Board Member Bios

Jessica has been a practicing attorney for several years. She served as an Associate Attorney at Gross Polowy, LLC, the went on to practice at HoganWillig Attorneys at Law. She then went on to serve as a Labor Relations Specialist Attorney at the Erie County Medical Center.

Jessica graduated from Nichols School and went on to complete here BA in Government at St. Lawrence University. She then went to earn her Juris Doctorate (JD) from Barry University’s Dwayne O. Andreas School of Law.

Jessica is also a founding board member of Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School, in Buffalo, NY.

Priya has had extensive experience working with individuals with disabilities, including individuals with developmental disabilities and brain injury. Priya started in the field as a vocational evaluator, but that opportunity opened the door to several others, resulting in a broad based experience that included case management for multiple client needs, assisting clients with setting and achieving personal and vocational goals, offering support and resources to help obtain and retain employment in the community, and behavioral assessment along with positive, proactive behavior support and management.

Priya’s area of specialty is a broad understanding of behavior, what causes and sustains both desirable and undesirable behavior, and her knowledge and expertise of those principles as they apply to the population of individuals with brain injury, and other disabling conditions.

Luke is the CEO of Barrantys, which provides long-term planning objectives and implementation strategies for high net-worth individuals and their families. Prior to joining Barrantys LLC in 2001, Luke worked as an Erie County Assistant District Attorney based in Buffalo, NY where he successfully prosecuted jury and non-jury trials ranging from assault to homicide.

Luke serves on the Investment Committee for the Community Foundation of Greater Buffalo and chaired the committee for seven years (2008-2014). He is a Board member of The John R. Oishei Foundation and Chair of the Foundation’s Investment Committee. He also serves on the Investment Committee for The Cullen Foundation and Nardin Academy. Luke is a founding member of the Western New York Impact Fund and currently serves on the Board of Directors of the fund.

Luke graduated with a B.A. from The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. and a J.D. from University of Notre Dame Law School. He is a member of the New York State Bar Association and holds the Certified Trust and Financial Advisor (CTFA) designation from the Institute of Certified Bankers.

Prior to establishing Foundation 214, Mr. Alfiero spent nearly a decade in the professional audio industry engaged in the sales and marketing effort toward product-use training and application, system design and, as a result of living in Europe, managing international distribution. After leaving the company and moving back to the USA, Chris earned a master’s degree from the University at Buffalo.

Following a brief start-up business developing products for stem cell research, Mr. Alfiero joined his father, Sal, in 2003 to manage a family investment office. The family office engaged in public and private investments along with growing attention to philanthropy via the former Alfiero Family Charitable Foundation. The rigor associated with employing capital to work in the for-profit world is not unlike that for the philanthropic dollar. In either case, the return on investment needs to be positive, whether it is in the formation of new capital or positive results for the community.

Having served several years on the board of the Women and Children’s Hospital of Buffalo Foundation, Mr. Alfiero clearly witnessed the need for institutions like his, Foundation 214.

Mr. Dharshan Jayasinghe, Chief Executive Officer of bizWin Strategies and Triad Healthcare Recruiting, has 15 years of direct experience leading executive search firms as a C-suite executive and has successfully competed against established large national search firms and secured long-term recruiting partnerships with notable organizations. Mr. Jayasinghe has effectively combined the theories, concepts, and research findings of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, Organizational Development, and his real-world management and leadership experience in the U.S. military and the private industry sector to create executive search and recruiting solutions that improve efficiency, productivity, and financial performance for his clients. Clients include family-owned businesses of all sizes, small, medium, and large corporations, and non-profit and for-profit organizations. The executive search projects Mr. Jayasinghe has completed include identifying C-suite executives and building leadership teams to lead: corporate turnaround projects, geographical expansions, product and service line expansions, research and development programs, and multi-million-dollar start-up and turn-key operations.

In the Western New York market, Mr. Jayasinghe is routinely called upon to strategize and complete succession-based searches for not-for-profit organizations and generationally-owned family businesses. As a practitioner of Industrial Psychology, Mr. Jayasinghe coaches C-suite executives and business leaders in private and public corporations to enhance their business performance and increase work/life satisfaction. He is a respected board member, advisory board member, and advisory group member with experience in governance as board president, chairman, vice president, and committee chair in the for-profit and non-profit sectors. Mr. Jayasinghe serves on numerous diversity, equity, and inclusion committees.

Caroline is a first grade teacher at Elmwood Franklin School, an independent school serving 3 year olds through 8th grade. As an educator, she brings a different perspective to the board.

Caroline currently serves as the Chair for the Buffalo AKG Art Museum’s Convergence Council. She and her fellow members are the brand ambassadors, raising awareness and spreading the word of gallery news and events. Caroline has previously served on the Future of Roswell Society Committee and she also volunteered with Big Brother Big Sister in both Denver and Buffalo.

Caroline received her undergraduate degree in Strategic Communications from the University of Denver. After working in the corporate world post graduation, she decided to return home to Buffalo to pursue her true passion, educating our young learners. She received her Master’s in Childhood Education from Canisius College.

Dr. Manning grew up in Pasadena, California and Phoenix, Arizona. He served 13 years in the United States Air Force, where he lived and worked in Montana, New Mexico, Washington D.C., South Korea, Germany, Kuwait, and Japan. He remained overseas after his military service and became an educator. Chris taught within and led various schools in Kyrgyzstan and Bangladesh. During his time abroad, he was completing his dissertation in which he focused on how to develop strong community relationships, it was then that he decided to return to the US and found a school. He then joined the BES Fellowship and founded Buffalo Creek Academy Charter School in Buffalo, NY.

Chris holds an AA in Criminal Justice, a BA in Military Management and Program Acquisition, a M.Ed. in Instructional Design and Technology, a Post-Master Certificate in Educational Leadership, an Educational Specialist Degree in Educational Leadership, and a Doctoral Degree in Management.

In addition to his formal education, he completed a year-long Certificate of Advanced Education Leadership (CAEL) program at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and a year-long Fellowship with Building Excellent Schools as a 2018 Fellow (post-doctoral).