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Who

Sol Adler is the executive director of the 92nd Street Y, the city's premier Jewish community and cultural center.

Backstory

The son of Holocaust survivors, Adler grew up in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn and attended Brooklyn College. In 1977, after a stint as an auditor for Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Adler joined the Y as director of accounting. He spent the next several years working his way up the ranks, taking over as executive director in 1988. He's proven himself an effective fundraiser: The Y's budget now totals $47 million annually—about twice what it was when he took the job—and recently he's led two successful capital campaigns that netted the institution $80 million. Over the last few years, Adler has also been focused on increasing the Y's reach. In 2006, the center launched a satellite radio station on Sirius which broadcasts its popular lecture series; the same year, the Upper West Side townhouse that housed Makor, whose programs target the less geriatric set, was sold. Makor's moving downtown to 92YTribeca, a new venue opening this fall.

Keeping score

Adler took home $263,530 in 2005.

Drama

Adler was on the defensive when it was revealed in 2002 that Citigroup's Sandy Weill had donated $1 million to the 92nd St. Y in exchange for a pledge to admit the twins of Jack Grubman, the bank's former star telecommunications analyst, to the Y's pre-school. The event set into motion a major scandal: In return for Adler's help, Weill asked Grubman to change his recommendation on AT&T's stock. Grubman agreed, and the case subsequently led to an investigation by Eliot Spitzer and Grubman's dismissal from the bank. The saga was one of the factors involved in Weill's eventual ouster from Citigroup as well.

Namedrop

The Y regularly hosts talks by prominent Jews and gentiles alike. Past speakers have included Frank Gehry, Bill Clinton, Barbara Corcoran, Daniel Libeskind, Al Gore, Yoko Ono, Gloria Steinem, and Tom Brokaw. Some of the notables whom Adler deals with on the Y's board include William Lauder, Marc Lasry, Joan Tisch, Caryn Zucker (the wife of Jeff Zucker), and Matthew Bronfman.

Personal

Adler and his wife Debbie have three kids and live in the Sea Gate neighborhood of Brooklyn. Debbie frequently leads classes at the Y.