PEF - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Credentials Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the IT Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Ethics Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Region 11 Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Legal Appeals Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Ethics Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the PEF Constitution and Bylaws Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Credentials Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the PEF Constitution and Bylaws Committee
- Co - Chair
- Member of the PEF Convention Committee
- Regional Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the PEF Convention Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Regional Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Diane Jaulus - Chair
- Regional Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Credentials Committee
Job Titles:
- Regional Director of Field Services
Eric Kwasniewski has been with the Public Employees Federation since August 2007. In January 2020, he was appointed to Regional Director of Field Services for PEF Regions 1, 2, 3, 5 and 6. Prior to this appointment, he spent nearly 10 years as an Attorney/Associate Counsel in PEF's Office of General Counsel and, thereafter, nearly three years as an Attorney/Associate Counsel in PEF's Contract Administration Department.
Eric has a long history of representing and advocating on behalf of labor. Prior to joining PEF, Eric practiced labor side law in Buffalo, N.Y., for the NYC-based firm Gorlick, Kravitz & Listhaus PC. In that role, Eric represented LIUNA locals in the enforcement of multi-employer benefit fund agreements pursuant to ERISA. Eric earned his J.D. with a concentration in Labor and Employment Law from the University at Buffalo School of Law and a B.S. in Economics/Management Science from SUNY Cortland. He is admitted to practice law in the New York State Supreme Court 4th Department Appellate Division, United States District Court for the Western District, Northern District and Eastern District of New York.
In his spare time, Eric enjoys sports of all kinds including bettering his golf game, taking in his kids' competitive baseball games, volunteering his time coaching youth football and cheering on the Nebraska Cornhuskers. Eric resides in Buffalo, N.Y. and Oakville, Ontario with his wife Tammy, his two stepsons Devan and Jaxon, and their dog Cosmo.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Geraldine is the Director of the Health & Safety Department, and has been with PEF since 1992. She is responsible for the coordination and oversight of the direct outreach to members and NYS agencies on a variety of health and safety issues including: research and development of effective national, federal, and statewide safety and health laws, standards, policies and programs; hazard identification, prevention and remediation; and technical assistance on occupational safety and health topics. Geraldine trains workers on a variety of occupational hazards, assists injured workers with complicated worker's compensation issues, and works with PEF leaders to mentor new health and safety activists. Geraldine earned a B.S. in Psychology with a focus on Industrial/Organizational programs. A union advocate for many years, she has additional experience in labor/management, grievance handling and contract negotiations.
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Ethics Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman
- Member of the PEF Convention Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Credentials Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the IT Committee
Job Titles:
- Director of Information Systems
Joe Cocci became the Director of Information Systems department in January of 2013. Joe began his career with the Public Employees Federation (PEF) in 2001. Prior to becoming Director Joe worked as a Programmer/Analyst for PEF Membership Benefits Program and a Systems Analyst for PEF.
Joel Briggs was appointed to the position of Statewide Facilities Manager in September of 2017. Joel brings many years of experience in property management to his role at PEF, having worked for 15 years at British American as a property manager who oversaw two million square feet and as a construction superintendent for five years.
At PEF, Joel's responsibilities include planning, organizing, monitoring and directing the maintenance and grounds activities for all PEF facilities.
Joel is a graduate of SUNY Cobleskill with a Bachelor of Technology and he completed the Building Owners and Managers Institute program. Joel lives in Cobleskill with his wife of 22 years and has three children.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Statewide Director of Field Services
Katherine (Katie) Vorwald has been with the Public Employees Federation since May 2011. In March 2019 she was appointed as the Regional Director of Field Services/ Organizing for PEF Regions 7, 8 and 9. Prior to her appointment, she was an Associate Attorney in the Office of General Counsel. In addition, she was the Law Clerk in Counsel's Office from 2007 through 2009.
Katie also served as the Vice President of United Steelworkers Local 9265, the union representing PEF Staff. Other than a brief stint in private practice, Katie's entire career has been with PEF.
