Dean's Advisory Board

Chairperson

Francis G. Belardi, MD is an Iona graduate, Class of 1969. He is an experienced clinician, medical educator and medical administrator. Since retirement in 2014, he has remained active in the medical field as a graduate medical education consultant, mentor and lecturer as well as serving as voluntary faculty for pre-doctoral medical students. He has authored several medical publications that were published in peer–reviewed journals and contributed to two textbooks on healthcare leadership.

His BS degree was earned at Iona University and his MD degree was awarded at Creighton University School of Medicine. Following medical school, he completed an internship at Rhode Island Hospital-Brown University Program in Medicine and residency at the Ohio State University Affiliated Hospitals. He also completed a Faculty Development Fellowship at the University of North Carolina. He was originally board certified by the American Board of Family Medicine (ABFM) in 1978 and was recertified every seven years through his retirement in 2014.

Dr. Belardi practiced full-time family medicine until 2000 when he joined the faculty of the Guthrie Family Medicine Residency becoming the residency Program Director in 2002. During his tenure as Program Director the annual ABFM board pass rate was 100% for resident graduates. He also served as Chairman of the Department of Family Medicine at Guthrie’s flagship hospital, the Guthrie-Robert Packer Hospital, for ten years. In 2006, he became the Executive Vice President for Clinical Affairs for the Guthrie Medical Group (GMG) consisting of 425 medical providers.

In 2012 he was elected as President/CEO of the GMG and remained in that role until retirement in 2014. Other achievements at Guthrie included: Faculty Teacher of the Year award three times, clinical faculty appointments at several Guthrie-affiliated medical schools, presentations at national academic conferences and participation and co-author in an NIH (National Institute of Health) collaborative research grant. He recognized the need for physician leadership education in the non-medical areas and co-developed a physician leadership program with an academic institution to train current and future Guthrie physician leaders.

Dr. Belardi retired from active practice and administrative roles in 2014 but remains very active in the Guthrie Clinic graduate medical education programs teaching and mentoring professionalism to postgraduate trainees.

On a personal note, Dr. Belardi has been married to Ann Marie (Hoffmann) Belardi for 50 years. They have three married children and five grandchildren.

Member
Deborah Benvenger served as the chief admissions officer at the Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine. Debbie received her BA in Mathematics (’79) and MBA (’84) from Iona University and has extensive experience in admissions including at the University. She joined the Dean's Advisory Board in fall 2018.

Charter Member
Rohan Samarakoon graduated summa cum laude with a BS in Biology from Iona University. He received his MS and Ph.D. degrees from Albany Medical College in New York in Molecular Cell Biology (1997-2003). His doctoral thesis defined novel cell signaling mechanisms induced by fibrotic growth factors and mechanical forces in the context of vascular disease.

Rohan did his post-doctoral fellowship at Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard Medical School in Dr. Joseph V. Bonventre’s laboratory (2003-2006) where his research, funded by a fellowship award from the American Heart Association, characterized the molecular mechanisms associated with kidney injury and fibrosis. Dr. Samarakoon is currently an Assistant Professor at the Center for Cell Biology at Albany Medical Center. His research program there is aimed at identifying new fibrotic molecules and testing them as therapeutic agents against kidney failure in pre-clinical settings.

Extensively published, Rohan serves as an editor and a peer reviewer for several high profile scientific journals. During his career, Dr. Samarakoon has trained numerous BS/MD students, graduate students, medical students, medical residents, and research fellows to become researchers and physician-scientists.

Board member

“Iona was a place where I realized the importance of pursuing a variety of interests, following your passions and investing your time in the things that keep you engaged and intellectually curious.” Mr. Caiola earned a bachelor’s degree in mass communication and has since built a transformative career in storytelling as CEO of 5W Public Relations (PR). As a leader in the PR industry, Matthew leads 5WPR’s corporate, technology consumer and digital divisions. With over a decade of experience at 5WPR, Matthew has helped transform the agency into a top 10 independently owned PR firm in the United States. Matt is also a board member of Little Baby Face Foundation, a non-profit with a mission to transform lives of children born with debilitating facial deformities through world-class.

Board member

Mr. Casimiro “Cass” Cibelli has a proven record of over 30 years of service in New York City to Title I children, both in the public and private sectors. During those years, he has demonstrated a sincere affinity to his charge, receiving many awards for his work. Mr. Cibelli’s character is one of courage in the face of adversity, being a stalwart and continual activist for children. Cass earned a bachelor's degree in Education and was a former teacher, principal and school administrator. Currently Cass works as an Educational Consultant (Whole School Consulting, LLC;GFC, LLC and is a Real Estate Investor).

Board member

Christine received her BA in English and Secondary Education (’10) from Iona University. Following graduation, she taught writing and reading to students in grades K-8 in a New York City public school. After teaching for a year, Christine decided to attend law school, enrolling in the accelerated program at the Elizabeth Haub School of Law (Pace University). She graduated in 2014 and began working as a litigator for the New York City Law Department. Christine is currently a litigator in Westchester County.

Board member

Mr. Charles “Chuck” Marino is the Chief Executive Officer of Sentinel, a leading Global Security and Crisis Management firm. Chuck provides expert security advice and recommendations to high profile clients, Fortune 500 companies, major sports organizations, and public safety agencies delivering strategic plans and programs. Chuck is a recognized expert on National and Homeland Security matters and serves numerous Security Panels globally. A former Supervisory Special Agent in the United States Secret Service (USSS) under 3 Presidents, Chuck is a graduate from the national War College in Wahington. D.C., where he earned his MS in National Security Strategy. Chuck is also the author of Terrorists on the Border and in Our Country (Humanix Publishing).

