Biographies of LGRAC Members (Local Government Records Advisory Council)

Local Government Records Advisory Council
Biographies of Members

Brian G. Andersson has been Commissioner of New York City’s Department of Records and Information Services since 2002. Previously, he served as Assistant Commissioner for the Department of Records. Brian is a historian and genealogist specializing in immigration documentation, focusing on arrivals at the Port of New York.

Thomas R. Bodden has been the Manager of Research and Information for the Association of Towns of the State of New York since 1990. He has authored or co-authored numerous books and articles about local government in New York.

Karen Briner Peterson has served as the Director of Human Resources for the Jamestown City School District since 2002, where she also serves as the Records Management Officer. She has been admitted to practice law in New York and Arizona, and she has years of legal experience in both states. She also serves on the State Archives’ Regional Advisory Committee for Region 8 (Western New York).

Patricia Bryce was appointed the director for the Albany County Hall of Records (ACHOR) in 2007. Before that, she served as deputy director since 1989. Prior to her tenure with ACHOR, she spent five years as Albany County Deputy County Clerk. She has served on the New York Association of Local Government Records Officers’ Board of Directors, and is an associate member of the New York Association of County Clerks. She received the William Hoyt Annual Archives Award for Excellence in Advocacy, as well as the Guy D. Paquin Award for participation and promotion of sound records management to local governments.

Ann Ciarpelli has been the Onondaga County Clerk since 1996. She serves as the clerk to the Supreme and County Court and the registrar for all county land records. She also serves as the chair for New York State Archives’ Region 5 (Syracuse) Advisory Committee. Working with Regional Advisory Officer Kent Stuetz, Ann sponsored the first Central New York Family History Conference in conjunction with the State Archives for 2003, and followed that with another in 2006.

Carolee A. Conklin has lived and worked in Rochester for more than forty years. She serves as a City Council Member for the City of Rochester. She has served as the City's Deputy Treasurer, the Monroe County Deputy County Clerk, and the City Clerk of Rochester. She has served as an active member and board member of the Genesee Valley PTA, Action for a Better Community, Alternatives for Battered Women (five years as treasurer), Women Helping Girls, and the American Association of University Women (ten years as treasurer).

Rebecca A. Connolly, MMC, has been the Town Clerk for the Town of Somerset since 1985. She previously served the Village of Barker as Clerk/Treasurer and Deputy Clerk. She is also a member of the New York State Archives Region 8 (Buffalo) Advisory Committee. She is the current editor of the Town Recorder, a quarterly publication of the Town Clerks Association.

Hector Diaz is the City Clerk of the City of New York. He served for the past twelve years as the Bronx County Clerk having been appointed by the Justices of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court and remaining in this capacity since 1996. Prior to his appointment he was elected as a member of the State Assembly representing the County of the Bronx. Additionally, he was chosen to become the Commissioner of the New York City Board of Elections throughout the years 1980 to 1983. Preceding his elected tenure as State Assemblyman, he acquired expertise in the area of substance abuse while working as a counselor for a South Bronx Substance Abuse Program. Benefiting from the experience gained in the area of Substance Abuse, he was chosen to chair the program’s Subcommittee on Substance Abuse for the New York State Legislature, and many of the Committee’s recommendations became the policy of the State.

Patricia N. Dohrenwend is Director of Westchester’s Archives and Records Center. Previously, she served for fifteen years as Town Clerk of Eastchester. In 2006, she was appointed a member of the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board (SHRAB).

Rick Hogan is the Chief Records Manager for the New York State Office of Court Administration. Prior to this position, he was County Clerk in Broome County from 1981 to 1998. During that term, he served as President of the New York State Association of County Clerks and received its Lifetime Achievement Award.

Joseph T. Jones is the Geographic Systems Coordinator for the County of Nassau, where he has worked for over 45 years. He has been a prior member of the New York State Archives’ Regional Advisory Committee for Region 10 (Long Island) and the steering committee for the Erie County Water Authority Demonstration Project for the development of the publication, GIS Planning and Implementation Guidelines for State and Local Governments.

