MEET THE CREW
Edward Riccio
Foundation Namesake
Eddy was born and raised in New Haven, CT. He grew up in an Irish-Italian household with four brothers and one sister. After graduating from Notre Dame High School, he went off to study at St. Edwards University in Austin, TX. After graduating college he returned to Connecticut. Eddy was passionate about many things, especially music. He cofounded Sedgwick & Cedar, a clothing brand focused on paying homage to east coast hip-hop creators. In 2007 Eddy was diagnosed with stage 3 colon cancer. After a valiant fight, he lost his battle on October 18th, 2008. Eddy was loved by many for his incredible sense of humor, charismatic personality and quick wit.
Rosalie Riccio
Founder/Director
After high school, Rosie enlisted in the United States Navy as a Hospital Corpsman. She received orders to the USS O'Kane, initially out of Pear Harbor, Hawaii. After completing a 7 month deployment, she then moved with her ship to sunny San Diego, CA. After completing a four-year tour onboard the O'Kane, she took orders to Groton, CT. She is now focusing her time on nursing school and running The Edward Riccio Foundation. Rosie always felt the need to get back in the business of giving back. Now that she is back in her home state of Connecticut, she is finally fulfilling her dream of creating a foundation in her father's name. Rosie is committing herself and the foundation to create a peer counseling group for veterans/first responders, funding cancer research and domestic/sexual violence awareness.
Nikki Travaglino
Treasurer
An East Haven pom-pom girl at heart, Nikki graduated from Quinnipiac with a bachelor's in marketing and started an over 20-year career in real-estate. After Eddie's death, she brought Rosie and Dominic to The Cove Center for Grieving Children Guilford program. The Cove brought them from surviving to thriving. This also started their family's love for community service and giving back. Nikki and the kids began fundraising for The Cove and running in their 5K every year since 2009. In 2017 Nikki was awarded the Women of Excellence award from the Shoreline Chamber of Commerce for her work with The Cove and Team PFF's joint accomplishments. Besides community service, Nikki spends her free time painting, hiking, and driving her prized Camaro.
Dominic Riccio
Secretary
Dominic is Eddy's carbon copy. He shares Eddy's charisma, warm heart, and incredible humor and ever since the day Dominic was born he was Eddy's twin. Dominic has been side by side with his mother and sister the past 13 years in all their crazy fundraising goals. He is currently pursuing a degree in education and hopes to teach history. Dom is the man behind the operation and caries Eddy's memory through his every step.
Team PFF :)
Pink Friends Forever
Team pff is a group of 8 incredibly inspirational women. Comprised of two breast cancer survivors and women who have lost loved ones or have loved ones who survived breast cancer, Team pff has dedicated themselves to fundraising to cure breast cancer. Team pff doesn't just stop at kicking cancers butt. They have raised thousands of dollars for the Dan Cosgrove Animal Shelter, Connecticut Hospice, Alzheimer's research, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and countless other great causes. The Edward Riccio Foundation is excited to welcome Team pff to our organization and look forward to kicking cancers butt together!
Team pff was founded by Jackie Peters and additional members are Nicole Travaglino, Marybeth Clarke, Susan Makula, Melanie DiNicola, Lucy Weady, Jennifer Mandel, and Joanne Nault.