Team Felix | felixorganization

OUR FOUNDERS

Sheila Jaffe

Sheila Jaffe was born in Manhattan and grew up in the Bronx. At eleven years of age, she found out she was adopted. Today, she is an Emmy winning casting director for HBO’s, The Sopranos and Entourage and films including The Fighter, Rocky Balboa, and Ted. Although casting is her profession, Sheila’s passion is helping children. As she sees it: “Felix is like my child and watching Felix grow in its reach to help these children has been an indescribable blessing.” Sheila currently sits on the board of the Mark Wahlberg Youth Foundation and the Advisory Board of the Savannah Film Festival. In 2013, she was honored at The Children’s Rights Gala for her work with children in foster care.

Darryl McDaniels

For more than 25 years, Felix co-founder Darryl “DMC” McDaniels has had an influence on popular culture. The first rap group to grace the cover of Rolling Stone Magazine and the first to appear on MTV, Run DMC changed music. DMC continues to create, inspire and motivate. After discovering as an adult that he was adopted, DMC began his journey down another life path in search of his birth mother. While his struggle was captured in the Emmy-winning VH-1 documentary, “DMC: My Adoption Journey”, the process gave DMC insight and purpose, prompting him to become an advocate for adoption and foster children. He was invited to the White House to address youth groups on responsibility and has appeared before Congress and State Legislatures in support of this cause. Along with his work as a musician, author, and speaker, DMC has been the recipient of awards including Hard Rock’s Love All Serve All Award for his philanthropic endeavors. DMC also sits on the board of directors of the JMJ Foundation, Children’s Rights, and Garden of Dreams.

Our Founders

Honorary Chairs

Lorainne Bracco

Actor, Producer

Sal Bellino

Retired, Principal at Tri-Star Construction Corp.

Founding Members

Michael Lang (Deceased)

Co-Founder of Woodstock Ventures and Founder of The Michael Lang Organization

Penny Marshall (Deceased)

Actress, Director, Producer

Loree Rodkin

Jewelry Designer

Georgianne Walken

Casting Director

Mark Wahlberg

Producer, Actor

Staff

Amanda Simonetta, M.S.Ed.

Chief Executive Officer

As a former School Counselor with a Masters Degree in Education, Amanda has worked with hundreds of children in need. As Director of Institutional Giving at The New York Foundling, one of New York City’s largest social services agencies, she managed a grant portfolio of over $3 million, supporting programs to help disadvantaged youth. Perhaps most importantly, Amanda is passionate about camp. She loved her childhood summer camp so much that she eventually got married there. When the opportunity arose to start a camp for foster children, Amanda couldn’t wait to be a part of it. She became Camp Felix®’s first on-site Camp Director and Program Administrator. As Executive Director, Amanda is working to expand the profoundly meaningful work of The Felix Organization.

Tiffany Araya

Program Director

Tiffany has had the special opportunity to experience the full Camp Felix evolution by starting as a camper at age 12, becoming a CIT at 14, volunteering at age 16, and finally becoming a counselor at 18 years old. Her time at Camp Felix® both as a camper and counselor holds a profound place in her heart. Recently graduated from the University at Albany with a Bachelor of Arts in English and Women's Studies, Tiffany is proud and grateful to continue working with her Felix family beyond camp at the Felix Organization. Tiffany hopes to bring Felix's message to the world and accomplish their mission with her genuine love and care for the children and with the insight and knowledge she has gained from being part of this family.

Jarod Hector

Director of Development

Jarod Hector brings over a decade of high-impact development and strategic communications experience to his role as Director of Development at The Felix Organization. A seasoned "super connector," Jarod has built his career on forging powerful relationships across the private, nonprofit, and health sectors, consistently translating partnership into tangible results. Before joining Felix, Jarod honed his development skills at the American Heart Association, where he developed fundraising events, managed corporate relationships, and identified and built relationships with key individual donors. His ability to navigate complex systems and diverse stakeholders was further honed as a communications leader for digital health startups and a strategic advisor at top-tier agencies. At The Felix Organization, Jarod leverages this unique blend of fundraising acumen and narrative-building to deepen donor relationships, expand the organization's reach, and champion its mission to enrich the lives of children in foster care. He believes in the power of community to create transformative change and is driven by a passion for being part of positive, lasting impact.

