David Kessler

David Kessler graduated from BHS in 1957 and was the Class Valedictorian.  He played football, baseball (North Shore champs in 1957 under Coach George McElroy) and golf, was in the Math Club and Honor Society and served as Sports Editor of the school newspaper.  His yearbook entry says he was “the intellectual type” who wanted to be an engineer.  That proved true as he went on to Cornell for his BA and then on to Princeton for his MA in engineering.  He was the first BHS graduate to attend an Ivy League university.  He also served as Captain in the Army during the Vietnam War and received the Army Commendation Medal.

The Kessler family owned a famed glass factory in Bethpage.  Staffed by many European refugees during World War II, Kessler glass became known for fine lamps that were sold in the best department stores of the day and can be found in the White House and American embassies around the world.

David specialized in public transportation and held high level positions in NJ, NYC, NYPD, the MTA and NYS.  He later served as Vice President of Atlantic Express, one of the nation’s largest school bus companies.  He continues to be a Visiting Scholar at NYU’s Rudin Center for Transportation Policy, organizing conferences and workshops on performance measurement.  David helped to author a post-Katrina Emergency Evacuation Plan for the Gulf Coast. 

David is very active in alumni affairs at Bethpage High School, Cornell and Princeton.