IDA Board Members / Officers

Frank S. Venezia
Chairman
Telephone:  (518) 785-0134
E-mail: fsv@marvincpa.com
Sam Messina
Vice Chairman
Telephone: (518) 439-0346
E-mail : smessina@townofbethlehem.org

 

 

Robert B. Ward
Secretary
Telephone: (518) 465-7511, Ext. 271
E-Mail :  wardr@rockinst.org
Robert B. Ward
Joanne Cunningham
Assistant Secretary
Telephone: (518) 439-7726
E-mail : jcunningham@hcanys.org
Thomas P. Connolly, Esq.
Assistant Secretary
Telephone:  (518) 447-3303
E-mail: cConnolly@mltw.com
Pamela Clark Robbins
Treasurer
Telephone: (518) 439-7415, Ext. 233
E-mail : probbins@prainc.com
Joseph P. Richardson
Member
Telephone: (518) 432-0374
E-mail : jrichardson@berkshirebank.com
Brian T. Stenson
Member
Telephone: (518) 443-5831
E-mail : brian.stenson@rbccm.com

 

IDA Staff

George E. Leveille
Executive Director &
Chief Executive Officer
Telephone:  (518) 439-4955, Ext. 1129
E-mail:  gleveille@townofbethlehem.org
Judith E. Kehoe
Chief Financial Officer
Telephone:  (518) 439-4955, Ext. 1123
E-mail: jkehoe@townofbethlehem.org
Thomas P. Connolly, Esq.
Assistant Executive Director & Agency Counsel
McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams, P.C.
677 Broadway
Albany, NY 12207
Telephone:  (518) 447-3303
E-mail: connolly@mltw.com
Terrence W. Ritz
Assistant Engineer
Telephone:  (518) 439-4955, Ext. 1139
E-mail: tritz@townofbethlehem.org
 
Deborah M. Kitchen
Assistant to the Director
Telephone:  (518) 439-4955, Ext. 1159
E-mail: dkitchen@townofbethlehem.org
 

Frank S. Venezia

Frank Venezia is a CPA with over 30 years of public accounting experience, which include the last 24 with Marvin and Company. He became a Director of the firm in 1985 and was appointed Director of Accounting and Auditing Services in October 1995. Since 1985 he has been the director in charge of the audits, management advisory and other services to a number of organizations providing services to the developmentally disabled, and other not-for-profit organizations. Various for-profit organizations in a variety of different industries are also among his clients. A frequent lecturer and seminar instructor, Mr. Venezia has conducted various presentations on business and other issues throughout New York State.

Mr. Venezia graduated, with honors, from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 1976 with a BS degree in Accounting and from the College of St. Rose in 1992 with an MS degree in Accounting. He is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants. He is a member of the board of directors of the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce, serves as treasurer for the New York State Museum Institute, board member of the Town of Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency.

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Sam Messina

Sam Messina is a 34-year resident of Bethlehem with more than 35 years of leadership experience in government, business and not-for-profit organizations. Mr. Messina is retired.  He previously had a 25-year career in NYS Government where he served as Deputy Director of the Coastal Resources Program and as the Department of State's Director of Administration and Management.  He has also served NYS government in management and administrative positions at the Department of Environmental Conservation, Lottery Division and Budget Division.  In addition to government service, Mr. Messina was Director of Marketing and New Product Development at Bidnet Corp., and a Foundation Director at the NYS Small Business Development Center.  Prior to moving from New York City to Bethlehem, he was an Assistant to the Publisher of the New York Daily News.

In Bethlehem, Mr. Messina is currently a Town Board member, has served on the Land Use Management Advisory Committee (LUMAC) for seven years and was also a member of the Strategic Directions Planning Committee of the Bethlehem School District.

Mr. Messina holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Economics and Business from Pace University and a Masters of Arts Degree in Public Administration, with a concentration in urban development, from the State University of New York at Albany.  He also is a graduate of the Harvard University Advance Program for State and Local Government Executives.

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Robert B. Ward

Robert Ward is deputy director and director of fiscal studies of the Nelson A. Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public-policy research arm of the State University of New York.

Mr. Ward has written extensively on state and local government in New York, and how government policies can promote the growth of businesses and jobs in the state.

He is author of the leading text on New York State government for students and citizens, New York State Government: Second Edition, published by the Rockefeller Press.

Mr. Ward previously worked on the staff of the New York State Assembly, where he served as a researcher and writer for the chairman of the Ways and Means Committee. Before that, he was a reporter and editor with The Knickerbocker News in Albany. An Albany native, he is a graduate of Syracuse University.

He serves as chairman of the Board of Directors of Peter Young Housing, Industry and Treatment, Inc., a nonprofit organization that seeks to "create taxpayers" by helping former prison inmates and homeless individuals recover from substance addiction and find employment.

