 2021, our Mayor in Hoboken appointed me to a municipal board formed to come up with a solution for the town’s financially precarious hospital.

Interested in a new direction as these projects wound down, I didn’t have to look very far: Steve Chicoine, my husband, joined Quest in 2022 and had been giving his Quest experience very high marks. Since joining Quest, I have done a number of presentations, including several in the Supreme Court course where I am now a co-coordinator. I have been most interested in curriculum and course matters, but am looking to join the Council to broaden my experience and contribute more generally. Some relevant past experience: I served on my firm’s management committee for several years before I retired, and on the Executive Committee of the NBC for a three-year term.

When I joined Quest, I found many talented, enthusiastic members dedicated to producing a high-quality, self-governing organization where so many diverse interests and activities are supported. I look forward to continuing to do my part.

Hi, my name is Martin (Marty) Green, and I joined Quest in Fall 2024. Doing so was one of the wisest decisions I’ve made in retirement because I believe learning is a life-long endeavor. I enjoy imparting whatever knowledge I have to others, through discussions and presentations. Thus far I’ve given two talks, “The History of Money,” and “Japan.” My favorite Quest sessions have been the Science Clubhouse, Short Films, and the History of New York.

I’m running for Quest Council because I have a wide range of interests and would like to develop curricula that reflect them. I think Quest is somewhat top-heavy in literature and the fine arts, so I would like to develop more curricula in science, mathematics, and 21st century high tech; e.g., AI, computers, and the advanced materials required to make such innovations possible.

I was born and raised in the Bronx and attended the Bronx High School of Science. As soon as I married a wonderful redhead named Sharon, we left NYC and didn’t return until 2022. However, relatives and friends drew us back here very frequently. We moved back during Covid because I’m a social animal and couldn’t tolerate one more Zoom call. The move was joyful because we are much closer to our children and grandchildren, but problematic because we had to learn to be rude all over again.

I’m a Materials Scientist, cursed with having to explain that to every non-technical person I meet. Here’s how to think about it: materials (metals, ceramics, semiconductors, and polymers) are technology enablers. So important are materials to human civilization that we have named entire ages of our history after the most advanced materials available to us. Thus, the Stone, Bronze, Iron and most recently, the Information (which owes its existence to silicon) ages.

For most of my career I have been a research scientist in the semiconductor industry. I have BS and MS degrees from the Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, and a Ph.D. from MIT. We’ve lived in New Jersey, Boston, and Washington, D.C. I have traveled all over the world during my career, giving talks at scientific conferences.

I enjoy collecting coins, photography, going to the opera, listening to folk music, and travel.

Sharon and I are veterans of Woodstock and have pictures to prove it.

I was born and raised in Williamsburg, Brooklyn and attended Pace University—where I received a BBA in Finance and Psychology and an MBA in Accounting. I spent two years on active duty with the U.S. Navy, stationed at a top-secret base in Oregon.

I joined Quest five years ago. I’m running for council for another term. The main reason I’m running is that Quest means a great deal to me and I will work any way I can to help the organization.

I currently work on the New Member Committee. Introducing Quest to new people is wonderful. I also work on the emergency response team, perhaps the most important committee. It could save people’s lives. This committee reminds me of my time aboard ships in the Navy.

I’m a Co-Coordinator with Cinema Quest and Quester’s Choice. I have also enjoyed acing in plays at Quest—something I never imagined doing.

Once again, I will work any way I can for Quest.

If you don’t know me by name, you might see me scurrying around the cafeteria making coffee as a Coffee Committee member—I move fast, but not always well. Or you might see me standing at the podium as Lead Coordinator for the Contemporary Poetry course, giving presentations or serving as a QPAL.

I may have asked you what you did in your former life—I have zero facial recognition but a ridiculously elephantine memory. Like almost every person at Quest, I’m friendly and since Day One, Quest has been my happy place, a place of friendship, camaraderie, and most important, learning in a warm and stimulating environment. And the only reason I’m running is because I was encouraged to and because I love this place/organization and am committed to making it the best it can be.

My former life: As an attorney, I represented patients on locked psychiatric units and, before that, for half of those thirty years, I represented hundreds of children and poor adults in court. I’ve seen everything representing the most powerless, vulnerable members of our society, and that experience was humbling and transformative.

I’m also a published author, poet and sometimes-playwright. The venues for my plays are festivals, theaters with bad plumbing, and during COVID, on Zoom.

During COVID, I finished writing two books and discovered I was spending far too many hours in parks looking through my binoculars at birds. My alternatives were:

1. ensconcing myself in my apartment writing for fourteen hours a day and becoming a total hermit, which, despite my warm and fuzzy exterior, I could easily do or
2. joining Quest. An easy choice! Not long after joining, I restarted and began leading the Conversational Spanish lunch group and also began leading the Contemporary Poetry course.

I’ve served on the Nassau County Women’s Bar Association board; was vice-chairperson of a Nassau County Bar Association committee, and I started and ran a network luncheon group, arranging for guest speakers each month.