David A. Little has served as the Director of Governmental Relations for the New York State School Boards Association since 1999. He served as the Counsel to Senate Majority Leader Joseph L. Bruno, Home Rule Counsel, and Majority Counsel for Local Governments and Cities in the New York State Senate from 1996 to1999. Through a resolution of the Rensselaer County Legislature, he received a community service award honoring his outstanding public representation in 1998.

Kathy Marchione has served as the Saratoga County Clerk since 1997. Previously, she served as the Clerk to the Saratoga County Board of Supervisors and as the Town Supervisor and the Town Clerk of the Town of Halfmoon. She serves on the State Archives’ Records Advisory Committee for Region 4 (the Adirondacks). She is currently the President of the New York State Association of County Clerks. She has received numerous awards for her work, including the New York State Association of County Clerks Annual Achievement Award (received four times), the William H. Kelly Award from the New York State Board of Regents for excellence in local government archival program development, and the Wheeler B. Melius Award from the New York Association of Local Government Records Officers for outstanding excellence in records management.

John T. McDonald III has been Mayor of the City of Cohoes since 2000. He has served on the State Comptrollers’ Local Advisory Team, the Capital District Transportation Committee, and Office for Technology Local Advisory Committee. He is Second Vice-President of New York State Conference of Mayors and Governor for the New York State Municipal Insurance Reciprocal.

Michael McSweeney is First Deputy City Clerk for the City of New York. Prior to this, he was the Director of Legislative and Community Affairs of LaGuardia Community College, CUNY. He previously served as the first District Chief of Staff of Congressman Joseph Crowley, having also served in the same capacity when Mr. Crowley was a Member of the New York State Assembly. Michael has been admitted to practice law in New York State since 2000.

Christian Sampson is Town Clerk of the Town of Ramapo. He is also a former Village Clerk/Treasurer. He is a member of the New York State Town Clerks Association and the New York Association of Local Government Records Management Officers.

Peter J. Savage is the Legislative Coordinator for the New York State Association of Counties. He is also the chief legislative representative for the New York State Association of County Clerks and the Association of Real Property Tax Directors of New York State. He began his career as a legislative intern for the Civil Service Employees Association.

Michelle Schimel represents New York State’s 16th Assembly District. Previously, she served as North Hempstead Town Clerk and was the only Registered Municipal Town Clerk in Nassau County. In 2006, Michelle served on the New York State Cyber-Security Panel in conjunction with Homeland Security to review Internet policies for local governments throughout the state. She serves on the board of New Yorkers Against Gun Violence, including previously as Vice-President. Formerly a Physical Therapist at North Shore University Hospital, she is one of a select few medical professionals who is board certified in wound care. She was formerly the Vice-President of a multi-million fashion jewelry company and Trustee of Temple Beth-El of Great Neck.

Anne Taylor serves as Court Attorney to the Hon. Dena E. Douglas, Judge of the Civil Court of Kings County. She previously held positions with the New York City Department of Transportation as Associate Attorney and Deputy Counsel for the Office of Litigation Services and Records Management. In her prior career as an information management professional, she worked with the New York City Department of Records and Information Services as Deputy Chief of the Records Management Unit and as Director of the Municipal Reference and Research Center (now City Hall Library) and in other libraries in Africa and the United States.

Geoffrey P. Williams has been University Archivist and Campus Records Officer at the University at Albany, SUNY, since 1987. He is a past chair of the New York Archives Conference and the University Libraries Faculty. He is co-chair of the New York State Historical Records Advisory Board (1996-present). He wrote the entries on Kate Stoneman and the University at Albany, SUNY, for The Encyclopedia of New York State.

Corene Wood is the records manager for the Brookhaven National Laboratory. She also serves on the Nassau Community College Records Advisory Committee, the Suffolk County Records Management Advisory Committee, and the Documentary Heritage Advisory Committee (Long Island Library Resource Council, Chairperson 2004-2006). In 1994 and 2006, she received the Spotlight Award for Excellent Job Performance at Brookhaven National Laboratory.