Brandeis Magazine

Michael Guttenberg ’89, of Jericho, New York, an emergency-services leader at Northwell Health and a Fire Department of New York (FDNY) first responder to the World Trade Center terror attacks on Sept. 11, 2001, died on Oct. 17 after a nearly four-and- a-half-year fight against pancreatic cancer. Despite the diagnosis, he continued to serve as medical director of Northwell Health’s clinical preparedness and Center for Emergency Medical Services. As an FDNY emergency medical-services fellow in 2001, he worked at Ground Zero in the weeks after 9/11. He leaves his parents, Marvin and Ethel, and his siblings, Abbie, Ira, Fred and Paul. Members of the Class of 1989 launched a fundraising campaign in Michael’s honor during his final days, raising more than $15,000 for a bench on campus in his memory and training for students involved with the Brandeis Emergency Medical Corps (BEMCo). Michael often attributed his interest in emergency medicine to his BEMCo experience.