President
Judge Stephanie Saunders
The Honorable Stephanie Saunders is a judge for the New York State Court of Claims for the 8th Judicial District. Prior to her current role, Stephanie served as Assistant Corporation Counsel for the Buffalo Board of Education.
Vice President
Vanessa Glushefski
At the start of her law career, Vanessa Glushefski, Esq. provided general civil legal services on a sliding fee scale to those in need while also donating one day a week to volunteering at Prisoners’ Legal Services of New York’s (PLS’) Buffalo office. During her volunteer time, she largely limited her focus to researching and advising on family law matters and, in that role, contributed significantly to the revision of PLS’ statewide memo on parental rights. For her efforts, she received the 2015 Paul J. Curran Award with a proclamation from Senator Tim Kennedy recognizing the same.
Among her experience is Glushefski’s time as Legislative Director to Hon. Monica Wallace (143rd A.D.) In her role as legislative director, the bulk of her work was devoted to legal research, policy-making decisions (in consultation with the Assembly Member), and bill drafting. Notably, Glushefski was responsible for the drafting and submission of the “golden parachute” bill—signed into law in 2019—that limits excessive severance pay contracts to New York Public Authority at-will employees.
Having been hired as the City of Buffalo’s Deputy Comptroller just weeks before Comptroller Mark J.F. Schroeder’s resignation in January 2019, Glushefski served as the City of Buffalo’s Acting Comptroller following his absence. In her time at the Comptroller’s office, she worked with her team to execute the city’s municipal bond sale as well as a bond sale for city’s water authority in the amounts of approximately twenty-nine million and forty million dollars, respectively. In her capacity as Acting Comptroller, Glushefski also advocated for the city’s adoption of a fund balance replenishment policy—a policy that was substantially adopted and recommended by her successor.
Following her time in the comptroller’s office, Glushefski took on the challenge of a variety of projects, including practice before the Executive Office of Immigration Review and a co-authored election law reform article, Ranked Choice Voting Now: A Shift Toward a Better Democracy, published in the Willamette University College of Law Social Justice and Equity Law Journal (June 2020). In August 2020, Glushefski accepted a position as Adjunct Instructor and Co-Director of the COVID Response Legal Clinic at her alma mater, University at Buffalo Law School. Shortly thereafter, Glushefski returned to another alma mater of sorts, the New York State Assembly. This time taking a position with the Assembly’s Majority Leader, Hon. Crystal Peoples-Stokes (141st A.D.), as Director of Research and Project Development.
Glushefski is a licensed CPA and attorney admitted to practice law in New York and the United States Court of New York’s Western District.
Other Significant Accomplishments:
- 2012 Marie Nesbitt Promise Prize Scholar award;
- Significant research contributions to The Intricacies of Tax and Globalization, 5 Colum. J. Tax. L. 207 (2014);
- Candidate for Erie County Comptroller (2017);
- Guest lecturer, Daemen College MSW Program (2018, 2019);
- Speaker, Creative Mornings Buffalo (2018);
- Board vice president, Musicalfare Theatre Company (current);
- Board treasurer, Justice for Migrant Families (current);
- Co-chair, Western New York Lawyer Chapter of the American Constitution Society (current);
- Board member, Planned Parenthood of Central and Western New York (current);
- Co-chair, Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Statewide Convention Committee (current)
- Former board member, Center for Elder Law and Justice (formerly Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled, and Disadvantaged) (2013-16); and
- Former board member, Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Western New York Chapter (2016).
Director
Cavette Chambers
Cavette A. Chambers currently serves as Corporation Counsel for the City of Buffalo Department of Law. Ms. Chambers joined the Law Department in 2006 as an Assistant Corporation Counsel and was promoted to the position of Senior Deputy Corporation Counsel in 2017.
Director
John Horn
A business litigator with Harter Secrest & Emery for more than two decades, John Horn also has served as the Partner in Charge of the Firm’s Buffalo office since January 2009. John has litigated complex business, construction, Indian law, and environmental disputes in state, federal, and tribal courts, as well as in mediation and arbitration across the United States. John’s community involvement includes service on the boards of the Hauptman-Woodward Medical Research Institute, the National Federation for Just Communities of Western New York, and the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra.
