Elizabeth Maess Bradley was born, raised and attended college and university in Western New York. She and her husband Archie have been married for 41 years and are the proud parents of Bridgette and Daniel.  They have four wonderful grandchildren.

Elizabeth Bradley, Ed.D. was the Assistant Superintendent for Instruction of the Frontier Central School District in Hamburg, New York.  In the 23 years Dr. Bradley was with the Frontier School District, there were significant gains in student achievement.  Frontier was rated very highly by Business First newspaper and the University of Buffalo’s Study of Effective Schools.  Dr. Bradley earned her doctorate at the State University of New York at Buffalo. Her work in curriculum and staff development and accountability models has been commended. She is currently the president and senior consultant of E J Bradley & Associates.

As consultant for school districts, her focus has been on creating cultures of accountability and respect. Dr. Bradley has experience handling complaints of employee misconduct, boundary-crossing behavior and sexual harassment.  She has consulted and conducted training for over 40,000 educators for school districts across New York State, Massachusetts, and Arizona on the topics of creating a culture of respect, professional behavior, harassment prevention, and handling allegations of misconduct.  Dr. Bradley was a featured speaker at New York State School Boards state conference. She served as the 2012 seminar presenter for Utica National Insurance on Preventing Misconduct and Dealing Effectively with Allegations. She has served as an expert witness in civil and employee discipline cases in New York, Indiana and Florida.

As a trainer in the private sector, she has received outstanding reviews from corporate managers and supervisors on the Leadership Skills and Effective Teams courses she developed and teaches. As a certified Franklin Covey 7 Habits and Trust Building trainer, Dr. Bradley has worked with educators, school boards and leadership teams. Dr. Bradley received the Distinguished Service Award from the New York State Health Educators Association, Administrator of the Year Award from the Western New York Women in Administration Group, the Path Finders Award from the New York State Women in Administration Association, and the Distinguished Dissertation Award from the National Association of Secondary School Principals and the Path Finders award from Business First News.

Dr. Vincent J. Coppola, after serving seven years as the Executive Director of the Western New York Educational Service Council at the North Campus of the University at Buffalo, now serves the Council as a full-time Search Consultant.  The Western New York Educational Service Council has been in existence since 1949 and was chartered by the Board of Regents in 1966.  The Council provides educational consulting services to public and private schools throughout the Northeastern part of the United States.  The Council staff has completed approximately 400 searches for the position of school superintendent since 1966.

After spending 40 years working in the public schools as an English teacher, guidance counselor, assistant high school principal, principal of a middle school, Director of Personnel, and Superintendent of Schools, Dr. Coppola retired as Superintendent of the Corning City School District in July 1998.

Dr. Coppola has taught graduate courses in administration and counselor education at Canisius College and the University at Buffalo.

Vince  has been a keynote speaker at several state-wide conferences and has participated in presenting educational seminars at the national level.  He was honored to be selected by the Executive Educator Journal as one of the top 100 administrators in North America.  He received the Top Educator Award from Phi Delta Kappa and was selected by the West Seneca Chamber of Commerce to receive the Educator of the Year Award.  He is also the recipient of the Dean’s Service Award as well as the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Graduate School of Education at the University at Buffalo.

Dr. Coppola’s most recent honor was his selection as one of the five educators in New York State and one of 24 in the United States to receive the Excellence in Educational Leadership Award presented by the University Council for Educational Administration.

Superintendent of Schools

Michael Cornell currently serves as Superintendent of Schools for the Hamburg Central School District, which educates nearly 3500 students each day in four elementary schools, one middle school and one high school. Mr. Cornell also serves as the President of the Erie-Niagara School Superintendents Association and is the Co-Chair of the New York State Council of School Superintendents (NYSCOSS) Legislative Committee. He has also served two terms on the NYSCOSS House of Delegates.

Prior to working in Hamburg, Mr. Cornell served as the Principal of Amherst Middle School from 2010 – 2015. With more than 30% of the students at Amherst Middle School qualifying for Free/Reduced Lunch, Mr. Cornell was able to maintain the school’s status as one of the highest performing middle schools in Western New York, ranking 7th in overall academic performance out of more than 100 public middle schools. He also served his administrative colleagues as president of the Amherst Administrator’s Association.

