Mah Jongg Day at 92NY

Dara Mosher Collins is a nationally recognized teacher and author of Mah Jongg and Modern American Canasta. Raised in New York, she grew up listening to the familiar sound of laughter and tiles mixed at her mother’s games. While taking a break from practicing law to raise her two daughters, Dara and Donna Miller Kassman created ModernMahjong.com, organize events, lead corporate team-building sessions, deliver strategy presentations, and host Modern Mahjong Zoom Talks. Dara is the co-creator of Mahjong Community, an interactive Facebook group with over 93,000 active members.

To encourage everyone to play with confidence, she creates rules and strategy posts for social media and their YouTube channel, and moderates dynamic discussions. This work led to the publication of Visual Companion Guide for American Mah Jongg available on Amazon. She is also co-author of Modern American Canasta: The Complete Guide and regularly teaches and speaks both in person and virtually for local and national organizations. Mah Jongg is a game of building community, friendship and charity. Together, Dara and Donna have raised over $181,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association and other important charities.

Donna Miller Kassman is a well-known Mah Jongg expert, author, educator, and speaker with a strong and influential social media presence. A native South Floridian, born in Miami Beach, and former commercial real estate attorney, she practiced law for more than twenty years. Her first job after law school was with the New York City law firm, Shea & Gould.

After stepping away from the practice of law while raising her two sons, she discovered Mah Jongg – sparking a new professional passion. After creating a mahjong business, ModernMahjong.com, with Dara Collins, she never went back to the law! Donna is the co-author of the Visual Companion Guide for American Mah Jongg and is widely respected for her clear and engaging approach to teaching the game. She leads local and national Mah Jongg classes, workshops, speaking engagements, fundraisers, both in person and virtually, using the game as a powerful tool for connection, community building and philanthropy. Together with Dara Collins, she has raised over $181,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association and other important charities. Donna is also the co-creator of Mahjong Community, an interactive Facebook group with over 93,000 active members.

Cari Kuprenas, a 5th generation Chinese-American Angeleno, and now transplanted New Yorker, majored in English at Cal. She comes from a long lineage of obsessive mahjong players and is currently working on a historical fiction project with an Emmy award winning director, in which mahjong will have a cameo. Cari’s family owned the New Moon Restaurant in Los Angeles — a beloved Chinese restaurant, most famous for inventing Chinese Chicken Salad. She has always loved the family tales that centered around the mahjong table. In 2007, Cari was introduced to American Mah Jongg, and her life was never the same. Just as with her grandparents, Mah Jongg became an important touchstone for her as well. Cari is a highly sought after mahjong instructor in New York and California, and has many high profile students. She has also taught at the Los Angeles Country Club, New York Junior League, The River Club, The Harmonie Club, The Meadow Club, and The Regency Whist Club. Additionally, due to Instagram (Mahjong With Cari) and “Mah Jongg That’s It” on Facebook, Cari’s keen eye for style and love of combining aesthetics and hospitality with mahjong tiles has become legendary in the mahjong world. Cari travels widely for mahjong tournament play and also has been known to compete in the Mah Jongg World Championships in Las Vegas. You may be able to follow her adventures in The Road to the Mah Jongg World Championship produced by Intuitive Entertainment, on the Peacock Network. She is also profiled in the book, Tiles that Unite - Portraits of Mahjong Across the US. Cari’s latest project is a podcast called, Mahj in the Wild, produced by SFO Entertainment in Beverly Hills. The podcast, recently announced in the Hollywood Reporter and Avenue Magazine, is set around the mahjong table, bringing together celebrity guests, creatives, entrepreneurs, and interesting personalities — showcasing that sometimes the best conversations take place around the table. If Cari isn’t playing the game, or teaching the game, she’s telling the story.

Gregg Swain is an internationally known Mah Jongg historian, and co-author of Mah Jongg – The Art of the Game, American Mah Jongg for Everyone, and Mah Jongg is For the Birds. A graduate of Smith College with a degree in Art History, she earned a Doctorate in Clinical Psychology at Baylor University. Gregg can be found teaching Beginning and Intermediate students, giving talks on all aspects of this pastime, and, if she’s lucky, playing the game with her friends. Her website, mahjongtreasures.com is the go-to source for information about mahjong art and image interpretation.

Barney has been playing mahjong for 11 years and it has basically taken over his life — in the best possible way! Hailing from Old Tappan, New Jersey, Barney plays socially and competitively, and travels across the country for tournaments.

Some of you may recognize Barney from his active participation in Facebook’s “Mah Jongg That’s It!” group which has over 200,000 members. For the last several years, Barney has presented his New Card Review on Zoom with last year’s discussion reaching over 5,000 live participants.

Designed to evoke casual elegance in everyday living, DSF Home is celebrating its third year on the Upper East Side. DSF is the premier destination for tabletop and gifts, and the UES home of all things Mah-Jongg.

Born from a love of design and game night, Center & Spring crafts playful, functional tables and accessories that bring women together to connect, laugh, and indulge in just a touch of competition.