Red Cross adds six new board members

The American Red Cross on Long Island recently appointed six new members of its regional Board of Directors, and four of them have ties to Rockville Centre.

The new trustees include Brian Cooper, the operations manager for UPS on Long Island; Edmond D. Farrell, the deputy general counsel of Catholic Health Services of Long Island; Rabbi Barry Dov Schwartz of Temple B’nai Sholom-Beth David; and Stuart Richner, the president and publisher of Richner Communications, publisher of the Herald. Also appointed to the board was Aimee DiBartolomeo-Cody, president of Premier Benefit Plans, Inc. and Dr. Geoffrey Gordon, superintendent of schools for the Port Washington School District.

“The board is getting more and more sophisticated every day,” said Chris Kutner, the co-chair of the Board of Directors and also a Rockville Centre resident. “The board members are diverse, they’re professionals, and they bring a lot to the organization in the way of contacts through their organizations, their intellect, their thoughts on improving services. They bring a lot to the table.”

Cooper has worked for UPS for 33 years. He has lived in New Orleans, Atlanta, Charlotte and Orlando.

He grew up in Shreveport, La., and earned his business degree from the University of Phoenix. Cooper has been an active member of the United Way in North Carolina and the Red Cross in Florida. Cooper and his wife Sandy live in Rockville Centre. They have two adult daughters.

Farrell serves as the co-chair of the construction Law Committee of the Nassau County Bar Association and has also served on the hospital board of St. Joseph Hospital in Bethpage, the Core at the Plaza Early Childhood Center in Uniondale and the Leukemia Society of America NYC chapter.

He received his BA and law degree from Duke University. Farrell, his wife Louise and their three children live in Rockville Centre.

“Working for a healthcare system has shown me how the Red Cross helps in ways that even hospitals and emergency services cannot,” he said. “When a family on Long Island needs help immediately, the Red Cross is right there.”