Board Advisor

Carol “The Blaze” Blazejowski is best known as a trailblazing women’s basketball player who was a three-time All-American (1976, 1977 and 1978) during her time at Montclair State University.

Following her record-setting tenure in college, Blazejowski became the leading scorer on the 1979 U.S. Women’s National Team that won the world championship. A year later, she was chosen for the U.S. Olympic Team as a captain (Blazejowski was an alternate on the 1976 Olympic Team), but due to the U.S. boycott of the 1980 Summer Olympics, “The Blaze” was unable to take the court.

Following her playing career, Blazejowski served as NBA director of women’s basketball programs and director of licensing for NBA Properties, Inc. She then spent 14 years as president and general manager of the Women’s National Basketball Association’s New York Liberty. In this capacity, she built one of the league’s most successful franchises, with 10 playoff appearances, three Eastern Conference Championships, and four appearances in the WNBA Finals.

In 1994, “The Blaze” was inducted into the National Basketball Hall of Fame, she is also a member of Montclair State University’s Hall of Fame.

Blazejowki is now the Associate Vice President for External Relations and University Advancement at Montclair State University. She oversees the university’s efforts in the areas of communications, marketing, community relations and events.

Board Advisor

John Gallucci, Jr. The dynamic President and CEO of JAG Physical Therapy, John Gallucci, Jr., MS, ATC, PT, DPT, is in demand for his expertise in injury prevention, rehabilitation, sports medicine and athletic conditioning. He has appeared often on radio and television, including ESPN’s award-winning “Outside the Lines”, MSG Varsity, NJ News 12, WFAN and is a popular public speaker.

Gallucci has made a major impact in his fields throughout the New York/New Jersey area, and holds a national presence in the sports medicine community. JAG Physical Therapy now offers comprehensive orthopedic outpatient centers in West Orange, Warren, Cedar Knolls, Union, Hackensack, Woodbridge, Fairfield, Old Bridge, Holmdel and Princeton, New Jersey, as well as Sleepy Hollow, Yonkers, Hawthorne, and New York, NY.

Gallucci is the former Head Trainer of the New York Red Bulls MLS team and is a Sports Medicine consultant for professional athletes in the NHL, NFL, NBA, MLB, and USA Wrestling. John has also worked in the Athletic Departments of Columbia University, New York University and Long Island University, and has been a Clinical Instructor at Columbia University, Seton Hall University, Rutgers University, and Dominican College. John is the former Program Director of Barnabas Health’s Sport Medicine Institute and also serves as an appointed member of New Jersey Governor Christie’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sport.

Professional athletes around the world, members of the Forbes Billionaires List, America’s Civil Servants, and the everyday person have all sought the knowledge and expertise of John Gallucci, Jr. In the local community, John’s charitable efforts have included a leading role in the fundraisers for Barnabas Health, The Valerie Fund, The LaConti Child Life Fund, The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, The Arthritis Foundation, and The American Cancer Society. He supports more than 60 high schools, college programs and athletic clubs throughout the Tri-State Area.

Board Advisor

Dick Grasso, the founder of Gladiator Holdings, is the former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Stock Exchange (1995-2002), guiding the Exchange to the most successful years in its 223-year history. During his tenure, the NYSE became the world’s most respected equities market, boosting its market share to 84% and setting annual records for new listings, IPOs and transfers. A champion of the small investor, Grasso brought unparalleled transparency to the marketplace. After the attacks of September 11, 2001, Grasso’s leadership was instrumental in the successful reopening of the U.S. equities markets.

Grasso currently serves on the Advisory board of root9B, a dynamic provider of cyber security, and previously served as a Director of publicly-traded Computer Associates, and Home Depot.

Grasso also currently serves as Vice-Chairman of The Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, the Nassau County Police Crimestoppers, and serves on the Board of Wagner College. He also served as chairman of the Economic Club of New York, the YMCA of Greater New York, and Junior Achievement of New York, and vice chairman of the National Italian American Foundation. Among other philanthropic activities, Mr. Grasso has founded the American Dream Foundation, and has served on the boards of the New York City Police Foundation, New York State Troopers Foundation and the New York City Public Private Initiatives, among other organizations.

