Three new board members were voted in to join the Albany Fund for Education on June 13th, 2022. Sean Fitzsimons, Phillip Quindara and Lisa Thomson have been appointed, bringing the number of board members to twenty.
“Each of them comes to the AFE Board with valuable skills and community connections that will help advance our mission – to provide opportunities for students in the City School District of Albany to learn, grow, and succeed.,” said Mari Shopsis, Executive Director of AFE. “We all look forward to working with our new board members as AFE continues to grow!”
Sean Fitzsimons, Teacher, Albany High School
Sean Fitzsimons is committed to empowering students and their communities through public education. He is in his twelfth year teaching social studies and eighth year at Albany High School where he currently teaches courses in AP US Government and Politics and World History and Geography II, and serves as the Social Studies Department Chair. He has experience in education policy and school evaluation having served as the SUNY Charter Schools Institute’s Director of School Applications coordinating the review of applications to open new schools and as a lead evaluator of proposed and existing schools. Sean received a bachelor’s degree in Political Science and International Relations from SUNY Geneseo and master’s degree in Secondary Social Studies Curriculum and Instruction from George Mason University.
Phil Quindara, Director of Marketing, CSArch
With 25 years of marketing communications experience, Phil leads the planning and execution of CSArch’s marketing communications and business development efforts. As Director of Marketing, he has modernized the firm’s visual identity while establishing them as an industry design leader. A self-taught photographer and FAA-licensed drone pilot, Phil is also taking a lead role in improving the firm’s use of in-house photography, video, and aerial drone video. Phil grew up on Long Island and graduated from SUNY Cortland. He spent 10 years living and working in New York City before getting married to his wife Kim, who eventually convinced him to move to the Capital Region to raise their two children, Katelynn (18) and Jayden (15).
Lisa Haley Thomson, Chief of Staff, The College of Saint Rose
In her 31st year at The College of Saint Rose, Lisa Haley Thomson is currently the College’s Chief of Staff, after 17 years leading the College’s Communications and Marketing Office. She leads with zealous passion for student success and degree attainment as a ladder to transform lives. She manages the President’s Office, the Board of Trustees, Student Development, Facilities, Institutional Research, and the BOLD Women’s Scholars program with a renewed $1.7 million grant from the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation. Lisa is married to Jonathan, and they are the proud parents of a 2013 Albany High graduate, now a Philadelphia City School District teacher. She walks to work every day from their home in Albany, and thinks every day how education can be more inclusive, just and equitable. Lisa e earned a B.A. from Drew University, and an M.S. in Ed. from Saint Rose, and is a 2005 graduate of the Chamber’s Capital Leadership.