Vincent Roland Simone
- Disease Advocate -
BACKGROUND
We don’t always get to choose our circumstances in life, but we do get to choose how we deal with them. If you asked me on December 18th. 2002 what I’d be doing now, the story I would have told would have been completely different. It would have been a little more simple, and it would have had less heartache. But, there would also be no triumph & no accomplishment. The hearts I’ve looked into I would have never known, and the hope that came shining back would have never cast it’s light on my path.
Adversity is the mother of all change.
When my mother was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s Disease and my Father-in-Law with Parkinson’s Disease, the world I knew, the world I wanted, and the world I hoped it would be all changed, and I changed with it.
I never expected to become an advocate. I never expected the 10 Mountains 10 Years project, the Army of Change project, the Ambassador Project, or the movie. I never expected any of this, but here I am.
Slowly over time I’ll tell you the story about how in the mists & the jungles of Wai’ale’ale these projects were born. You'll hear how at the edge of a crevasse on Mont Blanc I learned why they needed to be done, and how on the volcanoes of Ecuador I learned never to give up. You'll see how in the storms of Mount Hood I was torn apart, and in the heart of Kansas I was put back together. On the slopes of Kilimanjaro I felt the strength of my team working as one. On Mount Washington I saw that team become an army. Then on the volcano Mount Etna I saw that army transcend international and language barriers to carry a united message to the top.
In a perfect world I would have never chosen this path but the fact remains, this one is mine. I don’t always know where my next step will lead, only that I’m on my way. In the conquest of these diseases I didn’t come to take prisoners. I came to set them free.
I was born to end this.
Quote
I am not an architect, a musician, or a climber. I am an Advocate.
Advocacy Experience
A Trail Called Hope - Mt. Wai'ale'ale
- The Wettest Place on Earth -
2005
With one additional teammate Vincent Roland Simone created A Trail Called Hope project to raise awareness for Alzheimer's Disease. The goal was to encourage and inspire people to believe in the great goal of finding a cure by choosing a mountain which was considered impossible to climb on foot from base to summit and making it possible.
10 Mountains 10 Years Project
2006 - present
Upon returning from Mount Wai'ale'ale and still finding a world no closer to finding the cure for Alzheimer's Disease, Vincent pushed forward to create an even greater project including raising awareness for both Alzheimer's & Parkinson's Disease. Simone created the “10 Mountains 10 Years” project which uses each year and each mountain as a waypoint to highlight and revisit the subject of each disease. Since its inception the 10 Mountains 10 Years project has grown from 2 to 450 international teammates. and has become known as the longest, highest, and most arduous outdoor epic awareness and fund raising campaign of its kind. The project continues to evolve with the times and the needs of the people it seeks to champion.
Team Fox Commercial
2008
Vincent Roland Simone and the 10 Mountains 10 Years project along with a handful of other Team Fox Advocates were prominently featured in the first video advertisement for Michael J. Fox's Team Fox
10 Mountains 10 Years - Movie
2010
The "10 Mountains 10 Years" project became the subject of a motion picture documentary of the same name featuring Anne Hathaway (narration), Bruce Springsteen (soundtrack), and Leeza Gibbons (Introduction). The film earned 28 film awards, and continued to sell out theaters of up to 800 seats across the USA & Europe. The "10 Mountains 10 Years" movie and advocacy / awareness project have become an international symbol of hope to the Alzheimer's and Parkinson's communities worldwide.
See link:
Army of Change Project
2009 - 2010
Inspired by a 2009 meeting with Leeza Gibbon’s, Vincent Roland Simone created the “Army of Change” project in 2010. The event brought together 4 national Alzheimer’s & Parkinson’s charities and collectively over 300 advocates from across the United States to climb Mount Washington in New Hampshire. The inaugural event raised nearly $100,000 for charity and provided a model for advocates worldwide who then created similar awareness projects in their own areas.
See link:
Renee Pollack Award
2010
In 2010 he received the Renee Pollack Award for Distinguished Serviced from the Alzheimer’s Association.
Grants Army - Mt. Saint Helens Project & Short Film
2012
Upon hearing of the “Army of Change” event and seeing the “10 Mountains 10 Years” film documentary at the "Summit for Parkinson's Disease" in Missoula Montana, former NBA Rookie All-Star Brian Grant went on to create the Brian Grant Foundation’s “Grant’s Army”. Simone assisted in leading Grant's Army to the summit of Mount Saint Helen’s Volcano in 2012. Members of Grant’s Army are people that are in some way impacted by Parkinson’s. Collectively they’re taking a proactive approach to ensuring that everyone has the opportunity to lead a healthy life.
