Patrick Rugiero was announced as Chairman of the Board of Directors at the annual Coming Together for Children event on June 23, 2021. Rugiero, Executive Director at Roman Village Restaurant Group, is the owner of Antonia’s Cucina Italiana. He has served on the Beyond Basics board since 2018. He also serves on the board of youth peer mentoring group Life Directions.

“When I initially saw the work being done at Beyond Basics, I said, ‘sign me up,’ and here we are today,” Rugiero said. “With a great staff and a great board, let’s take us to a new level.”

Interim Chairman of the Board Ethan Gross will continue to serve on the board. Two new board members, David Van Elslander, who serves on the Board of Directors for the A.A. Van Elslander Foundation, and Selam Sanders, co-founder and President of SG | Real Estate, were also announced at the event.