SCHOLARSHIP TRIBUTE DINNER THE COLLEGE WAS EAGER TO HONOR Susan Chiaviello DiDonato ’82 and Gerald DiDonato ’83, Ph.D., and to confer an honorary degree upon President Charles L. Flynn, Jr. at the 2020 Scholarship Tribute Dinner. We remain optimistic to do both next spring. Between the announcement of the event—and its second postponement—the following community members made commitments in support of the event and the Mount’s scholarship programs. ADZ Staffing Company, Inc. Aaron Zweback
Conde Family Foundation Cristόbal and Kamayrn Conde
Maureen Reynolds Lynn '84 and Timothy Lynn
Ann Reid Powers '57
Susan K. Allen
Rita Kilgallon Conlon '53 and M. Clark Conlon
Joan Backer Maddy '50
Andrew Curiel '18
Robert and Joan M. Dircks Foundation, Inc.
Maura A. Markus
Aicila Barksdale '05 Andrea Garafolo Batista '02 Mary Bauer Rosemary T. Berkery '75 and Robert J. Hausen Kelli Bodrato Smith Margaretta Campbell Bruegger '67 and John Bruegger Rosalie Buchanan '90
Abed Elkeshk Exclusive Escapes Eileen Spear '90 Martha E. Fedorko '56† Phyllis Palese Feldman '71 Florence Sendlbeck Fialk '55 and Richard Fialk
Denis G. Mahoney Valerie E. Mastronardi '61 Charles A. Mastronardi Foundation Maryellen Mathews '70 and Thomas McSweeny Catherine Mazzola '90 and Steven Mazzola
Daniel T. Regan
Anne Koonmen Scheible '62 and Walter Scheible Ann Delaney Schumacher '81 and Stephen Schumacher Matthew Shields Joan M. Squires '73
Kathryn Pitkiewicz McLaughlin '59
Margaret Smith Steffan '66 and Robert Steffan
James Burkee
Angela Scarola Gray '54
Rose Kelly McTague '68
Rosalie Wilson Steiner '52
Maryellen Flynn Cancellieri '77 and Gene Cancellieri
Mary Griffin
Alison M. Tapia '01
Rebecca Halperin
Rosita Stagg Medler '57 and Raymond Medler
Frederica Nicola Capshaw '70 and William Capshaw
Deborah J. Hamilton
Madeleine and John Melkonian
Mary Snyder Howell '66 and William Howell
Paul W. Mourning and Laura K. Locke
Regina Burke Vassak '66 and John Vassak
Gabrielle Occhiogrosso
Thomas Vassallo
Christopher Keenan, O.F.M.
Margaret Trainor O'Malley '80 and Thomas O'Malley
Susan L. Whitney '72 and John Whitney
Elaine L. Palatine '51
Joan M. Woods '57
Elizabeth Barnett Carlucci '76 and Charlie Carlucci Gail Vance Civille '65 and Francis Civille Commercial Kitchens, Inc. Richard L. Pinto
Sheila Johansson Kelly '82 and Ralph Kelly Catherine Kinney
Barbara Palombo
Theresa Kuilan
Michelle Queenan Pisacano '63 and Anthony Pisacano
Edna Sandroni Ulasewicz '49
MEET OUR HONOREES Susan Chiaviello DiDonato ’82 and Gerald (Gerry) DiDonato ’83 met at Mount Saint Vincent in the fall of 1979. Susan, a bubbly and active sophomore, and Gerry, a freshman transfer, moved in the same circles for a while. They began dating the next summer and have been inseparable ever since—especially as they’ve challenged and supported one another as they’ve built impressive careers. Susan, an accomplished marketer and communicator, was recruited to WPP’s Health and Wellness Division in 2016, where her skillful management and keen eye for talent drew the attention of higherups. Earlier this year, she was promoted to Senior Vice President for Human Resources Advisory/Business Integrity at WPP, the world’s largest advertising company.
Four years after graduating from the Mount, Gerry earned a doctorate in Analytical Chemistry from Indiana University. Now, in his fourth decade with Bristol-Meyers Squibb, Gerry maintains his enthusiasm for his job as Senior Director, Regulatory Sciences – CMC Biologics and for the team of professionals he supervises. Both Susan and Gerry are proudest of their most enduring and rewarding collaboration—their three children. Each praises the other’s involvement and devotion to helping their kids grow into kind, responsible, successful adults with full lives and generous hearts. “I’m very proud of them and what they’ve accomplished,” Gerry says. “They are our legacy.” In 2019, Susan joined the Mount’s Board of Trustees after having she what she calls “a life-changing conversation with President Flynn. I was deeply moved by his conviction that no one who wants an education should be held back by their socioeconomic status.” Susan and Gerry thought and prayed over her decision to join the board. “It’s not a commitment I would make for just any organization,” she says. “For both of us, the College of Mount Saint Vincent really matters—what they are doing, what they are investing in—and that’s the future of education.”
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