Bill Currie is President of Gift of Life International, an umbrella organization that coordinates the programs of the Rotary-based Gift of Life programs throughout the world. Bill has been a member of the Rotary Club of New York (club #6) for 23 years and served as President in 2005-2006. He has been involved in many charitable organizations with an emphasis on helping children and those most in need.
Bill holds an MBA in Finance and Accounting from the Stern School of Business at NYU and a BBA from Baruch College (CUNY) along with a number of professional designations. Bill was an insurance executive with Swiss Reinsurance for 36 years before retiring to his 'second" occupation in 2006.
Phillip S. Angell is a consultant to several non-profit and government institutions on strategic communications. Mr. Angell's professional experience spans several decades, and includes his recent experience serving as Editor-in-Chief of the World Resources Report, published in partnership with The World Bank, UNEP and UNDP.
Previously, he has served as a consultant in strategic communications to both non-profit and for-profit organizations, as head of corporate communications for two Fortune 500 corporations, and as a political consultant in Washington, D.C., involved in Presidential, U.S. Senate and gubernatorial campaigns.
Mr. Angill has also served in various capacities as Special Assistant, Chief of Staff, and senior advisor to former Administrators at the Environmental Protection Agency.
Mr. Angill is an active member of the Chairman's Council for Gift of Life International.
Leslie Gross has been the Town Clerk of North Hempstead since her appointment in 2007, and is privileged to have officiated the marriages of hundreds of couples.
Prior to her position as Town Clerk, Ms. Gross was the Executive Director of North Hempstead's Business and Tourism Development Corporation, where she successfully spearheaded new town events and provided greater publicity for town activities and businesses.
Previously, Ms. Gross was a co-owner of a promotional marketing firm, and prior to that, held several executive account positions at a number of advertising agencies.
Ms. Gross is active in civic affairs within the Town of North Hempstead, and supports a number of organizations, including the Rotary Club of Great Neck, Rotary International 7250, North Shore/LIJ Health System, Gift of Life, Nassau County Coalition Against Domestic Violence, The Amsterdam, The Children's Sports Connection, and a long-time member of Temple Judea in Manhasset.
Ms. Gross is married and has two children.
Armand E. Lembo, Jr. is president of Lemcor, Inc., a solid waste transfer station in Newark, New Jersey.
Mr. Lembo also serves as Chairman of the New Jersey chapter of the National Solid Waste Management Association and is an active member of its legislative steering committee. He also has advised, authored and co-authored state and federal testimony of elected officials and corporate leaders on the subject of waste industry issues.
Mr. Lembo is an active community leader, and has been a consistent fundraiser for dozens of charities in New Jersey and New York. He currently serves on the Chairman's Council for Gift of Life International, and is an executive board member for the Monmouth Council of the Boy Scouts of America.
A resident of Sea Girt, New Jersey, Mr. Lembo is married and has three children.
Abe served as Vice President (1999-2000) and as a Director (1998-2000) of Rotary International. He also served as President of the Rotary Club of Bridgeport, CT (1981-82) and Governor of District 7980 (1989-90). He served as chairman, RI Committee on Fellowships2006-07; 2007-08 & 2008-09); Chairman, R. I. Election Review Committee (2000-01 & 2002-03);Chairman, R.I. RYLA Committee (2000-01 & 2002-03); Chairman, Northeast USA Region of Polio Eradication Private Sector Initiative (2000-2003), Chairman and Founder RYLA Conventions, 2001 (San Antonio, Texas) & 2003 (Brisbane, Australia), Member, Polio Plus Speakers Bureau. He has served a delegate to the 1992, 1995, 2001 & 2010 Councils on Legislation and was appointed a member-at-large at the 2004 Council.
Rotary International has honored him with their “Service Above Self” award and The Rotary Foundation has honored him with their “Distinguished Service Award” and “Citation for Meritorious Service.” He presided over the opening plenary session of the Rotary International Convention in Buenos Aires, Argentina in 2000. He serves as a Director of Rotarian sponsored Pure Water for the World, Inc.; Director Emeritus for Rotarian sponsored Gift of Life International, Inc. and is the founder of the Gift of Life program in Penang,Malaysia which has saved over 500 lives to date. He led the Rotary Foundation's National Immunization Days (NID) in Ghana & Togo in 2000.
