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Executive Board

bob Bontempi headshot

Robert Bontempi

Chairperson

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Greg Wagner

Secretary

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Brian J. Yudewitz

Treasurer

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Executive Director

Barry Lites

Don Tesoriero

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Board of Directors
john comack

Peter Gesell

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Allison Singh

Allison Singh

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Barry Lites

Barry Lites

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Advisors

Denise Goodwin Pace

Denise Goodwin Pace

Marketing & Communications

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Erik Larson

Erik Larson

Finance

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Rob Ripp

Rob Ripp

Finance

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Denise Goodwin Pace

David Berg

Environmental – Coastal Scientist

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Denise Goodwin Pace

Steve Zahn

Environmental – Natural Resources

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Denise Goodwin Pace

Garrett Chelius

Maritime Services –
Town of Huntington

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mike newton

Mike Newton

Community Engagement

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bob Bontempi headshot
Robert Bontempi
Chairperson
Mr. Bontempi has been active in the Huntington community for over 30 years. In January 2019, he was appointed to the Town of Huntington EOSPA (Environmental Open Space and Park Fund Review Advisory) Committee where he served for almost two years. He is a founding board member of the Huntington Township Business Council and Huntington’s 1653 Foundation, formed in 2017 and 2018, respectively. From 2009-2013 Mr. Bontempi was Chairman of the Board of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce where he still serves on the Executive Board as Vice Chairman and Co-Chairman of the Long Island Fall Festival since 2009. Bob was appointed by The Huntington Town Board to serve as a Director on the Huntington Town Planning Board from 1997-1999. He was re-appointed to The Planning Board September 2020 and appointed Vice Chairman in January 2021 a position he still holds.

Mr. Bontempi has worked in the Pharmaceutical/Medical Device Industry for almost thirty years. He currently serves as Senior Regional Business Director with Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals in the Critical Care Hospital Space. Prior to that, he worked at Otsuka America Pharmaceuticals and Bristol-Myers Squibb Company in multiple sales and management roles. Mr. Bontempi is also a principal in the Quay Group, Inc., a business-to-business consulting firm. Before entering the private sector, Mr. Bontempi worked as Director of Operations (1996) for the Suffolk County Medical Examiner’s office where he was chief spokesperson during the TWA flight 800 tragedy. From 1992 until 1995, Mr. Bontempi worked as an Aide in the Suffolk County Legislature where he served as liaison to the Health & Human Services Committee.

headshot of greg
Greg Wagner
Secretary
Greg is currently the Director of Cultural Affairs for the Town of Huntington where he serves on the boards of the Heckscher Museum and the Huntington Arts Council. He is also a screenwriter, film producer and plays the recurring role of Judge Marvin Nichols on Law and Order.

Brian J. Yudewitz
Brian J. Yudewitz
Treasurer
Brian J. Yudewitz is an attorney who has been involved in life in Huntington for over twenty years. His law firm concentrates in the areas of commercial and residential real estate, small business creation and development, regulatory compliance, consumer protection and non-profit corporation law.

He currently serves as General Counsel for The Huntington Lighthouse Preservation Society Inc., the Community Credit Counseling Corp., The SYFF Group LLC and The Quay Group Inc.

He is President of Frontline Strategies, LTD. a business development company that works in the U.S. and Haiti,
as well as President of Custom Education Foundation, a charity that assists special needs children and their families.
He is a member of the Board of Directors of Angels for Warriors, a charity that provides support and resources to Military Veterans, PBA Counsel for the Centre Island, the New York Police Benevolent Association, as well as counsel to the Huntington Historical Society.

He received his law degree from Hofstra University in January 1992, and his undergraduate degree from Colgate University in May 1989.

don
Don Tesoriero
Executive Director

Don Tesoriero is a business principal of Tesori Ventures, LLC. Don started his career in the financial district of lower Manhattan working for a financial publisher. Combining his creative and administrative abilities, Don eventually took an entrepreneurial path and established himself in the Long Island business community as a marketing consultant and web application developer. Over time, he developed a track record as an innovative thinker able to turn a client’s ideas into successful ventures. Throughout his business career, Don has been at the forefront of groundbreaking initiatives that have disrupted industries and transformed the way businesses operate.

His innovative approaches to business and problem-solving have benefitted both the private and public sectors. As a public servant, Don held the position Assistant to the Mayor for the Village of Northport. Don had a variety of responsibilities, such as helping with the administration of local government, assisting with policy development, financial grant administration, and acting as a liaison between the mayor and the public. As a municipal administrator of this vibrant village, he incorporated his business administrative skills into various roles serving the village and its residents. He encouraged community engagement, transparency and forward-thinking policies to affect positive change and improve efficiencies.

