Meet the Team

Deborah Catalano-Sansone is a recently retired Retail and Cosmetic Industry Sales and Operations Executive who’s 30 + year career spans from Cosmetics Divisional Merchandise Manager at Bloomingdales where she also held several Cosmetic, Treatment, Fragrance and Accessories Buying positions. Cosmetic Accessories Buyer at Saks Fifth Avenue. She held a 12-year position at MAC Cosmetics as the Executive Director of Retail Events in North America where she coached, mentored and led a team of Field Event execution managers. Deborah is now devoting more time to serving several Westchester County Community Not for Profit organizations, serving the Performing Arts community in addition to consulting for startup Cosmetic and Gift companies. As she loves and has a never-ending passion for all things fashion and trendy when approached to volunteer for the Operation Prom dress giveaway she instantly said “YES, of course, put me to work – every girl deserves to have her Diva dream dress!!”

After 3 years of volunteering and seeing the need to supply dresses to high school teens in underserved communities she is dedicated to supporting the Operation Prom Organization. On a personal note, she is a lifelong Westchester County, NY resident who shares her life with her wonderfully charming husband Robert, two insanely busy daughters Madelaine and Gabrielle, 2 big dogs Romeo and Tucker, and her daughters – 3 horses, 2 of which are off the track Thoroughbred Mare rescues: Ava, Ms. T, and a Gelding Beau.

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.

Mario Mirabella is the founder and creative director of MSM DesignZ, Inc.; an award-winning, full-service advertising and design firm. Founded in 1999, MSM DesignZ has two Westchester County, NY locations (Tarrytown and White Plains), and a satellite office based in the UK. MSM DesignZ specializes in design and development, social media branding and management, search engine optimization, mobile applications, ad campaigns and online marketing to name a few. For 20 years, MSM DesignZ has been providing businesses with a comprehensive solution to increase their online presence and overall brand awareness. Through creative designs and consulting, MSM has been effective with making their clients stand above their competitors with professional, fresh designs and increased exposure through social, SEO and mobile campaigns.

Company founder Mario Mirabella was honored in 2011 as a Rising Star by the Business Council of Westchester. He also is a member of their Marketing and Communications Committee. Mario also sits on the Advisory Council for the Digital Media Degree Program for the College of Westchester. In 2012, MSM DesignZ was recognized with 12 Big W Awards from the Advertising Club of Westchester for their Interactive Media category in their annual design competition. Most recently, MSM was awarded four 2013 AVA Digital Awards in their annual international creative competition hosted and judged by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP).

Professor Karen Schlusberg currently is the Interim Curriculum Chair of the Fashion Merchandising department at Westchester Community College, where she has been teaching for 6 years.

Karen’s extensive background in fashion and entrepreneurship has been an excellent basis for her teaching career. Karen has owned the Maizie Consignment Boutique for the last 13 years winning the “Best of Westchester” 2 years in a row.

Her teaching career began at Marist College, where she created “Fashionology”, a fashion student run store. The store secured over $6,000 a semester for the Fashion program and added valuable experience for the students.

Before her teaching career, Karen worked for a variety of major corporations including Liz Claiborne where she led a design team of 6 people increasing profits each year and continuously developing new categories and opportunities for the company.