New Rochelle chamber honors four women
Alisa H. Kesten, a long time New Rochelle resident and community activist, was the recipient of the Muriel Zaukas Woman of Outstanding Achievement Award presented by the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce at the 12th annual Women of Excellence Dinner.
“This year the chamber is proud of its four honorees, Alisa Kesten, Jackie Agudelo, Amy Parise and Maria Jose. These women all demonstrate an extraordinary amount of outreach, especially in the New Rochelle community. Each in her own right helps people in a unique way and have touched many lives. We thank them and it gives us great pleasure to reward them at our annual Women of Excellence dinner,” said Jennifer Lanser, director of marketing and communications for the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.
Since January 2010, Kesten has been the executive director of Volunteer New York. Her involvement with the organization (formerly known as The Volunteer Center of United Way) began in 2005, first as a graduate of Leadership Westchester, then as a board member and chairwoman of the board, until becoming the executive director.
Originally from Cartersville, Georgia, Keston moved to New Rochelle with her husband, Ted, in 1985. She has an extensive background in nonprofit and volunteer management and communications as well as in early childhood education, receiving her Master of Science degree in early childhood education from The College of New Rochelle. Formerly she was the senior director for Douglas Gould & Co., a communications firm for nonprofit clients and a kindergarten teacher at Beth El Synagogue”™s Nursery School for nearly a decade. She has also managed many successful Westchester County and regional election campaigns, has worked in the public affairs department of Bankers Trust Co. and was a political analyst for the American Jewish Committee.
Keston is a board member and the past president of the New Rochelle Public Library Foundation, a member of the Westchester Senior Housing and Services Coalition, member of the marketing and membership committees of NonProfit Westchester, founding member of the Women”™s Leadership Council of United Way of Westchester and Putnam, and member of the advisory board for Manhattanville School of Business for its certificate in nonprofit management.
Wartburg elects new board members
At its recent annual meeting, new board members were elected to Wartburg, a provider of comprehensive senior services in Westchester, and to Wartburg”™s foundation, the board that manages Wartburg”™s endowment fund.
Nicholas Cicchetti, assistant superintendent of the board of water supply, city of Mount Vernon, was elected the new chairman of the foundation board. He had been vice chair of the foundation for more than two years.
“After spending 10 years on the board of directors of Wartburg, I am honored and humbled to become chairman of the foundation and look forward to working with my colleagues on the foundation board to continue to move forward the mission of the Wartburg,” said Cicchetti.
“We are delighted to have Mr. Cicchetti and several other new board members join Wartburg”™s board as we transition from a campus destination to a home and community-based service provider throughout this region,” said David Gentner, president and CEO of Wartburg.
Robert Ranieri, of New Canaan, Conn., and a senior vice president and managing director of NorthMarq Capital in White Plains, was voted to the board.
“I am honored to serve on the Wartburg board. As a real estate professional, I understand the importance of providing affordable housing and health care to the elderly. My mother is a resident of the Friedrichs Residence on campus,” Ranieri said. “I am impressed with the management of Wartburg and I am excited to work with the board.”
Michael Holden, former managing director, private bank, JPMorgan Chase & Co. in New York City and past chief operating officer of GenSpring Family Offices, a Greenwich, Conn., wealth management firm, was also voted onto the board.
“I am honored to join the distinguished board of the Wartburg and look forward to making a meaningful contribution to the immensely important work of this remarkable institution,” Holden said.
John D. Del Bene, of Katonah, joined the foundation board earlier this summer. He is president and CEO of JVD Industries Ltd, a heavy highway and utility company in Mount Vernon, which he founded in 1990.
“It is with great pleasure and enthusiasm that I accept the appointment to the foundation board of the Wartburg. I look forward to working with my fellow board members and Mr. Gentner to further the mission of this wonderful facility,” Del Bene said.
New VP at IVI International
Randall Ward has been hired as vice president for national agency accounts by IVI International Inc., a construction-risk management and due-diligence consultancy.
In his new role, Ward will serve as a liaison between IVI”™s architects and engineers and Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and agency lenders and brokers. He”™ll consult with them on the due-diligence services being provided by IVI and work to ensure that any architectural or engineering concerns are addressed.
