Nancy Woodruff Ment
President and CEO
Nancy Woodruff Ment is President and Chief Executive Officer for Andrus Children's Center. As Chief Executive, she was instrumental in reshaping the organization's profile through two key Westchester County mergers, with the Center for Preventive Psychiatry (CPP) and Family & Community Services (FCS).

Ms. Ment came to Andrus in 1987 as the Director of Clinical Services. Her career has encompassed numerous operations and executive positions in child welfare and mental health in the greater New York area. Before coming to Andrus, she was an early childhood consultant, a senior psychiatric social worker at New York Hospital-Cornell Medical Center, and maintained a private practice in child psychotherapy.

Ms. Ment earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Goucher College, and a Master of Social Work from Hunter College School of Social Work. She also holds post-graduate certificates from the Jewish Board of Guardians in Psychotherapy for Children and Executive Leadership from the Not-for-Profit Institute of Columbia University's Business School.

Ms. Ment is engaged in a broad range of local, state and national professional groups. She is a member of the Blue Ribbon Panel on Health Care with the Westchester County Association; a member of the Legislative Action Council of the Business Council of Westchester; President of the Board of the Yonkers Community Planning Council, former President and Life Fellow of the American Association of Children's Residential Centers and sits on several committees of the Alliance for Children and Families.

Brian Farragher
Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer
Brian Farragher is Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer for Andrus Children's Center, a position he has held since June 2003. He shares oversight for all of the company's business operations, including the development of new growth opportunities.

Mr. Farragher began his career with Andrus in 1986 as Program Director in Foster Hall. He served in a variety of positions with increasing administrative responsibility until he was appointed Chief Operating Officer.

He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Le Moyne College, a Master of Social Work degree (M.S.W.) from Fordham University, and a Master of Business Administration (M.B.A.) from Iona College.

Mr. Farragher's professional experience includes substance abuse and children's mental health and he has advanced training in therapeutic crisis intervention, supervision, management and the Sanctuary Model.

Derek Kolleeny
Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer
Derek Kolleeny joined Andrus in February of 2007 as Vice President of Finance and Chief Financial Officer. Previously, Derek was Vice President of International Trachoma Initiative (ITI) for two years. ITI is an international not-for-profit organization dedicated to eliminating trachoma, the world’s leading cause of preventable blindness, and manages distribution of over $350MM in antibiotics donated from Pfizer annually to help with this cause. Prior to that, Derek was Chief Financial Officer for Greyston Foundation, Inc. for eight years. Greyston is a network of community development agencies and social venture enterprises, consisted of a $5MM gourmet bakery, a Medicaid reimbursement based Adult Day Health Care Center, a number of supportive housing projects financed by low income tax credits, a childcare center and various real estate development projects. Derek Kolleeny has an MBA in Finance from Columbia Business School and a BA from Harvard College in Comparative Study of World Religions.

Lorelei Vargas
Vice President for Strategic Initiatives and Interim Director – Mental Health Division
Lorelei Atalie Vargas is the Vice President for Strategic Initiatives at the Andrus Children’s Center. She is responsible for organization-wide strategic planning, developing and overseeing research initiatives, managing the Andrus Center for Learning & Innovation and developing and cultivating strategic alliances.

Prior to her current assignment, Ms. Vargas was an Associate Policy Analyst at the Office of the Chancellor of the New York City Board of Education. She was also responsible for program coordination with the Children's Aid Society, the New York State Governor's Office and conducted research for the MacArthur Foundation.

Ms. Vargas earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from Bryn Mawr College and holds two Master degrees, one in Public Policy and one in Education Administration and Policy, from the University of Michigan, where she was a Woodrow Wilson Fellow. In 2005 she was named a Rising Star by the Business Council of Westchester. Ms. Vargas is the chair of the Public Policy Community of Practice for the Alliance for Children and Families and has served on the Board of Directors for the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy at the University of Michigan, the Sharing Community in Yonkers, and the Yonkers Community Action Program. Outside of her work with Andrus, Ms. Vargas serves as a regional alumnae volunteer for the Admissions Office of Bryn Mawr College.

Kevin T. Cook
Director of Development
Kevin Cook is the Director of Development of Andrus Children's Center.  Mr. Cook brings extensive experience in fund raising and development from his former positions.  For over 20 years, Mr. Cook worked at Concordia College where he spent most of these years as the Director of Advancement.  Mr. Cook engaged in long term strategic development, fund raising, marketing, public relations and promotion of the private liberal arts college. Mr. Cook has also served as the Director of Development and Stewardship Ministry for the Village Lutheran Church in Bronxville and more recently as  Director of Institutional Advancement at Baltimore Lutheran School . 

Kevin Cook is an active member of the Bronxville community.  He served for many years on the Board of Directors of Family and Community Services, Inc. and the New York / New Jersey Chapter of the Association of Lutheran Development Executives, where he served as the chairman for two years.  Mr. Cook was also a member of the Board of Trustees of the Westchester County Library System and sits on the Advisory Councils of the Senior Citizen's of Bronxville and The Junior League of Bronxville.

Mr. Cook received a BA in education from Concordia College and an MS in Communications from the College of New Rochelle . 