Deeply involved in the local community, Don is the Commodore of the Greater Huntington Boating Council and Information Technology/Marketing Consultant for the Rotary Environmental Action Coalition of Huntington (REACH) dedicated to service projects based on environmental sustainability with a primary focus on improving water quality, restoring habitat and supporting aquaculture by reintroducing keystone indigenous species to local embayments.

Don has made Huntington his home with his family.

peter
Peter Gesell
Peter Gesell began his 30 year professional career in the Europe Division at The Bank of New York. After serving in a number of roles in client management and credit/client services, he moved to risk management where he was most recently a business chief risk officer supporting the Treasury Services line of business.

Peter is currently a board member of The Head of The Bay Club in Huntington New York and an active volunteer and philanthropist, raising money and supporting many causes including the Greg Kline Foundation and Saint Dominic High School. He is a former board member and treasurer of the East End Seaport Museum and Marine foundation, and supporter of the Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) Association Greater New York Chapter, Muscular Dystrophy Association and the Monmouth Rugby Football club.

Peter has a diverse international background, having lived overseas for 10 years. He is fluent in Spanish and French and holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the College of the Holy Cross in Worcester, Massachusetts. Peter and his wife Susan Clancy Gesell, a lifelong Huntington resident, reside in Huntington where they are raising their three children.

Allison Singh
Allison Singh
Allison is a lawyer and history lover who lives in Huntington with her husband and two children. She has written books for young people about Long Island and articles on a variety of legal topics.

She works as a corporate lawyer specializing in technology deals and compliance. Allison studied history at Dartmouth College and law at Georgetown University Law Center. In addition to The 1653 Foundation, Allison is a member of Rotary International, Huntington Robotics and The Long Island Immigration Clinic. She feels fortunate and proud to call Huntington her home.

Barry Lites
Barry Lites
Barry Lites, Esq. (Harvard Law School ’86) is the owner and principal attorney of Law Offices of Barry D. Lites, LLP, a New York-based law firm with offices in Huntington, Long Island and midtown Manhattan. Barry received his undergraduate degree from the University of Pennsylvania.

The Firm specializes in corporate law, real estate finance, real estate development and leasing, construction, asset-based lending and transactions in the health care space.

The Firm’s clients include the MTA, Dormitory Authority of the State of New York and Empire State Development, along with many private sector business owners, real estate investors, not-for-profit corporations and faith-based institutions.

Barry serves on the board of commissioners of the Huntington Housing Authority, an agency of HUD whose mission is to develop and manage affordable housing in the Huntington community. Barry is also a member of the Executive Committee of the board of the Huntington Township Chamber of Commerce, a member of the board of Moonjumpers, Inc. an organization supporting veterans and children’s causes, and a member of the newly-formed African-American Museum of Huntington.

Since 2010, Barry has been an Adjunct Professor at Hofstra Law School, teaching an International Business course. He is also a frequent panelist and lecturer on issues such as business acquisition and real estate investment.

Barry has lived in Lloyd Harbor since 1999 with his wife, Leigh Ann Hutchinson, M.D., a Long Island cardiologist, their four children and two dogs.

Denise Goodwin Pace
Denise Goodwin Pace
Marketing & Communications
Principal, Looking Up Productions

A veteran of the communications field, Denise has created and told stories in all media and through all disciplines – from video to publishing to journalism to advertising to public relations, in print, broadcast, videos, web, and social media.

Denise established Looking Up Productions, a communications consultation and film and video storytelling business, in 2010, after a successful career that included founding and leading The Halo Group, an award-winning, 35-employee New York City brand communications and advertising firm, creating Goldenwords, an independent writing/producing consultation group, heading the editorial team as Managing Editor at Appleton-Century-Crofts, the oldest publishing firm in New York, and investigating news and news feature stories at various reporter stints in Pennsylvania and Ohio newspapers.

Looking Up Productions develops entertainment projects and partners with top tier production companies to bring them to network. Denise also advises corporate and nonprofit communications teams on marketing and content strategy and best practices. She has resided in the Town of Huntington for over 40 years and happily raised her family here.

Erik Larson
Erik Larson
Finance
Erik Larson is a Senior Vice President with Morgan Stanley and a Founding Member of HQ Advisors LLC. With over 28 years of experience servicing wealthy families, foundations, and institutions in all aspects of capital markets, Erik has worked at several large Wall Street firms in Chicago, London and NYC.

Erik is a lifelong Huntington resident and a dedicated volunteer and philanthropist, raising money and supporting causes, especially, military veterans and their families. Erik is extremely proud to serve the community he went to school in, played sports in, and was raised in. He is grateful for the opportunity to work with the 1653 Foundation and help advance their mission of Restoring, Maintaining and Enhancing Huntington’s Parklands and Public Spaces.

Erik has a BA in Finance from Misericordia University. Erik and his wife Meredith were both raised in Huntington and it’s where they are raising their three children today.

