Meet the ICI

Executive Director

Joseph E. Fritz
Since joining the Investment Casting Institute in 2013, Joseph Fritz has placed a strong focus on Enhancing Member services, promoting the growth of the industry and developing its human resource pool.  He is a proven motivator who continually strives to better the organization. As the Institute's chief executive, he has leadership authority over the Investment Casting Institute and its subsidiary INCAST Magazine.
With over 30 years’ experience in the Aerospace and Power Generation industries, Mr. Fritz has worked in a variety of capacities with a number of Fortune 100 companies as well as with privately held companies. Over his career, he has contributed to a number of programs, including the Trident II Fire Control System, the Joint Strike Fighter and the Boeing 787.
Mr. Fritz is an advocate of inter-association cooperation, collaborating on projects and ideas with the American Foundry Society, European Investment Casters Federation, the Japanese Foundry Society and the Foundry Educational Foundation.
Mr. Fritz holds degrees in Engineering and Computer Science from the University of Connecticut and an MBA from Union College.
jfritz@investmentcasting.org

Investment Casting Institute Staff

Grayce Albanese
Business Administrator
Ms. Albanese is the longest standing employee of the Investment Casting Institute, having joined the association in 2007 as a staff associate. She brought with her 10 years of investment casting industry experience from her prior roles at Jetshapes, Inc. and Arwood Corporation, where she was mentored by some of the original pioneers in the industry. Applying the knowledge she has gained in these positions, her main focus is to always improve Member relationships and the value that their membership brings to them. 
In her current role as Business Administrator for the ICI, she is responsible for the general business administration for the Institute. With a strong focus on staff benefits, training and company policy, she works closely with the Executive Director in defining tasks and initiatives to be undertaken by the team.  Ms. Albanese has been instrumental in supporting the Institute’s cost reduction activities, performing cost analysis and bench marking studies to support the management decision process.
In addition to her involvement with the industry, Ms. Albanese has 20 years’ prior experience in the nutrition and electronics industries, where she held such positions as office and marketing management positions. These roles, combined with her studies at Fairleigh Dickinson University in Accountancy, have contributed to her strength in finance, office management, event planning and tradeshows.
galbanese@investmentcasting.org

Nora D'Ambra
Marketing & Member Services Coordinator
In her role as Marketing & Member Services Coordinator for the Investment Casting Institute, Nora D’Ambra is responsible for coordination and support of Member activities and communications.  She plays a critical role at the Spring Management Meeting and Technical Conferences, where she oversees speaker logistics, presentations, and consolidation and distribution of event proceedings.  At these events, she also serves as on-site liaison between speakers and the audio visual technicians.
 In between events, Ms. D’Ambra maintains the Institute’s social media, database and website.  She also provides marketing and advertising support to the editor of the company magazine, including content development, ad sales and creation and distribution of the monthly newsletter.  Her latest initiative addresses the implementation of and transition to the Institute’s new Association Management System. 
 Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. D’Ambra worked as an Administrative Assistant to the VP of Operations at Bryant Staffing, which involved applicant screening, development and maintenance of recruiting and client reports, client pre-employment screening procedures and payroll related activities. She also worked as the Executive Administrative Assistant to the Sr. VP of Operations at Bankers Trust, where she routinely handled confidential information, scheduled staff meetings, coordinated company motivational activities and coordinated domestic and international travel arrangements.
ndambra@investmentcasting.org

Barbara Tiseo
Meeting and Event Planner
Ms. Tiseo joined the Investment Casting Institute in 2015. Having strong interpersonal skills, she was a natural fit to support the Institute’s industry promotion efforts and has since taken on the lead role in planning trade shows, job fairs and Member meetings. Ms. Tiseo is also responsible for the Institute’s benchmarking surveys and statistical reports, working with the Executive Director to ensure data accuracy and participant anonymity.   
Ms. Tiseo’s breadth of professional experiences combined with her helpful and supportive nature, makes her a strong team player. Prior to joining the Institute, Ms. Tiseo was a Senior Payroll Specialist at Paychex, providing oversight for over 300 clients.  She had administrative responsibility for Gienozzo’s Deli/Catering, a family owned business, where she not only handled purchasing, accounts payable and receivable functions, but also made a point of knowing and personally greeting the businesses clientele. Ms. Tiseo has also worked for Prudential, where she supported the rollout of a new database system to the company’s nationwide locations, running seminars in system diagnostics and problem resolution.
btiseo@investmentcasting.org

Margureta Watson
Bookkeeper
Margureta Watson joined the Investment Casting Institute in 2015 in the role of Bookkeeper and is the newest member of the team.  She is a detail oriented individual and thorough in fulfilling her responsibilities.  With nearly 20 years’ experience in office administration and accounting, Ms. Watson is the ideal complement to the ICI staff.
Prior to joining the Institute, she worked in accounting and office administration, for a combined period of 12 years, with WinSystems of America and Nissei Electric USA in the electronics industry.  Ms. Watson’s experiences also include directing the startup of an entrepreneurial venture.  She has successfully setup an accountancy system for business operations, performed software installations, and supervised accounting functions in accounts payable, accounts receivable and invoicing.   
Ms. Watson completed her studies at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Accounting, Masters of Public Administration and Masters of Accountancy.  
mwatson@investmentcasting.org

INCAST Magazine

Erin Almaleh
Editor
Having more than 18 years of experience in graphic design, layout print production and trade magazine publishing, Erin Almaleh began her career in advertising with a strong focus on the healthcare and microwave electronic industries. 
For the last 13 years prior to joining the ICI, she was employed at Octagon Communications in Englewood Cliffs, NJ, where she was responsible for the monthly production of two Radio Frequency and Microwave trade magazines and various marketing collateral material.  Her work experience also includes several social media platforms.
She graduated with a B.A. in English and a minor in journalism from Montclair State University in Montclair, NJ.  Almaleh was on the editorial staff of the university newspaper. She also studied in the graphic design programs at Bloomfield College in Bloomfield, NJ, and Noble Desktop, an Adobe® authorized training center in New York, NY.
ealmaleh@investmentcasting.org