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About Us » DDI Board of Directors

DDI Board of Directors

 
 
 
Russell Snaith
 
Board Chairperson, Russell Snaith

Russell Snaith joined the Board of Directors in January 2015. Prior to that, Russell served as a member of the DDI Foundation Board beginning in May 2011. He has a son served by DDI and is the Board’s current Chairperson. Russell is also a member of the Board’s Audit, Corporate Compliance, Strategic Planning and Human Resources Committees. Russell has had a professional career of over 35 years within the Financial Services industry, with the majority spent at JP Morgan Chase. 

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Kevin Long
 

Board Vice Chairperson, Kevin Long

Kevin Long originally joined DDI’s Board of Directors in May 2008. After serving three terms totaling nine years, Kevin rejoined the Board, beginning in 2019.  He is Executive Vice President at Insidedge, a corporate communications agency specializing in employee communications and engagement, and is responsible for managing the NY office, where he consults with a number of Fortune 500 companies. Previously, Kevin held senior communications and HR positions at Accenture and CA Technologies.

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Philip Veneziano
 

Board Treasurer, Philip Veneziano, CPA

Philip Veneziano joined the Board of Directors in January 2015. He served as Board Chairperson from 2018 through 2020, and previously served as Board Treasurer.  He now holds the position of Board Secretary.  Philip served previously as a member of the DDI Foundation Board of Directors. His son is presently receiving services from DDI. Philip is a Certified Public Accountant and has over three decades of financial experience in both start-up and multi-national Fortune 500 organizations in multiple industries.

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Linda Namias
 
Board Secretary, Linda Namias

Linda Namias is a corporate communications and marketing professional with over 28 years of experience in the financial services and healthcare industries. She is currently Vice President of Corporate Communications at Broadridge Financial Solutions, Inc., where for 20 years, she has helped enhance the image and reputation of the Company and its brand among clients, employees, the media and other key stakeholders. 

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Larry Boone
 
Board Member, Larry W. Boone, Ph.D. 

Larry W. Boone, Ph.D., joined the Board of Directors in 2016. He is Professor Emeritus at St. John’s University. From 1987-2015 he served as a faculty member in the Management Department at the Peter J. Tobin College of Business. Larry was named Professor Emeritus in 2016. Currently, he is active as a speaker and consultant in leadership and management. In 2019, Larry published a book titled Servant Leadership: Attitudes, Skills and Behaviours through the U.K.’s Cambridge Scholars Publishing group.

 
 
   
DDI Board Member Rocco Cirigliano
 
Board Member, Rocco Cirigliano, CPA

Rocco J. Cirigliano, CPA, first joined DDI’s Board of Directors in August 2001 and served through 2015. He recently rejoined the Board in 2017. He has a bachelor’s degree in Sociology from SUNY Oneonta and also attended Pace University Graduate School of Business and has a CPA license. With over twenty years of experience in public accounting, Rocco has his own firm, Rocco J. Cirigliano, CPA. Rocco is a member of the Finance Committee and the Corporate Compliance Committee.  

 
 
 
DDI Board Member James Fogarty
 
Board Member, James Fogarty, Ed.D.

James Fogarty has a Doctoral degree from Nova Southeastern University, a Master’s Degree in Special Education from Adelphi University as well as a Certificate of Advanced Study in Administration from Hofstra University. James worked for Eastern Suffolk BOCES from 1983 through 2000, administering their special education programs as well as all other instructional programs and, more recently, has been providing consultation services to various school districts.

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Pamela Frank
 
Board Member, Pamela Frank

Pamela Frank joined the Board of Directors in January 2015 as the representative of the DDI Parent’s Association, for which she serves as Co-President. Pamela is the mother of two children currently served by DDI, a daughter in the Adult Day Program and a son in the Children’s Day and Children’s Residential Programs.  Pamela has been an active parent at DDI since 1999, when her daughter first began attending DDI’s Starting Early preschool program in Huntington, now known as Early Childhood Services.

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Adam Guttell
 
Board Member, Adam Guttell, Esq.

Adam G. Guttell joined DDI’s Board of Directors in January 2019. He is a Principal in the Long Island, New York, offices of Jackson Lewis P.C. His practice focuses on representing employers in workplace law matters, including preventive advice and counseling. Adam advises and represents employers in a broad range of employment law matters, including those involving discrimination and harassment, wage and hour, wrongful termination, and retaliation claims. 

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Melissa Negrin-Wiener
 
Board Member, Melissa Negrin-Wiener, Esq.

Melissa Negrin-Wiener is a partner at Cona Elder Law. Ms. Negrin-Wiener manages the Government Benefits Department, concentrating her practice in the areas of asset protection, Medicaid eligibility planning, estate planning, special needs planning, mediation, guardianships and veteran benefits. She supervises the preparation of Medicaid applications for nursing home care, home health care and community benefits, resolves complex Medicaid issues and represents families facing a reduction in Medicaid home care hours and services. 

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Peter Pierri
 
Board Member, Peter Pierri

Peter Pierri has over 40 years of executive and management experience in the field of developmental disabilities. Most recently, for seven years, he was the Executive Director of the InterAgency Council of Developmental Disabilities Agencies, Inc. (IAC) -- a not-for-profit membership association that represents and advocates on behalf of 150 agencies that serve children and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities in New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, Westchester and Rockland counties. 

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Suzanne Prigoda
 
Board Member, Suzanne Prigoda, LMSW

Suzanne Prigoda, LMSW, joined the DDI Board in August 2022, bringing with her extensive experience in the private sector as well as clinical experience in the health and human services field.  She began her professional career in marketing and advertising and progressed through fifteen years working with Fortune 500 companies in leadership roles responsible for strategy, market research, and brand development. When Suzanne’s second child was diagnosed with autism, she shifted from a corporate career into that of advocacy for her son. 

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Robert Sheppard
 
Board Member, Robert Sheppard, CPA

Rob Sheppard joined DDI’s Board of Directors in 2022 and serves on the organization's Audit Committee, Finance Committee and Continuous Quality Improvement (CQI) Committee.  He is a financial professional and Certified Public Accountant in the state of New York with ten years of experience in both public and private accounting, with hands-on experience in a wide range of industries. Robert holds an MBA from the State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego, an AASCB-accredited school of business, and is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.  

 
 
 
DDI Board Member Victoria Shoaf
 
Board Member, Victoria Shoaf, CPA

Victoria Shoaf is a Professor in the Department of Accounting and Taxation at St. John’s University. She joined the University after receiving her Ph.D. in Business, with a specialization in Accounting, from Baruch College of the City University of New York in 1997, following a business career as a financial executive. In addition to publications addressing financial and international accounting issues and accounting education, her research includes studies of the problems of corporate social responsibility and business ethics dilemmas in the new economy.