Director
Paula Ciprich
Paula M. Ciprich is a retired Senior Vice President and General Counsel of National Fuel Gas Company. In that role she was responsible for Corporate Legal, Human Resources, Payroll, Risk Management and Security. The Audit Services Department reported administratively to her. She also oversaw shareholder outreach on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters.
In addition to top level corporate matters, through her 30+ year career Paula managed multiple other business functions including Corporate Secretary, Utility General Counsel, Investor Relations, Government Affairs and Quality Assurance (Customer Service).
Prior to joining National Fuel, she was a corporate associate at Jaeckle, Fleischmann & Mugel (now merged with Bond, Schoeneck & King).
Paula is a magna cum laude graduate of the University at Buffalo School of Law and earned a Bachelor of Arts, magna cum laude, in Mathematics from the University of Dallas. She is a past recipient of Buffalo Business First’s 40 Under 40 Award.
Director
Judge Craig Hannah
The Honorable Craig D. Hannah, currently serves as New York State Supreme Court Justice in the 8th Judicial District. Prior to this role, he served as the Chief Judge of the Buffalo City Court and the Supervising Judge of the 11 City Courts in the Eighth Judicial District encompassing Western New York. Judge Hannah has risen to national fame as the presiding judge of the first Opioid Intervention Court in the United States, established in May 2017. He has been featured in such major media publications as the New York Times, NBC News, Denver Post and HBO Vice News; and has lectured in Dublin, Las Vegas, Washington, D.C. and several other cities on treatment courts and breaking the shame and stigma of addiction. Craig proudly professes 22 years of clean time and tells participants that the only difference between them is [clean] “time”.
Judge Hannah has served on the City Court Bench since 2006 and has been appointed an Acting Erie County Court Judge since 2008 where he primarily handled juvenile matters. Also, he serves is an Adjunct Professor at the State University at Buffalo Law School where he lectures in Trial Advocacy and Procedure and is a member of the prestigious Franklin H. Williams’ Judicial Commission on Racial and Ethnic Fairness. In January 2017, Judge Hannah was appointed to preside over the Adolescent Diversion and Opiate Intervention Parts and served as the Supervising Judge over the Lackawanna, Tonawanda and North Tonawanda City Courts.
A graduate of Canisius College and the University at Buffalo Law School, Judge Hannah began his legal career as an Assistant District Attorney in the Erie County District Attorney’s Office. As an ADA, he was assigned to the Buffalo City Court and the Grand Jury Bureaus. Further demonstrating his commitment to public service, Craig joined the City of Buffalo Law Department in 1999. For five years, he served with distinction as one of the City’s chief litigators in the Corporation Counsel’s Office and later served as legal counsel to then New York State Senator Byron Brown. In January 2006, Judge Hannah was appointed by Mayor Byron Brown as a Buffalo City Court Judge. In November 2006, Craig was elected to this seat with close to 80% of the vote. In November 2016, he was re-elected to a second 10-year term. In May 2019, Judge Hannah was appointed as Chief Judge of the Buffalo City Court and was elected to the seat in November 2019.
Previously, he was an attorney in private practice with close to 10 years experience as a trial lawyer in our City, State and Federal Courts. His practice was concentrated primarily in the areas of personal injury and criminal defense litigation. Also, Judge Hannah is a former Adjunct Professor at Medaille College where he lectured in Criminal Justice and Criminal Procedure. In addition, he was the co-instructor/lecturer for the City of Buffalo Youth Court. Judge Hannah’s honors and achievements are numerous.