See link:
Que Tiemble el Camino Project & Movie
2014
Vincent Roland Simone was invited by the Asociación Parkinson Valencia to join them in making the "Que Tiemble el Camino" project a success. Simone's role was to help guide, and motivate a team of 20 people struggling with Parkinson's Disease on their journey across Spain on El Camino. The project was turned into a feature film documentary of the same name which was released in 2015.
See Link:
The Ambassador Project
2015
Inspired and wanting a massive project of their own, a number of Europeans asked that Simone create a large Alzheimer's and Parkinson's awareness project in Europe. To answer their call, Vincent Roland Simone co-created the “Ambassador Project” with Spanish & Italian advocates Fulvio Capitanio & Salvatore Buccoleri. The exciting and inspiring project led upwards of 100 people from the USA, Spain, Italy & Germany to their metaphorical, physical and awareness goals at the summit of Mount Etna, the highest active volcano in Europe.
See links:
Mount Etna Volcano - https://youtu.be/Ghets82yhn0
Machu Picchu - https://vimeo.com/168472402
The Cure Party - 14A
2018 -
A unique and never before attempted form of disease advocacy, which we describe as adversarial advocacy. The first purely grassroots, of the people, by the people, for the people political party designed exclusively to champion the needs of people and families who have been impacted by life threatening disease, degenerative illness and other chronic life compromising health conditions.
See link:
The Cure Party - http://thecurepartyusa.wixsite.com/thecurepartyusa
Work Experience
Architectural Designer
1992 - present
Responsible for all duties in all phases of the architectural process. Experienced in various facets of design ranging from residential, retail, corporate, commercial, and educational facilities.
U.S. Geological Survey (Syosset N.Y.)
United States Department of the Interior - Water Resources Division Hydrological Technician (GS-5)
1990 - 1991
Stream Gauging. Rain Gauging. Monitoring and Recording Sub-surface Water Level Data at hundreds of well locations across Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens. Monitoring and Recording Tidal Well Data. Creating a computerized map of Long Islands Standing and Flowing Surface Water Bodies, using G.I.S. (Geographic Information Systems - ARC/info), a process that was over a year in duration.
Municipal Experience
North Salem Housing Board
1994 - 1998
Our function on the Housing Board was to implement & oversee the Moderate Income Housing (M.I.H.) program pursuant to guidelines set fourth in the Zoning Codes of the Town of North Salem. The board was empowered to oversee M.I.H. regulations including, income eligibility, area requirements, maximum sales price of M.I.H. units, ownership of units, resale of units, maintenance of units, maximum rent levels, the establishment and ranking of eligibility lists, etc.
Mount Kisco Planning Board
1999 - 2003
The function of the Planning Board is to use all aspects of our personal and professional experience including our knowledge of local history, trends, and municipal evolution, to guide the development of the Village of Mount Kisco towards a safe, sound, healthy and economically prosperous future by virtue of good Urban Planning Practice. The board reviews applications for development to assess potentially adverse impacts. Very often the board assumes the role of Lead Agency, governing SEQR - State Environmental Quality Review process. A few of the many topics we may review over the course of action from D.E.I.S. to F.E.I.S. are Traffic, Parking, Environmental Impacts, Water Supply, Wetlands, Site Drainage, Visual Impacts, Short and Long-Range Economic Impacts, Village Utilities, the Village Master Plan, Municipal Services, Easements, Property Covenants, Deed Restrictions, and the input of agencies & boards such as A.R.B., Z.B.A., D.O.T., D.E.P., D.E.C.
Mount Kisco Community Relations Committee (Co-Chair)
2000 - 2003
Our function on the Community Relations Committee is to act as a liaison between village residents / business owners and the Mount Kisco Village Board. As an advisory committee to the Village Board we address the sometimes-intangible quality of life issues, which are key to maintaining comfort and peace in a very diverse community. Some of the issues the committee had attended to were Day Labor, General Community Safety Concerns, Illegal Narcotics in the Community, etc.
Mount Kisco Ad/HOC Zoning Committee
2002
The committee was composed of appointed town board members to revise and update Mount Kisco Zoning Rules, Regulations & Districts.
Education
New York Institute of Technology (Old Westbury) - 1992
In addition to maintaining a fulltime architectural class load, Vincent Roland Simone also served as a Resident Assistant for NYIT students on the C.W. Post Campus from 1988 to 1990.
Long Island University (C.W. Post Campus)
Enrolled as a non-matriculated student of Geology.
Fox Lane High School
Graduated 1985