CATHY ERICA POTLER, formerly of Margate, passed away at home in Brooklyn, NY on September 21st 2014. She was 61. Cathy was born in Atlantic City on February 5, 1953. She was the beloved only daughter of Harold "Boots" and Arlene (Snyder) Potler. Raised in Margate, Cathy attended Atlantic City High School (ACHS), where she graduated in the class of 1971.

Cathy's life was one of constant advocacy for human dignity. Her awakening social conscience can be traced to her time as a student at ACHS. As a junior leader in ACHS's Project Will, she challenged the racial status quo by participating in a program where black and white students lived together at the Traymore Hotel in Atlantic City.

As an adult, Cathy's inclusive philosophy launched her into social justice causes in Latin America and throughout New York State. After graduating from Barnard College and Yeshiva University's Cardozo Law School, she drafted a legal complaint documenting the Paraguayan government's human rights abuses of an indigenous group, the Toba-Maskoy, which was presented to the United Nations. During the mid 1970s and the 1980s, her attention focused on the regional conflict in Central America, particularly the nations of El Salvador, Nicaragua, and Guatemala. Under the auspices of the New York-based National Lawyers Guild, and as co-chair of the Guild's Central America Task Force, she helped coordinate efforts to raise awareness of human rights violations in the region and influence U. S. foreign policy.

As lead investigator of the Correctional Association of New York, Cathy trained her investigative lens on prison and jail reform, where she researched abuse and neglect of inmates and helped initiate important reforms within the correctional system. Her reports in the latter 1980s on the nascent AIDS epidemic in New York prisons were groundbreaking, and spurred efforts to more effectively manage this medical and humanitarian crisis.

In 1991, Cathy was appointed Deputy Executive Director of the New York City Board of Correction, and in June 2012 she became its Executive Director. As the head of this watchdog agency, Cathy had oversight of the jails of New York City. She worked tirelessly to ensure that the city's jails were in compliance with the healthcare and confinement standards she and others authored, and that allegations of prisoner abuse were adequately addressed.

Cathy proved to be a leading catalyst for reform within New York City's jails. Most recently, she tackled the issue of abuse and neglect of juveniles and inmates with mental illness at Riker's Island. She worked quietly and effectively to bring these violations to public awareness. As a result, movements are now afoot to scale back or eliminate the use of solitary confinement as a punitive measure targeting these inmate populations within New York City.

Publicly, Cathy Potler was committed to the universal human rights and prison reform causes she championed. Privately, she derived much joy spending time with family and friends.

Among those mourning Cathy's loss are her parents, Harold and Arlene Potler; her partner Martin Vega and their son, Natan Vega Potler; brother Andrew Potler and wife Marcia Powdermaker; and niece, Hannah Potler; and her "adopted" son, Damian Popkin.

Contributions in Cathy's memory may be made in her name for Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer Research at Memorial Sloan-Kettering (Cathy Potler Fund).