Education
Oppenheim received his undergraduate degree in Neuroscience from Princeton University in 1984, finishing his thesis under the mentorship of George Armitage Miller, graduating Summa Cum Laude. He graduated from Cornell University Medical College in 1988 with an Doctor of Medicine with Honors in Research. From 1988 to 1994 he trained as a neurosurgeon at the Mount Sinai Hospital in New York, serving as Chief Resident from 1993 to 1994.
He became Board Certified by the American Board of Neurological Surgeons in 1996.
Career
He is known for being a neurosurgeon in the state of New York as well as the second Mayor of the Village of Montebello, New New York He is the current President of the Rockland County Board of Health. with Honors in Research. Oppenheim was elected to the Board of Trustees in the Village of Montebello in 2003.
In 2007 he was elected Mayor of the Village.
He is the second Mayor in the history of the Village, which was incorporated in 1986. Under the Mayor"s leadership the Village has become active and engaged in historic preservation, open space acquisition, tree preservation, and has encouraged the use of renewable energy sources.
The Village was the first municipality in Rockland County to be recognized as a "Climate Smart Community" by the New York State DEC., as a "Tree City" by the Arbor Day Foundation and the United States Department of Agriculture., and a Historic "Certified Local Government" by National Park Service and New York State. He has led the Village in the acquisition of a Community Center, the dedication of several parks, the installation of solar electric panels to serve municipal facilities, a review of the Village"s Comprehensive Plan, the renovation of Village Hall, and a reduction in the size of the budget.
He instituted a regular newsletter, broadcast of Board meetings on television, and open public comment at the beginning and end of every meeting.
Mayor Oppenheim instituted the first of its kind traffic calming program which allows citizens to petition the Board for the installation of speed humps on public roads. In the first 4 years of this program, speed humps were installed on 3 streets. Taxes in the Village of Montebello, having the lowest rate of any Village in the Town of Ramapo, were not raised in either 2010, 2011 or 2013.
Oppenheim serves as the President of the Rockland County Board of Health.
In this capacity, he lobbied the County Legislature for a local law prohibiting cigarette smoking in cars when children are present. The law was unanimously passed by the legislature and signed into law by the County Executive in 2007.
Oppenheim was a delegate to the Republican National Convention in 2012 In 2013 he was named "Businessman of the Year" by the Rockland County Republican Party. During his tenure the hospital established an open heart surgical program
Oppenheim serves on the Board of Trustees of the American Jewish Historical Society.
He helped to secure and preserve the oldest Jewish Tallit in America.
Politics
The grass roots local political party he founded, Preserve Montebello, took majority control of the Board of Trustees in 2005.
