Meet the Board

The Niskayuna Board of Education is a seven-member board elected by the community that is responsible for the governance of the school district. Members serve three-year terms without pay.

You can contact the board by email at schoolboard@niskyschools.org.

Headshot photo of Kimberly TullyKimberly Tully, President

Term: July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025

Kimberly Tully is serving her second term on the Board.

Tully is the director of educational advisement at Tully Rinckey PLLC. In that role, she acts as a liaison between attorneys and clients on special education matters. She has a bachelor’s degree in deviant behavior and social control from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, a master’s in education from the University at Albany, and teaching certificates in childhood education, literacy, and students with disabilities.

Tully is a past secretary and co-president of Rosendale PTO and the current secretary of Iroquois PTO and the co-president of PTO Council. She volunteers as a humane law enforcement officer with the Schenectady County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) and serves as a committeeperson for Boy Scout Troop 3034 in Niskayuna and a religious education teacher at Zion Lutheran Church.

She has lived in Niskayuna for 14 years. She and her husband, Mat, have three children: Kevin, who is in sixth grade at Iroquois Middle School; and Brendan and Annamae, who are in third and first grades, respectively, at Rosendale.

 

Headshot photo of Brian BackusElisabeth Cococcia, Vice President

Term: July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025

Elisabeth Cococcia is serving a first term on the Board. She serves on the Birchwood PTO (vice president of fundraising; co-president) and Van Antwerp PTO. She volunteers for several organizations, including the Niskayuna Farmers’ Market (chairperson). Cococcia is an electrical engineer and previously worked at GE.

She has lived in Niskayuna for 20 years. She and her husband John have two children, Mirabella, 11, and Cameron, 9.

 

Jessica LaFex

Term: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2026

Jessica LaFex is serving a first term on the board. She serves as co-president of the Rosendale and Iroquois PTOs and the PTO Council, and volunteers with several organizations, including as pantry manager and board member of Nisky NOW. LaFex is a 7-8 English teacher in South Colonie Central School District. She has lived in Niskayuna for 10 years and has three children.

 

head shot photo of Howard SchlossbergAliya Saeed

Term: July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2024

Aliya Saeed is serving a first term on the Board. A physician and board-certified psychiatrist, Saeed works with the New York State Office of Mental Health. She completed her general psychiatry training at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Public Psychiatry fellowship at the New York State Psychiatric Institute-Columbia University. Saeed has previously been an assistant professor of psychiatry at the University of Massachusetts Medical School, director of the crisis service at Ellis Hospital, and the owner of a clinical practice. She has led workshops on the mental health aspects of topics such as bullying and community resilience at conferences for the American Psychiatric Association, as well as for community groups and professional organizations.

Saeed has served as the president of the Capital District branch of the American Psychiatric Association and is on the board of the Group for Advancement of Psychiatry, a national body of psychiatric experts in its 75th year. She previously coordinated a soup kitchen which was located at the Schenectady City Mission, she served on the Niskayuna Police Reform and Reinvention Collaborative, as board president of a Community Center as it completed its capital project, and as board vice president of the YWCA of Northeastern New York. She was also on the board of APAPA, which promotes Asian American political engagement, where she led a public-service internship program for students. Saeed co-founded a local interfaith group of Jewish and Muslim women.

Saeed and her husband, Dr. Saqib, have lived in Niskayuna since 2004. They have two adult children who attended Niskayuna schools, and their son Yousuf is currently in 9th grade at the high school.

 

head shot photo of Howard SchlossbergHoward Schlossberg

Term: July 1, 2021 – June 30, 2024

Howard Schlossberg is serving a third term on the Board. Schlossberg is a physician at New York Oncology Hematology. He has a bachelor’s degree in Biology from Cornell and earned a medical degree from Temple University. Schlossberg completed a fellowship at Thomas Jefferson University for hematology and oncology.

He served as the secretary on the executive board of his practice, New York Oncology Hematology, and continues as a director while serving on the Research, Peer Review, and Pharmacy committees. He also served on the Schenectady County Public Health Advisory Committee, as well as Ellis Medicine committees including Transfusion and Institutional Review, and Oncology.

Schlossberg has served on the board of Community Hospice and the Executive Board at Congregation Gates of Heaven. He teaches high school students, medical students and residents.

He has lived in the district since 2005 and is married to Michelle Ostrelich. They have two daughters, Fiona and Rachel, who both attend Niskayuna High School.

 

Sarah Tishler

Term: July 1, 2023 – June 30, 2026

Sarah Tishler is serving a first term on the board. Sarah is an attorney in private practice, specializing in trade secret and restrictive covenant litigation and advising, as senior counsel with Beck Reed Riden LLP. Sarah devotes a significant amount of her law practice to pro bono work, providing free immigration and civil rights assistance to underserved communities. Sarah has a BS and BA from Northeastern University, a JD/LLM from Duke University School of Law, and a Masters from Sciences Po (Paris).

A graduate of Niskayuna High School (Class of ’06), Sarah has lived in Niskayuna for a total of 21 years. Sarah and her husband, Ben Morton-Harmer, have two children (ages 3 and 1).

 

Headshot photo of Judith TomismanJudith Tomisman

Term: July 1, 2022 – June 30, 2025

Judy Tomisman is serving a first term on the Board. Tomisman has served in numerous volunteer roles within the community and currently volunteers with several organizations, including N-CAP. She works at the NYS Office of Children and Family Services.

She has lived in Niskayuna for about 30 years. Tomisman has four children, Justin, Jocelyn, Jackie and Jeremy, who are all Niskayuna High School graduates.