Brooklyn's Progress
October/November 2007

BY KHADIJA BATUTA

The Brooklyn Chamber of Commerce is pleased to announce that Dean Mohs and Jerry Dunning have joined the organization.

Dean Mohs came on board at the Brooklyn Chamber on Sep. 4 as director of Brooklyn HealthWorks, the Chamber’s borough-wide, low cost health insurance program for eligible small businesses.

Dean assumes the reins for Brooklyn HealthWorks from departing Chief Operating Officer Mark Kessler who, after seven years of tireless work, launched the program for the Chamber in April 2004, with the support of Group Health, Inc. (GHI) and the New York State Insurance Department, among others.

With plans for expansion of the HealthWorks program, Dean will add a second bookkeeper to his growing staff, which now includes Manager of Health Insurance Services Theresa Reyes and Bookkeeper Sherene Rodney.

“I came to the Chamber because of its long-standing commitment to addressing the health insurance needs of small businesses in Brooklyn,” explained Dean.  “I look forward to hearing from Members about their experiences with providing health insurance to their employees and what they think needs to happen to improve the current system.”

Dean is charged with managing the overall operations of the program, including assisting Members and other Brooklyn businesses identify the health insurance plan that best meets their needs, helping to grow and retain health insurance business for Members, and working with Members to develop new strategies and policies that address the immediate and longer-term health insurance needs of small businesses in Brooklyn.

A resident of the Fort Greene section of Brooklyn, Dean earned his Masters of Public Administration and a Masters of Social Work from the University of Minnesota.  Prior to joining the Chamber, Dean served as director of private health insurance initiatives with the New York City Human Resources Administration’s Office of Citywide Health Insurance Access.  Before that he was a senior health care analyst for the U.S. Government Accountability Office, and served as director for various non-profit youth programs in his native Minnesota.

Dean may be reached at 718-875-1000 ext. 122, or at dmohs@brooklynchamber.com. You may also visit http://www.brooklynhealthworks.com/ for more information about this program.

New Workforce and Business Liaison
The Brooklyn Chamber welcomed Jerry Dunning as its workforce and business liaison on Jul. 23.  Jerry joins the workforce and training department at the Brooklyn Business Solutions Center, a walk-in center for business development sponsored by the New York City Department of Small Business Services.  He will serve as a resource at the Center to assist businesses with attracting, hiring, training and developing their labor force.

With a background in sales and marketing, Jerry re-focused his career on social services and human resources after serving as a job developer at Arbor Career Center in Staten Island.  His experience working with at-risk and hard to place candidates opened his eyes and heart to the challenges of many New Yorkers. Previously a student at Medgar Evers studying business administration, the Bronx native, who is a resident of Staten Island, will be attending the College of Staten Island’s social work program.  Upon completion of that program, Jerry plans to continue his studies at New York University’s Social Work and Human Resources Management diploma program.

“My goal is to use my position to really serve the workforce and business communities and fulfill the needs of both parties; I am excited about building strong relationships within the industry and being an advocate of the Chamber,” said Jerry.

The workforce and training department includes Good Help, the Chamber’s free staffing and employment service, as well as provides assistance to small businesses with grant applications for staff training and development, personnel manual development, and referrals for legal assistance for human resource issues.

“We are excited to have Jerry on board,” said Jeanette Nigro, vice president of workforce and training.  “His enthusiasm and energy will well serve our businesses with their workforce needs.”

The Brooklyn Business Solutions Center is located on the fifth floor at 9 Bond Street in downtown Brooklyn.  Jerry may be reached there at 718-246-5219 ext. 2025, or at jdunning@brooklynchamber.com.