Governing Board Insert

MEET YOUR 2025 PSBA

GOVERNING BOARD

Allison Mathis

President, North Hills School District Allison “Ali” Mathis has been a member of the North Hills School District Board of Education (Allegheny Co.) since 2017 and has served as president since December 2019. She currently serves as chair of the district’s Education committee and is former chair of the Finance committee. A former parentteacher organization president, she is an involved parent volunteer with one teenager in high school and one in college.

She is an active and engaged member of PSBA and passionate advocate for public education. She served as the PSBA Section 5 advisor in 2021, as vice president in 2022 and 2023 and president-elect in 2024. Mathis is a graduate of The Johns Hopkins University, where she earned her degree in sociology.

Her professional background is in communications and project management, and she currently works as a client services manager for a brand agency in Pittsburgh.

Sabrina Backer

President-Elect, Franklin Area School District Sabrina Backer has been an active advocate for public education since her children entered elementary school. Her involvement began on the executive board of her children’s school’s parentteacher organization. In 2014, she was appointed to the Franklin Area School District Board (Venango Co.), where she has served as president since 2020. Backer has held numerous roles on the PSBA Governing Board since 2018 including vice president, treasurer and sectional advisor. She has served on Franklin’s Hall of Fame, Personnel, Operations, Finance, and Negotiations committees, chairing both Personnel and Operations. Additionally, she has contributed as a PSBA Liaison, and a member of several other PSBA and affiliated boards.

She also serves on the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency’s School Safety and Security Committee. Backer attended Fayetteville State University and currently works as the municipal administrator for Cranberry Township in Venango County. She has two children, Britton and Cambree.

2025 PSBA GOVERNING BOARD

Matt Vannoy

Vice President, Sharon City School District Matt Vannoy is a school director for the Sharon City School District (Mercer Co.) and is on the Finance, Buildings and Grounds and Budget committees. He was a member of the PSBA Governing Board in 2024 as a sectional advisor co-leader and has served as W-1 sectional advisor. Professionally, he is a principal in the Conneaut School District (Crawford Co.) and has also been a social studies teacher, athletic director and assistant principal in the Farrell Area, Moniteau and Sharon City school districts. Vannoy is a member of the PIAA District 10 Committee and several other state and local boards. In 2018, Vannoy was a recipient of the Slippery Rock University Alumni Association’s Distinguished Recent Alumni Award as well as the Mercer County Chambers of Commerce “40 Under 40” award. He holds an undergraduate degree from Slippery Rock University and a master’s degree and Superintendent’s Letter of Eligibility from Westminster College.

Dr. Karen Beck Pooley

Treasurer, Bethlehem Area School District Karen Beck Pooley has been a school director for Bethlehem Area School District (Northampton Co.) since December 2015. As part of her role, she chairs the board’s Facilities Committee and serves on Northampton Community College’s Board of Trustees as well as the Steering and Housing committees for Northside Alive – a neighborhood revitalization effort that she and the district worked with the City of Bethlehem to launch. She is a member of BASD Proud Parents, the district’s parent advocacy group, and Pennsylvanians for Fair Funding. She was inducted into PSBA’s Allwein Society in 2022 in honor of her commitment to public education advocacy and is a trusted source of information for elected officials and local reporters, providing testimony to House committees. Beck Pooley is a professor of political science at Lehigh University and serves as the director of research and analytics at czb LLC, an urban planning and neighborhood revitalization consulting firm. Prior to these positions, she ran Allentown’s Redevelopment Authority and was a deputy director within New York City’s Department of Housing Preservation and Development.

2025 PSBA GOVERNING BOARD

Mike Gossert

Immediate Past-President, Cumberland Valley School District Mike Gossert is a board member for the Cumberland Valley School District (Cumberland Co.) representing Hampden Township residents and currently serves as chairman of the Finance, Policy and Negotiations committees. He also is the executive director of the Pennsylvania School District Liquid Asset Fund. Gossert is the president of Keystone Business Connections, LLC (KBC), where he works with government and private clients of all sizes in many different aspects of management consulting. Formerly he was vice president of Quandel Construction and vice president and senior relationship manager for M&T Bank Middle Market and Institutional Market Division for the Harrisburg and Central Pennsylvania region. He also served as the township manager for Hampden Township in Cumberland County for 10 years. Gossert proudly served in the United States Marine Corps and upon being honorably discharged, earned a bachelor’s degree in public policy from Penn State University and a master’s degree in public administration from Shippensburg University.

