Vanessa O'Neil-White, President Vanessa O'Neil-White has a B.S. and an M.S. Ed.in English Education from Buffalo State College. As an undergraduate student, she co-founded the English Education Student Association and as a graduate student, she helped found the English Education Alumni Network. Vanessa has taught both middle and high school students in multiple schools in WNY. She currently teaches 7th grade English Language Arts at Sweet Home Middle School.
Kristina Pierce, Vice PresidentKristina Pierce is an ELA teacher at Pioneer Central High School. She has her MSEd in English Education from Buffalo State College, where she also earned her 7-12 teaching certification. Kristina has presented at the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE) conference, where she will again present in November 2022. She is the recipient of a Penny Kittle Foundation "Book Love Grant.” Kristina bases her instruction in trauma-informed, inquiry-based and culturally sustaining practices.
Scott Reimann, Business ManagerScott Reimann has a B.A. in English from John Carroll University, a M.A. in English from Stony Brook University, and a certification in English Education from the University at Buffalo. Scott has taught both middle and high school at local public and charter schools. Currently, he teaches English and communications courses at Bryant and Stratton College.
James Cercone, DirectorJames Cercone is an Associate Professor of English Education at Buffalo State College. He is also a member of the Tapestry Charter School Board of Trustees, and the Western New York Teacher Center Policy Board. Prior to joining Buffalo State, James was a Clinical Professor of English Education at the University at Buffalo and a former high school English teacher.
Kristen Pastore-Capuana, Associate DirectorKristen Pastore-Capuana, assistant professor of English education, joined the SUNY Buffalo State faculty in 2017 after teaching high school English in Western New York for 14 years. Pastore-Capuana received her B.A. at Boston College, and her Ed.M and Ph.D. at the University at Buffalo. Her research interests include critical literacy pedagogy, secondary English language arts teacher development, and teacher advocacy.
Dean Bavisotto, OfficerDean Bavisotto researches, writes, and presents around queer and trans issues in the ELA classroom and is dedicated to social justice of all kinds, volunteering with the Buffalo-Niagara LGBTQ History project which works out of the Madeline Davis LGBTQ archive here at Buffalo State and is now working with a group of activists to start a community center on Buffalo's West-Side.
Deborah Bertlesman, OfficerDeborah is an ELA teacher at Olmsted High School. She has worked with Buffalo State English teacher candidates for many years, serving as a mentor teacher and opening her classroom for observations. Deb has been a guest speaker on campus and has worked as an adjunct instructor in the English education program. Deb is a lead officer for the Western New York Network of English Teachers, serving as president for several years. Deb has presented nationally at NCTE and is working on completing her doctorate in English education at the University at Buffalo. Her instruction focuses on inquiry-based, anti-racist teaching.
Colin Dabkowski, OfficerColin Dabkowski is a teacher at Alden high school, where he teaches English, journalism and media. Colin focuses on media production and critical literacy in his courses. He will complete his MSED in English Education at Buffalo State in the summer of 2022. Prior to becoming an English teacher, Colin worked as an art critic and editor for the Buffalo News.
Nick Ilardi, OfficerNick Ilardi teaches at Akron Central High School. He is a student in the English Education MSED program at Buffalo State. Nick has presented at the annual NCTE conference and has also served as EESA officer. His teaching practice focuses on moving the English classroom beyond just the novel with engaging texts of all kinds.
Sarah Krajewski, OfficerSarah Krajewski teaches 12th grade English and Journalism at Cleveland Hill High School in Cheektowaga, New York. Currently in her 20th year of teaching, Sarah is always looking for new, creative ways to help her students find joy in reading, writing, and learning. Sparks of joy have come from incorporating the workshop model, her culturally responsive curriculum, as well as her pointless approach to grading. But it is through conferring and listening to her students that Sarah has been able to create an environment conducive to all kinds of learning. Her ultimate goal? Motivate and empower each child so they can see the genius within themselves. You can follow Sarah on Twitter @shkrajewski and she writes for the Three Teachers Talk blog at https://threeteacherstalk.com/.
Anne Wechsler, Board Member At-LargeAnne Wechsler is a founder of the Elmwood Village Charter Schools and has worked at EVCS since its opening in 2006. She currently serves as the Director of Curriculum and Instruction for both EVCS campuses and is a member of EVCS’s shared leadership team. She has worked in charter school development and served as a teacher in charter schools in Brooklyn, Boston, and Buffalo. Ms. Wechsler is certified in elementary education from kindergarten through grade six. She holds a Master of Arts degree in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education and a Bachelor of Arts degree from Stanford University.
Larry Scott, Board Member At-LargeLarry serves as a Member-at-Large for the Buffalo Board of Education. He has been a parent activist in Buffalo for over 5 years and was one of the founders of a parent group called the Buffalo Parent Teacher Organization (BPTO). He is a school psychologist in the Ken-Ton School District, currently working as an Alternative to Suspension Specialist with middle and high school students. Prior to becoming a school psychologist, Larry worked for Erie County Child and Family Services at Connor’s Children’s Center, a residential home for children with severe emotional and behavioral needs.
Dr. Jevon Hunter, Board Member At-LargeJevon D. Hunter, Ph.D. is the Woods-Beals Endowed Chair for Urban Education in the School of Education and Chair of the Social and Psychological Foundations – Adult Education department at The State University New York, Buffalo State. Dr. Hunter is a literacy justice educator whose work is principally collaborative, having partnered with numerous schools, school districts, and BOCESs across the state of New York to share the benefits of asset-based pedagogies in the classroom such as Multicultural Education, Culturally Relevant Pedagogy, Culturally Sustaining Pedagogy, and Anti-Racist Education. He works alongside youth, teachers, teacher educators, administrators, and community educational advocates to transform curriculum and instruction to better meet the learning needs of our children. He regularly presents at local, state, and national/international conferences and publishes his work highlighting the accomplishments of youth and their teachers.
Dr. Hilary Lochte, Board Member At-LargeHilary Lochte is an Assistant Professor at Buffalo State College, in the English Education and Elementary Education departments. She received a Bachelor’s degree in English Literature, a Master’s in Education, and Doctorate in Sociological Foundations of Education all from the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her research, teaching, and service focus on the needs of youth in today’s urban communities as she provides support for new and practicing teachers to utilize multicultural children’s literature in service of powerful literacy. Dr. Lochte teaches courses in Children’s Literature, Young Adult Literature and Methods of Teaching Language She also supervises student teachers. She is also Director of the Buffalo Urban Teacher Gradate Residency Program at Buffalo State. This New York Stated funded diversity initiative supports Teaching Assistants and Teacher Aides from the Buffalo Public Schools as they earn MS Ed’s and teacher certification.