I’m so grateful for Quest. Being on the board would be just another way of giving back as well as serving as a sounding board for everyone. And of course, it would be an honor. Thanks.

I joined Quest in September 2024 on the recommendation of a friend, so I have been a member for 18 months. My undergraduate degree is from CCNY, so I have come full circle. I am a lifelong New Yorker, having lived in every borough except Staten Island. I am seeking to become a Quest Council member-at-large.

I practiced law for 48 years – until I said to myself “enough.” The great bulk of my time was spent practicing in the Tort Division of the New York City Law Department. And the great bulk of that time was spent litigating, trying cases, and supervising the defense of the City in catastrophic and high publicity personal injury cases. During the last 27 years of my tenure, I was a Deputy Chief in this major case unit. Since my retirement, in addition to my involvement in Quest, I volunteer once a week at a local public library, facilitating English language conversations. More relevant to the position I am seeking is that I am a long-time member of the Board of Trustees of the religious institution with which I am affiliated.

Quest is a wonderful lifelong learning and social organization, and I feel blessed to have found it. It has provided me with structure and purpose in retirement. The more active I have become in Quest—the more I have given—the more I have received in return.

From the outset of my membership, I have been an active participant in the classes I attend and have enjoyed several Culture Quest events. Now I have made three presentations and am making another one later this month. My presentations have been on the Supreme Court and Defamation Law, on Pragmatism as an Alternative to Originalism in Supreme Court Decisions, and on Daniel Ellsberg in the Profiles in Courage course. My next presentation will be on John Lewis in Profiles in Courage. I have also led discussions twice in the Contemporary Short Story class. I am on two committees—Membership and New Members. On the New Members committee, I coordinate the QPALS program.

In preparation for hopefully joining Council, I have read the by-laws and reviewed minutes of past meetings. As a member-at-large, I would be sensitive to the concerns of the Quest community. Representing those concerns, I will listen carefully and speak when I can contribute to a discussion.

It’s been my privilege to be a member of Quest for 13 years. My energies have been mostly directed toward the classroom. Some of my favorite projects include creating and leading “Oral Interpretation of Poetry” for 14 semesters, giving presentations on philosophy for “Ancient Greece,” doing a deep dive into Robert Frost for “Movers and Shakers,” and coordinating “Here There Be Monsters,” and “The Literature of War.” My latest adventure has been to create the course “TheaterWorks” which is now in its second semester.

Outside the classroom, I’ve served five years as a member of the Curriculum Committee where I learned much about leadership from June Dwyer of blessed memory, Carolyn Thompson of blessed memory, Joyce West, and Sheryl Harawitz. I served on Quest’s Future Planning Committee led by Michael Wellner. I led the Quest’s Encores Committee for two years, and I’ve been a member of the Q Review team since joining Quest.

I am running for Council to use my skills and experience to keep Quest as good as it’s been. I don’t take for granted how well Quest runs, for which I give great credit to those who have led us so well. I’m asking for your vote to allow me to join our Council so I can help keep Quest going in the right direction. I love to come to Quest to learn, but what’s equally important are the friendships that come from working with others.

I grew up in Flushing and am a proud graduate of Bronx H.S. of Science and Queens College. I had two working careers, one as a teacher, and the other in business. The highlight of my teaching years was to be the drama teacher at John Bowne H.S. in Flushing, Queens. I was the CEO of STS Market Research in Cambridge, Massachusetts for 25 years until my retirement. My wife Shelley and I divide our time between our homes on the Upper West Side and Wellfleet on Cape Cod. We have two married daughters and five grandchildren. My family is my greatest blessing.

I joined Quest during the 2024 Spring semester as I was retiring from a career in non-profit organizations spanning over 50 years.

I held various positions during my career. I spent the majority of this time building an organization from the ground up. This company supported individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities. I started as Project Director in this company and moved up serving as CEO for 15 years. In addition to fulfilling my responsibilities as CEO, I worked as a consultant for smaller agencies in need of assistance. I also served on several Boards of various non-profit entities as well as serving on and chairing a variety of committees for these organizations.

Within the first few months of becoming a member of Quest I joined the by-laws committee and worked on revising the existing by-laws. This was greatly facilitated by my experience in developing, reviewing and revising by-laws for several non-profit organizations.

I joined the Membership Committee during the 2024 Fall semester and became co-chair of the committee during the 2025 Spring semester. Thanks to the hard work of the committee in conjunction with the Marketing Committee over 50 new members were brought on board during the Fall 2025 semester.

As one of my roles on the committee, I respond to all phone requests for information about Quest. In this role, I am the first contact that most people have with our organization.I am happy to have the opportunity to tell people about Quest and tell them how we operate, help them select a class to attend and set appointments. Recently, the committee has streamlined the intake process. In addition, we met the membership cap and, with the approval of Council and membership, had the cap increased.

I am also a member of the scheduling committee which I joined during the 2024 Fall semester. I have been active in numerous classes and will become one of the coordinators of the short story class in the Fall of 2026.

I feel that my experience managing non-profit companies along with my involvement with various roles during my time at Quest would make me an asset to the Council. I hope to have the opportunity to serve in that role.