GARDEN CITY FRIENDS OF STEAM

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.

​

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.

Advisor

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.

​

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.

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 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.

Advisor

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.

​

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.

Advisor

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”.

​

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.

Advisor

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. 

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.  

Founder/Grants Administrator/Fundraising

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.

​

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.

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.

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. 

​

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. 

Programs Director

Kerry has over 20 years of experience as a licensed Interior Designer.  Her early career began working for firms large and small in Wilmington, Philadelphia, and New York City.  After starting a family, she balances her love of design with life, by working for herself.  Her creativity, strong communication skills and extraordinary attention to detail are apparent in every new project.

She has spent the last 8 years in Garden City volunteering in the community and school district.  She has served on various PTA committees such as, Decoration Committee, Pick A Reading Partner, and Class Parent Coordinator. In addition, she has assisted with independent gardening projects with various schools, and has co-coached both JR. FLL and FLL Robotics teams. 

Kerry is passionate about using creativity to inspire and innovate in all aspects of her life. She lives in Garden City with her husband Jordan and their two sons Eli and Nate. Her sense of discovery and optimism keep her growing with her children.  

Secretary

Darlene has spent the last 14 years living in Garden City and volunteering in the community and school district. She has served on the Arts in Education Committee, The Welcoming Club, Middle School Publicity Committee and Chess Club program.  Prior to this, Darlene spent over 12 years in Advertising Sales in the Cable/Broadcasting Industry where, as an Account Executive, she oversaw multimillion dollar advertising budgets utilizing her negotiation and consensus building skills. She worked for various networks including The Weather Channel, Lifetime Television and Discovery Communications. Darlene has a Bachelor of Arts degree from Loyola University.  She resides in Garden City with her husband Mike and two children.

Immediate Past Executive Director

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.  

Marketing

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.

School Liaison

A Wellesley College graduate, CEO and Founder Maria attended the Washington College of Law at American University and worked for nearly 14 years at some of New York's top law firms before launching Milo Paper. Always an artist at heart, she was drawn into the world of design by creating her son's first birthday invitation. In 2007, she convinced her husband Nico, and her closest friend Evelyn, to create Milo Paper. Greek for "apple", "Milo" is a reference to Maria's heritage and New York City roots. Products featuring her designs have been sold at Neiman Marcus and can be found in fine stationery stores throughout the country.