Craig is active in several community organizations and was recognized in Business First’s Who’s Who in Law in 2002 and 2003. In 2004, he was elected to serve a Vice Chairman of the Erie County Democratic Committee. He was bestowed with the honor of ‘Jurist of the Year’ by the Buffalo Special Police Benevolent Association in 2008 and the Community Service award by the Afro-American Police Association in 2013. In 2016, Judge Hannah was awarded the Legal Service/Lifetime Achievement Award from Medaille College and the Distinguished Alumni Award from City Honors School. In 2017, Craig was bestowed with the Community Service Award by the Westside Business & Taxpayers’ Association and the “Pay It Forward” Award by the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo (C.G.L.I.). He is a member of the Board of Trustees of Hilbert College and was awarded its highest honor: The President’s Medal in 2018. He is a past president of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York and the recipient of its Legal Service Award. Craig is a member of the Dean’s Advisory Committee of the University at Buffalo Law School and a former Vice President of its Alumni Association.
In May 2018, he was the recipient of the Law School’s Distinguished Alumni Award and the Outstanding Jurist Award by the Bar Association of Erie County. Also, Judge Hannah was awarded the Outstanding Jurist Award by the New York State Bar Association, Criminal Division in 2018. In May 2019, Judge Hannah was awarded the Distinguished Jurist/Alumni Award by University at Buffalo Law Review. In January 2020, he was bestowed the Transformative Leadership Award by the City of Buffalo for his positive contribution to the community and enhancing the image of Buffalo. In addition, Judge Hannah is the Chairman of nominating committee of the City of Buffalo Ethics Commission and a board member of Buffalo Prep, the Buffalo Police Athletic League and the Bar Association of Erie County’s Aid to Indigent Prisoners.
Craig is also the President of the Board of Directors of the Community Action Organization of Western New York and serves on the National Judicial Opioid Task Force. Judge Hannah is active is several civic and fraternal organizations; a proud member of the Omega Psi Phi, Fraternity, Inc., the Sigma Pi Phi, Fraternity, Inc. (Alpha Kappa Boulé) and a subscribing Gold Life Member of the NAACP. Also, Craig the Co-Director of the City Kids at Camp Youth Initiative.
Along with Businessman Chris Del Prince and several Buffalo Police Officers, City Kids at Camp takes several inner-city kids camping every summer. The purpose is to take these young people outside of their element to expose them to other ideas and cultures; and to teach them leadership and survival skills. Judge Hannah is a native of Western New York, a graduate of City Honors High School and enjoys reading and traveling, with his wife Angela, in his spare time. They are proud parents of Taylor Marie Hannah
Director
Gail Y. Mitchell
Gail Y. Mitchell, Esq., served as an Assistant United States Attorney in the Office of the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of New York from 1995 to 2017, where she specialized in civil litigation. She began her legal career in 1979 as an associate with Ballard Spahr Andrews and Ingersoll in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and later served as an Assistant City Solicitor for the city of Philadelphia. Prior to entering federal government service, she was an Assistant Attorney General for the State of New York in Buffalo, New York. She is a graduate of Columbia University School of Law in New York, N.Y., and of Brown University in Providence, R.I. She currently serves on the boards of directors for the Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and Daemen College, and has previously served on the boards of the Elmwood Franklin School and Buffalo Prep.
Director
Judge Gary A. Wilson, Jr.
Judge Gary A. Wilson Jr., currently serves as a Buffalo City Court Judge. Prior to this role, he served as the Principal Law Clerk to the Hon. John B. Licata, New York State Supreme Court. Gary also previously served as the Commissioner of Labor Relations for Erie County where he was the chief negotiator for the County. Gary has a long track record of public service and is glad to continue that work with the Minority Bar Foundation.
Director
Rosa Pizzi
Ms. Pizzi is a partner at Phillips Lytle LLP. She concentrates her practice in the area of banking and financial services. Her experience includes representation of global financial institutions, non-traditional lenders and borrowers with respect to secured and unsecured credit facilities, community development transactions, real estate and construction lending, syndicated lending facilities, and distressed financing transactions, as well as other extensions of credit. She currently serves as Chair of the Board of Directors for Shakespeare in Delaware Park, on the Community Ambassador Council of FeedMore of WNY, and on the Board of Directors of the Minority Bar Foundation.
Director
David Scott
Immediate Past President
Carmen Snell, Esq.
Carmen Snell serves as Assistant General Counsel for BlueCross BlueShield of Western New York.
