Class Notes

James Olwell ’68, a previous director and organizer for the Irish Arts Center in Manhattan, published a memoir entitled “The Art of Being Irish in Hell’s Kitchen: A Memoir on the Organizing of the Irish Arts Center in New York City 1972-78.”

Frank Marino ’73 is the founder and
CEO of Marino PR. Established in 1993, Marino PR provides public relations and strategic communication services to help clients achieve business and organizational goals. The company was recognized in “The Top PR Firms in Commercial Real Estate” by the Observer publication for their expansion and impact this past year.

Al Kelly Jr. ’80, ’81MBA, ’19H, former Visa CEO and executive chair, joined Berkshire Partners as advisory director; the General Motors Board of Directors and the 1989 Iona Board of Trustees.

James Spence Jr. ’82 is the founder,
president and owner of James Spence Authentication (JSA), LLC, an autograph authentication company, which was recently acquired by Certified Collectibles Group (CCG), a Blackstone portfolio company. Throughout the years, Spence has been honored for his industry contributions, notably receiving the “Partners in Progress Award” at the 2019 Industry Summit and was inducted as a member of the National Sports Collectors Convention Hall of Fame in 2023.

Lisa Vertullo ’89 is co-owner and operator of Classic Memories, providing professional service in converting, scanning, and digitizing precious media to today’s latest technologies for her customers across the country. Classic Memories has introduced a new service this year, digital photo restoration, for preserving customers’ photographs.

Kevin F. Watson ’89 has been appointed executive vice president and chief financial officer at Barnes & Noble Education, Inc. (BNED). As CFO at BNED, Watson is responsible for the financial management of the company, including leading the accounting, treasury, tax, financial planning, financial operations, internal audit and investor relations teams.

Michael Fillios ’90 is the founder and CEO of IT Ally and the IT Ally Institute, a business and technology advisory firm for family-owned and private equity backed small and medium size businesses (SMBs). IT Ally was recognized by Today, Inc. as one of America’s fastest-growing private companies, ranking #29 in Ohio, #108 in IT Services, and #1,705 nationally. Additionally, Fillios recently released his second book, “Tech Equity: How to Future Ready Your Small Business and Outperform Your Competition,” following his first book, “Tech Debt 2.0®
.

Joseph Damiano ’95, an accomplished CEO and managing partner of SAX LLP, was named one of Forbes Magazine’s Top 200 CPAs in the Country for 2024. As CEO and managing partner of SAX LLP since 2015, Damiano has been pivotal in driving the firm’s strategic growth. Under his leadership, SAX’s revenues have soared from $25 million in 2015 to a projected $110 million in 2024.

Leslie Allicks ’95MS is the founder and CEO of The Tea Experience, a tea party catering business that has an online presence for the sale of over 35 organic loose-leaf teas, tea-themed accessories, and a tea of the month subscription box program called “SimpliciTEA.” Inspired by her late father and ancestral history, her career expanded into entrepreneurship by launching a full service teahouse, Lola’s Tea House, which evolved into her mobile tea catering business, The Tea Experience.

Zine Mazouzi ’96, ’98MBA, chief financial officer and executive vice president of Global Operations at Steve Madden, joined his team from the iconic fashion company to celebrate 30 years of being traded as a public company. In honor of the occasion, Steve Madden, founder, creative and design chief, rang the opening bell.

Shenan Reed ’97 recently joined General Motors as the first global chief media officer, where she is responsible for shaping the company’s global media strategy and leading a team focused on advancing media practices. Her impressive background includes a notable tenure as senior vice president and head of media at L’Oréal, where she played a key role in enhancing consumer engagement for the USA brands.

Honorable Lissette G. Fernández ’97, the first Latina judge appointed to Peekskill City Court, was recently recognized by the Peekskill Herald for her philanthropic work. Fernández, an immigration attorney and founder of the Law Office of Lissette G. Fernández, was recently named one of the top 25 businesswomen in Westchester County by Westchester Magazine and received the 9th Judicial District’s Access to Justice Award for raising awareness for immigrants’ rights.

Alison Flynn Gaffney ’98, ’02MS serves as president of the Healthcare Work Dynamics business at JLL, a Fortune 500® company with annual revenue of $20.8 billion. Flynn Gaffney has created new forms of communication to foster diversity of thought, learning, alignment and trust among previously siloed groups, both regionally and globally. Flynn Gaffney received the 2024 Senior Level Healthcare Executive Regents Award from Healthcare Leaders of New York in June 2024.

Aiyenede Akhigbe ’00, ’03MA is the owner and flavor creator of Sticky Spoons Jam, LLC, a jam and preserve company. Akhigbe makes over 100 flavors free from preservatives, artificial flavors and high fructose corn syrup from locally grown fruit based out of her Michigan hometown. Through Sticky Spoons Jam, Akhigbe and her team support local programs while also collecting food, clothing and toiletries for the unhoused population.

Meghan Finn ’00, ’10MA has been named vice president and chief communications officer at The Jackson Laboratory (JAX). JAX is a nonprofit biomedical research institution with a mission to discover precise genomic solutions for disease and empower the global biomedical community in the shared quest to improve human health. Finn previously served as chief communications and engagement officer at The Breast Cancer Research Foundation and has held various leadership positions at the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.

