The College of Staten Island (CSI) Foundation board of directors has elected Joseph M. Ricciutti and Brian Laline to three-year terms.
Joseph Ricciutti currently serves as the President of the Staten Island Yankees, the Single-A affiliate of the New York Yankees. Ricciutti is a lifelong Staten Islander, from Grasmere. He is a graduate of Staten Island Technical High School and the College of Staten Island where he earned a BS in Business Management (’94). He continued his academic studies at Columbia University where he earned a Master’s degree in Management and Producing. He has extensive experience in venue management, having served as the Facilities Director for the Snug Harbor Cultural Center, Director of Concerts and Events for the Richmond County Bank Ballpark/Staten Island Yankees, Director of Alfred Lerner Hall/University Event Management for the prestigious Columbia University, and in his current capacity as the President of the Staten Island Yankees. Ricciutti currently resides in Westerleigh with his wife Janine and their four-year-old daughter.
Brian Laline is the editor of the Staten Island Advance, where he began as a reporter in 1972. Also a Staten Island native, Laline graduated from New Dorp High School, and received a Bachelor’s degree in English from LaSalle University in Philadelphia and his Master’s degree in Education from Wagner College. He currently serves on a number of boards of community organizations, such as the Board of Trustees of Snug Harbor Cultural Center and Botanical Garden, the Board of Managers of the YMCA, and the Board of Directors of the St. George Theatre’s Richmond Dance Ensemble. Laline has received various awards, including the Distinguished Service to Youth award from the SI Council of the Boy Scouts of America and the Distiguished Service award from the SI Chapter of the Red Cross. Laline currenly lives in Ocean Breeze with his wife Carol and their three children: Christopher, Peter, and Kelly Anne.
Robert Cutrona, CSI Foundation Board President says, “I’ve known Brian Laline for a number of years. He is an individual who is very concerned about Staten Island and its future. I think that Brian, through his access to the Staten Island Advance, is always promoting a better image and direction for Staten Island, and I think that he’ll serve the board in a very good fashion.” In regard to Joseph Ricciutti, Cutrona points to his success in reinvigorating attendance numbers at Staten Island Yankee games over the past two years, and adds, “One of my pet ways of promoting the College of Staten Island has been to try to have people understand what a good educational facility it is, by highlighting people who have attended there and who have achieved a level of success. Joe falls right into that area…I enjoy seeing him come to the Board and I think that he’ll be a real asset.”
As the fundraising arm for CSI, the Foundation supports many educational initiatives at CSI. For more information about the CSI Foundation, call 718.982.2365 or visit them online at www.csi.cuny.edu/foundation.
The reelected officers for the CSI Foundation include Joseph Franzese, president; Christine Cea, vice president; Richard Prinzi, treasurer; John Alexander, Norma D’Arrigo, Matthew Greenfield, and John Mazza, with terms ending in 2011.
