| Michael Potack |
Board Chair, has been a member of the board since 1980.
He is the President and Chief Executive Officer of Unitex/Med-Apparel Services.
He began his successful career in the linen and laundry business in 1966 as Vice President of Unitex.
From 1972-1975, he served as Director of the Textile Rental Services Association,
a national trade association representing this $6 billion a year industry.
Unitex's headquarters and large laundry facility was located in Highbridge until 2003 and is now in nearby Mt. Vernon.
The company has always hired local Highbridge residents and has in recent years hired residents for their other plants in Westchester and Orange Counties. Mr. Potack has shared his management skills with the HCLC staff and has taken a particular interest in monitoring the Outcomes project.
Currently, he is also chair of the board of Beth Abraham Hospital, a not-for-profit health care facility.
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| Marios Caiafas |
Marios Caiafas moved his family to Highbridge from Nigeria, Africa in 1988 and became a member of the board in 1989.
Marios worked at St. Dominic's Home as a childcare worker and member of the recreation staff from 1993-1995.
He now owns and operates a taxicab and moving company. He graduated from Maritime College where he majored
in Marine Transport and he has a Coast Guard license to operate an ocean-going ship.
Marios will soon become a citizen of the United States of America.
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| Y. Gail Goode |
Y. Gail Goode has been a member of the board since 1990. She worked for the Bronx District Attorney from 1986-1992 before moving on to be Executive Agency Counsel for the New York City Transit Authority, a position she has held since November 1996. In this capacity she is a major case attorney handling all of New York Country’s high profile personal injury cases. For example, train derailments, bus crashes, pedestrian knockdowns and many others.
Gail lived in the Morrisania section of the Bronx for most of her life before moving to Co-op city. She attended South Bronx elementary schools and was enrolled in the College bound program at Walton High School. While being an Assistant District Attorney, she volunteered at several community organizations. She sponsored a fundraiser in the summer of 2004 involving the Bronx Half-Marathon.
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| Roger McDaniel |
Roger McDaniel has been a member of the board since 1983. He is a Managing Director at Mid-Market Securities, LLC, a boutique investment bank in New York City, specializing in project and corporate financing for energy and infrastructure companies. He began his career as a teacher and administrator in education and drug treatment programs in East New York, Harlem and the South Bronx. After attending law school, he practiced law at the New York law firm of Cleary, Gottlieb, Steen & Hamilton. In addition to spending 10 years in the project finance group at Lehman Brothers, he has also been with WestLB, New Harbor and Madigan Resources.
Mr. McDaniel received his undergraduate degree from Stanford University and his Law degree from New York University School of Law.
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| Joan McGuire |
Joan McGuire has been a board member since the beginning of the agency in 1979. She holds a Master's Degree in Urban Planning from New York University. She does volunteer consultancy work with schools and community agencies. Joan is particularly helpful to the HCLC staff in the development and fundraising field.
Together with Nona Petioni, Joan developed our individual donor fundraising plan the past year as part of a foundation sponsored course in development.
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| Nona Petioni |
Nona Petioni was appointed to the HCLC board in 1998. Ms. Petioni has been a resident of Anderson Avenue since 1970. Two years before being appointed a board member, she joined the Leadership Group of the Neighbors in Highbridge Initiative of HCLC. She did volunteer work with The United Harlem Aids Ministry from 1995 through 2005.
Ms. Petioni retired from NYNEX in 1991. She is a constant advocate for involving retired people in addressing many particular needs in the Highbridge community. She envisions retired people helping youth in the local PS 73 to catch up to grade level. Nona and Joan McGuire developed our individual donor fundraising plan the past year as part of a foundation sponsored course in development.
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| Gail Hernandez |
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Gail Hernandez has been a resident of Highbridge for over 30 years. Currently, she works with the young women and their children who live in Sienna House, a temporary shelter in Highbridge. Two years ago, Gail retired from the Metropolitan Museum of Art where she was the Office Manager for the Museum store. Gail joined the HCLC board in 2004.
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| Penny Guest |
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Penny Guest volunteers her accounting services with several not-for-profit organizations in Manhattan. She worked as a CPA for Ernst & Young with responsibility for tax compliance for not-for-profit clients. She also worked as an Account Manager for the Baltimore Symphony and owned her own accounting business. She has been a board member for several non-profits. Penny joined the HCLC board in 2004.
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| Gary Calnek |
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Gary Calnek recently retired as a Hospital Administrator in the Bronx. He specialized in personnel issues and was instrumental in developing new hospital employment programs for Bronx residents. Gary has helped significantly in our negotiation with the Parks Department for use of the West Bronx Recreation Center. He joined the HCLC board in 2004.
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| Anthony Hitchman |
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Tony Hitchman joined our board in the summer of
2007 after volunteering with HCLC through a grant from the Taproot
Foundation. He is currently a Senior Vice President at U.S.
Trust, Bank of America Private Wealth Management. Prior to Bank of
America he worked in Segment Marketing at Morgan Stanley and in
Strategic Initiatives at The Bank of New York. Tony holds a
bachelors degree in Political Science from Villanova University and
is pursuing a Masters in International Political Economy and
Development at Fordham University. |
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Success Story 1