List of Mercy University alumni explained

Mercy University is an independent, coeducational institution serving nearly 9,000 students each year across campuses in Westchester, the Bronx, Manhattan, as well as online. It is a federally designated minority-serving institution and the largest private Hispanic Serving Institution in the state of New York. Mercy was founded in 1950 by the Sisters of Mercy. Mercy University had more than 70,000 alumni as of 2023.^[1] The now-defunct College of New Rochelle's alumni have been merged into the Mercy University alumni community.^[2] Here follows a partial list of some notable Mercy University alumni.

Academia

• Paul Broadie, president of Housatonic Community College and Gateway Community College
• Gregory Howard Williams, 27th President of the University of Cincinnati, and the 11th President of the City College of New York.
• Pamela Smart, American high school teacher
• Meisha Ross Porter, an American educator who served as the New York City Schools Chancellor
• Celeste Ross-Barry, Assistant Principal at I.S. 339x Middle School in the Bronx.
• Anthony Mullen, 2009 National Teacher of the Year award winner.^[3]
• Christopher Fiore, principal of H. Frank Carey Junior-Senior High School.^[4]
• Frances Dziuma, principal of St. Barnabas High School.^[5]
• Ellen Hackett, director of special services for the Peekskill City School District.^[6]
• Dara Joseph, the District's Committee on Special Education (CSE) of New Rochelle chairperson, Supervisor of Special Education. She was also nominated by The Journal News for its Top 40 Under 40 recognition program.^[7]
• Joseph Whalen, school principal and executive director of Green Chimneys School. Under his leadership, Green Chimneys grew exponentially, expanding its facilities with a $50 million renovation plan.^{[8] [9]}
• Janice Mastropietro, Principal of Villa Maria Academy.^{[10] [11]}
• Luis Eladio Torres, president of the New York City Elementary School Principals Association.^[12]
• Gregory Emanuel Finger, Fulbright Scholar.^[13]
• James Croom, Fulbright Scholar.^[13]
• Madeleine Blais, an American journalist, author and professor in the University of Massachusetts Amherst's journalism department. Pulitzer Prize winner.
• Julia Ching, professor of religion, philosophy and East Asian studies at the University of Toronto. She taught at Columbia and Yale before joining the University of Toronto faculty.
• Regina Peruggi, an American educator, who was the President of Kingsborough Community College from 2005 to 2014. Prior to that, she was president of Marymount Manhattan College and led the Central Park Conservancy.
• Teresa P. Pica, Professor of Education at the University of Pennsylvania Graduate School of Education
• Darlene Yee-Melichar, professor and coordinator of the gerontology program at San Francisco State University where she also serves as Director of Long-Term care Administration.
• Rev. Dr. Victor Aloyo, President of Columbia Theological Seminary.^[14]
• Pamela M. Cole, faculty member at Penn State University. She has received the Faculty Scholar Medal at Penn State and Fellow status in the American Psychological Association.^[15]
• Luis Rodriguez, Professor of Community and Preventive Medicine at New York Medical College. Former professor at Fordham University.^[16]

Government and civil service

• Jamaal Bowman, American politician and educator serving as the U.S. representative for since 2021.
• Pasquale J. D'Amuro, American terrorism authority, former intelligence agent and television analyst. In a career of 26 years he rose to the third position of the FBI.
• Robert Cornegy, New York City Council Member for the 36th District, representing Bedford-Stuyvesant and northern Crown Heights in Brooklyn.
• Mike Kavekotora, Namibian politician and member of parliament. He is the president of the Rally for Democracy and Progress (RDP)
• David Rosado, American politician from New York
• Natalie Nelson Tang-How, appointed the Chief Labor Negotiator by Governor Kenneth Mapp of the US Virgin Islands.
• Mark Zulli, New Rochelle’s Finance Commissioner.^[17]
• Waveline Bennett-Conroy, Mount Vernon Board of Education Superintendent.^{[18] [10]}
• Maria del Carmen Arroyo,the former Council member for the 17th district of the New York City Council.
• Anna Cowin, former Lake County School District superintendent and served in the Florida State Senate.
• Rosario Green, Mexican economist, diplomat and politician.

Police Chiefs

• Kobie Powell, chief of police of the Greenburgh Police Department for the Town of Greenburgh.^[19]
• John Kapica, former Chief of Police for Greenburgh.^[20]
• Donald Ferraro, Scarsdale's first director of Public Safety.^[21]
• Andrew A. Matturro, Chief of Police of Scarsdale. He served as President of the Westchester County Chiefs of Police Association.^[22]
• George N. Longworth, chief of Westchester county police department.^[23]
• Robert M. Noble, chief of the Yorktown Heights Police Department.^[24]
• Chris McNerney, Town of Greenburgh’s Chief of Police.^[25]
• Brad Weidel, Chief of Police for the Ramapo Police Department.

