Board Members

Andrew Gleasman | President of the Board | Director of Business Development at CETech, MHS ‘00

Andrew has a bachelor’s degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology. Has worked in the high-tech start up and manufacturing industries since 2004. He currently is Director of Business Development at CETech, an IT & Cybersecurity firm based in Rochester, NY.

He is the Steering Committee Chairman for RIT’s Center for Statesmanship, Law and Liberty and is part of Habitat for Humanity Leaders Build Committee. He is an alumnus of the Pittsford Central School District, graduating from Pittsford Mendon HS in 2000

He holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Rochester Institute of Technology.

Kim McCluski | VP of the Board | Retired PCSD BOE member, Monroe #1 BOCES Board member

Kim McCluski served on the Pittsford Central School District (PCSD) Board of Education for 24 years (1996 – 2020); serving 6 years as Board president and 9 years as Board vice-president. She also served as president of the Monroe County School Boards Association (MCSBA) and president of the PCSD Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA).

Over those years, other volunteer positions included: member of the New York State Regents Advisory Committee; NYSSBA Area 2 Ambassador; former chair of the PCSD Audit Oversight Committee; member of several PCSD Negotiating Teams, a member of the Pittsford Town/Village/School District Leadership Team & the PCSD Advocacy Steering Committee.

Currently, Kim is a member & currently serving as President of the BOCES 1 Board of Education, the MCSBA Executive Committee, Steering Committee and co-chair of the MCSBA Communications Outreach Advisory Council. She is also a leadership coaching consultant working with Superintendents & Boards of Education.

In the greater community, Kim served 15 years on the Nazareth College Board of Trustees and is currently a Trustee Emerita.

She is an 18 year member and current Chairwomen of the Golisano Children’s Hospital Board also serving on their Executive Committee.

She served as co-chair of the Golisano Children’s Hospital Gala and the Wilmot Cancer Center Ball, as well as the Daystar Derby, which raises money for medically fragile children.

Kim is involved in coordinating the annual Rainbow Classic basketball game between SHS and MHS which is played in memory of Katelyn Pasley and Ryan McCluski. The Rainbow Classic has raised over $600,000 for the Golisano Children's Hospital.

She is the recipient of the 1996 PTSA Life Membership Award, 2010 Pittsford Rotary Edward Francis Community Service Award, 2016 Monroe County Legislature Willie W. Lightfoot Youth Advocate Award and 2017 SAANYS (School Administrators Association of New York State) NYS Friends of Education Award.

She holds a B.S. in Accounting from Ithaca College; is married and has two sons who both graduated from Sutherland High School.

James A. Spitz Jr. | Board Member, PHS ‘68

Mr. James Spitz is CEO of Harris Beach and a member of the firm. He serves on the Educational Institutions Industry Team and practices in the Labor and Employment Law Practice Group.  Selected as one of the Best Lawyers in America and listed in New York Super Lawyers, he focuses his practice on all areas of employee relations, including employment discrimination, collective bargaining, arbitration, improper practice/unfair labor practice proceedings, representation matters, employee discipline/termination, wage and hour issues, compliance with federal and state labor laws and other laws affecting the employer-employee relationship, counseling on employment policies and procedures, and contract administration.

A substantial portion of his practice involves representation of school districts on the previously mentioned labor and employment issues, as well as on general education, civil service and general municipal law matters. Mr. Spitz also advises school districts on open meeting laws and freedom of information law issues. He has extensive experience representing school districts for union and employment matters and matters before the Public Employment Relations Board, Commissioner of Education and state and federal courts.

Mr. Spitz is a member of the Labor and Employment Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and a member of the New York Association of Management Advocates for School Labor Affairs. 

He earned his Bachelor's degree from Middlebury College, and his Master's in Business Administration from Syracuse University. Mr. Spitz earned his law degree at Syracuse University College of Law.

Mr. Spitz is currently President of the Pittsford Education Foundation Board of Directors and has served as a member of the board since 1992. He is a 1968 graduate of Pittsford High School.

He is a member of the board of directors for the Business Council of New York State. He served as a member of the board of directors for Monroe Golf Club from 1991 to 1997 and was president in 1996 and 1997.  Mr. Spitz also served as a member of the board of directors of the Rochester Friendly Home from 1983 to 1992.  He was a member of the Board of Directors for the Hunt Hollow Ski Club from 1988 to 1993 and president from 1990 to 1993. Mr. Spitz served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Business Council from 2008 to 2018.

Andrew Kelly | Treasurer, Audit Principal at The Bonadio Group

Andy is an audit principal on the healthcare/tax-exempt team at The Bonadio Group.  He serves a client base consisting of health and human service providers, institutions of higher education, low-income housing tax credit projects, and a variety of other non-profit organizations.

He joined Bonadio in 2013, after completing a five-year master’s degree program at Binghamton University. 

Andy is a NYS Certified Public Accountant and member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

He is an alumnus of the Pittsford Central School District, graduating from Pittsford Mendon HS in 2008.

