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SOUTHINGTON EDUCATION FOUNDATION, INC. Instilling a love of learning. |
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Board Members
Bethany Pestillo, ChairmanEducation has always been a passion for Bethany Pestillo. She began her career in education after earning a bachelor’s degree from the University of Connecticut and a master’s degree and teaching certificate from St. Joseph College. In 1994 she was employed as a special education teacher for grades six and seven at Kennedy Middle School. Five years later she left her post to raise her children but remained in the classroom via tutoring and substitute-teaching assignments. Eventually Bethany stopped all paid instructional positions but stayed active in the school system via her volunteer work with her children’s school. Bethany served as both the R.E. Thalberg Elementary School PTO president and vice president and remains active in several key PTO committee positions. Other volunteer positions within the community also employ her teaching skills, including her six years as a religious educator at St. Dominic Church and five years as a Girl Scout leader. She is also on the board of the S.T.E.P.S. program. Bethany and her husband, Stephen, a Southington native, have two children. Bethany previously served as SEF Secretary. Anthony Alan Sheffy, Vice-ChairmanTony Sheffy has been an advocate for children in and out of the courtroom, where he represents his young clients and their families in personal injury claims. Tony is a partner of Sheffy, Mazzaccaro, DePaolo & DeNigris, L.L.P., and specializes in representing children and their families both in state and federal cases. In addition, Tony is currently working on a book entitled “Good Teen Bad Teen: A Guide to Teen Law and Parental Responsibility.” He blogs on teen issues at www.goodteenbadteen.com. Tony is a graduate of Lebanon Valley College, where he majored in arts and science and received his bachelor’s degree in 1985. He received his juris doctorate, magna cum laude, from Western New England School in 1989 and was a member of the school’s Law Review. On the homefront, Tony and his wife, Melissa, are raising five children ranging in ages from 10 to 17. He notes a personal satisfaction in supporting the arts and sciences, not to mention his participation in various civic-minded organizations. Tony is the past president of the Southington United Way, a participant in and sponsor of the Southington Parks and Recreation Kids Fest Programs, a member of the Safe Kids Connecticut, a member of the Southington High School Band Parents Association, and a member and past director of the Southington Community Theater. He is also an assistant town attorney for the town of Southington and recently was inducted into the Litigation Counsel of America, an elite trial lawyers’ organization comprised of less than one-half of one percent of U.S. attorneys. Tony previously served as SEF Chairman. Alan DeBisschop, TreasurerFor 35 years, Alan DeBisschop was a mainstay in the Southington public school system as both a teacher and an administrator. From his first day in the mathematics department at the newly opened J.A. DePaolo Junior High School in 1967 up to his retirement in 2002, Alan ran the gamut as an educator. With undergraduate and graduate degrees from Central Connecticut State College (as well as a sixth-year degree in administration), the Southington native followed his initial teaching stint with another mathematics position at Southington High School. His administrative resume began in 1986 when he became the mathematics coordinator for the Southington public school system. That post was followed by two principalships; the first at Hatton Elementary School in 1990 and the second in 1994 at U.T. Kelley Elementary School, where he stayed until his retirement. Even his 40-year marriage to his wife, MaryLou, originated in the classroom when the two met at DePaolo early in their careers. MaryLou was a home economics/life skills teacher for 30 years. The couple has two daughters together and a grandson. Retirement has allowed Alan to continue in his quest for helping others. Currently, he volunteers in the rehabilitation department at Elim Park Place in Cheshire and is active in his church serving on various boards and committees. He is chairman of the Board of Trustees at the Plantsville Congregational Church. He is also on the Fair Committee, the Memorial Garden Board and is a past member of the Board of Directors of both the Red Cross and the United Way. Kelley Nolan-Maccione, SecretaryAs an accomplished professional with a broad base of experience in product development and management, marketing, operations, and project and team management, Kelley Nolan-Maccione is a focused businesswoman. She is currently vice president, Health Advancement Solutions, at UnitedHealthcare. Still, she also finds time to be involved in her children’s school as a member of the PTO, a room parent, chairperson for Read Across America and more. Kelley graduated from the University of Connecticut with a bachelor’s degree in English and economics. She also received her master’s degree in economics from the University of Connecticut. She currently participates in the Menttium professional mentoring program, and prior to her position at UnitedHealthcare was assistant vice president, product management, at CIGNA Healthcare and held various positions at GE Capital. She is married to her husband, Jason Maccione, and the couple has two children together. A self-professed “karate mom,” Kelley can often be found at her daughter’s practices and tournaments. She said she chose to become involved with the SEF because “education is a key component of our ability to be successful. In a global economy we need to give our children every advantage to be competitive. They truly are our future.” George J. CostanzoAs a chiropractor with his own private practice, George J. Costanzo harbors a vision of the town’s school children that interlaces his field of expertise with his love of education. The children of the future won’t have books – meaning they won’t be weighed down by them either physically or geographically. Instead