On September 11th, 658 men and women at Cantor Fitzgerald found themselves trapped together in One World Trade Center. None would make it out alive. Among them was Edie Lutnick's brother Gary, whom she had raised when their parents died at an early age. This is the story of the victims, the families and how they came together bonded by a tragic fate. But the story doesn't end there. In the aftermath of the attacks, Edie answered the call from her other brother, Cantor Fitzgerald CEO Howard Lutnick, to create a fund for the firm's families who had lost loved ones. Over the past decade Edie and Howard have found themselves in a fight to not just give aid and comfort to the larger Cantor family, but also to honor the memory of countless victims. What they weren't expecting was to find a barrage of issues in their way from political jockeying to class biases. This is the powerful, sometimes infuriating and ultimately heartrending story of the mission to fulfill an important legacy, and give meaning to the lives of the victims of 9/11.
About the Author: EDITH LUTNICK, ESQ Edie Lutnick is a Co-founder, Officer, and the Executive Director of The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, a 501 (c) 3 not for profit charity established September 14, 2001 to address the short and long term needs of victims of terrorism, natural disasters and emergencies. Under Ms. Lutnick's leadership The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund has raised and distributed over 180 million dollars to over 800 families of the victims of the 9/11 terrorist attacks and has been instrumental in assisting them to heal. Post 9/11 Ms. Lutnick has emerged as a strong advocate and family leader not only on behalf of The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund families, but of all 9/11 victims' families representing their positions on issues of import. Ms. Lutnick is a respected voice on a multitude of 9/11 advisory groups including the September 11th National Memorial and Museum and the Port Authority. Prior to September 11, 2001 and beginning in 1983, Ms. Lutnick practiced Labor Law. In 1991 she started her own practice, to which she added a partner, forming Lutnick & Swomley in 1998. Ms Lutnick turned her practice over to her partners in the wake of 9/11 in order to devote her energies full time to the 9/11 community. Ms Lutnick holds a JD and MBA (1982) from Syracuse University and a BS from the University of Rhode Island (1980). In addition to sitting on the Board of Directors of The Cantor Fitzgerald Relief Fund, Ms. Lutnick is on the Board of Directors of My Good Deed. She is also an Honorary Board Member of A Caring Hand, The Billy Esposito Foundation.