Oliver Fein 

BAX Board Member

I am a primary care, general internist, who has retired from clinical practice at Weill Cornell Medical College in July 2021. I am Chair of the Board of the NY-Metro chapter of Physicians for National Health Program (PNHP) and an advocate for single payer, public health insurance for all. In the late 1980’s, my daughter, Jess, as an 8-year old, was attracted to BAX by the wonderful instructors she encountered there. So, I followed her to BAX, where I met Marya Warshaw, who invited me to join the BAX Board, as a founding member. I felt I could contribute my organizational skills to BAX to help it navigate the troubled waters of survival as a non-profit arts organization. What I particularly liked about BAX was its emphasis on dance as an expression of emotion. Costumes and appearance were not the primary priority, even performance was not the most important outcome. Rather the ability of kids to express themselves through their bodily movements. By branching out from its concentration on teaching dance to children into other performance practices and by creating programs that foster cutting edge, developing artists, BAX has grown its mission and message. I rejoined the BAX Board in 2010 to serve as President from 2010-2020. Presently I sit on the Finance Committee.