they’ll have a few CDs and a licensed password that will garner them access to websites that host complete textbooks for their viewing pleasure! George has lived in Southington since 1985, the same year he entered practice following his graduation from the National College of Chiropractic. Prior to that he had been utilizing his criminal justice degree from the University of New Haven as an officer with the New Haven Police Department. He’s been married for 23 years and has four children, all of whom are enrolled in the Southington public school system. His wife is a special education paraprofessional at Kennedy Middle School. George said he committed to SEF because he believes strongly in education. But George obviously believes in giving back to his community as well given his list of volunteer efforts. George was in the Rotary Club from 1985 until 2000 and, more recently, was a member of the Unico Club. He also coaches little league, Babe Ruth and fall baseball. William M. LutzBetween his 35-year span in the classroom and repetitive tours of duty on the Boards of Education in two different communities, Bill Lutz’s mark on the subject of education is indelible. His introduction to the academic world began at Boston College, from which he graduated in 1972 with a degree in English. He became certified in English after successfully completing his degree in 1974 at Southern Connecticut State University. That same year he began teaching English classes at Notre Dame High School, a post he would hold for the next quarter of a century before moving on to a new position within the school in 1999. Currently, Bill is Notre Dame’s director of education technology. Bill also opted to share his knowledge of educational matters with the public through a commitment to his two former communities. Bill first served as a member of the Meriden Board of Education and next as a member of the Berlin Board of Education. He also served on the Meriden School Building Committee for 14 years. Bill and his wife, Elizabeth, the principal of Kelley Elementary School, reside in Southington. They have a daughter and son. Bill previously served as SEF Vice-Chairman. Dawn MiceliAs a former journalist, Dawn Miceli has always enjoyed disseminating timely, relevant information to the public. So it was only natural that upon retirement from the newsroom, Dawn turn to the academic community to pass along some of that knowledge base to the next batch of eager media writers. She has been an adjunct professor in the School of Communications at Quinnipiac University for the past decade. In addition, Dawn serves as the publicity and alumni relations coordinator at Hamden Hall Country Day School. Dawn’s coverage of and subsequent interest in statewide politics while in the newsroom manifested in a commitment to her own community via public office. She has served on the Southington Planning and Zoning Commission and she currently serves on the Southington Town Council. Dawn has also served on the town’s cable advisory board. Dawn is married to Southington native Joseph Miceli, who is a mathematics teacher and football coach at Plainville High School. The couple has one son, Jake, who attends R.E. Thalberg Elementary School where Dawn has been active in the PTO since his kindergarten year. Currently, Dawn serves as the communications secretary for the PTO Executive Board. Dr. David MontiWith an e-mail address that urges people to read, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that Dr. David Monti is an advocate of education, having spent his entire career in the field. Currently, Dr. Monti is a literacy consultant working with teachers to enhance children’s ability to read and write. “As I travel throughout the country discussing literacy strategies, I realize that education takes a back step today in lieu of raising taxes,” said Dr. Monti. “I have often said, the only legacy a town may leave its children is an education and I think society has failed in this matter.” Dr. Monti received his doctorate from Hofstra University and has been a classroom teacher, reading coordinator, special education coordinator and Title One coordinator. He is a professor emeritus at Central Connecticut State University. Proof of his efficacy in and commitment to education are his many commendations and academic affiliations, including being named Connecticut’s educator of the year by the Connecticut Council of Teachers of English. He has been president of the Connecticut Association for Reading Research and the Connecticut Reading Association. He has also held many positions in the International Reading Association and served four years on the Southington Board of Education. Dr. Monti and his wife of 44 years, Carmay, raised four sons, all of whom are products of the Southington school system. The family tree is completed by five grandsons and two granddaughters. Dr. Joseph V. Erardi Jr., Ex-Officio MemberSouthington School Superintendent Joseph V. Erardi Jr. was the catalyst in bringing together the core group of people who currently make up the Southington Education Foundation. “The SEF will be a cornerstone to the school board’s quest of being the finest district in Connecticut,” states Dr. Erardi, who first came to Southington’s public schools in August 2007. Since that time, Dr. Erardi has immersed himself in the community all the while earning rave reviews for his commitment to excellence within the Southington school district. He has been married to his wife, Sue, for 30 years and the couple has two children together. Dr. Erardi has chalked up 32 years in the education field, with the past 10 as superintendent. He holds a doctorate degree from the University of Hartford and was named the national teacher of the year (American Teacher Awards) in 1991. Other accolades accumulated over the years include two Hall of Fame distinctions – one with the town of Manchester and the other with the Connecticut Soccer Coaches Association. He is also on the executive board of the Connecticut Consortium of Education Foundation.
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Southington Education Foundation, Inc. |
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