Board of Directors
Paul W. Stewart, Director - Associate Professor of Psychology, SUNY Oswego
Paul Stewart, Ph.D, has served on the faculty at the State University of Oswego since August 1996. He founded the ORA in 2013, co-creating the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan with a partnership between CZB llc and dozens of Oswego community leaders. Since then, he has overseen more than $3M in private investment in residential Oswego neighborhoods, partnering with well over 700 households in over 6 dozen residential areas.
Previously, he served as Director of the Oswego Children’s Study, spending the first 17 years of his career designing and directing a large scale longitudinal study of factors influencing child development in Oswego’s communities. As Director of the Oswego Children’s study, he has supervised over a dozen multiphasic research project in the community, and has been awarded over $15 million in federal funding for his projects, from sponsors such as the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the New York Community Trust (NYCT), and related funding agencies. A resident of the City of Oswego, he is heavily involved in civic engagement and restoration projects in the Historic West Park District.
Catharine Early - Independent Business Owner, Earlyworks
Catharine Early lives on the west side of Oswego in the Kingsford Park School neighborhood. Catharine has more than thirty years of community activism experience, beginning in Baltimore, Maryland where she and her neighbors formed the first recycling effort in the entire city, eventually galvanizing enough city neighborhoods that the Baltimore City Council had to pass city recycling laws in 1994. Catharine also wrote grants and worked on fundraising campaigns for GEDCO, an organization invested in rehabbing old buildings for specific community use (hospice, AIDS houses, drug & alcohol halfway houses, homes for abused women.)
Professionally, she managed a citywide community center in West Lafayette, Indiana where non-profits of all kinds alongside community dance, music, yoga, and other community activities met for meetings and events. During her years in Indiana, she volunteered for the YWCA, serving as President of the Newcomers Club (a group dedicated to welcoming new residents to the area) and chaired the annual fundraising auction to benefit the YWCA for several years.
Since moving to Oswego more than twelve years ago, Catharine has served on the City Zoning Board of Appeals for two years; has served for eight years as a representative on the SUNY Oswego Reading Initiative Committee; volunteered as a docent at the SUNY Oswego Tyler Art Museum; and as a founding member of the Oswego Renaissance Association, maintains an active presence as a block leader.
She has a passionate conviction that architectural preservation and intelligent re-use of buildings in historic communities go hand in hand.
James Dowd - Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Pathfinder Bank
James Alan Dowd graduated from the State University of New York, College at Oswego in 1989 where he majored in Accounting and minored in Economics. In July of 1989, he began his career at Cooper & Lybrand as an Associate in the Business Assurance Services division. While at Coopers & Lybrand he attained the Professional Designation of Certified Public Accountant. He specialized in the Banking, Healthcare, and Manufacturing industries. In 1994 he was promoted to Business Assurance Manager.
James joined Pathfinder Bank in September 1994 as Controller. In 1999, Jim was promoted to Vice President, Chief Financial Officer; in 2016 Jim was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer. In January of 2018 Jim was promoted to Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer at Pathfinder Bank, and his primary responsibilities as Executive Vice President Chief Operating Officer will be to oversee and direct the daily activities of the Bank’s branch network. He will continue to oversee the Bank’s Marketing and Facilities departments.
Katie Pagliaroli - Director of Quality and Patient Safety, Oswego Health
Katie Pagliaroli has served as a Block Leader for the ORA and was named as one of Oswego County’s 40 under 40 by the Oswego County Business Magazine in 2013. She brings extensive fundraising experience to the Board, with a strong background in Oswego Health's employee giving campaign. She recently won a Regional Leadership award from the New York Organization of Nurse Executives and Leaders.
Katie is also a member of the American College of HealthCare Executives. She loves this community and has been involved in many community projects as a former Sunrise Rotarian. She is also an active member of Oswego Alliance Church. She holds a Master of Science in Management from Keuka College and a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Roberts Wesleyan College. She is a Wife and Mother of 3 active children, who wants to continue see her family grow in this community.
Walter Bozek - D.D.S., Arena Michael Dentistry
Walter Bozek. D.D.S. became involved in the ORA in 2017 as a Block Leader in the Historic Franklin Square District.
