Autumn on the College Green (SUNY Geneseo photo/Keith Walters '11).
Get to know the faculty and staff who have recently joined Geneseo. This is part two in a continuing series welcoming the newest members of our family and introducing them to the campus. Part 1 Part 3 Part 4 Part 5
Cindy Cole ’15 works as a purchasing assistant in procurement and property control. Her current responsibilities include processing purchase orders; assisting with identifying potential opportunities to work with women-, minority-, and service- or disabled veteran-owned businesses; and tracking the acquisition, surplus, or transfer of state-owned assets. Prior to Geneseo, she worked in banking, finance, and, most recently, in accounting at the Livingston County Department of Social Services. Cole received her BS in business administration from SUNY Geneseo. Her hobbies include kayaking, biking, camping, and hiking around the Finger Lakes when the weather is nice and crafting at home when it isn’t.
Mary Covell is the new assistant director in accounting services, where her responsibilities include revenue accounting, B-140W tuition assistant waivers, and SUNY securities assistance. Before joining Geneseo, she worked as a financial analyst for budgeting at SUNY Brockport. Covell holds a bachelor’s degree in accounting from Daemen College. She fills her free time with reading, camping, hiking, kayaking, trying out new wineries/breweries, doing home projects, and spending as much time with her chocolate lab Lucy as she can.
Lisa McCarthy is a university-based teacher educator supervising student teachers in the School of Education. She has joined Geneseo after 32 years in education, 17 as an elementary school teacher in the North Tonawanda and East Irondequoit school districts and 15 as a district administrator in the Spencerport school district. She holds a bachelor’s in childhood education, grades 1-6; a master’s in elementary education; and certification as a School Business Leader and School District Leader. McCarthy loves to hike, bike, and paddle outdoors in the summer, and she reads voraciously and belongs to two book clubs. She also enjoys baking, traveling, and exploring new areas.
Lisa Miskell is the new costume shop supervisor in the theater and dance department. She holds a degree in interior design from Cazenovia College. In her spare time, she enjoys quilting, sewing, reading, gardening, and antiquing. She practices yoga daily and loves to kayak on the local Finger Lakes. She also enjoys spending time at her family cottage in the Thousand Islands, Canada.
Elizabeth Russell is a new adjunct lecturer in Spanish language and literature for the languages and literatures department. She comes to Geneseo with 30+ years of teaching experience in public secondary schools and IB diploma programs as well as in private language instruction in Taiwan. Russell holds an MEd from Mansfield University and a BA from Binghamton University. An herbalist, she also enjoys wellness mentoring, gardening and full-contact landscaping, outdoor activities, reading, and hanging out with her cats.
Paige Smith is the new assistant coach for women’s soccer in Intercollegiate Athletics. Prior to Geneseo, she served as the varsity soccer coach and physical education and health teacher at Hermitage High School in Glen Allen, VA, and as physical education teacher at Honeoye Falls-Lima. Smith holds a bachelor’s in physical education from SUNY Brockport and enjoys being active, working out, golfing, and hanging with friends and family.
Kara Snyder is a new student teaching supervisor in the School of Education. Prior to Geneseo, she taught English in rural Cambodia as a Peace Corps volunteer for four years and was a third-grade teacher and instructional coach/assistant director at Discovery Charter School. Her teaching area/research interests include childhood education, wellness/mindfulness integration in the academic setting, and best practices in an urban setting. Snyder holds a BS from SUNY Albany in childhood education, an MS in literacy from SUNY Albany, and a certificate of advanced graduate study from MCLA. She is a certified birth doula, a childbirth educator, and a lactation counselor as well as a medicinal herbalist. She loves yoga, mindfulness practice, plants, and spending time with her son Charlie.
Charlotte Wade is the new assistant director of multicultural affairs for LGBTQ+ life in the Office of Multicultural Affairs. She supports and advocates for LGBTQ+ students through programming and services, participates in campus DEI efforts through committee service, and supports the work of Multicultural Affairs through intersectional collaboration. Prior to this position, Wade coordinated LGBTQ programs and services in Geneseo’s Center for Community and worked in community development at SUNY Brockport. She holds an MA in higher education administration from Stony Brook University and a BA in gender studies from Mount Holyoke College. Wade is a music lover who fills her free time with podcasts, baking, and true crime.
Rachel Zielinski, LCSW-R, CASAC, is an adjunct lecturer in the psychology department. With teaching area/research interests in abnormal psychology and integrative health, her professional interests include trauma/loss and adolescent and young women’s mental health and addiction. Previous teaching experience includes psychoeducational groups on addiction as well as adolescent and adult women’s mental health; she has also served as a guest lecturer in the SUNY Buffalo Master of Social Work program. Currently a private practice psychotherapist, Zielinski holds an MA in social work and a BA in health and human service and social science interdisciplinary, both from SUNY Buffalo. In her free time, she enjoys hiking with her dog, kayaking, paddle boarding, and reading.