The ALS Association National Board of Trustees

Allen L. Finkelstein, Esq.
Ganfer & Shore, LLP
New York, New York

The son of Russian/Polish immigrants who moved to the United States with their parents in the early 1900s, ALS Association National Board Trustee and co-founder Allen L. Finkelstein and his brothers and sister made a pledge early in life that if these first generation Americans ever became successful and comfortable they would show their appreciation for their good fortune by giving something back to the country they loved.

The successful parents of Finkelstein, David and Ella, set the bar high when it came to community involvement. The two formed a religious charitable foundation in 1950s, and today Finkelstein, who is chair of the ALS Association Board, two brothers, and a sister control the operations of the foundation.

“My siblings and I learned, early on, that if we were fortunate enough to be successful and accumulate wealth, there is an obligation to return a portion of that wealth to those who are in need,” said Finkelstein, an attorney at law.  “It is that lesson that was instilled in me from an early age, which is a guiding force in my activities with The ALS Association and other charities.”

Finkelstein, a partner in the law firm of Ganfer & Shore, LLP in New York City, New York which specializes in complex corporate and securities litigation and corporate and transactional real estate, made a commitment to fighting ALS after he was contacted by ALS patients and their families back in the 1970s. 

“It was at the request of ALS patients and their family members that I came in contact with to join the fight,” said Finkelstein, along with his parents, a founder of Shaare Zedek Hospital in Jerusalem. “That being said, together with my family tradition and the suffering that I saw in these patients, I decided to join in finding the treatment and cure for ALS.”

The holder of BS, JD, and MBA degrees which he earned from New York University, Brooklyn Law School and Long Island University, Finkelstein remains entrenched on the front lines of The Association because of the continued suffering of ALS patients and their families, and the “growth and vitality of this voluntary health organization and its accomplishments in patient services and research.”

“This insidious disease is devastating. With 30,000 patients in the U.S. alone, it leaves a wake too wide and destructive not be involved in the fight. I believe in my heart and mind that ALS will be controlled, if not entirely eradicated, by our hard work together with the work of our colleagues and collaborators.”

Finkelstein, one of two brothers who became the first members in his family to obtain a college education − and both became attorneys − was named Outstanding Junior and Senior of the Year at NYU in 1963 and 1964 respectively; was named to the New York University Honorary Society, and to the NYU Student Hall of Fame in 1963, is listed in “Who’s Who America, Who’s Who in the East and Who’s who in American Law,” and was adjunct associate professor of business administration at Long Island University for many years. 

A husband, father and grandfather, Finkelstein lives in Manhattan and Lords Valley, Pennsylvania with his wife Shelley. The couple has three children and five grandchildren.