Carmen joined BlueCross BlueShield in 1999 as Legal Counsel and advanced to Senior Legal Counsel before being promoted to Assistant General Counsel. Carmen is responsible for handling a broad range of legal issues, including managing litigation, drafting, reviewing and negotiating contracts, as well as interacting with legislative and regulatory authorities on behalf of the company. Additionally, she represents BlueCross BlueShield in employee matters.
Previously, Carmen served as an Assistant Attorney General for the New York State Attorney General’s Office, and was also in private practice.
Carmen holds a Juris Doctorate degree from the State University of New York at Buffalo School of Law, and a Bachelor of Science degree from the University of Dayton. Carmen is licensed to practice law in New York and Connecticut.
Carmen is a recipient of the Buffalo Business First “Who’s Who in the Law, Legal Elite” award, an Eighth Judicial District Gender and Racial Fairness Committee honoree, a 2004 Leadership Buffalo graduate and a recipient of the Minority Bar Association Legal Service award, and Buffalo Business First “40 Under 40” award.
Carmen currently serves as President of the Minority Bar Foundation, and is a past President of the Niagara Frontier Corporate Counsel Association, and the Minority Bar Association of Western New York. She serves as the Parliamentarian for the Gamma Phi Omega chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. Carmen is also a member of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, Erie County Bar Association, American Health Lawyers Association and the Association of Corporate Counsel.
Treasurer
Tiffany R. Perry, Esq.
Tiffany R. Perry was appointed Court Attorney Referee by the Administrative Judge, Paula L. Feroleto and the Supervising Judge of Family Court, Michael F. Griffith in November, 2016. She presides over child Abuse and Neglect, Custody, Visitation and Family Offense and Permanency hearings. Previously, she was the Confidential Law Clerk for Family Court Judge Lisa Bloch Rodwin where, among other duties, she presided over pretrial conferences and negotiated settlements between attorneys and litigants in child abuse and neglect, custody, and domestic violence proceedings. From January 2011 until June 2015, she was an attorney with the Legal Aid Bureau of Buffalo, representing several thousand indigent criminal defendants charged with both misdemeanors and felonies. Ms. Perry also was an Assistant Erie County Attorney from May 2006 through December 2010, prosecuting juveniles charged in Erie County Family Court.
Tiffany graduated from the University at Buffalo Law School with her juris doctor in 2000. Her undergraduate degree in History came from Canisius College in 1997, where she was on the Dean’s List. She was a 1993 graduate of Bennett High School in Buffalo.
Ms. Perry is a member of the Family Court Practice and Procedure Committee and the Continuing Legal Education Committee of the Erie County Bar Association, the Women’s Bar Association of Western New York, on the Board of Directors of the Minority Bar Foundation, Treasurer of the SUNY Buffalo Law Alumni Association, Treasurer of the Erie County Bar Foundation and a Director as well as a past Vice President of the Minority Bar Association of Western New York. She is also involved in various committees within Erie County Family Court including the Disproportionate Minority Representation committee, the Diversity Committee and she serves as co-chair for the Planning for Older Youth in Care committee.
A life-long Buffalo resident, Tiffany R. Perry has been recognized by her colleagues and peers and received the Community Award from The Wealthy Place, the Trailblazer Award from the Minority Bar Foundation, the Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University at Buffalo, Law of School, Students of Color Committee and the Outstanding Women in the Law Award from the Eighth Judicial District’s Women in the Courts/Gender and Racial Fairness Committee. She is an adjunct professor at Hilbert College and is also active in her church, where she is the Chairperson on the Trustee Board for God’s Way of Life Interdenominational Church.
Director
Jamila Lee
Jamila Lee is an Assistant Dean for Student Affairs at the University at Buffalo School of Law. Prior to this role, she was the Deputy Chief Clerk of Erie County Surrogate’s Court where she worked as a manager and a court attorney. In her role as a court attorney, Jamila reviewed matters for legal sufficiency in accordance with Estates, Powers and Trusts Law and the Surrogate Court Procedure Act. Prior to joining Erie County Surrogate’s Court, Jamila’s legal experience included insurance defense, foreclosure law, and real estate law.