Brian Hall
Director - Campus Programs
Mr. Hall is the Campus Division Director at the Andrus Children’s Center. Prior to returning to Andrus in the summer of 2008, he served as the Assistant Executive Director of the Board of Child Care, a non-profit multi-service organization serving children and families in Maryland, West Virginia and the District of Columbus.

Prior to joining the Board of Child Care, Mr. Hall began his career at Andrus in 1991 as a Child Behavior Specialist. Over the years, he held varying organizational positions. In 1996, he accepted a role in Andrus Community Services. Under his leadership, community based services grew from one project serving 30 families to a sub-division of the organization implementing home based services to 350 families annually. Mr. Hall was responsible for strategic planning, quality control and research, marketing of services, program development and maintaining relationships with National Affiliates.

Mr. Hall holds a Bachelor’s of Science from Juniata College, a Master in Social Work from Fordham University as well as a Certificate in Nonprofit Management from the University of Michigan in collaboration with the Alliance for Children and Families.

Yakov Grinman
Director - Facilities and Operations
Yakov Grinman is Director of Facilities at the Andrus Children's Center where he has held the position since 2003. Mr. Grinman is responsible for overseeing facilities management operations for the entire organization.
He has extensive experience in facilities management with not-for-profits and hospitals in the New York area. Over the lifetime of his career, he has developed expertise in facilities management and safety, fire safety, renovation, construction and construction management, asbestos management, and emergency management planning.

Mr. Grinman earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Engineering from Technical College in Moldova and a Master's degree in Electrical Engineering from the State Power University in Russia.

Corine Lurry
Director - Community Services
Ms. Lurry, the Director of our Community Services Division joined the Andrus team in the summer of 1997. Prior to coming aboard, Ms. Lurry worked as a teacher in the early childhood field and utilized these skills to help develop the foundation for her career here at Andrus. Throughout her tenure, Ms. Lurry has contributed to the growth of Andrus Community Services working initially as a home visitor followed by several promotions first as the Program Supervisor, then as the Clinical Coordinator for the division, serving thereafter as the Program Manager of Healthy Families, our largest Community grant funded program. Ms. Lurry is motivated by her passion and care for supporting families in order to ensure that children are given the opportunity to develop healthy through nurture and positive parental interaction. Ms. Lurry holds a Bachelor’s of Science from Marist College and a Master’s in Marital and Family Therapy from Iona College.

Brice Moss
Director - Residential Services
Brice Moss joined Andrus as the Director of Residential Services in 2010. Prior to joining Andrus, Mr. Moss worked in inpatient and outpatient mental health settings, as well as residential care.

Mr. Moss is passionate about the best practice literature on Trauma Sensitive Care and the reduction of restraint. He has presented on related topics state-wide, regionally, nationally and internationally. He was the Lead Consultant on a multi-year consultation to a large Midwestern agency that resulted in a reduction in holds of over 70% in their child and adolescent residential settings.

Mr. Moss holds a BA from Columbia College, a Masters in Social Work from Columbia University, and got his post-graduate training at the Westchester Center for the Study of Psychoanalysis and Psychotherapy.

Cheryl Appel
Director - Medical
Cheryl Appel is the Medical Director at Andrus Children's Center and also sees adolescents in her private practice in Tarrytown , New York . She provides primary medical care as well as counseling teens with high risk behaviors. Dr. Appel comes to Andrus with over 20 years experience in the medical field. She has written articles and brochures for adolescents as well as for parents and college age students on various risk behaviors, medical issues and lifestyle options.

At Andrus Dr. Appel provides medical care for 80 residential students and she is currently creating a campus-wide program to improve nutrition. Dr. Appel completed her training at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City , Schneider Children's Hospital in Lake Success , NY , and Jackson Memorial Hospital in Miami , FL. She is currently an Assistant Clinical Professor at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine and maintains admitting privileges at Montefiore Medical Center in the Bronx and Westchester County Medical Center in Valhalla , N.Y. She is a fellow of the American Academy of Pediatrics and a member of The Society of Adolescent Medicine and the North American Society of Pediatric and Adolescent Gynecology.

Tito Del Pilar
Director of Workforce Development
Following college, R. Tito spent four years in the Peace Corps/VISTA programs working with impoverished youth. He spent the next twenty years working at a residential treatment center for troubled youth where he rose to become an executive administrator and the campus director. During this time he broadened his reputation as a knowledgeable trainer.

In 2000, he became the Associate Director and Director of Training and Recruitment for Family Focus Adoption Services in New York City. In that position he was director of the “Strong Caseworkers for Strong Families” initiative for NYS OCFS. Mr. Del Pilar designed the curriculum and conducted sessions across New York State on foster care and adoption dynamics educating hundreds of caseworkers, social workers, and therapists over a three-year period.

He has successfully keynoted and presented at many child welfare and adoption conferences.In 2006, the North American Council on Adoptable Children presented Mr. Del Pilar with their Adoption Activist Award at their annual conference in California.

In 2005 he was brought on as a consultant at Andrus for the Sanctuary Leadership Development Institute where he assisted in the design and creation of the five days of training that are now offered as the centerpiece of the Sanctuary Institute. He became our Director of Training in 2006 and currently directs the Human Resources and Training departments as the interim Director of Workforce Development.