Who we are: Meet the FCAA Board Members

Richard Platoni - President Fordham College Alumni Association.
Mr. Platoni is a 1982 graduate of Fordham College, and a member of that year's Fordham Club. After completing a Congressional internship for the 23rd District of NY, he attended graduate school at New York University. Mr. Platoni spent the next twenty years working for several Wall Street Firms including: Shearson, Lehman Brothers, Citigroup and Smith Barney. In 2007 he formed his own consulting firm, LTS Advisors, LLC. He is a life long resident of Bronx County, currently residing in Riverdale.

Paul Gerkin, Vice President


Kristin Nazario, Web Director and Treasurer
FCRH '02: BA in English and Minor in Philosophy
GSAS '04: MA in English
CCNY '09: MA in English Education

Kristin worked as a study abroad advisor at Fordham before joining the New York City Teaching Fellows program. She now teaches 8th, 9th and 12th grade English in the Theodore Roosevelt Educational Campus, just across the street from Fordham.

In 2010 Kristin was awarded a Fund for Teachers grant for her self-designed proposal to study "Philosophy in School" at Oslo University College in Norway and conduct independent research in Helsinki and Copenhagen. Kristin has worked with the NY State Education Department to help create state exams and has coordinated the school's first international trips (France and Spain, April 2009) (London, Paris and the Alps, 2010) and (Italy and Greece, 2012).    Kristin is also an adjunct professor of English at Iona College.

As an undergraduate, Kristin was an editor of The Ram and a Varsity athlete, throwing shot put for the track team. She also played ultimate frisbee, drove the ram van, and sang in the Folk and Concert choirs, performing locally and as far away as Chicago and California. She spent one semester studying abroad in the English countryside. During her senior year, Kristin was inducted into the Fordham Club and has remained an active alumni participant, attending social events, retreats, Global Outreach New Orleans, and singing with the Fordham Choir at Midnight Mass each Christmas Eve.


Margaret-Ann Cole, Secretary
Margaret-Ann Cole is Vice President and Leader for DBM’s North American Talent Development Practice. Margaret-Ann has over 25 years of experience in Human Resource transformation, organization structure and design and re-engineering processes. She works with senior HR leadership teams to develop talent strategies through organizational assessments; organizational structure analysis; and applying change management practices and methodologies. Margaret-Ann works with companies to identify and develop talent for improved organizational, team and individual performance. Prior to joining DBM, Margaret-Ann held senior consulting positions with large consulting firms including Towers Watson and PricewaterhouseCoopers. Margaret-Ann graduated with a degree in economics and psychology from Fordham University. She holds a global executive MBA from TRIUM, an alliance of the New York University Stern School, the London School of Economics, and the HEC Management School of Paris.

Frank G M Corbin, FCRH ‘50

A native of New York City, Frank Corbin came to Fordham under the G I Bill in 1946 following three years of service in the U.S. Army. Having received a direct commission as a second lieutenant in France in 1945, he served as a part time instructor for ROTC while at Rose Hill. In his junior/senior year, he was editor-in-chief of The Ram.

Upon graduation, he was employed by the Scripps Howard news organization, working in Cleveland and NYC. He moved into the field of Public Relations, directing communications programs for a wide variety of private and public institutions including the Society of the Plastics Industry; NYU Medical Center and Batten, Barton, Durstine and Osborn advertising agency.

Appointed Deputy Director of the NYC Economic Development Administration, he was involved in formulating policy while frequently serving as a spokesperson on the City’s economy.

He was founding principal of the independent public relations firm, Burke & Corbin Associates, representing a wide variety of clients in the U.S. and overseas. Later, he established his own firm, Corbin Communications Counsel, which serves clients, mainly in education and religious areas.

He has been an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Communication & Media Studies at Fordham for nearly six decades, receiving two “Bene Merenti” medals. His late wife, the former Carmen Sheehey, whom he met at Rose Hill, was an alumna of Fordham, Ed.’51. Both his daughter, Catherine, FCRH’79, LAW ’82 and his son, Peter, FCRH ’82, are also graduates.



