2014

Biographies of Speakers

(press conference video follows the biography listings)

Randy A Goldberg has worked for the NYS Teachers’ Retirement System since 1979. With over 30 years of service with the retirement system he has held various civil service titles. Currently he holds a Teachers’ Retirement Examiner 3 supervisor title. In 1995 he was elected the CSEA local President and served two consecutive terms. After a 12 year absence from employee representation he was elected again to the office of local president in July of 2014. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Kathleen and they have two married daughters and four grandchildren. Randy is a regular volunteer at an Albany winter breakfast kitchen and an avid runner. He and his wife proudly co-direct along with their running club The Fall FRUN 10K, a local race to raise money for the Children’s Hospital at the Albany Medical Center.

John Richter has been the Director of Public Policy at the Mental Health Association in New York State (MHANYS) since January 2008. Mr. Richter joined MHANYS after spending over twenty years serving and advocating for the elderly and people with disabilities. His career in human services began as a direct care worker in Community Residences for people with developmental disabilities. He has managed both Community Residences and Intermediate Care Facilities (ICFs) and was a Behaviorist for a 14-bed ICF for adolescents with Autism. He spent 13 years in long term care policy with the New York Association of Homes and Services for the Aging (NYAHSA) specializing in adult home, assisted living and home care issues.

Mr. Richter received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in Psychology from SUNY Stony Brook. He received his Master’s Degree in Public Administration from Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at SUNY Albany, where he completed his internship in Medicaid Rate Setting for the then Division of Substance Abuse Services (DSAS).

Mr. Richter lives in Albany with his wife Susan, a practicing Psychiatrist.

Professor Doe is a professor of Music Theory and Composition. He has taught at the college level for more than 25 years, 16 of them in New York State. He has been promoted to Full Professor, and has won a state-wide award for his teaching; he was also voted “Teacher of the Year” at his college three times. His compositions have won national and international awards, and have been performed by major orchestras and other ensembles in the US, Europe, and Asia. He also holds a degree in Biology, and was elected to Phi Beta Kappa. Professor Doe endured 8 years of harassment by a colleague within his department, and has experienced many of the typical problems that victims face in trying to have their harassment addressed by their employer.

 Catherine Redmond (on behalf of her husband Graham). Graham Redmond was born in Rochester, NY on August 8, 1951. His father worked for the telephone company and moved around a lot. Eventually Graham settled in Delmar, NY and he took a position in the NYS Senate Journal Clerk’s Office, a job he really loved.

In 2008, Graham expressed a number of concerns to the Personnel Office at work. Shortly after these concerns where reported Graham noticed that software he needed to perform his job was removed from his computer.

Later on, he was physically and socially isolated from his coworkers as he continued to speak about issues within his work environment that were unreasonable. Graham even filed a police report about a verbal exchange where he was threatened in the workplace that the agency verified.

As Graham continued to bring these concerns to those in charge, he was notified that his position was being eliminated…just months short of his twenty year anniversary.

In 2010, Graham was diagnosed with a very aggressive form of squamous cell cancer and passed away in June 2013. During this time he assisted with the NYS anti-bullying legislative effort lobbying after his retirement, a cause that was very close to him. In legislative meetings, Graham was fond of saying that “workplace bullying is alive and well right here under your roof.”

Graham wrote a personal account of his experience using the alias “Bob Ray” that can be viewed at the New York Healthy Workplace Advocates web site under the Personal Experiences section. His obituary which he wrote himself that states how proud he was to assist with the NYS Healthy Workplace Bill can be reviewed at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/timesunion-albany/obituary.aspx?pid=165469085

We are very proud to have had Graham assist us with this important bill and have his wife Catherine Redmond speak about his experience and how he dealt with his health issues during and after his employment with the NYS Senate. Graham was not the first employee of the NYS Legislature to state workplace bullying is happening “under your roof” and he hasn’t been the last.

Tom Witt is the State Coordinator (Downstate) for the New York Healthy Workplace Advocates (nyhwa.org).  He has actively advocated for the Healthy Workplace Bill with Mike Schlicht for the past eight years.

Mike Schlicht is the founder of the New York Healthy Workplace Advocates and is the State Coordinator (Upstate) for the organization.  He initiated the legislative effort to pass the Healthy Workplace Bill in New York State in 2006.

 

Assemblyman Steven Englebright, Randy Goldberg (CSEA) and John Richter (MHANYS) speak about the NYS Healthy Workplace Bill (S3863/A4965)

Professor Doe speaks about his workplace bullying experience. Catherine Redmond speaks about her husbands workplace bullying experience as a former employee of the New York