Board member

Mr. Thomas Markiewicz graduate from Iona summa cum laude with a BA in Political Science. Thomas went on to attend Fordham Law School and entered the US Air Force as a Judge Advocate in 1973 (having been commissioned upon graduation from Iona through ROTC). After five years of active duty as a trial and appellate attorney, and an LLM in Taxation from Georgetown Law School, Tom worked as a legislative attorney for the Air Force and then as the Deputy Assistant General Counsel for Legislation for the then new Department of Energy. In 1984,  he returned to the Air Force where he remained for the next 25 years, serving as the legal advisor to the Secretary of the Air Force on military justice clemency matters, the general counsel on military corrections matters, senior member of the Air Force Clemency and Parole Board, and, finally, as the Chairman of the Air Force Board for Correction of Military Records. During this period, Tom also attended The National War College and graduated in 1990 with a degree in International Policy. Tom remained in the Office of The Judge Advocate General as a reservist following active duty, retiring as a Colonel in 1999 when serving as the reserve advisor to the Commander of the Air Force Legal Services Agency. Tom retired from the Department of the Air Force as a civilian in 2009, and have since provided pro bono legal services to military members confined in DOD corrections facilities.

Board member

Ms. Angelica Rosa is an Iona alumna who double majored in English and Mass Communication. As a student she interned at MTV, later working as an Assistant and Coordinator for MTVU programs and scheduling MTV Networks. Anjelica transitioned to manager of AMC Program Scheduling which led her to be Director of AMC Program Strategy, Acquisitions and Scheduling.

Anjelica later was a content strategist in the TV industry working for major media companies such as Paramount Global (MTV and Nickelodeon) and AMC Networks. She has also worked on some acclaimed hit series such as The Walking Dead, Breaking Bad, Better Call Saul, Jersey Shore among others.

As Vice President of NICK@NITE, Anjelica helped grow Nickelodeon, P+, and Paramount Pictures revenue and subscribership through strategic planning of content across Nick @ Nite, TeenNick, and FAST channels.

Board member

Mr. Jonathan Sanchez graduated Iona and received his BA with Honors in Criminal Justice (and a four year academic scholarship). He then went on to receive an MS in Education with a dual certificate in Adolescence Education/Social Studies/Students with Disabilities and graduated with Distinction Honors. In 2014, Jonathan became a New York State Trooper, Troop K, SP Cortlandt, New York. Starting in April 2019 and presently, Jonathan is an Investigator with the Detective Bureau of Criminal Investigations for the New York State Police, Troop K, SP Cortlandt, New York and an active member of the NYS Police-Troop K-Polygraph Unit, Crisis Negotiations Unit, Cyber Crimes Specialist Unit and Bias Hate Crime Unit.

Board member

Mr. Christopher Snyder is the director of multimedia reporters with FOX News Media and has been with FOX for over 14 years. In prior roles, Christopher gained extensive experience from developing original digital content to reporting and producing from the field and was a reporter on a political campaign covering the 2016 presidential election. Since 2017, he has led the multimedia reporters (MMRs), a team that covers breaking news nationwide. Christopher is an alum who double majored in Political Science and History from Iona.

Board member

Ms. Annmarie Stepancic is a graduate of Iona University who continues to live out Iona’s mission of fighting the good fight as an attorney with an expansive career in government service. Upon graduating law school, Annmarie joined The Legal Aid Society of Westchester County where she had the opportunity to represent individuals charged with felony offenses. Shortly thereafter, she joined the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office where she had the honor and privilege of serving and seeking justice for the People of Westchester. In 2024, Annmarie transitioned from a career in criminal law practice to civil law practice where she continues to serve the Westchester community.

Annmarie, like so many Iona University students, is a Bronx native and first-generation college graduate. She received her bachelor’s degree in Political Science and Philosophy with a minor in Pre-Law from Iona. Annmarie continued her studies at Pace Law School where she received her juris doctorate in 2015.

Annmarie not only sits on Iona University School of Arts and Science Dean’s Advisory Board but also serves as an adjunct professor in the Criminal Justice and Sociology Department at Iona University.

Board member

Ms. Maria Tapia is a member on the Iona University Dean’s Advisory Board as well as the Computer Science Alumnae Board. Maria has 35 years of experience from the technology industry working at the IBM Corporation. At IBM, Maria worked across multiple divisions and held numerous technical leadership roles. These included positions in Software, Hardware and Services businesses: application development, project management, technical sales and services delivery. Maris’s key experiences include over 20 years as a manager of technical teams with experience delivering technical projects for clients across a variety of industries: Finance, Insurance, Healthcare and Public Sector. Prior to that, Maria had an assignment as program manager within the Global Workforce Diversity organization focused on internal and external programs for the Hispanic constituency and Multicultural Women. Maria is a lifelong learner and earned a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from Iona University and a Master of Science in Computer Science from Rensselaer Polytechnic University. She also completed a Master of Business Administration at New York University in 2012. Maria is passionate about encouraging people of all ages to pursue and succeed in technical roles. She is an avid volunteer and mentor to people around the world. She also has a passion for needlework, and since her retirement from IBM in July of 2024 has taken an active role in helping Iona University students and the Computer Science Department.