Our Foundation brings together over 70 volunteers from the educational, business,and arts communities to conduct our annual array of STEAM programs!
Board of Directors
Andy Drozd
Chairman of the Board
President and Chief Scientist, ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC
ANDRO Computational Solutions LLC, founded by Andy Drozd, is a well-established Research and Development firm with over 24 years of experience marketing solutions to technical problems to the US Government. ANDRO understands the growth difficulties faced by small businesses and has faced the issue of finding talented technical employees. ANDRO was also awarded the coveted Tibbetts Award from the Small Business Administration (SBA) for Mr. Drozd’s excellence in leadership of the federal Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Program (2015).
The positive impact of immersive learning is clearly, repetitively demonstrated through ANDRO's internship program and The Project Fibonacci® Foundation. The recognition of the skills gap across the STEAM disciplines belied the need for additional STEAM educational opportunities and entrepreneurial exposure. Applying this perception to the recognized George Mason University ENVISION Program yielded the Project Fibonacci® STEAM Conference model. Inclusion of the Arts is necessary to course correct for STEM-only programs that are lacking and not feeding the STEM pipeline.
Evan Drozd
Secretary
Student Representative to the Project Fibonacci® Steering Committee.
As a student at LeMoyne pursuing a pre-med bachelor’s degree in biological sciences, Evan provides a modern youth perspective on how the Foundation will operate and what programs will be supported in the future. Evan was the catalyst for the launch of the Project Fibonacci® initiative (a progenitor to the Foundation) having participated in similar National/Global Youth Leadership Councils and conferences in 2013 and 2014 sponsored by George Mason University’s Envision Program and is expected to assume a greater role in ensuring that the objectives and goals of the Project FibonacciÒ Foundation, Inc. will be met over the coming years.
Evan plans to pursue masters and PhD degrees in medicine in Upstate NY and hopes to leverage the Foundation to establish STEAM collaborative research and immersive learning programs with a focus on medical research topics and related training. He is currently contributing to the development of collaborative/cooperative programs between Le Moyne’s Keenan Center for Entrepreneurship, Start-Fast, and the CNY Biotech Accelerator in Syracuse, NY under the pending commercial spinoff of ANDRO where he has been a part-time intern since 2013. He is an active contributor to the annual Project FibonacciÒ STEAM Conference and related activities, including his continuing role as Chair of the Volunteer Services Committee since 2015. He recently co-authored an IEEE educational peer-reviewed paper for ISEC’17, which is about to be published. He is an IEEE (Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers, Inc.) student member since 2016. Evan is an active member of the community, has participated in Rome School Board meetings to help secure budgets for maintaining educator positions, is active in local church activities at St. Paul’s Roman Catholic Church in Rome, NY, and other civic organizations promoting youth programs oriented towards rebuilding the youth population in the Mohawk Valley. The average number of hours he will spend as a director on Foundation matters will be approximately 16 per week while actively pursuing his academic degree(s) and at least 32 hours per week during extended breaks while attending college.
Thomas Benjamin
Treasurer
Chief Financial Officer, ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC. Mr. Benjamin received a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from SUNY Institute of Technology, (Magna Cum Laude) and has served as the Director of Business Operations for ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC since 2012. Mr. Benjamin is currently the Director of Accounting and Payroll for ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC, managing an annual budget of approximately $5 million, with nearly 50 staff members.
Maria F. Smith
At-Large
Chairperson of the 2018 & 2019 Project Fibonacci® STEAM Conference
Maria retired from the Rome City School District after serving for 30 years in positions of educator, principal and assistant superintendent. In her role with Project Fibonacci® she recruits, trains, and engages area teachers and administrators from area school districts. Three school district superintendents and assistant superintendents serve on Project Fibonacci®’s Steering Committee. Eighteen educators, mostly area teachers, serve as volunteer facilitators during the summer STEAM Conference. Facilitators work with students to apply the content learned at the conference to complete proposals, projects, and presentations which are competitively judged by panels of professionals in various technical fields. Maria also works with various experts – scientists, engineers, mathematicians, artists, and entrepreneurs – to develop learning opportunities for participants of the innovation camps and summer STEAM conference.
Bob Bojanek
At-Large
Co-Chair of the 2018 Project Fibonacci® STEAM Conference
Co-founder of ShoreGroup Inc. and Optanix Inc., Bob and his partners grew ShoreGroup Inc. from start-up to a formidable international company with over 625 employees; Bob also instituted “ShoreGroup University” an internal year-long training program which has graduated over 100 aspiring engineers. As an innovator, Bob has a dozen technical patents in technology areas related to STEAM. As a community leader, Bob is a Trustee at Saint John the Baptist Church of Rome, NY, Board member of The Rome Community Foundation and founder of two community-based funds and his personal foundation, The Shoreline Group.
Carmen Luvera
At-Large
Director of Business Development, ANDRO Computational Solutions, LLC
Mr. Luvera is a retired Air Force Research Lab Division Manager holding a Master’s Degree in Electrical Engineering from Syracuse University as well as a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from Utica College of Syracuse University. Mr. Luvera also provides management skills based on his Certificate in Management and Public Policy granted from the Maxwell School of Syracuse University and his Certificates in Advanced Management granted from SUNY College of Technology.
