About Us – Destination College

OUR MISSION

Our mission is to facilitate college readiness for economically disadvantaged student athletes through persistent mentoring and academic tutoring, to assist with all aspects of the college admissions and financial aid process, and to support our students towards a successful completion of college.

OUR VISION

Our vision is for our student athletes to become empowered and successful adults who engage with their communities and support and fortify the next generation of deserving young people.

OUR HISTORY

In 2006, a small group of volunteers ran a summer reading program for the Mount Vernon Boys Basketball team. The idea was simple. Help the team become better students who might then be academically eligible for NCAA scholarships. Our volunteers quickly saw the students' potential and wanted to do more. Since 2006, DC has grown from one team to a non-profit organization supporting Student Athletes from a variety of teams at several high schools. Our program now offers students weekly reading groups, academic tutoring, SAT classes, college and financial aid application assistance, college retention support, mentoring and scholarships.

Our program is based on the belief that we can harness the perseverance and dedication of successful athletes to help them become successful Student Athletes. While we consider every athlete who gains an appreciation for the value of their education a success story, we are continually amazed at the accomplishments of our Student Athlete alumni. That success flows from the dedication, love and commitment of our volunteers, donors and staff. As much as our Student Athletes gain from us, we receive even more in return. Join the team today and learn for yourself what a little time helping others can do.

OUR TEAM

Michele Roque

Executive Director, March 2023

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Michele is a proud graduate of Mount Vernon High School and has deep roots in that community. She has a BA from SUNY Binghamton and a Master of Arts in Literature from Mercy College, where she is an adjunct professor of English. She resides in Pelham, NY where her civic involvement was extensive. She is a past president of the Pelham Education Foundation, the Pelham PTA Council, and the Pelham School Board Citizens Nominating Committee, and has volunteered with other in other local organizations. Michele also has considerable experience as an executive in the retail industry, working as a Buyer and/or Director of Merchandise Planning at Bergdorf Goodman, Henri Bendel, Armani Exchange and Polo Jeans.

Michele is also an entrepreneur who founded and, and in her spare time runs, You Can Do Better Than That, a personal shopping and styling business.

Melissa Cortés

Director of College Access, July 2024

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Melissa's career path reflects a deep commitment to bridging the gap between higher education and K-12 success. While pursuing her Master's in Higher and Postsecondary Education, she began her journey in college admissions at Columbia University. Seeking a firsthand understanding of the K-12 landscape, she joined Teach for America and dedicated eight years to empowering middle schoolers in New York City. Her experience spanned Success Academies in Harlem North Central and The Equity Project Charter School in Washington Heights. At The Equity Project, Melissa's leadership extended beyond the classroom. She served on the school leadership team as the 5th Grade Level Lead, providing guidance and support to colleagues. Her passion for mentorship continued as she trained both new Teach for America Corps members and new hires at The Equity Project. Leveraging her combined expertise in admissions, classroom experience, and leadership, Melissa transitioned to lead the Professional Learning division at Simplicity Education.

Melissa's dual Bachelor's in Business and Philosophy (Molloy College) sets a foundation for a multifaceted approach to education. She holds a Master's in Higher Education (Teachers College, Columbia) and dual Masters in Middle School Education (RELAY) and Special Education (CCNY) for Grades 1-6.

Laura Amigone

Director of College Success, March 2022

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Laura is the founder of Rudder Coaching, offering 1-on-1 coaching for college students to help them reach their full college potential. She has over 20 years of experience working in secondary and higher education as a former Director of College Counseling at Xavier High School and as Assistant Director of Admissions /Assistant Director of Multicultural Recruitment at Fordham University. Laura has a bachelor's degree in Diplomatic History from the University of Pennsylvania and a Master's in Education, Counseling Psychology from Fordham University.

Nancy McKenna

Founder 2006 | Board Chair

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Nancy founded Destination College in 2006. As a graduate of Smith College and Georgetown University School of Law, Nancy's early career was spent representing abused and neglected children in the D.C juvenile justice system. After twelve years of working in law, Nancy retired to raise four children in Bronxville. With significant experience helping her own children navigate the college process, including athletic recruiting, she began developing a concept to bring this knowledge and expertise to bordering Mount Vernon High School, a large urban school in a city of 68,000. Starting with one team, thirty boys and a handful of volunteers - today Destination: College 's network of 70+ volunteers work with three high schools, eight teams, and approximately 200 students each year.