Board Advisor

Bob Hurley Sr., President of St. Anthony High School, has guided, mentored, and coached students, student athletes, faculty members, staff, parents, and stakeholders at the school for over 40 years.

A Jersey City native, Hurley played high school basketball at St. Peter’s Prep and college basketball at St. Peter’s College, both in Jersey City. Hurley and his wife Chris have three children: Bobby Jr., former Duke University and NBA star, current Head Basketball Coach at Arizona State University, Dan, former Seton Hall star, current Head Basketball Coach at University of Connecticut who he’s won two NCAA National Championships with, and Melissa, who is an Elementary School Teacher in the Jersey City Public School System. Hurley is a highly motivated and involved, community-oriented leader. He worked as a Hudson County Probation Officer for 28 years receiving numerous awards and retired from Probation in 2001. He then moved to the position of Director of Recreational Services for Jersey City and retired in 2008.

In August 2010, Coach Bob Hurley, Sr. was the 2nd High School Coach in history to be inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame.

He’s been the Head Coach for St. Anthony High School in Jersey City for 44 years. His career record stands at 1162-119. He’s captured 28 State Parochial titles, four National titles (1989, 1996, 2008, 2011) and eight undefeated seasons (1974, 1989, 1996, 2004, 2008, 2011, 2012, 2016). Hurley achieved his 1000th win on February 2, 2011.

Hurley is #3 on the NFHS (National Federation of State High School Association) list of coaches with the most wins in boys’ basketball history (behind #2 Morgan Wootten, and #1Robert Hughes).

Seven of Hurley’s players have gone to the NBA: David Rivers (LA Lakers, 1988), Bobby Hurley (LA Kings, 1993), Terry Dehere (LA Clippers, 1993), Roderick Rhodes, (Houston Rockets, 1997), Roshawn McLeod (Atlanta Hawks, 1998), Tyshawn Taylor (Brooklyn Nets, 2012), Kyle Anderson (San Antonio Spurs, 2014). Two former players have made it to the Major Leagues in Baseball: Willie Banks (Minnesota Twins, 1987) and John Valentin (Boston Red Sox, 1989).

Hurley is about helping kids. Mentoring, teaching, guiding, caring, serving, Coach Hurley is a blessing for St. Anthony High School and has been for nearly half a century.

Board Advisor

Col. Jacobs served multiple tours of duty in Vietnam and is one of the most highly decorated soldiers from that era. He was awarded three Bronze Stars, two Silver Stars, two Purple Hearts, and the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation’s highest military decoration.

His Colby Award-winning memoir, “If Not Now, When,” was published by Penguin in 2008. He currently holds the McDermott Chair of Humanities and Public Affairs at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Col. Jacobs was an on-air analyst for NBC News, where he was an Emmy nominee in 2010 and 2011 and a recipient of the 2011 Murrow Award for his work on the Nightly News segment “Iraq: The Long Way Out.” and continues to serve as a military analyst for NBC/MSNBC.

Col. Jacobs was a founder and Chief Operating Officer of AutoFinance Group, and is currently a principal in the Fitzroy Group of London. He is Vice-Chairman of the Congressional Medal of Honor Foundation, and serves on the Board of the National World War II Museum. Col. Jacobs also serves on the Board of the Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, which aids the families of troops and law enforcement officers killed in action.

He received both his B.A. and M.A. from Rutgers University where he studied international relations.

Board Advisor

Tracy Murdoch O’Such is the Managing Partner in the New York office of Diversified Search. Her responsibilities include the management of the firm’s New York office and its global Media, Entertainment & Sports Practice. She has extensive experience in executive search as well as direct industry experience in large mediaconglomerates.

Before joining Diversified, O’Such founded and was President of LexMedia Solutions, a retained executive recruitment firm specializing in the media industries. Previously, she was with Cablevision Systems Corporation where she built the first in-house executive recruitment department. In 1997, O’Such established the global Entertainment, New Media & Sports practice for Norman Broadbent International, a London based search firm. She began her career in search with Bishop Partners, a New York based media search firm. Earlier, she worked in sales and marketing for the entertainment, cable, communications, and publishing industries.

The convergence of media and technology industries has broadened her client base to include: Comcast, ESPN, WWE, Charter Communications and Geeknet, just to name a few.

O’Such received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of New Hampshire.