Meet our new Alumni Board Members
Pietra G. Zaffram ’01 has been elected 2017-2018 president of the UB Law Alumni Association. Zaffram is a partner at Harris Beach PLLC in Buffalo where she represents clients in federal and New York state tax disputes from the audit level through the appellate process. She also negotiates and drafts a broad range of corporate and transactional documents, including business contracts, software license agreements, consulting agreements and nondisclosure agreements. She is a member of Child and Family Services’ ambassador committee, and a member of Junior League of Buffalo.
Marc W. Brown ’99 of Goldberg Segalla LLP is the new president-elect. Vice presidents are: Melissa A. Foti ’03 of Kenney Shelton Liptak Nowak LLP; Amy L. Hemenway ’01 of Harter Secrest & Emery LLP; Anne E. Joynt ’05 of Lipsitz & Ponterio, LLC; Tiffany R. Perry ’00 of Erie County Family Court; and Andrea Schillaci ’82 of Hurwitz & Fine, PC.
Treasurer is Stephanie A. Saunders ’00, principal law clerk to Hon. E. Jeannette Ogden; assistant treasurer is Jaime C. Gallagher ’02 of the New York State Liquor Authority; secretary is Amy P. Herstek ’04 of the University at Buffalo’s Office of Science, Technology Transfer and Economic Outreach; assistant secretary is Scott C. Becker ’93 of Kavinoky Cook LLP; and secretary emerita is Marion K. Henderson ’65, retired.
Immediate past president is Brian D. Gwitt ’98 of Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP. Vice Dean for Alumni Ilene R. Fleischmann of the University at Buffalo School of Law, continues as executive director.
New directors elected for terms ending in 2020 are Kevin J. Espinosa ’09 of M&T Bank; Heather A. Giambra ’04 of Schröder, Joseph & Associates, LLP; Hon. William J. Hochul, Jr. ’84 of Delaware North; Andrew B. Isenberg ’92 of the New York State Unified Court System; Marybeth Priore Mantharam ’03 of Colucci & Gallaher, P.C.; Richard J. Marinaccio ’07 of Phillips Lytle LLP; and Hon. Henry J. Nowak ’93 of New York State Supreme Court.
Other directors include: Thomas C. Burnham ’03 of Lipsitz Green Scime Cambria LLP; Megan A. Gomez ’05 of Univera Health Care; Thomas M. Gordon ’05 of Gross Shuman Brizdle & Gilfillan, PC; Kenneth M. Gossel ’91 of National Fuel Gas; Christopher M. Grant ’05 of Big Dog Strategies, LLC; Elizabeth A. Kraengel ’07 of Duke, Holzman, Photiadis & Gresens LLP; Erika M. Marabella ’04 of Rich Products Corporation; Melissa Hancock Nickson ’97, senior law clerk to Hon. Eugene F. Pigott Jr.; Rachel M. Hezel Rzayev ’07 of Cannon Heyman & Weis, LLP; Elizabeth M. Savino ’92 of CTG, Inc.; Dennis K. Schaeffer ’99 of Bond Schoeneck & King, PLLC; Jeffrey C. Stravino ’97 of Hodgson Russ LLP; Jason G. Ulatowski ’07 of PCB Piezotronics, Inc.; and Dr. Sylvia Valentín ’97 of Niagara University.
Officers and directors of the Law Alumni Association’s GOLD (Graduates of the Last Decade) Group, an arm of the Association focused on organizing educational, social and networking opportunities to assist recent graduates as they transition from student to attorney, were also elected. Ryan K. Parisi ’10 of Seaman Norris LLP will serve as 2017-2018 GOLD Group president. President-elect is Aaron M. Saykin ’13 of Hodgson Russ LLP; Immediate past president is Jeffrey P. Gleason ’08 of Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP; treasurer is Cristin L. Murray ’12 of Hodgson Russ LLP; treasurer-elect is Christopher S. Safulko ’13 of the Erie County District Attorney’s Office; secretary is Lydia H. Beebe Safulko ’12 of Barclay Damon LLP; and secretary-elect is Henry A. Zomerfeld ’14 of Kenney Shelton Liptak Nowak LLP. Patricia L. Warrington of the University at Buffalo School of Law serves as assistant director.
Other GOLD Group directors include: Teia Marie Bui ’08 of Clover Management Inc.; Meghan A. Corcoran ’13 of National Fuel Gas; Heather L. Dechert ’10 of Webster Szanyi, LLP; Lisa M. Diaz-Ordaz ’11 of the Law Offices of Destin C. Santacrose; Andrea K. DiLuglio ’15 of Woods Oviatt Gilman LLP; Ari M. Goldberg ’17 of Colucci & Gallaher, P.C.; Kerisha H. Hawthorne-Greer ’14 of the Bar Association of Erie County’s Volunteer Lawyers Project; Michael J. Hecker ’09 of Hodgson Russ LLP; Patrick D. Leavy ’16 of Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham LLC; Caitlin E. O’Neil ’15 of Connors LLP; Seth D. Pullen ’09 of Hodgson Russ LLP; Nicholas A. Romano ’13 of Connors LLP; Emily M. Rudroff ’15 of M&T Bank; Sarah E. Siracusa ’14 of Dempsey and Dempsey; Joseph G. Trapp ’16 of Greco Trapp, PLLC; Sarah M. Washington ’16 of Connors LLP; and Calvin D. Weaver ’17 of Rupp Baase Pfalzgraf Cunningham LLC.
Chairs of the Association’s regional alumni chapters include: Caroline B. Brancatella ’07 of Greenberg Traurig LLP and Kevin M. Grossman ’04 of the NYSUT, co-chairs of the Albany Chapter; Sam M. Tamburo ’68 of the Law Office of Sam M. Tamburo, chair of the Central New York Chapter; Daisy A. Tomaselli ’13 of Jackson Lewis PC, chair of the New York City Chapter; Lawrence K. Bice ’12 of Larimer Law and Helen K. Root Scalia ’11 of United Technologies, co-chairs of the Rochester Chapter; and Meredith Jolie '03 of the Garfield Law Group, chair of the Washington, D.C. Chapter.