— Staff —
Mary Galeone, RSM, Co-Director |
Joseph Dirr,
Co-Director
Idalia Amaya | Lucy
Amis
|
Regina Burrichter, RSM
|
Maria
Conroy |
Judith Criado Fiuza
Lythza
Cruz |
George Culliney
|
Mary Gallagher, RSM
|
Mary Ellen Gianino
|
Margo L. Golos
Silvia Gonzalez |
Carmen Houston
|
Sinead Keegan
|
Ilana Kegel
|
Dorothy Larkin
Catherine Loredo |
Maria Mercado
| Blanca
Ramirez |
Heidy Rios | Mayra
Sanchez-Estupinan
Gene Sullivan
| Alba
Torres |
Patrick Traffas
|
Nancy
Walsh
—
Board of Directors
—
Latifa Beato |
Charles Brown
|
Angela Cabassa
|
Candida Carrasquillo
Beatrice
Colón-Cruz
|
Margaret Costa, RSM
|
Mary Davey
|
Beth
Finnerty |
Sonia
Gonzalez-Cruz
Valerie Leon
|
Jesus Muniz |
Tim O'Connor
|
Michael Termini
|
Regina Ward, RSM
—
Board of Advisors
—
Gregory Arcaro |
Christine Bacon |
Anna Berardi
|
Elizabeth Cassino
Stephen Coats |
Nancy Conde
|
Abigail Disney
|
Margaret
Grace
|
Patrick Grace
Theresa Kane, RSM |
Siobhan Keegan |
Arthur Lange |
Jennifer Lupo
|
Beth McCabe
Patricia Mescall
|
Tim O'Connor |
Mary O'Hara
|
Daria Pizzetta |
Brian Powers
Claudette Scheffold |
Sylvie Sherman-Bloch
|
Debbra Stolarik
Gene Sullivan |
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.

Idalia Amaya,
Coordinator of Jobs for ESL Students Program.
(FT)

Lucy Amis, LMSW,
Coordinator of Family Life and Youth Programs.
(FT)

Regina Burrichter, RSM,
Community Outreach Worker.
(FT)

Maria Conroy, Community Worker.
(FT)
Judith Criado Fiuza,
Coordinator of ESL Program. (FT)

Lythza Cruz,
Family Worker. (FT)

George Culliney,
Ignatian
Lay Volunteer Corp. (Volunteer, 2 days/week)

Mary Gallagher,
RSM,
Community Worker. (Volunteer, 4 days/week)

Mary Ellen Gianino,
Coordinator of Youth Programs.
(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 Opportunities. (FT)

Sinead Keegan,
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,
Community Worker. Ms. 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,
Community Worker. Ms. 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,
LMSW,
Coordinator of Direct Social
Services. (FT)

Heidy Rios, Receptionist.
Ms. 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)
Mayra Sanchez-Estupinan,
Community Worker. Ms. 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 149th 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,
Parenting Coordinator. Ms.
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)

Patrick Traffas,
Facilities Manager. Mr. Traffas came to Mercy Center after a
career with the NYC Department of Environmental Protection. Here he is
our Facilities Manager, responsible for the maintenance and upkeep of Mercy
Center, and is a master at keeping our computer systems up-to-date and humming.
He also refurbishes donated computers that we give to participants in business
training and keyboarding classes. (PT, 4 days/week)

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 2009-2010
—
Latifa Beato, Executive Assistant,
Cooperative Home Care Associates
Vice Chair of Mercy Center Board
Charles Brown, General Counsel, Fitch
Ratings
Treasurer of Mercy Center Board
Angela Cabassa, Director of Alumnae
Relations, Our Lady of Victory Academy
and St. Catharine Academy
Candida Carrasquillo, Community
Member
Beatrice Colón-Cruz, Case Manager,
Beacon of Hope House, Catholic Charities
Margaret Costa, RSM, Retired
Administrator and Community Leader
Mary Davey
Beth Finnerty, Executive Director,
Cardinal McCloskey Services
Interim Chair of Mercy Center Board
Sonia Gonzalez-Cruz, Teacher's
Assistant, P.S. 183
Valerie Leon, Community Relations
Coordinator, Barton Barton & Plotkin LLP
Jesus Muniz, Private Client & Asset
Management, Deutsche Bank
Tim O'Connor, Associate General
Counsel, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
Michael Termini, Executive Director,
Cooke Center for Learning and Development
Regina Ward, RSM, Vocation Minister,
Mid-Atlantic Community of the Sisters of Mercy
—
—
Mercy Center Board of
Advisors 2009-2010
—
Gregory Arcaro, Consultant, Housing
and Neighborhood Development
Christine Bacon, Vice President,
Marketing, Morgan Stanley
Anna Berardi, Community Volunteer
Elizabeth Cassino, Morgan Stanley &
Co
Stephen Coats, Partner, Vinson and
Elkins
Nancy Conde, Student
Abigail Disney, President, Daphne
Foundation
President, New York Women's Foundation
Margaret Grace, Attorney
Patrick Grace, Foundation Management
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.
Jennifer Lupo, Managing Member, Lupo
Law PLLC
Beth McCabe, Director of
Intergovernmental Relations, John Jay College
Patricia Mescall, Senior Sales
Manager, Marriott Hotels
Tim O'Connor, Associate General
Counsel, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP
Mary O'Hara, Partner, Madama Griffith,
O'Hara LLP
Daria Pizzetta, Architect, H³
Hardy Collaborative Architecture, LLC
Brian Powers, Director of Integrated
Marketing & Promotions, Clear Channel Radio
Claudette Scheffold, Owner, Glaze
Pottery and Art Studio
Sylvie Sherman-Bloch, Crisis
Coordinator for JACS
Debbra Stolarik, Corporate Counsel,
AG Properties, Inc.
Gene Sullivan, Of Counsel,
Chadbourne & Parke LLP
Diane Vezza, Entrepreneur, Mercy Center Volunteer
Ellen Vopicka, Professor, Mercy
College (Retired)