About the Board

The College is governed by a ten-member Board of Trustees. Five are appointed by the County Executive for seven-year terms, four are appointed by the Governor, also for seven-year terms, and one is a student representative elected by the Onondaga Community College Student Association to a one-year term.

The responsibilities of the Board of Trustees are defined in New York Education Law, Community College Regulations, Part 604: Administration of the College, Section 604.2: Responsibilities and duties of the college trustees.

Board Members

John P. Sindoni, Esq.- Chair

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2013 by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. Mr. Sindoni is Partner in the law firm of Barclay Damon and lives in Cicero.  

Melanie Littlejohn - Vice Chair

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2010 by the County Executive Joanne Mahoney. Ms. Littlejohn is the Regional Executive Director for Energy Solutions Delivery, for Central New York at National Grid.  She resides in Syracuse.

Tara Owens - Secretary

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2017 by County Executive Joanne Mahoney. Ms. Owens is Director of Risk management and Compliance at Empower Federal Credit Union.

Donna J. DeSiato, Ed.D.'69

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2010 by Governor David Patterson.  Dr. DeSiato is superintendent of schools at the East Syracuse Minoa Central School District and an alumna of Onondaga Community College.  She resides in Syracuse.

Neil Strodel '73

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2016, by Governor Andrew M. Cuomo.  Vice President of Benefit Consulting Group.  He resides in Skaneateles. 

Mark Tryniski ’81

Mr. Tryniski was appointed by the Governor Andrew Cuomo in November 2016. He is President & CEO of Community Bank System, Inc. Mr. Tryniski resides in Baldwinsville.

Jaime Alicea

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2018, by Onondaga County Executive Joanne Mahoney.  Superintendent of Schools for the Syracuse City School District.  Resident of Syracuse. 

Paul Mello, CPA

Appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2020 by Onondaga County Executive J. Ryan McMahon, II. He is President and CEO of Solvay Bank. Mr. Mello resides in Syracuse.

Catherine Hadden - Student Trustee

Board Meeting Schedule

Board meetings are held between the months of September and June. The Finance, Audit and Compliance Committee meets at 7:30 a.m., the Education Committee meets at 8:30 a.m. and the Board of Trustees meet at 9:30 a.m. All meetings are open to the public and are held in room 210 of the Whitney Applied Technology Center. Future meeting dates are:

  • September 14, 2021
  • November 9, 2021
  • January 25, 2022
  • March 22, 2022
  • May 10, 2022
  • June 28, 2022
Dates, times, and locations are subject to change. Contact Julie Hart, Secretary to the Board of Trustees, at  [email protected] or 315-498-2214 for more information.