Scott Edelman ’02, ’07MBA, CPA, CFE, FHFMA has been appointed executive director of Burke Rehabilitation Hospital in White Plains, N.Y. Edelman’s professional journey at Burke Rehabilitation Hospital led to senior leadership roles, serving as interim executive director and senior vice president and chief financial officer before his recent promotion to executive director.

Dennis Gamiello ’03, ’11MBA, member of the LaPenta School of Business Executive Advisory Council, is a cybersecurity executive at Mastercard and recently assumed the role of executive vice president, global head of Identity at Mastercard.

Trinette Carruthers, Ed.D. ’04 is now serving as assistant principal at P.S. 53X The Basheer Qusim School in the Bronx and living out her childhood dream. Over the course of her career, Carruthers spent fourteen years as a special education teacher, four years as a Universal Literacy coach and one year as a Literacy Collaborative coach through the New York City Department of Education. She also enjoys collaborating with former Universal Literacy colleagues on PBS’ “Let’s Learn,” a television and online video series that educates children in various subjects.

Michael Testa ’04 has built a remarkable career in finance, culminating in his recent appointment as chief financial officer of Trinity Capital Inc., a leading provider of diversified financial solutions to growth-stage companies.

Frank Carlisi ’06MS is the co-founder and chief operating officer of ExV Agency, a global PR and content production agency. As the award-winning director of creative content
at ExV Studios, a creative force in developing unpredictable concepts in unscripted television, Carlisi is deeply rooted in industry relationships. This spring, ExV Agency hosted an international speaking opportunity in London in partnership with the World Law Alliance and World Business Festival, a one-of-a-kind visibility opportunity for business and legal professionals to share their thought leadership on a global stage.

Chelsea Hogan ’07 has been recognized in “The Top 25 Women Leaders of Scarsdale for 2023” by Women We Admire for her positive impact and leadership at Triton International. Hogan is the chief human resource officer and senior vice president at Triton. In her role, she leads the organization’s people strategy in over 21 offices across 16 countries.

Kerri Otto (LaGrutta) ’07, ’09MBA is a creator, designer, and recent children’s picture book author of Twinchanted Tales, inspired by her experience as a twin mom.

Gabrielle Gambrell ’08, ’10MA joined Hachette Book Group as senior vice president and chief communications officer.

Jessica Morales Maust ’10, ’14MBA has been promoted to vice president of enrollment management at Marian University in Indianapolis.

Dr. Michael Foti, DO ’14 self-published his first book, titled “Grief: A Doctor’s Battle with Anxiety and Depression.” Today, a clinical assistant professor at internal medicine at Touro College of Osteopathic Medicine, Foti participates in Touro’s planning, execution and delivery of the Department of Primary Care Courses and activities, as well as overseeing the Standardized Patient program.

Tom Weingarten ’16, chief growth officer at Overtime, a sports media brand for the next generation of fans, was recently named to the Forbes “30 Under 30” list in the sports category as well as the Sports Business Journal’s “New Voices Under 30.” Since its creation in 2016, Overtime has grown tremendously and amassed a large social media following—including over 10 million followers on Instagram and 26.6 million followers on TikTok.

Matthew Ricker ’18, ’24MA received the Resiliency Award at the 44th Annual Volunteer Spirit Awards for his volunteerism with the New Rochelle Chamber of Commerce. He was also featured in the Humans of New Rochelle exhibit at City Hall in New Rochelle.

Mary Omatiga ’19MA, a writer at NBC Sports Group, found her passion in bridging the gap between fans and
their favorite sports teams and athletes through content creation and storytelling. Some of her responsibilities include writing stories about topics of significance to NBC Sports and diving deeper into more human-interest approaches to content for existing sports blogs.

Tamantha Pizarro ’20 strengthened her love of mathematics as a student at Iona University, where she earned her bachelor’s degree in mathematics with a minor in economics. Taking her talents to the next level, she is currently a candidate for the Applied Mathematics for the Life and Social Sciences Ph.D. program at Arizona State.

Genesis Mojica ’20, ’21MS entered her third year with the New York Police Department (NYPD). During her time at Iona, Mojica was a resident assistant for the Office of Residential Life, vice president of the Fashion Club, and interned at the New Rochelle Police Department. Mojica’s time at Iona combined with her fieldwork experience prepared her for her current role as an NYPD police officer.

Brendan Eckstein ’21, ’24MST, after
a semester of law school, started tutoring on the side and realized teaching was actually his true passion. Quickly shifting gears, he returned to Iona to begin the journey of becoming an educator and now graduated with his Master of Science in Teaching this past May.

Mackenzie Byrne ’22, recently promoted to the role of senior producer, earned her first Emmy Award nomination for coverage of a massive cargo ship fire in New Jersey. With a passion for bringing
local stories to life and being a part of a prominent news source in her community, Byrne takes pride in working to bring the most accurate and fair stories to viewers while jumping into action when breaking news hits.