Our Partners

LAURA STRAUS AND JOHN ALEXANDER

Laura Straus, president of Piermont Straus Foundation, Inc., and her partner, John Alexander, agreed in early 2018 to sponsor CCR, which they continued to do until spring, 2020*. The foundation, a 501(c)3 organization registered with the NYS AG Charities Bureau, is a capacity builder, with a primary focus on helping organizations in the environment, arts, culture, and history of Rockland County. As CCR receives funds from sources outside of Mike and Lena (who have been funding development thus far), those funds will first go to the non-profit Piermont Straus, which will, in turn, send the funds, minus a small administrative fee, to Welcome to handle CCR’s expenses. Those funds will be used exclusively to cover web developers and staff that create content and marketing.

Laura Straus has known Lena her entire life. Her father, Roger, was Lena’s classmate at the Dalton School. When Laura became a photographer, Lena’s company, Welcome Enterprises, Inc., produced one of her earliest books. When Laura worked for Artists Rights Society, she and Lena connected again as Welcome sought rights to reproduce images in its Art & Poetry book series. And in 2015, Laura asked Lena to join the board of Piermont Straus. Laura’s husband, John Alexander, has graciously handled the agreement with CCR.

*In the spring of 2020, Climate Change Resources, Inc. became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, registered in NYS.

CLARK WAKABAYASHI

Clark Wakabayashi, president of Welcome Enterprises Inc., Lena’s for-profit book-producing entity, has been on board to provide operational support and, in the early days, to administer the monies CCR received from Piermont Straus during the period that Climate Change Resources was a fiscally sponsored project of Piermont Straus Foundation, Inc., a 501(c)3 organization. In the spring of 2020, Climate Change Resources, Inc. became a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, registered in NYS.

Clark was a CCR Director until December 29, 2024.