Joseph W. Schmidt, Esq., joined the Brightway Board of Directors in 2017 and is a member of the Fundraising, Human Resources, and Board Development Committees. Before joining the Board of Directors, Joseph was actively involved in Brightway’s Foundation Board since 2004, having served as Board President, Vice President, and Secretary. Joseph was also a member of the Brightway Golf Committee for a number of years.

Suzanne Prigoda, LMSW, joined the Brightway 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.

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.

Stuart I. Gordon is a partner in Rivkin Radler’s Bankruptcy Practice Group. Bankruptcy and corporate reorganization are the cornerstones of his practice, which spans all disciplines of bankruptcy/creditors’ rights law. His Bar affiliations include the American Bar Association, New York State Bar Association, Nassau County Bar Association, and the American Bankruptcy Institute.

Dr. Sheena Apun, a pediatrician in private practice since 2002, is a longtime advocate for children with developmental disabilities. With two sons on the spectrum, Dr. Apun’s commitment to helping young people with autism is evident in her work as a medical practitioner and her invaluable support of organizations like Brightway.

Bromme Hampton Cole is a businessman and nonprofit Chief Executive who thrives at the nexus of mission, business, and health. His calling is to build, rationalize, and scale services to vulnerable populations. He believes creating opportunities for the underserved entails more than charitable donations—it means providing respectable jobs for those who are disabled, supplying access to quality doctors, and hiring dedicated teachers.

Michael D'Alauro joined Brightway’s Board of Directors in September 2012. He has served as the Treasurer of the Board of Directors and Chair of the Finance Committee. In addition to his position on the Agency Board, Mike also served as a member and Treasurer of the DDI Foundation Board. He also has an MBA in Accounting from Adelphi University and is a CPA.

Timothy Kelly is a recently retired Suffolk County Identification Detective. A member of the Suffolk County Police Department for 32 years, Tim was active in the community as a COPE officer, DARE program instructor in Suffolk County schools, Board Member of the Suffolk Detectives Association, and a Knights of Columbus member.

John Kenny is a Vice President in Citizenship at Barclays, where he leads on initiatives aimed at driving social impact.  He manages key nonprofit partnerships and oversees Barclays’ volunteer programs in the Americas, identifying ways to leverage the skills and talents of colleagues to make an impact in the community.  Before joining the Citizenship team, John worked in Finance at Barclays.

Robert Sheppard, CPA, joined Brightway’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 10 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.

Victoria Shoaf, Ph.D., CPA, 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.

Russell Snaith joined the Board of Directors in January 2015. Before that, Russell served as a member of the Brightway Foundation Board beginning in May 2011. He has a son served by Brightway. 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 JPMorgan Chase.

Sanjana P. Vaswani is a resident of Greenvale, New York. She’s also a longstanding member of the Brightway family, having joined its Board of Directors in December 2023. Sanjana’s son, Rohit, who was diagnosed with autism at the age of three, has been receiving services from Brightway for over 18 years.

Philip Veneziano, CPA, 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 Brightway Foundation Board of Directors. His son is presently receiving services from Brightway.

John J. Werner, Ph.D., first joined the Brightway Board of Directors in July 2011. Following a 37-year career at Brightway, he retired as Director of Children's Services, which included administrative/programmatic oversight to early intervention, preschool and school-age day/residential programs. Additionally, he participated in numerous agency initiatives, including the expansion of child residential services, development of evidence-based practices for both students and staff, and support for applied research. He participated in a number of agency committees and chaired the Research Review and Behavior Review Committees.