Realizing that there were no organizations to help students in her community attend prom, Noel D’Allacco, a native of Yonkers, New York, founded Operation PROM in 2005. Now, 22 years later, the Operation Prom National Network, Inc. is a resource for students, parents, and schools to find organizations and community groups that can provide free formal wear to teens in need, across the U.S.
As a leader in her community, Noel has been named one of Westchester County’s (NY) top 40 business leaders under 40, and has received many awards for her community service. She has been featured on national news outlets such as ABC, CNN, Fox, and NBC. In addition to her role at Operation Prom National Network, she is a Business Professor at the College of Westchester, and the Entrepreneur in Residence at Iona University.
Vice President of the Board: Jovan currently serves as the Media & Government Relations Manager for the NYS Society of CPAs; the President for the NYS Young Democrats; the Executive Director for the Westchester County Democratic Committee; and the Chair of the Association of Chartered Unit Presidents (ACUP) for the Young Democrats of America.
Jovan also has an extensive career in the radio, film, and television industries. He has worked in front of and behind the camera for commercials, films, and sitcoms. Jovan has hosted numerous radio talk shows and podcasts throughout the New York Metro area. Jovan has worked with or been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, the New York Post, City & State New York, Spectrum News, NPR, Broadway World, the Journal News (LoHud.com), News 12 Westchester, News 12 Long Island, Fios 1 News Hudson Valley, Patch.com, WVOX-AM, WVIP-FM, Westchester Radio, Westchester Talk Radio, and Public Access Channels throughout the Hudson Valley.
Jovan studied Film and Video at Five Towns College in Dix Hills, New York and Political Science at Southern New Hampshire University in Manchester, NH.
Jill founded The Copper Faucet Soap Company in 2015, a Westchester County, NY based small business specializing in handcrafted soap, hand poured soy candles, and luxury handmade products for the bath, body and home. A former teacher in Westchester County for 20 years, Jill has always enjoyed volunteering in her community. She joined Operation Prom in 2023 when she volunteered for the Prom Giveaway. After witnessing firsthand just how special this organization is, she signed on to help plan the Operation Prom 20 Year Anniversary Reception, and volunteered again for the 2024 prom season.
The Copper Faucet Soap Company is a proud sponsor of Operation Prom.
Jill lives in New Rochelle, NY with her very supportive husband Eric, and is the mom of three awesome kids.
Jill is an award-winning retail professional with 30+ years of expertise. Jill’s experience spans the vast retail landscape including buying, curation and store development for Bloomingdale’s, for CBS television’s “Can We Shop” with Joan Rivers, and for CyberShop — the 1st internet department store. Jill has spent the last decade in direct sales, focused on sales growth and online marketing, with an emphasis on developing charitable programs, team-building, and training.
Jill is also a passionate volunteer and fundraiser for community and charitable organizations as the 20-year team captain for The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s Light The Night, as the creator of The Hope Project, and as the President of The Byram Hills Education Foundation.
Jill joined the Operation Prom team in 2022, co-chaired its 20th anniversary event in 2024.
Federica currently serves as the Campaign Development Manager, Students of the Year at Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
She has been with volunteering with the Operation Prom National Network since 2023. Federica has made a career in the philanthropic sector both professionally and personally for over six years, working with various causes that she is passionate about, such as workforce development, cancer research, neurodiversity, education, and mental health awareness.
Linda is a native New Yorker and currently lives in White Plains with her husband Steve and their golden retriever, Sadie. With a background in economics and finance working for JP Morgan Chase, she found an opportunity to step outside of her career and volunteer with Operation Prom in 2013.
Linda is a mother to three adult kids. It brings her joy to help young people at Operation Prom achieve confidence as they step into their milestone celebration with their peers. She supports and helps the non-profit grow and change with the needs of the students we serve.
Linda enjoys upcycling the donations of dresses, tuxedos, accessories, shoes. “Everything we acquire has a purpose and home here. The students have many choices and nothing goes to waste or is thrown out. We even give our non-prom attire to theater groups to upcycle!”
As a member of the Zion Gospel Church since she was 9 years old, Candace always looked for ways to inspire the youth. Working as a real estate accountant, model, wife and mother she still finds time to assist the college bound seniors in the journey to higher learning.
Inspired by her late sister Shonda, who helped a family friend prepare for her Prom, Candace decided to volunteer at a 2010 Prom dress drive and began the Queens chapter of Operation PROM in 2011.
Lauren is the Director, Clinical Vendor Management and Oversight at Healthfirst working with delegated vendors to provide high-quality health care and services for over 1 million New Yorkers. She has previously held positions at The Lewin Group and the National Academy for State Health Policy, where her work focused on improving costs, quality of care, and access to healthcare for chronic and vulnerable populations. Lauren earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from Tulane University in New Orleans, Louisiana, and a Master of Public Health degree with a concentration in Health Policy from The George Washington University in Washington, DC. She is also an alumnus of Alpha Phi Omega National Service Fraternity, and attributes her love for volunteerism and giving back to the community to her time spent in that organization and in post-Hurricane Katrina New Orleans.
Teresa Chang has been volunteering with Operation Prom for about 15 years. She is the mother of an adult Asperger son. Ms. Chang is an active volunteer in her community. She started an educational advocacy firm, Helping Hands Advocacy where Teresa helps parents navigate the special education process. Ms. Chang produces and hosts a public access TV show and YouTube Channel called Moms Navigating Autism to help autistic families. She also gives workshops to help families navigate the special education process. Ms. Chang and her husband led a Cub Scout Pack which primarily had kids with special needs enrolled. She altered the curriculum to different levels so that all the kids could achieve their badges. Teresa also began a small pageant for Italian American young ladies to promote their Italian Heritage and Culture; which has now become the only national Italian American pageant in the country. The pageant has been recognized and supported by the Italian Citizens Foundation in New York City and the National Italian American Foundation in Washington DC. Once a month she has also run small local pageants to help young ladies build confidence, improve their public speaking, gain leadership skills and learn to give back to their community.
Fernanda brings in her extensive private and public sector acumen and her propensity for action to volunteer service. She was re-elected Lt. Governor of the Bronx-Westchester South Division of Kiwanis International, serving in her second term. Fernanda is a distinguished Past President of the Kiwanis Club of Riverdale and a member since 2016 where she has spearheaded numerous community service projects. Fernanda completed a post grad program of Harvard Business Analytics with the Harvard Business School and John A Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. She is a recipient of the AmeriCorps National Civilian Community Corps (NCCC) award for Mentorship.
