Board of Education Members

email: cdraper@swboces.org   

Catherine Draper, President, was elected to the Southern Westchester BOCES Board of Education in 2013, having served for nine years on the Pelham Board of Education. She was sworn in as president in 2017. Ms. Draper is a part-time legislative aide for Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, trustee and past president of the Board of Trustees of the Westchester Library System and board chair of the Westchester Children's Association. 

Past positions include president of the Pelham Education Foundation; president of the Pelham Public Library; president of the Rotary Club of the Pelhams and the Pelham Rotary Charities Fund; president of the Junior League of Pelham; president and trustee of the Pelham public library; and member of the Pelham Zoning Board of Appeals, the BEPT Teacher Center Policy Board, and the Pelham Family Service  Board of Directors.

Ms. Draper is a graduate of Swarthmore College and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. She was named by the Pelham Civic Association as “Person of the Year” for 2009 and was the recipient that year of  the Pelham school district's  Thomas B. Fenlon Award for Distinguished Service to Education. She has also received the Pelham Rotary's Paul Harris Award in  1998 and 2013;  the Junior League of Pelham Volunteer of the Year Award (1997) and the Elizabeth I. Junod Award (2001).

email: jfiliberti@swboces.org  

John V. Filiberti served on the Eastchester UFSD Board of Education for nine years, including one year as President. He was appointed to the Southern Westchester BOCES Board in March 2015 to fill an unexpired term. He was elected the following April and re-elected in 2018 and 2021. He is a legislative aide at the Westchester County Board of Legislators, as well as a licensed real estate salesperson and small business consultant. Previously, Mr. Filiberti was a Vice President  for Merrill Lynch in New York City and a former Air Traffic Controller at the Washington Air Route Traffic Control Center in Leesburg, Virginia.

email: sbrady@swboces.org

Sheryl Brady  was first appointed to the Southern Westchester BOCES Board of Education in August 2019 to fill an unexpired term and then elected the following year.  She serves on the Policy and Finance/Audit subcommittees.  She is also in her 15th year serving on the White Plains Board of Education and has been a member of the Curriculum and Instruction, Policy, Special Education, and Finance subcommittees. Sheryl is the Manager of Operations at Bennett International, an educational consultancy company; in addition, she teaches Religious School and was a member of the Board of Trustees at Congregation Kol Ami. Previously, Sheryl was an Assistant Professor of Mathematics and Department Chair at Purchase College, SUNY. She holds a Ph.D. in Mathematics from Cornell University where she was a Danforth Fellow.

email: lmcbride@swboces.org   

Lynn Frazer-McBride has been a special education teacher, mentor, librarian and coach. A recent retiree, she currently works as a consultant staff developer for the New York City Department of Education. Mrs. McBride, the chair of the education committee, was first elected to the Mount Vernon School Board in 1995. During her tenure she has served as President and Vice President. Mrs. McBride was elected to the Westchester-Putnam School Boards Association in 2006. She is the legislative representative for the Federal Relations and the State Legislative Networks. She also participates on the legislative and Manhattanville-WPSBA College committees. In 2008, Mrs. McBride was also elected to the Board of the Association of Small City School Districts. She is an active member of the Council of Urban Boards of Education and the Alliance of Black School Educators.

 email: rojohnson@swboces.org

Bob Johnson spent the first fifteen years of his career in management at Handy and Harman, a precious metals manufacturing company in Fairfield, Connecticut. In 1993, he started a new career in public education as a high school chemistry teacher in New York. Bob later transitioned to the Stamford, Connecticut public school system, where he has taught chemistry and science for the past fourteen years.

Bob's involvement in public service began in 2011, when he was elected as a trustee on the Port Chester Board of Education. He held this position for six years, taking on the roles of Vice President and President during his tenure. Bob also served on the board of the Westchester Putnam School Board Association from 2013-2017. Currently, Bob serves as a trustee on two regional school boards: the Southern Westchester Board of Cooperative Education Services (SWBOCES) and the Board of Education of Mount Pleasant Cottage Schools. A strong advocate for education and equity, Bob regularly attends educational conferences and actively lobbies on behalf of underfunded and underserved students in the New York region.

Bob is a volunteer Co-President of the non-profit Ripple Effect Artists and is host/producer for a monthly radio program on the independent public radio station, WPKN. Bob continues to reside in Port Chester, New York with his with his wife of 31 years, psychologist Dr. Michaele Goodman. Their son, Ari, graduated from Port Chester High School and attends Ithaca College as a physical education major.

Email: jweber@swboces.org

Dr. Joan Weber currently serves as the co-director of the Educational Leadership Program at LIU/Hudson, where she also teaches. Prior to her current position, she served as the assistant superintendent for Personnel and Administrative Services for 32 years for the Scarsdale Public Schools. In addition to her human resources responsibilities, she worked with faculty and administrative colleagues on programs in the arts and global education. Dr. Weber is a former member of the Harrison Board of Education and currently serves as Vice-President of the Board of Education for Hawthorne Cedar Knolls, where she has been a long-term member. Her credentials include a BA in English and Political Science from New York University, a Master's of
Education from Iona College, and a Master's from Teachers College, Columbia University, where she earned her Ed.D. She also did postgraduate work at Cornell University's School of Labor Relations, earning an Advanced Certificate in the field.

 email: jdesantis@swboces.org

John DeSantis served on the Hastings on Hudson UFSD Board of Education for 18 years with two years as President. Was appointed to the Southern Westchester BOCES from 2002 through 2020 served as President for 2 years.  I am a member of the Donald Park Tax Payers Association served as President of this Board for about 10 years.  Currently, I am employed by New York University as the Senior Director of Technical Services for the School of Arts & Science Dean's Office.