Dr. Costanzo’s professional journey began in a more conventional space—engineering. After college, he rose through the ranks to become Director of International Operations for a large company. But when the company went bankrupt, it opened the door to a deeper calling. He pivoted toward a new venture focused entirely on helping seniors—a passion that would grow into the nationally recognized organization known as Umbrella.

“I started by knocking on doors, speaking to large groups, just trying to make a difference,” he says. “It took off. We served people of all income levels, subsidized those with low income, and soon we were caring for over 5,000 seniors on Long Island alone.”

His innovative model garnered national and international media attention, including coverage in The New York Times, Newsday, and even a major magazine in Japan. Still, Dr. Costanzo never lost sight of the people at the heart of his mission.

He recalls one powerful example: a retired schoolteacher who was part of Umbrella’s pilot program. Her husband had been institutionalized in a nursing home for over a year. She reached out to Dr. Costanzo, asking him to help bring her husband home. He coordinated with a home healthcare agency and, combining their services with Umbrella’s 24/7 care, they created what he called “nursing homes without walls.” Within two months, her husband was back home, living out his days beside the woman he loved.

“It was an unbelievable feeling,” he says. “That’s what it’s always been about—helping people live with dignity and connection.”

Now 82, Dr. Costanzo is as driven as ever. Despite chronic back and knee pain from years of avid skiing, he remains committed to expanding access to vital services for America’s aging population. Through his leadership at UYM Charities, he’s launching a new initiative focused on alternative therapies like acupuncture—services often not covered by Medicare.

“There are nearly 60 million seniors living on low income in this country,” he explains. “Many can’t access the care they need. We’re going to change that.”

The new model is both practical and compassionate: family members can make fully tax-deductible donations to cover the cost of treatments—$25 per week, totaling $1,300 a year—for their loved ones. With UYM’s 501(c)(3) status, the services are then offered free to seniors.

“This is my last hurrah,” Dr. Costanzo says with a smile. “I want to go across the country with this. I want to leave behind something meaningful. Helping seniors—that will be my legacy.”

Though engineering became his profession, art was Dr. Costanzo’s first love. He was an art major in high school—sharing a classroom with none other than Calvin Klein—and had a deep appreciation for contour drawing. “I think that creative part of me never left. Even in engineering, I wasn’t great at formulas, but I see things in 360 degrees. I think it’s all related—how I think, how I care, how I serve.”

At the heart of Dr. Costanzo’s story is an unwavering belief in the power of human connection—through service, nature, and soul.

“Seniors especially have this beautiful way of connecting with nature, with heaven,” he says. “It’s a wonderful communication. That’s what we’re trying to protect.”

From his earliest days helping his mother to building an organization that transformed elder care and his current mission with UYM Charities, Dr. Robert Costanzo has lived a life rooted in love, purpose, and deep service. And at 82, he’s not done yet.

He is also a Unstorying™ Certified Practitioner, helping people and systems shed limiting beliefs and cultivate more liberatory, truthful ways of being. As a longtime educator, Dr. Levey currently teaches courses in grant writing, marketing, leadership, and related subjects at the University of New Hampshire’s College of Professional Studies. Whether working one-on-one or guiding organizations, he is committed to fostering clarity, compassion, and systemic renewal.

“Transformation doesn’t happen in the noise—it happens in the spaces we create to listen,” he says. “Leadership isn’t about control. It’s about creating enough space for truth to emerge…My work at UYM Charities is to hold space—for people, for purpose, for possibility.”