— Staff —

Mary Galeone, RSM, Co-Director   |   Joseph Dirr, Co-Director

Lucy Amis   |   Regina Burrichter, RSM   |   Steve Bratone   |   Judith Criado Fiuza   |   Lythza Cruz

Suzanne Elliott, RSM   |  Laura Forbes   |   Mary Ellen Gianino   |   Margo L. Golos   |   Silvia Gonzalez

Carmen Houston   |   Sinead Keegan   |   Ilana Kegel   |   Dorothy Larkin   |   Catherine Loredo

Maria Mercado   |   Blanca Ramirez   |   Heidy Rios   |   Angela Rorabaugh   |   Mayra Sanchez-Estupinan

Gene Sullivan   |   Alba Torres   |   Patrick Traffas   |   Nancy Walsh

— Board of Directors —

Latifa Beato    |   Charles Brown   |   Melissa Bullock   |   Candida Carrasquillo   |   Ana Collado   

Beatrice Colón-Cruz    |   Nancy Conde   |   Margaret Costa, RSM   |   Beth Finnerty

Sonia Gonzalez-Cruz  |   Siobhan Keegan   |   Valerie Leon   |   Jesus Muniz   |   Elizabeth Scanlon, RSM

— Board of Advisors —

Gregory Arcaro   |   Christine Bacon   |   Anna Berardi   |   Charles Brown   |   Elizabeth Cassino

Stephen Coats   |   Nancy Conde   |   George Deshensky   |   Abigail E. Disney   |   Margaret Grace

Theresa Kane, RSM   |   Siobhan Keegan   |   Arthur Lange   |   Beth McCabe   |   Mary Theresa McCombe

Patricia Mescall   |   Tim O'Connor   |   Mary O'Hara   |   Daria Pizzetta   |   Brian Powers

Claudette Scheffold    |   Sylvie Sherman   |   Charles Slivinski   |   Debbra Stolarik

Gene Sullivan   |   Alba Torres   |   Diane Vezza   |   Ellen Vopicka
 

Sr. Mary Galeone, RSM, Co-Director
Sr. Galeone became Co-Director in 2003. She joined Mercy Center in 1993 as Associate Director, assuming responsibility for Program Planning and Implementation and the coordination of spirituality and justice programs. She is largely responsible for the expansion of Mercy Center’s programming efforts to include business training courses, ESL, children and youth programming, and  projects to advance reflection and action around themes of non-violence and justice in our neighborhood and our world. She also coordinates the volunteer efforts of over 140 people who offer their expertise from one hour a week to full time to Mercy Center’s work.

Previously, Sr. Galeone served for eleven years on the Pastoral Team at Saint Francis Xavier Parish in Manhattan where, in addition to pastoral services and spirituality programs, she directed the start-up of various social service initiatives. Before that, she was administrator and teacher at Our Lady of Victory Academy in Dobbs Ferry.

Joseph Dirr, Co-Director
Mr. Dirr joined the staff of Mercy Center in 2003 as Co-Director. He is responsible for staff coordination and development, neighborhood relations, public relations, facilities and administration, and is serving as Director of Development.

Mr. Dirr worked for 15 years for A.T. Hudson & Co., a management consultancy that specialized in empowering frontline managers to assume responsibility in new ways for the effectiveness of their staffs and their performance. He served as Senior Vice President of Operations, responsible for directing long-term operational improvement projects for client organizations in both the private and the public sectors as well as shorter term assessment assignments. Previously, Mr. Dirr served for 2 years as Director of the Jesuit Office for Faith and Justice on Wall Street and for 10 years as Pastor of Saint Francis Xavier Parish.

Lucy Amis, Coordinator of Family Life and Youth Services. (PT) 

Regina Burrichter, RSM, Community Outreacher Worker. (PT) 

Steve Bratone, has years of experience as a lawyer in the field of construction, and comes to Mercy Center to apply his legal experience and Spanish-speaking skills to the needs of our participants, focusing in particular on the issues they face in obtaining proper documentation and advancing on the road to citizenship. (Volunteer, 2 days/week)

Judith Criado Fiuza, Coordinator of ESL. (FT) 

Lythza Cruz, Family Worker. (FT) 

Suzanne Elliott, RSM, Program Manager. (FT) 

Laura Forbes, Community Worker. (FT) 

Mary Ellen Gianino, Community Worker. (FT) 

Margo L. Golos, Coordinator of Major Gifts and Donor Relations. (FT) 

Silvia Gonzalez, Administrative Assistant, is a woman of the community and has been with Mercy Center since the Spring of 2000. She has worked in the not-for-profit sector for over 18 years. Along with her administrative duties at Mercy Center, she co-facilitates the Teen/Young Moms & Dads Parenting Courses, facilitates a Women’s Movie Discussion Group, and has prepared support groups for young women. She has a B.S. in Psychology. (FT) 

Carmen Houston, Coordinator of Employment Services. (FT) 

Sinead Keegan, is Associate Director at Mercy Center responsible for Planning and Development.  Before joining the staff, she was the Director of Special Projects in the President's Office at John Jay College of Criminal Justice of the City University of New York, and spent many Saturday mornings at Mercy Center teaching English as a Second Language. From 1999-2000, Sinead was a Mercy Corps Volunteer at the Church of Saint Francis Xavier in the Chelsea area of Manhattan. (FT) 

Ilana Kegel, Development Assistant. (FT) 

Dorothy Larkin, is a member of the Ignatian Lay Volunteer Corp.  She works 2 days/week at Mercy Center as a Job Coach for some of our women and as a mentor/tutor in the After School program.  She is a retired high school registrar. (Volunteer, 2 days/week) 

