News Byte: Alumni Named as Power Women of Long Island

The College of Osteopathic Medicine’s (NYITCOM) Liat Jarkon, M.P.H. (D.O.’87), director of the Center for Behavioral Health and assistant professor of family medicine, is one of several New York Institute of Technology alumni named to Schneps Media’s 2021 “Power Women of Long Island.”

The annual list honors women who make Long Island a thriving and vibrant place to work, live, and do business.

Jarkon, a seasoned and respected psychiatrist with 30 years of experience, graduated from NYITCOM in 1987 and completed her training at Zucker Hillside Hospital and Schneider Children’s Hospital. After many years in private practice, she joined NYITCOM’s faculty in 2017 and was instrumental in launching the Center for Behavioral Health, which opened in 2019. As the center’s director, Jarkon and her team work to destigmatize the topic of mental health and provide comprehensive mental healthcare to members of the NYITCOM and School of Health Professions communities.

When COVID-19 forced hospitals to limit onsite medical student rotations, Jarkon innovated a way for medical students to observe psychiatric patient interactions, a critical component of their training. As featured in Clinical Psychiatry News, Jarkon realized that the Center for Behavioral Health’s HIPAA-compliant telemedicine platform could serve as a “one-way mirror 2.0,” allowing medical students to observe interactions with patient consent.

In 2020, she authored a Fortune op-ed that called upon insurance companies to improve mental health coverage and has subsequently lent her expertise to television interviews about re-entry anxiety, September 11 trauma, and other relevant topics.

Jarkon was honored at a November 18 reception at The Carltun in East Meadow, N.Y., where several other prominent New York Tech alumni were recognized:

• Emmy award-winning News 12 reporter Antoinette Biordi (B.F.A. ’97), who also served as the event’s master of ceremonies;
• Andrea Correale (B.P.S ’92), president and founder of the award-winning event design and décor company Elegant Affairs;
• Martha Xuereb (B.S. ’01), director of preconstruction at Engel Burman, a prominent New York-based real estate development firm.

Schneps Media is a leading local media company serving New York City, Westchester, Long Island, and Philadelphia. Some of its most recognizable publications include The Long Island Press, Dan’s Papers, The Queens Courier, and multiple other outlets that allow the media organization to reach more than two million weekly readers.