To learn more about our members click on their names below

In addition to her service to the Youth Bureau, Meyoshi also serves on the Board of directors for JCTOD Outreach and the Multi-Cultural Committee. She also contributes to the Breast Cancer Committee and Zontas.

Meyoshi has an extensive educational background. She is currently pursuing a PhD. She already holds a Masters Degree from the New School University in Health Service Management. She holds two Bachelor’s Degrees: one from SUNYIT in Health Service Management and one from SUNY Brockport in Journalism/Broadcasting.

Meyoshi is a licensed New York State Nursing Home Administrator.

James Davis-  James is an instructor of social studies at Clinton High School and an adjunct professor of history at Mohawk Valley Community College .  He is an occasional columnist to the Observer-Dispatch’s opinion page as a community contributor, and a New Hartford native who returned to his home town five years ago dedicated to improving the quality of life in the region.  He hopes to do his part on the Oneida County Youth Bureau to promote quality programs for Mohawk Valley youngsters.

James studied at the University of Rochester (NY), graduating in 1997 with a honors degree in history upon the publication of his thesis “Bob Dylan and American Culture,” and additional major in political science focusing on international relations.  Deferring doctoral work in American history, James returned to U. Rochester the following year and earned a masters of Science degree in social studies education.   In 2002, James received a Knight Foundation Fellowship to Harvard University to study with an assemblage of some of the best social studies educators from around the world at Harvard’s Media and American Democracy Institute, where James served as a teaching facilitator the following year.

In spring of 2004, James had the honor of representing Central New York as a member of the Rotary Group Study Exchange Team to Kwazulu-Natal, South Africa, where he toured a number of educational institutions, provided information about life in the Mohawk Valley and in the United States, and enjoyed a first hand chance to study South African history and culture.

His work in education has been featured in the Utica Observer-Dispatch, WKTV News, highschooljournalism.org, and as a call-in guest for NPR’s Talk of the Nation.  Outside of his professional duties, James writes and performs popular music, has released two compact discs (The Politics EP, 2000; Voice, 2004) and is currently recording a new album with the local band ‘Tweed.’

Amy Dickinson- Amy has served as Community Relations Manager for Barnes & Noble since July of 2003. As the liaison between Barnes & Noble and the community, Amy establishes and oversees community outreach programs, plans and executes store events, coordinates fundraising for schools and non-profit literacy and arts organizations and handles all communications with the local media. Prior to her position Barnes & Noble, Amy has worked extensively with youth in Oneida County in several different capacities. She has held positions of Childcare Worker and Teaching Assistant at the House of Good Shepherd, Youth Counselor with the PINS Diversion Program and Special Education Teaching Assistant in the Clinton Central Schools.

Amy studied Liberal Arts at Ithaca College and has her Bachelors Degree in Business Administrations from Medaille College and an Associates Degree in Forestry from Paul Smith’s College.  An active community member, Amy served on the boards of the Clinton American Youth Soccer Organization, and the Kirkland Women’s Civic Group.

Amy lives in Clinton with her two sons, Porter and Jake.  

Robert Holmes- Robert is a resident of Bridgewater , a community he and his family have made a lifelong impact on. Robert was the 5^th child of 10 to Everett and Esther Holmes. Everett was the first African-American Mayor in New York State .

Following his graduation from Bridgewater Central School in 1955, Robert served 3 years in the Untied States Army. He has worked as a Drug Advisor for Mohawk Valley Community College for three years and for the Utica Municipal Housing Authority for six years. He has worked with the Oneida County Youth Bureau for the last seven years and is now employed with the Utica City School District .                  

Robert’s passion is the many motivational lectures on self esteem, the importance of respect for others and the ramifications of illegal drug use that he has delivered over the past 20 years. His contributions have netted him numerous honors including the Jefferson Award for outstanding community service, sponsored by WTVH-TV, the JC Penney Golden Rule Volunteer Award and the Rita Webb Smith Drug Fighter of the Year Award. He also is a member of the Utica Optimist Club’s Hall of Fame and the Mount Markham Central School Hall of Fame.

