Chair of the Community Outreach Committee

David G. Smaczniak began his involvement with the Character Council of Western New York in 2004, when the organization was still known as the Hamburg Character Council. Dave has been the building liaison from Frontier High School since that time. He served on the Education Committee, composed of representatives of all Member Schools, beginning in 2005. He became chairman of the Education Committee in 2010 and served in that role until 2015. He joined the Board of Directors of the Character Council of Western New York in 2020.

Dave is a graduate of Canisius College with a Bachelors degree in Secondary Social Studies and History and also received Master degrees from Cansisus in History, General Education and Education Administration. Dave began teaching in West Seneca part-time in 1997 and later went on to teach at Our Lady of Czestochowa in Sloan, Heim Middle in Williamsville and at Riverside Institute of Technology and the Academy of Science, Mathematics and Business Technology in the Buffalo City Schools. In 2004 he became Assistant Principal of Frontier High School in Hamburg and has been with the district since then. Dave represents Frontier on the Education Committee of the Southtowns Chamber of Commerce, the Hamburg Drug-Free Communities Coalition and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Hamburg Parent-Child Connection. Dave has been the long-time Vice President of the Frontier Parent Teacher Student Alumni Association (PTSA) and also serves on the Board of Directors of the Western Region PTA, chairing the Education and Advocacy Committees.

Dave is a former member (President and Vice President) of the West Seneca Board of Education, the Erie 1 BOCES Board of Education, the Board of Directors of the Erie County School Boards Association and is the immediate past Regional Director of the New York State School Boards Association, elected to represent Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming Counties. Dave also previously served on the board of directors of Promoting Partners in Public Education, Incorporated and the WNED Think Bright Advisory Board. He also was a board member of the Kosciuszko Foundation of Western New York, the Professional and Businessmen’s Association, the Stiglmeier Park Steering Committee and the West Seneca Development Corporation. Dave has been active in his church, St. Philip the Apostle Parish in Cheektowaga and with Southline Athletic Association – Little League.

Dave has been honored for his service to students, youth and the community with the following awards: Western New York Foreign Language Educators’ Council – Friend of Foreign Languages Award, Western Region PTA – Jane Skrzypek Educator of the Year Award, Business First – 40 Under 40 Award, Business First – Pathfinders Award, Town of Cheektowaga – Service to Youth Award, and the Am-Pol Eagle – Citizen of the Year Award.

Dave resides in West Seneca.

Term Expires 2023

Lorene accepted a Board of Director’s position for Character Council of WNY on June 10, 2020. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Biology from Buffalo State College, a Master’s Degree in School Schooling, and a Master Degree in School Administration from Canisius College in Buffalo, New York. She was also accepted and briefly enrolled in the Doctoral program in Education Leadership at D’Youville College, in Buffalo, New York.

Lorene is currently retired from the Buffalo Board of Education after serving 34 years with the district as a substitute teacher, school counselor, hearing officer, and school administrator (Dean of Students). Throughout her career she has always had a “great passion for character education” and she was one of the district’s “greatest champions” and advocate for incorporating character education into the schools and looks forward to continuing this passion with CCWNY.

Lorene was born and raised in Buffalo, New York, and currently resides in Cheektowaga, New York with her husband David, District Elder at Christ Temple Church; and she has a daughter, Vanessa, who is a teacher with the Buffalo Public School District.

Lorene looks forward to serving the WNY community through her Board position with Character Council of WNY. “Better Me, Better We. Better Community”

President Term expires May 2021     

Suzanne L. Bracci has been an active member of the Character Council of WNY and its initiatives since 2010. She joined the Board of Directors in October 2013, was elected to the positions of Vice President in June 2014 and President in June 2016.  Suzanne holds a Bachelor and Master Degree from Canisius College and a Certificate of Advanced Study and NYS Certification in School Counseling. Suzanne spent the first 15 years of her career in business-related positions and the last 15 years in education-related careers as a middle school counselor, life coach/trainer/speaker, and educational consultant. She finds her current position as WNY Regional Director for CITRS (Character, Integrity, Trust, Relationships, Success) to be very rewarding as she now has the honor of working both in her volunteer and career capacities in character development and helping people to be their best selves.

