Pier and DiRuggiero to Speak at The Stony Brook School Graduation

Stony Brook, NY – Dr. McKenzie “Mac” Pier will speak at The Stony Brook School Commencement ceremony this Saturday, May 27. Dr. Pier is the founder and CEO of The New York Leadership Center (NYLC), an organization dedicated to creating and coordinating leadership training and service opportunities to radically impact Greater New York, both spiritually and socially.

Dr. Pier has been a resident of New York since 1984, and his longtime commitment to leadership training and development is manifest in such projects as Concerts of Prayer Greater New York, founded in 1988, and the annual Movement Day conference, established in 2010. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration from the University of South Dakota, a master’s degree in religion from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and a doctorate from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary (known today as Palmer Theological Seminary).

He has also authored and coauthored a number of books on the subjects of effective leadership and prayer and their ability to impact urban communities. Dr. Pier and his wife, Marya, have been married for over 30 years and have three adult children and two grandchildren.

The Baccalaureate sermon will be delivered by Douglas DiRuggiero on Friday, May 26. Douglas received a bachelor of science degree from The College of William and Mary. He went on to graduate with honors from Duke University, where he obtained a master’s degree in health sciences and a medical degree from Duke University’s Physician Assistant (PA) Program. After practicing internal medicine for three years, Mr. DiRuggiero specialized in dermatology, which he has practiced for the last 17 years.

Douglas has been recognized with multiple awards for his work and research, including the Clinical Preceptor of the Year by the Emory University and the Humanitarian PA of the year in the state of Georgia, to name a few. He also founded the Georgia Dermatology PA Society, which he serves as president, and co-founded a free health care clinic for the homeless which cares for over 600 patients per month.

Mr. DiRuggiero has served on various missions trips to Haiti, St. Lucia, Russia, Mexico, and Israel, and as an ordained minister, has served as a prison chaplain in Floyd County, Georgia. His wife of 22 years, Karen, serves as Math department chair and head of Alexander Dormitory at Stony Brook. The couple has three children, Ben ’17, Kate ’19, and Margaret ’20.

The Stony Brook School is an independent college preparatory school (grades 7-12) that exists to challenge young men and women to know Jesus Christ as Lord, to love others as themselves, and to grow in knowledge and skill, in order that they may serve the world through their character and leadership. For more information, please contact the Admissions Office, at 751-1800 ext 1 or visit us on the web at www.stonybrookschool.org