Becoming a Six Sigma Green Belt

Dyan Gershman is an accomplished attorney with over 25 years of experience. The founder of Gershman Law, PLLC, a boutique corporate law firm based in New York City, Dyan Gershman is also a certified Six Sigma Green Belt, a highly valued distinction.

Dyan Gershman earned her Six Sigma Green Belt while working at General Electric Company headquarters, where she led the corporate legal work on many large and complex acquisitions, divestitures and joint ventures.

Six Sigma Green Belts are knowledgeable in Six Sigma methodology and often spend time on process improvement teams. The Six Sigma Green Belt certification shows an individual’s skills in identifying and analyzing process improvement.

The Green Belt certification process differs company to company though all require learning the appropriate subject matter, often through classroom training, passing a proctored and timed written proficiency exam, and displaying competency in a hands-on environment. In addition, the certification often requires at least three years of paid work in any of the Six Sigma areas of knowledge, such as design methodologies and data and process analysis. Lastly, the candidate must complete one or two quality projects relating to Green Belt concepts.

Six Sigma training from an institution is not mandatory for the exam, but it is highly recommended. Once certified, a Six Sigma Green Belt is recognized in perpetuity.

New York City Bar - Establishing a Platform for International Justice

The founder and partner of Gershman Law, PLLC, Dyan Gershman has over 30 years of experience as a practicing corporate lawyer, specializing in mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, divestitures, intellectual property licensing, and commercial contracts. In addition to her legal practice, Dyan Gershman is an active member in her legal community and a member of a number of legal organizations, including the New York City Bar Association (City Bar).

Comprised of practicing attorneys as well as law students, the City Bar's membership is over 24,000. Established in 1870, the City Bar’s mission is to equip and mobilize a diverse legal profession to practice with excellence, promote legal reforms, and uphold the rule of law and access to justice in support of a fair society.

This mission is probably most manifested through activities carried out through the City Bar Fund, a non-profit arm of the City Bar which does good work for those in need. One of its programs is the Cyrus R. Vance Center for International Justice (Vance Center), which provides an international platform whose principles are based on governance through shared ideas.

The Vance Center provides pro bono legal support to organizations around the world in three areas. The first area is through its environmental program, which focuses on environmental stewardship in the context of human rights. The second area, the human rights and justice program, concentrates on protecting people from discriminatory practices, corruption, injustice, and violence, in addition to also supporting other international organizations with a human rights platform. The third area, the good governance program, emphasizes transparency and supports independent journalism to hold officials and institutions government accountable.

Central Park Has Vital Role for City Dwellers During Pandemic

A respected New York City corporate attorney, Dyan Gershman’s legal practice focuses on a wide range of corporate and commercial matters, including mergers and acquisitions, for both US and international clients. Maintaining a strong civic presence, Dyan Gershman is a member and supporter of the Central Park Conservancy, which helps maintain Central Park and also coordinates public classes and programs.

Since early 2020, the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and social distancing has been profoundly felt in Central Park, which is one of the nation’s premier green spaces. One impact has been an unusual abundance of wildlife, ranging from raccoons to squirrels, across the 843-acre park. This has to do with many visitors staying away, as well as commercial activities such as busking, snack vending, and guided pedicab tours coming to a halt.

Since mid-March, picnics and team sports have been replaced by solo walks, with lone visitors taking in the beauty of crabapple and cherry blossoms, as well as the annual spring bird migration. The 200 species of birds that inhabit and build nests in trees such as red maples and magnolias include blue-gray gnatcatchers and yellow pine warblers.

While crowds have diminished, the value of what Central Park has to offer has only increased. As the CEO of the Central Park Conservancy described it, the park is, more than ever, “fulfilling its original purpose” of providing a place of sanctuary and respite for city dwellers living with the stress of social isolation.

Hudson River Community Sailing’s STEM to Stern Campaign

The recipient of a juris doctor degree from Boston College Law School, Dyan Gershman leverages over 25 years of corporate law experience to provide legal support and advice to small and mid-market US and non-US businesses through her role as founder and partner of Gershman Law, PLLC, based in New York City. Dyan Gershman learned how to sail while attending law school and continues to foster a love of sailing through her membership with Hudson River Community Sailing (HRCS), a New York City based sailing organization.

Established in 2007, HRCS provides both novices and seasoned sailors the opportunity to sail the Hudson River, as well as participate in sailboat racing, all with HRCS’s fleet of J-24 and J-80 sailboats. For those wanting to learn how to sail or take their current sailing skills to a whole new level, HRCS also offers a series of basic and advanced keelboat sailing classes, as well as private lessons. HRCS has two locations in New York City, Chelsea and Inwood. 

HRCS also runs numerous youth programs geared to promote academic success and leadership among underserved students in New York City through sailing and maritime education. HRCS’s flagship youth program is the award-winning Sail Academy. HRCS has initiated the STEM to Stern fund-raising campaign to launch a second youth development program in Inwood, modeled after its Sail Academy program in Chelsea, and to expand its sailing infrastructure and fleet. 

HRCS also plans to use funds raised through this campaign to launch a pilot program to be used by public schools and establish a floating classroom and dock for small boat access at its Inwood location.