GTA President Brian Ebertz 

Brian grew up in Greece and attended Greece schools.  He and his family live in Greece and his children have benefitted from the great education provided to all GCSD students.  Brian has worked in multiple buildings as an educator, and has served in many roles within the union throughout his employment.

In addition to serving as the Greece Teachers Association President since 2018, Brian also serves as the current NYSUT At-Large Director for the Rochester and surrounding region.  He has served in this role since 2020.  Brian enjoys working with NYSUT union leadership and local presidents from throughout the state advancing pro-public education initiatives.  

Brian’s roles and work include:

• Area Labor Federation Vice President, Rochester & Genesee Valley

• Greece Teachers Community Projects Board Member

• Monroe County Federation of Teachers Member

• NYSTRS Delegate

• NYSUT Delegate

• Executive Council Member, Elementary Advisor

• Negotiations Team Member- 2013 to present

• GCSD APPR Team Leader

• Senior GTA Representative

• Junior GTA Representative

Executive Vice President Al Firlit

Al has taught in Greece since 2001, and currently teaches high school art at Olympia. He credits his father, a retired Greece teacher, for impressing upon him the value of unionism and the importance of being a teacher advocate. 

During his career, Al has been involved with the union serving as a Building Rep, VP of Public Relations, Problem Solving Chair, and GTA Vice President. He has also served on our Elections Committee, Social Justice Committee and the negotiations team. In addition, Al serves as Board President of the GTCP, the not-for-profit arm of the GTA.

Problem Solving Chair Kevin Thornton

Kevin has taught in Greece since 2003, and currently provides intervention support at Pine Brook. 

A Nazareth alum, in 2016, he shined at the 86th RDGA District Championship/John H. Ryan Memorial, placing third overall with a four-round total of 4-over-par (292) at Ridgemont Country Club.

During his career, Kevin has been involved with the union serving as a Building Rep, Elementary Advisor, VP of Public Relations, and now as Problem Solving Chair.

Vice President of Public Relations Joseph Lombardo, Sr. 

Joey grew up in Greece, where he attended Holmes Road, Craig Hill, Athena Middle School, and graduated from Athena High School.  He’s been a Greece Teacher since 2007- for many years as an Instructional Technology Teacher, helping teachers districtwide leverage the power of technology in their instruction, and now as a school librarian.  Before that, he was a 4th, 5th, and 6th grade classroom teacher.

As the VP of Public Relations, Joey works closely with Political Action Chair Peter Johnson on sharing our pro-education political messaging.  He is primarily responsible for The Association's online presence.  

Joey’s Union roles and work include:

• Elementary Advisor (2010-2018)

• Co-chair of the Elementary Report Card Team

• Chair of the tri-annual GTA Parliamentary Oversight Committee 

Vice President of Educational Programs Kara Manjerovic 

Kara Manjerovic has been a part of the Greece Central School District since 2001, and previously taught in the Middle Country School District on Long Island, NY .  She has worked as a Fourth, Kindergarten, First, and Second Grade teacher.  She is currently a First Grade teacher at Autumn Lane Elementary. 

Kara is a Board Member for the Greece Teachers Community Programs and assists in developing and supporting Coats For Kids, School Supplies, Food Drive initiatives and teacher mini-grants. 

Kara has represented the teacher voice as a Greece Teacher Association Union Junior and Senior Representative, attended the NYSUT Statewide Rep Assembly representing the District and currently serves as the current Vice President for Educational Programs.  She is the chairperson of the District’s Professional Learning  Steering Committee as well as the Chair of the District Policy Board,  and works in close collaboration with the Greece Professional Learning Center.

She lives in Pittsford with her husband, and has two daughters- Anna and Laura.  

Kara’s Union past and present roles and work include:

• Formerly Junior and Senior  building representative

• GCSD PLC  Guiding Coalition member

• VP for Educational Programs

• Chair of PL Steering Committee

• Chair of the District Policy Board

Vice President of Finance Erick Mock 

Erick has been a math teacher at Greece Central since 2005.  For many years he has served as a GTA building representative.  He has also assisted with several GTA committees such as Greece Teachers Community Programs and our Political Action Committee.  His additional duties include being a part of the master schedule team and a member of Athena’s Guiding Coalition.

In addition to his time with Greece Central, Erick also worked for Monroe 2 BOCES Regional Summer School for thirteen years.  During the last ten, he was the Testing Coordinator in charge of state and local exam administration for the program.

Erick was the recipient of the 2017 GTA Golden Apple award.

High School Advisor Kris Cappiello

Kris and her family are proud lifelong residents of Greece. Kris attended Paddy Hill, Athena Middle, and graduated from Arcadia; her husband went to Brookside, Autumn Lane, Athena Middle, and graduated from Athena. Both of their children attended Pine Brook and graduated from Odyssey, with her son currently teaching at Arcadia Middle. Kris has worked as a teacher in Greece since 1991 and started serving as a senior rep at Odyssey in 2010. In 2017 Kris joined the Executive Council as Secondary Advisor, yet is still very active in Odyssey's GTA building leadership team.  

Kris' union work includes:

• Negotiations Team Member

• NYSUT Delegate

• GCSD Code of Conduct Member

• GCSD District Leadership Team

• GCSD Culture and Climate Member

• GCSD District PLC Guiding Coalition

• Representing GTA at numerous staffing interviewing committees

Middle School Advisor Emily Wright

Emily Wright has been a dedicated member of the Greece Central School District since 2006, serving as an Inclusive Education Teacher at Olympia. Her teaching journey has also included roles at Acadia Middle School, Monroe 2-Orleans BOCES, and the Rochester City School District. Emily’s connection to Olympia is both professional and personal—her oldest daughter graduated in 2023, and her youngest is set to graduate in 2026.

