Thomas Staudter grew up in North Tarrytown (now Sleepy Hollow), and has resided in the Town of Ossining since 1996. He is presently Communications Director for Hudson River Sloop Clearwater, the environmental organization. For the past several years Tom has owned and operated Green Man Media & Management, an independent media consulting business specializing in the music industry. As a freelance writer, Tom's articles have appeared in many newspapers and periodicals across the country; for many years his "On the Beat" column has run weekly in The Gazette, a local newspaper. From 1992-2005 he was an adjunct professor at Westchester Community College, teaching in both the Communications and English Departments, and until recently was an adjunct professor at Purchase College, where he taught a "Business of Music" graduate seminar in the Conservatory of Music. Tom earned his BA at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Communications and English, then received his MA from the Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins University. He and his wife Carol, a manager of subsidiary rights at Reader's Digest, have two children, Margaret and George. A serious book collector, Tom also enjoys photography and cooking.

Reginald D. Bush (“Reggie”/“Doc”) is a 1983 graduate of the College of Liberal Arts at Howard University where he studied Zoology, Chemistry, and Political Science. As a community leader in Ossining, Reggie has made his presence felt countywide by his dedication to the Board of Directors for Westchester Community Opportunity Program (WestCOP), where in 2005 he finished a term on the Executive Committee, but continues to be a key player in their annual dinner dance planning and committee and a general member of the WestCOP  Board of Directors. WestCOP is an organization countywide that implements and manages social programs for minorities from ages 3 through 93. Reggie is also heavily involved with Interfaith Council for Action (IFCA), a multi-million dollar organization that deals with affordable housing for low-income families. Reggie has been a member of the Board of Directors for the past 8 years, where in 2004 he was elected Chairman of the Board (the first minority to hold this title in this organization’s 38 year history). Reggie is a former member of the Ossining Zoning Board of Appeals and subsequently was appointed by the Mayor of Ossining to become a member of the Planning and Architectural Review Boards of Ossining in 2005, a five-year position he currently holds. He has held the position of President for the Howard University Alumni Club of Westchester / Rockland, NY for the past 10 years, and was bestowed the honor of President Emeritus in September, 2005).

Art Jay grew up in Bridgehampton, a small town at the end of Long Island. He attended SUNY Fredonia [BS Music Ed.], Western Connecticut State University [MS Music Ed.], and SUNY Purchase [MFA in Music Composition]. He also holds certifications as a classroom teacher, school principal and school district administrator. He has been an Ossining resident for over thirty years.

In 2002 Art retired after thirty-seven years as a public school music educator, thirty-two of them in Ossining where he was the founder and artistic director of the Children’s Opera Company of Ossining. His music compositions include several children’s musicals, numerous song collections and choral works, and four children’s operas. He has received numerous awards for outstanding contributions to education, including a Life Achievement Award from the Cab Calloway Foundation, specifically for his contribution to the arts in Westchester. He served for fifteen years as director of the Westchester Arts and Science Program for Gifted Children. After many years teaching private piano, Art became certified as an adjudicator of student pianists for the New York State School Music Association.

Immediately after his retirement Art moved to France for a year, and continues to travel extensively in Europe, writing essays based on his travel experiences. His dream trip is an extended bike trip in France from Cherbourg in the north to Agde on the Mediterranean Sea.

Closer to home, he a member of La Boule New Yorkaise and the Pétanque Club of Westchester, promoting the sport of pétanque, the French equivalent of bocce. He and his wife, Patti, enjoy friends, grandchildren, and gourmet cooking. His twin sons, Jonathan and Jeremy graduated from OHS and are currently a music teacher and a computer specialist respectively.

Peter Capek worked for more than 30 years at IBM Research in Yorktown, where he worked primarily in the areas of computer operating systems and computer architecture. He was a member of the IBM Academy of Technology, and holds a number of patents. Peter grew up in New York City, and continues to visit there often. He lives in Yorktown with his wife, a professor of English Education at Teachers College, and son, a student at Ossining High School.

Samantha Brail has been a resident of Ossining since 1999. She holds a BA in Economics and English from Siena College, and an MBA from Union College. She has worked in financial analysis and planning for the last 15 years at various companies including Nickelodeon and CNN; she now works for the privately held firm Spraylat Corp. in Westchester. Her husband Kevin is owner of Zeitbyte.com a digital media company. Their daughter Stella is currently at All Aboard Daycare in Ossining but looks forward to attending Ossining public schools in the near future. Samantha grew up in upstate New York and lived in New York City previous to moving to Ossining. In NYC she was an active volunteer with NY Cares, including AIDS awareness programs. With her free time she enjoys reading, snowboarding and fly-fishing. She is a member of Trout Unlimited which engages in ecological preservation.

Mirla Morrison has lived in our community since 1969 and taught social studies at Ossining High School for 30 years before she retired in 2000. She has always been involved in community service including the Boards of the PTA, OPTS, the Ossining Children's Center, and the Ossining MicroFund. Mirla currently is an educational consultant and works as an On-Site Consultant for Putnam/Northern Westchester BOCES in many of our region's school systems; a writer for Channel Thirteen's Wide Angle Curriculum; and the Project Director for an Integrated Web-based Social Studies/ELA Elementary Curriculum. Because of her interest in art and history she has become a guide at Kykuit, the Rockefeller estate. Mirla is married to George, a retired BOCES administrator and a Master Gardener volunteer. She has two marvelous adult children, and two grandchildren.

 

TO BECOME A TRUSTEE:

One trustee is appointed by the Board of Education, Ossining Union Free School District, for a term of three (3) years or such lesser period as may be required by reason of vacancy. Vacancies are announced in local newspapers, and all eligible candidates are invited to apply. Candidates must be U.S. citizens, 18 years of age or older, and reside within the boundaries of the Ossining School District.