He is a general dentist in private practice in his hometown of Oswego N.Y. He received his B.S. from LeMoyne College and his D.D.S. from the State University at Buffalo. Upon graduation he decided to return to Central New York, starting with a residency at St. Joseph's Hospital. In addition to private practice he also provides care to the residents at St Luke Health Services.
Walter has been very active at the local and state level with dental professional organizations. He is currently President of the Oswego County Dental Society and Vice President of the 5th District Dental Society. In his roles Walter is concerned with the key issues of access to care, measuring quality care levels and implementation of new procedures/technologies.
Currently Walter lives with his wife and Yorkie in Oswego. He participates in all aspects of his neighborhood, and is regularly seen walking his dog, talking to and helping his neighbors. In his free time he is restoring an 1850's historic home and is involved with many community projects.
Lisa Glidden - Associate Professor of Political Science, SUNY Oswego
Lisa M. Glidden, Ph.D is an associate professor of political science at SUNY Oswego, where she also directs the Global and International Studies program and the Sustainability Studies minor. She is a leader with a local Girl Scout troop, the Girl Scouts Service Unit manager for Oswego and Mexico, and the treasurer of the Fitzhugh Park Home and School Association.
Lisa received her doctorate from the University of Washington at Seattle in 2007, MA in International Relations from the City College of the City University of New York in 1999, and BA from St. Francis College in 1995. She teaches courses on global studies, Latin America, the Middle East, Africa, sustainability, and energy and the environment. Her publications include Understanding Energy and Energy Policy (2014, Zed Books), Mobilizing Ethnic Identity in the Andes (2011, Lexington Books), and articles on Cuba’s energy policy, women’s activism in Ecuador, and on Cuban society and US misperceptions of it. She has lived in Oswego, NY since 2007.
She has been a Block Leader of the Oswego Renaissance Association since 2014. In fall 2014 she worked with the 2nd Ward Councilor to secure funding to re-surface the Fitzhugh Park playground. In 2015 she received two Neighborhood Pride Grants to beautify the fence at Fitzhugh Park, and to expand the small playground at Fitzhugh Park. Through the Oswego Renaissance Association, Lisa received in REDC grant for a major renovation of the Fitzhugh Park playground in Oswego, NY.
Austin Wheelock - Deputy Director Operation Oswego County Inc.
Austin Wheelock is the Deputy Director at Operation Oswego County, Inc., the county’s designated economic development agency, and has been employed there since 2006. He is a Certified Economic Developer (CEcD), a designation he received in 2014 by the International Economic Development Council. Austin has been involved in several key initiatives such as the Next Great Idea Oswego County Business Plan Competition, the planning and development of a new Oswego County Business Incubation Center, and the development of strategic shovel ready sites. He has also been involved in the attraction, retention, and expansion of several Oswego County businesses and fundraising at the federal, state and regional level for multiple projects.
He has served on the Board of Trustees of Heritage Foundation of Oswego County since 2007, and has served as its Board President since 2010. He has also served on the Oswego Renaissance Association Board of Directors since 2013. He holds a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University at Buffalo and a Bachelor of Science degree in Architectural Technology at Alfred State College. He’s been a resident of Oswego County for over ten years and currently resides in Volney, NY with his wife and two dogs.
Kathy Cruse - Independent Sales, self-employed.
Kathy graduated from Flagler College in St. Augustine Florida in 1992 with a degree in Communications, Advertising and Public Relations. She began her career working for a sales company, where after one year was promoted to a regional sales manager, due to her recognition as a top US sales representative. Her responsibilities included hiring, training and managing a sales force for 5 states. Throughout her career she has received numerous awards for opening new accounts and increasing sales in her territory. In 2013 she branched out and became an independent sales representative, where she currently represents over 100 product lines.
Kathy and her husband Jeff relocated from Kingston Ontario to Oswego in May of 2019, after Jeff accepted a position as Novelis plant manager. They have spent the majority of their time living in the Lexington, Kentucky area. Kathy and Jeff have 3 children; Jordan lives in Birmingham, Alabama and is a pharmaceutical representative, Logan lives in Huntsville, Alabama and works for NTA, (Navigation Technology Associates) as a wireless engineer and Kourtney lives in Richmond, Kentucky where she works full time while going to College.
Kathy loves spending time in the outdoors and maintaining a healthy lifestyle. Since moving to Oswego, she has enjoyed this beautiful city and looks forward to continued participation in the community and its activities.