Board of Trustees
Class of 2025
To RSVP for the annual meeting please visit senecaparkzoo.org/meeting
New Trustee Candidates:
Stephen Brown has been in the Financial Services industry for 35 years. In 2014, his team opened an office for Stifel in Rochester New York, the first upstate NY office for this St. Louis-based firm that was founded in 1890. The Brown Group at Stifel advises clients that represent $1.4 Billion in assets. Stephen and his team take a holistic approach to all clients, looking beyond the mandates, and offering assistance and problem-solving help to all client needs.
Stephen is a specialist in multi-generational planning with a certification from the Money, Meaning & Choices Institute in San Francisco. He sits on the Advisory Council to Management at Stifel and acts as a liaison to the Investment Banking and Commercial Banking divisions of Stifel.Maria Robare is currently the Human Resources Manager at Riedman Companies. Her Human Resources Leadership experience spans over three decades where she has worked in a variety of industries including banking, transportation, and education. Maria holds a bachelor’s degree in Business and Human Resources and a master’s degree in Leadership. She also holds two professional HR Certifications.
Maria’s most noted successes and passion are increasing employee engagement and creating work cultures where both the employees and organizations can thrive.Peter Hin is a Senior Vice President at Tompkins Community Bank. Peter has lived in Rochester for more than 30 years. A graduate of Cornell University, he is a current board member and former President of the Monroe County Industrial Development Corp. Peter has three adult children who reside in Rochester, NY, Manhattan, NY, and Denver, CO.
Nominated for a second three-year term:
Barbara Kelley served as a trustee from 2010 to 2018, and per the Society’s by-laws, took her required sabbatical year, and rejoined the Board in 2019. She presently serves on the Executive Committee and the Development Committee.
Barbara and her husband Tom are active as community volunteers and philanthropists in our region. Before retirement, Barbara was Vice President of of Corporate Communications and Investor Relations at Bausch & Lomb.Dr. Christine M. Osborne presently chairs the Education Committee of the Zoo Society. She is the course director of patient safety, quality, and interprofessional communication at the University of Rochester Medical School, where she also serves as coordinator for the HMD-Palliative Care case conference series and as a facilitator for Advanced Communication Techniques.
Christine has a lifelong interest in wildlife. She and her husband Denis Jeffries are Partners in Conservation Members and have two young children who also enjoy the Zoo.Jay Weaver is an active member of the Zoobilation Committee. A graduate of SUNY Brockport with a Bachelor’s in Business Management, he is a Senior Project Manager at Christa Construction, where his work includes responsibility for the profitability of assigned projects and the completion of work on schedule.
He has worked on projects throughout New York State including Buffalo, Schenectady, and Rochester.
Nominated for a third term:
Christopher Stern presently serves as the Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Seneca Park Zoo Society and is thus an active member of the Executive Committee and Committee on Trustees. Chris co-founded Hamilton Stern in 2010 with his business partner and long-time friend, Justin Hamilton. The goal of Hamilton Stern is to build a strong foundation of trust with each client and to build projects based on the experience and strength of its team members.
Chris graduated from the Rochester Institute of Technology in 2003 with a B.S. degree in Civil Engineering Technology and later returned to earn his Executive MBA in 2009. He is an active member of the local Rochester, New York Community.Leonard Bayer is a former Chair of the Board of Trustees, Len was a member of the board from 2006 to 2015, took his required sabbatical year, then returned to the board in 2016. Len is a founding member of and serves as Chair of the Forever Wild Society, which recognizes those who have made provisions for the Zoo Society in their estate plans.
Len is a major philanthropist in the Rochester community. Now retired, he was Chief Scientist and Executive Vice President, Harris Interactive, Inc. He and his wife Lorri are avid travelers, with major hearts for wildlife.Debby Wilson is a long-standing board member of the Seneca Park Zoo Society and serves on the Campaign Committee and Animal Collections Committee. Debby’s extensive community involvement includes George Eastman Museum, Rochester Museum and Science Center, and Geva Theatre Center. She serves as a trustee for the Elaine P. and Richard U. Wilson Foundation.Maureen (Mo) Dobies presently serves as Chair of the Committee on Trustees for the Seneca Park Zoo Society. Mo first joined the board in 2006, took her required sabbatical year in 2015, and returned to the board in 2016. Mo is active in numerous cultural organizations in our community, including the Memorial Art Gallery and George Eastman Museum.Tim DeGrave presently chairs the Jungle Jog Committee for the Seneca Park Zoo Society, having served as a trustee for many years. Tim joined M&T Bank in 2004 after earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Rochester as part of M&T’s Management Development Program. From 2005 to 2016, Tim was a Relationship Manager within M&T’s Government Banking Division providing local municipalities and school districts with banking services.
In 2011, Tim earned his MBA, with honors, from the University of Rochester’s Simon School of Business with concentrations in Finance and Competitive & Organizational Strategy. In 2016, Tim transitioned to M&T’s Commercial Real Estate Division to become a Relationship Manager. In this role, he works with Real Estate Developers to finance Commercial Developments in Rochester and throughout M&T’s footprint. Tim and his wife, Laura, live in Victor with their son Matthew.
