About

Jerome A. Chazen – Trustee

Jerome A. Chazen is Founder and Chairman of Chazen Capital Partners. Mr. Chazen is also Chairman Emeritus of Liz Claiborne, Inc., and is one of the four founding partners who established the Company in 1976. He was largely responsible for the innovative sales, marketing, distribution and licensing programs that were an integral part of Liz Claiborne, Inc.’s success. To Mr. Chazen, thinking globally and remaining abreast of worldwide issues and events is the only way for a consumer-driven company to exist in today’s environment. Thus, he believes that a company’s greatest challenge is the preservation and perpetuation of its philosophy and ideals both within America and abroad, as expansion into international markets continues in the future.

Mr. Chazen is a Trustee Emeritus of Columbia University and Chairman Emeritus of the Board of Overseers of the Columbia Business School, as well as Chairman Emeritus of the Board of the Museum of Arts and Design. He is the Founder and Benefactor of the Jerome A. Chazen Institute of International Business, the focal point of all international programs at Columbia Business School, and a Trustee of the National Jewish Center of Immunology and Respiratory Medicine. Mr. Chazen is also on the Advisory Board of the Louis Armstrong House & Archives at Queens College in Flushing, New York. Mr. Chazen and his wife, Simona, have three children and seven grandchildren and live in New York City. He is an avid art collector and jazz enthusiast.

Simona Chazen – Trustee

Simona Chivian Chazen was born in Newark New Jersey and was a “Cub” reporter for the Newark Star Ledger in her first career.
She attended the University of Wisconsin where she studied journalism and philosophy and met Jerry Chazen at a jazz record session he had created. The two clicked and later married and had three children, Kathy in Milwaukee, Louise in Philadelphia and David in Detroit as they followed the path of Jerry’s career. Finally, it brought them back to the East and Rockland County.
Here, Simona’s second career began when she joined VCS, an exciting new social service agency as a volunteer. She went on to earn her Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work at Fordham University and became the first Associate Executive Director of VCS, where she initiated some of their cutting edge programs. She is still an active supporter and supervisor of casework as well as serving on the Board of Directors.
She has been a psychotherapist in private practice for many years, and that is her third career.
In addition, Simona is an active member of the Board of Directors of the Museum of Arts and Design in NYC, and the Chazen Museum of Art at the University of Wisconsin. She is a strong supporter of the JCC of Rockland County, the Jewish Federation and many other organizations.
She is a proud Founder of VCS, the Center for Safety & Change, the Rockland Community Foundation and the Rockland Pride Center.
Simona has seven grandchildren and is an art collector, opera buff and jazz fan.

David F. Chazen – Trustee

David Chazen has founded, built, and sold several companies in the consumer sales and marketing sector, and until 2013 served as President of The Good Stuff Company. David is a co-founder of Strategic Government Properties, a real estate company focused on the ownership of mission-critical government buildings across the United States. David began his career at Goldman Sachs working with private and institutional clients. David received his BS from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, and his MBA from Columbia Business School. David is on the Board of the Chazen Institute at Columbia Business School, the board of High Jump Chicago the Board of Theatre Aspen , and is a founding member of the Aspen Chapter of Young President’s Organization. He has run 25 New York City Marathons and counting.

Eric Chan – Controller

Eric Chan has served as the controller for Chazen Capital Partners since 1997. He has extensive experience in accounting, taxation and portfolio management. Eric has worked in both his native Hong Kong and the U.S. for a wide variety of industries including construction, film and entertainment, luxury retail, food distribution, garment manufacturing, and electronic manufacturing. He worked as an assistant accounting manager for GlaxoSmithKline in Hong Kong and worked as an accountant for Tyco Toy Inc (now owned by Mattel) in NYC. Eric transferred his accreditation from the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) to the US to obtain his BA in Accounting at Queens College and passed his American CPA examination in 1995. In his spare time, he is an avid tennis player and occasionally plays tournaments on the weekend.