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FOUNDATION STAFF |
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Angela Wambugu Cobb |
Director of Development
Phone: 718-482-5068
Email: awcobb@lagcc.cuny.edu |
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Maria
Riggs |
Director of Alumni Affairs / Student
Support
Phone: 718-482-5040
Email: mariarig@lagcc.cuny.edu |
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Nidia
Cordova |
Development Coordinator
Phone: 718-482-5022
Email:
ncordova@lagcc.cuny.edu |
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LaGuardia Community College Foundation
helps students achieve their dreams by providing a safety net to
those in
financial need |
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
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Peter L. DiCapua (Chair)
Chief Operating Officer of Atco Properties & Management,
Inc., a vertically integrated real estate company that
delivers the highest level of professional services,
including ownership, development, management, brokerage,
consulting, investment and design capabilities.
Headquartered in Manhattan, Atco owns and manages a
diverse portfolio of real estate in six states. |
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Napoleon Barragan
Founder and CEO of 1800mattress.com, a bedding
telemarketing company based in Long Island City, Queens.
Mr. Barragan, a native of Ecuador, is a former
schoolteacher who began his business in 1976 selling
furniture in Jamaica, Queens. 1800mattress.com, is one
of the nation’s most successful direct
marketing companies with annual sales exceeding $170
million. |
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Ismael Betancourt
A successful businessman, leader and dedicated community
member who has made significant contributions to the
financial services industry and to the organizations he
serves. Mr. Betancourt began his successful career in
the financial services industry in 1988, when he opened
his first financial service center. Since then, he has
expanded his business and is currently the Owner and
Chief Operating Officer of five financial service
centers located in underserved neighborhoods of
Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Mr. Betancourt also
contributes to the economy of Puerto Rico, where he owns
three ColdStone Creamery franchises. In addition to
running his successful businesses, he also serves on the
Board of the Financial Service Centers of America and
was a Board of Director for the Financial Service
Centers of New York where he served on the Scholarship
Committee from 1995 to 2005. Mr. Betancourt has achieved
many of his professional goals, and in November 2006 he
achieved a very important personal goal of running the
New York City Marathon. His participation in the
marathon raised over $11,000 for the Alexander Graham
Bell Association for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing which
provides hearing services to low income individuals,
school children and industrial workers. |
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James K. Brennan
Retired Vice President of Electric Generation at KeySpan.
Mr. Brennan joined the Long Island Lighting Company in
1973 and held various positions including Plant Manager
of Northport and Port Jefferson Power Stations. Mr.
Brennan holds a B.S. degree in Marine Engineering from
SUNY Maritime College and an M.B.A. degree from Adelphi
University. He is a Licensed Professional Engineer in
the State of New York. |
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Scott Cha-Choe
Vice President and Branch Manager at HSBC Bank USA, N.A.
in Parsippany, NJ. Prior to moving to the east coast,
Mr. Cha-Choe was a long time resident of Hawaii. He is a
graduate of the University of Southern California,
Marshall School of Business. He has held prior positions
at JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley and AXA Advisors LLC
in various capacities. Past community involvement
include serving as Chairman of the New York Korean
American Junior Chamber of Commerce and Special Advisor
to the Korean American Youth Foundation, Cammy Leukemia
Foundation, and the Korean American Medical Association. |
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Don DeFosset, III (Vice-Chair)
Investment Analyst at U Capital, an event-driven and
special situation hedge fund
3based in New York. Prior to
U Capital, Mr. DeFosset was Vice President at GC
Andersen Partners and Analyst at Donaldson, Lufkin &
Jenrette. He has a B.S.E. in Industrial & Operations
Engineering from the University of Michigan.
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Richard Elliott
Vice President for Administration at LaGuardia Community
College, which includes management of finances,
facilities, and human resources. Prior to his employment
at the College, Mr. Elliott worked as Deputy Controller
of the City University of New York, a division
controller at Metropolitan Life, and an auditor with the
State of New York Comptroller’s Office. He is a
Certified Public Accountant with an M.B.A. from St.
John’s University. |
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Lily Gavin
Owner of Dazies Restaurant, serving fine Italian cuisine
in Sunnyside, Queens. Open since 1970, Dazies is one of
the most popular eating establishments in Queens. Ms.
