Profile of the Month

The Office of Alumni Relations is thrilled to present our new Alumni Profile feature on the Web. Each month this page will highlight one of our graduates and will enable everyone to get to know not only our alums, but their amazing accomplishments and contributions.

Marilyn Monter '76 Executive Vice President Holiday Organization, Inc. January 2009

"I was a member of the fourth graduating class of Hofstra Law School. There was a sense of community, being part of such a young school.. Although I have not practiced law for some years, it is true that learning to think like a lawyer stays with you, and helps in looking at problems in the business world. As a business person with a legal background, you tend to approach things a bit differently. In negotiations, it helps to be able to identify those issues which are truly legal (what we pay outside counsel for), and those which are primarily business."

Marilyn Monter is the Executive Vice President of the Holiday Organization, Inc., a Westbury based real estate development company, founded by her father, Gerald Monter, in 1951. The Holiday Organization is the developer of the various Hamlet communities on Long Island, as well as several Colony communities in south Florida. In addition, the company developed three golf course communities on Long Island, continuing to operate the golf courses, which include one private and two public facilities.

A graduate of Hofstra Univerisity’s School of Law, Marilyn served as its Assistant Dean following her graduation, then became an in-house attorney with what was then Allied Chemical Corporation. She joined Holiday in 1984.

Marilyn is active in several not for profit organizations. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Hofstra University, Treasurer of the Suffolk Y Jewish Community Center, and Recording Secretary of Planned Parenthood of Nassau County. In addition, Marilyn is a member of the Board of the INN, and is on leave from the boards of the North Shore – Long Island Jewish Health System, the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, and the Elmezzi Graduate School of Molecular Medicine. She is a former trustee of Friends Academy. In 2005, Marilyn was named as a “Woman of Distinction” by Distinction Magazine, and in 2008, was honored by Long Island Business News, as one of the Top 50 Most Influential Women.

Marilyn and her husband, Wilfried Witthuhn, are the proud parents of Stephen, David, Scott, Brian, and Jennifer.