bkorb@girardsdf.org

Betsy Korb retired after 40 years in education.  Her education experience has included being a special education teacher, student teacher supervisor, and administrator.  She served as a teacher, Therapies Coordinator, and Educational Coordinator at the Barber National Institute for 15 years.  Her last 20 years were with the Girard School District as a special education teacher, assistant principal, and Director of Special Education.  She is married to Scott Korb, a graduate of Girard School District.  Their children Jacob and Lauren graduated from Girard. 

kblucas@girardsdf.org

Kristen grew up with an influence from both of her parents' careers in public education and service to community organizations in the Erie region for decades.  After graduating from Girard High School and Indiana University of PA, Kristen spent the first 20 years of her career as creative public relations and events management professional consultant representing nonprofits, tech startups, entertainment giants, luxury brands and Fortune 500s across the globe.

She returned to Erie County in 2009 and began a career at ERIE Insurance. In her time with ERIE, she has held various roles, with the majority aligned to support the discovery and creation of new programs, partnerships, initiatives, and various communities' experiences.

She holds an Advance Program Management certification from Stanford University , a social responsibility certification from Boston College Carroll School of Management Center for Corporate Citizenship and is a certified Life Cycle Celebrant®. She owns For the Love of Life, LLC, a company founded in 2022 that offers support for families who need help with celebrations of life, memorials, funerals for people and pets and with wedding, baby blessings and adoption ceremonies.

She has been honored to serve and advance the work of the following organizations' boards or board committees: American Heart Association, VA; Erie LakeLands Association, PA; Family Services of NWPA, PA; Front Royal Chamber of Commerce, VA; Los Angeles County Museum of Modern Art, CA; National Trust for Historic Preservation, Main Street Program, VA; National Council of LaRaza (now UnidosUS); National Football League Charities (now Foundation),NY; NextStepFitness, CA; Spartanburg Arts Council, SC; Spartanburg Adult Literacy Council, SC; The Warren County Council on Domestic Violence, VA; Tom Ridge Environmental Center Foundation, PA; United Way of the Piedmont, SC; and the Virginia Tourism Board, VA.

cyuhas@girardsdf.org

Chris Yuhas is a graduate of the GSD Class of 1984 and a lifelong Girard resident. While she has no children, she is the proud aunt and great aunt to 9 nephews and 4 nieces. Chris received an Associates Degree in Accounting from Erie Business School. She has been with United Way of Erie County for 30 years, serving as the Controller for the last 10 years. During her time at United Way she has learned much about the needs of many in the community and hopes that in some small way she has helped to make someone's day a little easier.

jbach@girardsdf.org

Jennifer Bach serves on the Elk Creek Recreation and Leisure Board. She is the head coach for the Elk Creek Cross Country Stingers, a running program for children in grades Kindergarten through 6th Grade. Jennifer is also involved with various clubs and organizations in the Erie County region, including past member of the Girard Lake City Chamber of Commerce. Her work includes owner/operator of Just Be Kind holistic health coaching and Jazzercise ® instructor. She has worked with Mercyhurst University in the Human Resources Department, Program Coordinator for the Erie Together initiative, Cancer Control Specialist with the American Cancer Society and assistant director with Governor Tom Ridge's Northwest Office and coordinator with Congressman Phil English's Erie Office. Jennifer and her husband are residents of Lake City with two boys currently attending Rice Avenue Middle School.

jtramontano@girardsdf.org

John Tramontano is a graduate of Duquesne University Business School and has 33 years of experience in corporate selling, fundraising and as an entrepreneur. John has previously served as a Girard School District Board member. He is currently in his third year of coaching the Girard High School baseball program. His wife Shelly has been an elementary teacher in the Girard School District for 25 years.  Both John's daughters, Chelsey and Carly have graduated from the Girard School District and son, Tanner, is currently a student in the district.

bsager@girardsdf.org

Brady Sager, a graduate of Girard School District Class of 2022 and a life long Girard resident. Brady is currently attending Gannon University to received his Bachelor of Science in Secondary Education & Masters in Administration. Throughout Brady's time as a Girard student & resident he's had the privilege to serve numerous positions: Class of 2022 President; Student School Board Represenative; Yearbook Business Manager; Rice Avenue Middle School Rededication Project; & the Penn Ohio Model A Club. Through these positions Brady has been able to gain the knowledge needed to positively serve the community. Although, Brady does not have any children he has two younger sisters, Madelynn & Mayley. Who are current students of Girard and keep Brady busy with all of their extracirricular and school activities. Although, Brady is the youngest board member he has the drive and knowledge to Enhance the Educational Experience of the Girard School District. 

ejones@girardsdf.org

Emma has lived in the Girard/Lake City area since 2006 and has been involved in many areas in the community; including most recently finishing her term as the Vice President of the Girard School Board.  She also was a former Elk Creek Rec Board swim/lifeguard instructor, Community mentor at Rice Avenue Middle School, and passionately involved with the Girard high and middle school soccer boosters.

She is currently a member of the GSD Occupational Advisory Council, annual Business Week Volunteer, and Chamber of Commerce Member.