He has been twice honored by the University of Bridgeport as “Most Distinguished Alumnus” and. He was awarded a Bachelor of Arts Degree from the University of Bridgeport and a Juris Doctor degree from Duke University School of Law. He has represented the President of Rotary International at Rotary conferences on every continent.
He is a partner in the law firm of Gordon & Scalo, Bridgeport, Connecticut. He serves on the Professional Discipline Committee of the Connecticut Bar Association and as an Attorney Trial Referee for the State of Connecticut. He is a Trustee of the University of Bridgeport and a past president of the Bridgeport Heart Association. For over 30 years, he has served as a civilian search-and-rescue boat crew and aircraft pilot for the United States Coast Guard Auxiliary and has served as president of the Bridgeport Council of the Navy League of the United States and as their regional vice-president. He is a Life Member of the American Legion.
Armand D"Amato's political and corporate career spans more than three decades.
Currently, Mr. D"Amato is the managing director of Park Strategies, LLC, where he counsels clients in the development of waste to energy facilities. He also advises clients in regard to environmental protection, land development, and solid waste, including recycling and regulatory matters before New York State agencies and local entities.
Prior to his current position, Mr. D"Amato established the Lloyd Neck Group, LLC, a corporation offering strategic counsel to clients in the areas of land use, solid waste management, environmental health and health care, among other issues.
Mr. D"Amato also founded a law firm that specialized in land use, corporate law, real estate and civil litigation.
Prior to that, Mr. D"Amato was elected and served in the New York State Assembly, where he served with distinction for 14 years.
Mr. D"Amato is active in a number of charities and civic organizations, including the Deafness Research Foundation, his local YMCA, and the Little Village School for Developmentally Disabled Children. He is a member of the Chairman's Council of Gift of Life International.
Mr. D"Amato is married, has five children, and lives in the Village of Lloyd Harbor, NY.
Mr. Kazeminy is Chairman of NJK Holding Corporation, an investment company that he founded and owns. Other business concerns which he has founded or acquired include Minneapolis Leasing Corporation, XP Systems Corporation, CENTRA Benefit Services, Quorum Group, Inc., Drake Pro Metric, Digital Insight Corporation, Certiport, Creative Publishing International, Deep Marine Technology, Content Analyst and Imaging Acceptance Corporation. A native of Iran who has lived in the United States for 35 years, Mr. Kazeminy has helped numerous distressed families come to the United States. He supports numerous charities and is particularly interested in the health, education and welfare of children and counsels young people in need of advice, direction and employment.
Bruce Holcomb focuses on litigation strategy and settlement in major antitrust cases, in which he has represented more than twenty-five Fortune 500 companies. Before founding Adams Holcomb, he was a litigation partner at the law firm of Dickstein Shapiro LLP where he headed the firm's Antitrust & Financial Services and Business Litigation Practices. He is ranked in the 2007 and 2008 editions of Chambers USA: America's Leading Lawyers for Business as a leading individual in the area of Antitrust for the District of Columbia. In 2006, Mr. Holcomb was named one of The Best Lawyers in America in antitrust law and was listed in Lawdragon's Leading Lawyers.
Founding partner of Mohen & Tracey LLP, a general practice law firm. Resident in New York and serves asChairman of the firm. A practicing attorney specializing in strategic planning and critical advice to business leaders. Key advisor to senior management on all facets of operations, expansions, M&A, reorganizations and HR issues. Extensive experience supervising teams of attorneys and investigators on litigation of more than 700 civil cases. Have lectured at many institutions and forums in the United States and throughout the world. Regular practice before federal and state courts.
Fredlee has been a member of the New York Rotary Club since January, 2007. Her brother, Barry, a Board Member of the Danvers, Mass., Rotary Club, introduced her to Rotary and since then she has been an active member, volunteering in Club and Community Services. Professionally, she is a clinical social worker in Manhattan with a private practice in individual, couple and family psychotherapy.
