Biographies of Board Members
Board Officers
Sally Dullea, Co-Chair: Over 25 years as V.P., Manager of Main Office of Citizens Savings Bank (now M&T Bank) helping people plan for retirement, and helping many local Not-for-Profits address their financial needs; also served on the Boards of Ithaca Rape Crisis, Challenge Industries; currently on the Board of Tompkins Community Action.
Jim Darnieder, Co-Chair: Served for 15 years in sales and sales management with IBM, including District Sales Manager in the Syracuse office; before his recent retirement, Jim was the owner and operator of JD’s Fish n’ Grill Restaurant in Syracuse for 23 years.
Ann Lemley, Vice-Chair: Professor Emerita, Cornell University; Past President Cornell Assoc. of Professors Emeriti; former Department Chair, College of Human Ecology, Cornell; former Division Chair, American Chemical Society; former NY State Water Quality Professor, Cornell Cooperative Extension.
Wendy Aquadro, Secretary: Formal and informal educator; retired, senior associate director of advising, Office of Undergraduate Biology, Cornell University; past program manager for parenting workshops, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Tompkins County; retired middle school life sciences teacher and substitute teacher.
Amy Iles, Treasurer: A partner of Sciarabba Walker & Co. LLP, as a CPA and partner, has also served as operations manager of a local insurance agency and as hospital administrator for a family-owned veterinary practice. Previously, she worked in the audit department at KPMG in Rochester, NY; has served on the Ithaca Babe Ruth League, board of directors and treasurer, SPCA of Tompkins County, board of directors, and treasure of Beechtree Care Center
Board Members
Robin Dubovi,: Licensed clinical social worker; has worked at The Racker Centers, Catholic Charities and Ithaca College; served on the boards of the Center for Transformative Action and The Vitamin L Project.
Kathleen M. Garner, Co-Founder : Retired from a career in Human Services and as an ordained Presbyterian minister; former Director Jansen Memorial Hospice and ED Suicide Prevention and Crisis Services; Founder Bereavement Center of Westchester; Co-chaired the Tompkins County United Way Campaign in 2013-14.
Donna George: Clinical social worker, former Manager of Bereavement Services at HPCS (Hospicare & Palliative Care Services) providing over 20 years of grief counseling and support; Fellow in Thanatology through ADEC (Assoc. of Death, Education and Counseling); past secretary of Beechtree Board.
Marcia Kepecs: Educator and CEO of a NYC agency that provides special education services to preschoolers; formerly Executive Director of a NYC nonprofit for 2 years; consultant to nonprofits and public agencies for 10 years.
Rob Hillman: Edwin H. Woodruff Professor of Law, Cornell Law School; former associate dean for academic affairs at the law school; former mentor in Ithaca Youth Bureau’s Big Brother program; board member Eastlake Homeowner’s Association.
Jean McPheeters: Founded Jean McPheeters Consulting LLC in 2014; teaching Nonprofit Management and Leadership at the Brooks School for Public Policy at Cornell University in spring 2023; served as the president of the Tompkins County Chamber of Commerce in Ithaca, New York for 14 years where managed a staff of seventeen people, a budget approaching $2 million, and a myriad of programs for a membership of more than 650; worked as a congressional aide and district administrator for two members of Congress: Matthew F. McHugh and Maurice Hinchey; worked as a labor organizer, a campaign manager, a postal carrier, a community education coordinator, and a library clerk; serves as a board member for Cayuga Health Partners, Inc. and Love Living at Home, and is the Chair of the Zoning Commission for the Town of Caroline; trustee emerita of Tompkins Cortland Community College; served as a director of the Tompkins Community College Foundation, the Paleontological Research Institution, the Community School of Music and Arts, Cayuga Medical Center, the Tompkins County Workforce Investment Board, the Industrial Development Agency of Tompkins County, and Tompkins County Area Development as well as the Association of Community College Trustees (ACCT) and the New York Community College Trustees (NYCCT); Jean and her husband, Daniel live in the Brooktondale area in a log home they built; Jean is an avid bird watcher, an amazingly slow knitter, and a not very good ukulele player.
Michelle Ochs: Trust Officer at Tompkins Financial Advisors; new resident of Ithaca; University of Pittsburgh School of Law graduate; extensive volunteer work with non-profits for both older adults and animals.
Carol Scheele: Former lecturer at Cornell University and Ithaca College; admissions and advising staff in Cornell’s College of Engineering; writing, editing and development responsibilities in the School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering at Cornell; former volunteer, auxiliary president, board member, teen volunteer program director, and fund raiser at Cayuga Medical Center.
***