Chair: C. Teo Balbach is a Tapestry parent and a Principal at Mercury Capital Partners, a media and communications finance group. Teo has spent his professional career working in the software, technology and finance fields. He received his BA in economics from Harvard University (Magna Cum Laude) in 1991 and his MBA from the Tuck School at Dartmouth in 1997.

Vice Chair: Carolyn (Bobbie) Piver Dukarm, MD, is a physician specializing in the medical treatment of anorexia nervosa and bulimia and is the Founder and Director of the Center for Eating Disorders at Sisters Hospital. She graduated from Denison University and the University of Buffalo School of Medicine. She also completed a Pediatric residency at Children’s Hospital of Buffalo and Adolescent Medicine fellowship at the University of Rochester. While on the faculty at the University of Rochester, she founded Camp Connect, the first residential camp in the United States for teenagers with eating disorders.

Prior to medical school, Bobbie was a teacher in New York City at a school with a similar educational philosophy to Tapestry’s. She is currently involved in the Playground Project at the Jewish Community Center.  Bobbie’s husband, Rob Dukarm, also works at Sisters Hospital as a physician who specializes in the care of critically ill newborns. They have two boys, both of whom attend Tapestry. 

Treasurer: Cynthia A. Walawander, MA, Executive Vice President, Cognigen Corporation. Ms. Walawander received her BA in statistics in 1986, an MA in statistics in 1988 from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and completed the Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership program in 1999. Ms. Walawander has over ten years of experience in the strategic planning and implementation of new business initiatives and project management of large scale, multi-institutional medical marketing programs. She leads the information architecture group at Cognigen, whose mission is to provide analytical communication solutions to clients through the use of web-based technologies.

Secretary: Dr. Corinne Kindzierski is a professor of special education at Canisius College. She received a BS degree in psychology from Daemen College, a MS ED in Special Education from Buffalo State College and a PhD in Special Education with a specialization in behavioral disorders from the State University of New York at Buffalo. She spent four years as a teacher of young children specializing in Autism disorders, and continued her teaching career for over six years — teaching in juvenile facilities and residential schools for students with emotional disorders. She was an assistant professor at Roberts Wesleyan before returning to Buffalo in 2006. Her current teaching and research interests include preparing teacher candidates to work effectively in urban settings, strengthening partnership relations with urban schools and examining the reciprocal relationship between teacher expectations, school climate and student motivation. Corinne lives on the west side of Buffalo with her son Elijah and enjoys the events, people and culture offered in the city.

Kevin P. Curtin is Director of Marketing and Business Development at Empire/EMCO, a 100 year-old package development company headquartered in Western New York. Kevin received his BS in Marketing from Canisius College and has been with the company since graduating in 1994. Born and raised in Western New York, he holds a strong commitment to the area and helping improve educational opportunities for all families. Kevin has held several positions on a variety of community boards and is a Licensed Real Estate Agent. He is the father of three young children, all of whom currently attend Tapestry Charter School.

Amy H. Friedman is a founder of Tapestry Charter School and the mother of three children, one of whom attends Tapestry. Most recently she held the position of Director of Student Life at Buffalo Seminary, an independent girls’ high school in Buffalo. She is a recipient of the “Pathfinder Award” given by representatives of the Buffalo Business Community for her work in public education. She was a member of the City of Buffalo Charter Revision Commission that was charged with revising the City of Buffalo’s governing charter where she served as the Chairperson of the Task Forces on Budget and on Education. She has a BA in History from Allegheny College and has served in leadership positions on the City Honors School Foundation, The Buffalo Seminary Parents Association, the Olmsted Home School Association and the Junior Group of the Albright Knox Art Gallery.

Kara D. Sanchez is an Advertising Account Executive at Eric Mower and Associates, an advertising agency in Buffalo, NY. Kara began her career in the Public Relations field at another local agency prior to joining EMA. A graduate of St. Bonaventure University , Kara has previously volunteered for Literacy Volunteers of Buffalo and The Junior League of Buffalo. She is recently married to her husband, Jack and they reside in the city of Buffalo.

Dr. Nancy Wallace is an associate professor of education and a professional development school liaison at Canisius College. She teaches and supervises teacher candidates in the early childhood and childhood education programs and coordinates partnership activity between Tapestry Charter School and Canisius College.