GARDEN CITY FRIENDS OF STEAM

Executive Director

Patricia Lynch has over 30 years experience in leadership and management. She has demonstrated expertise in communication, organizational development, executive coaching, business strategy, and community organizing. As a Vice President at National Westminster Bank, Patricia managed the Commercial Bank Training Department while acting as an internal management consultant to senior executives. She is a licensed Clinical Social Worker with a psychotherapy practice in Brooklyn Heights NY. She earned a BA from Hamilton College, MBA from Adelphi University, and MS from Columbia University.

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Patricia is the founder of the Garden City Friends of STEM (GCFS).  She has been an active member of community, volunteering in leadership roles: Co-chair Village of Stewart Manor Beautification Committee, CYO Swim Team Coach, St. Anne’s Faith Formation teacher, PTA Site-Based Team parent representative, and Community Fundraiser.  Patricia is passionate about bringing competitive programs and opportunities to the children of Garden City. She resides in Garden City with her husband, James, and two children.

Marketing

Maria has demonstrated success in delivering value to organizations for over 25 years. As President of MPA Consultants, Founder of and Camp Italia USA, and former SVP of MTV Networks, her broad experience includes launching her own businesses as well as achievement in corporate business strategy, media & advertising financial management, and organizational development. Maria holds a B.S. in  in Accounting and International Business and a Certificate in Learning & Organizational Development both from New York University. She is also a licensed CPA.

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She holds leadership positions in a variety of professional, community, & cultural organizations, including National Organization of Italian American Women (NOIAW), Order Sons of Italy (OSIA), founding member of Garden City Robotics League (GCRL), various committee chairmanships in Garden City PTA, and Coordinator and Catechist of St. Anne’s Faith Formation Program. She resides in Garden City with her husband, Peter, and two children.

Treasurer

Eileen Ambach is the Finance and HR Manager at Landmark on Main Street, a not-for-profit performing arts and community center in Port Washington, NY.  Prior to this, she served as the Chief Financial Officer of Pegasus Capital Advisors, a private equity fund, and as a Senior Manager at Deloitte & Touche LLP. Eileen is a NYS licensed CPA.

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Eileen is an active community volunteer, having served in numerous leadership roles, including Treasurer, over the years for a number of community groups.  She is an avid supporter of STEM related activities in the community. Eileen lives in Garden City with her husband, Ken, and their three children.  Her husband is a founding member of Garden City Robotics League (GCRL) and coach of GCRL’s Crazy Creator FLL team.

Secretary

Jill is a Teachers Assistant at Lutheran Preschool. Prior to this, she was an Associate Buyer/ Merchandise Planner at  A&S, and a Merchandise Planner at both Linens n Things and Bed Bath & Beyond. Jill earned an Associates Degree in Business Administration and BPS from Laboratory Institute of Merchandising.

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Jill is a very active member of her community and serves tirelessly in volunteer leadership positions in various organizations. She holds key roles at St. Joseph’s Vacation Bible School and the Garden City PTA. In addition, Jill has served as a Girl Scout Leader for 7 years and received the Outstanding Leader Award in 2012 in recognition of her leadership. Jill lives in Garden City with her husband and two children.

Fundraising & Sponsorship

Danielle began her career in Financial Planning at The Hearst Corporation. After identifying a strength in networking, she transitioned into the world of recruiting and leveraged her financial experience into contract recruiting positions at Morgan Stanley and Robert Half International. Danielle is a graduate of Pace University, NYC.

Leaving the business world to start a family, Danielle combined her networking skills with a passion for promoting - this time for charity. Her then 3-year old son was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (CF), a life-threatening genetic disease with no cure. To this day she is an avid fundraiser for CF and also puts her skills to work for other causes within Garden City such as the Children's Medical Fund, for which she served as Chair for 2 years, and the Garden City PTA. She continues to make an impact on the community, becoming one of the founding members of Garden City Robotics League (GCRL). Danielle currently lives in Garden City with her husband Matt and her two sons. 

Membership

Tiffany has over 20 years experience as a computer programmer in the financial industry.  Starting out as a mortgage-backed securites analyst, she became interested in technology as the world wide web was taking off in the early 1990’s. She decided to pursue her new-found passion in technology by switching careers to computer programming and joining an internet startup on Wall Street.  Tiffany works for an online brokerage firm today.  She received a BA in economics and political science from Wellesley College, and a masters degree in computer science from New York University.

