Our Team

April Schweber is the president of the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, Long Island’s largest foundation by revenue and one of the 20 largest grantmakers in New York State. Along with Geraldine Dejana, Schweber took the helm of the foundation shortly after the passing of Peter Dejana. Under her leadership, the foundation has experienced the largest growth in its history, both in terms of its internal operations and its grantmaking. Schweber has strategically expanded the foundation’s operations while refining its mission to address pressing causes nationally and internationally, while continuing to support Port Washington and the communities that surround it.

Throughout her tenure, Schweber has pursued strategic and meaningful partnerships with leaders and nonprofit organizations across New York State and around the country to help address some of the most pressing issues of our time. Having worked alongside the late Peter Dejana for more than 30 years, Schweber was long regarded as his trusted right hand. It was during those many years, under Peter’s guidance, that Schweber developed her vision for the foundation’s role in strengthening communities and creating meaningful change through service for years to come.

Scott Reich is the Chief Executive Officer of the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation and an author, historian, speaker, and nonprofit leader whose work has focused on citizenship, community, philanthropy, and the forces that shape American life.

Prior to joining the foundation, Reich spent a decade at American Express, where he served in senior legal leadership roles and helped spearhead the company’s support for innovation, strategic partnerships, and emerging businesses. Over the course of his career, he has advised organizations ranging from Fortune 500 companies to start-ups and nonprofits and has built mission-driven initiatives at the intersection of healthcare, media, philanthropy, and public life.

Reich is also the founder of Believe in a Cure, a global nonprofit his family established after his son Eli was diagnosed with FOXG1 syndrome, a rare neurological disorder. Under his leadership, the organization has raised millions of dollars to advance scientific research, support families affected by rare disease, and bring together researchers, clinicians, and advocates around the world. The experience has deeply influenced Reich’s approach to philanthropy and his belief in the ability of individuals and institutions to tackle difficult problems and make a meaningful difference in people’s lives.

Reich has taught presidential communication at the University of Pennsylvania and serves on the advisory board of the John F. Kennedy Library Foundation and the College Council of SUNY-Old Westbury. His work and commentary have appeared on CNN, PBS, ABC News, CBS News, MS NOW, MLB Network, Morning Joe, The Today Show, and in The New York Times, People, The Boston Globe, The San Francisco Chronicle, Newsday, and other national and local media.

A bestselling author, Reich wrote The Power of Citizenship: Why John F. Kennedy Matters to a New Generation and One Day in September: Baseball, Brotherhood, and the Birth of the All-Star Game. He hosts the podcast Curveball, featuring conversations about adversity, resilience, leadership, and life’s unexpected turns, and is a TED speaker on public service and the importance of strengthening a culture of citizenship.

Reich is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Pennsylvania Law School, where he was president of his class.

Barry Knepper, CPA, is the chief financial officer and a member of the board of directors of the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation. He has a 40-year career as a senior financial executive, including experience at the international public accounting firm Ernst & Young. While serving as CFO of a large service company, he managed its initial public offering and raised more than $100 million in equity and debt financing to support expansion.

Knepper also serves as a member of the board of directors and chairman of the audit committee of Coffee Holding Company, a publicly traded integrated wholesale coffee roaster and distributor.

Jerry Volpe serves as the director of properties and facilities for the Peter and Jeri Foundation. Previously, he worked at TD Bank as a Financial Services Representative, managing business accounts and annuities. Volpe also brings extensive experience in the textile industry, where he worked with major manufacturers and converters around the world, servicing the U.S. retail market. He holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Dayton and a Masters of Business Administration from New York University Stern School of Business

John Jankowski grew up in Port Washington and began working for Peter Dejana in 2004 with Aero Snow Removal. In 2010, he became a board member of the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, helping oversee grant initiatives and philanthropic efforts. In 2024, he was appointed Coordination Director for the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation. He attended Farmingdale State College and Nassau Community College.

Valerie Mallon is the program director at the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, where she oversees grantmaking, analytics, and personnel operations. Mallon’s passion for social justice and creative storytelling has led her to a variety of pursuits, from the National Coalition for the Homeless, the American Bar Association, to creator advertising at Raptive, a top ten media company. Valerie holds a bachelor’s degree in English Literature, Environmental Studies, and Justice & Peace Studies from Georgetown University, where she was also a George F. Baker Scholar. 

Hugo Amador serves as the Public Relations and Communications Manager for the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation. In this role, he supports the foundation’s efforts to report and narrate on some of the most pressing issues of our time that impact individuals, communities, and our nation. His focus is to support the foundation’s efforts to advance public understanding of socioeconomic inequality, public policy, and the leaders and initiatives working to address systemic challenges in an increasingly interconnected and evolving world.

Before joining the foundation, Amador worked as a journalist and researcher covering politics, public policy, science, and civil liberties, and worked as a legal researcher on constitutional law and civil rights issues.

Originally from Tegucigalpa, Honduras, Amador graduated from Cornell University, where he studied Biological Sciences and Literatures in English. There, he focused his senior research on the narrative and transnational impact of the atomic bombings on the Japanese city of Hiroshima. He also holds a Masters of Science in Journalism from Columbia University, with a focus on politics and economics. His masters thesis examined the rise of drug cartels and forced disappearances in the context of the United States’ political and economic relationship with Mexico.

Before joining the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation in 2024 as a grants manager, Maria Trejo worked in recruitment and nonprofit staffing, partnering with mission-driven organizations and connecting professionals with meaningful opportunities. At the foundation, she supports the grantmaking process and collaborates closely with organizations dedicated to strengthening local communities through philanthropy and nonprofit partnerships. Trejo studied Industrial Engineering at the Universidad Nacional Experimental Politécnica Antonio José de Sucre and later earned an associate degree in Business Administration from the Santiago Mariño Technical Institute in Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela. 

Virginia Sullivan serves as the accounts principal for the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, where she oversees both accounts receivable and accounts payable operations. She joined the foundation in 2024. Sullivan began her career as a bank teller at Long Island Savings Bank, where she would eventually serve as the head teller. She holds a bachelor’s degree from Queens College and a master’s degree from St. John’s University.

Meaghan Sullivan is the Real Estate Associate overseeing the assets of the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation. Prior to joining the team, she worked in title insurance as part of the recording and escrow department. She holds a Bachelor’s of Science Degree in Marine Science, with a minor in Environmental Studies, from Stony Brook University.

Lisandro (Ricky) Mancilla is the Maintenance Manager at the Peter & Jeri Dejana Foundation, where he oversees the upkeep of assets owned by the Foundation. Mancilla worked alongside Peter Dejana and his business operations for over four decades.