Ward has 30 years of industry experience, including 15 years of commercial real estate due-diligence experience and was most recently a national practice leader at Nova Consulting Group. While at Nova he reviewed property condition assessments with an emphasis on standards related to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.
Ward will be based in Salt Lake City, where he will support IVI”™s national agency and equity PCA platform as well as sustaining its Western region assessment services.
Attorney named to Arc of U.S. board
Sheryl Frishman, of counsel to Littman Krooks LLP, was named to the board of directors of The Arc of the U.S., a national advocacy organization for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families. The Arc provides an array of services and support for families and individuals through 140,000 members and 700 state and local chapters nationwide. Its belief is that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities are entitled to the rights afforded every American.
Frishman is an active member of numerous organizations in the disability and legal community and has been instrumental in developing programs in the Hudson Valley for people with disabilities and their families.
“I am excited to be able to help build a better world for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and their families on a national level,” Frishman said.
The law firm of Littman Krooks maintains a strong reputation in the special needs community. The firm”™s founding partner and current president of the board of directors of The Arc of Westchester, Bernard A. Krooks, said, “Sheryl is an outstanding asset to the firm and to the disability community. We are extremely proud of her.”
Four new board members for YMCA
YMCA of Central and Northern Westchester President and CEO Cynthia Rubino announced the election of businessmen and women to the board class of 2014 of the YMCA of Central and Northern Westchester Association Board of Governors.
Geraldine Brown is a self-employed marketing and management consultant with 20 years of experience in the retail and shopping center industries. Brown has covered many markets throughout the nation as director of marketing, regional vice president, vice president and marketing consultant in the commercial marketing field, most recently at Ridge Hill in Yonkers. A Westchester native, Brown is a graduate of Berkeley College with a degree in fashion marketing and retail management and was awarded Alumni of the Year in 1989 and 2001.
David E. Chong, a resident of White Plains, is the current public safety commissioner for the city of White Plains. He is in charge of overall operations for the largest department in the city. Chong holds an associate degree in business marketing and finance from Queensborough Community College, a bachelor”™s degree in criminal justice from John Jay College and a master”™s degree in public administration from Marist College. He has received more than 119 awards and medals and was honored with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security 2007 Excellence in Leadership award.
Eli Gordon, a resident of White Plains, has more than 20 years”™ experience in nonprofit management. A graduate of the University of Bridgeport with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering, Gordon has developed highly successful fundraising programs and special events to support nonprofits and has a proven track record in interactions with major corporations to acquire multiyear sponsorships. He is the former development director of the Food Bank for Westchester and the executive officer of the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce.
Mark Iannucci of Croton-on-Hudson is the recently retired battalion chief of the Yonkers Fire Department, where he managed the operations of the city”™s 455-member force. As a community leader, Iannucci has been on the board of the Yorktown Republican Town Committee and on the board of Half Moon Bay condominium.
“We are delighted to welcome these four talented and respected members of our community to the association board,” Rubino said.
Children’s Foundation names vice president
MaryLou Pagano has joined the St. Elizabeth Seton Children”™s Foundation as its vice president of institutional advancement, a newly created role in its continuum of care, which includes the Elizabeth Seton Pediatric Center, the John A. Coleman School and the Children”™s Rehabilitation Center.
With a background in sociology and business management, as well as nearly 30 years of fundraising experience, Pagano has spent her entire career working for not-for-profit organizations with ties to the Catholic community, beginning with her first job in the development office for the Archdiocese of New York. “I”™ve always had an affinity toward Catholic organizations,” Pagano said. Most recently, she spent the last six years as the director of alumni relations at Iona Preparatory School in New Rochelle.
It was her experience working at St. Joseph”™s Medical Center in Yonkers, however, that introduced Pagano to the health care industry ”” a connection that would later prove to be a motivating factor for her move to the St. Elizabeth Seton Children”™s Foundation. “This mission of the Sisters ”” to help those who are marginalized and those who need assistance the most ”” is something that really speaks to me. That”™s why when the opportunity to work at the St. Elizabeth Seton Children”™s Foundation came along I just knew I had to be a part of it.”
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