Law

• James Reitz, American judge and politician from Putnam County, New York. He was an acting justice for the US Supreme Court's 9th Judicial District
• Mary Donohue, an American retired educator, attorney, politician and Judge of the New York Court of Claims and a former two-term Lieutenant Governor of New York.
• Aulana L. Peters, a retired partner at the law firm of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP

Royalty

• Oseadeeyo Kwasi Akuffo III, Ghanaian traditional ruler who is the Omanhene (or paramount chief) of the Akuapem traditional area (Okuapeman) in Ghana.

Religion

• Reverend Troy P DeCohen, Senior Pastor of the Mount Vernon Heights Congregational Church in Mt. Vernon NY. He delivered the invocation at the 2016 New York State, State of the State Address in Albany.^[26]
• Ada Maria Isasi-Diaz, Cuban-American theologian who served as professor emerita of ethics and theology at Drew University in Madison, New Jersey.

Activists

• Elaine Bartlett, activist
• Jeffrey Mark Deskovic, a lawyer and activist
• Donna Hylton, Jamaican-American activist
• Jon-Adrian Velazquez, American criminal legal reform activist
• Rosemary Dempsey, noted American Activist, has served many roles in second wave feminism, civil rights movements, and anti-war protests.

Arts and entertainment

• Gabourey Sidibe, Academy Award-nominated actress
• Olivia Peguero, contemporary landscape and botanical artist
• Leopoldo Minaya, poet
• Alicia Barney, a Colombian artist based in Cali who focuses her paintings and installation art on ecological questions and problems such as water pollution, deforestation and quality of life.
• Patricia Breslin, an American actress and philanthropist.
• Allys Dwyer, an American actress who became a college educator.
• Claire Porter, American choreographer/comedian known for blending comedic monologues with dance movement.
• Mercedes Ruehl, American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, a Tony Award, a Drama Desk Award, two Obie Awards, and two Outer Critics Circle Awards.
• Myra Turley, an American film and television actress.
• Angela Cascarano, Emmy award–winning TV news producer.^[27]
• Shannon Freeman, a Television Director for CBS News streaming channel.^[15]
• Michael Barber, In 2020, he produced Double Shot At Love for MTV and in 2021, co-produced a documentary with rapper Nasir Jones which is now Emmy nominated. In 2022, Barber story produced for VH1 and MTV, becoming a digital story producer for VH1’s Miss Adventures of Cyn and Jonathan. He's also a story producer on WE-TV's Breaking the Ice.^[16]

Journalism

• Maria Mercader, an American journalist and news producer who worked for CBS News for over three decades. For her work producing a CBS feature report about computer spam, Mercader won a business Emmy Award in 2004.
• Dorothy Kilgallen, an American columnist, journalist, and television game show panelist.
• Shiba Russell, WNBC-TV (New York) news anchor.^[28]

Authors

• Sandra Uwiringiyimana, author
• Joan Wolf, author of more than 15 historical novels.
• Christopher L. Brennan, author, published his first book titled Fall of the Arab Spring: From Revolution to Destruction.
• Cray Mahalia Francis, author, published her first children's book Honey Dew's Carnival Fever.
• Chuck Garcia, International best seller, managing director at Citadel LLC.^[29]
• Danita Matthews, published her first children's book titled The Adventures of Chelsea B.^[30]
• Lisa Rhodes-Ryabchich, author, her first poetry chapbook entitled We Are Beautiful Like Snowflakes.
• Nicole Thomas, author, released her second self-published book, #Thoughts.
• Gloria de Prado, author of two published novels, The Witch's House and Nicholas Waring.^[31]
• Camille Marchetta, a former London literary agent, is a novelist, television writer and producer best known for her work on 1980s prime time soap operas Dallas, Dynasty and Falcon Crest.

