President
Zachary Harrison ´91
Zachary Harrison serves as Managing Director for Compass. In 2006, he co-founded Platinum Drive Realty and grew the company from two agents in one office to over 110 agents and 5 offices serving Westchester County and Connecticut. The company was honored in Inc. Magazine as one of the fastest growing private companies in America for four straight years. Platinum Drive was acquired by Compass in 2018.
In 2015, 2016, and 2017, Zach was recognized along with his colleagues in the REAL Trends/Wall Street Journal “Top Thousand” as one of the Top Real Estate Teams in the United States and the #1 Real Estate Team by sales volume in Westchester County. He has successfully closed over 1,000 transactional matters during the course of his career in management and sales, and ensures his agents handle all matters promptly and professionally, with the utmost care and discretion.
Prior to his career in real estate, Zach worked in New York City in the investment banking division of one of the world’s largest banks, and as an attorney for an international law firm, where he handled substantial transactional matters, including the sale and financing of real estate and other assets. Zach also successfully litigated various complex commercial disputes on behalf of major clients in state and federal courts in New York and throughout the United States. Zach grew up in Westchester and is a graduate of Scarsdale High School, the University of Pennsylvania Fels School of Government, and Fordham Law School.
Zach believes in giving back to the community. He serves as President of the Scarsdale Alumni Association and is involved in various philanthropic causes..
Vice President & Treasurer
Alex Harrison '96
Directors
Julian Stein '03
Julian was born in Paris, France and is currently Head of Business Development at Incline Global Management, LLC, a global long/short equity strategy. Prior, Julian worked at Perella Weinberg Partners and Bank of America Capital Introduction. He obtained his B.A. in Economics from New York University and is a CAIA Charter Holder. Julian is the Founder and President of the PSG Supporters Club in NYC and has volunteered with iMentor since 2009.
Julian joined the SAA Board in the Summer of 2012 and currently resides in New York City.
Sanskruti Mehta '00
Sanskruti Mehta is the founder and owner of Copperpebble LLC, an on-line luxury goods retailer based in New York. Sanskruti comes from a long lineage of diamond-traders and business professionals.
She started out her career in the fashion and luxury goods industry working at Donna Karan International in the Strategy and Planning division. Ms. Mehta later moved to Dolce & Gabbana’s Finance division. She completed a short-stint at Diane von Furstenberg, and later moved to work within the Swiss Watch Luxury sector for a private luxury goods investment company. Sanskruti has also consulted for and partnered with diamond jewelry wholesalers for various business needs in the past.
Mehta earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from Babson College in Massachusetts, and her Graduate Gemologist and Accredited Jewelry Professional Degrees from the Gemological Institute of America in New York.
Sanskruti is an active member in the community. She is currently a member of the Scarsdale Alumni Association Executive Board and is currently spear-heading the international alumni association section. Sanskruti is also a member of the Young Alumni Association at the Princeton Club, the Babson Alumni Club of New York, and the Gemological Institute of America Alumni Association.
Sanskruti Mehta currently resides in Geneva, Switzerland, and travels between: New York, United States and Mumbai, India.
Michael Epstein '72
Michael was born in New York City in 1954. After attending Scarsdale High School and Manhattanville College, he became the youngest Jaguar dealer in the country at nineteen, following his passion for automobiles and Michael is still an avid car collector. Michael’s family has been in the men’s clothing business for many generations. His father, Danal, is now primarily in fund raising and philanthropy.
Michael founded System 800 International in 1986, which went on to become the largest reseller of 800 phone line service in the United States, and pioneered touch tone technology for credit card processing. After going public in 1988, Michael with his business partner Michael Avatar, merged with Independent Entertainment Group, and produced pay per view events for cable, as well as continuing their telephone business and pioneering video messaging.
After Indenet, renamed shortly before it's acquisition in 1992, Michael did independent consulting for numerous internet start ups, including Cyberguy.Com and IncredibleArt.Com, serving on the board of directors.
Michael, and his partner, Scott E. Schwimer, an entertainment attorney, who represents many celebrated authors and newscasters, have been collecting photography for over twenty five years. They have, possibly, the largest glamour photography archives in the world, and are the publisher’s of George Hurrell’s work, as well as Mel Roberts & Harry Langdon’s photos. They endeavor to keep the images alive through the gorgeous printing of Mark Vieira, Garbo, Hurrell’s & Thalberg’s biographer and master printer. Michael has been an active fund raiser for numerous charities including the Trevor Project and the LA Gay & Lesbian Center, which he served on the board of for seven years. He continues to be passionate about travel, his dog Triple, Scott (even after 26 years) and his son, Nelson.
Director Emeritus
Eric Rothschild '54
While the caption placed under Eric Rothschild’s name in the 1954 Bandersnatch yearbook no doubt ably captured his high school accomplishments, the Bandy editors could not possibly have known how perfectly their moniker for him, Wonder Boy, would serve to capture the breadth and range of his many achievements in the years to come.
After completing undergraduate work at Harvard and earning a graduate degree from Boston University, Eric began his teaching career at nearby Woodlands High School before coming to Scarsdale High School in 1964. Eric taught in the Social Studies Department and served as its chair from 1973 until 1998.
Throughout his career as a high school teacher and a renowned teacher of teachers, Eric perfected the art of having students “do history,” making history come alive as he bounced around the room, questioning, encouraging, even occasionally singing (off-key), and along the way inspiring generations of nascent historians and teachers. Eric championed the use of simulations as a teaching tool, developing games ranging from the Constitutional Convention, the Women’s Hall of Fame, Lincoln’s Campaign Manager, and the Impeachment of Andrew Johnson to the murder mystery “Who Killed Teddy Roosevelt” and much, much more. Students in Eric’s classes were true historians, becoming expert at the use of microfiche and microfilm as they pored over countless primary documents to unlock the secrets of the past.
Eric’s great gift to the teaching profession has been to share this expertise broadly, as he’s traveled across the country and internationally to lead workshops on the teaching of history. He has published numerous articles and presented many papers on innovative teaching practices for organizations and journals ranging from the American Historical Association, the College Board and the Organization of American Historians to The New York Times and The History Channel. He has co-authored several texts supporting enhanced history instruction, including The Chicago Handbook for Teachers and Teaching Advanced Placement U. S. History. His education accomplishments have been recognized by numerous organizations including the College Board, the Organization of American Historians, Harvard and Cornell Universities and New York State Council of Social Studies.
Beyond these many professional accomplishments, Eric has somehow found the time to play an active role in Scarsdale community organizations, serving on numerous boards and committees. His exceptional contribution to the life of the community was recognized in 2007 with his selection as the recipient of the prestigious Scarsdale Bowl Award
Directors Emeritus
Page Davis Bramley '38, Founder
Robert Bidwell '37, Founder
Warren Heilbron '37, Founder
James McW. Kellers '38, Founder
Halliday Clark Sr. '37, Founding President 1987-1995
Ennis Aigeltinger '45, Director 1997-2002
Mary Pilliod Enard '42, Director 1997-2002
Charles "Pete" Hazelwood '40, Director 1997-2002
SAA Communication Volunteers
Susan Darer ’56 Communications Volunteer
Alice Katcher Kisch '54, Managing Editor
Joyce Sternberger Schwarts '64, Website Assist.
Scarsdale High School Advisory Council
Aaron Kransdorf ´09