About TOUCH

Julian became TOUCH’s Executive Director in the fall of 2018 with over 25 years of experience in leadership positions in the non-profit community. He served as Executive Director of New York State Common Cause and Communications Director for the National Center for Children in Poverty, based at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health. In 2002 he launched a consulting business focused on helping organizations meet their key challenges in the areas of development, communications, advocacy and strategic planning. Julian moved to Rockland County in 1997 and has worked with several local organizations, including the Cornell Cooperative Extension, Rockland Center for the Arts (RoCA) and Keep Rockland Beautiful. He also managed the Rockland Community Capacity Building Initiative in 2010 and was a member of the Leadership Rockland class of 2016. Julian is also a certified parent group facilitator with EPIC (Every Person Influences Children) and was a CYO youth basketball coach for eight seasons. Julian was the lead author of “The Changing Face of Child Poverty in California” and co-author of “Living at The Edge: America’s Low-Income Children and Families.” He received his MPA from the Kennedy School of Government and his BA from the University of Pennsylvania. Julian can be reached at JPalmer@touch-ny.org or (845) 268-8023 opt. 3.

During the early 1980’s Dio pursed an education in Psychology from Mercy College in Dobbs Ferry, New York. In 1984 he was elected for one year as Vice-President of the Quisqueya Sports Club in Haverstraw, New York – the largest Dominican club outside of the Dominican Republic. In the early 1990’s Dio worked for Rockland County’s Department of Health and Rockland County’s Correctional Facility. Dio started out as a volunteer in Nyack for TOUCH. In April of 1994, he accepted a part-time position as a Clinical Coordinator and also served ON TOUCH’s Board. Dio began working full-time at TOUCH in 1998 as a Case Manager and accepted the position of Program Director in March 2015. Since February 2010, Dio has also been part of the Haverstraw Village Planning Board. Dio can be reached at ddominguez@touch-ny.org (845) 268-8023 opt. 2.

Paula Klein loves to volunteer and has been involved with feeding programs in Rockland County since the early 90’s when she became a volunteer at a local food pantry as a Girl Scout leader. Paula still runs the North Rockland food pantry as a volunteer, which led her to become a founding member of Rockland Community Against Hunger along with other local agencies, including TOUCH. Paula was invited to join the TOUCH board of directors in 2014, but she quickly realized her passion was in feeding people, not meetings. In May of 2015, Paula joined the TOUCH staff as pantry manager and currently oversees the Nutrition program. Paula can be reached at pklein@touch-ny.org or (845) 268-8023 opt. 1.

Inin, a native of Haiti, started the first HIV support program for Haitians in Rockland County in 1996 while working with the Haitian Centers Council of Brooklyn in collaboration with the Haitian American Cultural and Social Organization. In 1998, Inin accepted a position as Case Manager with TOUCH. In this new role, she was able to help residents pass over the stigma surrounding HIV while also helping others to better understand Haitian culture. This passion for the Haitian community lead Inin to form the Haitian Conference Committee in 2000 that held conferences for three consecutive years working on ways to work within the Haitian community. Inin can be reached at ivital@touch-ny.org or (845) 268-8023 opt. 5.

Edna, a native Haitian, joined TOUCH’s team in fall 2017 as a Case Manager. Previous to joining our team, she was Assistant Coordinator of the HIV/AIDS Program for Haitian Council Center (HCC), located at HACSO. After the closing of this program, she worked with different agencies in Rockland County that provide care coordination and comprehensive care plans to those who suffer with chronic illness, particularly senior citizens. Since then, she has dedicated herself to serving TOUCH’s members with chronic illness by helping them access appropriate medical care and services to help them maintain an optimal level of well-being. Edna has a BA in Economics and is trilingual in Haitian Creole, French, and English. She can be reached at ebedard@touch-ny.org or (845) 268-8023 opt. 2. Li pale lang ou an, e ou ka kontakte li nan emèl sa-a: ebedard@touch-ny.org ou byen nan nimero sa-a: (845) 268-8023 opt. 8.

