Board Chair
Trevor Torcello (LB '18)
Gross Shuman P.C.

Trevor Torcello is a partner in the law firm of Gross Shuman, P.C. and is a member of the firm's management committee. Trevor's practice is focused in the areas of corporate law and commercial real estate. Trevor is a graduate of the Leadership Buffalo class of 2018, and serves on several boards throughout the community.

 

Immediate Past Chair
Rema Hanash (LB '05)
United Way of Buffalo & Erie County

Rema Hanash is Director of Resource Development at the United Way of Buffalo & Erie County and responsible for overseeing and executing organizational strategies for the United Way Annual Campaign. Rema is a graduate of Leadership Buffalo Class of 2005, and a Business First 40 under 40 honoree. Rema has volunteered and served on numerous boards and received a number of awards throughout the community

Treasurer
Justin Reid (LB '12)
The Bonadio Group

Justin is a Partner with Bonadio's Healthcare/Tax-Exempt Team. He has serviced the tax-exempt industry for more than 20 years. He is primarily responsible for the planning and completion of audit engagements for tax-exempt clients. He is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University, a member of the NYSSCPA's Healthcare Committee and the Healthcare Financial Management Association. Justin is the current treasurer of Susan G. Komen of Upstate New York and the World Weather Center.

Secretary                                            Ashley Meganck (RL '14)
Pegula Sports and Entertainment

Ashley Meganck is a Director of Corporate Sales at Pegula Sports and Entertainment. Ashley develops new corporate partnerships and ideas to grow the current client base for the Buffalo Bills, Buffalo Sabres, Buffalo Bandits, Rochester Americans, HARBORCENTER, Black River Entertainment, PicSix and additional properties and venues in the growing PSE portfolio. Ashley is a proud Leadership Buffalo graduate (RL '14) and appreciates Buffalo now more than ever

 

Alexis Agnello (LB '19)
M&T Bank

Alexis is a Group Manager in M&T Bank’s Commercial Banking Division. In her current role, she manages a team of Relationship Managers servicing WNY Not-for-Profit and Middle Market clients. Alexis is the recipient of the 40 Under 40 Award and President’s Council Award from Greater Buffalo Savings Bank. Currently, she serves on the boards of Catholic Charities of Western New York and Catholic Health System Ministry Services Board.

 

Kelley Attig (LB '16)
M&T Bank

Kelley is a Director of Retail Performance, Senior Vice President.  She has end-to-end responsibilities for business operations, aligning our front-line and home office operation teams with second level support. In her 30 years at the Bank, Kelley has held various positions within Mortgage, Operations, Marketing and the Retail Bank giving her an expanded view of the financial industry. Her daughter Grace is a Youth Leadership Buffalo 2017 graduate.

Lavar Brown (LB '23)
Wegmans

Lavar currently holds the position of Assistant Store Manager at the Amherst Street location of Wegmans. With a dedicated tenure of 21 years at Wegmans, he plays a pivotal role as the Diversity and Inclusion Coordinator for Wegmans Buffalo Division, serving as a Summer Management Intern Coach, and acting as a mentor for Say Yes-Wegmans Interns. Lavar is a distinguished recipient of the Black Achiever Award in 2018 and the Community Partnership Award from Buffalo Public Schools in 2023.

Emily Ciraolo (RL '15)
Cisco

Emily is the CX communications manager at Cisco where she supports change and program management initiatives for their customer experience organization. Emily serves on numerous boards and committees but, above all, she loves volunteering with her dog Carlo who is a certified therapy dog. She is a proud graduate of St. Bonaventure University.

 

 

Darcy Connors (RL '19)
Rich Products

Darcy Connors is a Logistics Manager at Rich Product's were he has worked for just under 10 years. In his role he manages the distribution centers across the United States supporting our frozen food networks supply chain. He recently chaired Rich's young professional group, StayRich, which worked on Community Service, Associate and Organizational Development, and Networking.

