CNY Community Foundation announces new board members, officers

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — The Central New York Community Foundation board of directors on June 16 elected three new members and announced its slate of officers. 

The following new members were appointed to serve their first three-year term:

Catherine Bertini: She is board chair of Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN) and professor emeritus at Syracuse University’s Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Bertini previously served as executive director of the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) and as the UN under-secretary general. A resident of Homer, she was named the 2003 World Food Prize Laureate for both her transformational leadership at the WFP and the positive impact she had on the lives of women. Bertini served as a senior fellow at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, on the jury for the Hilton Foundation Humanitarian Prize, and as a Rockefeller Foundation fellow. 

Joseph Lazzaro: He is a certified financial planner and partner with CenterBridge Planning Group, LLC. Along with his financial planning and investment profession, Lazzaro is the treasurer and a board member of the Red House Theater, former president and board member of the Financial Planning Association of CNY, former endowment chair & board member at Interfaith Works, and a volunteer at the Samaritan Center and the Syracuse City School District Mentoring Program. 

Caeresa Richardson: She is the owner of Gypsy Freedom, Central New York’s first sustainable fashion boutique. After spending many years as a corporate engineer, Richardson created Gypsy Freedom to unite style and awareness, making them accessible for the everyday woman. Originally from Buffalo, she is very active in the local community. Most notably, Richardson is a business consultant at the WISE Women’s Business Center, a board member of the Gifford Foundation, and a member of the Women’s Fund of Central New York Leadership Council at the Community Foundation. 

The Community Foundation also announced its slate of officers for the upcoming year: 

• Board Chair: Daniel Fisher, former executive VP at Welch Allyn

• Vice Chair: Bea González, retired VP for community engagement and special assistant to the chancellor at Syracuse University

• Treasurer: Caragh D. Fahy, president and owner of Madison Financial Planning Group

• Compliance Officer: Karin Sloan DeLaney, principal at Sloan DeLaney P.C.

The Central New York Community Foundation is a public charity established in 1927 that receives contributions from donors, manages them to grow over time, and then distributes funding to local charities. It says it is the largest charitable foundation in Central New York with assets of more than $366 million.