Emily Kirschenbaum,M.D.

Board Member since 2013 | Vice Chair

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Emily was one of the original Volunteers in the Mount Vernon Program. She continues to tutor our students in all science subjects during the academic year to ensure success on the NYS Regents exams and chairs our Summer Program. Emily received her AB magna cum laude from Brown University and her MD from Albert Einstein. Emily is a docent at the New York Botanical Garden. She has served on the board of Hoff-Barthelson School of Music as well as her local synagogue. She retired as an active radiologist in 2011. Emily and her husband Ira have three children.

Tracy McVey

Board Member since 2013 | Vice Chair

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A graduate of Miami University with a BS in accounting and finance, Tracy has headed our College Program at Woodlands High School since its inception in 2010. Tracy also volunteers two days a week at our College Center in Mount Vernon and is an expert in the college application/financial aid process. Tracy, the mother of 3 girls, has been an extremely active member of the Bronxville Community, serving on the Boards of the Eastchester Recreation Advisory Board, the Bronxville Youth Lacrosse Association, The Bronxville Schools, the Community Fund, and was a founding member of Concordia College's Conservatory.

Maureen Barton

Board Member since 2010 | Secretary

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Maureen sat on the Bronxville School Board from 1996-2002 and served as both its Vice President and President. Extremely active in virtually every aspect of Bronxville's civic life, including her church and other non-profits in the Village, Maureen is a cum laude graduate of Wittenberg University and holds an MBA from NYU Stern School of Business. Maureen was one of the first women executives in the insurance industry, her career before she retired to raise her 3 children. Maureen has been volunteering for Destination College since 2009. She has been a vital part of our College Center since its inception in 2013.

Richard Rugani

Board Member since 2010 | Treasurer

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A graduate of Occidental College and the Yale School of Management, Rick spent 25 years on Wall Street as an investment banker. Since 2010, he has been a volunteer, board member and Treasurer of Destination: College where among other responsibilities, he tutors our students in any math course from Algebra 1 to calculus. Rick served on the Bronxville School Board for 9 years and is currently serving as a Trustee of Occidental College.

Danielle Browne

Board Member since 2023

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Danielle Browne, Esq. is a New York licensed attorney and founder of The Browne Firm. She is passionate about entrepreneurship and helping people build and sustain generational wealth. She focuses her practice on business law, entertainment law, and estate planning. In 2015, Danielle co-founded DO Strategy Group – a business, marketing, and graphic design consulting agency – where she assisted small businesses with the formation, branding, and development of marketing plans and strategies. In this capacity, Danielle helped a variety of clients including startups, mom-and-pop shops, Fortune 500 corporations, entertainers, and television personalities. In this position, Danielle negotiated and drafted cost-effective contracts, agreements, and licenses, and successfully managed and fostered relationships. She has represented low-income artists, musicians, and film directors through the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts program and has helped her clients protect their creative works, businesses, and livelihoods. Danielle has also done volunteer work at the Legal Aid Society through the Community Development Project. As an undergraduate, Danielle was a four-year member of the varsity women’s basketball team, where she served as captain during her senior year.

In her free time, Danielle enjoys reading, traveling, watching documentary films, discovering new artists, and participating in various Caribbean carnival troupes.

Ronnie Cox

Board Member since 2010

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A long-time resident of Mount Vernon, Ronnie is an active member of her community where she spearheaded the "Save Our Sports" initiative in 2008-09 that raised over $1 million to put sports back in the school budget during the financial crisis. Ronnie was the President of the Mount Vernon Educational Foundation from 2008 - 2020. She has served for the past 5+ years as the Director of the Westchester County Senior Programs. Ronnie spent 15 years in Public Relations and Marketing for American Express. Ronnie received her undergraduate degree in Marketing and Business from Pace University.

Ann W. Jackson

Board Member since 2010

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A magna-cum laude graduate of Middlebury College with an MBA from Columbia University, Ann had a long, successful career with Time Inc., where she held a variety of positions with Sports Illustrated and helped launch InStyle and Real Simple magazines. Ann, the mother of 3, also served as the Executive Director and Global Director of Business Development at Sotheby's. Ann's prior Board services include Middlebury College, the Cancer Research Institute, God's Love We Deliver and The International Alliance for Biomedical Research. A former long time tutor for Destination: College from its earliest days, Ann currently lends her vision and expertise to strategic planning and communications.

