Michele Roque with DC seniors from Mount Vernon City School District in the Cooney College Center

By N. McKenna

March 8, 2023: Last week Destination: College Board Chair Nancy McKenna announced the unanimous selection by the Board of Directors of Michele Roque to fill the position of Executive Director, effective July 1. Ms. Roque will be following in the footsteps of Suzanne McCann, DC’s long time Executive Director who will be retiring at the end of June.

Ms. Roque comes to Destination: College (“DC”) with an abiding commitment to its mission to make college a reality for its students. Ms. Roque has a deep understanding of DC having been the Program Head for Girls Basketball for three years where she was an impactful member of the DC team.

This past year, Ms. Roque volunteered her time and talents to DC’s Cooney College Center, where she was a significant resource to Linda D'Arcy, Head of College Access and Laura Amigone, Head of College Success.

Ms. Roque is a proud graduate of Mount Vernon High School and has deep roots in that community. She has a BA from SUNY Binghamton and a Master of Arts in Literature from Mercy College, where she is currently an adjunct professor of English.

She resides in Pelham, NY where her civic involvement was extensive. She is a past president of the Pelham Education Foundation, the Pelham PTA Council, and the Pelham School Board Citizens Nominating Committee, among other activities. Ms. Roque also has considerable experience as an executive in the retail industry, working at Polo Jeans and Armani Exchange.

McKenna noted “We are thrilled to officially welcome Michele to our DC family and to start our next chapter under her capable hands. She will usher in a new chapter for our organization and our students, for whom she has already shown great affinity and commitment.” 

Although Ms. Roque will officially take her position on July 1, she will begin transiting to her role in the next few months under the auspices of Suzanne McCann, the current Executive Director, who McKenna noted “has served our organization and students with tremendous commitment and skill since 2014.”

McKenna stated that DC would be honoring Ms. McCann for her many contributions to DC at the June 14 dinner at the Bronxville Field Club. McKenna said that she hoped the community would turn out in force on June 14 “to celebrate our student athletes, to meet Michele and to toast Suzanne for all that she has accomplished!”