Biographies - Current Board of Directors

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Midge McGraw Bulgaro, Past President

A native of the Capital District, Midge received her BS degree in Government and Labor Relations from the State University of Albany, Empire State College system and the Cornell School of Industrial Labor Relations. She began her career at the Civil Service Employees Association and moved to the NYS Legislature, Assembly Ways and Means Committee. 

From the Legislature, Midge moved to the Governor’s Counsel’s Office and then to the Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, where she directed the Bureau of Legislative and Community Relations.  She ended her 23-year career in State government at the Labor Department, where she directed the Department of Planning and Policy Development. 

After working for the State, Midge held an 8-year position as Vice President of Government Relations for AmeriChoice of New York, Inc., a health insurance company serving Medicaid, Medicare, FamilyHealth and Child Health Plus members.  At AmeriChoice, Midge also oversaw preventive health care initiatives in the states of NY and NJ.

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Christopher J. Cassidy, President

Currently a Senior Vice President of Investments with Wells Fargo Advisors, Chris began his career in Albany at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in 1995.  He later worked as a Senior Financial Consultant with Fleet Brokerage Securities, and then moved to Wachovia Securities Private Client Group.  (In 2009, Wachovia Securities became Wells Fargo Advisors.)

Chris resides in Slingerlands. He is an active member of St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church in Delmar, and he supports WMHT Public TV/Radio in Schenectady by working the phones during live auctions.

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Linda C. Chaffee

Linda retired in 2000, after 17 years in accounting with the NYS Thruway Authority. She has earned BS and MS degrees in Education from SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Oswego, and also has AAS degrees in Banking and Accounting from Onondaga and Hudson Valley Community Colleges.

Linda has been a Guilderland resident since 1987, and a volunteer with Community Caregivers since 2001.

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Max E. Chmura

Until March 2011, Max was Acting Commissioner of the NYS Office for People With Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD).  He has more than 35 years of human service and health care management experience, and is known nationally for his commitment to self-advocacy, empowerment and client service.  Max lives in Loudonville.

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Cheryl K. Collier, AAP, Treasurer

Cheryl Collier is Vice President of Operations at SEFCU, the largest credit union in the Capital Region.  She oversees the deposit services, electronic delivery, ATM and retirement services business lines. Cheryl holds a BS degree in Finance from the College of Saint Rose and an AAS degree in Business Management from Maria College. She lives in Albany.

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Regina M. DuBois

Regina spent 37+ years in various senior management positions in state and local government before retiring as a Deputy Commissioner in the NYS Department of Civil Service. She is President of the St. Margaret’s Center Governing Board and a member of the Board of Directors of The Egg.  Regina also serves on the American Cancer Society Women’s Golf Classic Committee. She resides in the Town of Guilderland.

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Brent E. Foulke

A graduate of Florida Christian College, Brent was the Founding/Lead Pastor of Christ’s Church of the Capital District in Albany.  He currently serves as Stadia’s Associate Executive Director for Mobilization, and is a Principal Partner in Church Planting Assessment Center (CPAC) leader assessment programs.  Brent resides in Schenectady.

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Richard Gotti, Second Vice President

Richard is a writer, psychotherapist and educator.  He holds a BA degree in Sociology, an MSW degree in Psychiatric Social Work, a PhD in Social Welfare and an MFA degree in Writing and Literature.  Currently, he is a member of the faculty at the Northeast Center of Empire State College in Albany.

Richard has a professional background in developmental and mental health services, and he helped develop a curriculum in environmental cancer prevention and health education.  He lives in Delmar.

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Richard Jung, MSW, First Vice President

Richard is a resident of Albany and joins the Board with a long career in caring for people with developmental disabilities.  He received his BA degree in Sociology from Siena College and his MA degree in Clinical Social Work at the Rockefeller School of Social Welfare, University at Albany.  He began his career at the Center for Disability Services.

For the past 28 years, Richard has worked at the NYS Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities.  Since 1989, he has been Area Director for certification activity, Division of Quality Management. He oversees survey, certification and quality management initiatives for all providers of services to persons with a developmental disability. 

