The Youth Bureau Advisory Board is composed of volunteer community leaders who serve to advise the Youth Bureau and the agencies it supports.  Youth Advisory Board members dedicate many hours of work on a volunteer basis and are an invaluable resource to the Bureau and its staff.  Board Members are appointed by the County Executive with the approval of the County Legislature.  They each serve two year terms.

• Brandon Long
• Brain Lynch
• Peter Caruso**
• Mike Colangelo
• Brian Miller**
• Amy Dickinson
• Steve Gigliotti
• Damien Golden
• Dan Griffiths
• Elaine Hage
• Gary Heenan
• Ralph Leo
• Marty Nemecek
• David O'Brien
• Joleen Rocco
• Anthony Spado
• Patrick Sullivan
• David Zogby

*Denotes Youth Members

**Denotes County Legislator

Peter Caruso - Peter is an Oneida County Legislator and serves in an ex-officio capacity.

Mike Colangelo- Mike resides in Whitesboro, New York and is the Coordinator for the Stop-DWI program in Oneida County.  He is the Vice President for the School Resource Officer coalition, Co-Chairman of the Law Enforcement coalition of Oneida County and also serves as an officer in the NYS Stop DWI coordinators association.  He has a Bachelors Degree in Business/Public Management at SUNY-IT.

Amy Dickinson- Amy has served as Community Relations Manager for Barnes & Noble since July of 2003.  As the liaison between Barnes & Noble and the community, Amy establishes and oversees community outreach programs, plans and executes store events, coordinates fundraising for schools and non-profit literacy and arts organizations and handles all communications with the local media.  Prior to her position at Barnes & Noble, Amy has worked extensively with youth in Oneida County in several different capacities.  She has held positions of Childcare Worker and Teaching Assistant at the House of Good Shepherd.  Youth Counselor with the PINS Diversion Program and Special Education Teaching Assistant in the Clinton Central Schools.  Amy studied Liberal Arts at Ithaca College and has her Bachelors Degree in Business Administrations from Medaille College and an Associates Degree in Forestry from Paul Smith's College.  An active community member, Amy served on the boards of the Clinton American Youth Soccer Organization, and the Kirkland Women's Civic Group.  Amy lives in Clinton with her two sons, Porter and Jake.

Steve Gigliotti- Steve resides in Utica, New York and is a former Oneida County legislator whom was and is a strong advocate for youth.  He currently works helping senior citizens find employment.  He is a member of the Kiwanis, the Knights of Columbus and the Sons of Italy.  He is married with four children and six grandchildren.

Damien Golden - Damien is a Utica Police officer.  He is proud to be a Christian first and a family man second.  He loves working with children and helping develop their skills and mind-set to be successful in the future.

Dan Griffiths - Dan is an Oneida County Probation officer, who has coached in numerous youth leagues.  He resides in Clinton, NY with his wife Laurie and three children.

Elaine Hage- Elaine resides in Utica, New York and is a retired Physical Education teacher, having spent 35 years in the Utica City School District.  Elaine has always had a passion for motivating youth towards healthy, positive activities, through fitness and community activities.  She is the owner of Elaine's Fitness studio and also works as a coordinator at the Potato Hill Farm Outdoor Educational Center.  Elaine and her husband Paul have a daughter Marie, who is a senior at Proctor High School.

Gary Heenan- Gary resides in Westmoreland, New York and is the Head Men's Hockey coach at Utica College.  Since becoming head coach in 2000, Gary has led the pioneers to five ECAC playoff appearances, two appearances in the ECAC Championship game, and one ECAC regular season Championship.  He was named coach of the year in 2005.  Gary's enthusiasm and competitive program has captivated the Utica area, as is evident by the record setting home attendance of 2,781 fans per game in 2007.  Gary is a 1997 graduate of Hamilton college and has his own hockey school company called "Heenan's Hockey Systems".  He and his wife Jodi have a daughter Riley.

Ralph Leo- Ralph resides in Sauquoit, New York and is in his 41st year as an educator in the Utica School district, where he also served as the Boy's Varsity Basketball coach at Proctor High School for many years.  He is currently the Athletic Sports Manager at Proctor.  He is a member of the Utica Sports Hall of Fame and actively involved in the Special Olympics.  He and his wife Barbara have four children and six grandchildren.

Brandon Long- Brandon resides in Utica, New York and is a school teacher at JFK Middle School in the Utica City School district.  He has a Bachelors Degree from Hamilton College and is working on his Masters at Utica College.  He is the Assistant Director of the King of Kings Life Development program.

Brian Lynch- Brian resides in Camden, New York and is the pastor at Abundant Life Community Church.  A Long Island native Brian received his Associates Degree in broadcasting from Herkimer Community College in 1979 and went into the Ministry in 1990.  He is married with four children and three grandchildren.

Brian Miller- Brian is an Oneida County Legislator and serves in an ex-officio capacity.

Marty Nemecek - Marty is the Director of Athletics and Physical Education for the Utica City Schools.  Marty has coached numerous high school sports and was very active in Little League, Pop Warner football and AYSO soccer.  Marty and his wife Carla reside in Utica with their son, Stefan.

David O'Brien- Dave resides in Waterville, New York where he has served as the Mayor, for three terms from 1996-2002.  A familiar face in the village he calls home, David spent 33 years as a teacher and athletic coach in the Waterville School District.  His service as the district's football coach earned him Central New York Football Coach of the Year honors in 1980.  While retired from professional life, David continues an active volunteer life.  He serves as the Program Director for the highly regarded Boys' State.  The program, run by the American Legion, offers young men from around New York State the opportunity to see first hand how public service works.  He has volunteered for Boys' State for 25 years.  David and his wife are the proud parents of two children and grandparents to five.

Joleen Rocco - Jolene is an English teacher at VVS High School in Verona. She is the advisor in the INTERACT club, which is sponsored by the Sherrill Rotary. Joleen and her student members are very active with-in the VVS community with community service, including the Youth Bureau sponsored clean-ups.

Anthony Spado - Tony is a past member of the Rome Common Council and has served on many Rome Chamber of Commerce committee’s including Economic Development, Military Affairs and Public Safety. He and his wife reside in Rome, NY and they have two children, Anthony and Christie.

Patrick Sullivan - Pat resides in Utica, New York and works with the Vesid program through the New York State Education Department.  He has a BS degree from Ithaca College and a Masters degree in Rehabilitation from Syracuse University.  He and his wife Jodi are the parents of two daughters.

David Zogby - Dave is a life long Utican, who, now resides in New York Mills, NY. Dave is the Director of Community Resources for Utica Municipal Housing.