Katie was admitted to the New York State Bar in 2010. She holds a Juris Doctorate from Albany Law School and a Bachelor's Degree in Politics from SUNY Potsdam. Katie resides in Columbia County with her family.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Convention Committee
Kristie Furman started at NYS Public Employees Federation in 2001 as the Division Information/Account Clerk. She moved up to be a Divisions Information Assistant in 2003 and to Divisions Coordinator in 2015. Kristie accepted a promotion in 2018 to lead the department as Assistant Director of Divisions. In this role she oversees administration and certification of all elections within PEF as well as all divisional financial matters. She ensures that all divisions are compliant with their fiduciary responsibilities to their divisions and the PEF organization. Kristie supports many PEF committees with her expertise regarding policy and procedure. She has an Associates Degree in Information Technology from Bryant and Stratton College. Outside of work Kristie enjoys running, hiking and reading. She resides in Colonie, NY with her husband and son.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the PEF Credentials Committee
- Regional Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Legal Appeals Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Ethics Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the IT Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Constitution and Bylaws Committee
Patrick brings almost 30 years of legislative and organizational administration experience to PEF. Patrick began his legislative career as an intern in the Office of Assemblyman John G. A. O'Neil. He then served as a senior editorial aide at the bi-partisan Legislative Bill Drafting Commission where he reviewed and drafted legislation and supporting memoranda.
In 1996, Patrick accepted a position as a Legislative Representative at the New York State United Teachers and rose to the position of Senior Legislative Representative. In this role, Patrick represented union members before the NYS Legislature and the Executive and drafted various bills that were ultimately enacted into law. Patrick played a key role on the NYS AFL-CIO Pension Task Force in support of the groundbreaking pension reform legislation in 2000 where he took a lead role in the drafting of and lobbying for the tier equity package and the Permanent COLA law.
In 2009, he accepted a position as the Assistant to the NYSUT President where he helped oversee the union's election and governance operations and as a liaison to the board of directors, local leaders and the organization's national affiliates - the AFT and NEA. Patrick served in this role through several administrations until 2017 when he accepted a position as Director of Constituency Programs and Services. In that role, Patrick spearheaded NYSUT's nationally recognized Local Action Project, Leadership Institute and staff training programs and served as the project coordinator for NYSUT's Annual Representative Assembly. Additionally, Patrick served as the primary staff liaison to NYSUT's various constituent groups and internal working committees and served as the project coordinator for NYSUT's annual health and safety, school-related professionals, health care professionals, new local presidents, and higher education conferences.
Patrick is the proud product of New York's public schools. Patrick graduated from the Albany public school system and has a B.A. in Political Science from Plattsburgh State University (1991) and a M.A. in Political Science from the Rockefeller Institute of Government at Albany State University (2001). Patrick is married to Rebecca Popp-Lyons, who he met while lobbying at the State Capitol, and is the proud parent of three children - Condon, Seamus and Margaret - all of whom attend public schools in Saratoga county. Patrick previously served as the chair for the United Way of the Greater Capital Region and he currently serves as the chair of the Clifton Park Democratic committee and as a level 3 assistant coach for the Clifton Park Youth Hockey program.
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the IT Committee
Ray started at PEF in December 2018 as the Senior Accountant and became the Director of Finance in October 2020. He oversees all things related to finance within the organization. Prior to coming to PEF, he spent five years with The Bonadio Group as an auditor working with many labor unions. Ray is a licensed CPA in New York State and graduated with a Masters of Science in Accounting from Siena College. Ray has been married since 2015 and resides in Loudonville with his wife and two dogs.
Job Titles:
- Regional Director of Field Services
Ricardo Cruz has been a union activist for 22 years. In November 2018 he was appointed Regional Director of Field Services/Organizing for PEF Regions 10, 11, and 12. Prior to his appointment, Ricardo was a Parole Officer and was elected Regional Coordinator for Region 10 (The Bronx and Manhattan).
Ricardo has also served as a PEF Council Leader (SLA - Div. 171), Co-Chair - Statewide Labor Management Committee; Co-Chair of the Article 46 Joint Law Enforcement Committee, Trustee with PEF Membership Benefits, and Steward of statewide Division 236, representing Parole Officers, Senior Parole Officers, and Parole Revocation Specialists at the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision in New York City (Manhattan). Ricardo also served in the United States Marine Corps for three years until he was honorably discharged in 1993. During his time in the Marine Corps, he learned selfdiscipline, organization through collaboration, and to focus on goals - all values which have allowed him to successfully advocate on behalf of PEF members.
