Ken Damato

Board Chairperson

Ken Damato is the CEO of Midawi Holdings Inc. (MHI) dba DoughMain, which he founded in 2009 to help families get organized and learn about money and money management. Prior to founding MHI, Mr. Damato was a Managing Director for Intrepid Capital Partners, where he set and drove the strategic direction of several portfolio companies and pursued investment opportunities alongside the board of directors. He has also held executive positions with the Tyden Group (a holding company of the Crimson Investment Team), American Standard, and GE Lighting. Mr. Damato graduated from Northeastern University with a Bachelor Degree in Marketing and Business Administration.

Steven Bergida

Board Treasurer

Steven Bergida currently serves as the Director of Trading for CFT Securities, LLC. Prior to joining CFT, he worked as a Managing Director and Head Trader for Quellos Brokerage Services, LLC. Mr. Bergida has 28 years of experience trading global equities, fixed income, currencies, futures, listed options, and structured derivatives. He has served as a Managing Director at ING Furman Selz Asset Management, where he has also acted as the Head Trader for the Asset Management Group. He started his career as a Proprietary Trader on the Arbitrage desk at Furman Selz. Mr. Bergida graduated from the University of Maryland with a Bachelor Degree in Finance. He resides in Montgomery Township, NJ with his wife Elaine and their two children.

Matthew Allan

Trustee

Matthew Allan is a real estate broker, developer, and founder of the Moves With a Purpose, a Savannah, Georgia real estate team which seeks to build its local community by contributing 10% of its commissions to Savannah-area non-profits. Focusing on historic downtown Savannah for nearly a decade, Matthew specializes in historically appropriate infill construction, as well as large-scale renovation projects.

Matthew holds a B.S. in Communications from Boston University and an MBA from Pepperdine University. He lives in downtown Savannah with his wife, two children, and three rescued dogs.

Glenn Adamo

Trustee

Glenn Adamo currently serves as the President of Ivanhoe Media and Entertainment, an independent consulting business focused on all aspects of media creation, strategy, production and delivery. Glenn has 35+ years of experience in media, technology, broadcasting and entertainment. He served as VP of Media Operations at NFL Films, VP Broadcasting and Community Development for the Stanley Cup Champions New Jersey Devils, and Group VP of Broadcasting & founder of NHL Productions.  Prior to that, he spent 15 years with NBC Sports where he worked on the 2002 Winter Olympic Games and was responsible for staffing, production, programming and creative execution of more than 140 hours of Olympic hockey coverage on the CNBC, MSNBC and NBC networks.  Glenn has won six Sports Emmys for his work on 1980 World Series, 1980 Wimbledon, the 1988 and 1992 Summer Olympics, 2002 Winter Olympics, and in 2011 he received the Chairman’s Award for Excellence by the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences for his work as Executive Producer of the Tenth Anniversary of 9/11 with Robert DeNiro.  This honor marked the first time in the history of the Emmy Awards that a sports league was given the prestigious Chairman’s award. Glenn is a 1977 graduate of the University of Connecticut where he majored in sports physiology and physical education while playing varsity ice hockey. Glenn has been married to his wife Valerie for 37 years and they have two children.  He resides in Manalapan, NJ.

Andrea Catsimatidis

Trustee

Andrea Catsimatidis serves as an executive at the Red Apple Group, one of the largest privately held companies in the United States. This family owned company has widespread involvement in multiple industries including: energy, real estate, finance, insurance, supermarkets and aviation. Ms. Catsimatidis graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business with a B.S. in Business Management, as well as, double minors in Political Science and Communications. During her years at Stern School of Business, Ms. Catsimatidis was named as one of the 15 most influential students at NYU. Ms. Catsimatidis currently resides in New York City where she participates philanthropically by supporting charities such as the Police Athletic League and the Alzheimer’s Association, among others.

Maria Passannante-Derr

Trustee

Maria Passannante-Derr is a practicing attorney and real estate investor in Manhattan. She grew up in Greenwich Village in an extended family that has been active in local business, philanthropy and politics for three generations. Ms. Passannante-Derr continues her family tradition of community service as an eleven year member of her local Community Board consisting of a group of fifty persons who are appointed by the elected officials to advise them on various grass roots issues. Recognizing her business savvy, leadership skills and commitment to balancing preservation and development she was elected position of Chair. Under her leadership, she urged and supported reforms to make the Board not only fiscally responsible but open and responsive to the Community’s needs. Ms. Passannante-Derr was a founding member of the revitalized Greenwich Village-Chelsea Chamber of Commerce and was recently honored by Village Care of New York for her “community activism”. She holds a J.D. from New York Law School and a MPA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice and is admitted to practice in the New York State and Federal bars.

