Our Leadership
Ashley McFaul-Erwin
Community Outreach Pastor
Ashley grew up in Larne, Northern Ireland - one of her many homes. When she was 24 she moved to the United States to participate in the Presbyterian Church’s Young Adult Volunteer program. During her eight years in Nashville Ashley became involved with ministry on Tennessee's Death Row, worked in the Juvenile Justice Field, and served as a Chaplain in a drug and alcohol treatment center.
Ashley is a passionate Irish rugby fan, has a mixed up Larne/Nashville accent, and, in the words of her wife, "has a laugh that can be heard from miles away." She never expected that part of her pastoral duties would be to drive a truck and move furniture - but she feels right at home as part of the ODE family.
Kathy Coen
Steering Committee
Kathy has been involved with ODE since Pastor Kate Calone's 2015 sermon describing a youth trip to a furniture mission in Washington DC. From that sermon to a taco meeting at Kate's house, a group began to help those in need furnish a home. The start-up was volunteers willing to donate time and energy as they collected donations in pick-up trucks (such as Kathy's). At first, they stored these items in members' garages, then in a donated storage unit, and now our own warehouse with a dedicated box truck. Kathy learned to have fundraisers, how to reach clients, and to schedule volunteers for all the different aspects of running a successful charity. She helped identify mattresses as a top need and spent time asking for donations to supply mattresses first to children and the elderly.
With this charity, every dollar and donation is spent on those in need. Kathy is proud to be a member of the Open Door Exchange Mission at SPC and looks forward to helping others furnish their homes.
Barbara Curtis
Steering Committee
Barbara is a retired Social Worker and has been an active member of the Setauket Presbyterian Church for 28 years. In 1996, she led the church in participating with a local group to operate a soup kitchen. The group serves weekly and Barbara acted as president of that group from 1998 to 2015, and continued in the role as soup kitchen coordinator until the pandemic shut it down in March 2020. She has been on the board of ODE from its inception and has recently begun volunteering at the warehouse.
Linda Obernaur
Steering Committee
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Eva Stanganelli
Outreach Operations Manager
Eva received her Masters in Social Work from Stony Brook University where she specialized in Community, Policy, and Political Social Action. She started at Open Door Exchange in 2020 as a social work intern and became the Outreach Operations Manager in May of 2021. She is passionate about building a community where all people can have a home that they're proud of. Eva's favorite part of working at ODE is witnessing beautiful moments of connections between clients and volunteers.
When she's not lifting dressers that are far too big for her, Eva can be found doing yoga, reading, or painting. She enjoys using her hands and heart to create new things.
Susan Imperato
Steering Committee
Susan has been a volunteer at ODE since 2016 and joined the Steering Committee in 2020. Volunteering at ODE allows her to make a meaningful contribution to those in need in our local community, while at the same time support responsible environmental practices. On a more personal note, it helps to address her “sentimental inability” to throw anything away by providing an ideal outlet for her family’s and friends’ unneeded but cherished household treasures.
Susan enjoys the everyday hands-on work of the warehouse — serving our clients, organizing and repairing furniture, and seeing much needed items find new homes. It was especially gratifying for her to be a part of the effort to address and deal with the unique logistical challenges of the past year. Susan looks forward to working with the Steering Committee, our volunteers, and the dedicated and talented ODE staff as we continue to chart the course for the future of ODE.
Tom Kavazanjian
Steering Committee
Tom, a long-time resident of Setauket, was born in Long Beach, NY and moved to Garden City, NY in seventh grade. He is a 1975 graduate of Brown University, where he was a member of an Ivy League championship and nationally ranked lacrosse team. Tom’s working/professional life included two years as a mate on a Mississippi River towboat-- flat bowed “pushers”, that transport groups of grain laden barges (the “tow”) southbound to the Gulf of Mexico for export. The majority of his professional life was spent in financial services, concentrating in managing fee-based equity growth portfolios and co-managing a futures fund. Tom is an avid sailor, kayaker and bike rider (and pre-hip replacements, tennis player), and enjoys reading (especially the New York Times), music (primarily mainstream jazz and classical) and all the arts.
Growing up, Tom’s wife, Jan, and daughters, Kim (a Presbyterian minister in Miami, Fl), and Laura (deceased), were active members of Setauket Presbyterian Church (SPC). After the sudden loss of his daughter in a car accident in 2011, Tom was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support and unconditional love extended to his family from both the SPC congregation and the surrounding community. This led Tom to become a more active member of SPC. At this point, Tom had retired and was looking to get involved with some altruistic cause, and to give back to the community that was so supportive to him. When Tom learned Pastor Kate Jones Calone, who he has the highest regard for, intended to start Open Door Exchange (ODE), Tom was “all in” and was among the group of founding members. The rest, as they say, is history!