She graduated from Boston University with a degree in Psychology and earned two masters degrees at Columbia University and Rutgers University respectively. Her clinical licenses are in Clinical Social Work, School Psychology and Marital and Family Therapy. She completed postgraduate studies in individual psychodynamic psychotherapy for five years in New York and in family systems psychotherapy for seven years in New York and Washington, D.C. She was consulting supervisor in the Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Medical Center, New York City, from 1983 -2004, supervising psychiatric residents and psychology interns in family therapy, and directed a clinical training and treatment program for families coping with schizophrenia. In 2001, she treated families and individuals who lost relatives in the World Trade Center crisis in New York in both volunteer and consulting capacities. In addition, she coordinated family therapy training at Bergen Regional Medical Center, Paramus, NJ, in 2002. She continues to consult to businesses, executives, and hospitals in family and systems interventions.
She became involved with Gift of Life in November, 2007, and worked with the Rotary Club of New York with families whose children were admitted to NYU Medical Center for observation and treatment. In September, 2008, she was elected to Rotary District 7230 Gift of Life Board of Directors for a three year term. In 2009, she was appointed to Gift of Life International Chairman's Circle. Most recently, she has been developing Family Guidelines for Aftercare and for Preparation for Surgery for families whose children are being served by GOLI, and for Host Families who are caring for families and children who are brought to other countries for surgery.
J. Thomas Ford has been a supporter of the Gift of Life for nearly 20 years.
Mr. Ford is president of the Gift of Life chapter in Panama, where he resides. Mr. Ford retired in 1992 to pursue his civic interests and a career in consulting international organizations after a long and heralded career as the founder of Grupo Plastifom, manufacturer of flexible and rigid polyurethane foam. Prior to that, Mr. Ford had worked as vice president for Grupo Polymer, a manufacturer of plastic products.
Mr. Ford is also involved in a number of other charitable and civic organizations in Panama. He has been the recipient of many honors and awards, and is extraordinarily generous with his time and his involvement. He is a recognized member of the Rotary in Panama, and continues to donate his time to many causes.
Mr. Ford is a valued and vital member of the GOL board, and his contributions to this organization and to the children we serve are greatly appreciated.
Donald L. Ashkenase, has been Executive Vice President - Corporate of Montefiore Medical Center since 1987. Montefiore is the University Hospital and Academic Medical Center for the Albert Einstein College of Medicine.
Mr. Ashkenase graduated in 1965 from Brooklyn College with a BA degree with a major in Accounting. He was in the last ROTC class at Brooklyn College. He then received his Masters Degree in Hospital Administration from Wagner College, Staten Island.
After he graduated, Don served four years in the United States Air Force, rising to the rank of Captain and serving as an administrator in a 75 bed hospital. When he left the Air Force in 1969 he went to work for what was then the NYC Department of Hospitals (now, the Health and Hospital Corporation) as an Assistant Administrator at Metropolitan Hospital, progressing to Associate Administrator for Ambulatory Care at Cumberland Hospital, and then, moving to HHC's central office, he served as Budget Director and eventually Chief Financial Officer for what was then a $1.1 billion corporation controlling 18 city hospitals.
Richard is an award-winning director with over 20 years experience in all aspects of broadcast television production. Some of his more recent credits include: Beyond the Sport with Keith Hernandez, On Location: Behind-The-Scenes with Corbin Bernsen, Audubon's Animal Adventures for the Disney Channel, Mysterious Places with Stacey Keach, Romantic Inns of America, Route 66: A Cruise Down Main Street, Exotic Islands and Tennis World for The Travel Channel. Highway Hangouts: Celebrating Roadside America for the History Channel, Everst: Mountain of Dreams…Mountain of Doom, and The Winning Stategies of Gambling with James Coburn for GOLdhill Home Video, Brighter Baby and Mama Africa featuring Queen Latifah for Winstar Entertainment, Weddings of A Lifetime for Lifetime Television, Rediscover America-Uncovering Skin for the Discovery Channel, Going Home, Spectaluar Pools for HGTV, In Food Today with Chef Rocco, My Kitchen and My Home with Chef Torres for the Food Network.