June Jaffee

Trustee

June Jaffee began serving the Muriel F. Siebert Foundation as Executive Director in 2004 where the organization’s top priority is financial literacy. Prior to joining the foundation, Ms. Jaffee held various Public Relations positions at several international companies. Ms. Jaffee also worked as a National Sales Executive at Revlon for 15 years.

Ms. Jaffee is a native Californian who graduated with honors from UCLA with a BA in Political Science. During her time there, Ms. Jaffe held the position of Vice President of the Associated Students of UCLA and later founded the UCLA Club of New York. Ms. Jaffee enjoys spending her time in New York City where she currently resides.

Steven D. Felgran, PhD

Advisor

Dr. Steven Felgran is an economist and Co-Director of the North American Transfer Pricing Practice of AlixPartners LLP in New York, NY. Previously, Steve was a partner with the Economic and Valuation Services practice of KPMG LLP. Steve has extensive experience in economic analysis and controversy support. Steve has been an expert witness in court and has provided expert analysis before IRS Appeals Panels and Competent Authorities in numerous cases. Prior to KPMG, Steve taught at Northeastern University’s College of Business Administration in Boston, and was an economist with the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston. He is a member of several professional and academic organizations such as the American Economic Association, the National Association for Business Economics, the American Bar Association, and the International Fiscal Association. Steve earned his Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University and his B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania. Steve resides in Westchester, NY with his wife, Hilary, and their two children.

Kathy Hurley

Advisor

Kathy Hurley is a 40+ year veteran of the education industry and advocate supporting the vision of global education for all. She possesses a wealth of knowledge and expertise in publishing, technology, education policy, sales, marketing and business development, all of which have propelled her through her career with top businesses and foundations. Kathy has held a number of prestigious positions, most recently Executive Vice President Education Alliances, for the Pearson Foundation. Previously she served in executive positions in both publishing and technology companies, including Pearson and IBM. In addition to her widespread involvement, Kathy currently serves on numerous key industry and education advisory boards, while holding leadership roles in many. Kathy is a highly decorated and sought after speaker, offering new and innovative approaches to education while targeting both national and international audiences, thus maintaining her global commitment to education. She holds a number of noteworthy accolades and in 2013, Kathy was selected as a Fellow of the Advanced Leadership Initiative at Harvard University for 2014. She plans to continue her work by co-founding a non-profit organization entitled Girls Thinking Global. Kathy holds a B.A. degree in Special Education from the University of Dayton and a Master’s degree in Education from Jersey City State College. Kathy is married and resides in Arlington, Virginia.

Sam Kaufman

Advisor

Sam Kaufman began his career in the life insurance industry in 1968 and in 1973 founded Agent Support Group (ASG), a life insurance brokerage agency. For over 42 years Sam has worked to build ASG into one of the first true multi-company agencies in New York. His focus is on providing value-added services as well as insisting that ASG become a leader in technology allowed the company to grow, becoming a powerhouse and one of the largest independent life operations in the Northeast.   

Now, the man who gave brokers their first computerized sales illustrations (Sam was one of the first in New York to even own a computer) pioneered the ASG Mobile App, allowing life agents the ability to do business anywhere and access the latest information in the palm of their hand. Sam has played an important role in product development and marketing and has lectured before the New York Chapter of NAIFA and the Society of Financial Service Professionals. He is a member of NAILBA and has won numerous industry and carrier awards including a lifetime achievement recognition.

Sam graduated from the University of Miami with a degree in Business Administration and Management. He is an established cabaret singer, having performed over the years at such venues as the Copacabana, Birdland and others. He and his band have been featured in two full-length CD’s and performed for charitable benefits on numerous live television and radio telethon broadcasts.

Tom Rogerson

Advisor

Mr. Rogerson is a managing director with BNY Mellon Wealth Management. He has spent more than 25 years teaching clients about family issues concerning wealth and financial planning. Tom has worked with top U.S. law, accounting, insurance, and investment firms educating, motivating, and training their employees, prospects, and clients on family issues around wealth and how to integrate it into their financial planning. He has been invited to speak at numerous family meetings of some of the wealthiest families in the country.