Michael Pero | Superintendent of Schools, Pittsford Central School District

Mr. Michael Pero is the superintendent of the Pittsford Central School District. He joined the District in 1994 as a health educator at Pittsford Middle School and then became assistant principal of the school in 2002.

From 2005-2011, Mr. Pero served as principal of Barker Road Middle School. During his tenure at Barker Road Middle School, the school was recognized as a National School to Watch from 2005-2009 and as a New York State High Performing/Gap Closing School from 2005-2010. He was recognized as the Middle School Administrator of the Year by the School Administrators Association of New York State for the 2010-2011 academic year. In his final year as principal, he learned BRMS earned the status of a Blue Ribbon School.

Following his administrator position at Barker Road Middle School, Mr. Pero served as assistant superintendent for human resources. In 2013, he became superintendent of schools.

He is a June 2011 graduate of Leadership Rochester. From July 2009-June 2011, he participated in the Future Superintendents Academy, a comprehensive, rigorous and competitive program that prepares high-level administrators to become successful superintendents.

He received his Bachelor of Science Degree in Education from SUNY Cortland and his Master of Science in Business Management from Roberts Wesleyan College. Mr. Pero earned his School District Administration Certification in Educational Administration from SUNY Brockport.  

Dr. Jeff Cimmerer | CIO of Pittsford Central Schools

Dr. Jeff Cimmerer is Chief Information Officer for the Pittsford Central School District. As CIO, he is responsible for the management and analysis of data to help inform instruction, develop blended/online learning opportunities and to continue the work of dashboard reporting and student success summaries. He has also served as the director of technology for the District, overseeing all administrative and instructional technology needs.

Dr. Cimmerer received his doctorate degree from the University of Rochester Warner School of Education. Focusing on School Leadership, Dr. Cimmerer’s dissertation focused on alternative learning opportunities and identified alternative courses of action to meet the educational needs of students to prepare them for college and careers.

He earned his Bachelor's Degree in Social Studies Education from SUNY Buffalo. Dr. Cimmerer received a Master's Degree in Information Science from SUNY Buffalo and a Certificate of Advanced Study in School Administration from SUNY Brockport.

Dr. Richard Wien | Retired Research and Development Manager, Kodak

Dr. Richard Wien is a retired R&D manager who worked at Eastman Kodak for 34 years. His last position was manager of Strategic Business Development in R&D He currently serves as a mentor for student teams at the U. of Canterbury and is on the Deans Advisory Board of Purdue Honors College. He has served on Chemistry Department Advisory Committee and done design reviews in the EPICS program.  He serves on the boards of Pittsford Education Foundation, Pittsford Food Cupboard, Brighton Food Depot, and The First Baptist Church of Rochester. 

Dr. Wien who received a BS from Purdue University and a PhD from Stanford U. currently serves on the board of two medical device startup companies. He was named a Hero of Chemistry by the American Chemical Society  and has received the NASA Public Service Medal .  He was a member of Kodak teams that received an Oscar and an Emmy.

Sean M. Phelan | Business Development Manager at HUNT

Sean M. Phelan is HUNT’s Rochester-based Business Development Manager. He brings twenty five years of research, writing, and project management/advisory experience in public policy, economics, business development, and politics to the board.

Sean joined HUNT in 2012 after twelve years with the Rochester Downtown Development Corporation (RDDC) where he rose from Project Manager to Vice President in 2010.

Mr. Phelan is the Director of Communications for the American Institute of Architects Rochester Chapter, and also serves on the advisory committees of the WellVentures Retail Initiative, the GardenAerial/Greentopia Initiative, and Arts Charter School.

He holds a Master’s Degree in Public Policy and Administration from Binghamton University. He earned his Bachelor’s degree in Public Programs/Communications from Arizona State University.

Ryan Mott | UX Designer at Microsoft, MHS ‘00

Ryan Mott is a User Experience Designer for Microsoft’s Early Access Engineering team, where he designs custom apps for enterprise customers using prototype technologies. Ryan has been fortunate to produce work for companies and organizations like: Target, Intel, The NFL, NASCAR, Toyota, The NYPD, The PGA, Volkswagen, Boeing, Dupont, GE, Merck, HP, Anheuser-Busch, and more. You may have seen some of his design work in use on NFL sidelines, on those blue Surface tablets. When he's not traveling the globe designing apps and websites, he's working one of his endless side-projects, watching an 80's movie, trying to keep up with his kids, playing music, or grilling in his backyard.

A graduate of Pittsford-Mendon High in 2000, Ryan was a member of the lacrosse, football, and ski, teams.

Ryan earned his Bachelor of Fine Art from the University of Arizona, where he played lacrosse, and earned his Master of Fine Art in Computer Graphics Design from The Rochester Institute of Technology.