Gavin has been a supporter of LaGuardia Community
College since its founding more than 30 years ago. She
is a longtime Forest Hills resident, a co-chairwoman of
the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce, a member of the
Sunnyside Kiwanis Club and a lifelong supporter of the
Sunnyside Drum Corps and the Sunnyside Senior Center. |
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Larry Green
Owner of J.G. Electrical Installations, Inc. a
commercial electrical contracting company with 25
employees located in Ridgewood, Queens. Mr. Green has
owned J.G. Electrical since 1991 and was a longstanding
member of Local 3 International Brotherhood of
Electrical Workers as a Master Electrician. He is a
member of the National Electrical Contracting
Association and a graduate of the Empire State Labor
College. |
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Peter Grant Jordan
As Vice President of Enrollment Management and Student
Development at LaGuardia Community College, Chief
Enrollment and Student Affairs Officer providing
leadership in the areas of recruitment and retention.
Mr. Jordan was previously Director of Admissions at
Polytechnic University in Brooklyn for over ten years,
having the distinction of being the first African
American appointed to that position at a private
university in New York State. He is a native of
Barbados, grew up in East Harlem in New York City, and
is a graduate of the New York City public school system.
He earned a B.A. in English and History from Colby
College in Waterville, Maine and holds an M.S. in
Operations Management from Polytechnic University. Mr.
Jordan is currently completing his doctoral studies in
Higher Education Management at the University of
Pennsylvania. |
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Dr. Sara Kim
President/CEO of SK Management Consulting Company and
CEO/CFO of St. Mary’s Ambulatory Surgery Center, L.L.C.
previously Dr. Kim was President/CEO of The LASIK Eye
Center and President/CEO of Arts, Music & Beyond. She
received a Doctor of Education at Teachers College,
Columbia University in New York, a Master of Arts at New
York University and Bachelor of Arts, Seoul National
University in Seoul, Korea. She is currently a Board
Member of Sejong Soloist String Ensemble from Julliard
School in New York, where she serves as Treasurer. |
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Peter Koo (Treasurer)
A pharmacist and owner of six pharmacies and real estate
holdings. Mr. Koo is President of the Flushing Chinese
Business Association, Chairperson of the Asian Job
Service Employer Committee and Commissioner overseeing
the Chinese Affairs Commission. He is also a Board
Member for Community Board 7. Mr. Koo is a graduate of
the University of New Mexico College of Pharmacy. He was
awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor for 2006.
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Dr. Gail O. Mellow
President of LaGuardia Community College in NYC, one of
the most ethnically diverse campuses in the U.S.
LaGuardia is a two-year public college, serving over
50,000 students from 160 countries. During her eight
year tenure, the College has won numerous awards. Dr.
Mellow spearheads local economic development with
LaGuardia’s Small Business Development Center, and NY
Designs, a business incubator for design professionals.
Dr. Mellow is the co-author of three books and more than
thirty articles. Her third book, “Minding the Dream: The
American Community College”, was published in 2008. She
received an A. A. from Jamestown Community College, a
B.A. from SUNY Albany, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from The
George Washington University. |
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Robert C. Morgan, Esq.
Partner at Ropes and Gray, a Manhattan based law firm
specializing in intellectual property. Mr. Morgan has
been a trial counsel in patent litigation for over 30
years, representing companies in the fields of
telecommunications, electronics, semiconductor
technology and medical instruments and products. He
received a B.A. from UCLA, an M.A. from the California
Institute of Technology and a J.D. from Harvard Law
School. Mr. Morgan is a Fellow of the American College
of Trial Lawyers. |
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Lisa Murphy
Former Chief of Staff to the Chairman and CEO of
Citigroup Global Wealth Management. Previously Ms.
Murphy was Senior Vice President, Investments for Smith
Barney-Citigroup. She has had an extensive career on
Wall Street at several prominent firms such as,
Citibank, Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette and JP Morgan
Chase. Ms. Murphy holds a B.A. in Physics from Rutgers
College, Rutgers University as well as an M.B.A. from
Columbia Business School. She is actively involved with
the Asian American Federation of New York, Citigroup
Asian Pacific Heritage Network, Columbia Business School
Asian Alumni Club of New York, and the Asian
Professional Extension. |
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Jose L. Orengo, Esq.
Executive Director for Government Relations of LaGuardia
Community College. Mr. Orengo, previously the founding
Executive Director of the Foundation, is a licensed
attorney and graduate of Queens College and CUNY Law
School. He has worked as a legislative attorney for the
New York City Council and was the Deputy Borough
President of Manhattan under C. Virginia Fields. Mr.
Orengo is currently on the Board of Directors of the
Puerto Rican Bar Association, serving as the treasurer.
