← Back to the Blue & White Gala
DAYTON T. BROWN, JR.
Chairman, Dayton T. Brown, Inc.
For more than 75 years, Dayton T. Brown, Jr. has seamlessly blended visionary corporate leadership with deeply rooted community philanthropy—a legacy that traces its origins to Manhasset, N.Y., where his parents, Jane and Dayton T. Brown, Sr., helped establish North Shore University Hospital, planting the seed for a lifelong passion for giving back.
In 1951, while still in high school, Brown joined his father’s newly formed company, Dayton T. Brown, Inc., starting at the ground level as a laborer. His early career path was defined by a parallel commitment to growth and service: he studied engineering at the University of Virginia and business at C.W. Post College and served his country in the United States Army.
Rising through the ranks, Brown transitioned into sales and quickly became sales manager. He was appointed vice president and manufacturing division manager in 1964, advanced to president in 1969, and assumed the role of chairman following his father’s passing in 1978.
Under his strategic leadership, Dayton T. Brown, Inc. transformed from a manufacturing-focused business into a highly advanced, multi-divisional corporation. In addition to expanding the Manufacturing, Engineering & Test, and Technical Services Divisions, Dayton founded the Mission Systems Division, which delivers secure, mission-critical communication systems for global military deployment. Today, the company supports the nation’s most critical defense, aerospace, and space exploration initiatives, operating across multiple locations with a workforce spanning 38 states.
As his business grew, so did his philanthropy. When he relocated to Old Field, he expanded his support from North Shore University Hospital—where he founded the Karin and Dayton T. Brown, Jr. Division of Infectious Diseases—to include Mather Hospital. It is a partnership born from genuine gratitude, as he credits Mather Hospital and Dr. Kenneth Hirsch with saving his life more than once.
Today, Brown remains firmly at the helm of his company, guiding its future success while continuing his vital support of Mather Hospital, North Shore University Hospital, and Northwell Health—a testament to the enduring power of leadership rooted in purpose and generosity. His profound and lasting impact on patients, colleagues, and the broader Long Island community make him a truly deserving recipient of the 2026 Theodore Roosevelt Award.
KENNETH HIRSCH, MD, FACEP
Co-Director, Hyperbaric Medicine / Emergency Medicine Physician, Mather Hospital
For more than three decades, Kenneth Hirsch, MD, FACEP, has served the Long Island community as a dedicated emergency and hyperbaric medicine physician at Mather Hospital—bringing clinical excellence, pioneering expertise, and an enduring commitment to patient care and medical education.
Dr. Hirsch graduated Phi Beta Kappa from the University of Pennsylvania and Alpha Omega Alpha from SUNY Downstate. He completed his Emergency Medicine Residency at BMHC-Jacobi Medical Center in 1983, becoming one of the first emergency medicine–trained physicians on Long Island and achieving board certification in 1984.
Dr. Hirsch began his career at SUNY Stony Brook and Long Island Jewish Medical Center before being named director of the Emergency Department at Community Hospital of Western Suffolk in Smithtown, where he served for 10 years. During that time, he established himself as a leader in emergency medical services, serving as the founding chairman of the Suffolk County Medical Advisory Committee for EMS, teaching Advanced Cardiovascular Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS), and lecturing pre-hospital providers. His contributions were recognized when he was named Man of the Year in Medicine by the St. James Times.
In 1996, Dr. Hirsch joined Mather Hospital, where he has served as assistant director of the Emergency Department and continues to practice emergency medicine. After arriving at Mather, he trained in undersea and hyperbaric medicine, becoming the first board-certified hyperbaric physician on Long Island. Today, he serves as co-director of Hyperbaric Medicine, providing specialized care to patients across the community. He also continues to teach ACLS and PALS at Mather, sharing his extensive clinical knowledge with the next generation of emergency physicians.
Dr. Hirsch is a fellow of the American College of Emergency Physicians, a member of its subsection on Hyperbaric Medicine, and a member of the American Medical Association. Beyond the hospital, he has dedicated his time to volunteer work with the St. James Chamber of Commerce and has served as an instructor for Cornell Cooperative Youth Development 4-H groups.
Dr. Hirsch’s passion for service extends to his family. His wife, Laura, Suffolk County’s first licensed woman plumber, is involved in numerous volunteer activities. His older daughter, Sonya Hirsch, is a Burn ICU Nurse at the University of Colorado, Denver and a recipient of the Florence Nightingale Award, and his younger daughter, Dr. Jana Hirsch, is a professor of epidemiology and public health at Drexel University.
Throughout his remarkable career, Dr. Hirsch has remained driven by the diagnostic challenges of emergency medicine, a deep desire to help people through their most difficult moments, and a steadfast commitment to educating the physicians who will carry the field forward. His profound and lasting impact on patients, colleagues, and the broader Long Island community make him a truly deserving recipient of the 2026 Theodore Roosevelt Award.
DENISE DRISCOLL, RN-BC, CARN, PMHCNS-BC, NPP
Assistant Vice President, Behavioral Health, Mather Hospital
Denise Driscoll is a visionary psychiatric nursing leader whose 39 years of dedicated service reflect a deep and unwavering commitment to public welfare and the advancement of behavioral health care on Long Island.
Driscoll began her nursing career at Mather Hospital in 1987 after earning her Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Stony Brook University. While caring for acute psychiatric inpatients, she completed her Master of Science in Nursing from the same institution in 1990, obtaining licensure as both a nurse practitioner and clinical nurse specialist in psychiatry, along with board certifications in psychiatric nursing and addictions. During her early clinical years, she honed her expertise providing therapy through the psychiatric and addictions recovery outpatient program.
In 1995, Driscoll became the hospital’s first independently practicing psychiatric nurse practitioner at the partial hospital program. She simultaneously served as a professor of graduate psychiatric nursing at Stony Brook University’s Long Distance Program, shaping the next generation of behavioral health clinicians.
Driscoll was promoted to assistant vice president of behavioral health in 2016 in recognition of her exceptional leadership. In this role, she oversees a broad portfolio of services spanning inpatient and outpatient care and has disseminated her work through publications and presentations at national conferences.
In 2018, in collaboration with public affairs, she secured a $6.75 million grant from New York State for her innovative concept to create a Rapid Access Center—a “no wrong door” model designed to help patients navigate and connect with the care they need within the community. Most recently, in 2025, she guided the creation of an outpatient esketamine treatment program, offering patients innovative alternatives to traditional care.
Driscoll’s career-spanning contributions have earned numerous accolades, including the Town of Brookhaven Woman of the Year in Healthcare in 2019, the American Nurses Association’s National Advocacy Award in Washington, D.C., in 2022, and the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council’s Nurse of Excellence distinction in 2025.
Throughout her remarkable career, Driscoll has elevated the standard of behavioral health care while nurturing a culture of compassion, inquiry, and empowerment among all who work alongside her. Her profound and lasting impact on patients, families, colleagues, and the broader Long Island community stands as a powerful reflection of leadership driven by purpose and care, making her a truly deserving recipient of the 2026 Theodore Roosevelt Award.