Board of Trustees

Donna Beal, who retired from Jamestown Public Schools as director of personnel and labor relations, currently serves as a mediator and fact finder for the New York State Public Relations Board. She was first appointed to the JCC board of trustees in 1993.

A graduate of JCC and Empire State College, Ms. Beal volunteers for several community organizations. She is past president of the St. Susan Center and is an elder of the First Presbyterian Church in Jamestown. She is past president of the New York State Personnel Administrators and the National Association of Education Administrators and has been an instructor and presenter at several human relations and negotiation courses.

Ms. Beal is an active volunteer at UPMC Chautauqua WCA Hospital and was co-chair of the volunteer fundraising campaign for the hospital’s emergency room. She serves on the New York State Community College Trustees educational committee.

Marie Carrubba, executive director of the Southwestern Independent Living Center, Inc. since 1984, earned bachelor’s and juris doctor degrees at the University of Buffalo. She was admitted to the New York State Bar in 1983 and was a gubernatorial appointment to JCC in 2013.

Ms. Carrubba has worked as a disability advocate for more than 40 years and manages an active caseload representing individuals at hearings to qualify for Social Security Disability and Supplemental Security Income benefits.

She is a member of the boards of directors of Chautauqua County Community Services Board, Chautauqua County Workforce Investment Board, The Resource Center, Chautauqua Opportunities, and the Fenton Historical Society. Ms. Carrubba served on Jamestown City Council for ten years, ending her last term in 2023.

A mediator for the Center for Resolution and Justice and a member of the New York State Surrogate Decision-Making Committees since 2002, Ms. Carrubba has been chairperson of the Chautauqua County Persons With Developmental Disabilities Committee since 2004.

Margaret (Peg) Cornell earned a registered nursing diploma at E.J. Meyer Memorial Hospital School of Nursing, a bachelor’s degree at SUNY Buffalo, and a master’s degree at Edinboro University of Pennsylvania.

Prior to retirement, Mrs. Cornell was director of college health services and an adjunct instructor at JCC. Previously, she served as director of nursing services at Jamestown General Hospital.

Mrs. Cornell has served on the Jamestown YWCA’s board of directors and is a representative of the 150th District to the New York State Democratic Committee and past chairperson of the Jamestown Democratic Committee.  She has also served on the city of Jamestown’s charter review and planning commissions.

Lou DiPalma is a vice president of Lake Shore Savings Bank. He earned a bachelor’s degree at SUNY Fredonia and a master’s degree in public administration at SUNY Albany.

DiPalma served previously as executive director of the Private Industry Council, vice president of NOG, Inc., and executive vice president of the Northern Chautauqua Chamber of Commerce, among other roles in area businesses and organizations. He has been a member of the Brooks Memorial Hospital board of trustees, Chautauqua Hospice & Palliative Care board of directors, and the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation’s local economic development committee. He also served on the board of AAA of Western and Central New York and as president of Progress Park.

Drew has served as general manager of WRFA-LP, a community radio station through the Reg Lenna Center for the Arts in Jamestown, since 2004. He is also a teaching artist at Jamestown High School.

As a student at JCC in the 1970s, Drew helped establish the college’s radio station and student newspaper.

A Jamestown resident since 1964, Drew is a founding partner of the 10,000 Maniacs band. The band has produced 11 albums over a 38-year period and continues to perform more than 40 concerts each year.

Alyssa Drozdiel was elected by the JCC student body to serve as the student trustee, and as such is a voting member of the board and represents the student body college wide. She is an Individual Studies major and native of Westfield.

Luke Fodor was appointed by Eddie Sundquist, mayor of the City of Jamestown. He holds graduate degrees from the University of Durham in England, New York University, and Bexley Hall Seminary in Columbus, O.H. He is the rector of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church in Jamestown where in addition to performing all priestly functions, he leads annual stewardship campaigns, facilitates partnerships and creates innovative outreach programming for the community.

The Rev. Fodor is vice president for the YMCA, co-chair for Jamestown Renaissance Corp, and serves as part of the City of Jamestown Riverfront Management Commission, City of Jamestown Local Development Corporation, and the Advisory Board of the Mental Health Association.

James P. Griffin, former mayor of Olean, also served as president of the Olean Common Council. He served as the executive vice president of MJW Technical Services and as a health physicist with West Valley Nuclear Services, the University of Buffalo Nuclear Science and Technology Facility, and the Harbor/UCLA Medical Center. Griffin is an alumnus of SUNY Buffalo and pursued graduate studies at St. Bonaventure University. He was appointed to the JCC board of trustees in 1999.

Griffin holds certification by the American Board of Health Physics for the comprehensive practice of health physics. In addition to other professional affiliations, he is a member of the American Academy of Health Physics, the Health Physics Society, the American Nuclear Society, and the Western New York Region Health Physics Society. An avid golfer and skier, Griffin is also active in several civic and social organizations in Cattaraugus County and is a member of the National Ski Patrol.

Barbara J. Hastings earned an associate’s degree in nursing at Alfred State College, a bachelor’s degree at SUNY Utica/Rome, and a master’s degree at D’Youville College. She retired as the public health director at the Cattaraugus County Health Department. She also served as assistant medical director of the Cattaraugus County Department of Social Services from 1997 to 2002.

