The Board

Board members serve at the pleasure of the Town of Brookhaven
(Bios are available below)

Board Member Bios

Frederick C. Braun III

Date Appointed: 05/04/10

Mr. Braun worked for over 46 years in commercial banking retiring in 2009 as Executive Vice President of the State Bank of Long Island.  From 2013 – 2017 he was President and CEO of Gyrodyne Company of America, Inc., a publicly traded real estate holding company.  Mr. Braun also serves on the board of several not-for-profit organizations including Long Island Community Hospital where he has been a trustee for over 35 years.  In line with his responsibilities as Chairman of the Town of Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency, he is a Director of the New York State Economic Development Council, the trade association for the various economic development initiatives around the state.  In addition, he is Chairman of a loan committee for the New York State Business Development Corporation a/k/a Pursuit which facilitates loans under the Small Business Administration’s 504 program.  Last, he is Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Community Development Corporation of Long Island. 

 

Felix J. Grucci, Jr.

Date Appointed: 05/21/13

Mr. Grucci has dedicated his life to public and private service. As the former President & CEO of his family's internationally recognized fireworks firm, Fireworks by Grucci, Mr. Grucci produced many memorable once in a lifetime events such as Presidential Inauguration, Worlds Fairs, The Centennial of the Brooklyn Bridge, The Bi-Centennial of the United States, The Millennium Celebration in Washington DC 1999/2000 as well as many local events until his retirement in 2012. Mr. Grucci also served his community with distinction starting his community service as a Commissioner on the SC Planning Commission, Chairman - Zoning Board Town of Brookhaven, Councilman - Town of Brookhaven, Supervisor – Town of Brookhaven and concluding his public service as a Member of the 107th Congress from the 1st Congressional District. Mr. Grucci continues his community service by serving as a Board of Director and Trustee of the Brookhaven Memorial Hospital Medical Center. He is also a Trustee and Chairman of the Finance Committee at Mary Immaculate RC Church.

 

Ann-Marie Scheidt

Date Appointed: 05/04/10

Chair: Business Incubator Association of New York State, Long Island Innovation Hot Spot Steering Committee, Stony Brook Incubator Selection and Review Committee. Moving spirit behind creation of the Long Island Angel Network. Founder, Stony Brook Entrepreneurs Challenge, which has awarded more than $475,000 to 32 student start-up businesses - half still in existence — as of 2018.  Manager and Instructor, Stony Brook’s NSF I-Corps Site.

Board of Directors: Brookhaven Industrial Development Agency, serving New York’s third largest town; Community Development Corporation of Long Island (Vice Chair), the region’s largest affordable housing and community development not-for-profit; Composites Prototyping Center, state program to promote manufacturers’ use of these materials and partner of the federal Institute for Advanced Composites Manufacturing Innovation; Hauppauge Industrial Association (HIA-LI), representing the largest industrial park in the Northeast; Long Island Angel Network, region’s only public organization of early-stage investors; Long Island High Technology Incubator Inc., the region’s first new business incubator facility. Past president of Women Economic Developers of Long Island.

 

Martin Callahan

Date Appointed: 04/08/14

Martin G Callahan III, is a partner and the Vice President for Coram-based National Computerized Agencies, Inc. (NCA).  NCA is an independent insurance agency serving the commercial and personal insurance needs of its customers in 35 states. . His emphasis in the insurance field began with creating and building programs including those for the law enforcement and education community.  He is also proficient in all lines of commercial and personal insurance.  Martin brings more than 32 years of business experience to the Brookhaven IDA and LDC.

As a Suffolk county resident since birth, and a resident of Miller Place for the past twenty-five years, Martin consistently gives back to the community he lives in.  He was the Treasurer and coach for the North Shore Colts Football & Cheerleading for more than 5 years, a coach for Northshore Little League in Rocky Point and a founding partner of the North Shore Stallions travel baseball organization, which had several teams play for many years after inception.  He also participates and fundraises for the annual Polar Bear Plunge each November to support the Special Olympics.  Martin received an award from the Town of Brookhaven for his volunteer work in the local community. He is also a member of the American Heart Association and was Chairman of the Brookhaven 2012 Redistricting Committee.  He also holds a NYS Real Estate sales person’s license.  Martin is married and has three children

 

