(716) 648-5835
Corresponding Secretary
Term Expires: May 2012

Susan has been a member of the Board of Directors of the Character Council of Western New York (CCWNY) previously known as the Character Council of Hamburg, Inc. since September 2007. She serves as the Vice President and Corresponding Secretary and is a member of the Finance Committee. Susan has served as support to the Bicycle Parade, Character Carnival, Character Chase 5K and the October 2011 Signature Event “Dignity for All” Conference. A stakeholder in education, Susan believes strength in character brings success to an individual, family, education, community, and workplace; thus furthering positive change in the world.
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(716) 649-8940
Champions for Character Liaison
Education Committee Liaison
Finance Committee Chairperson
Term Expires: May 2012

Peter Simon serves as the Character Council’s Treasurer, Finance Committee Chairperson, Champions for Character Liaison and is also a member of the Education Committee of the Council. Peter is a retired teacher from the Lake Shore Central School District, where he taught for 33 years. During his time at Lake Shore, Peter coached JV baseball, served as a member of the Teacher’s Union negotiations team as well as on a variety of committees. Peter is a graduate of Buffalo State College, where he earned a BS and Masters of Education degrees. Peter was born in Minnesota and later moved to Buffalo, and currently resides in Hamburg with Paula, his wife of 28 years and they have three sons, Matthew, 24, Joseph, 22, and John, 19. Read More

(716) 649-8081
Media Committee Liaison
Term Expires: May 2014

Ann Heraty, a member of the Board of Directors since 2008, is a reading/writing specialist, retired from the Lake Shore Central Schools. During the course of her career, Ann has held several leadership/facilitator positions in the schools and in the community. She serves as liaison to the Media Committee and does much writing and editing for the Character Council.

In addition, Ann devotes much of her energy to Saint Bernadette Church. She completed two terms as Parish Council President and currently serves as co-chair of both the Stewardship and Social Committees. She is also a member of the School Advisory Board.

Ann resides in the Village of Hamburg with her husband, Patrick, a professor at Hilbert College. They raised their two sons in this community and are deeply committed to the welfare of the area. They believe that communities built solidly on character will thrive under any conditions.

In her own words, Ann was first drawn to the Character Council when she saw an opportunity to promote character in tangible ways. Being an active presence at community events serves as a reminder of the Council and its commitment to being an advocate for recognizing and building character in our community and our greater society.

(716) 648-6609
Champions for CHANGE Chairman/Liaison
Term Expires: May 2012

Jonathan has served on the Council’s Board of Directors since 2009. On the Council, Jon has been active in the creation of the Champions for CHANGE program as well as the new Member School program. He also serves as one of the Council’s Directors for the Character Chase 5K run.

Jon is an educator, serving currently as the Principal at West Seneca East High School. Jon started his career at Frontier High School, where he taught Advanced Placement Physics and later served as the Director of the Community Education Program. With a passion for traveling, Jon was fortunate to tour extensively throughout Western Europe. Jon feels that having taught in Ustka and Goldap, Poland, and in New Castle, England has strengthened his teaching and administrative experiences within the United States. . Read More

(716) 683-9393
Term Expires: May 2014

Nancy Hajduk serves as a member of the Council’s Board of Directors. Nancy brings to the Council’s Board of Directors several years of professional and personal experience as a teacher in the Buffalo Diocese and Public education. Nancy is currently employed as a Kindergarten Teacher at Global Concepts Charter School. Nancy has earned her Permanent N.Y.S. Certification in Elementary Education. Nancy received her B.S. in Early Childhood/Elementary Education from Buffalo State College and her M.S. in Education from Canisius College. Nancy is an involved volunteer serving many school, community and military committees. Nancy resides in Hamburg with her husband and daughter

(716) 646-2334
Term Expires: May 2013

Michael Linn is entering his second year as a Board Member of the Character Council. Michael brings to the table his experiences in the U.S. Army, private industry, and for the last 16 years a public education high school teacher. Michael participated in the planning and execution of the first annual Character Chase 5K, and also helps with grant writing. Michael currently resides in Hamburg with his wife Kristin, and three children.

(716) 627-4809
Character Carnival Chairman/Liaison
Term Expires: May 2013

Nancy Maisano serves as a member of the Council’s Board of Directors and as such has chaired the greatly successful first, second and third annual Character Carnival. Nancy brings to the Council’s Board of Directors several years of professional and personal experience in education and development. Nancy has lead special education classrooms as well as large integration programs within New York’s higher education system. Nancy is a frequent and featured guest speaker at conferences highlighting classroom integration. Nancy is a graduate of Daemen College where she earned her B.S. in Elementary and Special Education and continues to work towards receiving her M.S. from Buffalo State College. Nancy resides in Lakeview with her husband and they have two children.

vrehac@gmail.com
Secretary
Term Expires: May 2012

Vanessa joined the Character Council of Hamburg in 2007. During her tenure, she has served as Corresponding Secretary and Media Committee Liaison, as well as overseeing the updating of the Council website. Currently Vanessa holds the position of Secretary, a position that allows her to tap into her creative side by designing promotional materials for Council sponsored initiatives.