Ross Kraft- Ross is the President of Meridian Group of New York, Inc., a comprehensive financial services corporation that specializes in employee and executive Benefits as well as business and financial planning.  After Ross graduated from SUNY Cortland in 1991 he began his career with the Mutual of Omaha Companies as an insurance representative.  He then moved on to Bullock Company, Inc. in 1993, where he was instrumental in creating their successful employee and executive benefits division, which evolved into one of the largest firms of its kind in Central New York .  Ross earned his Life Underwriters Training Council Fellowship designation in 1996 and continues to pursue his education in the employee benefits field. In October of 2001, Ross formed the Meridian Group of New York.  The business is growing dramatically with over 200 employer clients across New York State.

Ross is extremely involved with New Hartford Youth Hockey Association as well as his church and several other local community organizations.  Some of his past/current activities include the Board Member of MVAIFA (Mohawk Valley Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors), Community Chairperson of MVAIFA, Chairperson of “An Affair to Remember” Valentine’s event (which has benefited Operation Sunshine, Hospice & Palliative Care, Inc., and the American Red Cross, Utica Chapter);  Financial Development Committee - American Red Cross Utica Chapter, Co-Chair Planned Giving Committee- American Red Cross Utica Chapter, and the Family Nurturing Center of Central NY, Inc Fund Development Committee.  The Kraft’s were also honored to be nominated as one of the Families of the Year by the Family Nurturing Center of Central NY, Inc.  Ross was also awarded one of the Mohawk Valley ’s 40 under 40 awards in 2003.

Ross and his wife Susan reside in New Hartford along with their three children, Tyler , Natalie and Logan , their dog Chloe, and their cat Dooley. 

Sandra Lockwood- Sandra Lockwood is immediate past president of the New York State School Boards Association for 2004. She served as president in 2002 and 2003, and vice president in 2001 and 2002. She has served on the NYSSBA Board of Directors since 1996. As the Area 5 Director, she represented school boards in Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida and Oswego counties.

Lockwood is a member of the Madison-Oneida BOCES Board of Education. She was elected to the BOCES board in 1989 and served as president. Lockwood was first elected to the Rome Board of Education in 1983. She was a member until 1991, serving as president and vice president. She returned to the Rome board in 1999, serving until 2003.

Lockwood is a past president of the Oneida-Madison-Herkimer Counties School Boards Association and the New York State Association for Small City School Districts. She was appointed by Gov. George Pataki to a five-year term on the State University of New York College of Technology at Utica/Rome.

Lockwood received the Distinguished Service Award from the Oneida-Madison-Herkimer Counties School Boards Association, and the New York State Council of School Superintendents. She also received the Distinguished Service Award from the State University of New York College of Technology at Utica-Rome. She was selected as “Woman of the Year” for 2001 by the Rome City Mayor. Lockwood is a member of committees that advise the state education commissioner on the federal No Child Left Behind Act and closing the achievement gap. She is also a member of the Agriculture Education Advisory Council of Cornell University and of Rotary International.

Lockwood earned an associate's degree in business from Mohawk Valley Community College and attended Utica College . She is retired from the Jervis Public Library where she was a media technician for over 32 years.

Lockwood resides in Rome with her husband Judson, a psychologist. She is the mother of three grown children and has seven grandchildren. 

Lisa Matte - Lisa is Assistant Director of Jervis Public Library in  Rome, where she has been a  librarian specializing in Teen Services and youth development since 1997.  She earned her Bachelor's Degree in English in 1996 followed by her Master's in Library Science in 1997, both from SUNY Albany.  In 2004, she earned certification as a School Library Media Specialist.  

In 2004, she was the recipient of the Accent on Excellence Award presented to young leaders in the Mohawk Valley , and her group of teen volunteers, YAC for Youth Advisory Committee, was featured in a book published nationally.  YAC served as one of ten examples nationwide of how to incorporate youth development in libraries.

Ms. Matte has served on the Youth Bureau's Advisory Board since 1998. She also serves as vice-president of CNYLA Central New York Library Association (CNYLA) and speaks at local and statewide conferences on topics from encouraging teens to read to developing youth development programs in libraries.