Sports

• Garvin Alston, retired American professional baseball right-handed pitcher who played in Major League Baseball (MLB)
• Dewey Bozella, former amateur boxer
• Laura Creavalle, professional female bodybuilder
• Rob DiToma, head baseball coach at Fairleigh Dickinson University.
• Simone Forbes, Jamaican sportswoman, having represented Jamaica in no less than five sports
• Stan Jefferson, former center and left fielder in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Mets among others
• Brian Sweeney, former MLB pitcher
• Wesley Walker, former NFL wide receiver
• Mookie Wilson, former MLB outfielder/ coach.
• Joel Serrano, Puerto Rican footballer
• Michael Collins, an American former professional soccer player who played as a midfielder. Collins played for at least twelve teams in nearly half a dozen leagues over his seventeen-year career. He also earned two caps with the United States national team in 1988. Collins currently serves as president and general manager of California United Strikers FC.
• Jude Flannery, an American triathlete who won six consecutive US national championships between 1991 and 1996. She died after a collision with a car while training in 1997.
• Mary Etchells, First and only woman to win the Star Worlds sailboat racing world championship.^[32]

Business

• Mark Zuckerberg, self-made billionaire, chairman, chief executive officer, and co-founder of Facebook
• Bernardo Iglesias, Vice President of Valley National Bank.^[33]
• Lynn Trojnacki Horvath, Vice President of the First Niagara Financial Group.^[34]
• George Gallego, a world ranked para-triathlete and entrepreneur
• Alex Ferrari, chief financial officer for MTV Networks.^[35]
• Scott Bowers, Senior Vice President and Global Wealth Advisor at UBS.^[36]
• Michele Quirolo, President and chief executive officer of The Visiting Nurse Association of Hudson Valley
• Karen O'Mara, Senior Vice President for Human Resources at Polo Ralph Lauren.^{[37] [38]}
• Carolyn Kepcher, businesswoman who was one of the judges on the NBC television program The Apprentice.
• Aimee Arzoumanian, CEO at Sparks Health Systems in Arkansas.^[39]
• Walter Anderson, former publisher and CEO of Parade Magazine
• Joseph Bivona, former chairman of the GMDC Education Leadership Council and Vice President of Time Warner.^[40]
• Julio Garcia, partner and chief financial officer at Perella Weinberg Partners Group LP.^[41]
• John Thompson, former Senior Vice President & general manager, Best Buy.^[42]
• Barbara G. Berger, President of Food City Markets, Inc.^[43]
• Robin Meszaros, Manager of Business Initiatives at Bestpass Inc.^[30]
• Kathleen M. Reilly, Vice President at Patriot Bank.^[44]
• Constance Barnes-Watson, Regional Manager of Special Programs for the Southern Region of K12 (company).^{[45] [4]}
• Liz Glover Wilson, highlighted in Hudson Valley Magazine as a Person to Watch. Founder and owner of nonprofit event management and fundraising company, Elizabeth Rose Consulting LLC.^[39]
• Michael Orce, chief operating officer at Robinson & Cole in Hartford, CT., an organization with over 450 employees.^{[10] [46]}
• Noreen Culhane, an American businesswoman and current executive vice president of the New York Stock Exchange, directing their Global Corporate Client Group.
• Anne Sweeney, American businesswoman. She currently serves as a member of the board of directors at Netflix, LEGO A/S, and the board of trustees at the Mayo Clinic and the J.P. Getty Trust. She was formerly the co-chair of Disney Media Networks and President of the Disney–ABC Television Group, and the President of Disney Channel from 1996 to 2014.
• Ngaire E. Cuneo, former Senior VP and Corporate Officer for General Electric Capital Corp.; Executive Vice President, of Corporate Development for Conoco, Inc.^{[47] [48]}
• Aulana Pharis Peters, first African American woman to serve as Commissioner of the Securities and Exchange Commission.^[49]
• Melissa Encarnacao Battista, vice president, chief administrative officer at Morgan Stanley.^[50]
• Andrew Boryk, Co-Founder and chief technology officer at Lunchbox Technologies. Recognized by Forbes “30 Under 30”.^[51]

Science and medicine

• Jaime Nieto, Chief, Section of Neurologic Surgery and Spine Surgery at NewYork–Presbyterian/Queens, and Professor of Neurological Surgery, Weill Cornell Medicine.^{[52] [53] [54]}
• Harris Stratyner, Vice President and New York Regional Clinical Director of Caron Treatment Center and Clinical Associate Professor of Psychiatry at Mount Sinai School of Medicine. He hosted his own radio program for over 28 years, and is a frequent guest on national TV programs.^{[55] [43]}
• Pamela Torres, Chief Veterinary Technologist Supervisor at the Wildlife Conservation Society.^[56]
• Paule Valery Joseph, an American nurse and researcher at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism. She is the 2022 National Academy of Medicine American Academy of Nursing Fellow.
• Emmeline Edwards, neurochemist serving as director of the division of extramural research at the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. She previously researched the neural mechanisms of complex behaviors and characterization of a genetic model of affective disorders at the University of Maryland, College Park. From 2000 to 2010, Edwards was deputy director of the extramural program at the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.
• Mary Jane Perry, an American oceanographer known for the use of optics to study marine phytoplankton.
• Kathleen Ethier, American social psychologist and public health official with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In 2016, she was appointed the Director of CDC's Division of Adolescent and School Health in the National Center for HIV/AIDS, Viral Hepatitis, STD, and TB Prevention.
• Margaret C. Snyder, American social scientist

