Huntington Foundation Led by Energetic Volunteers

The Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education is being led by an energetic group of volunteers during the 2022/23 school year, including a set of enthusiastic students serving on the organization’s youth board.

The Huntington Foundation’s executive board consists of Jennifer Stevens (president), Meghan Knieriem (chief financial officer), Jennifer Hebert (vice president-grants), Jennifer Biancardo (vice president-grants administration/gala chairperson), Michele Sabatino (secretary), Jennifer Tullo (public relations/marketing officer) and Tara Poli (vice president-development).

Board members include Liz Matthews (PTA liaison), Janine Luca (meeting coordinator), Kim Einemann (graphic design/marketing), Gina Leiter (gala support) and Maryann Driscoll (marketing).

Huntington Foundation volunteers include Kelly Donovan (social media), Allison Von Vange (teacher liaison), Kacey Knauer (general support), Amanda Sturges (general support), Kim O’Toole (general support) and Liz Carecchia (general support).

The youth board includes students Talia Addeo, McKenna Buffa, Daniella Luca and Anna Bell Young.

HFEE plans to holds its annual Reach for the Stars gala on Thursday, March 30 at Water’s Edge in Centerport. The event will mark the organization’s 30th anniversary.

Huntington Foundation History

Huntington parent Nancy Lundell came up with the original idea for an educational foundation in 1993. She pulled together a group of people, including fellow district parents Beverly Wayne and Elliot Levine, an attorney who performed the legal work necessary to formally create the organization’s corporate structure in November 1993.

That small group of parents, along with several others, began meeting in the superintendent’s conference room in what was then the administrative wing at Woodhull School. It was from those meetings that the Huntington Foundation for Excellence in Education emerged, becoming a non-profit organization in 1994, with formal bylaws, a logo and a board of directors.

In addition to Mrs. Lundell, Mrs. Wayne and Mr. Levine, the original directors included Diane Kirchner, Tom Webster, Susan Agolia, Paula Schneider and Susan Jouard. The first fundraiser was held on a Sunday afternoon at the old Coco’s Water Café on New York Avenue in Halesite, currently the site of Prime.

The original volunteers devoted enormous amounts of time to the organization, helping to insure its long-term success. Since 1994. Over the years, the Huntington Foundation has donated more than $1 million to the district in grant monies and equipment.

The Foundation is a not-for-profit organization. Its annual report may be obtained upon request from the Foundation (P.O. Box 552, Huntington, NY 11743) or from the Office of the Attorney General, Charities Bureau (120 Broadway, New York, NY 10271).