2023 QCP Annual Gala E-Journal

6:30 PM - Words of Welcome

Wendy Phaff Gennaro

QCP Director of Development Invocation

Fr. William Murphy, C.P.

Immaculate Conception Church

Jamaica Estates

Sounds of the 60’s with The Rockinghams

7:10 PM - Celebration of the Life & Legacy of QCP Founder In Loving Memory Of Natalie Katz Rogers

October 24, 1919 - May 7, 2023

Singing of the National Anthem

Followed immediately by Awards Presentations

Special Emcees

Margaret MacPherson

President of the Board

Franz Gritsch

Annual Gala Chair and Board Member

2023 Woman of the Year

Ellen Marshall

Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending

Santander Bank

2023 Man of the Year

Carl Giordano

Senior Vice President, Head of Specialty & Sponsor Finance

BHI USA

THANK YOU

A Very Special Thank You to QCP’s Gala Chairman

Thank you for your leadership and active involvement with Queens Centers for Progress.

With Sincere Appreciation, The QCP Board of Directors, staff and people we serve.

Gala Chairman

Franz Gritsch Member, QCP Board of Directors

Gala Committee

Hon. George E. Berger - George Berger and Gerald J. Caliendo, Gerald J. Caliendo Architects, Raymond Chan, R.A. - Raymond Chan Architects, Anthony Cosentino, - Former Chief Engineer, Pat Coulaz - Member, QCP Board of John Haverly - Controller, Assistant Treasurer & SVP, Rosenthal & Rosenthal, Inc.

Raymond Irrera, Raymond Irrera & James Kilkenny - Member, QCP Board of

Hon. Tarek Zeid, - Member, QCP Board of QCP Board President Margaret MacPherson Executive Director Terri Director of Development Wendy

Franz Gritsch T H A N K Y O U

QCP Development Team Shaun Caruana & Jyoti Lakhani

Executive Director

Terri Ross

President

Margaret MacPherson

Vice Presidents

Joseph A. Cristiano

Hon. David Elliot

Hon. Tarek M. Zeid

Hon. George E. Berger

John J. Governale

Michael Macaluso

Jack M. Weinstein

Past Presidents

Hon. Natalie Rogers

Secretary

Patricia Coulaz

Treasurer

Thomas N. Toscano, Esq.

Board of Trustees

Gerald J. Caliendo

Raymond Chan

Anthony S. Cosentino

Lara Gregory

Franz Gritsch

Tyquana Henderson-Rivers

Hon. Raymond J. Irrera

Hon. James Kilkenny

Nancy Vargas

2023 Annual Gala Man of the Year

Carl Giordano Senior Vice President, Head of Specialty & Sponsor Finance

BHI USA

Carl Giordano is a Senior Vice President, and Head of the Specialty & Sponsor Finance and Domestic Commercial & Industrial Teams at BHI, the US operation of Bank Hapoalim headquartered in Tel Aviv, Israel. Mr. Giordano joined BHI in 2016 and has led the strategic development of the Sponsor Finance lending initiative not only in New York City but for the entire metropolitan area. As a result of Mr. Giordano’s leadership and depth of knowledge, BHI has experienced a high level of transactional success, expansion of the platform to a national level as well as significant revenue increases. In addition to his banking responsibilities, in 2020, Mr. Giordano became the Head the New York Middle Market Commercial Banking business.

Mr. Giordano began his career in commercial finance in 1992 as a field examiner at Bank of New York Financial Corporation. He went on to hold a variety of roles in the areas of portfolio management, underwriting, and business development. Mr. Giordano spent approximately 10 years at Bank of New York before broadening his lending skills in Leverage Finance and Asset Based Lending at IBJ Whitehall where he became active in the Private Equity focused structured finance sector.

Mr. Giordano then joined CIT in 2004, where he was a key contributor to the success of the organization’ s Loan Purchasing Group and the CIT Save Campaign. At CIT, Mr. Giordano’s experience resulted in the company being awarded a $575 million Senior Secured Asset Based Credit Facility mandate for the Esmark / Wheeling Pittsburgh merger, a significant transaction at the time.

After his tenure at CIT, and amidst the market uncertainty relating to the crisis of 2008, Mr. Giordano was offered an entrepreneurial opportunity to support a start-up Asset Based Lending platform for TD Bank. It was there that Mr. Giordano enjoyed using his innovative skills and expertise in the field to grow a platform from bottom-up. It was this experience and a bit of the stars aligning that contributed to Mr. Giordano being offered a position at BHI to replicate his success at TD. After an unexpected lunch meeting, Mr. Giordano was offered the opportunity to grow BHI in the United States into a successful multi-faceted lending platform.

Mr. Giordano’s passion is not only his business but contributing to the community. He is actively involved in fund raising for various charitable causes and has acted as an Executive member of the New York Chapter of the Secured Finance Network for over 20 years. He is also active with notable charities, including Friends of Jon, Wounded Warriors Foundation, Tunnel to Towers Foundation, American Cancer Foundation, Needlers Foundation, National Jewish Health Foundation, and the Mosholu Montifiore Community Center under the BHI Cares initiative.

