Foundation Leadership
Left to Right: Ali Carpenter, Dawn Schaefer, Laura Goodale, Kim DiPaola, Arianna McMorris, Alisa McMorris, John McMorris, Melissa Carpenter, Bonnie Bryant O’Connor
Alisa and John McMorris, Co-Presidents
Less than a year after their 12-year-old son, Andrew Spencer, was killed by a drunk driver while hiking with his Boy Scout Troop 161, Alisa and John wanted to put their grief into action. They made a plan to try and find a way to honor Andrew by giving back to their community along with creating a platform for meaningful change.
Shattered by the tragic loss of their son in the Fall of 2018, they found comfort and healing in learning to switch from parenting Andrew to parenting his legacy. From a simple meeting around the kitchen table with a framework of missions and logos written out on scraps of paper, the Andrew McMorris Foundation (AMF) was created. Alisa, John and Arianna began to find hope and joy again in working on the foundation.
Alisa and John believe stories like Andrew’s and so many other victims will be the precipice of change to the actions of people and legislators from around the world. They hope to prevent what happened to Andrew and his fellow scouts, by working with legislators on common sense DWI legislation and create Andrew’s Law. They will continue to walk and speak for Andrew as they believe he would want them to do. In addition to legislative changes, they want to honor Andrew’s life by creating opportunities for education and scholarships which is the cornerstone to the foundation’s mission.
Alisa and John both fell in love and graduated from Ithaca College. Alisa went on to get a degree from Touro College and works as a Physician Assistant at Northport Wellness Center. John also continued his studies by earning a Master’s Degree at Long Island University - C.W. Post and works as a School Counselor at the North Country Road Middle School in Miller Place.
Native New Yorkers, Alisa and John live in the little north shore hamlet of Shoreham-Wading River with their daughter Arianna Marie and dog Shelby.
Fly High Andrew!
Dawn Schaefer, Vice President and Co- Founder
Dawn resides in Westchester County where she is the Director of Permanency at a psychiatric facility for children. Dawn graduated from Stony Brook University with a bachelors in Social Welfare and received a Masters of Social Work from NYU.
Dawn is the beloved Aunt of Andrew. Dawn brings vision to the Board and is committed to creating a foundation with longevity and purpose. Dawn feels it is important that the foundations core values and mission embody Andrews personality. “Andrew is also a co-creator of AMF. It is through this foundation that our family has channeled our grief and come together to celebrate that beautiful child’s life.”
Melissa Carpenter, Corresponding Secretary and one of the Co-Founders
Melissa resides in East Quogue with her husband Denis, and three beautiful children, Alexandra, Lucas, and Dylan as well as their fur babies, Bella and Piper. She is the sister to Alisa and John McMorris, and Aunt to sweet Andrew and Arianna.
Melissa is the office Manger for Stonehenge Management Services which also happens to be one of AMF’s generous sponsors.
After losing Andrew to a horrific tragedy, the family came together and knew they needed to make a change in honor of Andrew, from there, The Andrew McMorris Foundation was created. Melissa has said that being part of the foundation has given her peace and meaning. This is something she will forever be grateful to belong to. “We miss Andrew everyday, knowing his legacy will carry on helps keep us going.”
Kim DiPaola, Secretary
Kim lives in Wading River with her husband, Chris, and her two children, Isabella and Christopher. Andrew was a great friend to her son, Christopher. The two met in Kindergarten and their friendship blossomed from there. The DiPaolas and the McMorris’ have become like family due to their sons’ close bond. After the tragic loss of Andrew, Kim was propelled to be part of AMF to help turn grief into action and invoke change. Kim is terrible at checking her email, but she brings a diversity of skills and experience to the team.
Laura Goodale, Treasurer
Laura is a NY Certified Public Accountant and resident of Wading River for over 15 years. She has three beautiful children, one of whom was friends with Andrew, which motivated her to be on the board of the foundation. Laura is co-owner of Riverhead Building Supply along with her family, who has been very supportive of the mission that AMF works hard to achieve.