By Ivan Pereira
Mary Ann Mattone of Douglaston was elected last week to the 19-member board of the largest library system in the U.S. Queens Borough Public Library Director Thomas Galante said Mattone's eclectic experience as a philanthropic leader for several city agencies and organizations, including the library, would help serve borough residents.”She has constantly given her time and talents to enhance our ability to provide first-rate library service to the people of Queens. I know that she will continue to demonstrate leadership and a passion for the people of Queens in her new role as president,” he said in a statement.Mattone, a registered nurse with a master's degree in public health, was the former acting director of nursing and co-director of the Child Depression Clinic of Columbia University at New York State Psychiatric Institute, where she co-authored 26 scientific studies. She later left to work as a broker on Wall Street before entering the real estate business.Despite the busy work schedule, Mattone, a mother of eight and grandmother of 27, volunteered with several organizations around the city and borough. She served as vice president, treasurer and president of the Ladies' Auxiliary of the Columbus Citizens Foundation, an Italian-American heritage organization, and was former Mayor Rudolph Giuliani's representative at the Queens Botanical Garden.Guiliani also appointed her to the Cultural Advisory Board, where she served until 2002. In addition to being an active member of the Foundation of York College and the Italian Cultural Center of St. John's University, Mattone volunteers and raises money for dozens of area organizations and causes, including the city Parks Department, Ozanam Hall Nursing Home for abused elderly in Bayside and the Don Monti Research Foundation at North Shore University Hospital, which provides treatment for children and adult cancer patients.Mattone was appointed to the Queens Borough Public Library's Board of Trustees in 1999, according to Galante.Reach reporter Ivan Pereira by e-mail at ipereira@timesledger.com or by phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 146.