Previously, Ms. Hastings was a public health nurse and supervising public health nurse at the Cattaraugus County Health Department and a registered nurse at Olean General Hospital. She has served on the Cattaraugus County Emergency Services Advisory Board and the boards of directors of the Western New York Public Health Alliance, Southern Tier Community Health Center Network, Healthy Community Alliance, Homecare Association of New York State, Cattaraugus County Long Term Care Advisory Board, and the Cattaraugus County Aging Advisory Council.

Ms. Hastings has also served on boards of various other health-related organizations, including the Southern Tier Health Care System, Inc. She founded the Cattaraugus County Court Ordered Services Workgroup and the Western New York Department of Social Services Homecare Association.

Daniel J. Heitzenrater, appointed to the board in 2018, earned an associate’s degree at JCC and a bachelor’s degree at SUNY Fredonia. He is executive assistant to the Chautauqua County Executive, where his work focuses on inter-municipal collaboration and administration of many county initiatives and working groups. He previously worked for U.S. Representative Tom Reed as an immigration and passport casework specialist.

Heitzenrater serves as a councilman in the Town of Ellicott and was the town representative on the Falconer West Main Street Redevelopment Committee. He is a 2015 graduate of the Chautauqua Leadership Network and is the organization’s current president. Heitzenrater is also an ex officio member of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Chautauqua County board of directors and is active in the community as a member of Peacock Masonic Lodge and the Jamestown Skeet & Trap Club.

Wally Huckno, Sr. is a retired English teacher and athletic director. Mr. Huckno graduated from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania and taught in the Jamestown Public Schools system for 42 years prior to retirement in 2004.

A retired member of the Chautauqua County Legislature, Huckno served on the legislature’s administrative services, capital projects financing, audit and control, and public safety committees.

Well-known for his achievements as Jamestown High School’s head football coach for 21 years, Huckno was inducted into the Chautauqua County Sports Hall of Fame in 2001 and the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2005. He was named coach of the year several times by regional and state organizations. Huckno has been a member of the Western New York Coaches Association, the New York State Coaches Association, the National Federation of Interscholastic Athletic Administrators, the New York State Athletic Administrators, the New York State Sports Writers Association, and the National Football Foundation and College Hall of Fame.

Miriam Lugo-Alfaro is a longtime Spanish teacher for Dunkirk City School District. The Dunkirk resident was appointed to the JCC board by New York state governor Kathy Hochul.

Before joining Dunkirk City School District in 2004, Lugo-Alfaro served as an English as second language and Spanish instructor at Erie 2-Chautauqua-Cattaraugus BOCES in Dunkirk.

Lugo-Alfaro also has work experience in human services, including serving as an education counselor, workforce development specialist, bilingual case manager, and employment advisor.

Kate Rauber is the skier services director at Holiday Valley Resort in Ellicottville. She is an alumni of Ellicottville Central School, and earned her undergraduate degree in English from Brown University. Rauber completed her juris doctor degree at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law.

Rauber practiced in the litigation department at Jeffers, Mangels, Butler & Mitchell in Los Angeles before returning to Ellicottville to join the team at Holiday Valley in 2018. She is a member of the Ellicottville Memorial Library Board of Trustees, and the Advisory Committee for the Adventure Recreation and Equestrian program at New Directions Youth and Family Services. She resides in Great Valley with her husband, Chris, and their two dogs.

Stitt is the chief executive officer of KA-BAR Knives, Inc. in Olean, as well as subsidiary companies Schilling Forge Inc. in Syracuse and Pineland Cutlery/Spartan Blades in Southern Pines, North Carolina. He has served on St. Bonaventure University’s School of Business Advisory Council since 2013, and guest lectures on marketing and business, innovation, and family business. A graduate of Olean High School, Stitt earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in professional leadership from St. Bonaventure University.

Stitt’s life revolves around the cutlery manufacturing industry, and he has more than 25 years of professional experience in the business. He led the initiative to rebuild the longstanding cutlery brands KA-BAR and the Ek Commando Knife Company, and reshore American production of the cutlery in Olean. Stitt helped launch the State and Union shop, where high-tech manufacturing is blended with traditional cutlery techniques.

Stitt resides in Olean with his wife, Connie, and six children.

Mark J. Ward earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees and an advanced certificate of educational administration at St. Bonaventure University. He is the retired superintendent of the Ellicottville School District and is a former superintendent of the Olean and Salamanca school districts, and principal at Ellicottville Central School. He was appointed to the board by the Cattaraugus County Legislature.

An active participant in area and state educational panels, Ward has been honored for his leadership by the New York State Athletic Administrators Association, New York State Council of School Superintendents, School Administrators Association of New York State, and the Seneca Nation of Indians. He served as president of the Cattaraugus-Allegany Superintendents Association and as a member of the New York State Association of Small City Schools board of directors.

Ward is a member of several professional academic organizations as well as Allegheny Highlands Council of the Boy Scouts of America executive board, the Great Valley Volunteer Fire Company, the Salamanca chapter of the Knights of Columbus, Holy Name of Mary Catholic Church, and the Salamanca Exchange Club.