Don Simkin is a leader and active volunteer in many areas of community and public health. He has led and participated in local, regional, national and international initiatives that have impacted the health and wellbeing of many.
He graduated from Syracuse University in 1969 and received his D.D.S degree from NYU College of Dentistry in 1973. He operated a private practice in Sullivan County for nearly four decades.
After moving to Sullivan County, NY, Don was invited to serve on the Sullivan County Health Advisory Council and eventually served as President and represented Sullivan County on the Hudson Valley Health Advisory Council for many years.
Don also served on the Board of the Sullivan County Chapter of the Red Cross for four years, helping the county with its disaster and emergency preparedness.
In 1987, he travelled to Israel with Dental Volunteers for Israel to join other volunteer dentists from all over the world to offer dental services to indigent children. He has since been involved with American Friends of Dental Volunteers for Israel for more than three decades, helping to recruit volunteer dentists and raise awareness of the clinic’s reimagined mission. He currently serves on the board of directors as its Treasurer.
Don is a member and board member of the (historic) Congregation Agudas Achim in Livingston Manor, NY.
He was a founding member and is President of the Livingston Manor Community Center which, in the 1990s, provided safe spaces and resources for seniors, young people and families of Livingston Manor, now serves as a fiduciary agency for community organizations such as Livingston Manor Renaissance, Calliope-on-Main and the Rockland Relief Fund.
Don is the longest serving member of the Livingston Manor Rotary Club and has been involved in many community engagement projects. The Club and Don produced the “Dr. Don Games,” an annual event in which children competed in fun games like the “Shoe Kick”and the human “Pyramid”.
Having always loved the Olympic Games, Don sought out opportunities to be of service and began making custom mouth guards for the US Luge Team, which trains in Lake Placid, NY. He is passionate about the sport, has competed as a Masters athlete, is an International Official, a past member of the governing board of USA Luge and now serves on several committees.
Don is Vice-President of the Board of the Lazare and Charlotte Kaplan Foundation, whose mission is to “to keep the kids off the streets.” Don has been a leader in the foundation for over 20 years, helping to provide scholarships to students and grants to community organizations for programs that benefit young people in the community.
Dr. Don Simkin was selected as the recipient of the 2022 SYDA Foundation Community Service Award. This prestigious award is in recognition of his decades of service and leadership in the areas of public health, youth and family services, and outstanding service to the Sullivan County community, and included a monetary gift that was distributed by the recipient to charities of his choice, including AFDVI.
Since 1986, the SYDA Foundation has sponsored this annual award to recognize and honor local citizens for outstanding community service. The selection committee, comprised of past award recipients and local civic leaders, chose Dr. Don Simkin to receive this year’s award in recognition of his decades of service and leadership in the areas of public health, youth and family services, an
Don was married to Ellen Singer for 31 years. Their son Vinny recently moved with his wife Brittany and son Quinton from Haines, Alaska to Sonoma County, CA, closer to Papa’s second home in Santa Monica.