Ricardo holds a Bachelor's degree in accounting from Monroe College in New York. He resides in Westchester County with his family.
Rob Merrill joined the Public Employees Federation in September 2020. He brings to the Communications Department more than two decades of experience in television, digital media production and content creation. Prior to joining PEF, Merrill spent four years at the University at Albany, part of a team responsible for broadcasting or streaming all home sporting events.
Before that, Merrill worked for nearly a decade at The Associated Press in New York, helping lead the world's oldest news organization during its transition to digital content creation and delivery. Merrill managed a team of 14 producers and videographers gathering entertainment video news across the country. He served as the network pool producer for live coverage of Whitney Houston's funeral in 2012 and executive producer of the AP's live red carpet coverage at the Grammys and Oscars from 2009-2016.
Before having fun with entertainment journalism, Merrill covered hard news in the broadcast industry for 10 years - from market 198 (Cheyenne, Wyoming) to the nation's capital. He was instrumental behind the creation of the first network evening news blog, The Daily Nightly, and traveled often to New Orleans with NBC Nightly News to produce multimedia content after Hurricane Katrina.
Merrill grew up in Region 4 (Rodman, N.Y.), and earned his Bachelor of Arts at Middlebury College in Vermont. He now lives in Niskayuna with his wife, two children, a dog named Yeager and a cat named Mittens.
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Constitution and Bylaws Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the IT Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Convention Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the PEF Convention Committee
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the PEF Ethics Committee
Job Titles:
- Member of the Legal Appeals Committee
Job Titles:
- Executive Director
- Executive Director of the New York State Public Employees Federation
Todd M. Kerner became the Executive Director of the New York State Public Employees Federation in August 2015. Previously, he spent 21 years as an attorney with the New York State Department of Taxation and Finance and six years as an attorney in private practice. He has an L.L.M in Taxation from New York University School of Law, a J.D. from Albany Law School, and a B.S. in Economics from the University of Illinois.
As an attorney with New York State, Kerner specialized in tax matters where he drafted tax legislation, interpreted state tax laws, and represented the State in administrative tax hearings. During that time, he was very active in PEF and held numerous leadership positions, including: executive board member; PEF health benefits committee chair; PEF contract team member; statewide department labor management co-chair; statewide department health and safety chair; and chief shop steward.
Kerner is also politically active; he has been the Saratoga County Democratic Committee chair since 2011 and is a member of the NYS Democratic Committee. He was also active for many years with the Shenendehowa School District PTA, and was recognized for his service as a recipient of the National PTA Honorary Life Membership. He was also active with youth hockey and lacrosse programs in Clifton Park.
Job Titles:
- Member of the Triennial Election Committee
PEF's President Wayne Spence and his fellow statewide officers will be at 400 Forest Av. Buffalo, NY -Outside (near flag pole) and across the street from BPCs main entrance 6:00 am
PEF President Wayne Spence and his fellow statewide officers will be at Roswell Park, located at 665 Elm St. Buffalo NY, at Kaminski Park under the walkway, on August 1, 6-9 a.m. This will be...
PEF President Wayne Spence sent the following message to all members on Aug. 4, 2022, following the announcement from the governor's office about the process created to distribute the $1.2 billion allocated in the state budget to pay bonuses to eligible healthcare workers. Yesterday, Governor Hochul officially announced the process to begin the distribution of...
PEF President Wayne Spence and his fellow statewide officers will be at St. Paul's Episcopal Cathedral, 4 Cathedral Park Buffalo NY 14202, in the Flickinger Center on August 1st 11am-1pm. This will be a grab-and-go...
PEF President Wayne Spence and his fellow statewide officers will be at Bowl A Roll Lanes - 1560 jefferson rd.
PEF President Wayne Spence and his fellow statewide officers will be at 7 Court St, Belmont NY, in room 220 on August 4, 7:30-9:30 a.m. This will be a grab-and-go event. Food will be provided...
PEF President Wayne Spence and his fellow statewide officers will be at 290 Main St, Buffalo- Regional Conf. room - 11:00 am
PEF President Wayne Spence and his fellow statewide officers will be at 220 Richmond Ave, Batavia, NY 14020 3:30 pm