Board of Trustees
David Rodriguez, esq. – President
Liz Evans – Vice President and Founder
Chandra Lebediker – Secretary and Parent Representative
Regan Ihde – Community Member
Kathleen Franklin-Adams – Community Member
Marguerite Battaglia-Evans – Founder
Shirley Courton – Community Member
Kelli Simpson – Parent Representative
Mimi Barnes-Coppola – Founder
Pamela Pollock – Community Member
Gregory Dimitriadis, Ph.D. – Community Member
The Board of Trustees meets every 3rd Wednesday of the month at 6:00 p.m. at EVCS. Meetings are open to the public.
Founders
Elmwood Village Charter School has six founding members: Mimi Barnes-Coppola, Marguerite Battaglia-Evans, Liz Evans, Carine Mardorossian, Greta Massetti and Anne Wechsler. These six people envisioned a school in urban Buffalo that was inclusive, diverse, and enabled all of its students reach a high level of achievement, integrating art, music, foreign language, dance and physical education.
Mimi Barnes-Coppola coordinated the Buffalo City Special Education Training and Resource Center (SETRC) for over 25 years, providing professional development and specialized training opportunities for educators involved in the education of students with disabilities. Mrs. Barnes-Coppola is currently a private educational consultant and adjunct professor at Canisius College.
Marguerite Battaglia-Evans is a retired Buffalo Public School Administrator and an adjunct professor at D'Youville College where she teaches the Foundations of Teaching Reading. Mrs. Battaglia-Evans’ passion is to bring the love of reading to the students in Buffalo. She has taught grades K-9 in rural, urban and suburban schools.
Liz Evans is the parent of an Elmwood Village Charter School student and a Board member of EVCS. She is also a Board member of the Western New York Charter School coalition and is currently a librarian at the Medaille College Library.
Carine Mardorossian is an Associate Professor in the English Department at SUNY Buffalo. Her research concentration is in Postcolonial studies, Caribbean literature, Victorian studies, and feminist criticism. Dr. Mardorossian is currently the President of the Northeast Modern Language Association and serves as Vice-President of the Board of EVCS.
Greta Massetti is an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at SUNY Buffalo and affiliated with the Center for Children and Families. Her area of interest is the learning and behavioral development of children at risk and school-based programs and services for urban settings. Dr. Massetti has been involved in research on evidence-based practices in schools and implementation of quality programs in school settings. Dr. Massetti serves as the President of the Board of EVCS.
Anne Wechsler has an MA in Administration, Planning, and Social Policy from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. Ms. Wechsler is certified in elementary education from kindergarten through grade six and has worked in charter school development and as a teacher for charter schools in Brooklyn, Boston, and Buffalo. Ms. Wechsler is the Curriculum Coordinator for the Elmwood Village Charter School.
Elmwood Village Charter School is managed by a Board of Trustees, four members of which are founders.