Following her Mom’s example, Vanessa is an active volunteer. In September of 2011, she will begin her 16th year as a Girl Scout Leader, often having between 2-4 troops at a time. In addition to being a Troop Leader, Vanessa has also served the Service Unit Team in many capacities, as well as volunteering on Girl Scout Council committees and as a National Delegate. Vanessa is currently the Secretary and Webmistress for her Service Unit. She has also served the Blasdell PTA as an officer and event chair and has been involved with numerous fundraisers and charitable events including events for the AIDS Alliance of WNY, and Female Musicians Fighting Breast Cancer.

Vanessa is a graduate of Villa Maria College where she earned her A.A.S. in Retail Management and Marketing and is pursuing a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications with a concentration in New Media from Empire State College. She is currently employed by Southtown Teachers’ Center where she uses her skills and experience to help educators, students and the community. Vanessa resides in Blasdell with her husband of more than 20 years Paul, and their children, Brianne, Jessica, Rebecca and Paul Joseph.

(716) 649-2058
Faith Committee Liaison
Term Expires: May 2013

Susan Santandreu joined the Character Council of WNY Board of Directors in 2007. She is currently the Faith Committee Chairperson and liaison to the Council’s Board of Directors. Susan is a member of the Festival Chorus of Christ the King Seminary in East Aurora, president of the Serra Club of Buffalo (promoting vocations to the priesthood and religious life), a board member of the Mercy Giving Circle (providing grants to underprivileged girls and women) and a member of the St. Francis High School Parents’ Guild. She occasionally substitute teaches at St. Francis High School as well. She is very active in her parish community of SS. Peter and Paul Church in Hamburg coordinating altar servers and other activities.

Susan is a 1979 graduate of Nardin Academy High School. She graduated from Alfred University in 1983 with a BA in Elementary Education. She also has her M.Ed. in Elementary Education from Boston College. She taught for three years at Nardin Academy Elementary School from 1984-87. Married July 12, 1986, she and her husband Paul are the proud parents of Peter, Elizabeth, Martha, Grace and Ben Santandreu.

While Susan enjoys a variety of interests such as running, tennis, skiing, painting, reading, and volunteer work, she feels the most important position she will ever hold is that of wife and mother. She believes the family is the nucleus of society and that strong families, deeply rooted in loving and serving God and neighbor, are the foundation of successful communities. She and her family strive to embrace and promote the character qualities put forth each month by the Character Council of WNY in an effort to make a positive contribution to their community and world.

Term Expires: May 2013

Mary Jayne Ginnitti is serving a first term as a Board member. Mary Jayne is a retired Elementary Education teacher from the Lake Shore Central School District, where she taught for almost 34 years. As a teacher, she served on a variety of committees involving curriculum and professional development at the building and district level, in addition to an active involvement with the Lake Shore Central Teacher’s Association. As an educator, she consistently collaborated to create and implement best curriculum practices. As a professional teacher she always focused on the whole child and worked hard to develop positive relationships with families and developing strong character.

Growing up in the Town of Evans, as well as raising her family there, she continues to be an active volunteer in her community. She is an active member of St. Anthony’s Parish in Farnham, serving as a lector and Eucharistic Minister, as well as past Religious Ed teacher. She is involved with establishing a Boys and Girls Club of Lakeshore, serves as a Board Member of the Lakeshore Federal Credit Union and acts as a mentor with the Compeer of Western New York Program.

Mary Jayne is a graduate of SUNY at Fredonia where she earned her B.S. in Elementary Education and M.S. in Developmental Reading. She resides in Angola with her husband Jim and is mother of Michael (Angela) and Melissa and proud grandmother of Amelia.

Term Expires: May 2014

Julie Hoerner recently joined the Character Council of WNY Board of Directors. She is currently employed by the Lake Shore Central School District as the Principal of the Senior High School. Julie began her career in education in 1996 as a Special Education teacher at the Orchard Park High School. In 2006 she began working in school administration as the Special Services Coordinator for the South Buffalo Charter School and then in 2009 became the Assistant Principal at the Lake Shore Senior High School. Prior to entering public education Julie worked for People Inc. and Suburban Adult Services with adults with developmental disabilities. She held positions in both direct care and administration.

Julie earned her BA in Human Services from SUNY Buffalo, MS Ed in Exceptional Education from Buffalo State College and her School Administration degree through the Education Leadership program at Buffalo State College.

As a mother to a young school age child, and an educator, Julie quickly learned the personal importance of ensuring character education was impacting all aspects of a child's life.

The mission and goals of the CCWNY provided her with the opportunity to make sure all children are educated on and exposed to "good character."

Julie resides in Lancaster, NY with her husband and son. In her spare time Julie loves to shop, travel and spend time with her family.