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Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences Announces New Board Chair, Members

BUFFALO, NY  – Today at its 162nd annual meeting, the Buffalo Society of Natural Sciences (BSNS), which governs both the Buffalo Museum of Science and Tifft Nature Preserve, announced the appointment of a new Board Chair and three members to its Board of Managers.

Former Vice Chair of the BSNS Board, Keith Lukasik, was elected as the BSNS’s Chair and to his second term on the Board, replacing former Chair David Busch after a four-year term. Lukasik is a Partner with Chartis, a healthcare consulting firm, and formerly served as Chief Strategy Officer for Erie County Medical Center (ECMC). Lukasik lives in the city of Buffalo with his wife and three children. He received an M.B.A. from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.S.E. with a concentration in bioengineering from the University of Pennsylvania.

Voting members elected Laurie Collins, Kathy Hoelscher Glieco, and Richard (Rick) Smith III to three-year terms on the Board.

Collins is Senior Vice President & Chief Human Resources Officer at Five Star Bank. Her more than 15 years of experience in public companies includes positions at Columbus McKinnon Corporation and over a decade at PepsiCo. Collins received her B.S. in Industrial and Labor Relations from Cornell University. She grew up visiting the Buffalo Museum of Science and Tifft Nature Preserve.

Glieco serves as Vice President of Marketing for Independent Health. After serving as an ex-officio member since August 2017, she has now been voted on for her first term independent of ex-officio status. She earned her B.A. in Marketing and Management from Canisius College, M.B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo, and now has more than 35 years of industry experience.

Smith is the President & CEO of a third-generation family business, Rigidized Metals, as well as Co-Imagineer of Silo City, a cultural and ecological campus residing within Buffalo’s historic grain silos. He received his B.A. in Economics from the University of Pennsylvania.

Collins, Glieco, and Smith join the BSNS Board of Managers as five members end their service. Lukasik thanked outgoing members David Busch (2017-2023), Randall Burkard (2003-2013 and 2017-2023), Edmund Egan (2014-2023), Onkham Rattanaphasouk, C.P.A. (2017-2023) and Herbert Darling III (2019-2023) for their time and dedication during their years of service.

Voting members reelected current members Ann Bisantz, Ph.D., Jessica Copeland, Cynthia Hoover, Ph.D., Keith Lukasik, Saurin Popat, Ph.D., and Mo Sumbundu to their second terms. Joseph Lombardo was reelected to his third term.

Along with Lukasik’s appointment to Chair, members of the Board of Managers elected or reelected the following members as Board Officers: Jessica Copeland, Vice Chair; Austin Kelly, Treasurer; Matt Frank, Assistant Treasurer; and Joseph Lombardo, Secretary.

The Society’s full Board of Managers list can be found here.