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Kathy A. Kitsock

Born and raised in Hudson, Kathy holds a BA degree in Social Work from Siena College and a MA degree in Special Education from the College of St. Rose.  She spent 24 years working for the Center for Disability Services, 18 of those years in management positions. 

Kathy began working for the NYS Department of Health in 2002, and she is now retired from the State Education Department in the Office of State Review.  She lives in Altamont. 

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Mary Neumann

An Altamont resident, Mary is a senior copy writer on the editorial staff at Newkirk, a DST Company, a publishing and communications organization. She writes newsletters for small businesses, nonprofit organizations and retirement plan participants. Prior to joining Newkirk, she worked for 15 years as communications director for a nonprofit trade organization representing the independent music community.

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Stephen Parachini

Steve is a retired Standards Compliance Analyst from the State Office of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities. He holds a BS degree in Psychology from Union College, and is currently a part-time quality assurance professional with the Center for Discovery in Harris. 

Steve is the Planning Board Chairman for the Village of Altamont and also serves on the Rural Referral Committee.  He has resided in Altamont since 1987. 

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Ronald Pearce

Ron is a retired agricultural economist and administrator with the federal and state governments, and he holds BA and MA degrees from Cornell University.  He is a member of the First United Methodist Church of Voorheesville, and serves on the church’s Finance Committee.  Ron also serves on the Albany County Rural Housing Alliance Board of Directors, as Treasurer for the Alliance. 

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Elaine Roemer

Born and raised in Teaneck, NJ, Elaine received an AAS degree in Business Administration from The Gibbs School in Manhattan and worked for various NJ corporations including Becton-Dickinson, International Operations and Philips/Norelco. She moved to the Capital District in 1973, attended SUNY’s paralegal program and worked for the Civil Service Employee’s Association, Legal Department. 

After 25 years as an administrator, primarily in the legal field, Elaine has retired and resides in Voorheesville.

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Arnold Rothstein, Past Co-President

Arnie is a retired educator, having served 31 of his 34 years in public education with the Guilderland Central School District.  His administrative positions included High School Dean of Students, Middle School Principal and 17 years as District Administrator for Human Resources. 

Arnie and his wife, Judy, are Altamont residents and extremely dedicated supporters of Community Caregivers.  Together, they are active members of every Board committee.

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Judith Rothstein, Past Co-President

Judy is a retired English teacher and supervisor with the Guilderland Central School District.  Upon retirement, she served as a consultant for the NYS Education Department and was the ELA Consultant for the NYS Academy for Teaching and Learning.  Judy was also a trustee of the Altamont Free Library for 6 years. 

Judy and her husband, Arnie, are Altamont residents and extremely dedicated supporters of Community Caregivers.  Together, they are active members of every Board committee.

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Amy Walsh-Malamood, MD, Secretary

Amy practices internal medicine in Albany.  She is a resident of Guilderland. 

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Steve Walter

Steve has over 40 years of professional and volunteer experience in public and not-for-profit programs, and in services for the elderly. Before retiring from  the NYS Office for the Aging, he was Assistant Deputy Director for the Division of Policy and Program Development where he evaluated intake and assessments for community-based long term care services conducted by the State’s Aging Network.

Since his retirement, Steve has taught management at the New School University, worked on a nursing home quality-of-life project for the University of Minnesota, worked for the State University of NY’s Rockefeller College developing policy and IT strategy training for senior-level executives from the Republic of South Korea, and provided consultant services for the NYS Office for the Aging and the Columbia County Area Agency on Aging.

Steve is also Past President of the Board of Senior Services of Albany.

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David P. White, Past President

A 46-year veteran of the newspaper industry, Dave spent the first 22 years of his career at papers in Cleveland, Newark, Detroit and Orlando.  He served as Advertising Director at Albany’s Times Union from 1988 through 1998, later becoming Publisher in January 1999. Dave retired from full-time involvement in December 2006, but he continues his association with the Times Union and Hearst Newspapers as a consultant.

Dave is active on the Strategic Initiatives Committee of the Center for Economic Growth, and on the Boards of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, Proctor’s Theatre and Equinox, Inc. He is Past Chair of the NY Newspaper Publishers Association and presently serves on its Futures Committee. He is a member of the Albany Country Club and the Fort Orange Club, and resides in Guilderland.