The Board of Community Action Partnership for Madison County has a tri-partite board with members of the public sector, the private sector, and representatives for the low income community. Board meetings are held the first Tuesday, every other month (starting in February), at 5:30 PM at the Canastota office.
Sarah Chesebro-Casscles currently works for SUNY Morrisville, overseeing their Norwich campus. She has worked many years in various nonprofit agencies, recently as the Executive Director of Chenango Nursery School in Hamilton. Sarah holds a Master’s degree in Early Childhood Education and a Bachelor’s in Human Service Management. She enjoys continuous education and supporting the community. Sarah lives in Sherburne with her husband, five children, two dogs, and three horses.
Joe Mather is the liaison between the CAP Board of Directors and the Early Head Start Policy Council, of which he is the Chairperson. He has been in the volunteer fire service for over 20 years. Joe has spent the last eight years volunteering at the Canastota Fire Department, of which he is involved with fundraising. Joe lives in Canastota with his partner and three daughters. He loves giving back to his community and helping out in any way he can.
Maria Lenway is the Comptroller for the Town of Manlius. Maria holds a Bachelor’s in Business with a major in Management and Human Resource Management and a Bachelor’s in Accounting. In addition to serving on the CAP Board, she is also on the Board of her Church, Baldwinsville Adventist Church. She holds the positions of Clerk and Women’s Ministry Leader. She was previously employed for several years at the United Way of Central New York where she handled all Grants and Accounts Payable. Maria grew up in Pulaski, NY but now resides in Mattydale, NY with her husband, Jason. Maria enjoys vacationing in the Caribbean with her husband. Maria has a step-son, step-grandson, two dogs and a cat.
Wendy Dutcher, mother of three, is from Perryville, NY. She graduated from Cazenovia with a Regents Diploma and Community Service Awards, followed by an AA degree from SUNY Cobleskill. She has volunteered with Cornell cooperative extension as a 4-H leader, the Strengthening Families Program run by Bridges, and served as a policy council member and parent volunteer for the Head start program earning her a parent volunteer of the year award. She assisted CAP in initiating the Early Head Start program.
Kyle Reger began serving on the Madison County Board of Supervisors in 2024 representing Cazenovia. He is serving on the Health and Human Services Committee, Planning Committee, and Government Operations Committee as well as the Madison County Tourism Board of Directors. Prior to this role, Kyle served on the Town Board of Cazenovia from 2020 through 2023. Kyle has served on the Board of Directors for Community Action Partnership since 2020 and volunteers with numerous local organizations. Kyle resides with his wife Marla, and their two boys, Maxwell and Jackson. He enjoys coaching, attending their sporting events, and spending time together as a family.
Mike Levere is an assistant professor of economics at Colgate University. He is an expert in disability policy, often conducting research on the Supplemental Security Income and Social Security Disability Insurance programs. In his research, he seeks to identify approaches to help improve well-being among people with disabilities, as well as understand the factors that lead people, particularly youth with disabilities, to participate in disability benefits. In his free time, he enjoys being outdoors (especially biking and running), playing board games, and spending time with his wife and two kids. Mike has lived in Hamilton since 2023.
Janae Meyer is the pastor of Discovery Church in Canastota. She has a bachelor’s degree from Oregon State University in Economics, a Master of Divinity degree from Nazarene Theological Seminary, and is currently working on a doctorate. Janae and her family moved to New York in 2022 from Eugene, Oregon where she served at an inner city church and volunteered with refugee resettlement. In addition to pastoring Discovery Church, Janae works part-time as the assistant to the Superintendent of the Upstate New York District Church of the Nazarene and as the Communications Director for the Wesleyan Holiness Women Clergy. In her spare time, she enjoys reading, tv, and art.
Todd Rouse is the Senior Vice President of Sales for BUNN-O-Matic Corporation. A life-long resident of Madison County, he is the former Mayor of the Village of Canastota, President of the Canastota Development Corporation and active in several civic organizations. Additionally he is Chairman of the Madison County Republican Committee and Regional Vice Chairman for the New York State Republican Committee. Todd is married to his wife Mary and has two grown children.
Dr. Melissa Moore is the Assistant Dean for Title IX and Compliance at Le Moyne College in Syracuse. She has a bachelor’s degree from Le Moyne in Political Science, a Masters in Higher Education from Drexel University, a doctorate in Executive Leadership from St. John Fisher University and is currently working on a Masters in Business Administration with a Leadership concentration at Le Moyne. She was born and raised in Oneida, NY and currently resides in Canastota, NY with her husband, Chris and her 4 bonus children. Melissa has been an active member in the Central New York community serving on multiple non-profit boards. When not busy with work, school, and her family; Melissa enjoys watching True Crime documentaries and attending trivia nights at local establishments.
Heidi Menikheim is the Team Manager at Seneca Street Brew Pub in Manlius and the Sales and Marketing Manager at Erie Canal Brewing Company in Canastota. She founded the Manlius Pride Festival which is hosted yearly at her Seneca Street brewery. Heidi holds a bachelor’s degree in International Business and is bilingual in English and Spanish. I addition to serving on the CAP board, she volunteers for the Lions Club and raises funds to support the LGBTQ+ community.
Scott Blanchard is an English teacher for the Utica City School District. He has a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Geneseo, a master’s degree from SUNY Cortland, and is currently working on a Certificate of Advanced Study for School Building and District Leadership through SUNY Cortland. Additionally, he serves on the Canastota School Board and Town of Lenox Planning Board. Scott is a lifelong resident of Canastota where he is proud to be raising his daughter.
Diane Ryan is new to the CAP board, but not to CAP itself. She was previously employed by CAP for about 30 years – in the roles of case worker, grant writer, innovator, trainer, manager, Deputy Director with a short opportunity of Interim Executive Director.
She is strongly committed to CAP and believes that CAP “has changed the lives of many families in Madison County”. Residing in Cazenovia with her family for many years, she holds degrees from State University of Oswego, and an MSW from Syracuse University. She is excited to be part of our Board and hopes we can continue meeting the needs of families and individuals in our community.