Our Board and Staff
Job Position:
The National PresidentJob Position:
The National Executive Director
Ralph Colasanti
The National PresidentRalph Colasanti is proud to be the first person with Thalassemia to serve as the National President of CAF. Ralph has been married to Carlene for 30 years and is the father of two children, Jessica and Ryan, and grandfather to Blair. Ralph followed a career in IT for over 30 years before becoming a financial coach, studying how money works, and obtaining a license in insurance and securities. Ralph helps others by teaching them how to make their money work harder for their families. He has been providing people with a solid financial education for over 10 years.
Craig Butler
The National Executive DirectorCraig Butler is the National Executive Director of the Cooley’s Anemia Foundation, which has been leading the fight against Thalassemia for over half a century. Mr. Butler himself has been an active participant in that fight for over a decade, starting with the Foundation as National Communications Director in 2001. In addition to directing all communications-related activities in that capacity, he also served as the Principal Investigator on the Foundation’s collaborative agreement with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) to help educate the Thalassemia community about effective prevention strategies that can contribute to better outcomes for those with Thalassemia.
In addition to advocating on behalf of individuals with severe forms of Thalassemia, Mr. Butler directs Cooley’s Anemia Foundation efforts aimed at informing both the general public and specific at-risk populations about Thalassemia trait. He also oversees programs to encourage all members of the public to donate blood, as treatment for Thalassemia involves frequent lifelong transfusions. Mr. Butler is proud to be the author of “The Cooley’s Anemia Foundation Storybook,” a publication for children with Thalassemia.
Mr. Butler received a BFA from Syracuse University and an MA from New York University.
National Office Staff
National Executive Director
Craig Butler
Patient Services Manager
Eileen Scott
Patient Outreach Director
Steve Hemraj
Social Worker
Kathleen Durst
Marketing & Communications Manager
Paris Booker
Finance Manager
Zofia Buczynski
Major Gifts Officer
Amy Sullivan
Office Manager/Finance Assistant
Jonathan Dacuag
Officers
Ralph Colasanti
President; Executive Committee Chairmen
Financial Services Consultant
Member since 1998
Joseph Vigliotti, Esq.
Vice President; Executive Committee Member; Alternate Representative to TIF
Counsel, Murphy Schiller & Wilkes LLP
Member since 2012
Janet Kwiatkowski, MD, MSCE
Medical Advisory Board Chair; Executive Committee Member
Director of the Thalassemia Program at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
Member since 2017
Teresa Tomaino
Secretary; Executive Committee Member
Chicago Chapter Representative
Member since 2006
Janice Cenzoprano
Treasurer; Executive Committee Member
Office Manager, The Physical Rehabilitation Center
Member since 1998
Members
Carmine Abruzzo
General Manager, BMW of Brooklyn
Member since 2002
Tracy Antonelli
Patient/Parent Advocate
Member since 2018
Cammie Brandofino
Executive Committee Member
Benefits Coordinator, Safeharbor Healthcare Svcs.; Ret’d. Admin. Asst. and Constituent Liaison to State Sen. John Marchi
Member since 1985
Amy Celento
Owner/Director, Brain Body Vitality Center
Member since 2001
Julia Cenzoprano
Assurance Manager, EY
Member since 2014
Mary Ann Cervoni-Iaia
Executive Committee Member; Suffolk Chapter Representative
Patient Advocate
Member since 1986
Jennie Chieco
Westchester/Rockland Chapter Representative
Member since 2020
Peter Chieco
Executive Committee Member
Managing Director – Morgan Stanley
Member since 1988
Sarah Baqueri Connolly
Owner, Sir Speedy Plainview, NY
Member since 2018
Terri DiFilippo
Executive Committee Member
NYC Department of Education (Retired)
Member since 1987
Joseph DiTrapani
CEO – Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America
Member since 2003
Robert Ficarra
Executive Committee Member; Representative to Thalassemia International Federation
Owner, Bob Ficarra Associates
Member since 1975
Josephine Bila Flood, MSW
Producer, CNBC; Wellness Consultant
Member since 2016
Frank Fusaro
President – The Forum Group; Member – Board of Governors Columbus Citizens Foundation
Member since 1995
Anish Goel, PhD
Senior South Asia Fellow – New America
Member since 2016
Maria Hadjidemetriou
Executive Committee Member
Real Estate Sales Agent; Writer for Architecture + Lifestyle
Member since 1995
Dean Hernan
Executive Committee Member
Public Accountant, Katz Viola Lebenhart & Mauro, LLP; Chief Financial Officer, The Forum Group
Member since 2000
Christine Horton
New Jersey Chapter Representative
Freelance Graphic Artist & Creator
Member since 2006
Michelle Chieco Lenz
Westchester/Rockland Chapter Representative
Pediatric RN
Member since 2018
Ben Li
Member since 2020
John Mancino
Queens Chapter Representative
Member since 2024
Valerie Mancino
Member since 2024
Steven Milvid
Member since 2024
Peter Pettinato
UNICO Representative
Member since 2024
William Pisano
Suffolk Chapter Representative
Member since 2020
Laurie Pizzo
Executive Committee Member
Creative Director, MRM
Member since 2020
Paul Polo
Senior Vice President, General Manager, Adchem Manufacturing Technologies, Inc.
Member since 2007
Michael Pouchie
President & COO, National Distribution Alliance, LLC
Member since 2008
Michael Presto
Chairman & CEO, National Distribution Alliance, LLC
Member since 2008
Thomas A. Rotolo
Long Island Chapter Representative
President, Imprenditore OPS
Member since 2001
Phil Rutigliano
Marketing Consultant
Member since 2005
Pranav Saha
Patient Advocate
Director – Booz Allen Hamilton
Member since 2020
Maria Saradpon
California Chapter Representative
Member since 2024
Radhika Sawh
Executive Committee Member
Continental State Teams Lead, NYMAC Regional Genetics Network;
Faculty, Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics at Sarah Lawrence College
Member since 2020
Joseph Sciame
Vice President for Community Relations, St. John’s University
Member since 1993
Yasmeen Shah
Patient Advocate
Member since 2024
Frank Somma
Executive Committee Member
Keynote Speaker/Sales Trainer
Member since 1986
Joe Tantillo, Jr.
Member since 2024
James Ventola
Executive Committee Member
North Jersey Chapter Representative
Law Enforcement / Government
Member since 2010
Anthony J. Viola, CPA
Senior Partner, Katz Viola Lebenhart & Mauro, LLP
Member since 1995
Tom Watral
Vice President, Watral Brothers, Inc.
Member since 2016
Joseph Zuraw
Sr. Director – Patient Relations, Grifols
Member since 2016
Major Donors
We are grateful to all those who donate to The Cooley’s Anemia Foundation. Your generosity helps ensure that we can provide longer and healthier lives for all patients with Thalassemia until a universal cure is found. Every gift counts and we are continually thankful to all our benefactors.
In this section, we want to acknowledge some of our many friends who have provided us with significant funding. We are especially grateful to the following for their major contributions:
Bristol Myers Squibb
BWM of Brooklyn
Columbus Citizens Foundation
Editas Medicine
Haydan Consultants Inc.
Italian Welfare League
Milana Family Foundation
Order Sons and Daughters of Italy in America
Sam and Lorenza DeMuro Charitable Trust
UNICO National
Vertex