NEW YORK—The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's board of directors promoted one officer to the level of assistant vice president and named 11 new officers, the bank announced today.

Michael Schussler, was promoted to assistant vice president of the legal department. He had been an officer of the bank, with the title of counsel, since September 1995.

Mr. Schussler joined the bank in March 1995 as a senior attorney in the legal department, after more than 15 years with the New York State Banking Department as assistant counsel.

He holds a B.A. in political science from McGill University and a J.D. from the University of Connecticut.

The following attorneys were appointed counsel in the legal department:

Karen E. Gifford joined the bank in November 1994 as an attorney in the legal department. She holds an A.B. in economics from Vassar College and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

James R. Hennessy joined the bank in September 1992 as a law clerk. He was promoted to various positions within the legal department, and in September 1995 he was promoted to attorney.

Mr. Hennessy holds a B.A. in philosophy from St. John's College, a M.S. in urban planning from Columbia University's School of Urban Planning, and a J.D. from Columbia University's School of Law.

Joseph H. Sommer joined the New York Fed in September 1988 as a law clerk. He was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility in legal, and in November 1992 he was promoted to senior attorney.

He holds an A.B. in physics from Brown University, a Ph.D. in chemistry from Columbia University and a J.D. from Yale Law School.

The following individuals were named markets officers in the markets group:

Maria Grace Ambrosio was assigned to accounting and control. She joined the bank in April 1996 as a financial and market specialist in the markets area. She holds a B.B.A. in public accounting and a CPA from Pace University.

David A. Duttenhofer, Jr. was assigned to strategic development. He joined the bank in July 1992 as a financial analyst in the bank analysis department. He was promoted to trader analyst in the foreign exchange area in July 1993 and received subsequent promotions within the department. In November 1995, Mr. Duttenhofer was assigned to the strategic development staff and in January 1997 he was promoted to senior trader analyst.

He holds a B.B.A. in finance from the University of Michigan and a M.B.A. in finance and accounting from the University of Chicago.

Robert W. Elsasser was assigned to government securities. He joined the bank in June 1990 as an assistant financial analyst in the bank analysis department. He was transferred to dealer surveillance in October 1991 and market surveillance in February 1992. Over the years he was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility. In January 1997, Mr. Elsasser was promoted to senior trader analyst in the markets area.

He holds a B.A. from the University of Washington and a M.B.A. from New York University both in finance.

Zahra El-Mekkawy was assigned to foreign exchange. She joined the bank in August 1991 as a banking applications analyst. In December 1992 she was promoted to senior banking applications analyst, and in July 1993 she was transferred to the foreign exchange department as a trader analyst. Ms. El-Mekkawy received several promotions in that area in subsequent years.

She holds a B.S. in journalism and a B.A. in international relations, both from Boston University, and a M.I.A. in international banking and finance from Columbia University.

Douglas A. Thomas was assigned to data management. He joined the bank in July 1987 as a research assistant in the statistics department. In July 1990 he was promoted to an operations support analyst in foreign exchange and was promoted to positions of increasing responsibility in subsequent years.

Mr. Thomas holds a B.A. in economics from Vassar College and a M.S. in M.I.S. from Pace University. He expects to graduate from the Graduate School of Banking in Wisconsin in August 1997.

Laura R. Weir was assigned to foreign currency investment. She joined the bank in September 1993 as a financial analyst in the foreign exchange reserves management department and thereafter, received several promotions as a foreign exchange trader analyst. In February 1996 she was assigned to the domestic money market group, and in August 1996 she was assigned to manage the foreign currency investment area.

Ms. Weir holds a B.S. in economics from The Wharton School and a M.A. in international relations from Johns Hopkins University.

The research and market analysis group appointed Kenneth N. Kuttner, a research officer in domestic research. He will join the New York Fed on July 10, after having served as a consultant to the bank since 1995. He was a visiting assistant professor at Columbia University's Graduate School of Business since 1995. He took a leave of absence from the Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago, where he was a senior economist and assistant vice president.

Since 1987, Mr. Kuttner has taught courses in finance and economics at several universities across the country and at the New Economic School in Moscow. He also has published in academic journals.

He earned a Ph.D. in economics from Harvard University in March 1989, and a B.A. in economics from the University of California at Berkeley in June 1982.