Mr. Giordano is a graduate of Iona University, where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration, Finance and Financial Management Services. In his free time, Mr. Giordano enjoys spending time with his family: sharing his passions for outdoor grilling, golf, motorsports, and constructing with his two teen sons and loving wife Andrenaia.

2023 Annual Gala Woman of the Year

Ellen Marshall Executive Vice President, Commercial Lending Santander Bank

Ellen Marshall is the Regional Head of Middle Market Banking for Santander’s Commercial Bank in New York and New Jersey, with teams located in Manhattan and Florham Park, NJ. Ellen is responsible for growing the business through the delivery of credit and non-credit products, with a focus on building deeper client relationships. Ellen joined Santander Bank in 2017 to stabilize and lead the expansion of the bank’s middle market business. Prior to Santander, Ellen served as Regional Market Executive for Capital One Bank. Ellen started her career with Bankers Trust Company where she completed their commercial bank credit training program. She went on to develop deep expertise within the banking industry, holding numerous leadership roles at NatWest, Fleet and CIT.

Ellen is active in the communities she serves, most notably chairing the Board of Directors for the Center Against Domestic Violence for six years of her nearly decade long involvement with the Brooklyn, NY based non-profit organization. She also served nine years on the Board of Directors for the NJ Performing Arts Center in Newark, NJ.

Ellen has been recognized by NJBIZ as a Leader in Finance and named to Crain’s New York Business’ list of Notable Women in Banking and Finance. In addition, she has received numerous accolades throughout her career including a Big Brothers Big Sisters Banking Leadership award in 2011, Lincoln Center’s Business Council Leadership award in 2014, the Community Achievement Award from the Accountants and Bankers chapter of ORT America in 2016 and the Mann Charitable Foundation Leading Ladies award in 2018.

Ellen earned her bachelor’s degree in finance in from Lehigh University and resides in Chatham NJ with her husband, Jim. Ellen is an avid equestrian and enjoys riding and showing her horse. In addition, she is a proud member of the Masterwork Chorus, a semi-professional choir, and treasures spending quality time with her family, including her son, daughter, and son-in-law and two dogs.

THANK YOU

A MESSAGE FROM QCP BOARD PRESIDENT Margaret MacPherson

It is with great pleasure that I welcome you to the 2023 Annual Gala and thank you for your generous support.

For the past four years I have had the honor to be President of Queens Centers for Progress (QCP). I am forever touched by the professionalism and affection shown by the QCP staff for those who we serve and each other. People employed by QCP do what they do every day out of a sense of care and concern for others and are very special people.

For seventy three years, Queens Centers for Progress has taken a leading role in helping people with developmental disabilities achieve their full potential. QCP helps families deal with the difficult challenges they face in their lives each day with skill, compassion, and love. I know, because my brother, Thomas, attended QCP's day programs and lived in their residence for forty years.

The Annual Gala is a major fund-raiser for QCP. It is through the generous support and involvement of the Queens Community that QCP can continue their mission of helping individuals with disabilities live their best lives.

I extend my sincere thanks to the wonderful Board of Directors that I have the pleasure to work with and thank them for supporting me as their President. They have helped make this another good year for the agency and the people we serve.

This year, it is our pleasure to honor and to applaud the work of Ellen Marshall, Senior Vice President, Commercial Lending, Santander Bank as the 2023 Woman of the Year, and Carl Giordano, Senior Vice President, Head of Specialty & Sponsor Finance, BHI USA as the 2023 Man of the Year, Both of these individuals exemplify the good in our communities through their selfless giving.

Please accept my personal gratitude for your presence, generosity, and willingness to help those who benefit from your participation this evening.

President QCP Board of Directors

IN LOVING MEMORY

Our founder, role model and mentor, Natalie Katz Rogers, passed away peacefully in her Florida residence on Sunday, May 7, at 103 years old.

Despite her age, Natalie continued to be a powerhouse for the intellectual and developmental disability community and was actively involved on QCP’s Board of Directors until the age of 101. Since 1950 – when Natalie and other concerned parents in the community found QCP – she advocated for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and laid the groundwork for the Cerebral Palsy Association of NYS. She truly lived by her motto “As much as I can for as long as I can.”

Natalie’s ongoing commitment to the adults and children whom QCP supports has benefitted generations of people with disabilities and their families. Tens of thousands of individuals have gained independence, learned crucial life skills, and found jobs in our communities. Thanks to the groundwork laid by Natalie, people with developmental disabilities now live their best lives!

Natalie was an extraordinary person. Everyone that knew her felt her wisdom, her strength and her kindness, and we were extremely fortunate to have her guidance and leadership for over seventy years.

Natalie’s legacy will continue to live on through the vital work we do and our commitment to the people whom we support.

We miss her dearly.

NATALIE KATZ ROGERS

A VISIT TO QCP PROGRAMS

BENEFACTOR

PATRON

PATRON SPONSOR

PATRON SPONSOR

GALA SPONSOR

FRIEND OF QCP SPONSOR

THANK YOU HONOREES

NATALIE KATZ ROGERS

FOREVER IN OUR HEARTS