Mr. Cornell was recognized by the School Administrators Association of New York State (SAANYS) as the 2013 Middle School Principal of the Year for Western New York, and by Phi Delta Kappa as the 2014 Middle School Principal of the Year.

He began his administrative career in 2006 as an Assistant Principal at Lancaster High School.

Mr. Cornell was a social studies teacher at Kenmore West High School in the Kenmore Town of
Tonawanda Union Free School District from 1995 – 2006, where he also served as a Department
Chairman, Chairman of the Kenmore Staff Development Center Policy Board, and 2nd Vice President of the Kenmore Teacher’s Association.

Mike has also served as an Adjunct Professor at Niagara University, teaching The Capstone for the
School District Leader to students in their Educational Leadership program.

Also active in public affairs outside of education, Mr. Cornell was appointed by then-Governor George Pataki to serve on the Niagara River Greenway Commission in 2004, and was appointed to the Niagara County Redistricting Commission in 2011.

Managing Partner, Harvest Time Partners, Inc.

David is a combat veteran, business executive, husband, father, and creator of character-building resources that help individuals, families, and businesses reach their full potential in an uncertain world. He launched his business career as a sales representative achieving success through a sharp focus on understanding customer desires, tailoring solutions for unique client needs, and continually delivering results far above conventional expectations. His leadership skills and ability to seize opportunities enabled him to quickly rise through the ranks of corporate America, advancing to become the president of a $100-million-plus medical diagnostics company. Under David’s management, his teams drove results well above established expectations for growth in sales, customer retention, and employee engagement.

During his undergraduate years at West Point and by way of subsequent leadership assignments in the US Army Infantry, David’s character and leadership skills were cultivated and nurtured. As an airborne ranger infantry officer, David led a rifle platoon of 39 men with the 101st Airborne Division through several combat operations in the Gulf War. He was recognized with a Bronze Star for combat operations in February 1991.

David, his wife Tracy, and their four children have enjoyed the good fortune to live in many different parts of the United States and to meet all types of people. David and Tracy have focused much of their energy on developing programs and resources designed to strengthen the character of individuals and to build and sustain healthy relationships among marriages and families. This includes Character Creates Opportunity®, an initiative that was specifically designed to improve the character development of children, adolescents, and adults. They also established and sponsor the Harvest Time Partners Foundation, a charitable organization that supports children and young adults in the pursuit of character-building opportunities.

In addition, David and Tracy are the creators of a patented, award-winning conversation game, Abundant Harvest®, that continues to be especially embraced by families, schools, counseling programs, and faith-based organizations worldwide. The game’s popularity is based on its ability to open the door to more productive dialogue and encourage decision making based on principles such as honesty, loyalty, and commitment. Reinforcing the law of the harvest, the game’s primary takeaway is the age-old adage that you will always reap what you sow.

David balances a fast-paced work schedule with his family life and activities such as coaching sports, enjoying the outdoors, and doing charitable work. He holds an MBA from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from West Point. David has appeared on CBS, NPR, and PBS and has been featured by many other news outlets.

Andrew P. Fleming was admitted to practice in New York State in 1986. He is a graduate of SUNY at Buffalo Law School and a 1979 graduate of Pace University where he received his B.A. cum laude. Mr. Fleming served three years on active duty with the Marine Corps as an Infantry Officer before attending law school.

Mr. Fleming is a member of Chiacchia & Fleming, L.L.P. where his practice is concentrated in personal injury and labor and employment law. He represents businesses and individuals in wrongful termination litigation, including claims of sexual harassment, race and sex discrimination and breach of contract. The firm represents claimants in personal injury cases.

Mr. Fleming is an active member of the Bar Association of Erie County and its Labor Law Committee; from 1995 through 1998, he was elected to and served a three-year term on the Board of Directors of the 3,500+ member Bar Association. He served a two-year term as Chair of the Bar Association’s Labor and Employment Law Committee.

Mr. Fleming was elected Village of Hamburg Judge in 2006. Mr. Fleming has lectured extensively on the issues of sexual harassment, reverse discrimination and the Americans with Disabilities Act. Mr. Fleming, a 1975 graduate of Hamburg High School, was a charter member of the Hamburg School Foundation Board of Directors and has served for seven consecutive years. He is also on the Board of Directors of the “Friends of St. Luke’s” Mission of Mercy, a Corporate Roundtable member for Buffalo City Mission, and an active participant with Churches in Action of Hamburg.