Certified Business Mentors Gina Ottrando and Bartholomew Sharp assume top leadership responsibilities of nationwide SCORE organization’s local chapter

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. ( Feb. 5, 2024) – Six-term SCORE-Staten Island Chairman John J. Amodio has retired from the position, having passed the gavel in autumn to SCORE certified business mentors Gina Ottrando and former Vice Chairman Bartholomew (Bart) Sharp.

The new co-chairs began governing the local chapter of the nationwide SCORE organization during a transitional period that started in October. They now are fully seated at the helm of SCORE-Staten Island, which provides cost-free education and confidential mentoring to both aspiring and established entrepreneurs.

The co-leaders are seasoned professionals in their respective fields: Ottrando is a business operations/administrative adviser for C-level executives and nonprofits; and Sharp is a retired certified public accountant (with a master’s degree in finance), internal corporate auditor, and banking principal. Both individuals are committed to SCORE-Staten Island and its mission of helping business owners achieve, grow and maintain successful enterprises. Each has been recognized for dedication to community service.

Former Chairman Amodio has nearly 60 years of experience in financial services, management and marketing. Under his leadership, SCORE-Staten Island successfully continued the group’s tradition of assisting aspiring and established business owners both on and off the Island, with a notable expansion of clients throughout the borough, Brooklyn and nearby areas of New Jersey.

“I felt humbled and so lucky throughout my chairmanship of SCORE-Staten Island,” Amodio said. “I was given a wonderful opportunity – within such a remarkable organization – to help so many people in and near our community establish and grow their businesses. I have seen Gina and Bart’s passion for helping clients succeed, as well as their team spirit when collaborating with the other volunteers in our chapter. I am delighted to have them assume their roles as SCORE-Staten Island’s new co-chairs, and confident that our organization’s business mentors and clients will benefit from their leadership.”

Ottrando expressed enthusiasm stepping into her new co-chair role.

“SCORE-Staten Island is an effective, highly regarded organization comprised of SCORE-certified business mentors whose volunteerism results in a positive impact within our business community,” Ottrando said. “I am grateful for being given the opportunity to be a leader in this organization, and so very fortunate to be partnering as a co-chair with Bart.”

Sharp said the organization’s future path is clearly one of stability and continued success.

“I have collaborated with John Amodio for numerous years at SCORE-Staten Island,” he said. “Throughout all that time, and throughout John’s lengthy tenure as chairman, he continually raised the bar on our organization’s ability to serve growing numbers of aspiring, and established, entrepreneurs seeking qualified, expert mentorship in the fulfillment of their goals. It’s not an easy task filling John’s shoes, but having been inspired by him, and witnessing first-hand the positive influence he has made upon countless numbers of businesspeople, it’s a challenge that I am honored to embrace. One great perk of my new role is I get to share it with Gina, whose business acumen, and top-notch operations and administration skills, will help ensure our organization’s effectiveness moving forward.”

About SCORE-Staten Island

SCORE-Staten Island is dedicated to fostering a vibrant small-business community primarily in the New York City boroughs of Staten Island and Brooklyn, and nearby areas of New Jersey. The organization provides cost-free education and confidential mentoring to both aspiring and established entrepreneurs. Headquartered at 1855 Victory Boulevard, in the Salmon Real Estate Building, Castleton Corners, SCORE-Staten Island is Chapter 476 of the nationwide SCORE nonprofit association. A resource partner with the U.S. Small Business Administration, SCORE is funded in part through a cooperative agreement with the SBA. All opinions, conclusions, and/or recommendations expressed herein are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of the SBA. For additional information, or to schedule an appointment, SCORE-Staten Island may be visited at https://score.org/statenisland; telephoned at 718-727-1221; emailed at scorestatenisland@scorevolunteer.org, and visited on Meta/Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/SCOREStatenIsland) and LinkedIn (https://www.linkedin.com/company/score-mentors-staten-island).

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