Mr. Miller has over 35 years experience in the solid waste collection, transportation, and disposal business, as a Founder, Principal, and Senior Executive. Mr. Miller grew Super Kwik Inc., a family waste management business based in New Jersey, from a three truck operation in 1973 to the Regions largest privately owned waste company. At the time when the company merged with Eastern Environmental in 1996, Super Kwik boasted over 140 trucks, 6,000 customers and was the largest privately owned waste management firm in the region.
Mr. Miller remained with EESI as an Executive Vice President through 1999 until the company merged with Waste Management Inc. During that period, EESI acquired and integrated over 60 companies in the Eastern United States becoming the 5th largest waste management company in the country with a market capitalization of 1.3 billion dollars.
Currently, Mr. Miller is C.E.O of Choice Environmental Services Inc., a leading Florida waste management firm providing Integrated Solid Waste and Recycling services. Additionally, Mr. Miller supports numerous charities through the Bailey Miller Family Foundation.
Brenda Small is the mother of three beautiful girls, the youngest, Delaney Kate, was diagnosed with congenital heart disease at one week of age. Following the successful open heart surgery of their daughter, Brenda Small and her husband established a foundation in 2003 to help other children around the world afflicted with CHD as their way of giving back. Under the direction of Brenda, the foundation has grown from helping one or two children per year to nearly 100 per year. In 2006, the Delaney Kate Heart Fund was adopted by the Rotary Club of the Conejo Valley as an international project. Shortly thereafter, the foundation became one of the 66 global affiliates of Gift of Life International.
As President of Gift of Life Los Angeles, Brenda Small coordinates all fundraising events to produce yearly revenue of $75,000 - $100,000. These funds are designated to support medical missions, sponsorship of children who cannot be helped in their own country, and sponsorship for the nutritional assistance program in El Salvador which was implemented by Brenda as a result of several home visits to the recipients of the gift of life.
As Director of Gift of Life International, Brenda has worked side by side with Rob Raylman, Executive Director of GOLI, as well as other GOL programs, various NGO's, government officials and hospital administrators to establish the Our Hearts are in El Salvador global initiative. Gift of Life Los Angeles has been focusing their efforts in El Salvador since 2008 and is very committed to the establishment of a sustainable pediatric cardiac surgical and follow up program in this country.
Brenda Small has an incredible love for children, regardless of where they are from. She truly believes that every child deserves a chance to live and works hard to give this opportunity to as many children as possible.
Michael Colasurdo Sr. is the owner of Mulberry Street Italian Food Centers, which are exclusive Italian Specialty Food Centers in Ocean County, NJ.
A former teacher at Colonia Senior High School in Woodbridge, New Jersey, Michael taught American History, Economics and International Studies. He later departed the teaching profession, and decided to become a self-employed businessman as owner of Mulberry Street. Additionally, Michael and his sons had formed “Colasurdo Group Associates” which is in association with the Donald Trump Network Marketing initiative in the health and wellness industry.
Michael's Rotary involvement began in1984, when he became a member of the Rotary Club of Brick Township. Throughout his tenure as a Rotary member, Michael has served in all positions of leadership culminating in the Presidency in Rotary year 1993-94. In addition to his presidency, he has held numerous District-wide positions. Since 2004, Michael has been assigned as the personal representative of several RI Presidents to various District Conferences throughout the Rotary world.
In 1999, Michael received the honor of Grand Marshall of the Columbus Day Parade as well bring recognized as Citizen of the Year by the Ocean County Cultural Society in 2001. In addition, his Rotary Club named him Rotarian of the Year in 2002. He is a multiple Paul Harris Fellow, a Major Donor and Benefactor of the Permanent Fund, a Charter Member of the Bequest Society of the Rotary Foundation, as well as a recipient of the Meritorious Service Award.
Michael has held many executive positions for RI, and continues to bring his can-do attitude and tireless energy as a supporter of the Gift of Life International (GOLI) program, an organization supported by Rotaries around the world. Michael is pleased to serve on the Board of Directors for GOLI.