Publicity

Alena has extensive editorial experience in online news. She currently works as a senior editor for Bing at Microsoft, responsible for overseeing news content that reaches millions of users each day around the world. Prior to Microsoft, she was an editor for Yahoo’s homepage. Alena has also worked as managing editor for a number of top publishing companies including Conde Nast, Time Warner and American Express Publishing. In addition to global audiences, Alena contributes regularly to local community newspapers such as The Garden City News and Garden City Life. Alena resides in Garden City with her husband and two children.

Publicity

Debra Cupani has an M.S. in Education and has been an elementary teacher in Long Beach Public Schools for 20 years. During her tenure, she has served serves as a supervisor for the Student Government Club, and on the curriculum committee and the technology committee. Within her district, she conducts professional development workshops. She is also active in the Garden City PTA as Publicity Director, interview committee member and Arts in Education committee member. She is married to Joe Cupani and has two step-daughters, Meredith and Amelia, and two sons, Enzo and Angelo.

Grant Administrator & STEM Advisor

Emily is an Asst. Professor of Chemistry at Hofstra University.  She earned her BA in Chemistry from Vassar College and her PhD in Biophysical Chemistry at the University of California, Berkeley.  After receiving her doctorate, she worked in the Biotechnology industry at Maxygen and Codexis. At Codexis, she led an international team of bioinformatics scientists.  She is an inventor on more than 50 patents, has three Presidential Green Chemistry Challenge Awards, and multiple publications in scientific journals.  Her academic career began as an HHMI fellow at Vassar College.

Grant Administrator & STEM Advisor

In his 22 years at Grumman Corp, Ed worked in the areas of Sonar, Space Based Rada, Electronic Warfare and Cyber. The major focus of his work was engineering research and development.  Prior to Northrop, he was engineering manager and system architect at Robotic Vision Systems, applying state of the art, 3-D vision sensors to industrial applications.

Ed has taught Electrical Engineering at Manhattan College and Computer Science and EE at Polytechnic Institute of NYU, CUNY Graduate School and NYIT.  His electrical engineering degrees include a PhD from Polytechnic Institute of Brooklyn, a Masters from Columbia, and a Bachelors from CCNY.

Community Affairs & Programs

Danielle is an accomplished sales, marketing and merchandising executive with a flair for personal connection and making a difference. She has a management background in retail, jewelry & accessories, and media. She worked as a Senior Gold Buyer for Fortunoff and was Executive Producer of the children's’ CD “Jersey Babys”.

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Danielle has a BA and MS degree in Elementary Education from Adelphi University. She coached a parent-lead FIRST Robotics League team for ages 9-14 in 2013, prior to the formation of GCFS and the establishment of school district teams. She has participated in avid fundraising for numerous charities, including Team For Kids, NYU Lyme Disease Center, and North Shore Child and Family Guidance Center where she also served on their Advisory Board. Danielle lives in Garden City with her husband and two children.

Community Affairs & Programs

Courtney is  currently Vice President of Administration for the Local Marketing Automation Software Platform at Pica9, Inc. She received her Bachelor of Science in Accounting from the University of South Florida. 

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Courtney actively contributes to both professional and community interests, drawing on wisdom & experience amassed as a wife, mother to three children, business professional, community volunteer and daughter of a research & development electrochemist and teacher. An active member of her community, she volunteers as Treasurer and Director for the Garden City Estates Property Owners Association, and holds numerous positions in the Garden City PTA including Curriculum Committee, Grade Rep, Class Parent, and Box Top Representative. 

Community Affairs & Programs

James is an Adult, Adolescent and Forensic Psychiatrist. He runs a private practice and successful consultancy. In addition James is an Elder Care advisor. James is active in numerous school and community organizations. He is former Deputy Mayor of the Village of Stewart Manor, has coached St. Anne's track and volleyball teams as well as Garden City’s baseball and softball team. James coached a parent-lead FIRST Robotics League team for ages 9-14 in 2013, prior to the formation of GCFS and the establishment of school district teams.He lives in GC with his wife and two children.  

School Liaison

With 30 years experience as an electrical engineer, Matthew is presently a consulting engineer for ABB engaged in infrastructure projects in power distribution, data centers and smart grid networks. Matthew holds 7 design patents. He received his BSEE in Electrical Engineering from Pratt Institute and went on to work as a project engineer at Underwriters Laboratories. Matthew is also a senior member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and in that role has served as chair of several technical committees including lightning protection standards development. Matt also holds a MA in Historical Archaeology. His hobbies include supporting childrens' participation in soccer, baseball, music and national parks.