Suzanne has been interested in character excellence as far back as she can remember. From receiving a good citizenship award in the eighth grade, to her contributions for two decades as a religious education teacher, to her extracurricular positions at JFK Middle School as co-chair of the Friends of Rachel Club and PBIS Committee (both dedicated to promoting positive behaviors such as respect, responsibility, and kindness), she has dedicated much of her life to developing and celebrating positive character and moral excellence in our community.

Suzanne lives in Clarence Center, NY with her husband, Michael, and has three grown children, Alexa, Justin and Amanda. Together they are striving to be a family of character excellence.

Suzanne is honored to serve as president of the Character Council of WNY and is committed to the council’s mission of “Creating a Culture of Character” in our community. For we know that when we are a “Better ME,” together we are a “Better WE,” and the result is a “Better COMMUNITY.”

Suzanne invites anyone interested in knowing more about the Character Council of WNY to contact her through the council’s website or (716) 202-0702.

Term Expires 2021

Lucas Joined CCWNY in October of 18′ after being made aware of the open board seat from his former Hilbert College Business Professor, Pat Heraty. Lucas believes that if we can teach and promote good character a lot of other issues will be prevented.

Lucas is also involved with many dog rescues. He runs a “non-profit of the month” competition that has connected him with so many great people. Lucas is the Owner of Cellino Plumbing & HVAC along with Cellino & Wangelin Group.

Member Schools Chair

Scholarship Committee Chair

Term Expires May 2021

Jerry J. Parisi began his involvement with the Character Council of WNY while serving as an administrator with the Grand Island Central School District in 2009 and joined the Board of Directors in February 2018. He believes that character initiatives in schools must be systemic, broad ranging, and involve the entire community. Jerry is currently the Assistant Director of Pupil Personnel Services in the Salamanca City Central School District. Jerry has been a School Counselor and Administrator for the last 20 years. In addition to his role as Assistant Director, he is also a HS Football coach at Salamanca and Adjunct Professor at the University at Buffalo.

Jerry is a native of Long Island, NY and moved to WNY to attend the University at Buffalo, where he received a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Master’s degrees in both School Counseling and Educational Administration. While at UB, Jerry was a member of the UB Bulls football team (Freshman Year), the Psi Chi National Honor Society, the Undergraduate Psychology Association, and worked as a Resident Advisor/Assistant Hall Director in the residence halls and as a Computer Consultant in the Information Technology Labs.

As an educator, Jerry believes that it is his job to ensure the academic, social, emotional, cultural and vocational well-being of all his students. The core values that define his personal and educational philosophies are building positive relationships, effective communication, mutual respect, and personal responsibility. His goal is to assist students in developing appropriate personal, educational, and vocational plans, based on their abilities, interests and objectives with the help of their families and community.

Jerry currently resides in Hamburg.

Term Expires 2023

Spencer joined the Character Council of WNY Board of Directors in the summer of 2020. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Washington & Lee University, with minors in Education and Mass Communications. After graduation, he accepted a position in the M&T Bank Management Development Program, which brought him to Buffalo, New York. 

Spencer is currently a Business Communications Specialist at M&T Bank, where he serves as Editor-In-Chief of the company’s employee newsletter and advises change management teams seeking to implement bank-wide enhancements. A devotion to character education has been a common thread in his personal and professional life. From volunteering with The First Tee of WNY, introducing junior golfers to the organization’s core values, to student-teaching in elementary schools in Virginia and New York State, Spencer is passionate about equipping the next generation to be the leaders of tomorrow. He’s excited to work with his CCWNY colleagues to make that vision a reality.

Spencer grew up in Davenport, Iowa, and currently resides in Buffalo, New York. The city has become home, and he looks forward to giving back to the WNY community that welcomed him just a short time ago.