Rich Grossi

Chair

Rich Grossi is the Chief Executive Officer at ION, the global leader in trading, treasury and risk management solutions for the energy, commodities, corporate and financial services industries serving over 2,300 clients with over 80,000 users worldwide. ION’s products manage $5 trillion dollars of cash balances and central bank reserves and operate at over 60% of the worlds global energy companies. As CEO of ION, Rich is responsible for leading day-to-day management and implementing and executing the company’s operational goals and long-term strategy. Mr. Grossi joined the BBBSLI Board of Directors in 2014 and has played an active role in its fundraising efforts, Holiday for Kids’ Sake Program and most recently, their newly created Rise Up Program. Rich resides in Melville with his wife and two children.

 

Board Member Since | June 2014

Timothy Foley

Vice Chair

Timothy M. Foley is a Senior Vice President and Senior Client Manager at Bank of America’s Global Commercial Bank, providing financial and advisory services to corporate clients. Tim completed his undergraduate degree in Finance at LIU and earned MBAs from Columbia University and University of California at Berkeley. Tim has been actively involved with the organization since 2008 and is an Executive Officer of the Edward Smith Mineola Lions Club. Tim has two sons and resides in Lattingtown.

 

Board Member Since | March 2018

Nancy Foster

Treasurer

Ms. Foster is Senior Vice President, Deputy Chief Credit Officer with Hanover Bank in Long Island, NY. She has worked in various credit and management positions at JP Morgan Chase, North Fork Bank, Capital One and BNB Bank. Nancy has focused her efforts on building out high performing, efficient credit teams while maintaining strong asset quality and portfolio performance. Her expertise is in defining processes that adhere to regulatory guidance and align with an organization’s strategic plan and risk framework. Staying abreast of technology advancements, and incorporating these into the bank’s processes, has enabled Nancy to continue to make significant contributions to the success of her employer. Nancy received her MBA from Adelphi University in Garden City, NY.

 

Board Member Since | September 2020

Michael Paley

Secretary

Michael Paley is a travel agent at Pro Travel International. Mr. Paley joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island Board of Directors in 1984, and previously served as Chairman of the Board. He earned a BA from Boston University in Business Administration and resides in Malverne with his wife Kathi.

 

Board Member Since | December 1984

Praveen Anumolu

Praveen Anumolu is Director of Engineering Services for ASR International Corporation, a worldwide management and technical support services company. From 2004 through 2016, he previously served as a volunteer Big in the organization. Mr. Anumolu is a graduate of Cornell University with degrees in Geological Sciences and Electrical and Computer Engineering. He lives in Smithtown with his family and stays active in the local community.

 

Board Member Since | June 2016

Heather Bowen-Leaver

Heather Bowen-Leaver is an Associate Fellow, La Mer Expert with Estee Lauder.  She has been involved with Big Brother Big Sister since 1998. First as a Big Sister for 9 years, then as a volunteer and, more recently, as a member of the leadership council. She was honored at the 2023 CATWALK for Kids Fashion Show Event.  Heather has been instrumental in the agencies Holiday for Kids’ Sake Program, Back to School Drive and Prom Drive, among other things.

 

Board Member Since | June 2023

Michael Brown

After attending Huntington High School, Michael Brown graduated from Boston University with Bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Business. He lettered in football for four years for BU’s Division 1AA football team, before returning to Long Island to run his dad’s Jaguar-Porsche automotive dealerships. 

In 2019, he formed the Empire Automotive Group as the sole owner and president. Starting out with six dealerships, Empire now has 20 locations in the Metro NY region. Automotive News has ranked the Empire Automotive Group as the third fastest growing auto group in the United States. 

Michael Brown has been honored for his support of such organizations as Island Harvest, Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island, and Kids Helping Kids. Michael presently serves on the board of the Greater New York Auto Dealers Association and is the President of the Team Suffolk Swim Club. 

In his spare time Michael enjoys travel, boating, fitness, martial arts, and above all else, spending time with his family. He lives in Northport with his wife Jillian and three teenage daughters. 

 

Board Member Since | June 2024

Michael Capilets

Michael Capilets is a Managing Director at SVAM International, Inc. responsible for strategic planning, market segment identification and evaluation, business strategy development and client negotiations. Additionally, he has overall responsibility for Marketing and Sales. Since joining SVAM in 2003, he and his team have significantly increased sales revenues making SVAM one of the fastest growing entities on the Island. He also serves as a leadership coach and mentor to high potential associates in SVAM’s Mentoring Program. Mr. Capilets joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island Board of Directors in 2015 and resides in Smithtown with his son Michael Jr.

 

Board Member Since | September 2015

Michele Cusack

Michele Cusack is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer at Northwell Health. Ms. Cusack has responsibility for financial strategy and financial operations including financial reporting, budgeting, cash management, tax management, risk management, revenue cycle and other financial functions that collaborate with operational teams across the organization to achieve the strategic goals of the organization. She serves as management liaison to the Finance and Audit Committees of the Board of Trustees and is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Board of the Hofstra University Frank G. Zarb School of Business and Board Member for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island. Ms. Cusack is a Certified Public Accountant and earned Master of Business Administration and Bachelor of Business Administration degrees from Hofstra University. Prior to joining Northwell, she worked at Deloitte & Touche, LLP 

 

Board Member Since | June 2024

Anil Jagtiani

Anil Jagtiani, Founder and Chief Executive Officer at NAKA, a leading North American IT solutions provider focused on Assessments, Cybersecurity, Managed Services, Strategic Consulting, and Staffing services. With over 20 years of experience in the IT industry, Anil launched NAKA in 2017 with the amazing team he had developed and trusted through his career. Anil wanted to name the company after pride, passion and integrity, where clients trust their diligence and dedication. The name NAKA comes from the town in Mumbai, India where he grew up. Humble beginnings gave him the drive to pursue the American dream of starting his own company.