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Joanne Cunningham

Joanne Cunningham serves as the Executive Director of Healthcare Trustees of New York State (HTNYS), an affiliate organization of the Healthcare Association of New York State (HANYS), the statewide membership advocacy organization representing the interests of New York State’s hospitals and health systems.  HTNYS serves as an advocacy, education and governance resource for the 5,000 trustees that serve on the governing boards of HANYS’ member organizations, which include more than 550 not-for-profit and public hospitals, health systems, and continuing care facilities across New York.  Joanne serves as a member of the executive council of HANYS, the internal eight-person senior leadership group that shapes decision-making and provides management oversight at HANYS.  Joanne also serves on several American Hospital Association Committees that focus on expanding trustee engagement in health care policy and advocacy.

In addition, Joanne has maintained a role as Vice President within HANYS, providing guidance and assistance on policy, advocacy, and education issues.  Prior to serving in these capacities, she spent twelve years working in health policy and advocacy in Washington, D.C. as HANYS Vice President for Federal Relations, and as the primary federal health care aide to Congressman Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), and former Governor William Donald Schaefer (D-MD).

Joanne holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Potsdam State University and a Masters of Health Science degree from Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health.  In her volunteer time, Joanne serves as a member of the Hamagrael Parent-Teacher Association and as a member of the Board of Directors of the Visiting Nurse Association of Albany.  Joanne lives in Delmar with her husband Brent Meredith and their four children.

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Thomas P. Connolly

Tom Connolly, a 43-year resident of the Town serves as counsel and assistant executive director of the Agency.  Mr. Connolly has practiced law with McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams, P.C. since 1966 and represents financial service institutions and corporations in commercial transactions and litigation.  He has been bond counsel, issuer’s counsel and disclosure counsel for tax exempt and taxable municipal financings.  Mr. Connolly was vice president and a member of the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association, a fellow of the New York State Bar Association, chairman of the Real Property Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and president of the Albany County Bar Association.  Mr. Connolly is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and National Association of Bond Lawyers.  Mr. Connolly is admitted to practice in Connecticut, United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.  He received an LLB degree from Yale University and a BA degree from Williams College.

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Pamela Clark Robbins

Pamela C. Robbins has been a resident of Slingerlands since 1990. She is a Vice President and co-owner of Policy Research Associates, Inc., a Delmar research and consulting firm. Ms. Robbins has over 25 years of experience in project development, management, research design and statistical analysis. In addition to managing PRA's financial and personnel operations, Ms. Robbins directs research projects focused on violence, mental health services and criminal justice overlap. She has co-authored two books and numerous articles, chapters, and technical reports. She holds a Bachelors of Arts Degree in Sociology from William Smith College with graduate coursework at the University of Albany.
 
Locally, Ms. Robbins has been involved in many community boards including School’s Out, Bethlehem Youth Court, Caring Together, and other non-profit and religious organizations. She is also involved in local events such as the BOU Auction, Delmar Dash, and Crop Walk to name a few.  She has been a member of the Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency since 2005.

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Joseph P. Richardson

Joseph P. Richardson is Director, Business Development for Berkshire Bank, New York Region.  His mission at Berkshire is to work with the New York Regional Team to develop commercial banking relationships and cross-sell retail, cash management, insurance, investments and trust service products.  Prior to joining the Bank in late November, 2005, Mr. Richardson was most recently the Director of Economic Development for the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce.  Before that he worked for forty-two years in commercial banking.  His banking career began in 1963 with the State Bank of Albany, which eventually became Bank of America, where he become a Senior Corporate Lender and Senior Vice President and was responsible for the statewide specialized lending group.  In 1993, Mr. Richardson joined ALBANK as the Senior Vice President of Commercial Banking, which was later acquired by Charter One Bank and further acquired by Citizens Bank.

A 1963 graduate of St. Lawrence University, Mr. Richardson is also a June, 1978 graduate of Stonier Graduate School of Banking at Rutgers University where his thesis entitled, "The Employee Stock Ownership Plan:  It's Applicability, Validity and Utility as a Method of Bank Lending" was accepted for the library and published.  He holds several Graduate Diplomas from The University of Oklahoma National Commercial Lending School and is a Certified Commercial Lender.

Mr. Richardson has been an active member of many community organizations and recently was former Chair of the Albany-Colonie Regional Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors; Vice Chair, Town of Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency; member, New York Business Development Corporation Capital District/Champlain Regional Loan and Advisory Committee; former President of the Upstate New York/Vermont Chapter of The Leukemia Society; a former President of the Empire Chapter of Robert Morris Associates and a founding Director and first President of the Capital Affordable Housing Partnership.

