Ellen Garwin Makofsky - Profile

With a career spanning more than thirty years, Ellen Garwin Makofsky has focused her legal practice on Elder Law, Trusts and Estates, and Probate and Estate Administration. As a certified elder law attorney (CELA) recognized by the National Elder Law Foundation, Ms. Makofsky has held esteemed positions within various legal associations. She has served as President of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, New York Chapter, and completed a third term as Secretary of the New York State Bar Association (NYSBA), the largest voluntary Bar in the United States. Ms. Makofsky has chaired NYSBA's Committee on Legal Education, co-chaired the Women in the Law Committee, and currently leads the Working Group dedicated to amending the Power of Attorney statute. She has been a longstanding member of NYSBA's Executive Committee and previously served as Chair of the Elder Law Section. Additionally, Ms. Makofsky has held roles such as President of the Estate Planning Council of Nassau County, Chair of the Long Island Alzheimer's Foundation Legal Advisory Board, and member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys, as well as the Elder Law, Social Services, and Health Advisory Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association. She was instrumental in establishing the Senior Umbrella Network of Queens and founded the Sun Council, Inc. Ms. Makofsky is a former president of the Nassau chapter of the Gerontology Professionals of Long Island and the Senior Umbrella Network of Nassau. She graduated cum laude from Brooklyn Law School and has received numerous accolades for her contributions to the legal profession, including the 2020 Lifetime Achievement Award from the NYSBA's Elder Law and Special Needs Section, the Woman of Distinction title from the 7th Senatorial District of New York State, and recognition as a Top 50 Woman by Long Island Business News in 2014. In 2016, she was honored as an Outstanding Woman in the Law by The Maurice A. Deane School of Law Center for Children, Families, and the Law, and in 2017, she received a Lifetime Achievement Award for Leadership in Law from Long Island Business News.