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Our Team

MaryGrace Giuliano
Executive Director
mgiuliano@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x 304

Kate Guthrie
Director of Development
kguthrie@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x 302

Kari Ryan
Director of Employment and Day Services
kryan@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x313

Saudona Polanco
Director of Residential Services
SPolanco@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x 344

Barbara Fitzpatrick
Director of Pediatric Therapies at the Rubino Center
bfitzpatrick@starct.org
(203) 855-0634

Dottie Jankowski
Director of Family Support Services
djankowski@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x359

Peter C. Saverine
Director of Philanthropy
psaverine@starct.org
203-846-9581 x302

Denise Oakley
Director of Financial Services
doakley@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x 307

Colin Donegan
Director of Human Resources
careers@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x 360

Robert Greenbaum
Director of Operations
rgreenbaum@starct.org
(203) 846-9581 x 315

Board of Directors

Meghan Cioffi

President, Board of Directors

Meghan is in her second term as President of STAR’s Board of Directors after serving on the board since 2008. Meghan lives in New Canaan with her husband, Rob, and their three children. Her daughter, Molly received services from STAR and is a proud graduate of Lesley College in Cambridge, MA.

Meghan has a BA in psychology from the University of Vermont and a Master’s degree in Social Work from The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. In addition to her dedication to STAR, Meghan has served in numerous leadership roles and various volunteer capacities at both of her alma maters, the New Canaan Public Schools, and a host of local organizations.

Lauryl Schembri

Director

Lauryl has worked in various roles in Diageo Finance for over 30 years. She is the Business Resource Lead for the Diageo Environmental Committee and is the lead on the Diageo Finance Community Service Team. Lauryl is Manager of Financial Systems, Diageo NA. based in the Stamford, CT office. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Accounting.

Mickey Herbst

Mickey moved to Westport with his wife in 1972 and raised three children. His daughter, Jenna, has been a STAR client since she received services at three years of age. Today, Jenna participates in the STAR Day Services Program and, more recently, STAR Residential Services.
Mickey owned a local print shop in Westport for over thirty years and he was active on the Board of Directors of the Westport Chamber of Commerce. He is also a commercial real estate owner and developer of properties in Westport. Mickey became involved in the STAR Board of Directors in the early 1980’s where he has served as President. Mickey is very involved in advocacy for disability rights on a state and national level through active volunteerism with The Arc. He was president of The Arc CT.

Caroline Hoffman

Caroline manages a busy household of three girls, including twins, and is an active member of several nonprofit organizations including STAR and The Ronald McDonald House Charities. She is a former Operations Analyst at Eze Castle Software. Caroline holds a Masters of Business Administration in Finance from Bentley University - McCallum Graduate School of Business.
Caroline lives in Wilton with her husband and daughters. Her son, Dylan, had received services from STAR Rubino Family Center.

Charlie Sherman

Charlie is a self-advocate for STAR and lives independently at a STAR managed apartment. He has worked at Whole Food in Darien for over 30 years.

Darcy McAllister

Darcy’s first job post-college was as a Program Coordinator at STAR, and she has supported its mission ever since. Before attending law school, Darcy had the unique experience of managing rock bands and traveling extensively with them both domestically and abroad. Now a partner at Carta, McAlister & Moore in Darien, Darcy’s family law practice is focused on mediation and collaborative divorce as she helps lead her clients to an amicable and family-focused resolution. Darcy’s husband, Mark, previously served as the STAR Board’s President and one of her three stepdaughters, Anna, was a STAR participant from birth into her late 20's.

Peter Moeller

1st Vice President

Peter is a Managing Director at The Blackstone Group where he has been employed since 2000. Peter holds a business and finance administration degree from James Madison University. He lives in Darien with his wife and three children. His daughter, McKenzie, received early childhood pediatric services through the STAR Rubino Family Center.

John G. Danaher

Treasurer

John is retired, a CPA and spent over 40 years working in various industries. The last 25 years, he worked in the law firm space with his last position as the CFO of an international law firm based in New York City. John got involved with STAR as a representative for the United Way reviewing STAR’s operations and was asked to join STAR’s Board and became Treasurer. John’s business and financial experience make him a great contributor to the STAR Board.

Barry Bosworth

Barry is a retired Business Consultant, CPA and Chief Financial Officer for a middle market event services company. He is also past president of The ARC of Connecticut and The Corporation for Independent Living.
Barry lives in Wilton with his wife Judy (a dedicated STAR volunteer) and has three grown children; one of whom, Cat, happens to have Down syndrome and benefits from STAR Day Services and Residential Program.

