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BROOKLYN PARKINSON GROUP

Brooklyn Parkinson Group is a 501.(c)(3) non profit organization and a chapter of National Parkinson Foundation. BPG activities are free of charge and open to all families affected by Parkinson's Disease.

BPG is a resource for information and activities available to all families in Brooklyn affected by Parkinson's Disease.

Support Groups

• For persons with PD and family members.

• For spouses and family members.

Activities

• 1. Dance for PD classes are sponsored by BPG in collaboration with Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG), a world renowned modern dance company.

• 2. Movement Lab is an exercise class in which specific movement problems of persons with Parkinson's Disease are addressed.

• 3. In Sing for PD classes participants sing standards and Broadway tunes to live piano accompaniment.

Information

• BPG works to promote awareness of PD in diverse communities of Brooklyn and the health care community.

• BPG provides information on PD and services available in Brooklyn.

Board of Directors

	Olie Westheimer, is the founder and executive director of BPG. She has worked as an editor and writer specializing in medical subjects, was Executive Director of the Association for Research in Nervous and Mental Disease and has an MA degree in applied linguistics from Columbia University Teachers College. Her knowledge of dance and understanding of PD led to the development in 2001, of Dance for PD classes in collaboration with Mark Morris Dance Group (MMDG). Together BPG and MMDG now train dancers and administrators of PD groups in how to develop and teach Dance for PD classes modeled on our classes in Brooklyn.
	Carroll Neesemann, Vice President and Treasurer of BPG, is a lawyer and from the beginning of BPG has been instrumental in its development. Dissatisfied with exercise programs offered to persons with PD, he studied fitness for a year before developing a Fitness for PD program for BPG which he directs. Fitness for PD is offered in collaboration with Long Island University physical therapy and sports sciences departments.
	Alicia Shepard, is Secretary of BPG and manager of analytics and market research at Purdue Pharma, a pharmaceutical company. She received her MBA from New York University Stern School of Business in 2006. Prior to her current position Alicia worked as a pharmaceutical representative in Brooklyn.
	Danae Boissevain, recently retired from administration of Bard College at Simon's Rock where she served as Director of Public Relations and as Director of Publications. Danae worked previously as an editor at Venture Magazine and in public relations at the Ford Foundation.
	Carolyn Kalett, is a BPG participant and lawyer specializing in music rights and entertainment law. Until the recent death of her husband who had Parkinson's Disease, she was a caregiver.
	Reggie Butts, a BPG participant, was an executive with ATT before he retired. He was involved in the development of Theater Row in Manhattan and currently serves on the Board of the Bedford-Stuyvesant YMCA. Reggie has long been active in non profit work and has MA degrees from NYU and MIT.