NYDI is a nonprofit powered by volunteers.


Thereโ€™s a lot that goes into running a statewide Affiliate of DI, especially in a state as large and diverse as New York. Our Board of Trustees is made up of volunteers who dedicate many hours to running this program every year because we have experienced firsthand how DI changes lives. Meet our team!


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

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Josh Diamond

Affiliate Director

Josh has been involved in Destination Imagination since 2006, when his son, Max, started in the program as a 5th grader. He saw huge breakthroughs for Max in his confidence, in how he interacted with his peers, and in what he could achieve. Both Max and Josh’s other son, N'yoma, have competed at Global Finals (Max 4 times, N'yoma 5 times). Josh has managed four teams through to Global Finals, has been a Coordinator for Croton DI, Eastern Regional Director and an Appraiser at Regional, Affiliate, and Global Finals levels. In addition to being the Affiliate Director, Josh is New York’s Affiliate Tournament Director.

Josh attended the University of Rochester, where he earned a B.A. in Math and Computer Science (with an additional concentration in Theater Arts). Upon graduation, he moved to New York City, where he developed software at various financial institutions. Since 2016, he has been working at Google Inc. as a Technical Program Manager.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Jon Brennan

Jon Brennan

Co-Chair, Board of Trustees
Western Regional Director

Jon has been involved with Destination Imagination since 2006 when his 3rd grade daughter asked him to attend a meeting about DI. He was so impressed that he became a Team Manager for her team and had his other two daughters get involved. Since then, Jon has managed teams at the Elementary, Middle, and High School levels, appraised at Regional, Affiliate, and Global tournaments, attended Global Finals with several of his teams, and has served as the Regional Director for Western New York since 2016. He joined the Board of Trustees in 2014 where he currently serves as Co-Chair.

Outside of DI, Jon is on two other boards; Amherst Bel Canto Children's Choir and Hawk Creek Wildlife Center. He received his MBA from Canisius College and is a lifetime member of the Beta Gamma Sigma honor society.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Dawn DiCicco

Dawn DiCicco

Co-Chair, Board of Trustees

Dawn joined her first Destination Imagination team in 2000 and spent nine years participating in Massachusetts DI. Since becoming an alumna of the program, Dawn has served in a variety of volunteer positions for both Massachusetts and New York DI. In addition to being a member of the New York Board of Trustees, Dawn is a founding member and Chair Emeritus of Destination Imagination's international Alumni Council, where she worked with DI headquarters on global alumni engagement and retention.

Outside of DI, Dawn puts her Instant Challenge skills to work as an Emmy-nominated television professional in New York City. Dawn received a B.A. in Studio Television Production from Emerson College in 2013 and works in daytime talk and news.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Jonathan Fabian

Jonathan Fabian

Secretary, Board of Trustees

Jonathan has been involved with Destination Imagination since 2001. He was introduced to DI by fellow board member Beth Brothman and competed on a number of DI teams throughout both middle and high school. After becoming a DI alumnus, he continued as a volunteer in NYDI, first as an Appraiser, then transitioning to a Challenge Master before joining the Board of Trustees.

Outside of Destination Imagination, Jonathan works as an Electrical Engineer and is involved in many projects throughout both New York State and the United States as a whole. He enjoys kayaking in the Spring, Summer, and Fall, and skiing in the Winter, as time and weather permits.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

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Mike Jablansky

Trustee
Treasurer

Mike has spent his professional career leading finance and operations teams in both for-profit and non-profit organizations. He has expertise in financial analysis, budgeting, strategic planning, and especially enjoys collaborating with colleagues to solve business problems. His involvement with Destination Imagination started when he attended a Regional Tournament and was immediately drawn in by the creativity, enthusiasm, and positive energy of the participants. He has a passion for education, coaching, and mentoring, and is excited to be part of a team where he can combine these passions with his professional experiences.

Mike has an MBA with concentrations in Finance and Marketing from Northwestern Universityโ€™s Kellogg School of Management and a BS degree in Economics from the University of Pennsylvaniaโ€™s Wharton School. He is an avid sports fan and enjoys traveling and reading.

He joined the board as a Trustee and as Treasurer on April 9, 2024.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Cathy Dulovic

Cathy Dulovic

Trustee
Eastern Regional Director

Cathy started her first Destination Imagination team in 2014 as an elementary teacher on Long Island. She immediately saw the huge impact the program had on students’ creativity, collaboration skills and confidence and knew this was the start of an amazing journey. Since 2014, Cathy has managed ten DI teams. Of the ten teams, nine have advanced to the NY Affiliate tournament with six of those teams advancing to Global Finals. 

