Allan Weissglass Distinguished Leadership Award Gala 2024

Gail Castellano

Gail Castellano, formerly a First Sr. Vice President & Regional Executive of Flagstar/ New York Community Bank, began her career in 1993 and served the bank for more than 30 years. Most recently she was responsible for 16 branch locations, 150 employees and more than $2 billion on deposit. Gail held several positions and earned many promotions throughout her tenure. Over the years, Gail had taken on various responsibilities encompassing business development, community service, banking operations and retail services in the Staten Island market. Gail was a dedicated leader who prioritized the needs of her clients and was passionate about mentoring her team. Her unwavering dedication to both, set her apart as a leader who not only achieved success but inspired those around her to do the same. Gail has a diverse background, having been a successful entrepreneur before transitioning into the corporate world. She owned and operated a music store, Guitar City in Brooklyn NY and two fast food restaurants, South Philly Steaks & Fries and Brooklyn Bagel located in the Staten Island Mall.

Gail is dedicated to serving others and actively volunteers her time to various organizations and boards. She is a past Board President of the Jewish Community Center of Staten Island and currently serves on its Executive Board. She is a Director for the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Foundation, the St George Theatre, the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation and the South Shore Business Improvement District. Gail is a member of the Wagner College DaVinci Society Executive Committee and the co-chair of the Lucille & Jay Chazanoff Sunrise Day Camp Walk. Gail has also co-chaired many other events, including the Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society where she achieved the Top Executive Challenger award. Gail has participated in many Mentorship programs including Mentoring Monday, sponsored by the SI Advance & Thrive Expo- Woman Empowered sponsored by the JCC, where she provided career advice to women seeking to return or advance in the workforce.

Gail’s commitment to excellence has been recognized through numerous awards over the span of her career including, the Woman of Distinction from State Senator Andrew Lanza and the Executive Woman of the Year from the SIEDC. She was also recognized by City and State New York as one of Staten Island's Power 100 and one of the 25 most influential Staten Islanders.

Gail resides in Staten Island and enjoys spending time with her family. She has been married to her husband John for forty-seven years and has 3 children and 2 grandchildren. Her family is a staple in the music industry owning and operating Staten Island’s iconic music shop, Castellano’s House of Music.

Solomon Chemo

Early in his career, Solomon was fortunate enough to have had the pleasure of working alongside one of the hardest working men in America, his father. As partners in a corporate car service business in New York City servicing large law firms and financial institutions, he learned the number one rule of always putting the clients' interests above everything else. This value coupled with integrity and hard work helped build a successful business. His 31 years of industry experience with firms such as Gruntal & Co. and Smith Barney have provided a wealth of financial knowledge. In his current role, Solomon turned the business acumen he acquired into the guiding principals at Richmond Wealth Management. This has been the key to help build a practice that he is extremely proud of.

As a responsible citizen and resident of New Jersey, he continues to actively support the community and local charities. Solomon proudly serves as a Board member for several organizations: currently Committee Chairperson of the Sunrise JCC Bocce event and Staten Island Chamber of Commerce Lou Miller Awards breakfast. Past President of the Board of the Staten Island Jewish Community Center, Past Chairman of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, past Co-Chair of the JCC Sunrise Summer Camp and Sunrise Dance Party. Past Board Member of the Boys Scouts Staten Island Council, James Vurckio Foundation, and the Small Business Development Corporation. Recipient of the:

• 2008 20 under 40 Award*
• 2009 Boy Scouts “Good Scout” Award***
• 2013 Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award**
• 2017 Staten Island Sports Hall of Fame “Unsung Heroes”

About Allan Weissglass

Allan Weissglass, the namesake of the Distinguished Leadership Award, was a pillar at the JCC for more than 50 years. He was an inimitable community leader whose deep inner strength, courage, and tenacity knew no bounds. A successful businessman, husband, father, grandfather, mentor, and cherished friend, he presided over the Weissglass family’s business holdings, also applying his substantial skills as a businessman to a legion of Island civic and cultural organizations. Weissglass was born on Staten Island in 1935 and graduated from Curtis High School in 1952. After graduating from Cornell University, he married Roberta “Bobby” Lewin, and they had two children, Julie and Evan. He spent his career operating two companies – Weissglass Gold Seal Dairy, the family milk processing and ice cream business, and the Magruder Color Company, which manufactured pigments for printing ink. Allan was very active in the JCC beginning at the age of 4. He joined the JCC Board of Directors at the young age of 30. He said the JCC helped him and his family assimilate into the Staten Island community. Intelligent, quiet, unassuming, shy, and compassionate, Allan was a worker, a doer, and a legendary fundraiser. Known for his propensity to ask friends to donate to worthy causes, Weissglass was delighted when his friends told him, “It’s expensive to be your friend,” because of his gentle but determined fundraising. Allan’s devotion to Judaism was well known, but he cut across religious or any other lines to serve whatever organizations that needed his attention. He brought his talents and energy to the JCC, and his incredible impact there is known across Staten Island. In 1994, he received the JCC’s first Distinguished Leadership Award, which was subsequently named for him. Allan touched every aspect of the present day JCC. Whether it was expansion to the Avis/South Shore, the monumental capital campaign to fund the building of the Bernikow, or the opening of the JCC/Berman ECE building, Allan was key. He passed away in 2019, but his legacy lives on at the JCC, not only through his good works, but through his granddaughter, Allison Cohen, who serves as the agency's Chief of Communications & Fundraising.