Nonprofit Leader to be Honored for Creating National Museum
By Danielle Wiseman, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce
Linda Dianto, Executive Director of the National Lighthouse Museum, knows no bounds.
Originally born in Brooklyn, Dianto and her family moved to Staten Island in 1963 when she was thirteen years old. Though not a Staten Island native, Dianto’s Staten Island roots run deep. As a child, Dianto frequently visited her grandparents in South Beach, and her father and uncle worked on the construction of the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.
Upon moving to Staten Island, Dianto attended New Dorp High School and later went on to obtain her Bachelor of Arts in Education and Master of Education from the former Staten Island Community College and Richmond Colleges. These institutions later merged to form the College of Staten Island (CSI).
Dianto began her professional career teaching third and fourth grade at St. Mary’s School, where she taught for three years. During her summers, Dianto worked at the vacation day camp at P.S. 26, a program that eventually became United Activities Unlimited (UAU). Working with children on a recreational basis served as the perfect catalyst for Dianto’s next steps in her career. Dianto was then offered a position at Golden Gate Rehabilitation and Health Care Center, a 200-bed facility, as the Director of Therapeutic Recreation and Volunteers.
“In 1974, no one knew what recreation was, and no one really knew what nursing homes were either,” reminisces Dianto. “I was hired because of my experience working with kids, and I thought that skill would easily transfer to elderly people as well.”
Following many years at Golden Gate, Dianto went on to become the Director of Recreation at New York City Health + Hospitals Corp. on Roosevelt Island. Dianto began working at Coler, a 1,000-bed facility, which consisted of a wide range of individuals, including Alzheimer’s and dementia, HIV/AIDS, incarcerated, and disabled patients. Ultimately, her job was expanded to handle an additional 1,000 residents at Goldwater Hospital on the south side of Roosevelt Island. While working on Roosevelt Island, Dianto obtained certificates in Recreation Management and Administration and Philanthropy and Fundraising from New York University.
“I worked with absolutely everyone while doing therapeutic recreation,” emphasizes Dianto. “At the time, Roosevelt Island was called Welfare Island because it was an island of hospitals, an insane asylum, and at one point a prison. I’ve seen everything.”
However following the 9/11 attacks, Dianto made the decision to return to work on Staten Island, and she transitioned to St. Elizabeth Ann’s Health Care & Rehabilitation Center at St. Vincent’s Medical Center, current-day RUMC. At St. Elizabeth Ann’s, Dianto led the HIV adult day program, which served individuals with triple diagnoses: HIV infection, mental illness, and substance abuse.
Upon returning to Staten Island, Dianto also began teaching therapeutic recreation at Kingsborough Community College. Through Kingsborough, Dianto became involved with the College of Staten Island and began working in their development department, grant writing and private consulting with various organizations across the island.
“In 2010 while I was working at CSI, I saw in the Advance that the National Lighthouse Museum was ‘dead in the water,’” says Dianto. “The site that we’re currently at was selected out of sixteen other sites across the country to be the United States’ National Lighthouse Museum, and the Board of Directors had given up after ten years of trying to get it off the ground. I couldn’t let all of that work go to waste, so it instantly became a passion project for me.”
Dianto quickly picked up where the previous board left off, convincing the American Lighthouse Coordinating Committee to keep the museum on Staten Island, reviving the museum charter, and eventually reconstituting the Board of Directors. Dianto built the museum entirely from the ground up. Following years of organizing and fundraising, the National Lighthouse Museum officially opened to the public on August 7, 2014, exactly 225 years after George Washington signed the Lighthouse’s Act of 1789.
Located on the grounds of the former United States Lighthouse Service General Depot, today the National Lighthouse Museum is a haven for maritime learning. Upon entrance, visitors are greeted with the Wall of Lights, miniature lighthouse models from around the world, dating back to the world’s first lighthouse built in 280 BC in Egypt. Dianto has worked tirelessly to preserve and maintain the essence of the navigational history of lighthouses, which are now endangered across the United States.
“I’ve learned a lot throughout this process, and I never stop learning,” says Dianto. “When we first acquired the building, it was completely empty. As we fundraised, we purchased exhibit by exhibit until the museum finally came together, but even now, we’re constantly evolving.”
Since opening in 2014, the National Lighthouse Museum has served over 150,000 visitors both locally and from around the world and hosted more than 1,200 programs, boat tours, presentations, exhibits and special events. However, the museum’s facility can only support 75 visitors at a time, and the museum has outgrown its space. Dianto is currently working with the New York City Economic Development Corporation (NYCEDC), who manages the property for the city of New York, to expand into the adjacent building, which has three floors. The additional space will allow for much-needed visitor amenities, including a café, gallery, museum shop, expanded exhibits, a research library, and a classroom space.
For her accomplishments, Linda Dianto is being honored with a Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award, which she will receive in the Not-for-Profit Businessperson category. The awards, which are presented by the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the Staten Island Advance, honor the memory of Louis R. Miller, a businessman and West Brighton resident who was also a community leader.
For Dianto, receiving the Louis R. Miller Business Leadership Award is especially meaningful, as she considered Miller to be a mentor. While attending college, Dianto worked as a bank teller at Chase Manhattan Bank and the former Community National Bank. During her time at Community National Bank, she frequently interacted with Miller, who would take the time to sit down with the younger staff and guide them toward their goals.
Dianto is entirely immersed in the Staten Island community, which she has called home for the majority of her life. In addition to her work with the National Lighthouse Museum, Dianto is also a member of the Staten Island Chamber of Commerce and the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation. Dianto currently serves on the Board of Directors for Nonprofit Staten Island, as the Vice President of the Grasmere Civic Association, as Secretary of the Grasmere & Cameron Lakes Blue Belt Conservancy, and as Treasurer of the Soroptimist International of Manhattan (SIM).
Dianto led SIM and the Soroptimist International of Staten Island in developing a key domestic violence bookmark project, “Loves Me, Loves Me Not!,” which has been internationally recognized. In 2017, Dianto was a recipient of the Staten Island Advance’s Woman of Achievement Award.
Questionnaire
Current occupation and title: Executive Director of the National Lighthouse Museum.
Hometown: Grasmere.
Past occupations and titles: Third and fourth grade teacher at St. Mary’s School, Director of Therapeutic Recreation & Volunteers at Golden Gate Rehabilitation & Health Care Center, Director of Recreation at New York City Health + Hospitals on Roosevelt Island, Grant Writer, and Adjunct Professor of Recreation Management & Administration.
Community involvement: Member of the Deborah League of Staten Island, NYS Recreation & Parks Society, NYS Therapeutic Recreation Association-Advocacy, Soroptimist International Manhattan (SIM), Metropolitan NY Recreation & Parks Society, Nonprofit Staten Island, the CSI Alumni Association Board, Staten Island Chamber of Commerce, the Staten Island Economic Development Corporation, the American Alliance of Museums, the Museum Association of NY, and the Council of American Maritime Museums. I also serve as President of the NYS Chiropractic Education Foundation.
Some of my life goals include: To enjoy life to its fullest and to see the National Lighthouse Museum complete its expansion plans.
The best part of my job: Meeting the incredible people I’ve met along the way, most importantly our interesting worldwide visitors, as well as the many contacts I’ve made in the maritime world.
The most difficult part of my job: Getting people to understand my job of raising money to expand the National Lighthouse Museum is challenging, and convincing everyone we are creating a legacy for our Staten Island community as hosts to a National Museum for generations to come!
My life philosophy: All the skills you gain as you walk through the twists and turns of life’s road are transferable- use them well and cherish all the people and experiences you gain on that journey, and you will have no regrets at the end!