Cathy attended St. Joseph’s University where she earned her B.A. in Child Study. Additionally, she has earned an M.A. in Liberal Studies from Stony Brook University, M.S. in Curriculum Development from Albany University as well as a Post Graduate Certification in Educational Leadership from Stony Brook. Cathy is currently pursuing a doctoral degree in Transformational Leadership at Long Island University. Since 2004, she has been committed to education both as a teacher and principal.

She is excited to continue her participation in DI, being appointed as a Trustee and as Eastern Regional Director on April 9, 2024.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Linda Swift

Linda Swift

Trustee
Director of Operations

Linda has been involved with DI since 2004, when she said yes to being a team manager for her 3rdย grade son. After attending her first regional tournament, she was hooked. The next year, her sonโ€™s team made it to Global Finals, and seeing the impact that DI had on children worldwide sealed for her how special this program is to the developing child. Along with being a team manager for 10 years and appraising at regional and affiliate tournaments, she has also served as District Coordinator at Lakeland CSD, one of our largest participating school districts.

For the past few years, Linda has assisted the Regional and Affiliate Tournament Directors with event organization and setup. She has invented the emerging role of Director of Operations, taking responsibility for supplies acquisition, tournament setup, inventory management, and many other aspects of our organization.ย Linda has a degree in Electrical Engineering from Iowa State University. Sheย joined the board effective February 12, 2024.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Rick Rand

Rick Rand

Trustee
Founding Member - Destination Imagination

Rick has been involved with Creative Problem Solving since 1988, when his twin sons, Darren and Barry, joined Odyssey of the Mind, the predecessor of Destination Imagination. Rick and his wife Lucille eventually became team coaches, watching the team progress to two World Finals, with a first place in 1993. When the boys retired from the program, Rick became involved in the official side of things, including Regional Tournament Director and judging at Regional, Affiliate and World Finals. When the program became stalled in legal issues, he was asked to be one of a small handful of people to save the program as a member of Project Rumpelstiltskin. This project consisted of creating a new Challenge (technical of course), answering all of the clarifications, and running the Challenge at World Finals 1999. From that group, the new program of Destination Imagination, Inc. was formed. Rick has had many roles at DII, leading to being a member of the International Board of Trustees from 2010 to his retirement in 2020.

Rick's formal engineering education took place at The Cooper Union, New York City, and the University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia. However it can readily be considered he was an engineer from birth, always curious, analytical, wondering how things work... and trying to make them "better." Rick is now retired from IBM Research where he held the position of Senior Engineer.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Beth Brothman

Beth Brothman

Trustee

Beth has been involved with Creative Problem Solving and Destination Imagination for over 20 years. She has been a Team Manager (sometimes juggling up to 11 teams at a time!), District Coordinator, Challenge Master, Appraiser, and Board of Trustees member.

Beth has a masterโ€™s degree in Gifted and Talented Education from Teachers College, Columbia University and a BS in Elementary Education and a BA in Sociology from Buffalo State College. Beth taught at Frontier Central School District for 28 years in the S.A.I.L Program as a Gifted and Talented teacher and 3 years as an elementary teacher. She retired from teaching in 2016.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

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Dan Leone

Trustee

Dan Leoneโ€™s first experience with Destination Imagination happened in 2012 when his sons came home with a flyer about the program. The Leone family went to an open house event where his sons, Dalton and Cameron, spent the evening doing a variety of Instant Challenges. When a structure they built out of paper towel tubes held all of the available weight without breaking, the boys were in. There wasnโ€™t room on a middle school team that year for Dalton, but Cameronโ€™s elementary team advanced to Global Finals and the Leones became a full-blown DI Family.

The following year Dan signed on as the Vice President of Clarence DI Boosters. In 2014 he started managing his sonโ€™s team--and he hasnโ€™t looked back since. He never forgot that first year when Dalton missed out and decided that if there was a kid who wanted to do DI he would find a way. As a result, there were many years when Dan managed multiple teams-- whether his kids were on it or not. In 2015 Dan took over as President of Clarence DI Booster and in 2019 joined the Board of Trustees.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Donna Halperin

Donna Halperin

Trustee
Director of Marketing

Donna Halperin is an entrepreneur/founder, startup advisor, corporate intrapreneur and Board Member. She is a strategic leader who is focused on innovation, commercialization, and sustainability. Donna is a design thinker with a history of taking D2C and B2B businesses to greater levels of competitive success. Her professional endeavors across health, lifestyle, retail and SaaS technology sectors emphasize the need for STEM/STEAM educational initiatives. Her passion for education and business building are also fulfilled by Coaching/Mentoring at Innovation Labs.