Catherine Loredo is a woman of the community and a graduate of Mercy Center’s Business Training program, with extensive experience as a Mercy Center volunteer before joining the staff full-time in 2004. She is from Belize and was previously a member of the Naval Reserves while working in bookkeeping and data entry for a firm in Manhattan. At Mercy Center, she is assistant administrator to the ESL coordinator and also performs maintenance and administrative assistant tasks. (FT)  

Maria Mercado moved from Puerto Rico to New York’s Lower East Side and then to Mott Haven, becoming an early assistant on Mercy Center’s staff in 1990. She does extensive work in neighborhood and parish organizations and helps coordinate an extensive array of child and family activities at Mercy Center among the Hispanic and ESL communities. (FT) 

Blanca Ramirez, Coordinator of Direct Social Services and Immigrant Services. (FT) 

Heidy Rios, is a woman from the community who is a graduate of Mercy Center’s Business Training program.  She worked as an administrative assistant for a neighborhood organization before taking on the duties of our afternoon and evening receptionist in January, 2006.  (FT) 

Angela Rorabaugh, Community Worker. (FT) 

Mayra Sanchez-Estupinan, is a woman of the community who was very active as a volunteer before joining Mercy Center’s staff in spring, 2005. She is a graduate of Mercy Center’s Business Training program and then went on to obtain a Bachelor’s degree from the 149^th Street campus of the College of New Rochelle. She participates in a number of Mercy Center programs, including ESL/Immigrant Services, Parenting, Anger Management (Spanish), and Internet training, and has developed and coordinates a Saturday Reading Enrichment Program for children in grades 1 through 6. (FT)

Gene Sullivan came to Mercy Center after more than 30 years as a commercial lawyer in New York City. He meets individually with participants to provide assistance on legal issues they face, such as housing, credit, immigration, etc. He also accesses pro bono legal resources throughout the city to help participants in any way he can. (Volunteer, 2 days/week)

Alba Torres, has worked at Mercy Center since its beginning in 1990. Born and raised in the neighborhood, she has an intimate knowledge of the people of Mercy Center and the neighborhood, serving as a natural leader in the neighborhood, her parish community and Mercy Center. The mother of four children, she is one of the first graduates of both Parenting classes and Leadership Training at Mercy Center. She currently coordinates Mercy Center’s Parenting Program, Family Weekends and Spanish spirituality initiatives. (FT)

Nancy Walsh has advanced degrees in social work and management, and she certainly put them to good use in her 36 years in government service in Westchester County developing and implementing programs for families and children.  She has worked with breath as a healing tool since the late ‘70s, generously sharing this interest and her social work skills with the women of Mercy Center for the past few years. She is a member of the Ignatian Lay Volunteer Corps. (Volunteer, 2 days/week)

—
— Mercy Center Board of Directors  2008-2009 —

Latifa Beato, Executive Assistant, Cooperative Home Care Associates

Vice President of Mercy Center Board

Charles Brown, General Counsel, Fitch Ratings

Treasurer of Mercy Center Board

Melissa Bullock, Assistant Principal, St. Catharine Academy

Secretary of Mercy Center Board

Candida Carrasquillo, Community Member

Ana Collado, Director, Dominican Sisters Family Health Services

Beatrice Colón-Cruz, Community Member

Nancy Conde, Special Assistant to the President, Hispanic Federation

Margaret Costa, RSM, Retired Administrator and Community Leader

Beth Finnerty, Executive Director, Cardinal McCloskey Services

Sonia Gonzalez-Cruz, Teacher's Assistant, P.S. 183

Siobhan Keegan, Attorney, Greenberg Traurig, LLP

President of Mercy Center Board

Valerie Leon, Project Specialist, Young Adult Institute, Inc.

Jesus Muniz, Private Client & Asset Management, Deutsche Bank

Elizabeth Scanlon, Program Director, Medicines for Humanity

back to top

 

—
— Mercy Center Board of Advisors  2008-2009 —

Gregory Arcaro, Consultant, Housing and Neighborhood Development

Christine Bacon, Vice President, Marketing, Morgan Stanley

Anna Berardi, Community Volunteer

Charles Brown, General Counsel, Fitch Ratings

Elizabeth Cassino, Morgan Stanley & Co

Stephen Coats, Partner, Vinson and Elkins

Nancy Conde, Special Assistant to the President, Hispanic Federation

George Deshensky, Tax Attorney (Private Practice)

Abigail Disney, President, Daphne Foundation

            President, New York Women's Foundation

Margaret Grace, Attorney

Theresa Kane, RSM, Professor, Mercy College

            Former President, Institute of Sisters of Mercy

Siobhan Keegan, Attorney, Greenberg Traurig LLP

Arthur Lange, President, Arthur Lange, Inc.

Beth McCabe, Director of Intergovernmental Relations, John Jay College

Mary Theresa McCombe, Accountant; Co-Chair, Board of Advisors

Patricia Mescall, Senior Sales Manager, Marriott Hotels

Tim O'Connor, Associate General Counsel, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP

Mary O'Hara, Corporate Counsel

Daria Pizzetta, Architect, H³ Hardy Collaborative Architecture, LLC

Brian Powers, Director of Integrated Marketing & Promotions, Clear Channel Radio

Claudette Scheffold, Program Management, Robin Hood Foundation

Sylvie Sherman, Community Volunteer

Charles Slivinski, Doctor, Internal Medicine (Private Practice)

Debbra Stolarik, Corporate Counsel, AG Properties, Inc.

Gene Sullivan, Of Counsel, Chadbourne & Parke LLP

Alba Torres, Parenting Coordinator, Mercy Center

Diane Vezza, Mercy Center Volunteer

Ellen Vopicka, Professor, Mercy College (Retired)

back to top