Candidates Announced For Bronxville Board Of Ed

Just like in years past, the Committee for Non-Partisan Nomination and Election of School Trustees (NPC) announced last week they have received applications from six individuals who seek the NPC’s nomination as candidate for Trustee of the Bronxville Schools (BUFSD). 

The candidates seeking nomination are Chris Atayan, Cristina Brusco, Kurt Fuchs, William Rizzo, Jeff Rohr, and Ruth Wood. 

Chris Atayan will seek the NPC nomination for a second term as Trustee while Rick Rugani will not seek the NPC nomination for a fourth term as Trustee.

The NPC encourages members of the community to submit pertinent comments or information regarding these candidates and direct them to NPC Chair Bob Galbraith who can be reached at 914-793-9201, or Vice Chair Michael Broderick, 914-793-2353.

A list of NPC members and their phone numbers are available on the NPC website bronxville.k12.ny.us.  

Submissions must be received by the NPC no later than Mar. 19, 2012 and must be signed since the NPC cannot consider anonymous submissions. 

Biographies of individuals seeking the NPC nomination for Trustee of the Bronxville School can be found below:

•  Chris Atayan

Chris Atayan and his wife, Rene’, have been residents of Bronxville since 1997.  Before moving to Bronxville, the Atayans lived for six years in Bronxville P.O.  They have two children, both of whom attend the Bronxville School: a daughter in eleventh grade; and, a son in seventh grade.

Chis is currently Chairman and CEO of AMCON, a $1.2 bn distributor of consumer products.  Prior to his current position, Chris worked for 24 years in the investment banking and private equity groups of Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs and PaineWebber.

Chris is a Trustee of the Bronxville School (2009-Present) and was financial advisor to The Alexander Dawson School, a private school in Colorado.

Chris earned his BBA in Finance and Economics from the University of Wisconsin and an MBA from the University of Chicago.

• Cristina Brucso

Cristina Brusco and her husband, Kirk Sperber, have lived in Bronxville since 1998.  Prior to moving to Bronxville, they lived in Boston, MA.  Cristina was raised in Yonkers, NY.  They have three children, two of whom attend the Bronxville School: a son in sixth grade; and, a son in fourth grade.  Their fourth grade daughter attends the Sacred Heart Convent.

Cristina is currently in part-time private practice as an attending physiatrist specializing in pharmacology and has been a teacher on the voluntary staff of Columbia Presbyterian Hospital since 1999.  Prior to her current affiliation, Cristina was a Resident at Massachusetts General Hospital.

Cristina is a volunteer speaker at St. Joseph’s Church as part of its “Focus on Marriage” program.   She also served for five years as a “class mom” at the Bronxville School.

Cristina earned an AB in Pre-Med and Art History from Columbia University and an MD from Mount Sinai Medical Center.  She performed an Internship in Internal Medicine at Mount Sinai Medical Center and her Residency in Psychiatry at Massachusetts General Hospital.

• Kurt W. Fuchs

Kurt Fuchs and his wife, Christine, have been residents of Bronxville since 2010.  Prior to moving to Bronxville, the Fuchs lived in Hoboken, NJ.  They have a son who attends the Bronxville Montessori School.

Kurt has worked in the financial services industry for the last 15 years.  He is currently an executive with the International Investment Group and was an executive with Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. for 10 years.  Kurt is a Director of Oomba, a development stage company.

Kurt is a member of the National Association of Corporate Directors and serves on the Membership Committee of the Down Town Association.  As an undergraduate, he was active in student government and as a student representative of a judicial committee.  Kurt was a member of the condo association board of his former residence.

Kurt earned an AS in Accounting and BS in Management from Daniel Webster College and an MBA in International Finance from St. John’s University.

• William J. Rizzo

Bill Rizzo and his wife, Elisa, have been residents of Bronxville since 1999.  Prior to moving to Bronxville, the Rizzo’s lived in Bronxville P.O (Yonkers) and Garden City, NY.  Bill was raised in Bronxville P.O. (Eastchester).  They have four children, three of whom attend the Bronxville School: a sixth grade daughter; a third grade son; and, a first grade son.  The Rizzos also have a daughter who is in pre-K at the Chapel School. 

Bill has worked in public finance for 16 years and is currently the Head of Portfolio Surveillance, Eastern Region for the National Public Finance Guarantee Corporation.  Bill was the General Counsel of the Municipal and Infrastructure Assurance Corp (2008 – 2010); Managing Director, Associate General Council and Assistance Corporate Secretary  of Syncora Guarantee Inc. (2003 – 2008); Associate, Public Finance at King & Spalding (1998 – 2003); and, Associate, Public Finance at Nixon, Hargrave, Devans & Doyle LLP (1996 – 1998). He is a member of the National Association of Bond Lawyers.

Bill has served in the following roles in Bronxville Cub Scout Pack 5: Pack Committee Chairman – Designate (2012 – 2013); Cub Master (2011- 2012); Assistant Cub Master (2010 – 2011); and, Assistant Den Leader (2009 – 2010).  He is a member of St. Joseph’s Church and the Bronxville Field Club. 

Bill earned an AB in Government from Georgetown University and a JD from Fordham University School of Law.

• Jeff Rohr

Jeff and his wife, Michele, have been residents of Bronxville since 2004 having previously lived in Chicago.  They have three children, all of whom attend the Bronxville School: a daughter in ninth grade; a son in eighth grade; and, a son in sixth grade.

Jeff is the Vice Chairman and CFO of Deloitte LLP and the CFO of Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu.  Prior to his current position, he was the Regional Managing Partner of the Mid-Atlantic Region.

Jeff is a member of the Board of the Community Fund of Bronxville.  He is a member of the Board of Trustees, Chairman of the Audit Committee and member of the Executive Committee of the Florida State University Foundation, a member of the Board of Trustees of the Florida State University College of Business, and a member of the College of Business Hall of Fame.

Jeff earned his BS in Accounting from Florida State University.

• Ruth Wood

Ruth and her husband, Mark, have been residents of Bronxville since 1992 having previously lived in New York City.  They have four children, three of whom attend the Bronxville School: a daughter in eleventh grade; a daughter in tenth grade; and, a son in fifth grade.  The Woods also have a son who is a sophomore at Washington & Lee University.

Ruth was the Executive Director of the Bronxville Chamber of Commerce (2008 – 2011). She worked in the fashion industry where she served as Senior Account Executive of Espirit de Corps.  Ruth attended Macy’s Executive Management Program.

Ruth has served in the following positions of the Bronxville PTA: 11^th Grade Chair of the Bronxville PTA High School Council (2011 – 2012); 9^th Grade Chair PTA High School Council (2010-2011); Chair PTA High School Council (2008-2009); PTA Board Member - Executive Committee (2008-2009); Vice Chair PTA High School Council (2007-2008); 9^th Grade Chair PTA High School Council (2006-2007); 3 years as Chair of various grades for the PTA Elementary School Council; Class Mom; Memorial Day Committee Chair of Games, BBQ and House Party committees.  Ruth is currently the Bronxville Youth Lacrosse Association Girls Travel Team Coach and is former member of the Executive Board (2007 -2011). She also has served on the Bronxville Field Club Paddle Committee, and on the House, Entertainment and Communications Committees of the Bronxville Field Club.  Ruth was a member of the Junior League of Bronxville (1992 – 1995).

Ruth earned a BA in Psychology from SMU.