Advisory Board
| Chair | Judi Nolan- Powell | Vice President ~ HSBC Bank USA | ||||||
| Immediate Past Chair | Debbie DiMatteo | Vice President ~ M&T Bank | ||||||
| Secretary | Kathleen Lynch | WNY Law Center | ||||||
| Treasurer | Gail MacCleverty | Vice President ~ 1st Niagara Bank | ||||||
Board Members
| Dr. Antone (Joe) Alber Dean Canisius College Wehle School of Bus |
Bill Battle President & CEO WNY Chapter National Black MBA Association |
Christine Bonaguide Partner Hodgson Russ LLP | ||
| Cheryl Carr COO Carr Marketing Communications, Inc. |
Silvia Fakler President OATC, AtSylvia.com |
Lynne Marie Finn President Superior Staff Resources, Inc. | ||
| Nicole Fiorella Vice President Briand Fiorella Search, Inc. |
Richard Gorko Director NCCC Small Business Development Center |
Tom Grifasi President Enterprise Holding Systems Corp. | ||
| Jamiee Harrigan Financial Advisor Citi Smith Barney |
Dr. Ji-Hee Kim Associate Professor of Entrepreneurship, Canisius College |
Lisa Kirisits President Lisa Kirisits, CPA | ||
| Laure Kolb Managing Director World Trade Center Buffalo Niagara |
Nancy LaTulip VP Retail Banking Lake Shore Savings Bank |
Marnie LaVigne, PhD Dir Bus Development NYS Center of Excellence in Bioinformatics & Life Sciences | ||
| Gail MacCleverty VP Business Banking First Niagara Bank |
Catharine McCracken President Trellis Marketing Inc. |
Maureen Millane Associate Dean Canisius College External Business Programs | ||
| Michael Muscato Senior Business Officer Citizens Bank |
Christina Orsi Regional Director Empire State Development WNY |
Maryann Stein Dir. International Programs - ECIDA | ||
| Sherill Sutton President & Owner Sassy Design Group |
Patrick W. Welch, Ph.D. Director Erie County Veterans Services |
|||
WBC Staff
Melinda Rath Sanderson (Executive Director)
Melinda Rath Sanderson returned home in December 2003 after 24 years.
Her 20 years experience include working for one of the " Big 8 " public accounting firms, Lakeland Community College faculty, Nestles, Stouffer Hotels and resorts, and Westin hotels and resorts. In addition she has been a small business owner for 10 years.
The recipient of numerous awards and honors in her personal, professional and volunteer endeavors in several categories including sales and marketing, leadership, innovation and business ownership.
An accomplished speaker in a number of areas including motivation, inspiration, leadership, personal growth, and sales and marketing, she enjoys addressing groups and sharing her success story as well as knowledge and experiences to help others achieve their goals and dreams.
A graduate of the Buffalo Seminary, she holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration in Hotel and Restaurant Management from the University of Denver and also attended the University of New Hampshire and State University of New York at Buffalo.
An active member and participant in numerous business, professional, non profit and volunteer organizations in the past 20 years, she has served in many leadership roles and on numerous Boards. She was also this year's recipient of the U.S. SBA's Women in Business Champion of the Year Award for the Western New York region. In addition, Sanderson has been active in her church.
On a personal note, Sanderson was a competitive downhill ski racer both locally and nationally and currently enjoys skiing with her family. Other sports which she enjoys include tennis, crew, rollerblading and biking. While in high school, Sanderson was a foreign exchange student to Chile and is fluent in Spanish. She and her husband Bruce reside in Snyder and are the parents of Catherine, Sara, and William. Melinda is also the daughter of New York State Senator Mary Lou Rath and the late Supreme Court Justice Edward A Rath Jr.
Amy Rath (WIN Coordinator) Amy Rath joined the Women’s Business Center in September 2004 as the WIN (Women in Networking) Coordinator. Amy founded the WIN groups based on a similar group experience in Cleveland, OH. Amy graduated with a B.A. in Communications from the Newcomb College of Tulane University in New Orleans, LA, and spent most of her time between Southern California and Chicago, IL in medical sales for a small German manufacturer. Afterwards, she established herself in Chicago working for a small, women-owned healthcare publishing firm. Shortly thereafter, Amy worked as a small business consultant for Paychex, Inc., and she credits this experience with all of her knowledge about small business operations. In August 2003, Amy moved to Buffalo to start a family with her husband. She is an active member of the Junior League of Buffalo and volunteers for St. Gregory the Great School in Williamsville. In her spare time, Amy enjoys running, skiing, practicing yoga and baking. Amy is happily married and a full time mother of 3 young daughters.
Margaret Knapp (Client Services Coordinator)Margaret Knapp joined the Women’s Business Center in September 2007 as an Americorps VISTA (Volunteer in Service to America). She attended Nardin Academy, graduating in 2003 and obtained a B.A. in English from Binghamton University in 2007.
She enjoys working in the non-profit sector of business, getting her first not-for-profit experience with United Way in Binghamton and Buffalo. During her final semester at Binghamton she worked for United Way of Broome County, and in the following summer as a Community Ambassador student at the United Way of Buffalo and Erie County.
In her free time she plays the violin for the Cheektowaga Community Symphony Orchestra and is preparing to attend graduate school in the fall. She enjoys traveling and hopes to one day teach English abroad.
Maureen Millane(A.D. and E.D. of Canisius College Richard J. Wehle School of Business)
Maureen Millane Rusk is Associate Dean of Canisius College Wehle School of Business with over all responsibilities for the Center for Professional Development, Canisius Center @ Amherst and the Women’s Business Center.
She currently serves on both the executive committee and the strategic planning committees for the Canisius College Wehle School of Business.
Rusk is an honors graduate of both Cornell University and Canisius College where she received her MBA. Maureen worked in organization development and training on corporate task forces and opening teams for Marriott Corporation and Hilton Hotels in Washington, D.C., Chicago, Providence, San Juan, Seattle, and Houston. Prior to her current position, Maureen was the resident manager of the Pittsburgh Hilton.
Rusk has been appointed to the President’s Council of Cornell Women and is president and trustee for the Buffalo Rotary Foundation, and on the strategic planning committee for The Rotary Club of Buffalo, a docent for the Albright Knox Art Gallery and hosts local television shows for Fox and Adelphia.
Recent awards include the Every Women Opportunity Center Award of Excellence, YWCA leader/management award, the president’s award from Buffalo Rotary, the Dr. I Joan Lorch award, a Paul Harris Fellowship, and the Amherst Chamber of Commerce Small Business Advocate Award.
She is also an honorary member of National Association of Women’s Business Owners for her dedication to and training programs for entrepreneurs and small business owners.
Laurie Zabel (Director of Business Development) Laurie joined the Women's Business Center in April, 2008. She graduated with a BA in Clinical Psychology from Moravian College in Bethlehem, PA.
Her primary focus at the WBC will be the appropriate placement of clients in programs based on individual business needs. Laurie's professional background includes 9 years as a Social Worker and 10 years of corporate sales, marketing and management experience with Konica in New Jersey, NY City and Connecticut.
Laurie, her husband Walt, and two children live in Williamsville.
Maggie Burkard (Program Coordinator)