Board and Staff
Board of Directors
Lauren Gallina Payne
Board Chair / Marketing & Recruitment Committee
Marketing Director, Gallina Development Corp.
LR Alumna, 2015
The most valuable part of my LR experience:
Exploring our community with an incredible group of professionals that became good friends.
Anne Wilder
Board Vice Chair / Marketing & Fundraising Committee
President Coordinated Care Services Inc.
LR Alumna, 2004
Scott Pittinaro
Board Treasurer, Finance Committee
Senior Vice President, Tompkins Community Bank
Candice Lucas Ed.D.
Board Secretary, Educational Programs Steering Committee
Chief Community Engagement Officer, Monroe County
LR Alum, 2010
Veronica Dasher
Fundraising & Development Committee Chair
Regional Manager of Government and Community Relations, NYSEG and RG&E Avangrid
LR Alumna, 2017
“The only freedom which deserves the name is that of pursuing our own good, in our own way, so long as we do not attempt to deprive others of theirs, or impede their efforts to obtain it.” – John Stuart Mill
Rick DeJesus Rueff Ed.D.
Educational Programs Steering Committee Co-Chair
Vice President Student Affairs and Diversity Initiatives (Retired)
St John Fisher College
LR Alum, 2005
Jennifer Hinton
Fundraising & Development Committees
Associate Director, MAGIC Center, Rochester Institute of Technology
LR Alumna, 2016
Darren Miller Esq.
Educational Programs Steering Committee Co-Chair
Partner, Nixon Peabody, LLP
LR Alum, 2014
“You are not here merely to make a living. You are here in order to enable the world to live more amply, with greater vision, with a finer spirit of hope and achievement. You are here to enrich the world, and you impoverish yourself if you forget the errand.” –Woodrow Wilson
The most valuable part of my LR experience:
Being exposed to aspects of Rochester that I had previously not encountered.
Susan Sullivan
Chair, Fundriasing Committee
Instructor Business and Marketing, Roberts Wesleyan College
LR Alumna, 2004
The most memorable outcome of my LR experience.
The most memorable outcome from my Leadership Rochester experience continues to be the network of incredibly generous, innovative, inspirational colleagues who continue their influence today as friends and mentors.
Matthew Wagstaff
Marketing & Recruitment Committee Chair
Manager, Retail Market Sales – New Sales Channels Excellus Blue Cross Blue Shield
LR Alum, 2014 “The most humble class”
“Live long and prosper” ~ Personal Mantra
The most valuable part of my LR experience:
The genuine relationships that were developed and maintained over the years.
Our Staff
Gwen Van Laeken
Executive Director
Proud LR 2015 Alumna (she/her)
“A tree has roots in the soil yet reaches to the sky. It tells us that in order to aspire we need to be grounded and that no matter how high we go it is from our roots that we draw sustenance. It is a reminder to all of us who have had success that we cannot forget where we came from. It signifies that no matter how powerful we become in government or how many awards we receive, our power and strength and our ability to reach our goals depend on the people, those whose work remain unseen, who are the soil out of which we grow, the shoulders on which we stand”
― Wangari Maathai, Nobel Prize Winner, Biography Unbowed
Trevor Massett
Programs Coordinator
“There is no time for despair, no place for self-pity, no need for silence, no room for fear. We speak, we write, we do language. That is how civilizations heal” – Toni Morrison.
Christopher Ravi Smith
Manager of Youth Programs
Truly engaged in connecting and strengthening our community through youth development.
Joan Roby-Davison
Long Term Volunteer and Consultant
Committed Longtime Alumni Volunteer