Barbara Shapiro | Honor an Educator coordinator

Barb Shapiro taught in the Pittsford School District for thirty-six years. During that time, she served as team leader, class advisor and Standards Leader for mathematics. She is currently retired but maintains her connection to the students of Pittsford through the Therapy Dogs International “Tales for Tails” program with her therapy dog Gilly.

Barb served as President of the Pittsford District Teachers Association (PDTA) for twenty-five years. She also served as the Treasurer of the Monroe County Federation of Teachers (MCFT) and was a member of the New York State United Teachers (NYSUT) Policy Council.

Barb was elected to the NYSUT Board of Directors and served in that capacity for twelve years.

In the greater community, Barb was a member of the Monroe County Education Coalition, United Way Education Division, and was Vice-President for Education at Temple Sinai.

Currently, Barb is Vice-President of the Pittsford District Retired Teachers Association (PDRTA).

She continues her twenty-five-year role as a volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program.

Patricia Chodak | Participation in Government/ Criminal Law/ Global II Teacher - PSHS

Working in education since 2007, Patricia Chodak, is a teacher at Pittsford Sutherland High School in the Social Studies Department. Patricia holds a BA in Education and History, a MS in Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment and CAS in Educational Administration. In addition to classroom teaching Patricia also has expertise in restorative practices, student motivation and diversity and inclusion. Patricia’s resume also includes teaching in the School of Education at Roberts Wesleyan College. In addition to education, she has served on the JCC board of Directors and Levine Center to End Hate Steering Committee.

A lifelong Rochesterian, Patricia and her family reside in Pittsford where her two young children attend Mendon Center Elementary School. Patricia is passionate about educational excellence and high academic standards.

Patricia “PK” Morley | Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker | Keller Williams GR

Patricia holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and a Master’s Degree in Inclusive Education, B-6; both from Nazareth College of Rochester.

PK taught for several years as a special education teacher for a non-for-profit agency, focusing on children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder. During her teaching career, PK advanced her knowledge base and therapy technique by becoming an Expert DIR®/Floortime Provider & ICDL Training Leader through the nationally accredited Interdisciplinary Council on Development and Learning Disorders program.

Making a career change in 2015, PK is an Associate Real Estate Broker with Keller Williams, focusing on residential real estate. She has helped over 300 families buy and sell homes in Monroe and Ontario Counties. Her success is drawn from her approach based on education and advocacy she honed as a teacher.

PK and her husband Ben reside in Pittsford and have two children in the Pittsford Central School District.

PK’s innate passion to help others and serve her community is what brought her to PEF.

A lifelong Rochesterian, Patricia and her family reside in Pittsford where her two young children attend Mendon Center Elementary School. Patricia is passionate about educational excellence and high academic standards.

Amy J. Thomas | Executive Director - Monroe County School Boards Association

Amy Thomas served on the Pittsford Central School District (PCSD) Board of Education for 9 years (2013-2022), 5 years as president and 1 year as vice-president.  Additionally, she served as president and vice president of the Monroe County School Boards Association (MCSBA) and as co-chair of the Calkins Road Middle School Parent Teacher Student Association.

While serving on the Board of Education, Amy also served as an NYSSBA Area 2 Resolutions Ambassador, a member of the PCSD Negotiating Team, a member of the Pittsford Town, Village, School District Leadership Team, a member of the PCSD Advocacy Steering Committee, and a member of the MCSBA Executive and Steering Committees.

Currently, Amy is the Executive Director of the Monroe County School Boards Association.  She works with all the public school districts of Monroe County and Holley, Kendall, and Victor Central Schools. She provides professional development programming and workshops for public school district board of education members and district leaders. In addition, she is actively involved in public education advocacy with local, state, and federal legislators. In her role as MCSBA Executive Director, Amy is affiliated with TogetherNow, Golisano Children’s Hospital, the Council of Local School Boards Associations (COLSBA), New York State School Boards Association (NYSSBA), the Monroe County School Attorneys Group, and ACT for Education.  She also provides leadership and board governance presentations at the University of Rochester.

Amy is also the recipient of the 2023 Parent Teacher Student Association Honorary Life Membership Award.

She holds a B.S. in Education from SUNY Geneseo; is married and has four children who attended Allen Creek Elementary School, Calkins Road Middle School, and Sutherland High School.

Ray Brown | Partner with Acres of Diamonds

Ray is a partner with Acres of Diamonds, a business coaching organization focused on high performance mental fitness training.

He is a lifelong Pittsford resident, graduating from Pittsford Mendon High School in 1982. Ray served for 14 years on the Pittsford Central School District Board of Education including 3 years as President and 2 years as Vice President of the Board. He is the recipient of the 2019 PTSA Life Membership Award.

Ray’s commitment to supporting his community includes past service on the Boards of CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates), Rochester Advertising Federation and Rochester City Ballet as well as serving on the Seneca Park Zoo Marketing Committee and Chair of the Zoo’s Strategic Planning Committee.

Ray holds a BS in Biology from Denison University, is married, and has 2 grown children.