Board of Directors

"The Capacity to Care Gives Life Its Deepest Significance"

Bottom: (left to right)Teri Fritz, Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman, Toya Davis
2nd row: Linda Biordi, Dino Biordi, Sher Sparano, 3rd row: Joseph Farber, Paul Rosen, Georgiana Reese
Top: Mario Moretto, Mario Fischetti (Chairman), Leroy Foster.

SLCD Board of Directors Biography

 Mario Fischetti

"All of us have a responsibility to help children.  As Chairman of the Board, I ask people ... What have you done today to help a child?"

Mr. Mario Fischetti is the Chairman of the Board of Directors.  He successfully built his own business, Mario Fischetti Nursery, Inc.  Mr. Fischetti is deeply involved with his community and believes that success in business must extend beyond the boundaries of his own family.  As a result, he has worked with many charitable organizations including, The Loggia Glen Cove #1016 Order of the Sons of Italy and Long Island University - C.W. Post College.  He has been honored on many occasions by the Knights of Columbus, Town of North Hempstead, City of Glen Cove, and Village of Williston Park by Nassau County.

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Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman

Dr. Ellenmorris Tiegerman is the Founder and Executive Director of the School for Language and Communication Development (SLCD) and Professor Emeritus at the Derner Institute for Advanced Psychology Studies at Adelphi University.   As the Founder of SLCD, Dr. Tiegerman is responsible for the creation and the development of the preschool, elementary school and integrated programs within the School.

In 1994, Dr. Tiegerman served on Governor Pataki's Transition Team for Education in New York State.  She was appointed in 1995 by the New York State Assembly to the 21st Century Schools Committee. In 1996, Dr. Tiegerman was appointed by means of a gubernatorial recommendation to the New York State Early Intervention Coordinating Council.  Most recently, Dr. Tiegerman served as Chairperson of the Parent Involvement Committee.

Dr. Tiegerman has served on the faculty of several Universities in the New York Metropolitan area.  She has functioned as the Director of the Adelphi University Speech and Hearing Center as well as being the Founding Director of the Adelphi University Preschool Language Stimulation Program.  

Dr. Tiegerman holds a Ph.D. and a Master's degree in speech-language pathology from the City University of New York. She also received Masters degrees in special education and social work from Adelphi University. She has extensive experience in the areas of child language disorders and special education.  She has been involved in many research projects and is the author of textbooks in the areas of language disorders, early intervention, parent language training and autism spectrum disorders.  Dr. Tiegerman’s textbook on early intervention entitled "Language and Communication Intervention in Preschool Children" was published in 1995 by Allyn and Bacon.  Dr. Tiegerman recently co-edited a major textbook entitled "Language and Communication Disorders in Children," now entering its 6th edition will be published by Prentice Hall in 2008.   Her co-authored book entitled "Babysignals" appeared in hard and soft cover (Walker Publishing) in 1987.  The textbook "Collaborative Decision Making:  The Pathway to Inclusion" was co-authored with Dr. Christine Radziewicz and was published by Prentice Hall in 1998.   Dr. Tiegerman's latest book with Dr. Christine Radziewicz is entitled "Language Disorders in Children: Real Families, Real Issues and Real Interventions" has been published by Prentice Hall and is now at amazon.com.

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Joseph Farber, Esq.

"At SLCD, silence is not golden.  We want to give every child the gift of language."

Mr. Joseph Farber, Esq., is the senior partner in the law firm of Farber Rosen & Kaufman, P.C.  He is Chairperson of the Board of Directors for Queens Legal Services.  Mr. Farber is also Chairperson of the Neuroscience Institute Advisory Committee at New York Hospital, Queens.  He has held past leadership positions at numerous organizations including: Chairman of the Lions Eye Bank at North Shore LIJ Hospital; President of the Queens County Chamber of Commerce; and District Governor of Lions Clubs International.

