F.S.'s woman of distinction

Assemblyman honors Krista Testani, standout community volunteer

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Recognizing the contributions that women have made to local communities, State Assemblyman Brian Curran — along with Town of Hempstead Supervisor Kate Murray and Councilman Anthony Santino — honored more than a dozen volunteers from across Nassau County at the third annual Women of Distinction ceremony at the Lynbrook Public Library on Sept. 7. Krista Testani, of Franklin Square, was among the 14 honorees.

“I am proud to be able to honor these extraordinary women, whose achievements and dedication have improved the quality of life in our community,” Curran said. “We are very lucky to have these women as our friends and neighbors.”

In her 36 years as a Franklin Square resident, Testani has served as president of the Morton Civic Association and a member of the Willow Road School PTA. She is currently the education liaison between the PTA and the Board of Education, attending meetings and relaying information back to parents.

Testani, who moved to Franklin Square at age 9, is married to Louis Testani, a retired New York City firefighter, and has two children, Ben, 13, and Rebecca, 10. Before she got involved in volunteering, Testani was an attorney, but in 2007, she made a life-changing decision to leave the legal world to devote her time to family.

“I felt I had to make a change in my life and make sure I put my family first, always, even if that meant reducing my income,” she told the Herald. “I had always enjoyed working, but when I had kids, it became more and more difficult to balance the demands of raising kids and the demands of my career — and I had little to no time available for volunteering. [Being home for my children] was most important for me at that time.”

Testani, who said that the death of her 42-year-old boss at the time was the main reason she decided to focus on her family, turned her efforts toward volunteering in her children’s school and started a real estate investment firm with her husband.

“[My boss] left behind a wife and three young children,” she said. “I didn’t know the details of his death, but in my mind, I thought the stress of his job contributed to his death.”

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