A proud member of the Greece Teachers Association (GTA), Emily has served as Olympia’s Senior Representative since 2020. Her leadership extends across multiple areas: she has served on numerous interview committees, contributed to the School Improvement Team, and most recently, brought her insight to the Digital Mindfulness Committee. Her involvement also includes work on the Family Engagement Committee, the Mindfulness Culture Community, and the Home and Community Relations Committee.

Emily’s dedication goes beyond the classroom. She has chaperoned numerous class trips, is a lifetime member of the PTSA in every building she has served, and was honored with a Channel 8 Golden Apple Award.

Elementary School Advisor & Political Action Chair Peter Johnson

Peter has worked as an English as a New Language teacher in the Greece Central School District since 2005 at the elementary level. He has also served various roles for the Greece Teachers Association since 2015, including junior and senior building rep at Brookside Elementary School.

Peter is also the current GTA Political Action Chair, where he focuses his time on raising money for VOTE-COPE, which is NYSUT’s political advocacy fund, as well as working to support pro-public education and pro-union candidates at the local, state, and federal levels of government. He also organizes our yearly Board of Education candidate interview and endorsement process. He credits his parents, both retired RCSD educators, for instilling a commitment to education and unionism in him from a young age. 

Elementary School Advisor Gina McCormack

Gina has had the privilege of teaching kindergarten first and second grade, as well as serve as a math interventionist and teacher leader throughout her career in the Greece Central School District since 1999.   

In addition to her time in the classroom, Gina has served on building school improvement teams, acted as team leader, participated on multiple Leader In Me action teams and been the facilitator of Sunshine Committee.  Most recently, she was a member of the ELA curriculum review cycle team, District Guiding Coalition team and Paddy Hill building Guiding Coalition. 

Furthermore, Gina served as the Junior and Senior Union representatives at both Longridge and Paddy Hill. She knows firsthand the degree of work, time, passion and commitment elementary school teachers put into each and every student they teach and looks forward to giving back to our profession by expanding her involvement with the Greece Teachers Association. 

GTCP Leader David Blahowicz

David has been a part of the Greece Central School District since 2005.  He has worked as a special education teacher at Arcadia High, Autumn Lane Elementary, and Paddy Hill Elementary, as well as a math interventionist at Autumn Lane and Pine Brook Elementary.  He also worked as an APPR Teacher Leader in the district to help solve issues dealing with teacher evaluation.  

David has represented teacher voice as the facilitator of the teacher-led RtI, Special Education, District PLC Guiding Coalition and Professional Learning Committees, in addition to serving as a member of the Code of Conduct, the 2022 Strategic Plan and the new 2027 Strategic Plan Committees.  

David has also served on the District Improvement Team, District Advisory Council, and Curriculum Review Cycles for ELA, Social Studies, and Culture and Climate Committee.  David is also a Board Member for the GTCP and assisted in developing and supporting our Operation Warm, School Supplies, NYS 529 plans, Food Drive initiatives, and teacher mini-grants.

Team Leader of Making Strides Michelle Valachovic

Michelle has lived in Greece all her life and attended Greece schools. She has raised her children in Greece and they are both Graduates of Greece Athena HS.  Michelle has taught in Greece since 1998 at Apollo, Odyssey, Pine Brook, and now Athena.  Michelle has loved being a member of the Greece community as a student, parent and educator.   It has been enjoyable to watch her children grow alongside many of her students. 

Michelle’s roles besides being a GTA member include:

• Team leader for Making Strides Breast Cancer fundraiser 

• NYSUT Delegate for 5 years

• Junior Representative of GTA

• GCSD Data Dive member

• GCSD Technology Committee member 

• GCSD SIT ember and team leader at Pine Brook Elementary 

Women’s Network Committee Chair Karen Schindler

Karen started her career in the Ithaca area and then moved to Charlotte, NC. It was in North Carolina that Karen experienced what it was like to not be a part of a localized union- to lose planning periods and have below average median salary. This experience convinced her to return to NY in 2003 and start a career in GCSD. Karen has worked as a Social Studies teacher at Arcadia Middle and High schools and is currently at Athena Middle. 

Karen became more involved in GTA as a junior rep for Arcadia High. Here, she learned of NYSUT's statewide Women’s Committee and embraced their tenants of empowerment and commitment to education and support of women in our ranks. Currently, Women’s Network hosts book studies and celebratory events like HERstories. GTAWN also partners with the Rochester Regional and statewide committees and their events. 

In addition to Committee Chair, Karen has participated in numerous department, building, and district committees. She is also a NYSUT Implicit Bias trainer for their Sticks and Stones grant and a Nationally Board Certified Teacher.

Office Manager Cathy List

Cathy has been the Office Manager for the Greece Teachers Association since 2001.  Her mother held the position before her for twenty-one years, and her Grandmother was the first GTA secretary for twenty years before that!  

Cathy has lived in Greece her entire life, both her children attended Greece schools, her sister is a teacher at Autumn Lane, and her father was a Security Officer for Greece schools after he retired from Kodak.   She currently sits on the Greece Education Foundation Board, has been volunteering in classrooms for many years, as well as for district-initiated programs such as The Mentor Club, The Girls Club, The Oasis Tutoring Program, and the Food Bank at Arcadia Middle School. 

She is extremely proud of all the many accomplishments of our nonprofit branch, Greece Teachers Community Programs.  The GTA always has a very positive impact on our community and Cathy is proud to be a part of that!