Governor David A. Paterson

David A. Paterson became the 55th Governor of New York State, serving from 2008-2010. He immediately raised eyebrows when he warned of an impending fiscal crisis in his inaugural address. Despite the greatest economic crisis that New York State has ever faced, Governor Paterson enacted sweeping reforms on a wide range of issues facing New Yorkers, and largely reduced New York’s deficit by nearly 40 billion dollars, twice the amount in any comparable period. He also became the first Governor to sign legislation which criminally penalized predatory-lending during America’s worst foreclosure crisis, among many other legislative initiatives. Since stepping down as Governor, he has hosted a drive time talk-radio show in New York City, appeared as a guest commentator on various political news programs, and remained a highly sought-after speaker by many diverse organizations. Additionally, he has served as an adjunct professor of Government at New York University, and has been appointed a distinguished professor of health care and public policy at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine. In 2014, Governor Paterson was appointed New York State Democratic Party Chairman by Governor Andrew Cuomo. Governor Paterson earned a degree in law from Hofstra University, School of Law and a B.A. in History from Columbia University.

Ed Moldaver

Ed Moldaver is a Managing Director at Barclays, where he helps ultra high net worth individuals, families, and institutions manage their wealth. Before joining Barclays, Mr. Moldaver was a Managing Director at Morgan Stanley Smith Barneys. In 2012, Mr. Moldaver was ranked the #1 financial advisor in New Jersey in Barron Magazine’s “Top 1000 Advisors: State by State”. Mr. Moldaver is also involved in his local community, where he serves as treasurer and trustee member of the Guardian Angels, a Partner in Education with the NYC Mentoring Program of the NYC public school system, and a youth football coach. Mr. Moldaver earned his bachelor’s degree at Widener University and has completed his Certified Portfolio Manager (CPM®) certification sponsored by the Academy of Certified Portfolio Managers (ACPM®) and Columbia University. He lives in Colts Neck, NJ with his wife Eve and their children.

Mary Sliwa

Mary Sliwa is an Assistant Vice President in the Wealth and Investment Management division of Barclay’s.

Mary draws on over 25 years of experience as a leading executive in the corporate media arena and as the COO of the Guardian Angels to guide the team on the complex issues surrounding philanthropy and endowment that affect high net worth clients. In addition, Mary coordinates strategic relationships through her vast personal and business networks of executives, philanthropists, politicians and media figures.

Mary joined Barclay’s in 2012 from Morgan Stanley Smith Barney where she worked with Ed Moldaver. Prior to joining Ed’s team, Mary led the Guardian Angels in her role as Chief Operating Officer and Executive Director responsible for developing the board, all marketing, public relations, fundraising, sales development and political outreach. For over 13 years, Mary led the organization’s evolution form a respected New York City community safety patrol group into an internationally well-recognized service organization with chapters worldwide.

Mary earned a Psi Chi Certificate of Recognition in psychology from Fordham University, a graduate certificate from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, a graduate certificate in media and public relations from the Sterling Institute and her BA degree in Special Education for Multiply Handicapped Children from William Paterson University.

Robert M. Church

Executive Director

Rob holds an Master of Arts Degree in Educational Leadership from Rider University,  a Bachelor of Science Degree in Management Information Systems from Dominican College and an Associate in Applied Science Degree in Business Administration from Rockland Community College. He has more than 10 years of grassroots non-profit experience working with both national and local organizations. His dedication to community building and education  is also found through his experiences in law enforcement while serving diverse communities, and as an  educational leader, teacher and mentor at the elementary school and collegiate levels.

Rob has served as a local area leader, managing all aspects of a volunteer charitable organization, as well as the state vice president and state chairperson for an  organization whose primary mission it is to provide assistance to veterans, children with disabilities, educational scholarships and support for youth service and anti-drug and alcohol programs.

As a New York City Police Officer, Rob received commendations for excellent and meritorious service while working within some of the most ethnically and culturally diverse communities in the world. He was recognized by the New York Police Department and the Fraternal Order of Police numerous times for excellence and meritorious service and was inducted into the Legion of Honor of the American Police Hall of Fame.

Rob has lived in New Jersey for over 17 years and enjoys spending time with his three children, daughters Katherine and Elizabeth and son William.