David Bruen
Vice President
David Bruen was owner and President of Bruen Deldin DiDio Associates, Inc, an insurance brokerage firm with offices in Brewster, NY, Rocky Hill CT, and Coventry, RI.. Bruen Deldin DiDio specialized in Business, Personal insurance, Bonding, and Employee Benefits. David has recently retired from 43 years in the insurance business.
His community interests are Rotary Club of Brewster and Peach Lake Environmental Coalition. He enjoys fishing, golf, hunting, skiing and racquetball as well as family and friends. His Labrador Retriever Harley is always at his side.
Sean Ferguson
Sean is a Creative Director and Brand Strategist, leading innovative strategies in branding, marketing, and positioning companies as industry leaders.
Colleen Harding
Originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Colleen Harding earned her Bachelor of Social Work from Immaculata College. Upon graduation Colleen participated in the AmeriCorps program for two years, serving inner city youth in New York City and the elderly population in Chicago. After completing her second year in Chicago, Colleen moved back to New York to begin a career serving those in need. Throughout the years Colleen has worked with various populations from newborns to those in Hospice care.
After moving to Putnam County with her husband, two boys and three rescue dogs, Colleen continued her career in private care. As a Masters in Social Work (MSW), Colleen is a Personal Care Specialist – providing support and fellowship to the elderly and special needs children. Colleen attended an event sponsored by PSD and knew immediately that this organization would be a natural fit to continue her lifelong dedication to philanthropy
Mike Hermoza
Treasurer
Mike is an accomplished and experienced Treasury professional with expertise in global capital markets, risk management, strategic initiatives, among others. He received a BS in Accounting from Fordham University in 2006 and has been on an impressive upward trajectory in various financial management corporations. Mike was drawn to Putnam Service Dogs during a Volunteer New York intensive training seminar for professionals who want to dedicate their time and talents to New York nonprofits. Mike is currently Senior Manager, Treasury Capital Markets at Tronox Holdings PLC. He covers clients and partners with management across six continents to optimize working capital needs.
Mike has made a personal commitment to run a marathon in each of the seven continents and use these marathons to raise awareness and donations for Putnam Service Dogs!
Randall Hooper
President
Mr. Hooper is an associate for the Schwartz Heslin Group, an investment bank in Latham, NY. He graduated from Hobart and William Smith Colleges with a degree in Economics. He brings a wealth of knowledge in strategic planning, competitive analysis, and management skills.
In 2015, Mr. Hooper was diagnosed with epilepsy, which led to his need for a service dog. His dog, Dziegel, was trained to alert in the event of a seizure. The safety and security of having his best friend able to help his condition is a motivating factor in providing help for those in need of service dogs. Supporting those who need this service is an honor and a privilege.
Alicia Love
Board Member
Alicia Love, owner of Coffee Labs Roasters, has over 21 years of experience in coffee retail and wholesale. A Westchester native, she earned her Bachelor’s in Psychology from Ohio University and a Master’s in Counseling from Mercy College. Alicia has a strong background in volunteer work and fundraising, supporting organizations such as Global Volunteers, Visions Service Adventures, the Leukemia Society, and Cup for Education. She also founded Westchester Taste of Relief, which was one of Westchester’s largest fundraisers at the time, to support families affected by 9/11.
Alicia is proud to join Putnam Service Dogs, where she can combine her dedication to volunteerism with her love for dogs. She believes that dogs serve a unique role, offering companionship and essential support for people in need.
Marty McGinnity
Board Member
“Our service dogs change lives.” This mission statement is what caught Marty’s attention and got her interested in Putnam Service Dogs. Marty graduated from St. Mary’s of Notre Dame and moved to New York City shortly after graduation to start working for IBM. A long and diverse career at IBM took her across several cross-functional assignments in areas such as finance and human resources with a major career focus on sales and marketing. She also served in an executive leadership position at FatWire, a software startup company. Her broad business background and strong leadership experience has helped her launch her own marketing consulting company Marty currently serves as a Board member for a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for Feeding Westchester and is an active participant in Lustgarten Pancreatic Cancer events.
She lives in Tarrytown where she spends time with family, friends, and her seven-year-old Labrador, Murphy.
Nancy Teague
Founder/CEO
Ms. Teague holds both a B.A. in Business Administration (BBA) and a Masters in Hospital Administration (MHA) from the University of Michigan, graduating with distinction both times. She pursued a two-year MHA degree, rather than the one-year MBA as she wanted to help people. After sitting through too many meetings, she left the field of Hospital Administration. She sold various complex products – art, pianos, NYC residential real estate – matching people with products.
She found her life’s calling 15 years ago. She trained her mixed breed dog to be a therapy dog. When they visited their local hospital, she saw how much her dog helped people.
She then volunteered for Guiding Eyes for The Blind for 3 years. She fostered a brood dog, raised several puppies, and was an Early Puppy Socializer. She learned a lot about service dogs, and service dog schools.
She then joined the NE Board of Canine Companions for Independence for 3 years. (the largest Service Dog organization in the US). Their waiting list is over two years long. She saw the unmet need for service dogs for people with physical disabilities other than blindness.
Ms. Teague founded Putnam Service Dogs in 2016. She blended her long time support for mixed breed rescue dogs with the mission of Putnam Service Dog – changing lives through highly trained service dogs. Our trainers carefully select dogs from rescue organizations to train as our life enhancing service dogs. For further inquires, Ms. Teague can be reached at: nteague@putnamservicedogs.org