Clayton Pope

Board Member since 2021

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Clayton is the founder and principal of Austin Pearce, a privately-owned investment entity focused on global debt and equity securities, real estate investment, and early-stage venture financing. Prior to establishing Austin Pearce in 2018, Mr. Pope worked for 16 years in investment banking, most recently as Managing Director for the Emerging Markets Debt Syndicate Group at Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC, based in New York. At Credit Suisse he was responsible for overseeing the primary structuring, distribution, and pricing of all international bond issuance out of Latin America into the global markets. Clayton joined Credit Suisse from HSBC Securities (USA) Inc, where he served in a variety of roles across the Emerging and US corporate investment grade debt markets. He received his BA in Economics from McGill University in Montreal and is a CFA Charter holder. Mr. Pope resides in Bronxville, NY with his wife and two sons. He is a dual citizen of the U.S. and Canada.

Chris Cooney

Board Member since 2019

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Chris Cooney is the Chief Operating Officer of EUE/Screen Gems, Ltd. He is also the co-owner of EUE/Screen Gems Studios. Cooney is known for his collaborative style, his eye for art and his experience with facility management, international content distribution, integrated media solutions and online content development. Cooney is based in New York City. Chris is a graduate of Boston University.

Dwayne Murray

Board Member since 2014

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Dwayne is the Director of the Mount Vernon Youth Basketball Association and the Associate Head Coach of the New Renaissance Basketball Association. He is a USAB /USA Basketball Clinician and an Assistant Basketball Coach for Mount Vernon High School. Additionally, Dwayne founded the Shamoya McKenzie Foundation in Mount Vernon to engage youth of different communities in physical and educational activities and workshops that aid in the awareness and prevention of gun violence.

Vera Kiernan

Board Member since 2013

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Vera launched and headed our Reading Program at Woodlands High School from its inception in 2010 until 2018. Vera has remained an active volunteer in the Woodlands Program. A mother of 5, Vera comes to Destination: College with a background in HR from Paine Webber and merchandising at Bergdorf Goodman. Active in her hometown of Chappaqua, Vera and her husband Greg were founding members of the San Miguel Academy of Newburgh, New York, a 5th through 8th Middle School for boys from underserved families residing in the City of Newburgh, NY.

Joan Henle

Board Member since 2010

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Joan, the mother of 2, has been a volunteer since 2006. Joan has worn many hats for the organization. She has been working with the Boys Basketball Program since 2006. She ran a program we had many years ago in neighboring Tuckahoe for their football team for several years. A graduate of Tufts University, Joan received her MBA from NYU. Joan recently stepped down from her 6 years of service on the Seniors Citizens Council in Bronxville and is an active member of her Church, where she volunteers in the soup kitchen.

Heidi Paul

Board Member since 2018

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A longtime resident of Mount Vernon, Heidi recently retired from a 23 year career with Nestle Waters where she was the Executive Vice President in charge of Corporate Affairs. Heidi received her BA from the University of Pennsylvania from the Annenberg School of Communications and her MBA from Columbia University. Heidi and her husband Andy, Program Head of Boys Soccer for Destination: College, have two daughters.

Fern Watters

Board Member since 2015; Emeritus, 2021 | Emeritus Vice Chair

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A graduate of Marietta College, Fern received her jurist doctor from The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law. Fern has been an extremely active member of the Bronxville Community with over 15 years of volunteer service to the schools and numerous years on the Board of the Friends of the Bronxville Public Library. The mother of 3, Fern simultaneously headed two programs for Destination: College- Baseball and Cheerleading. Fern also was the founder of our Bronxville High School Peer to Peer Student Tutor Initiative.

Ira H. Kirschenbaum

Vice Chair Emeritus

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Dr. Kirschenbaum is Chairman of Orthopedics at BronxCare Health System which serves the poorest congressional district in the nation. . He received his ScB, magna cum laude from Brown University, his MD from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He also has a certificate in Executive Health Care from the Harvard Business School. He currently serves as the editor of Medscape Orthopedics.