Lisa St. John-Meditz - President
Lisa is a certified Professional in Human Resources (PHR). She has spent the past 15 years at the YAI Network, dedicating herself professionally and personally to YAI’s philosophy of creating “hope and opportunity for people with developmental disabilities and their families”. Her career path is diverse: Residential Supervisor, creating and implementing YAI’s National Recruitment Program and now - Clinical Recruitment. Lisa is dedicated and promotes NYSCEEA’s vision, goals and mission. She was the Director of Not-For-Profit for the past 2 yrs. In 2011, she was elected Vice President/Conference Chair. She has a BA in Communication Arts from Iona College.
Kathleen O'Keefe - Vice President, 2012 Conference Chair (President Elect)
Kathleen O’Keefe has served as an internship coordinator at Mount Saint Mary College since 2005. She is directly responsible for students interning in the fields of communications, business and accounting and coordinates the annual campus employment fair along with other workshops and events sponsored by the Career Center. Kathleen earned her Bachelor of Arts in American Studies from Siena College and her Master of Arts in Counseling from Manhattan College. Kathleen has served on the NYSCEEA board since 2007.
Brandy Pascazio - Past President
Born and raised in Hawaii I moved to Boston to attend and graduate Boston University School of Management. I quickly found my passion within an HR world. Starting my career as a Technical Recruiter right out of college combined with HR Generalist and Benefits administration work for a not-For Profit laid a solid foundation for me to launch a full time career Recruiting for State Farm Insurance. As a Recruiter for State Farm I quickly became reviewed be my community as a highly accomplished and goal oriented Recruiting/Staffing professional. I also gained with my peers a proven track record of success developing and implementing best recruiting solutions. My passion is demonstrated through my strengths as a solid tactical recruiter along with proven leadership and people management experience. I possess a demonstrated ability to serve as a visionary and evangelist by bringing Recruiting at the forefront to serve as a catalyst for resolving critical business issues and by successfully partnering with internal stakeholders to ensure Recruitment strategy is in complete alignment with overall business strategy.
Karla Fennell - Treasurer
Karla has served as Associate Director for Co-ops and Internships at Clarkson University since 2006. Prior to coming to Clarkson, she worked in human resources for Kraft Foods. At Clarkson, she has added additional experiential education opportunities for students, in addition to traditional co-ops and internships, by facilitating a mentoring program hosted through LinkedIn and with the addition of a career exploration program for students to take advantage of during spring break. Karla works closely with employer development and has taken special interest in the development of regional employers to provide professional experiences for Clarkson students. She is an active member of CEIA, ASEE-CIEC, and has been a part of EACE’s professional development and mentoring committees, in addition to becoming a member of NYSCEEA in 2006.
Secretary - Debra Del Belso
Debra Del Belso has been with Siena College in Loudonville, NY for twelve years and is currently the Director of the Career Center. Debra possesses a wealth of experience from her background in the private sector (sales and marketing) and education. She currently holds the position of Secretary and has previously held positions as Past President in 2008, President in 2007, Vice President/Conference Chair in 2006, and Secretary in 2005.
Debra has achieved a BS degree in Business Administration from SUNY @ Oswego and a MS degree in Education and Counseling from the College of St. Rose. She has presented at international, national and regional conferences and belongs to several professional organizations.
Andrea DiGiorgio - Technology Director
Andrea DiGiorgio has served as the Student Employment Coordinator at the State University of New York at Geneseo since 2001. Andrea works with students seeking part-time job opportunities as well as advises students seeking internship experiences. Andrea earned a Bachelor's of Arts degree in Psychology from Niagara University, a Master's degree in Psychology from Marist College, and a Master's Degree in Higher Education Administration from the University of Rochester. Andrea served one year as four year director before shifting to the position of Technology Director in January of 2011.
Paula Borkowski - Publications Chair
Paula has been a Career Services Professional since 2005. She assisted in creating Barry University's Career Center in Miami Shores, FL and marketing the office, services and events. In addition created & distributed a monthly newsletter at Barry. In her current role at Saint Rose she facilitates the on the On-Campus Recruiting Program which includes marketing to both students and potential employers. She been a NYSCEEA member since 2007 and acknowledges the importance of cooperative & experiential education in completing college students experience.
Lisa Lopez - Director of Two Year Colleges/Membership
I have a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Bard College and a Master of Arts in Developmental Psychology from the New School of Social Research in NYC. I joined the career office at SUNY Cobleskill in 2004. I currently serve as the Assistant Director of the Student Success Center and my role is to assist students with internships and also with grad school planning.
I began attending NYSCEEA in 2005 and have found the organization to be invaluable in helping me develop, learn, and grow in my new position and establish professional contacts. I have fully participated in conferences and gave a presentation at our annual conference in 2009. I enjoy the professional contacts with colleagues throughout the year and believe my involvement with NYSCEEA has assisted me in becoming an effective internship coordinator. I joined the NYSCEEA’s board as a 2 year representative in 2008 and this year I look forward to continuing to assist with membership and hope to help our organization grow.
Tom Schin, Accustaff - Director of For-Profit Employers
Tom Schin is currently the Client Relations Executive at AccuStaff, a locally owned staffing firm based in Albany, NY. His roles include building strong client relationships with employers and business leaders throughout the Capital District region. This involves a large degree of listening to the needs of employers, and providing them with consistent solutions to those needs by pairing them with great candidates. His other marketing roles include reinforcing the organizations web and social media presence. Tom holds a BA in Anthropology, and MS in Curriculum Design from UAlbany.
Megan Ackley- 4 Year College Director
Megan Ackley served as Student Employment Coordinator at the State University of New York, College at Oneonta since 2008. In January 2012 she transitioned to the position of Internship Coordinator. Her current role supports 34 faculty internship coordinators in building relationships with local and regional organizations to help facilitate positive growth of internship opportunities. Megan earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology from St. Bonaventure University and her Master of Science degree in K-12 School Counseling from SUNY Oneonta. Currently, she is working on completing her School Counseling Certificate of Advanced Study. As a new member to NYSCEEA, Megan looks forward to taking on an active role within the organization.
Director of Non-Profit Employers - open
To nominate yourself or a colleague for this opening, please contact Lisa St. John-Meditz