In June, the Alumni Association Board of Directors had their final board meeting of the academic year, where they voted on new board members.
The board is pleased to announce the following eight alumni who were selected to join the board in the 2023-24 academic year. You can read their bios and more about the newest members below.
The Board would also like to share that Stacy Trent ’94 has been elected as Corresponding Secretary. She will join Cailin Kelly ’08, President, and Darren Greco ’98, Vice President to round out the executive committee.
Deborah Agro ’79 graduated from Wagner with a B.S. in Elementary Education. During her years at Wagner she became a member of Alpha Delta Pi and served as its 1st Vice President and then President. Upon graduation, she began a career in Human Resources at Inhilco, Inc., a subsidiary of Hilton International, which operated all of the restaurants at the World Trade Center. From her position as Assistant Director of Personnel & Training, she advanced to Hilton’s corporate offices as Human Resources Administrator. There she maintained a database of key personnel and food and beverage staff, recommending candidates for transfer and promotion to positions throughout the world.
After remaining home for five years to raise her daughters, Allyssa (Wagner '10) and Theresa, Agro started her teaching career when she established the K-8 computer curriculum for a local parochial school. Her most tenured teaching position was for 19 years as middle-grade Language Arts teacher at Shrewsbury Borough School, from which she retired in June 2020.
Since retiring, and after the isolation of COVID, Agro has been happy to become involved in township activities as a member of the Howell Women’s Club, where she is now serving as corresponding secretary. She is also eager to reconnect with ADPi sisters as a member of their Gamma Pi alumni group.
Agro resides in Howell, N.J., with her husband, Charles, with whom she is celebrating 39 years of marriage. They are enjoying the adventures of “grandparenthood” and travel.
“I’m grateful for the opportunity to serve on Wagner's alumni board,” Agro said. “My years at Wagner provided an experience to create relationships which I've held throughout the years both in my career and personal life. I look forward to connecting my fellow alumni with present students and new graduates."
Tony Ettore ’80 is the CEO of Affordable Building Services, LLC. His company is located in Central New Jersey and is a Facility Management company specializing in janitorial and construction cleanup services. Affordable Building Services provides service throughout the state of New Jersey and into areas of Pennsylvania and New York, with over 100 employees and associates in the field.
Ettore is a member of the Somerset County Business Partnership, ISSA, and The National Association of Home Builders, and he serves on the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Builders and Contractors Association.
Ettore grew up on Staten Island, where he received a B.S. in Economics & Business Administration from Wagner College, and resides in Branchburg, N.J. While attending Wagner, he served two terms as President of Phi Mu Alpha fraternity, and was also involved in Songfest, Homecoming, and various other social activities.
Ettore enjoys spending time with his wonderful family, and in his spare time plays keyboards, enjoys sports, and cooks.
While at Wagner, he loved the intimate atmosphere and camaraderie among the student population. Ettore still maintains a close friendship with many of the wonderful friends that he made during his time at Wagner.
Ettore is extremely excited to join the Alumni Association Board of Directors and is very proud of the fact that his youngest son, Luca, will be attending Wagner this fall.
Chris Ferrara ’06 was born and raised in Brooklyn. He attended Wagner College on an academic scholarship but was recruited to play football. Ferrara was a four-year player on the Wagner College football team, as a defensive back. He also served on the team’s Leadership Council during his junior and senior years. He was a Resident Assistant for two and a half years, all in Towers Dormitory. After graduating with a B.S. in Business Administration, with a Concentration in Accounting, Chris decided to stay for a fifth year and obtain an M.S. in Accounting. At the same time, he became a Graduate Assistant as the Equipment Manager for the football team.
As a Financial Consultant, Ferrara strives to help individuals and their families identify their financial goals and implement the steps necessary to achieve them. He aims to build long-term relationships and become a trusted financial resource to his clients. He currently holds his FINRA Series 7 and 66 registrations, as well as Life and Health licenses. After completing courses through Columbia University, he gained the necessary skills to help his clients make well-informed decisions around their financial future. Ferrara also obtained the title of Retirement Planning Specialist through the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania.