Kat Bride


FCRH 03

Kat loved Fordham from the moment she received her acceptance letter! She lived on campus all four years, experiencing the highs and lows of life and dining plans in Queens Court, Tierney Hall, and Millennium Hall. She joined the Mimes & Mummers, The RAM, the Paper, Cinevents, and tutored at Rosedale Achievement Center in the South Bronx for four years. Between her jobs at WFUV and operating the campus movie theatre, she spent lots of time in Keating Hall and still considers its ghosts to be friends. Kat has been on every roof and inside every tunnel at Fordham and once held the master keys to all campus buildings. In spite of all this mischief, she managed to be an RA in Millennium Hall, obtain a bachelors degree in Medieval Studies, a double minor in Spanish and Fine Arts, and do internships at the Bronx Zoo, Botanical Gardens, and Christie's Auction House.

Kat remained in New York after graduation and has turned her language skills and passion for the city into a career as a concierge in boutique hotels such as the Hotel Elysee, Mandarin Oriental's Mark Hotel, the Fitzpatrick Hotel Group and Intercontinental Hotels. She made a short detour into fashion with a stint at Gucci and learned that the devil wears much more than Prada.

Kat remains active with Fordham as a member of the alumni association board, by marching in the St. Patrick's Day parade with Fordham alums, and participating in alumni volunteer events. She belongs to the Irish American Business Association and is an amateur mandolin player.



Sean McCooe

Sean McCooe has carried on a family tradition, started by his father, John “Jack” McCooe, CBA ’52, and graduated from Fordham College in 1984. His wife, Rosemary Gunther, is a 1985 Lincoln Center graduate, and their eldest son, John IV, is Class of 2013!


Sean channels his energies and capabilities into his thriving business, McCooe & Associates, an executive search firm specializing in higher education, healthcare, life sciences, not-for-profit, construction materials, and allied products leadership searches for over 35 years. Sean has continued his education with studies at NYU, completed ITAC’s Fast Trac® Training Program, and is a Leadership New Jersey Fellow, Class of 2001.

Sean is passionately involved in community affairs and has been a long-time supporter and Board member of Family & Friends Supporting Cystic Fibrosis (NYC) and The Hermitage. He has actively led the fundraising activities for the Jamboree Scholarship Fund (college scholarships) and Dad’s Night (funds the elementary schools).
Sean has been a Board Member of the Fordham College Alumni Association since September 2009. He is the President of the Fordham New Jersey Alumni Chapter since June 2009.



Norma VavolizzaThomas More College, ’69
B.A. Communication Arts


Norma is founder and principal of NV Communications, a marketing agency that works with small businesses and non-profits on their communications programs.

Over the years, Norma has guided her agency into various business sectors, including travel/entertainment, hospitality/gaming, publishing, conferences, and food. Her not-for-profit experience includes secular and faith-based institutions operating locally and globally and serving both English- and Spanish-speaking markets.

Norma is active in professional, community, and civic affairs, and volunteers her time as a communications consultant. She is a member and past president of the Religion Communicators Council/NY chapter; a member of Hudson Guild’s Public Relations Advisory Committee; a Board member of Thorpe Family Residence; an advisor to Seva Mandir; a member of the Collegiate Chorale; and a volunteer at the Irish Repertory Theater.

During her undergraduate years at Fordham, Norma was a member of the women’s Glee Club and a reporter for The Ram. After leaving TMC and Fordham, she earned a Master’s degree in Public and International Affairs from The George Washington University.



ED RANDALL

Ed Randall’s name is synonymous with baseball, held in the highest esteem as one of the game’s foremost authorities by cultivating a winning national broadcasting career.

He is considered one of the nation’s preeminent baseball interviewers on television and radio, which attests to his regular appearances as a valued contributor on ESPN Classic’s anthology shows and now, on the new MLB Network.

His critically-acclaimed series, ED RANDALL’S TALKING BASEBALL, developed an enviable heritage of journalism, the result of more than 500 compelling interviews with the Who’s Who of baseball. The program aired on various regional sports networks across the country and was seen locally on MSG-Network.

In March of 2002, he began hosting the only weekly radio show in the #1 media market devoted entirely to baseball, ED RANDALL’S TALKING BASEBALL, on 1050- ESPN-Radio.

One year later, he was privileged to have that franchise lured to WFAN-Radio, the nation’s leading sports radio station, where the wildly popular program has been heard on Sunday mornings at 9AM. With its audience growing exponentially, it is in eighth season.

When he is not there, he is hosting on the MLB Home Plate Channel of Sirius/XM Radio and MLB.com as an anchor/reporter/play-by-play broadcaster.

