DCC Foundation Gala Honors Four,
Raises Funds for Student Scholarships
March 30, 2017 – The Dutchess Community College Foundation’s annual Gala – Community’s Bridge to the Future – was held on March 25 at the Grandview in Poughkeepsie. The event drew approximately 400 guests to honor four and raised almost $200,000 for student scholarships.
Frank Castella Jr. of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and technology innovator Karen Schroeder Trovato, Ph.D. were inducted into the DCC Alumni Hall of Fame, while Shirley Adams of Catharine Street Community Center received The Bernard Handel Community Leadership Award and the Poughkeepsie Alliance received the Bridge to the Future Award.
Castella (’99) is the president and CEO of the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and president of the Chamber Foundation. The Chamber has a strong and diverse membership of over 1,500 organizations throughout the Hudson Valley region and employs almost 30 full-time professionals. Prior to taking that position in 2015, he was the owner of AM Direct Mail and part owner of Harmon and Castella Printing, Inc. During his time at the family-run firm, Castella grew business in the print shop by over 450% and in the direct mail company by over 300%.
Trovato (’77) performed work for 30-plus years as a research team member for global technology company Philips and her own recently launched company. One of her early inventions led to technology that parallel parks a car without assistance from the driver. She also launched the first website for driving directions and made a presentation of the site to the CEO of MapQuest before the latter site went live 20 years ago. She holds over 100 patents worldwide. In April Trovato will be one of five alumni out of 1,200 colleges nationwide to receive a 2017 Outstanding Alumni award from the American Association of Community Colleges.