Donna holds an MBA from Pace University and BS in Education from Southern Connecticut State University, both of which provide a strong alignment of Donnaโ€™s interests and the NYDI mission. She is delighted to support the organizationโ€™s growth.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Noel Allen

Noel Allen

Trustee

When Noel’s son was in fourth grade in 1994, she started managing a team and has been involved with Destination Imagination ever since. She has served as a Team Manager, School Coordinator, Appraiser, and Challenge Master. Noel says that most of her best friends today are people who are involved with DI. They're her kind of people!

Noel also leads our merchandise sales team, is an Appraiser at Global Finals, and helps with matters small and large throughout NYDI.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

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Tracy Taylor

Trustee

Tracy is the principal of Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School in Blind Brook-Rye UFSD. In 2006 she asked “So what exactly is D.I. all about?” and has been hooked ever since! She works closely with her school district’s Destination Imagination coordinators, parents, and students to help grow their program and develop life-long DI-sters, and has been a long-serving volunteer with NYDI. She is often the first face that teams, spectators and guests see at our tournaments, given her role leading Tournament Registration.

Tracy graduated with a B.A. from Binghamton University (back then it was SUNY Binghamton), an M.A. degree in Early Childhood and Elementary Education from NYU, and an M.S. degree in Administration and Supervision from Baruch College in NYC. She taught first grade and third grade in NYC's public schools, and was a Math Staff Developer for NYC's Region 9.

Tracy joined the board effective February 12, 2024.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

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Shane Sawicki

Trustee

Shane has been involved with Destination Imagination since 2003 and competed on a number of teams throughout middle and high school, finishing as high as 13th place at Global Finals. Upon graduating and becoming an alumnus, he began volunteering as an appraiser — a role he has fulfilled now for over a decade. He serves as Regional Challenge Master (Western Region), and as Affiliate Challenge Master, for Instant Challenge, and joined the NYDI board of trustees effective February 12, 2024.

Shane graduated from SUNY University at Buffalo in 2014 and works as an environmental consultant specializing in air emissions, wastewater, and stormwater compliance for a variety of industries throughout New York State.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

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Patrice Davidson

Trustee

Patrice has been involved in DI since 2005, when her son Max started in the program as a 5th grader. Acting as a team manager, Patrice and Max’s team of four boys had a tremendous experience. Winning their Instant Challenge they were awarded a “Wild Card” to go to the Affiliate Competition. This was the start of the legacy of the Davidson family’s involvement with the program. All three of the Davidson children participated in the program from middle school through high school. Some of the family’s fondest memories were at the Global Competitions in Knoxville. Patrice has a managed 10 teams and was a DI coordinator in Croton DI for 6. She has remained involved as a scoring appraiser.

Patrice attended McGill University, earning a BA in Art History (with a concentration in Foreign Language). Upon graduation she moved to NYC and pivoted her interests to embark on a career in corporate real estate finance. After starting a family in Croton-on Hudson she became an avid tennis player and continues to coach at Croton Harmon High School. She resides in NYC.

Patrice joined the board effective February 12, 2024.


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

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Kate Quesada

Trustee

Kate joined a DI team in 2013 at her friends' suggestion and, as a shy high-schooler, was reluctant but willing to give it a chance. It only took one meeting for her to realize this organization was something incredible that she needed to be a part of, and the rest is history. Attending Global Finals all three years of competing, she was astounded to see the impact the program had not only on herself, but on kids all over the world. Kate is now a proud alumna and happily volunteers at the Regional, Affiliate, and Global levels as an Appraiser, NYDI Marketing Team member, and NYDI Board member as of February 2024. She is thrilled to be able to give back to a program that continues to change her life.

Kate graduated from Rochester Institute of Technology in 2020 with a BFA in Film & Animation and concentrations in both 2D and Stop-Motion Animation. She is a passionate crazy plant lady who loves to crochet, swim, and play a little too much Minecraft in her spare... TIME!


  • Seeking creative challenges for kids
  • Wondering how to start a STEM or art club but donโ€™t know where to start
  • Know a group of talented/gifted students who would benefit from a team-based activity they can work on together after school

Destination Imagination is your answer!

Sue Brailey

Sue Brailey

Affiliate Director - Emeritus

Sue Brailey was drawn into Destination Imagination when her 4th grade daughter, Abby, joined a team in 2000. She started as a team Mom helping Team Managers and assisting with fundraising. Feeling strongly about paying it forward she became an Appraiser when Abby’s team disbanded. Sue has been an Appraiser at all Regional and Affiliate tournaments since 2006, and has been an Appraiser at Global Finals four times. In 2014, Sue was appointed Affiliate Director for NYDI.

Outside of DI, Sue is an attorney. She was a prosecutor in Westchester County for 31 years and spent the last half of her career conducting environmental criminal investigations and prosecutions.