Honorary Members, Advisory Board
Dr. Debbie Berebichez (2017 Keynote Speaker)
Dr. Debbie Berebichez is a physicist, TV host and data scientist. She is the first Mexican woman to graduate with a Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University and is a STEAM advocate. Dr. Berebichez is the co-host of Discovery Channels Outrageous Acts of Science (2012-present), where she uses her physics background to explain the science behind extraordinary engineering feats. She also appears as an expert on the Travel Channel, NOVA, CNN, FOX, MSNBC and numerous international media outlets.
Dr. Alex Filippenko (2016 & 2018 Keynote Speaker)
Dr. Alex Filippenko is one of the world's most highly cited astronomers and is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences as well as the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. He has appeared in more than 100 TV documentaries and is the author of The Cosmos: Astronomy in the New Millennium.
Christine McKinley (2017 Keynote Speaker)
Christine McKinley is a mechanical engineer, musician, and author. Her musical Gracie and the Atom, won a Portland Drammy for Original Score. Her book Physics for Rock Stars was published in 2014 by Penguin Random House. Christine hosted Brad Meltzer's Decoded on History Channel and Under New York on Discovery Channel.
David Eagleman (2016 Keynote Speaker)
David Eagleman is a neuroscientist, an internationally bestselling author, and the creator of the PBS television series The Brain. He is an adjunct professor at Stanford University and lives in Silicon Valley, CA.
Kevin Delaney (2017 & 2018 Science Presenter)
Kevin Delaney is a performer, playwright, and educator based in Little Rock, Arkansas.
He has presented science demonstrations on several television programs including The Rachael Ray Show and The Untitled Action Bronson Show, and began appearing as the resident science presenter on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in 2014.
Kevin was the host of Street Science on the Science Channel for two seasons, focusing on unique experiments caught in slow motion footage.
John Norgard,NASA/JSC
Dr. Norgard is a Professor Emeritus at the University of Colorado. He is the Chief Engineer for E3/JETS at NASA/JSC supporting the maintenance of the International Space Station and the development and testing of the Orion Spacecraft for deep-space exploration and to return to the Moon and to travel to Mars. He was the Chief Scientist of the Air Force Research Lab at Griffiss AFB working on stealth aircraft radar cross-section reduction. He also worked at the Phillips Lab at Kirtland AFB on Ground Penetrating Radar and Tomographic Microwave Imaging. He was a Visiting Professor at the US Air Force Academy and at the Tel-Aviv University. He was also a member of the Technical Staff of the Bell Telephone Laboratories.
Dr. Norgard is an IEEE Fellow (for IR Imaging of EM Fields), on the Board of Directors of the EMC Society and on ACES, past member of the Board of Physics and Astronomy for the National Academy of Science and National Research Council, Past Chairman for Commission A/Metrology of URSI, and an Associate Editor of the EMC Transactions for antenna metrology.
Dr. Brandy Schillace
Author and historian Brandy Schillace, (skil-a-chay) PhD, works at the intersections of medicine, history, technology, and literature, because our greatest innovations happen when science and story meet. Her recent publications include Death’s Summer Coat (on the cultural practices of death and dying) and Clockwork Futures (a social history of technology)—while her current project explores the bizarre history of head transplant. Brandy also serves as Editor-in-chief of the Medical Humanities Journal, a publication co-owned by the Institute of Medical Ethics and the BMJ (London). Under her leadership, the journal’s mission has expanded, providing for an international conversation around medicine and its engagement with the humanities, social sciences, health policy, and the public. Brandy has delivered keynotes on health, humanities and ethics from New York to Oslo, Oxford to Beijing; she has appeared on Travel Channel’s Mysteries at the Museum, the John Fugelsang Show, public radio and various podcasts. In all her endeavors, Brandy seeks to uncover forgotten stories and unheard voices, the human story behind science and tech.
Steering Committee
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- Andy Drozd, Chairman & Executive Director
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- Maria Smith, 2019 STEAM Conference Chair / Educational Programs Advisor
- Bob Bojanek, 2019 STEAM Conference Co-Chair / Community Outreach
- Sheena Ambrocio, Outreach
- Tom Benjamin, Treasurer
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- Jean Burgdorf, Community Outreach
- Andrew Burger, Technical Support & Innovation Expert
- Beth Debany, Curriculum
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- Evan Drozd, STEAM Scholar Advisory Board
- Tim Gaffney, Curriculum
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- Jessica Griffin, Workshop Coordinator
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- Martha Group, Curriculum
- Christie Harrington, Arts Curriculum
- Melissa Lowell, Curriculum
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- Pam Mandryck, Secretary & Technical Writer
- Tamalin Martin, Assistant Volunteer Coordinator
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- Nathan McDonald, S&T Curriculum
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- Julia Pilny, Arts & Sciences Curriculum
- Mary-Jo Post, Outreach
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- Louise Rutherford, Curriculum
- Amy Singletary, General Administrator
- Ramona Smith, Curriculum, City of Rome Councilwoman
- Tim Thomas, Curriculum
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- John Vanella, Conference Management
- Deb Van-Slyke, Curriculum
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- Barbara Welch-Drozd, Volunteer Coordinator
- Dr. Mitchell Wilbert, Community Outreach
- Bryant Wysocki, Member, S&T Curriculum