Nettie Birnbach

Nettie Sodikow was born on March 2, 1926 in New York to Fred and Sophie Pomerantz Sodikow.^[1] Sodikow later undertook nursing studies at Kings County School of Nursing in Brooklyn, New York. During World War II, Sodikow served in the United States Cadet Nursing Corps.^[1] After the war, she worked as a nurse at Willard Parker Hospital in New York.^[2]

After marrying Marvin Birnbach, Nettie Birnbach returned to education, where she earned a Bachelors in nursing from Molloy College in Rockville Centre, New York and later, a masters in Nursing education and a Doctorate in education from Teachers College, Columbia University.^[1] After working as a nurse for 18 years, Birnbach became a nursing educator at the College of Nursing, State University of New York at Brooklyn. Birnbach authored several books, articles^[3] and papers on community nursing and the history of nursing.^[1]

In 1991, Birnbach became the president of the New York State Nurses Association,^[4] and in 1998, the president of the American Association for the History of Nursing.^[1] In 2010, Dr. Birnbach was inducted into the Teachers College Nursing Hall of Fame.^[5] That year, she was also inducted into the American Nurses Association Hall of Fame.^[6]

In 1994, Birnbach moved to Boca Raton, Florida where she became known for her patronage and support of the local arts scene.^[7] There, she was a frequent sponsor of musical performances at the Kravis Center.^{[8][9][10][11]} In 2011, Birnbach was named Volunteer of the Year by the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts.^[12] In 2016, Birnbach established the Nettie Birnbach Endowed Scholarship for Piano Education at Lynn University, one of the first named scholarships for piano students.^[7]