Peter is a Staten Island native. He received an athletic scholarship to the University of Notre Dame where his love of education and track were nurtured. His track achievements are legendary and include setting the record as the highest point scorer in UND track and field history; earning first team All-America honors by placing second in the 110-meter high hurdles in the NCAA championship, qualifying for, and running in the 1964 Olympic trials. Peter was also the recipient of the William D. Reynolds Award from UND for "a life of service as an educator, volunteer, founder and current President of the Christopher Whitehouse Foundation."
After graduating from UND, Peter pursued dual careers of teaching history and coaching track & field. He continues both careers as an instructor for seniors at the College of Staten Island and the Bernikow JCC, and as a leader and guiding presence in all aspects of track and field on Staten Island. He is also an active member of the Notre Dame Club of S.I.
Peg Ventrudo - Vice President
Peg is a lifelong resident of Staten Island. Her professional life has been spent teaching high school math and coordinating an honors program for over 28 years. She earned her undergraduate degree in mathematics from Georgian Court University and her graduate degree in teaching high school math from the City University of New York.
In her role as VP of the CWF assists in the approval of grants for students in need and helping coordinate the annual Hesburgh Lecture Series.
She says that knowing the Whitehouse family "you cannot help but be drawn in by their dedication and generosity. It is very rewarding work and an honor to be part of the effort to continue the work of their son, Christopher. The grants awarded by the CWF help to make a difference in the lives of so many high school students who are in need of everyday things that many of us take for granted."
Mona Gambardella - Vice President
Mona Gambardella continues to lead a most adventurous and fulfilling life. Born in Manhattan, she grew up in New Brighton. After her marriage, the family moved to Toms River, New Jersey where she raised her three daughters, Tanya, Jennifer and Jacqueline.
Her work career is a storied one where she spent time in several industries including working as a Medical Laboratory Technician at the US Public Health Service Hospital on Staten Island; as a chemist in environmental labs; as a social worker, in both a residential adolescent diagnostic center and the Legal Aid Society Criminal Defense Practice. Along the way she acquired a master’s degree in social work from Columbia University and enjoyed a a stint as an Americorps VISTA volunteer. She has been an Arts and Crafts Director for 24 years at specialized summer camps and also began a project distributing necessities to the street homeless in NYC for the pastc10 years.
Today, though she is officially "retired", she works at the heart of the Whitehouse Foundation on grant verification and recommendations.
Joseph Marotta- Treasurer
Joseph is native born Staten Islander. Joe grew up in Bay Terrace and is the product of Staten Island’s public schools. He ran track at Tottenville HS and was the recipient of several student/athletic scholarship offers. After graduation in 1986 Joe accepted one of those coveted scholarships and made the journey down the NJ Turnpike to Villanova University where he earned a degree in political science. A commission as a Marine Corps officer followed and he served in the Pacific and Indian Oceans, and Mogadishu, Somalia.
Discharged as a Captain in 1997, Joe began a career in the financial sector. He currently works for Merrill Lynch, is a Certified Financial Planner™, and as a partner on a wealth management team in Florham Park, NJ. He lives in Pine Brook, NJ with his wife Ylonka and their three children Cristina, Joseph, and Sophia. As a childhood friend and HS teammate of Chris Whitehouse, Joe has always appreciated the candor, kindness, and unconditional friendship that Chris gave, and looks forward to continuing Chris’ legacy of generosity.
Samantha Irwin - Secretary
Samantha was born in Brooklyn and raised on Staten Island where she graduated from Tottenville High School and was a classmate of Christopher Whitehouse. Upon graduating from the State University at Binghamton in 1990 with a BA in Philosophy, Sam began what would become a 30+ year career in the magazine publishing industry starting at Rodale Press which is now part of the Hearst Corporation. She recently retired as General Manager of the Men’s and Enthusiast Group at Hearst Magazine Media which includes the legacy brands, Esquire and Popular Mechanics, as well as the acquired Rodale titles, Men’s Health, Runner’s World and Bicycling.
Sam has been a member of the CWF Board of Directors since 2016 and feels it is an honor and privilege to be working alongside fellow board members, granting students in need the means to access things to help them succeed academically and to take part in activities every student should have the right to access.
Mie Oshima – Secretary
Mie graduated from Tsuda University in Tokyo Japan. The motto of the university is "all round women". Mie has nurtured this ideal throughout her life.
Mie’s dedication as volunteer to help others, is perhaps her most distinguishing characteristic and was never better demonstrated than in 2011 during the heartbreaking Fukushima area earthquake and tsunami in Japan. More than 15,000 people died and another 300,000 were displaced. After this event, over a five-year period she co-founded a private volunteer group to support the region. While simultaneously working in a finance firm in Tokyo, she traveled regularly to the disaster area, a six-seven-hour trip, where she was one of the captains leading volunteer activities.
She moved to the US in 2018 for her business and has been a resident on Staten Island since 2020, during the pandemic.
Board Members
Robert Griswold, DDS
Martin McGowan
Anne Mulcahy
Patricia Mulligan
Robert Newman
Adib Olivares
Luci Paul, PhD
Karen Sweeney-Kennedy
Liz Venditto
Meg Ventrudo
Thomas Ventrudo
Leif Whitehouse
Kevin Zarrera, Esq.
Natasha Zapata