He currently resides in Monmouth County. His greatest and most important role is being a husband to his wife, Katherine, and a father to his three children, Sienna, Christopher, and Marco. He spends his free time being actively involved with his children’s extracurricular activities, volunteering as a coach, exercising, and being with his family and friends.
He currently has an active text message thread with five other Wagner College Football players that he played four years with, a thread that has been ongoing since 2007.
“I am honored to have the opportunity to serve on the Alumni Board of Directors at Wagner College,” Ferrara said. “I developed many lifelong friendships in my time at Wagner and my experience there helped in building some much-needed life skills. I look forward to working collaboratively with my fellow alumni.”
Daniel Hughes ’19 graduated Wagner with a B.A. in Government and Politics and a minor in Business Administration. While at Wagner, Hughes was a student body president and four-year letter winner on Wagner College’s NCAA Division I lacrosse team. Additionally, during his time at Wagner, Hughes was selected as the sole student to serve on the presidential search committee. For his efforts, Hughes was presented with the distinguished leadership award, which was given to one student per year.
After graduation, Hughes earned his law degree from The Catholic University of America with a concentration in securities law. In law school, Hughes interned for the Investment Company Institute in its securities law department. Hughes also served as president of the Securities Law Students Association and was a member of the Securities Law National Moot Court Team. Currently, Hughes is an associate at the nationwide law firm of Houser LLP, practicing commercial litigation.
“I am excited and honored to join the Alumni Board of Directors,” Hughes said. “Wagner College provided me with not only a strong education, but lifelong friends and experiences. I am excited to help future students on their journey and also work with current alumni to build on the already strong alumni presence.”
Sean Hurley ’97 earned a B.A. in History and was a four-year starting wide receiver on Wagner’s football team, during which time the team won two conference championships and Hurley graduated as the program’s all-time leading pass catcher. Hurley was a member of the fraternity Alpha Sigma Omega and is happy to have shared his experience at Wagner with his younger sister, Shannon Barca, who graduated from Wagner in 1998.
He met his wife Lee Conti Hurley (’98) at Wagner and they live in Maplewood, N.J., with their two teenage daughters, Sienna and Paige.
Hurley is the Head of New Business Sales U.S. at Nasdaq Financial Technology. He is responsible for growing the client base in the U.S. for Nasdaq Trade Surveillance, which is part of Nasdaq’s Financial Technology group and recognized as the global leader in ensuring integrity in the financial markets.
Under Hurley’s strategic leadership, Nasdaq has grown its client base exponentially during his three years there. In 2022, Hurley won a Nasdaq Global Sales Award for Best Cross-Business Collaboration and continues to make teamwork a main focus.
Prior to his time at Nasdaq, Hurley sold financial technology at Refinitiv for four years and spent 15 years as an interdealer broker on Wall Street.
“I’m incredibly grateful for the skills, opportunities and lifelong relationships that Wagner provided me and look forward to giving back as part of the Alumni Board of Directors to ensure others benefit similarly from the Wagner experience,” Hurley said. “I look forward to building Wagner’s connection with the alumni and helping to enhance the experience for current students.”
Dennis Ritell ’06 ’M07 graduated in 2006 cum laude with a B.S. in Business Administration concentrated in Management, and again in 2007 with an M.B.A. in Management. As a graduate student, Ritell held a Graduate Assistant position where he redesigned the graduate business programs website and kept the program running administratively. Since then, he has remained engaged with Wagner alumni and students, most notably through annual participation at Career Conversations since the event’s inception.
After completing his graduate degree, he became a certified project manager who delivered digital editorial and advertising experiences. His work led him into the niche field of advertising operations which leveraged more of his business education while still expanding his technical competency. Ritell has enjoyed working at the intersection of his self-taught technical skills and formal business education. He has over 15 years of media and advertising experience and has led global teams for companies ranging in size from growth-stage startups to household names.
