Sammy Cortese

Sammy has been in education for the last decade, her passion for business has remained a top priority. She graduated from The College of Staten Island, where she earned a bachelor's in business administration and management in 2013, and proceeded to earn 2 master's degrees, on in in education from The College of Staten Island and the other in leadership from Touro University.  Sammy was seeking more time flexibility and the ability to build a business using her education background. She is eager to use her skills to help NFN continue to grow and expand their footprint in her new role as an Executive Assistant to Sr. Partner, Michael Maresca, and Director of Operations for the firm. 

Sammy began her career as a teacher and has been in education for the past 10 years.  She has taught middle school children in a wide variety of subjects, ranging from information technology, to science, to ELA, to special education.  As her career progressed, she became an Assistant Principal, where she was responsible for relationship management, promoting equity and inclusivity of all cultures, plan for change, communication, management, measurement milestones, and process improvement opportunities of day-to-day operations. Sammy was also tasked with the responsibility to monitor performance metrics, analyze and utilize achievement data and evaluate performance to create new short-term and long-term strategies, strategic planning for all community members, manage operations with quick and savvy decision making, and prepare school wide events for students and the community. 

As an educator and assistant principal, she had to connect not just to the students, but to the parents as well. Earning their trust with their children enabled her to connect and create the best environment for learning.  While leading, she realized helping others, children and their families, and making them happy was something that truly filled her heart. Her mission is to continue to help those in her community. 

Sammy and her husband reside in New Jersey, and in her spare time she enjoys traveling to Disney and exploring new destinations and relaxing in Ortley Beach.