Frank Trotta

Date Appointed: 09/27/18

Frank C. Trotta, of Bellport, is the owner of two niche publications, 50 Plus LifeStyles and Fire News.  50 Plus LifeStyles is an award winning publication serving baby boomers and seniors on Long Island and New York City since 1975. Fire News serves Fire, Rescue and EMS departments and their members through six editions covering seven states. They include New York, New Jersey, Delaware, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and a Long Island edition. He is also a principal in a family owned local real estate management company and is Vice Chairman of the Board of Directors at Suffolk Federal Credit Union. Trotta served as an elected official of the Village of Bellport for 31 years, including  27 years  as Bellport’s longest serving Mayor.  Additionally he has served as the Chairman of the Board of Zoning Appeals for the Town of Brookhaven, Director of the Suffolk County Office of the Aging, Trustee of Suffolk County Community College and was appointed by the governor and serves on the Stony Brook University Council. He serves as the Chaplain of the Bellport Fire department.  Trotta has been involved with local organizations including the LI Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association, Foster Grandparents of Suffolk County and the American Red Cross. He is a graduate of Valley Forge Military Academy and received his Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Administration from Long Island University as well as a Masters degree in Public Administration.

 

Gary Pollakusky

Date Appointed: 01/07/16

Gary Pollakusky is an accomplished business executive who brings to the IDA / LDC Board a broad scope of business turnaround, marketing & communications experience. Pollakusky has more than 20 years of experience partnering with large and small corporations across multiple industries and sectors to maximize performance growth potential. 

Gary’s primary business, Media Barrel LLC is a full-service Advertising organization that operates as a company’s “one-stop shop” for New Media strategy, implementation, and management. Pollakusky’s group offers expertise in developing, evaluating, and maintaining a unified employer-based or consumer-based brand across all channels of today’s Web universe. Media Barrel’s customized brand strategies, comprehensive understanding of social media, detailed metrics and monitoring techniques, and expertise in communicating across multiple departments and disciplines help businesses build an authentic, productive, and profitable dialogue between their company and target audiences. 

In 2011, Pollakusky formed a travel tours business called Travel Barrel LLC providing full service, micro-branded Long Island tours like Vino Crawl, Foodie Hop, Agro Journey and Shopping Treks to name a few. Creating business and opportunity is a passion for Gary. 

Prior to building Media Barrel, Gary served in management roles for Bernard HODES Group, Unilever HPCNA, Columbia Business School, and AHL Services, Inc. Pollakusky holds a bachelor’s degree in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University and is an active member of SHRM, North Shore Community Association, LICVB, and LILA. Additionally, Gary serves as a founding President & Executive Director of the Rocky Point Sound Beach Chamber of Commerce, Brookhaven Local Development Corporation and was honored with the Long Island Business News Corporate Citizenship Award in 2016. In 2017, Gary received Long Island Business News Forty Under Forty Award.

 

Mitchell H. Pally

Date Appointed: 09/27/22

Mr. Pally was selected as the Chief Executive Officer of the Long Island Builders Institute in December 2010. The Long Island Builders Institute is the largest home building trade association in New York State, representing all parts of the home construction industry. From 2005-2019, Mr. Pally served on the Suffolk County representative to the Board of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the largest mass transit operator in the world.

Prior to his current position, Mr. Pally was the partner in charge of government relations for the Weber Law group, one of Long Island’s leading real estate law firms from 2006 to 2010.

Prior to joining the firm, Mr. Pally served as the Vice-President for Governmental Affairs for the Long Island Association from 1992 to 2006. He was responsible for all governmental and community activities of the Association. Mr. Pally was associated with the LIA since August 1985 when he was appointed Director of Legislative and Economic Affairs. Established in 1926, the LIA is the region’s largest business and civic organization with more than 3,000 member firms and organizations employing more than 400,000 people.

Prior to his service with the LIA, Mr. Pally held a number of positions in the New York State Legislature. From 1975 to 1983, Mr. Pally served in various capacities to the New York State Senate Committee on Transportation and the Legislative Commission on Critical Transportation Choices. From 1983 to 1985, Mr. Pally was the Chief Counsel to the Committee and the Commission. During his service to the Senate, Mr. Pally played a key role in the drafting and passage of such important transportation legislation as the first in the nation seatbelt law, child restraint law, the Transportation Bond Issues of 1983 and 1979, reserved parking spaces for disabled drivers and others.