Rob Ripp
Rob Ripp
Finance
Rob Ripp is a strategic advisor and leader who focuses on helping clients build business plans that are both visionary and executable. With over 35 years in the corporate planning world, Rob brings unique capabilities to both the for-profit and not-for-profit sectors.

Rob started his career at Chase Manhattan Bank where he conducted merger acquisition analysis for bank branch networks. In 1998 he joined EY as a management consultant. There he assisted corporate clients develop long-term real estate strategies and multifaceted expense reduction initiatives.

Rob joined Morgan Stanley in 2007 as an Executive Director and held a number of positions in strategic planning and process transformation. Rob is a action oriented leader who established and developed a digital reporting platform within Morgan Stanley’s Corporate Services business unit.

David Berg
David Berg
Environmental – Coastal Scientist
David is a coastal scientist, environmental analyst, and land use planner. He has assisted communities, municipalities, environmental organizations, and the private sector plan ecologically and economically sustainable projects that restore, sustain, and improve the natural and built environments. He has designed ecological restorations, prepared coastal resilience and adaptation measures, led land use and comprehensive planning projects, conducted water quality evaluations as well as wastewater and stormwater management evaluations. David helped bring seaweed cultivation to New York starting in 2016 as an advisor to the Regional Planning Council on the LI Nitrogen Action Plan. For much of his career David was with Cameron Engineering, a planning and engineering consulting company, now an IMEG Company.

David serves the Town of Huntington as a member of Suffolk County’s Coindre Hall Advisory Board and its Waterfront Advisory Committee. David is also a member of the Village of Northport’s Waterfront Committee. Back in the day, David owned and operated a shellfish hatchery.

steve zahn
Steve Zahn
Environmental – Natural Resources
Steve has called Huntington home since 1994, shortly after he began his career with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC). In 2021, Steve retired from State service after more than 27 years with DEC, spending the bulk of his career in the Office of Natural Resources and his final 5 years as the Regional Director of the Region 2 (NYC) office. During his time in Natural Resources, Steve oversaw regional activity across all DEC Natural Resources Divisions (Marine Resources, Fish & Wildlife and Lands and Forests). The protection, preservation, and restoration of species and habitats were his central focus. Through his efforts, and working with a network of governmental and non-governmental partners, hundreds of acres of open space were acquired and many hundreds more acres of natural habitat were restored. Steve was appointed as Regional Director in 2016. As the Region 2 Director, Steve was responsible for overseeing all program areas in DEC’s broad portfolio: Environmental Remediation, Air Quality, Solid Waste Management, Water Quality, Permitting, Legal Affairs, Operations, Communications and Natural Resources.

Steve continues to lend his experience to those looking to improve coastal areas; to help them in the development of sustainable designs that will pass muster with the regulatory agencies and improve conditions for natural resources and for the public.

Garrett Chelius
Garrett Chelius
Deputy Director, Department of Maritime Services – Town of Huntington

Mr. Chelius enjoyed a prosperous 25 year career in corporate America holding various leadership positions in the mortgage banking, and Information Technology industries. In 2018 Mr. Chelius accepted a position with the Town of Huntington believing his efforts would be best spent giving back to the Town that had always been so dear to him. After working in the Department of Planning and Environment, Mr. Chelius began working for the Department of Maritime Services where he currently serves as Deputy Director, combining his lifelong passion of all things water related with his desire to serve the community.

Extremely active in the community, Mr. Chelius is the Chairman of the Coindre Hall Advisory Board, Chairman of the Huntington Local Waterfront Revitalization Program (LWRP) as well as a member of the Northport LWRP Committee. He is a Director of the Rotary Environmental Action Coalition of Huntington (REACH) planting sugar kelp and building oyster reefs to improve the Town’s overall water quality. Mr. Chelius also serves as Chairman of the Crab Meadow Watershed Advisory Committee with the goal of restoring habitat and vitality to the watershed.

Mr. Chelius currently resides in Lloyd Neck with his family.

mike newton
Mike Newton
Community Engagement
Mike Newton, a lifelong Northport resident, serves as President of Newton Shows, where he upholds a 76-year family tradition of delivering safe, high-quality outdoor events that bring communities together and create lasting memories.

As a past President of the Northport Historical Society, he championed the preservation of our shared history while keeping it vibrant and relevant through collaborative efforts. For many years, Mike has partnered with nonprofits across Long Island, raising essential funds through creative, community-focused amusement events that highlight the power of teamwork and volunteerism.

He deeply respects and appreciates how volunteer-driven initiatives and strong collaboration can achieve meaningful, positive change—transforming public spaces, preserving heritage, and strengthening community bonds. Passionate about protecting and thoughtfully enhancing Huntington’s cherished parks, beaches, and public spaces, Mike is excited to bring his experience in community building, and historical preservation to the 1653 Foundation’s important, volunteer-powered mission.