Currently, Mr. Richardson is a Trustee at St. Lawrence University and a Director of the Albany-Tula Alliance.  He is the Race Director for the Hudson-Mohawk Road Runners Annual Delmar Dash and the Event Treasurer for the annual GHI Workforce Team Challenge Road Race.  He was elected a Trustee at WMHT in November 2005 and was re-elected to the Town of Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency on July 12, 2006.

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Brian T. Stenson

Brian Stenson is a Director with RBC Capital Markets, an investment banking firm. He was previously the Deputy Director of the Rockefeller Institute of Government, the public policy research arm of the State University of New York, where he concentrated on state and local government fiscal issues. He has written numerous reports on state government finances and has addressed groups of state government leaders in New York and other states. He also served as an advisor on fiscal and budget issues to Gov. Spitzer’s administration during the transition period.

Previously, Brian was Vice Chancellor for Finance and Business for the State University of New York, where he oversaw the finances of the SUNY system, including the operating budget, financial management and reporting, internal controls, human resources, other business functions, and capital planning and financing for residence halls. He had previously served in the New York State Division of the Budget, most recently as Deputy for Fiscal Planning, Management and Authorities. In that capacity, he was responsible for the development of the State's financial plan including projections of receipts and disbursements, the State's borrowing and capital financing plan, public authorities and local government relations. Brian received his bachelor’s degree in political science and master's in public administration from the University at Albany. He and his family have lived in Delmar for over 20 years.

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IDA Staff

George E. Leveille

George Leveille, a 20-year resident of the Town, has more than 30 years of professional and managerial experience in public, not-for-profit and private development organizations.  Mr. Leveille is the Town's Director of Economic Development & Planning; a position he has held since 2005.  Prior to joining the Town of Bethlehem as Commissioner of Public Works in January 2004, Mr. Leveille was the Managing Principal of Tech Valley Development Services, LLC, a full service economic development and real estate consulting firm based in Delmar.  Before starting his consulting practice, Mr. Leveille was President of the Albany Local Development Corporation and the Commissioner of Development and Planning for the City of Albany. In this capacity, Mr. Leveille managed the City’s economic development, planning, neighborhood revitalization and community development staffs. Mr. Leveille also served as Executive Director of the City of Albany Industrial Development Agency.  Mr. Leveille holds a Masters of Public Administration degree from the Graduate School of Public Affairs at the University of Albany.

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Judith E. Kehoe

Judith Kehoe is the Comptroller for the Town of Bethlehem, having served in this position since 1992. Ms. Kehoe also serves as Chief Financial Officer for the Town’s Industrial Development Agency.

She is active in the NYS Government Finance Officers’ Association, serving as President from 2001 until 2003. She has previously served as a board member on the Bethlehem Chamber of Commerce.

Prior to her position at the Town, Ms. Kehoe worked in the field of public accounting as an audit manager, specializing in nonprofit and governmental engagements.

She is a summa cum laude graduate of Bryant College, Smithfield, RI.

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Thomas P. Connolly
 

 
Tom Connolly, a 43-year resident of the Town serves as counsel and assistant executive director of the Agency.  Mr. Connolly has practiced law with McNamee, Lochner, Titus & Williams, P.C. since 1966 and represents financial service institutions and corporations in commercial transactions and litigation.  He has been bond counsel, issuer’s counsel and disclosure counsel for tax exempt and taxable municipal financings.  Mr. Connolly was vice president and a member of the executive committee of the New York State Bar Association, a fellow of the New York State Bar Association, chairman of the Real Property Law Section of the New York State Bar Association and president of the Albany County Bar Association.  Mr. Connolly is a member of the American College of Real Estate Lawyers and National Association of Bond Lawyers.  Mr. Connolly is admitted to practice in Connecticut, United States District Court for the Northern District of New York, United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit and the United States Supreme Court.  He received an LLB degree from Yale University and a BA degree from Williams College.
 
 
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Terrence W. Ritz

Terry Ritz is a 44-year resident of the Town.  He holds a Bachelor of Science degree from the State University of New York Maritime College at Fort Schuyler.  Upon graduation he obtained a United States Coast Guard Third Mates license for ocean vessels of any gross tons.  He has been a volunteer firefighter since 1981, and is currently serving as Assistant Chief of Selkirk Fire Company No.1.   He started working for the Town's Engineering Division in 1985, and has held various positions over the past 22-years.  He currently has the title of Assistant Engineer-Land Surveyor. 

The majority of his time is spent working with the Economic Development & Planning staff reviewing projects that require Town Board or Planning Board approval.  He is responsible for oversight of the Development Planning Committee (DPC), which was created in an effort to streamline and improve early communication between developers and the Town during the review and approval process.

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Bethlehem Industrial Development Agency
445 Delaware Ave.
Delmar, NY 12054

Phone (518) 439-4955 x 1159
E-mail: info@bethlehemida.com