Elias Picheny, who served as a staff executive of the National Jewish Welfare Board for 25 years, during which he also was a field secretary of the JWB section in Chicago, died here at the age of 76.
His major post was that of JWB director of research and community services in New York City. A graduate of the Teachers Institute of the Jewish Theological Seminary of America, he moved into social work as executive director of the Jacob Schiff Center in the Bronx.
As a JWB field consultant Picheny guided developments in Jewish Center practices in Pittsburgh, St. Louis, Baltimore and Indianapolis. He was an early member of the Hebrew Teachers Union. He was a co-founder of Social Workers for a Sane Nuclear Policy and spoke for peace and disarmament in many midwest communities.
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