Since 2018, Ritell has worked at the technology-forward real estate website Zillow, overseeing analysts, operators, software engineers, system managers, technical program managers and frontline managers. In his role, he is part of a media solutions team that empowers advertisers to deliver marketing campaigns to Zillow’s large-scale audience. The billions of ads Ritell and his team support annually are purchased both directly through sellers and programmatic technology, then delivered through first- and third-party technology solutions and in-house operators; it's a complex ecosystem he manages. Ritells’ current position is Senior Director, Ad Technology and Operations.
“The opportunity to learn and share how the Association can continue engaging with current and future alumni is unique,” Ritell said. “I’m excited about what we will achieve together as a Wagner community.”
Christopher Valletta ’11 graduated with a B.A. in Sociology and a minor in Government and Politics. During his time at Wagner, he was a Resident Assistant, Student Ambassador, and served as Vice President and President of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity where he coordinated multiple community service projects every semester with national and local not-for-profit organizations. Valletta was also a member of Alpha Kappa Delta International Sociology Honor Society and Omicron Delta Kappa National Leadership Honor Society. He completed his Sociology senior thesis by analyzing Italian American depictions in television and movies, earning an honors designation. In addition, Valletta worked at Reynolds House in the Office of Alumni Relations during the school semesters and summers. He worked on multiple projects at Reynolds House including the Wagner Annual Fund and assisted with planning Reunion Weekend his senior year.
Upon completing his Wagner education, Valletta attended Tulane University Law School in New Orleans, La., where he graduated with a J.D. in 2014. During his time at Tulane, he maintained a dedication to community service through volunteer work with the Public Interest Law Foundation and he also worked at the law school’s alumni office, where he focused on connecting alumni across the country with current law students. Since returning to New York, he has been admitted to the New York and New Jersey state bars and is also admitted to practice in federal court. He began his legal career as a criminal prosecutor in Long Island and then transitioned into civil practice working for the New York City Law Department in Brooklyn. Currently, Valletta works for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in Manhattan as a litigation attorney, where he represents the agency and its employees in various types of civil lawsuits. Over the last few years, he has maintained a relationship with the Wagner Alumni network by participating in the mentor program as well as attending alumni networking events.
A native Staten Islander, Valletta currently resides in the Tottenville section of Staten Island with his wife Kristen (Woodbury) Valletta (’08) and their French bulldog, Maya.
“I’m grateful and excited to have been selected for the Board of Directors,” Valletta said. “I have great memories of my time spent at Wagner College; it had a true foundational impact on my personal and professional development. I have a passion for meeting new fellow alumni and love helping current students with their career goals. I have looked for ways to be back on campus and to become more involved with the Wagner community, and I am thrilled for this opportunity.”
Chris Volpe ’97 is a Senior Technology Officer, leveraging twenty years of experience across the financial services, insurance and telecommunications industry. He spent ten years as the Chief Technology Officer at First Manhattan Co., a 54-year-old private wealth management firm with $27 billion in assets under management. He spearheaded the technology transformation of legacy systems at First Manhattan to new 21st-century standards, building extensive industry relationships within the technology and cybersecurity industries.
Volpe also served as the Regional Vice President of Information Technology for the East Coast offices of Duff & Phelps, overseeing eight remote offices including the New York headquarters. In addition, he has also held positions at Cingular Interactive, Converium Reinsurance, and Virgin Mobile.
Volpe holds a Master’s in Information Systems Management as well as B.A. in English and an A.S. in Telecommunications Management. In his spare time, he is a freelance charity artist, donating his time to Michael’s Cause and the fight against Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.
“I am absolutely thrilled and honored to join the Wagner College Alumni Board,” Volpe said. “Being part of this distinguished group of alumni who are dedicated to serving and supporting our beloved alma mater fills me with immense joy and excitement. I cannot wait to contribute my skills, ideas, and passion towards furthering the mission of Wagner College, fostering a strong network of alumni, and making a positive impact on the lives of current and future students.”