 

Board Member Since | September 2020

Bert Lurch

Bert Lurch is Co-Founder and CEO of E Central Medical Management (ECM), a full-service medical billing and practice management firm. After graduating with a BS in management from SUNY Old Westbury, Bert began his career at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He co-founded ECM in 1999. Bert is active in the business and non-profit community, serving as president of the Health & Business Alliance, a consortium of healthcare, non-profit and business entities. He is co-chair of the Queens Chamber of Commerce Health and Wellness Committee and a member of the Long Island Elite (LIE). A father of two, he resides in Elmont.

 

Board Member Since | June 2019

Liz Meyers

Liz Meyers is the to Executive Vice President of Global Procurement for Darby Dental Supply, LLC. She is responsible for domestic and international product sourcing, SKU optimization, inventory management, analyzing demand and buy-in opportunities, and maintaining vendor relations.  Liz has been an active member and co-chair of the CATWALK for Kids Fashion Show and a generous supporter of our Holiday for Kids’ Sake Campaign and Back-to-School Program. She also just completed her term as Board Chair.

 

Board Member Since | October 2014

Keith Miller

Keith Miller is the former Senior Vice President and Chief Lending Officer at Island Federal Credit Union overseeing the Commercial Lending, Mortgage, Collections and Consumer Lending departments. Keith earned his Bachelor’s degree in Business Economics from SUNY Oneonta and a Master’s degree in Business Administration with a concentration in Finance from Stony Brook University. Keith has been actively involved with the organization since 2017 and is a member of the Brookhaven Business Advisory Council. Keith and his wife, Amanda, live in Shoreham with their two sons, Easton and Camden.

 

Board Member Since | September 2020

Paul Moran

Paul R Moran is a partner at Triton Bay Wealth Advisors providing insurance solutions and wealth management advice. Paul is a graduate of Adelphi University with a BS in Management as well as an AAS degree from Five Towns College in Music Technology.  Paul has been serving as an active Big since 2011. He has recently celebrated his 8th anniversary with his current match. He enjoys outdoor sports and playing drums in a couple of local bands. Paul has two children, Ashley and Reese and currently lives in Middle Island.

 

Board Member Since | February 2022

Michael Quattrucci

Michael Quattrucci is Vice President of Enterprise Sales, Americas at Red Hat, Inc., the world’s leading provider of enterprise open source solutions, using a community-powered approach to deliver high-performing Linux, hybrid-cloud, automation, and kubernetes technologies. A subsidiary of IBM, Red Hat has over 20,000 employees, operates in over 40 countries and is a mainstay for over 90% of the Fortune 500. In his role, Mike is accountable for go-to-market strategies and overall sales execution. Mike became involved with BBBSLI in 2017 and served on the President’s Council prior to joining the Board. He holds BA and MBA degrees from Hofstra University and resides in Smithtown, NY with his wife and two children.

 

Board Member Since | April 2019

Thomas Slome

Tom Slome is a partner at Cullen and Dykman LLP, a general practice commercial law firm in Uniondale, Manhattan, Albany and New Jersey. He specializes in the areas of bankruptcy, loan workouts and corporate finance. Mr. Slome is the past Treasurer of the New York City Bar Association. He joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island Board of Directors in 2012 and served as its Chair from 2015-17. He received a B.A in Economics from the State University of New York at Stony Brook and earned his J.D. from Rutgers Law School. Mr. Slome resides in Montauk with his wife.

 

Board Member Since | April 2012

Kelly Stanley

Kelly Stanley is a therapist at Long Island Behavioral Medicine, P.C. located in Islandia and Long Island Mind & Body, P.C. located in Garden City. She joined the Big Brothers Big Sisters of Long Island Board of Directors in 2014. Having graduated from Hofstra University with an MBA and Fordham University with a Master of Social Work, Ms. Stanley is an LCSW, a member of the NASW and an IATP Certified Clinical Trauma Professional. She resides in Rockville Centre with her husband, Michael, and has two grown children, Ryan and Kara.

 

Board Member Since | October 2014

Kristin Thorne

Kristin Thorne is an investigative reporter with WABC Channel 7 Eyewitness News. She is a former Big Sister and now leads the board’s efforts to recruit male Bigs. Kristin is an adjunct assistant professor in Hofstra University’s Lawrence Herbert School of Communication. She is also a volunteer with the Society of St. Vincent de Paul.

 

Board Member Since | February 2022

Vic Verola

Vic Verola is a 25-plus year veteran of the Information Technology industry. Vic graduated from Hofstra University with a major in management and a minor in economics. Throughout his career Vic has worked in various sales leadership positions in the information technology arena. In 2017, Vic was named President of Vicom Computer Services, Inc., one of the largest regional solution providers in the area with over 100 million in revenue. Vic continues to lead as Executive Vice President, North America Sales at Converge Technology Solutions. One of the most progressive solution providers in the nation. Vic lives on Long Island with his wife Lupita and three children Danielle, Vic Jr. and Tony. His interests include photography, hockey and technology.

 

Board Member Since | March 2017