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Raymond G. Saleeby
President & CEO of Remco Maintenance, LLC. Mr. Saleeby
is an entrepreneur having successfully started several
firms for himself and for large corporations. He was the
Managing Director and Co-Founder of Blue Ridge Partners,
a management consulting and venture development firm
focused on business process outsourcing, particularly
for banking and brokerage businesses. Formerly he was
Co-Founder and President/CEO of FirstPoint, a technology
services corporation with a business value network
consisting of national contractors and financial
services companies. Mr. Saleeby acquired and served as
the President/CEO of FirstPoint Energy’s wholly owned
subsidiaries Teldata Solutions, Myutility Inc.,
UtilityOne and Energy Information Services. Mr. Saleeby
is currently a member of the Board of Directors of
Energy New England. |
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Henry Saltiel
Vice President for Information Technology at LaGuardia
Community College. Mr. Saltiel is a member of the
College’s executive management team responsible for
guiding strategic planning and policy implementation
initiatives related to technology infrastructure and the
uses of technology in support of the College’s overall
mission. Mr. Saltiel oversees the departments of Network
Administration, End-User Support/Helpdesk, Student
Information Systems, Instructional Media Services and
the Office Institutional Research, which is responsible
for maintaining vital statistical data related to the
College’s performance and historical trends. A graduate
of Adelphi University with a B.S. in Computer Science
and an M.A. in Information Systems Engineering from
Polytechnic University, Mr. Saltiel brings over 20 years
of experience managing Information Technology in Higher
Education to LaGuardia. |
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André Taylor
An alumnus of LaGuardia Community College, a dynamic
author, speaker and consultant in demand, teaching
individuals and organizations how to lead and win. Mr.
Taylor is an accomplished business leader with diverse
experience, including executive positions on Wall
Street, leading the marketing activities of
multi-national organizations, and building successful
entrepreneurial companies. Clients for Mr. Taylor’s
leadership development work include small and large
corporations, associations, individuals, athletes,
celebrities, educational institutions, government
agencies and many of the world’s most recognizable brand
names. He has won numerous awards and has been featured
in a wide range of international media. |
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Carmen R. Velasquez, Esq.
Attorney with her own law office in Jackson Heights,
Queens, specializing in criminal, family, immigration
and naturalization, housing and civil service law. Ms.
Velasquez holds a B.A. from John Jay College and a J.D.
from Temple University Law School. She has been a member
and officer in many civil and professional organizations
such as the National Hispanic Bar Association, Latino
Lawyers Association of Queens County, Queens Legal
Services Corporation, Queens County Bar Association and
the Latin American Cultural Center. |
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John Vogt
Regional Director of Restaurant Operations for White
Castle. A native of Elmhurst, Queens, Mr. Vogt has
worked at White Castle for 38 years, and is currently in
charge of stores in the New York region including the
five-boroughs of New York City, as well as Rockland,
Nassau and Suffolk counties. Mr. Vogt is currently the
President of the Sunnyside Chamber of Commerce, Chairman
of the Sunnyside District Management Association, and is
presently organizing a Civic Association called American
Venice. |
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Tai Wang
Co-Founder and Vice-President of W.A.C. Lighting
Company, a manufacturing and distributing company for
lighting fixtures, with locations in Garden City, New
York, Los Angeles, California, Dallas, Texas and
Dongguan, China. Ms. Wang, an accountant by trade,
graduated from the Zui-Li Business College in her native
Taiwan. She has been a member, volunteer and officer in
many civil and philanthropic organizations such as the
Asian American Cultural Association, the Chinese
Cultural Association of Long Island/Chinese School,
Rotary Club-Chinese Gift of Life, West Hempstead Rotary
Club, the Alliance for Smile Foundation, and the
International Leadership Foundation. In addition, Ms.
Wang has co-founded the Hope School at Ziang-Xi, China
as well as the W.A.C. Scholarship Program in China. Ms.
Wang received the 2007 Gift of Life Award and the 2007
Ellis Island Medal of Honor. |
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Marc S. Wolfert
Chief Operating Officer of Centralized Laboratory
Services (CLS), a clinical diagnostic laboratory that is
dedicated to providing the highest quality laboratory
services to clients and their patients. As a leader in
the medical testing field, CLS employs the latest
innovations and techniques throughout the laboratory.
Their goal is to be the laboratory of choice for high
quality, reliable diagnostic testing and to become a
partner in maintaining the health of the community. |
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