Doree Levy

Corresponding Secretary

Doree is a longtime STAR Board Member. She was the Assistant Director of AHRC in New York, responsible for educational programming and the workshop. Doree completed undergraduate studies at Cornell and continued to Columbia University Teachers College where she earned her Master’s in Special Education.
Doree has been a Westport resident since 1988. In addition to her daughter, Ariel, who participates in the STAR Day Services Program, Doree and her husband Robert have a daughter Alana, a son Josh, and seven grandchildren. The Levy Family have been the lead fundraisers of STAR’s annual Walk & Roll since its inception almost two decades ago.

Patrick O’Connor

Patrick is a Principal with EY’s Forensic & Integrity Services practice and has over 25 years of experience working with organizations to address issues focusing on compliance, due diligence, investigations, discovery and other areas stemming from conflict. Patrick also serves as the Americas Chief Operating Officer for Forensics.
Prior to joining EY, Patrick worked for Iron Mountain providing Information Governance consulting services. He also worked in sales and marketing for HP.
Patrick holds a BA, Political Science from Hobart College and an MBA, Finance from Fairfield University. He lives in Darien with his wife and three sons, one of whom received services from STAR Rubino Family Center.

Danielle Hennes

Danielle is an experienced marketing leader with proven success expanding the digital footprints of best-in-class brands. Holding a degree from Syracuse University she currently works as the Director of Product Marketing at Semasio, a leading Ad-Tech platform.
Danielle resides in Weston with her husband and two boys. One of her sons benefits from early intervention services from the STAR Rubino Pediatric Therapy Center.

Joanna Galvin

2nd Vice President

Joanna is the former Director of Reunion Development at Columbia Law School and worked in development at The Spence School and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. She has a B.A. in Political Science from Boston College and an M.S. in Nonprofit Management from Columbia University.

Joanna lives in New Canaan with her husband and four children. Their second son, Evan, was born with severe cerebral palsy. Evan received hundreds of hours of PT, OT and Speech therapies from STAR Rubino Center Pediatric Services program.

Ed Piorkowski

Past President

Ed is the Executive Director, Global Firmwide Sourcing at Morgan Stanley. He has a degree in Business from the University of Connecticut School of Business.
Ed lives in Darien with his wife and daughter, Hope, who has received early childhood pediatric services through the STAR Rubino Family Center and attends Darien High School.

Maritza Diaz

Maritza owns and operates Lavender Cleaning Services and has worked and volunteered at Norwalk Hospital and Wilton Meadows Nursing Home. She was born in Peru and emigrated to the US at the age of 16. She graduated from Norwalk Community College with a degree in Nursing.
Maritza lives in Norwalk with her husband and two children. Her daughter, Belen, has Down syndrome and receives pediatric services from STAR Rubino Center.

Victoria Muñoz

Recording Secretary

Victoria Muñoz and her family are New Canaan residents. Her youngest son, Julián, has been a STAR client since 2014, when he turned 21.

Victoria has worked with special education elementary school children in New Canaan Public Schools She is a certified special education teacher, holds a Masters in Special Education from Fairfield University, and a Bachelor's degree in Business Administration from the University of Miami. Her family has enjoyed living in South America, Africa, and Europe, and one of her hobbies is to travel.

Yvonne O’Kane

Yvonne is a full-time volunteer for STAR and leads weekly art and creativity classes. She was an integral part of the online zoom programming during covid. Yvonne is a trained architect, interior designer and realtor with Higgins Group. She lives in Westport with her husband. She has three grown children.

Cathleen Crowley-Piscitell

Cathleen has served on the star board since 2006. Cathleen was a Risk Management executive with GE and CIT. She currently works with the Westport Probate Court. She is alumni of Georgetown University. Cathleen lives in Fairfield with her husband, Joseph and their two children. Their son, Jack, received Birth to 3 services from STAR Rubino Family Center and STAR helped him find his first job.

Locations

Serving lower Fairfield County 

Main Headquarters
182 Wolfpit Avenue
Norwalk, CT  06851
Tel. (203) 846-9581
Fax (203) 847-0545

STAR Darien
51 Tokeneke Road
Darien, CT  06820
Tel. (203) 202-2951

STAR New Canaan
111 Elm Street
New Canaan, CT  06840
Tel. (203) 594-7669

STAR Rubino Pediatric Therapy Center
120 East Avenue
Norwalk, CT  06851
Tel. (203) 855-0634
Fax (203) 855-0637

STAR Connections
15 Cross Street
Norwalk, CT  06851
Tel. (203) 939-9058

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