Buffalo, N.Y. — The Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo is pleased to announce that two local leaders have joined its Board of Directors. New members include: Rosalind Burgin, Partner and Licensed Real Estate Broker, Mootry Murphy Burgin (MMB) Realty Group, and Darby Fishkin, CPA, Chief Operating Officer, CBRE Upstate NY. With diverse community leadership backgrounds, Ms. Burgin and Ms. Fishkin bring unique expertise to the Board of Directors to support the Community Foundation’s mission of connecting people, ideas and resources to improve lives in Western New York.
Rosalind Burgin is a Partner and Licensed Real Estate Broker at MMB Realty Group. With 30 years in customer service, Ms. Burgin’s personal and professional commitment is to help increase home ownership as a means of building wealth and strengthening our communities. Prior to working in real estate, Ms. Burgin worked for the former Niagara Mohawk Power Co., and became the first female to work in the company’s print shop, the first Black woman to hold the position of chief union steward in Syracuse, and one of the first African American supervisors at the company in its Electric Tower in Buffalo.Additionally, Ms. Burgin is the first African American woman elected as President of Buffalo Niagara Association of REALTORS®, a 119-year-old organization that is one of the largest real estate associations in the country. She earned her Associate’s degree from Onondaga Community College.
Darby Fishkin, CPA is the Chief Operating Officer of CBRE Upstate NY, an affiliate of CBRE Inc., where she leads an office of commercial real estate professionals that serve clients across Western New York. Previously, Ms. Fishkin was the CEO of CBRE Buffalo and President of Comvest Real Estate Management, a Buffalo-based commercial real estate management firm.A certified public accountant with more than 20 years of experience in healthcare and government finance, Ms. Fishkin has served in a variety of roles including time as the acting Comptroller for the City of Buffalo and Corporate Controller of Kaleida Health.
2024 officers of the Community Foundation Board of Directors include: Hon. Rose H. Sconiers, Chair; Steve Finch, Chair-Elect; Tamara O. Alsace, Ph.D., Vice Chair; Jeffrey H. Katz, Esq., Vice Chair; Owen Herne, Esq., Secretary; and Cheryl Jankowski, Treasurer.
Other members of the Community Foundation Board of Directors include: Jennifer Balbach; David Blesy; Bonita R. Durand, Ph.D.; Dottie Gallagher; Allen “Pete” Grum; Alice Jacobs, JD; Alex Montante; Hal D. Payne; Amy Habib Rittling, Esq.; Luis Rodriguez; John F. Somers; and Nancy Ware.
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About the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo
For more than a century, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo has enhanced and encouraged long-term philanthropy in the Western New York community. A 501 (c)(3) organization, the Community Foundation’s mission is: Connecting people, ideas and resources to improve lives in Western New York. Established in 1919, the Community Foundation has made the most of the generosity of individuals, families, foundations and organizations who entrust charitable assets to the Community Foundation’s care. Learn more at cfgb.org.