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David Katz

Mr. David Katz has developed commercial and residential properties, overseen condominium conversions, and evaluates acquisition opportunities. Mr. Katz is a Partner at Sterling Equities (www.sterlingequities.com). Mr. Katz also presides over Sterling's non-real estate affiliate company Changing World Technologies (CWT), where he sits as a Board member. CWT is a bio-energy company using the thermodepolymerization process (TDP). He also sits on the Board of Renewable Environmental Solutions, a partnership of CWT and ConAgra Foods that is focused on deploying the TDP in the agricultural market. In addition, Mr. Katz is a Board member of the New York Mets. David was recently honored at our 2007 Casino Night.

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Mario Moretto

Mario Moretto was born in Ferrara, Italy and grew up in Queens

He worked for his father in the construction industry and then pursued a career in the financial industry.  He spent five years as an equities trader before obtaining his license as an investment broker. He opened his own investment firm West Field Securities.

He is a member of the Queens Borough Chamber of Commerce and is on the Governmental Relations Committee.
Mario Moretto believes that children with disabilities are very special and deserve every possible opportunity to live and learn like other children.

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Paul Rosen

"My daughter Lauren started as a preschooler at SLCD.  In elementary school she was the third place winner in the Governor's Annual Art Contest.  Today she is a beautiful young woman who is a talented artist.  I will always be grateful to SLCD - always."

Paul Rosen has been on the Board of Directors of SLCD since 1990.  His daughter was diagnosed with a language disorder and attended SLCD from 1987-1993. Paul was born in Queens, grew up in Westbury, and now resides in Huntington, NY.  He attended Boston University from 1971-1973 where he studied business.  Mr. Rosen returned to Long Island to help with his family’s business and graduated from Hofstra University in 1975.   He is the co-owner of DGR Contract Furniture in Jericho.  His daughter Lauren attended Syosset High School and is a talented artist who designed all of Dr. Tiegerman's textbooks and much of the artwork at SLCD.

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Toya Davis

Toya Davis has been an active member of SLCD's Board of Directors since its inception, and is the proud mother of Jonathan Davis one of SLCD's original students.  She is a contributor to Dr. Tiegerman's textbooks and serves as Parent Liaison at SLCD. Toya advocates for parents and lectures extensively on topics related to families and children with disabilities. Toya serves on the Executive Board of the following organizations:

Toya Davis resides in Hempstead, New York with her husband Arthur Davis.

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Teri Fritz

"We have an obligation in life to help children - especially when they cannot help themselves."

Teri Fritz became involved with SLCD because of her deep commitment to ensuring that all children have fulfilling educational experiences.  For the past 4 years she has been an active SLCD Board member and an advocate for the school.  Mrs. Fritz is an extremely successful business woman and entrepreneur.

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Dino and Linda Biordi

Dino and Linda Biordi reside in Port Washington, New York.  The Biordi's have five children and six grandchildren.  Last year, the Biordi's attended SLCD's Annual Dinner Dance, which honored their long-time friends Alice and Joseph Ficalora. They were deeply moved by the struggles faced by SLCD's children and their families. After learning about SLCD, Mr. Biordi turned to his wife and stated that they must become more involved with the School.  The Biordi's have a history of active community involvement with organizations such as the Arthritis Foundation and the Rosary Society.

The Biordis' knowledge and expertise have been an asset to SLCD as it continues to provide a variety of services to children with special needs.  Thirty-five years ago Mr. Biordi helped to expand his father's granite and marble fabrication business into a thriving business.  Mrs. Biordi is a former partner in Carlin Properties and has worked in the commercial and residential real estate industry for 20 years.  She retired in 2002 to spend more time with her young grandchildren.

Dino and Linda are deeply committed to becoming a Voice for children with language and autism spectrum disorders to ensure their voices are heard.

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Georgiana Reese

Georgiana Reese works for New York Community Bank (NYCB) as a Community Relations Consultant.  Spending more than 25 years with Queens County Savings Bank (a division of NYCB), Georgiana served in many capacities and held the position of First Vice President of Purchasing from 1998 to 2003.

She has spent much of her life working in banking and sharing her talents with the Queens community.  She is a member of the Queens Chamber of Commerce, Queens Historical Society and the Queens Botanical Garden (QBC).  Georgiana presently serves on the boards of the Queens Theatre in the Park, the Voelker-Orth Museum, Holy Cross High School, Flushing Council on Culture and the Arts (Vice President 1998 and 1999), Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, Oratorio Society, Queensborough Community College, Queens Child Guidance Center and New York Families for Autistic Children. She is affiliated with the American Cancer Society, Long Island City YMCA; Samaritan Foundation, Inc. and the Hong Kong Dragon Boat Festival.

