MARIO GIAMMARCO DEDICATES HIS TIME AND INVESTMENT EXPERTISE TO SIUH’S FOUNDATION BOARD

BY JESSICA JONES GORMAN • PHOTOS BY AMESSE PHOTOGRAPHY

For the past three decades, Mario Giammarco has been heavily involved in the Staten Island community. Past president of both the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the Staten Island Rotary Club, the Todt Hill resident has also donated his time to the Community Agency for Senior Citizens (CASC), the Alice Austen House Museum, and several more of the borough’s respected nonprofit organizations. But it’s his work with Staten Island University Hospital that he considers especially meaningful.

“I think Staten Island University Hospital has been very progressive in terms of bringing in the best personnel and acquiring the best technology to better serve the people in this borough,” noted Giammarco, who has served on SIUH’s Foundation Board for the past ten years. “Every single resident of Staten Island needs their services at one or more moments in their lifetime. That makes SIUH one of the most important institutions we have. I joined the Foundation so that I could support the medical expertise that we all need and rely upon.”

An investment banker by trade, Giammarco was born in Brooklyn and moved to Staten Island in 1974. He graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in electrical engineering from the New York Institute of Technology and spent 13 years in the Army Reserve National Guard an experience he credits with fostering his business discipline.

The Merrill Lynch alum currently serves as senior vice president branch manager at Herold & Lantern, a wealth management boutique that provides financial and investment management services to individuals, retirees, and non-profits. As part of the SIUH Foundation’s Development Committee, he uses his investment knowledge to assist the hospital, regularly reviewing the institution’s finances and donor reports.

I attended the fundraisers for years golf outings and walk-a-thons, casino nights and everything in between but when they asked me to help with the Foundation, which raises money that specifically benefits programs and hospital improvements, I knew I wanted to be a part of it. Over the past few decades, SIUH has brought in experts from all over the world physicians skilled in pediatrics, breast cancer, cardiology, and more creating a world class healthcare system right here in our backyard. And all of that quality staffing and innovation is possible because of the work of the Foundation and those who support it.”

“When they asked me to help with the Foundation, which raises money that specifically benefits programs and hospital improvements, I knew I wanted to be a part of it.”

At Herold & Lantern, Giammarco’s financial expertise includes comprehensive reviews of client investment advisory needs, investment objectives, and risk tolerances. He works with his clients to determine the optimum balance between equity, fixed income, mutual fund, and money market products. For SIUH, he advises on project spending.

“Every time you walk into SIUH you see some sort of improvement happening,” noted Giammarco. “Whether it’s physical construction or some sort of educational seminar with a large group of medical practitioners, there is always some kind of growth. The hospital is always increasing their reach that’s what makes them an extremely important part of this community.”

Giammarco calls the hospital’s latest endeavor a special emergency unit dedicated entirely to pediatrics one of the most important developments in Staten Island healthcare.

“The emergency department is paramount the first line of contact for anyone who has any immediacy of care,” explained Giammarco. “So to renovate that space, increase its size, and then dedicate a portion of it entirely to children that shows how dedicated this institution is to the people of this borough.”

And while the hospital’s major fundraising events have been postponed due to the pandemic, Giammarco said the philanthropic efforts of the community have not ceased. “In most industries, even my own, 80% of the workforce is still working from home. But the hospital of course cannot afford to do that. Operations never ceased at SIUH so financial support cannot stop either. Northwell has been excellent in handling this virus, always maintaining a staunch dedication to the community it serves. Now, more than ever, it is our turn to return that support.”

Staten Island University Hospital Foundation
475 Seaview Avenue, Staten Island
718.226.2746
give.northwell.edu/support-us#hospitals