Olivia "Liv" Colavito

Development Manager

Joining The Felix Organization in 2024 as our Community Relations and Development VISTA, Liv now serves as the Development Manager for our organization. She strives to play an integral role in advancing the organization’s growth by supporting all aspects of development including fundraising, donor relations and grant writing. With a degree in Public Relations and Strategic Communication from American University, Liv brings a passion for storytelling and relationship-building to her work. She is particularly inspired by the opportunity to connect supporters with the transformative experiences The Felix Organization provides to youth through Camp Felix and its year-round programs. Liv is proud to be part of the Felix family and is committed to helping the organization grow its reach and resources so more and more youth in foster care can experience the sense of belonging, confidence, and possibility that Felix creates.

Sofia Pantoja

AmeriCorps VISTA-Camp Felix

Sofia is proud to serve as an AmeriCorps VISTA at The Felix Organization, currently pursuing a social work degree at CUNY Hostos Community College while leveraging prior experience as a former foster youth and seasonal college intern at Administration for Children's Services. Driven by a deep passion for foster youth advocacy, they were inspired to join the organization to help provide life-changing opportunities and camp experiences to children in the foster care system. In this role, Sofia aims to bring skills in community outreach and capacity building to create sustainable systems, expand resource development, and ultimately strengthen the organization's long-term impact.

Jennifer Marte Villa

AmeriCorps VISTA-Felix Forward

Jennifer is delighted to be an AmeriCorps Felix Forward Operations and Community Engagement VISTA, aspiring to strengthen the existing connections between The Felix Organization and the community while expanding the organization’s community engagement capabilities. With a focus on capacity building, Jennifer works to increase the organization’s reach on social media platforms, enhance our constituent database and expand our volunteer base. Recently graduated from the University of Virginia with a Bachelors of Arts in History and Politics, Jennifer has always enjoyed working within communities to make a positive difference in children's lives.

Board of Directors

Steve Abrams

CEO of Magnolia Bakery

Constantine Baris

Treasurer, The Felix Organization

CPA, Baris Financial Management Ltd.

Regina Calcaterra

Author & Retired Attorney

Laurie Parise

Youth Justice Network

Director Law Library

Saman Behbahani

Vice President, Legal Affairs

NBCUniversal

Scott Rosen

Senior Advisor

Equinox

Larry Ryckman

CEO

RIZR Media Group Inc.

Myra Scheer

Radio Host, Former Creative Consultant to The Felix Organization

Laura Tufariello

President, Founder and Owner

Design and Source Productions, Inc.

Advisory Board

Erik Blam

Manager, Darryl "DMC" McDaniels

Eve Brandstein

Producer/Director/

Writer

Denise Chamian

Emmy-nominated

Casting Director

Scott Duquette

Licensed Clinical Social Worker

Jolyn Farber

Entrepreneurial Investor

Dolly Fox

Producer

Mary Giuliani

Author and Founder of Mary Giuliani Catering & Events

Screen Shot 2024-03-01 at 10.50_edited.p

Louise Jones

CEO, LJ Capital LLC

Susan Gluck Papajohn

CEO & Founder

Arthenia

Carol Kane

Actor and Comedian of stage, screen and television

Katie Kornfield

Founder / President

Katie Kornfield Consulting

Joseph Lucius

Creative Director

Claire Mercuri

Founder/ President

Claire Mercuri Public Relations

Adam Stern

Freelance Assistant Director, DGA

John Shaw

Consultant & Coach

Cydney Taylor

Physician Assistant

Hyperbaric Medical Solutions

Vanessa Spencer

Owner

Rodriguez Spencer Casting

Screen Shot 2018-09-04 at 11.09.53 AM.pn

Judy Taylor

Senior Vice President of Corporate Communications,
Events, Philanthropy, and Retreats at Equinox

Junior Board

Members of the Junior Board are dynamic young professionals who use their talent and experience to act as ambassadors for Felix by fundraising, becoming involved in Felix activities and engaging other young professionals (age 40 and under) to make a difference in the lives of youth in foster care.