Burt Freeman was born in Mt. Vernon, NY in 1926. After highschool he joined the Navy and served on a minesweeper in the Pacific. Later he graduated from NYU Law School in 1968 and then practiced law as a partner at Moses and Singer. In 1975 he resigned and joined the staff of Bankers Trust. Upon his retirement he formed the Freeman-Harrison Family Foundation and sponsored the “My Own Book” program which provides books to underprivileged NYC schools. He joined the SSB due to its partnership with My Own Book and hopes to ensure the programs continuation through said partnership.