Board of Trustees
The Make-A-Wish Foundation® of Northeast New York is governed by a volunteer Board of Trustees. The Trustees are charged with overseeing the affairs of the organization, setting policies and procedures, raising funds and other duties, to fulfill the mission of the Foundation.
Paul Bonacquisti
President
Catherine Hull, MS Ed.
Secretary
Catherine Hull has been a franchisee with Sylvan Learning Center since opening her first center in Albany in 1995. She currently owns and serves as Chief Executive Officer of Sylvan Learning Centers throughout the Capital Region and Syracuse, NY and is an active member of the Sylvan Franchise Owners Association.
Prior to joining the Board of Trustees of Make-A-Wish, Ms. Hull was a board member of the Northeast Association of the Blind of Albany and previously served as a board member and vice-president of a school board. Cathy currently resides in Latham.
She is a graduate of The College of St. Rose in Albany with a Bachelors in Business and a Masters in Education.
Michael P. Lasch
Treasurer
Michael Lasch is a Managing Director and co-founder of Pine Street Capital Partners, a private equity fund founded in 2004 and based in Albany, NY.
From 1997-2004, Mike was a Director in FleetBoston Corporation’s corporate and investment banking group in Boston, MA.
Before starting his finance career, he served as a congressional aide in Washington, DC.
He is a 2007 recipient of the New York Capital District Business Review’s “40 under 40” award.
Mike was named a member of the Board of Trustees of the Make-a-Wish Foundation of Northeast New York in 2008. He also serves on the boards of St. Pius X School, the Evangelist Newspaper and the Upstate Venture Association of New York.
Mike resides in Loudonville with his wife, Alicia, and their three children, William, Christian and Alexandra.
Thomas L. Amell
Trustee
Thomas L. Amell is currently the President and Chief Operating Officer of Pioneer Bank, and will assume the role of Chief Executive Officer and President in 2013. Pioneer Bank is headquartered in Troy, New York with 16 branches in and around the Capital District.
Previously, Mr. Amell was the President of Commercial Services for SEFCU. His duties there included directing SEFCU Commercial Banking functions, building and expanding commercial relationships in the Capital Region, Southern Tier, Central and Western New York, and developing a successful commercial division within the credit union.
Prior to SEFCU, Mr. Amell served as the Eastern New York President for First Niagara where he provided executive level leadership to all employees within the eastern New York region. Additionally, he served as a regional liaison between banking, insurance and wealth management groups and provided leadership to the Regional Corporate Contributions Committee.
Prior to First Niagara, Mr. Amell was the New York State Business Banking Director for Citizens Bank in Albany. Mr. Amell also was a Regional Sales Manager for GE Corporation, as well as a Sales Executive for HSBC Bank in Buffalo.
Mr. Amell is active in many professional and community organizations in the Capital Region and serves as chair of the Siena College Board of Associate Trustees, and sits on the Siena College Board of Trustees. He is the Chairman of the Board of Northern Rivers Family Services, a member of the Board for the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Board of Trustees for Make-A-Wish Northeast New York, and 15 Love .
Mr. Amell earned his BS from Siena College and his MBA from State University of New York at Albany. He resides in Clifton Park with his wife, Chris, and his son, Jake.
Leslie M. Baker
Trustee
Lee Castleman
Trustee
Lee Castleman is the General Manager, Major Accounts for BlueShield of Northeastern New York. His responsibilities include overseeing, growth and retention and profit and loss for the organization. Prior to his current position, he was Director of Sales, Major Accounts for the company. He oversaw sales and marketing for BlueShield concentrating on companies with over 150 employees. Lee has been with BlueShield of Northeastern New York for the past 11 years.
He holds a BA from Niagara University.
Lee was named a Trustee for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Northeast New York in September 2009.
He has two black Labradors and enjoys golfing and travel. He resides in Duanesburg with his wife, Brianna. He has three sons, Liam, Drew and Keegan.
Sean M. Doolan, Esq.
Trustee
James A. Campone, Jr.
Trustee
Brian V. Hannafin
Trustee
Reid C. Hutchins
Trustee
Donald L. Orlando
Trustee
