Meet Our Team
Melissa Carr Rowe, EdD, MSc, CPH
Executive Director
mrowe@cnylymealliance.org
Elizabeth Balfour
Education & Partnerships Program Manager, Academic Lead
ebalfour@cnylymealliance.org
Jonah Cummings
Education & Partnerships Program Manager, Community Lead jcummings@cnylymealliance.org
Board of Directors
Danielle Cummings
Board Chair
Chair, Communications Committee
Chancellor/Director of Communications, Roman Catholic Diocese of Syracuse
Simone Seward, DrPH, MPH
Board Vice-Chair
Assistant Professor, Public Health and Preventive Medicine
SUNY Upstate Medical University
Joseph Hardick, CPA, CCIF
Board Treasurer
Chair, Finance Committee
Emilija Postolovska, MPH
Board Secretary
Director of Workforce Innovation, CenterState CEO
Douglas E. Wojcik, DVM
Chair, Development Committee
Owner, Liverpool Animal Hospital
Anne Messenger
Co-Founder, CNY Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Alliance
Michelle Saya, RN, BSN, MSM
Legs Against Lyme Chair
Practice Nurse Manager, St. Joseph's Health Hematology/Oncology
Brian Leydet, MPH, PhD
Assistant Professor of Epidemiology and Disease Ecology, SUNY-ESF
Jay M. Brenner, MD, FACEP, FACHE
Professor & Vice Chair of Research, Department of Emergency Medicine, SUNY-Upstate Medical University
Kristopher Paolino, MD, MTM&H, FACP
Chief Medical Officer
Director, Center for Clinical Research, SUNY Upstate Medical University
Saravanan Thangamani, PhD
SUNY Empire Innovation Professor Director, SUNY Center for Environmental Health and Medicine Director, Vector Biocontainment Laboratories
Elizabeth Ruscitto
Founder, 2122 Coaching, Consulting & Advising
Michael Jennings II
Wealth Consultant, Financial Planning
Shantina Hines Kyles MS, BSN, RN
Spinal Cord Injury Program Manager, VA Medical Center
Wesley D. Kufel, PharmD, BCIDP, BCPS, AAHIVP
Clinical Associate Professor, Clinical Pharmacy Specialist Infectious Disease, SUNY Upstate Medical University
Ben Redfield
Partner, Bread
Advisory Board
Stephen Thomas
Director, SUNY Upstate Institute for Global Health and Translational Sciences
Kathryn Ruscitto
Co-Founder, CNY Lyme & Tick-Borne Disease Alliance
Tick-Borne Disease Advocate
Ryan Maness
Legislative Director, Ryan LLC
Margaret (Meg) O’Connell
Executive Director, Allyn Family Foundation
Dan Cummings
WSYR-TV NewsChannel 9, Retired