The DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation Board of Trustees
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. |
KATHIE DeCHIRICO-STUART
Vice Chair, Chair Women's Initiatives Kathie DeChirico-Stuart, an experienced C-Level executive with broad industry experience in leadership and management has been appointed as the Vice Chair of the DoughMain Financial Literacy Foundation as well as the Chair of the Women’s Financial Literacy Initiative that is focused on awareness and education around financial health and independence. She has served as COO at prestigious companies such as VVA LLC/VVA Sweett Group, The Bromley Group, and Basic Elements in a dual President/ COO capacity, as well as NewsCorp/The Wall Street Journal as a Director of Brand Development and brings years of strategic foresight, brand development, operational alignment to strategy, in addition to business development oversight and execution. With a BS from Rutgers University and an MBA from Villanova University, she is a community enthusiast with her sights always on bringing the future to the present. |
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. |
DR. MORT COLLINS
Vice Chair, Development Chair Mort Collins is the Founder and Managing Partner of M. Collins Ventures LLC, a venture capital fund focused on therapeutic immunology, ultrafast lasers and quantum computing. He was Founder and CEO of Data Science Ventures (DSV I) from 1968-1974, an early-stage Venture Capital and Management Assistance Fund for high-technology companies which expanded in 1974-1998 into DSV II, DSV III, and DSV IV. Dr. Collins served as Founder and Managing Partner of Battelle Venture Partners. In addition to these accomplishments, he has served on the New Jersey Governor's Commission on Science and Technology, the New Jersey Governor’s Superconductivity Roundtable, Member of the National Academy of Engineering and a Member of the Research Roundtable of the National Academy of Sciences. He also chaired President Reagan’s Task Force on Innovation and Entrepreneurship, served as a speechwriter on economic policy for President Reagan and as a technology policy advisor to President George H. W. Bush. Dr. Collins earned his B.S. degree in chemical engineering from the University of Delaware, his M.S. and PhD degrees in chemical engineering from Princeton University, and an honorary PhD in Science from the University of Delaware. |
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. |
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. |
SCOTT FELLIN
Trustee Scott is currently a strategy consultant at a professional services firm, where he specializes in the strategy development for large finance transformations and M&A. Previously, Scott was the Director of Corporate Development and Strategy at Centurion Holdings, where he collaborated with the CFO on corporate projects, including FP&A, M&A, and divestitures. Scott also assisted in investor relations during capital raising initiatives. Scott completed his MBA at the University of North Carolina's Kenan-Flagler Business School in Chapel Hill. Prior to business school, Scott was the Director of Finance at a startup in the horse racing and gaming industry. Scott owned financial responsibilities of the operation, including annual budgeting, cash flow management, financial reporting and analysis, and investor relations. |
CAROL ANN FERNANDEZ
Trustee As co-COO and head of Retirement Plans for Glen Eagle, Carol Ann Fernandez is responsible for overseeing the firm’s corporate retirement plan business including 401ks, SEP and SIMPLE plans. She also oversees the generation of financial plans for the firm’s individual clients. Prior to joining Glen Eagle, Carol Ann was responsible for strategic planning for the Global Capital Markets Group at M&T Bank in New York City. Carol Ann started her career in financial services in the Wealth Management Group at Merrill Lynch. Carol Ann also served on the National Board of Women in Insurance and Financial Services (WIFS) and the University of Notre Dame Monogram Board. Carol Ann graduated from Notre Dame University with a Bachelor’s degree in Finance. While an undergraduate at Notre Dame, she was a varsity rower. During her four years, Notre Dame won the BIG EAST title all four years. As a senior, she served as a captain and earned first-team All-BIG EAST honors. Carol Ann also earned an MBA from the University of Notre Dame’s Mendoza College of Business. |
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. |
ROB MICHEL
Trustee Rob Michel is co-COO of Glen Eagle, a financial services company headquartered in Kingston NJ. As COO Rob is responsible for operations, technology, and new business initiatives. Prior to joining Glen Eagle, Rob worked in the Investment Banking Division at Morgan Stanley in New York City. While working in investment banking Rob was also the President of the Fresh Air Fund at Morgan Stanley, which focused on providing financial education to middle school and high school students in the city. Rob earned a bachelor of arts in both economics and political science from Yale University in addition to later attending the University of Pennsylvania’s Business School Wharton for his MBA. |
MARIA PASSANNANTE-DERR
Trustee- Secretary 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. |
MICHAEL WAKATAMA
Trustee Michael Wakatama is the Regional Director: Business Development & Partnership for Every Kid Sports. Michael is a native of Zimbabwe, dedicated father and accomplished professional and Entrepreneur serving nonprofit and youth & professional athletes. Michael is one of the most personable, thoughtful and sincere individuals you will ever meet. In his professional capacity he has served as Director of Corporate Sales for Dome Audio, Vice President of Sales for the NFL Alumni-Philadelphia Chapter and Strategic Outreach Coordinator in recent positions. Michaels Educational pursuits include Global Sports Management at New York University, Bachelor of Business Administration at Worcester State College and St. Georges College, Harare, Zimbabwe. Michael looks to create positive impacts with every community he is involved with. |