Emma built and founded 323 Athletics, serving local athletes in programs such as Girard Soccer Club and the West County Soccer League.  She graduated from Slippery Rock University with a BS in Health Science/Public Health. Together with her husband Scott, they also own KML Industrial Supply, also in Girard.  Emma currently lives in Girard Township and has 3 boys, Trevor, Nathan and Andy Jones, all recent Girard High School graduates.

Nathan Koble is a 1995 graduate of Girard High School whose experience in education includes serving as a high school teacher for two years on Mount Kilimanjaro in Tanzania.  While in East Africa, Nathan taught all four levels of high school computer classes to 700 students. Nathan also taught business English in Taiwan for a term in addition to working for five years with the U.S. Department of Justice in Washington, DC.

He currently works with National Fuel in Erie.  He has served on numerous regional boards and holds a master's degree from Robert Morris University and an MBA from Penn State Behrend. He is a 2024 inductee into the Girard School District Foundation "Hive of Fame" and has commissioned a historical marker in Lake City to commemorate Abraham Lincoln's 1861 inaugural train stop in the community.

Carissa Iszkula grew up in Lancaster, PA, and graduated from Lampeter-Strasburg High School in 1999. She attended the University of Pittsburgh, where she met her husband, Erik, a proud graduate of Girard High School. Their journey took them to multiple locations while pursuing higher education before finally settling in Girard in 2010.

Carissa and Erik have three children, all attending schools in the Girard School District. A dedicated volunteer, Carissa has served as the Elk Valley PTO Secretary for four years, a Girl Scout Troop Leader, the current Secretary of the Cross Country and Track & Field Booster Club, and a Soccer Booster member—all while mastering the art of running kids from one activity to the next.

For the past 12 years, Carissa has been the Marketing Director at Murray & Iszkula Orthodontics, where she has enjoyed building meaningful connections within the community. She is excited to bring her passion for service and engagement to the Girard School District Foundation.

Tabitha has lived in Girard since 2006. She has two sons, Zachary and Lucas, who attend Rice Avenue Middle School. She attended Erie Business Center where she received her associate's degree in marketing. Tabitha worked for over 14 years in hospitality before pivoting into senior living. Tabitha has worked with seniors for 10 years. Currently she is the Director of Sales for Asbury Springhill, where she assists seniors and families navigate their next chapter. She has served on the board in all positions of the Geriatric Social Workers Association for the last 10 years. She is looking forward to bringing her years of professional experiences to positively impact the Girard School District Foundation.

Gina Cassarino-Hill grew up in North Huntingdon, PA, and attended Greensburg Central Catholic High School, graduating in 1994. She then attended Allegheny College in Meadville, PA, graduating in 1998 with a BA in psychology and minor in art history. Gina started her career at Hamot Hospital working on the behavioral health unit as a behavioral specialist until its closing in 2001, then went on to work at GECAC in the aging department as a case manager and assessor. Following working at GECAC Gina returned to her alma mater, Allegheny College, to work in the admissions department where she assisted students and families with the college admissions process. As Gina began to start her family, she decided to find a job closer to home that involved less travel and went to work for Saint Mary's Home of Erie as the social services director for over 14 years until they closed the East side campus in 2021. Gina now works for UPMC Insurance Exchange as a service coordinator, where she continues to serve older adults in the community.

Gina has lived and worked in and around Erie, PA since 1998, and has grown to love the Girard area, where she has lived since 2017 with her husband, Bob, a retired police Sergeant and veteran, and their son, Brodie, who attends Elk Valley Elementary School. Gina has two older stepchildren, Beau and Morgan, who are both married and live in Erie County. Gina's youngest son is active in both the cross country and track and field programs with the Stingers, where Bob volunteers as a coach, as well as Cub Scouts Pack 53 in Girard. Gina has grown fond of the Girard School District due to their high standards, vision and leadership and is very excited at this opportunity to serve the School District and the Girard community.

jacob.hagmaier@girardsd.org

david.koma@girardsd.org

The Board of Directors and Executive Committee is composed of the Board President and chairs for each of the respective main committees below and oversees strategic planning, annual report and audit for the GSDF.

• Betsy Korb, President
• Kristen Blucas, Vice President
• Chris Yuhas, Treasurer
• Jennifer Bach, Secretary 

The Allocation Committee has the responsibility to ensure the highest standards, process, and selection of recipients and efforts for which to share funds to distribute.  Subcommittees include The Grants and Scholarship Committees, each with respective Chairs or co-Chairs and Members.

Open, Chair

Grants

• Betsy Korb
• Brady Sager
• Gina Cassarino-Hill

Scholarship

• Jen Bach, Co-Chair
• Brady Sager
• Betsy Korb
• Carissa Iszkula
  
  
  

The Finance Committee maintains fiscal responsibility for the organization's monetary contributions, financial activities, and oversees its annual budget.

• Chris Yuhas, Chair
• Brady Sager

The Public Relations Committee ensures the GSDF activities are communicated through various channels for diverse stakeholders' awareness of the organizational efforts and alignment of its mission.

• Emma Jones, Chair
• Kristen Blucas
• John Tramontano
• Carissa Iszkula
  
• Tabitha Bemiss

The Nomination Committee is responsible for recruiting, training, setting terms and administering an annual slate of officers and Board Members.

• Eric Podgers, Chair
• Betsy Korb
• Donna Miller
• Tabitha Bemiss
• Jake Tobolewski, Community Member