The Summer Institute is an affiliated Teacher CoSer of Erie One BOCES, Jane Ogilvie, Division Director and Bob Carlson, Operations Manager, (716) 821-7550
| OUR STAFF | |
 | Stephanie Brown is a co-chair of this year's Summer Institute. She attended Buffalo State College where she earned her Bachelor's degree in Social Studies (7-12). She helped organize the 2007 Day of Learning on Darfur at Daemen College, and has also attended the 2008 Arthur Rochelle Belfer National Conference for Educators held at the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum in Washington D.C. Stephanie currently sings in semi-professional choir and teaches history at Grand Island High School in Grand Island, NY. |
 | Benjamin J. Higgins is a co-chair of this year's Summer Institute, taking charge of technology and program development. He is also the Educator/Technology Integrator at Springville Central School District. He earned his Bachelor's degree in Elementary Education at SUNY Geneseo and received his Master's in Educational Computing from Buffalo State College. Benjamin was a presenter at the 21st Century Schools conference. Benjamin is a member of Virtual Pioneers (MUVE in Education) and ISTE, MarcoPoloNY/ThinkfinityNY Super Trainer, and is an Intel Master Teacher. He lives nearby with his wife Allie and their new son Jonah. |
 | Matthew Meader is a co-chair for this year's Summer Institute and is also an English teacher at Hamburg High School. He received his Bachelor's degree in English from the State University of New York at Fredonia and is currently completing his Master's in English education at Buffalo State College. Matthew attended the 2007 Day of Learning on Darfur at Daemen College and the Genocide Education Conference at Yale University. He is on the Board of Directors for Buffalo for Africa and is a Faculty Advisor of Student Activists at Hamburg High School. He lives in Hamburg, NY with his wife, Angela, and their three children; Hannah, Morgan, and Evan. |
 | Lori Raybold is a co-chair of this year's Summer Institute and is also an English teacher at Hamburg High School. She received her Bachelor's degree in English from Penn State and earned her Master's degree in English from SUNY Fredonia. Lori has been a part of the 2007 Day of Learning on Darfur, the Yale Conference on Genocide, and the 2007 Arthur and Rochelle Belfer National Conference for Educators. She is on the Board of Directors for Buffalo for Africa and is the co-advisor for Student Activists at Hamburg High School. Lori lives with her husband, Troy, and she is an avid clarinet player. Her talents took her to the 1995 Rose Bowl Parade where she performed with the Penn State Marching Blue Band (Go Lions!). |
 | Andrew Beiter is an 8th Grade Social Studies teacher at Springville Middle School. In addition to co-chairing the Summer Institute, he is a board member of the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo, as well as Buffalo for Africa. Graduating with a BA in Political Philosophy from Michigan State University and a Masters in Education from Fredonia State College, Mr. Beiter was the national winner of the 2007 Irena Sendler Award for Repairing the World, and is currently a 2008 Teacher Fellow of the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum. He has run numerous workshops on the Holocaust and genocide prevention, including the 2007 Day of Learning on Darfur at Daemen College. He is the proud parent of Maggie and Mitchell Beiter, and has been married for 13 years to his wife Mary. |
 | Michael Baronich is a sophomore at Canisius College in Buffalo, NY, where he is majoring in Secondary Education with a minor in Social Studies. In addition to interning at the Summer Institute, Michael has interned at Burgard High School, and has played lead roles in several local theatrical productions. This is Michael's first experience working on genocide awareness with students. |
 | Lara Sweeney is a senior at SUNY Fredonia, majoring in Social Studies Education and History. In addition to interning at the Summer Institute, Lara has attended the Teaching American History Conference in 2006 and the Day of Learning on Darfur Conference in 2007. In her sophomore year at Fredonia, Lara was one of the co-chairs who planned and executed a weeklong series of events on campus to raise money and awareness for Darfur. Lara will student teach in spring of 2009 and graduate in May. |
 | Colleen Coster is a Graphic Designer at Core101, a web development company located in Downtown Buffalo. She focuses on web design, as well as brand developement and marketing. Colleen received her Bachelor of Fine Arts from SUNY Fredonia in 2001. She attended the 2007 Day of Learning on Darfur at Daemen College, and is on the Board of Directors for Buffalo for Africa. |