Mary Kathryn Maine- Mary Kathryn is a lifelong resident of Oneida County , born and raised in Waterville . She currently serves as the Deputy Director of GroWest. GroWest was founded in 1997 and has as its mission the promotion of home ownership, business opportunities, economic development, and neighborhood pride in the West Utica area of the City of Utica. 

Mary Kathryn has served on numerous boards, always keeping in mind the mission and the goals of each organization. A professional team player, she enjoys being involved in the fundraising, volunteerism and improvement of lives in the Mohawk Valley .

Cary Meltzer- Cary serves as Head of Youth Services at the Utica Public Library, where she’s worked in the Children’s Room for the past 5 years.  She coordinates services and programs and selects materials for children 0 to 18 years of age, and for adults in their role as parents and caregivers.  She is committed to seeing that all area youth are offered the same range of opportunities for growth and self-improvement. 

Cary has worked in the children’s departments of public libraries for over 9 years.  She received her undergraduate degree in fine arts from Virginia Commonwealth University , and will be receiving her Masters in Library and Information Science in 2006 from Syracuse University .  Her work with children has included substitute teaching grades K-12, coaching AYSO soccer, being a Cub Scout den leader, and PTO president.  Still a practicing artist, Cary lives in Vernon Center with her two teenaged children, two dogs and two cats.  

David O’Brien- David served as the Mayor Village of Waterville for three terms from 1996-2002. A familiar face in the village he calls home, David spent 33 years as a teacher and athletic coach in the Waterville School District . His service as the district’s football coach earned him Central New York Football Coach of the Year honors in 1980.

While retired from professional life, David continues an active volunteer life. He serves as the Program Director for the highly regarded Boys’ State. The program, run by the American Legion, offers young men from around New York State the opportunity to see first hand how public service works. He has volunteered for Boys’ State for 25 years.

David lives in Waterville with his wife and is the proud father of two children and a grandfather to three.

Michael A. Parker - Michael began his first newspaper before he was ten years old when he and his fellow members of the “Man from U.N.C.L.E Club” started a newsletter and printed their own club money. Although Michael no longer prints money, he does publish three newspapers. The first publication, started in 1992, is the “Xpress”. This monthly publication is distributed to nearly 50 high schools and junior high schools in Oneida , Herkimer, and Madison counties. He also publishes the “College Crier”, a publication that is distributed to more than a dozen colleges in the Central New York area. The third publication is the “Rural Oneida Star”, which is a hometown newspaper distributed from Rome to Middleville, and Boonville to Utica.

Michael gained his experience at Steffen Publishing, Adirondack Echo and was the editor of the Boonville Herald for three years, before starting the Xpress. Michael is also a professional photographer and has a DJ show, “Sound Sensation, which was started in 1976. He is vice president of the central New York metal detecting club, village of Holland Patent historian and is a member of the Sons of the American Legion Post 161. Michael can be reached at 315-896-2628 or SCXPRESS@aol.com

Daniel Semeraro- Dan is one of the two youth members of the advisory board and hails from Remsen. He is in his senior year of high school at Remsen Central School . Upon graduating from high school, Dan plans on attending SUNY Oswego and majoring in Adolescence Education (Chemistry). In Fall 2004, he was awarded with the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) Good Citizen’s award for his involvement in community and scholastic activities. He also recently earned the New York State Lottery Leaders of Tomorrow scholarship for Remsen Central School .

Dan has served on the Oneida County Youth Bureau Advisory Board since September 2004 as a youth advisor, giving input from a teen’s perspective on the planning of activities in the area. But the Youth Bureau is not the only thing he has done in his high school career. In his junior year, he attended the Youth Summit and did some volunteer work at the Rescue Mission as well. This year, he participated with his classmates in the Adopt-A-Highway program which involved cleaning up garbage on the sides of Route 12.

Dan is very active in his community, and hopes to be wherever he goes in life. He has enjoyed his time on the Youth Bureau thus far and hopes to continue his work there until college this fall.

Oneida County Youth Bureau
800 Park Avenue
Utica, New York  13501

© 2005 Oneida County, New York, USA