Williston Park Candidates to Run for Village Board
By Rich ForestanoPosted on
Michael Uttaro and Diane Thorp to Run
Michael F. Uttaro and Diane Thorp have announced they are running for the two Village of Williston Park Trustee positions. The Village of Williston Park elections will take place March 20. Both candidates are running under the Representative Party.
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Both Uttaro and Thorp feel that they will bring a lot to the trustee positions. Both have extensive work and community volunteer experience, as well as a deep commitment to the Village of Williston Park that will enhance the trustee positions, the Representative Party stated.
The two trustee positions that are up for re-election include Deputy Mayor William Darmstadt’s position, who has indicated that he will not run for re-election and that of trustee Barbara Alanga. As of press time trustee Alanga has not indicated if she intends to run for re-election.
Diane Thorp (The candidate submitted the following statement.) My name is Diane Thorp and I am running for the office of Village of Williston Park trustee. I have been a resident of the Village of Williston Park since 1976. I have raised three children, Melissa, Peter and Christina in this village and they are now successful adults. At this time, I find that I now am able to make the commitment to being a trustee in this village, something that I have wanted to pursue for many years. I am a Registered Nurse with over 36 years of nursing experience as a staff nurse, a nurse manager and health care administrator. I received my Bachelor of Science in Nursing degree from New York University and a Masters in Health Administration from Hofstra University. My experience in nursing has been varied, including hospital, home care, quality and regulatory settings. Since 2003, I have been working for IPRO, the Quality Improvement Organization for Healthcare in New York State, working closely with the New York State Department of Health (DOH) ensuring that healthcare organizations and providers adhere to New York State and federal health care regulations. I am the New York State and Department of Health instructor for two certification programs for health care professionals. In the last 2 years, I have worked closely with NYS DOH in changing the NYS health regulations as related to these two certification programs, to ensure the state regulations met the federal Medicare and Medicaid Criteria, and then implemented a new certification program. Prior to working at IPRO, I was Director of Patient Services at Metropolitan Jewish Home Care in New York City. Prior to that position, I worked at Winthrop University Hospital Certified Home Health Agency advancing from staff nurse to supervisor. I then opened Winthrop’s licensed home care agency, Winthrop at Home, and served as the Director of Patient Services. While the Director of Winthrop at Home, I wrote and obtained a $1.5 million grant from NYS DOH for training. In all the positions of Director, I was responsible for oversight of the agency, compliance with federal, state and accrediting regulations and development of budgets. Over the years I was involved in various community programs. While my children attended the Herricks schools, I was a member of the Herricks PTA and was active in the Herricks Music and Athletic boosters. For 13 years I was a leader for the Nassau County Girl Scouts Troop No. 1711 and was also active with Boy Scouts Troop No. 201. While my children participated in many sports, I was involved with St. Aidan’s CYO swimming and basketball, coaching for both the Albertson-Herricks and Williston Park Little Leagues, and the Herricks High School independent swim team. While a member of the Williston Park Reformed Church, I was a Sunday School teacher and an ordained Deacon and Elder on the Board of the church. Since 1996, I have been very active with the Guide Dog Foundation for the Blind, being a puppy raiser, speaker and volunteer team leader. I have fostered puppies over the years from about 7 weeks old to one year old prior to the puppies being formally trained as Guide Dogs or as other types of working dogs. On the village level, I am on the Parking and Safety Committee, I am a Block Captain for the Williston Park Neighborhood Watch and also work on the Beautification Committee. I am a past member of the Ladies Auxiliary of the Williston Park Volunteer Fire Department. I look forward to serving the residents of the village and working with Williston Park Mayor Paul Ehrbar, the village board and the entire village staff to ensure that this village remains the great place it is.