Joseph Distasio (LB '21)                    BestSelf Behavioral Health, Inc

Joseph DiStasio, the Chief Financial Officer for BestSelf Behavioral Health, brings over 31 years of leadership experience in multiple and diverse healthcare settings. As an LB Board member, he plans to "Stay Positive, Work hard, and Make it Happen

 

Cynthia Eberl (LB '17)              Independent Health

Cynthia is Director Account Management at Independent Health. She provides strategic direction to self-funded clients of all sizes and leads the work of the account management team. With more than 30 years in the health care industry, Cindy’s experience in the delivery of health care from providers and payors gives her a unique perspective on the challenges that employers face. Prior to joining Independent Health, she held leadership roles at several health care organizations in Upstate New York, including Univera Healthcare, Excellus BlueCross BlueShield, Lifetime Health Medical Group and HealthNow NY. 

Heidi McCready (LB '11)
Moog Inc.

Heidi McCready is a Business Systems Architect at Moog, Inc. She is responsible for developing and streamlining business processes across Moog worldwide. Heidi has worked at Moog for 23 years and served as Contracts Manager and Materials Manager in the Space and Defense Group prior to her current role. Heidi holds an advance degree from the University of Southern California and a bachelors from William Smith College. Heidi serves as her LB class chair.

Kelly Reitnour (RL '15)
KeyBank

Kelly Reitnour is a Senior Vice President, Brand and Sponsorship Marketing at KeyBank, with management and oversight of the bank's sponsorship and field marketing strategies. She has been recognized by KeyBank as a 2017 Key Values award recipient, a member of the 2018 KeyBank Masterminds Class and was most recently awarded KeyBank's 2020 Chairman's of Excellence Award

Catherine Roberts (LB '17)
Community Action Organization

Catherine Roberts is the SVP, Program Administration for the Community Action Organization of WNY. Catherine holds an MBA from St. Bonaventure University, a Bachelor's from SUNY Empire State College and a Certificate in Performance Measurement from Harvard Kennedy School. She serves on several boards and has received numerous awards. Catherine was also recognized as a 2014 Business First Women of Influence.

 

 

 

Daphne Ross (RL '15)                        Say Yes

Daphne holds the position of Chief Impact Officer at Say Yes Buffalo, where her responsibilities span fundraising and development, marketing communications, and the oversight of external partnerships. With a decade of dedicated service on the Say Yes Buffalo team, Daphne has played various roles, including spearheading the rollout of the Buffalo College Success Network. Beyond her work at Say Yes Buffalo, Daphne serves as a Board Trustee at Villa Maria College. She has also contributed her expertise to initiatives such as the 5/14/22 Survivors Fund led by Tops Markets and the National Compassion Fund.

Diana Sedita (LB '21)  
Catholic Health

Diana Sedita is Director of Marketing & Communications at Catholic Health, where she provides leadership and direction for marketing strategies designed to grow market share and drive volume in support of physicians, service lines, and business units. Prior to joining Catholic Health and moving to Buffalo in 2019, Diana spent 20 years building her expertise in NYC at organizations such as E*TRADE, Geometry Global (a WPP Company) and Conde Nast. Diana is a Union College graduate who earned her MBA from Hofstra University. 

Fran Slavin (LB '16)
Turner Construction

Fran is currently the Manager of the Special Projects Division for Turner Construction. Prior to that, Fran has had a leadership role in multiple notable projects in Western New York including the Oishei Children's Hospital and Gates Vascular Institute. Fran has been with Turner since 1998, starting his career in Philadelphia and transferring to Buffalo in 2010.

 

Christine Stolzenburg (RL '17)
Freed Maxick

Christine Stolzenburg, CPA, is a Senior Manager in Freed Maxick CPA’s Audit practice. Christine joined the firm starting with an internship in 2007 and is now responsible for the completion of audits and other assurance engagements in the general service, membership organization, not-for-profit, and manufacturing and distribution industries. Christine also specializes in audits of employee benefit plans. Christine enjoys volunteering and has been involved with the Kidney Foundation of Western New York and Connect Life over the past ten years.

 

Josh Stolzenburg (RL '17)
Freed Maxick

Josh currently serves as the Director of Corporate Responsibility at National Fuel Gas, overseeing Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) initiatives and reporting across the corporation. With a dedicated 16-year tenure at National Fuel, Josh previously held the role of District Manager of Operations for the Buffalo and Southern Tier districts, showcasing his extensive operational experience. Josh holds an MBA from Canisius College, complementing his Bachelor's degree from Alfred State.