Holly Arnold

Eastern Zone Representative, Tunkhannock Area School District Holly Arnold has served as a school director for the Tunkhannock Area School District (Wyoming Co.) since 2015, first as vice president and currently as president since 2021. Prior to her position as the Eastern zone representative for the PSBA Governing Board, she served PSBA as E-1 sectional advisor, as well as on the Legislative Platform and Bylaws committees.

Arnold holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Misericordia University and is employed by GHD Services Inc. as an environmental scientist, consulting on water and wastewater treatment services and compliance across the U.S. She resides with her family in Tunkhannock.

2025 PSBA GOVERNING BOARD

Julie Preston

Central Zone Representative, Northern Tioga School District Julie Preston has been a member of the Northern Tioga School Board (Tioga Co.) since 2008. She is currently president of the board and has served in this capacity since 2015. She represents her district on the BLAST Intermediate Unit 17 Board of Directors (IU) where she has held several different offices, most recently as chair of the Governance Committee established by the IU. She has previously served in multiple positions within PSBA, including liaison, regional director and sectional advisor. Preston has regularly attended the PASA-PSBA School Leadership Conference since becoming a school director. She has three adult children who all graduated from Northern Tioga School District and 10 grandchildren who are or will be attending the district.

Kristy Bolte

Western Zone Representative, Northwestern School District Kristy Bolte is in her second term as a school board director at Northwestern School District in Albion (Erie Co.). She has served as Education Committee chair and is the district’s PSBA Liaison. She also serves on the board of Northwest Tri-County Intermediate Unit 5. She is passionate about advocacy and has been active in the advocacy work of PSBA in her area.

Professionally, Bolte is a birth/bereavement/postpartum doula and works with Birthroot Community Doula Alliance in Erie. She holds a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from Edinboro University of PA and lives in West Springfield with her husband and six children.

2025 PSBA GOVERNING BOARD

David J. Hein

Sectional Advisor Co-Lead, Parkland School District David J. Hein is in his third term on the Parkland School Board (Lehigh Co.) and has served as its president and vice president. He is a member of the Personnel and Finance Committee and has served in various capacities on the Buildings and Grounds and the Academics, Arts and Athletics committees.

Additionally, he is chair of the joint operating committee of the Lehigh Career and Technical Institute (LCTI), where has served as vice chair and treasurer as well as on several committees. He also is on the board of trustees for Lehigh Carbon Community College. Hein is PSBA’s representative on the School Safety and Security Committee under the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, and is the PSBA Liaison to the Parkland School Board.

Dr. Mike Panza

Sectional Advisor Co-Lead, Moniteau School District Mike Panza, board president for the Moniteau School District, recently retired after spending more than 36 years in the field of education. During this time, he has served as a music educator, a principal and a superintendent. Panza holds a bachelor’s and a master’s degree in music education as well as a master’s degree in school administration from Duquesne University, and a doctorate in educational leadership from Nova University and post-doctorate credits from Westminster College. He has also been an adjunct professor at Robert Morris University, Slippery Rock University and Duquesne University. As a tuba player, Panza performs with the Faculty Brass Quintet from Duquesne University, which often performs his musical arrangements. He has also been a guest conductor for various music education concerts.

2025 PSBA GOVERNING BOARD

Bethanne Zeigler

Affiliate Council Chair, Shikellamy School District Bethanne Zeigler has been dedicated to the Shikellamy School District since 1996, where she has served as the administrative assistant to the superintendent since 1998. Since 2007, she has been actively involved in the School Board Secretaries Forum, holding various leadership positions, including president, committee member and her current role as chair. In addition to her work in education, Zeigler is the head cheerleading coach for the Susquehanna University River Hawks, showcasing her commitment to mentoring and leadership in athletics. She is married to her husband, Bill, who is a fifth grade teacher.

Together, they have three children and four grandchildren. She is excited to continue supporting PSBA’s mission of empowering school boards and advancing public education in Pennsylvania.

PSBA Affiliate Council Bethanne Zeigler, chair School Board Secretaries Forum Steering Committee Chair Shikellamy School District Christina L. Lane, Esq. Pennsylvania School Board Solicitors Association (PSBSA) President Maiello Brungo & Maiello; Pittsburgh/Allegheny Co. Lynelle Hollen, CEOE Pennsylvania Association of Educational Office Professional (PAEOP) President Great Valley School District

2025 PSBA GOVERNING BOARD

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