About Us

Colonel (U.S. Army, Retired) James D. McDonough, Jr. was appointed Director of the New York State Division of Veterans’ Services on April 4th, 2019..

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Lois Slubowski joined the Headstrong team at the end of 2016. In her role as the Business Manager / HR Operations she has oversight of the day-to-day administrative operations and provides infrastructure support to the organization.

Lora Dircz joined Headstrong in 2020, expanding her accomplished marketing portfolio into the nonprofit space. Previously, Lora has worked all over the world of sports entertainment, including the Salt Lake Olympic Organizing Committee, Ultimate Fighting Championship, MillerCoors, and Kawasaki Motors Corp.

Evelyn Polcari is a Director at Kayne Anderson Real Estate (KA Real Estate), a boutique private equity firm and the Director of Development & Events at the Headstrong Project.

Matt recently joined Headstrong continuing his career in the veteran nonprofit space. Matt was the former Director of external affairs and innovation at Psych Armor Institute, where he remains a consultant for special projects.

Tatjana Richardson joined the Headstrong team at the start of 2020 and is working principally on advancement and development efforts through institutional and individual donor management.

Parshva Bavishi is a Program Manager at The Headstrong Project. His work involves program impact and evaluation, strategy development, and partnership management.

Matthew McCoy joined Headstrong in 2017 after working for seven years with Creative Edge PR where he focused on social media and events for A-list celebrities and athletes.

Kelsey Custer joined the Headstrong Project as Salesforce Database Administrator in 2020. She is responsible for standardizing Headstrong reporting, database management, and is the point of contact for all integrations, expansion, and visualization projects.

Stephanie Henderson joined Headstrong in 2021 as the Grant Writer and Prospect Research
Manager. As part of Headstrong’s expansion initiatives, she is responsible for grant writing,
project management, and prospect research.

Katya Musacchio joined the Headstrong team in April of 2021. As the organization’s Business Operations Manager, Katya provides support in the following areas: Human Resources, Finance and Operations.

Dr. Ann B. Beeder is Associate Professor of Clinical Public Health and Associate Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the Weill Medical College of Cornell University.

Gerard Ilaria has dedicated his life to the provision of mental health and health care to stigmatized and underserved populations.

Jacqueline “Jack” Todaro is a senior administrative assistant at Weill Cornell Medicine, providing executive support throughout the division

Albert Rabil, III, is the Managing Partner and CEO of Kayne Anderson Capital Advisors’ real estate private equity business, where he oversees the origination, execution and management of private investments in specialized niche real estate sectors, principally off-campus student housing.

David Petrucco is a Co-Founder of Backcast Partners, a financial advisory, consulting and investment business located in Millburn NJ, and was formerly a Partner at Kayne Anderson, a Managing Director at Blackstone, and also worked at RBS Securities and UBS Securities.

Paul Casey is a Managing Director and the Chief Operating Officer of Morgan Stanley Private Wealth Management, a division of Morgan Stanley Wealth Management comprised of 400 private wealth advisors who collectively manage over $250 billion in Ultra High Net Worth private client assets.

Jay A. Epstien is partner of DLA Piper LLP, resident in the firm’s Washington, D.C. office.

Ryan Sparks is the Chief Information officer of Lennar Corporation, managing the strategy, development, implementation, and usability of the company’s technology and data ecosystems.

Libby Leist has been the executive producer of TODAY for the 7 a.m. and 8 a.m. hours since January 2018. Leist is responsible for the first two hours of TODAY program content and leads the broadcast’s management team and program staff.

Darlan Monterisi serves as Head of Communications & Brand at Dataminr.

Linda is a CEO, interim CEO, Fractional C-Suite executive, Independent Director, Strategic Advisory, experienced I&D executive and Executive Coach with a unique background that spans the private sector, federal, defense, state, and local governments military industry. Linda accelerates team growth by focusing at the intersection of people, technology and innovation. She has served Interim CEO, State level Cabinet Secretary, Director of Operations, and Major General leading the Maryland National Guard adding to her ability to operate across an organization. Exceptionally skilled in Motivational Speaking, Innovation, IT Transformation, Program Management, Executive Coaching, Government Contracting, Leadership, and Crisis Management. Strong military and government services. She is willing to jump into any challenge and work side by side to achieve results bringing a steady and focused leadership perspective serving as the stabilizer and connector to move things forward. She holds a PhD in Industrial and Organizational Psychology as well as 2 master’s degrees. She is a Program Management Professional (PMP), Professional Certified Coach (PCC) and a John Maxwell coach/trainer.

Peter Westmeyer is CEO at Remedy Medical Properties, Inc.

William J. Wolfe is the co-founder and Chairman of First Washington Realty, Inc.

Jeff Douglass was commissioned a Second Lieutenant upon graduation from the University of Wisconsin on 18 May 1975.

Michelle DiFebo Freeman is the owner and CEO of the Carl M. Freeman Companies, a Real Estate company established in 1947, that specializes in land acquisition, land planning, development and redevelopment, and the management of award-winning, amenity-rich residential communities, neighborhood shopping centers and commercial properties.

Kenny is Managing Partner of Kace Capital Advisors , Chief Market Strategist at SlateStone Wealth, and a Managing Director at Campfire Capital a boutique investment bank.

Entrepreneur, best-selling author, and former Navy SEAL, David Silverman is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of CrossLead, Inc. CrossLead is a technology company whose product suite is being used by top leaders and companies around the globe.

David W. Smith is the Director of Sustainability for Carlisle Companies Incorporated Carlisle Companies Incorporated is a diversified, global portfolio of niche brands that manufacture highly engineered products.