Military

• William F.X. Maughan, an American author, politician, and former U.S. Marine. He served as Monroe County's controller.^{[57] [58] [59]}
• Georgette Toews, retired as Chief of Equal Opportunity for the US Air Force in the Pentagon.^[60]
• Patricia Ann Tracey, retired United States naval officer and the first woman to be promoted to the rank of vice admiral in the United States Navy. She held the positions of chief of naval education and training (CNET) (1996–98), Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Military Personnel Policy (1998–2001), and director of navy staff from 2001 until the time of her retirement on October 1, 2004.

Miscellaneous

• Jade Greene-Grant, a Bronx public school teacher who lives in Yonkers, won over $84,000 in prize money, a car and a trip on Wheel of Fortune (U.S. game show).^[61]

Notes and References

1. Web site: About Mercy. Mercy. University. Mercy University.
2. Web site: Mercy College. dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20191219010102/https://www.mercy.edu/cnr/cnr-alumni . December 19, 2019 .
3. Web site: 2009 National Teacher of the Year Anthony Mullen '02 Shares Insights with Students – Mercy College. Mercy.edu. May 4, 2017.
4. Web site: Mercy Maverick – Winter 2017. Flipsnack.com. November 28, 2017.
5. Web site: Leaders Named at St. Barnabas High School – Catholic New York. Cny.org. 31 August 2016 . November 28, 2017.
6. Web site: Peekskill Names Ellen Hackett Director Of Special Services. Peekskill.dailyvoice.com. 17 July 2016 . November 28, 2017.
7. Web site: District Appoints Interim Special Education Supervisor – Talk of the Sound. Newrochelletalk.com. 17 November 2017 . November 26, 2017.
8. Web site: Green Chimneys Community Thanks Outgoing Executive Director Joseph Whalen. March 29, 2017. Green Chimneys.
9. http://www.greenchimneys.org/green-chimneys-welcomes-mercy-colleges-new-president/
10. Web site: Maverick Magazine-Spring 2023 – Mercy University. alumni.mercy.edu.
11. Web site: Villa Maria Academy. www.vma-ny.org.
12. Web site: Luis Eladio Torres. ASCD.
13. Web site: Grantee Directory. us.fulbrightonline.org.
14. Web site: President's Page. Columbia Theological Seminary.
15. Web site: News | Mercy University .
16. Web site: Mercy University Honors 10 Exemplary Alumni at Alumni of Distinction Awards | Mercy University .
17. Web site: Zulli appointed New Rochelle finance commissioner. Jason. Chirevas. The Journal News.
18. Web site: Mount Vernon schools chief reassigned as feds investigate grant giving. The Journal News.
19. Web site: Mercy Alumnus Kobie Powell ’04 is Town of Greenburgh's History-Making Chief of Police | Mercy University. Mercy. University. www.mercy.edu.
20. Web site: Sleepy Hollow’s New Chief of Police. May 13, 2024.
21. Web site: Donald Ferraro '74 - Mercy University. alumni.mercy.edu.
22. Web site: Police Chief | Scarsdale, NY. www.scarsdale.com.
23. Web site: George Longworth '93 - Mercy University. alumni.mercy.edu.
24. Web site: Mercy Alumnus Police Chief on Community, COVID-19, 2020 Struggles. Jadeen. Mercado.
25. Web site: Christopher McNerney '98 - Mercy University. alumni.mercy.edu.
26. Web site: Our Pastor – Mount Vernon Heights Congregational Church. mtvernonheightscc.org. November 19, 2017.
27. Web site: CNR Report. https://web.archive.org/web/20100527211629/http://www2.cnr.edu/CNR-REPORT4-3/cnr-report4-3.html. dead. May 27, 2010. July 17, 2019.
28. Web site: Shiba Russell. September 6, 2022. FOX 29 News Philadelphia.
29. Web site: cgarcia47 – Mercy College. Mercy.edu. November 28, 2017.
30. Web site: September 2016 Alumni Newsletter . Mercy.edu. 28 November 2017.
31. Web site: December 2016 Alumni Newsletter . Mercy.edu. 28 November 2017.