Michael and his wife Ann still reside in New Jersey and have three sons. Michael's commitment to the Rotary Foundation is “from the heart” as evidenced by his entire family, wife, parents, children, daughters-in-law, and grandchildren all having been recognized as Paul Harris Fellows.
Joseph Laureni has been an active Rotarian since 1984 when he joined the Mid-Bergen County club in District 7490.
In 1986, Joe became Club President and the highlight of his year was the introduction of the Gift of Life program to his club. The Mid-Bergen club has gone on to sponsor over 20 disadvantaged children for life-saving heart surgery through the Gift of Life.
In 2004, Joe became the Centennial President of his club a year during which Mid-Bergen chartered an Interact club at the Bergen County Technical High School in Teterboro, New Jersey. On the District level, Joe is a Trustee of the Gift of Life Foundation most recently serving as Treasurer.
In 2005, Joe served as sub-committee chairman of the first annual Gift of Life
walk-a-thon that raised $30,000.00.
In 2007-2008 Joe served as District Governor, and his year was particularly
memorable because of his involvement in a Vocational Service Project to research
water issues in Comayaqua, Honduras, and by his participation in a Gift of
Life medical mission to San Pedro Sula, Honduras.
Joe is proud of the two Rotary Clubs chartered during his year as Governor and of the 6 new clubs chartered during his 3-year term as District Extension Chair. Currently, Joe is serving Rotary as an RLI Discussion Leader and as Chairman of the 2011 Mid-Northeast Multi-District PETS.
George's Rotary life started in 1993 as he became an active member of the Riverhead Rotary Club. In 1999 he was asked to join the Club's Board of Directors. In 2000 we was awarded Rotarian of the Year. He served as Secretary, President Elect and was proud to be Riverhead's Centennial President. During that year, the club earned the Presidential Citation. George was honored with three Paul Harris Fellows for his significant contributions to the club. In 2007 George joined the board of Gift of Life 7260. In July of 2008 he took the oath of office as District Governor for District 7260. After his term as Governor he was appointed District Rotary Foundation Chair. In 2009 George was honored to accept a seat on the board of Gift of Life International. In July 2010 he joined the Greenport Rotary Club, of which his wife Eileen is an officer, and was made an Honorary Member of the Port au Prince Rotary Club.
George has been involved with several Matching grants from The Rotary Foundation and has made many trips to Haiti, Dominican Republic and El Salvador in the past 5 years.
As a resident of Mattituck, George takes pride in his community and has devoted a great deal of his time and energy to many civic organizations. He is a Past President of the Mattituck Chamber of Commerce, Past President and now Director of the Mattituck Community Fund and is Vice President of the North Fork Promotions Council. He has been a key player in a host of recreational and beautification projects. He has also chaired a number of fund- raising events for various charitable organizations. Through his dedicated work with State, County, and Southold Town officials, he has secured and administered several public grants for the Hamlet of Mattituck. George is an advocate for the preservation of open space on the North Fork of Long Island, and is a former Vice Chairman of the Southold Town Planning Board. He also advises Congressman Tim Bishop on his Small Business Advisory Committee.
His professional life for the last twenty five years has been in personal and corporate finance and planning. He currently represents FSC Securities Corporation as a General and Municipal Securities Principal / Division Manager. George provides sound investment advice and retirement planning services. A financial advisor who assists individuals with estate and college planning, George holds a Series 24, Series 51, Series 7, Series 63, Series 65, New York State Health and Life Insurance licenses, and is a member of SIPC / FINRA. He is a Independent Broker for AFLAC New York. He has been teaching investment classes at Suffolk County Community College in Selden, NY since September of 2000.
Prior to 1984, George held several senior level management, sales and marketing positions with several Fortune 500 Companies. He was responsible for the disposition of Federal, State and New York City contracts in his capacity as Senior Government Specialist.
George was born in Bronx, NY in 1953 and grew up in Levittown, NY. He graduated Island Trees HS in 1971. He attended William Patterson College of New Jersey where he majored in Sociology. George married his wife Eileen in 1977. They have two lovely daughters, Jennifer and Kristin.