Thanks to his extraordinary access within the baseball community, Mr. Randall wrote his first book at the invitation of Sports Publishing LLC, MORE TALES FROM THE YANKEE DUGOUT. The original stories of 75 people presently or formerly associated with the franchise received critical acclaim.

In 2003, he completed the text for Tom Seaver’s book, “THE OLD BALLGAME.”
Ed asked Hall of Famers and contemporary players to reminisce about their careers in baseball.

He later contributed numerous interviews for Donald Trump’s “The Best Golf Advice I Ever Received” for Triumph Books.and wrote portions of Larry King’s book, again interviewing celebrities for “My Dad and Me: Life’s Lessons Learned from My Father.”

His newest entry, “BASEBALL FOR THE UTTERLY CONFUSED,” has just been published by McGraw-Hill.

After serving in 2001 as the television play-by-play voice of the Brooklyn Cyclones of the New York-Penn League, who won the league championship in their first season, he moved across the harbor to serve as the play-by-play voice of the Staten Island Yankees on the YES Network. His presence again proved to be a lucky charm as they also won
the league championship in 2002.

His most important life’s work is as a cancer survivor, having established ED RANDALL’S BAT FOR THE CURE, a 501-c3 charity promoting awareness, prevention and benefiting prostate cancer research at the St. Luke’s-Roosevelt Hospital Center in New York City. Since its establishment in 2002, the charity has helped raise almost half a million dollars. This past season, the charity, designated as an Official Charitable Partner of Minor League Baseball, hosted prostate cancer awareness nights
in more than 130 minor league ballparks nationwide and complimentary prostate cancer screenings in concert with the Chicago Bulls, Tampa Bay Rays, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees.

He is a distinguished alumnus of All Hallows High School and Fordham University.

Debra Caruso Marrone
Debra Caruso Marrone (Class of 1981) has owned the media relations firm, DJC Communications in New York City, for the past 21 years.  Her firm represents corporate clients, universities and non-profit organizations.

Ms. Caruso is a member of the Board of Directors of the New York Press Club and represents the organization as its public relations consultant. A graduate of Fordham University with a degree in journalism, she was previously vice president at Sheehan Communications, Inc.

A known expert on the media, she has been quoted in The New York Times, ABC News Radio, WNYC, E-Commerce Times, Portfolio.com, MacNewsWorld, Arizona Republic, Forbes.com, AOL WalletPop, Christian Science Monitor and the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel among others.

Married with two children, Ms. Caruso is author of the blog, TV Takes All, is featured in Who’s Who of American Women and serves on the Board of Directors Jazz 2 Cure, which raises funds for music therapy for cancer patients. She is a fundraising committee member for St. John’s Bread & Life.

Debra has also authored articles on public relations in such publications as Ragan.com, O’Dwyer’s PR Magazine and CommPro.biz. Her writing on media has been featured in the DailyNational.com.


Ann M. McNulty
EDUCATION
Pace University School of Law
Juris Doctor received June 1981
Fordham University
Bachelor of Arts received June 1977
BAR ADMISSION New York State, Second Judicial Department
United States District Court (Eastern and Southern Districts)
United States Supreme Court
LICENSES NASD Series 7, 63 and 65
NYS Variable Annuity and Life Insurance Licenses
EMPLOYMENT
Morgan Stanley Smith Barney, Financial Advisor and Financial Planning Specialist, (1998-present). Advise high net worth individuals and small businesses about investments and retirement plans that are appropriate with regard to their risk tolerance, time horizon and financial goals.


Robert Hollweg



Edward Winkler



Denis Sweeney, former President and Treasurer

Denis graduated from Fordham College in 2002. His academic career included a major in Economics, an minor in Philosophy, study abroad in Cambridge, UK, and fulfillment of the Honors Program. During college, he was active in the Crew team, Cross Country, Ultimate Frisbee, Mimes and Mummers, and with Residential Life as a Resident Assistant. After graduation, he worked for three years as an investment research analyst with a private consulting firm, focusing on Telecommunications, Media and Technology, and earning the CFA designation. He then transitioned to become a firefighter with the New York City Fire Department, and is currently assigned to Engine 81 in The Bronx.

As Denis is currently in Law School in addition to his work responsibilities, he is taking a leave from the board, although he is still in touch and a big supporter of our association.