32. Web site: Star Class | History. starclass.org.
33. Web site: Professional Bank Adds Bernardo Iglesias As Senior Vice President. Markets.businessinsider.com. September 29, 2017.
34. Web site: Darien Resident Named VP of First Niagara Risk Management. November 13, 2015. Patch.com. November 19, 2017.
35. Web site: Alex Ferrari Named Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer For MTV Networks. MTV. Networks. Prnewswire.com.
36. Web site: R. Scott Bowers. Advisor-registry.org.
37. Web site: Mercy College Alumni Recognize and Honor the Institutions' Mentors Who Played Life-Changing Roles in Their Lives in Celebration of School's 60th Anniversary. https://web.archive.org/web/20101220091539/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4900954.htm. dead. December 20, 2010. Prweb.com. October 3, 2017.
38. Web site: Karen O'Mara. Hrexecsonthemove.com. October 3, 2017.
39. Web site: CELEBRATING OUR ALUMNI : A LOOK BACK AT MANY OF OUR 2016 ALUMNI ACCOMPLISHMENTS. Mercy.edu. 19 November 2017.
40. Web site: Joseph Bivona Jr. '76 – Mercy University. alumni.mercy.edu.
41. Web site: Julio Garcia, Mercy College Class of 1987, to be Honored at Annual Trustees' Dinner – Mercy College. Mercy.edu. 5 September 2017.
42. Web site: John R. Thompson. Justin. Cates. December 1, 2023. Savoy.
43. Web site: Mercy College Hosts Annual Trustees' Scholarship Dinner – Mercy College. Mercy.edu. November 19, 2017.
44. Web site: Kathleen M. Reilly Joins Patriot Bank in Scarsdale – Patriot Bank. Patriot Bank, N.. A.. July 29, 2016. Bankpatriot.com. November 28, 2017.
45. Web site: ChronicleVitae. ChronicleVitae for higher ed jobs, career tools and advice. November 28, 2017.
46. Web site: 2022 C-SUITE Honoree Michael Orce. Hartford Business Journal.
47. Web site: Biography. https://archive.today/20120710150114/http://investor.dukerealty.com/phoenix.zhtml?c=60691&p=irol-govBio&ID=108267. dead. 10 July 2012. Duke Realty. 18 February 2016.
48. Web site: American Life Holding Co. Inc. | Company News & Executive Profiles - ALFE | BNET . 2009-09-02 . https://web.archive.org/web/20090809234845/http://resources.bnet.com/topic/american+life+holding+co.+inc..html . 2009-08-09 . dead .
49. Web site: Service is in her DNA.
50. Web site: New Trustees Join Mercy College Board. Mercy. College. PRWeb.
51. Web site: Maverick Magazine Spring 2022: From Mercy to Startup - Alumnus Andrew Boryk ’17 Recognized by Forbes “30 Under 30” | Mercy University. Mercy. University. www.mercy.edu.
52. Web site: NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens – Jaime Nieto, MD. Nyhq.org. November 19, 2017.
53. Web site: NewYork-Presbyterian/Queens – Find a Doctor. Nyhq.org. November 19, 2017.
54. Web site: Mercy College Alumni Recognize and Honor the Institutions' Mentors Who Played Life-Changing Roles in Their Lives in Celebration of School's 60th Anniversary . https://web.archive.org/web/20101220091539/http://www.prweb.com/releases/2010/12/prweb4900954.htm . dead . December 20, 2010 . Prweb.com . 2010-12-15 . 2017-05-04.
55. Web site: Harris Stratyner. Caron. November 19, 2017.
56. Web site: Full text of "Annual report of the Wildlife Conservation Society". archive.org. 2001 .
57. Web site: Monroe Sex Ed Pay Held Official Fears Agency Advises Birth Control. Articles.mcall.com. October 3, 2017.
58. Web site: William F. X. Maughan. Press.uchicago.edu. October 3, 2017.
59. Web site: Amazon.com: William F. X. Maughan: Books, Biography, Blog, Audiobooks, Kindle. Amazon.com. October 3, 2017.
60. http://www.dtic.mil/dtic/tr/fulltext/u2/a393917.pdf
61. Web site: Yonkers teacher wins $84K on 'Wheel of Fortune'. Lohud.com. November 28, 2017.