About Us
QCSW was founded in 1922, and incorporated in 1953. Over the years, we have undergone many changes depending upon community needs, government initiatives, and of course, our Board and staff.
Currently we have a staff of three full time and two part time people.
Joan Serrano Laufer, ACSW, has served as Executive Director of Queensboro Council for Social Welfare since March 1989. She has a Masters Degree in Social Work and has served as an adjunct instructor at many of the NYC Schools of Social Work.
Ms. Laufer serves on the Executive Committee of the Human Services Council, as Secretary of the Board of Directors of Queens Legal Services, and Vice President and Program Chair of the Queens Interagency Council on the Aging, and on the Finance Committee of the NYC Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers and is co-chair of the NYC Chapter of NASW-PACE. In addition, she is on the Steering Committee of the Queens Mental Health Council and the Advisory Board of Queens VISIONS.
Bette Engel is our Coordinator of Training and Special Events. Working half time, her responsibilities include scheduling the various trainings and conferences which QCSW offers, both in our office and at various sites in Queens, on a wide range of subjects, including include issues concerning domestic violence, elder abuse, and child abuse. In addition, there are Health and Safety Programs for the senior citizens to inform them on matters of safety in the home and the community.
Ms. Engel is a graduate of Brooklyn College and comes to QCSW after years as executive director at both the Queens chapter of the American Red Cross and the Rego Park Jewish Center. She has been on the Advisory Council of the Peninsula Hospital and sat on the Queens Borough Library for the NYC Comptroller. She presently represents QCSW as a member of the Queens Borough President's Domestic Task Force.
Deborah A. Snype has served as the Office Manager of Queensboro Council for Social Welfare since the year 2000. She also serves as Administrative Assistant to the Executive Director. She is the coordinator and main distributor of Queensboro Council’s Neighbor News and is responsible for the smooth running of the QCSW office. Ms. Snype has worked in a variety of settings, including for well known magazines and authors.
Carl Dindial has been the part-time Bookkeeper/Accountant of Queensboro Council for Social Welfare since 2004. Since then, he has earned his Bachelor of Business Administration in Accountancy from Baruch College, CUNY. An important member of our team, his assignments at QCSW involve not only the application of general accepted accounting principles within a not-for-profit environment, but also serving as the network administrator, website planner/designer, and the application of VPN technology.