Sam Issa loves to help others and make a difference in his community. Sam joined the TOUCH team in August 2017 and became a Case Manager in 2019. He makes sure that TOUCH’s members receive the health care, nutrition and services they need to thrive. Sam has a bachelor’s degree in Psychology, is fluent in Spanish, and has participated in many community walks/food drives in Rockland and NYC. In his free time, he assists at food pantries and helps spread the word about the great job TOUCH is doing in Rockland County to care for the community. Sam can be at sissa@touch-ny.org or by phone at (845) 268-8023 opt. 6.

A Sam Issa le encanta ayudar a otros menos afortunados y hacer una diferencia en su comunidad. Sam se unió al equipo de TOUCH en agosto de 2017 y le encanta ayudar cuando sea necesario. Además, en su tiempo libre, lo ayudaría en las despensas de alimentos y lo haría correr la voz sobre el gran trabajo que TOUCH está haciendo en el condado de Rockland. Sam tiene una licenciatura en psicología y ha participado en muchos paseos comunitarios / campañas de comida no solo en Rockland sino también en Nueva York.

Alan Lee, RD, CDE, CDN, CFT is available for nutrition counseling and education to members of The Eating Well Food & Nutrition Program at TOUCH for people living with chronic illness for over 20 years. He has been the Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist at TOUCH since 2001. He has also been a Certified Diabetes Educator since 2004. In 2000, Alan was named a Recognized Young Dietitian of the Year from the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. He has volunteered extensively with the Greater New York Dietetic Association as President, Treasurer, and Nutritionists In AIDS Care (NIAC) chair. Alan is a well-respected nutrition expert and has given presentations around the globe from London to Vancouver and the Caribbean. He did his dietetic internship at New York Presbyterian Hospital and graduated from New York University. Alan can be reached at AlanLeeRD@yahoo.com or (845) 268-8023 opt. *.

Tara has spent over twenty years working on the financial aspects of many healthcare companies. With a BS in Business Management from Ithaca College, managing the books and all the financial matters for these companies over the years has helped Tara enjoy learning about the healthcare industry. Beginning in Sept. 2019, she is thrilled to be a part of the TOUCH team and looks forward to getting to know you all and contributing to this wonderful organization. Tara, her husband Anthony, and their four children reside in Beacon, NY.

Jeri has been an ardent volunteer at a local food pantry in North Rockland for a number of years. Her love for helping others has brought her to Touch in October, 2016, where she became food pantry assistant and in charge of packing, shopping and assisting the members with their monthly shopping. Her organizational skills and her love of working with the ARC volunteers lead her to become TOUCH’s Volunteer Coordinator. Jeri can be reached at jmeany@touch-ny.org or (845) 268-8023 opt. 9.

Audrey is the newest addition to our staff as Patient Navigator/Pantry Assistant, yet she has been supporting TOUCH’s mission for many years, since her teen years as a volunteer.  Supporting TOUCH’s mission of preventing hunger and making our community healthier brings meaning and joy to her days. In addition to assisting our members navigate services and helping prepare food orders in the pantry, Audrey currently attends nursing school and is the daughter of our treasured longtime Case Manager Inin Vital. She is fluent in Spanish, Creole, and French, and can be reached at avital@touch-ny.org or by phone at (845) 268-8024.

Magda has been cultivating the seeds of sustainable communities and strong local food networks for nearly twenty years in the Non-Profit field, with mission-based for-profit companies, and as a community organizer. Her love of delicious food and contributing to strong local food systems led to her manage several farmer’s markets, perform outreach for the community gardening arm of the NYC Parks Department, and manage an organic vegetable CSA. As Food Recovery Coordinator for TOUCH and the Rockland Community Against Hunger coalition, she is passionate about taking food that would otherwise get trucked to landfills and getting it to the food insecure and chronically ill of our community—a win/win/win for the community, public health, and the environment. Magda can be reached at mdurante@touch-ny.org or (845) 268-8023 opt. 4.

Alfonso Familia has been with TOUCH since 2019 as Food Pantry/Food Recovery Assistant. He ensures our food pantry is fully-stocked, assists members with monthly shopping, delivers groceries to the homebound, and transports and sorts rescued food for our members and the area feeding programs served by our Food Recovery Program. He comes to us with extensive warehouse experience and experience as Deli Supervisor at BJ’s. Alfonso is bi-lingual in Spanish and lives with his wife and seven children in New City. Si quieres contactar Alfonso por favor llama 845-268-8023 o email afamilia@touch-ny.org.