Georgiana has served on the following committees: co-chair of the Queens Botanical Garden's 50th Anniversary celebration, co-chair of QBG's Rose Ball Gala, organized a "Garden on Parade" gala luncheon sponsored by Queens County Savings Bank, co-chair of the Samaritan Foundation, Inc.'s Annual Gala Dinner, the Queens Child Guidance Golf Outing, and for the past four years as co-chair on the Flushing Town Hall's Gala Committee.

In the past years, Georgiana has been recognized for her outstanding contributions to the Queens community and has been a recipient of the following awards:

• In 1998, the "Woman of the Year Award" from the Flushing Council on the Arts.
• In 1999, the "Outstanding Achievement in Fundraising" from the American Cancer Society.
• In April 2000, the "Queens Symphony Orchestra Award for Community Service".
• In October 2000, the "Recognition for Outstanding Service for the People of Queens Award."  from the Queensboro Council for Social Welfare Inc.
• In 2001, the "Carl Goldstein Samaritan Ambassador Award." from the Samaritan Foundation, Inc.
• In November 2001, the "Overall Dedication to Arts in the Community Award" by the Alliance of Queens Artists.
• In 2003, the "Excellence in the Community Award" from the New York Families For Autistic Children.
• In 2004, the "Lifetime Achievement Award" from the Community Advocacy Center.

Georgiana is a lifelong resident of Queens County.  She attended St. Agnes Academic High and St. John's University and is the recipient of numerous certificates of merit awards from The American Management Association.  

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Leroy Foster

Mr. Foster is the Director of Taxation for TIAA-CREF.  He has a long history of working with non-profit organizations and has served as the former District Governor of Lions Club International. Leroy has relocated with TIAA-CREF to North Carolina and continues to serve on SLCD's Board.

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Sher Sparano

Sher Sparano is the president of Benefits Advisory Service, an independent firm that works with employers to obtain the best possible health and benefit plans at the most reasonable cost.  BAS takes pride in being known for its commitment to providing ongoing and in-depth support to employers and their employees.

Prior to founding BAS, Ms. Sparano enjoyed a highly successful career as a senior executive working in all facets of the health care industry.  As an executive at Empire Blue Shield, she directed all components of the Mega Accounts Division (including customer service, underwriting, claim processing, managed care, and marketing).  As Vice President of Green Spring Mental Health Services, she played a key role in the formation of managed care companies, and developed systems that made the programs more user-friendly, (i.e., designing review and appeals processes).

Ms. Sparano began her career as a benefits specialist at Mount Sinai Medical Center in New York and St. Joseph's Medical Center in Lexington, Kentucky (where she selected carriers and ran self-insured funds).  Subsequently, she was an administrator for the New York State Nurses Benefits and Pension Funds (where she managed benefit negotiations, enrollment, education, and customer service for fifty-five hospitals).

At BAS, her consulting projects have included design and management for employer self-insured funds as well as for the Teamsters, United Crafts, and other union accounts.  Ms. Sparano believes that her extensive experience sitting on all sides of the table has given her a unique advantage when it comes to negotiating the best contracts for her clients.

BAS is very involved in community service.  Ms. Sparano believes that she must give back to the community in which she earns her livelihood.  She sits on key committees of many local charities such as Working Organization for Retarded Children and Adults; she serves on the Board of Directors of the Queens Chamber of Commerce and The School for Language and Communication Development.  In addition, she is a past president and active member of the Rego Park/Forest Hills Lions Club.  She also serves proudly as an Ambassador for the Samaritan Foundation.
 
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Linda Darroch-Short

Linda Darroch-Short, M.S. is the Director of Student Life at New York College of Osteopathic Medicine of New York Institute of Technology. In her role at NYIT, she is primarily the advocate for the medical students on and off campus. She helps them educationally, socially and psychologically to become the professionals that they are training to be. Linda also works at St. Joseph's college in Patchogue as a Academic Advisor and Adjunct Faculty.

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