The School Communications Team

Natalia Baage
nbaage@swboces.org
914-922-3432 

Natalia Baage is a passionate storyteller and relationship builder who specializes in narrative writing, editing and social media, for which she has won multiple national and state awards. A National School Public Relations Association “35 Under 35” honoree, she is a former executive board member of the New York School Public Relations Association who now co-chairs the Hudson Valley School Public Relations Association. Before joining SWBOCES, she emigrated from Belgium and spent a decade as a reporter and editor in Westchester County, covering education, arts and sports. She earned her master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Jeffry Braun
jbraun@lhric.org
914-922-3277

Jeffry Braun worked in advertising and marketing prior to joining SWBOCES & LHRIC to focus on his passion for graphic design, illustration and photography. He brings a wide range of knowledge and experience to the role and looks forward to working with school districts and BOCES centers. Jeffry earned his BFA in Illustration from SUNY Buffalo.

Anthony DiNoto
adinoto@swboces.org
914-922-3430

Anthony DiNoto is an accomplished writer and digital content producer who specializes in visual storytelling. His experience in photography, video production, magazine writing, and public relations spans all areas of traditional and digital communications.

Anthony began his career in New York City as a freelancer for award-winning television production companies and contributed to numerous major network broadcasts. He worked previously in higher education at West Point, where he wrote feature articles for the alumni magazine, and produced videos, photos, newsletters, and digital assets for websites and social media. He then transitioned to the healthcare industry, where he led public relations, marketing, and internal and external communications for a large hospital. Anthony comes from a family of public-school educators and looks forward to creating and executing strategic communication plans for our school districts.

 Mindy Gibson
mgibson@swboces.org
914-345-8500

Known for creating compelling content, impactful messaging campaigns and effective marketing strategies across a variety of platforms, Mindy is dedicated to developing initiatives that deliver great returns on investments. As an experienced strategic communications and content executive with over 20 years of experience, she has worked with companies in a variety of sectors, creating unique and authentic brand personalities and key messages that expand brand awareness and increase revenues.

Prior to moving to communications, Mindy had a successful career with international and domestic cable and broadcast television networks. She held senior-level programming positions at USA Networks International (Latin America & Brazil) and Telemundo. Later, she worked with Spike TV, The Sundance Channel and TidalTV (now Videology) as a consultant.

Alicia Smith
alsmith@swboces.org
914-922-3418

Alicia B. Smith is an award winning writer with more than 15 years experience. She began her career as a writer and editor for weekly and monthly publications in Central Connecticut. In 2017 she was the recipient of the New England Better Newspaper Competition First Place Human Interest Feature Story honor. Throughout her career she has covered a broad range of topics from local government and businesses to community members and education. She has a passion for telling and sharing stories and looks forward to helping school districts tell their unique story.

Cara Tomao
ctomao@swboces.org
914-922-3350

Cara Tomao is a dedicated writer, photographer, videographer and digital media producer. She launched her career in the media industry by working for a hyper-local newspaper and a video production company. She went on to work for an international media company, as well as a global media and entertainment company, where she broadcasted content via the web.

Cara is driven by her love of journalism, visual arts and desire to create a distinct user experience across multiple platforms. 

Cara holds an A.S. in Visual Arts and Technologies, a B.A. in Communication Arts with a concentration in Broadcast Journalism and a M.S. in Communications Arts with a concentration in Marketing and Public Relations.