Board Members

Karl Madeo, Board President

Karl is a retired educator who taught for many years at the Lehman Alternative Community School in Ithaca and later worked as an administrator at Tompkins Cortland Community College, where he was Director of the College Now Program. He served on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance of Concurrent Enrollment Partnerships (NACEP), chaired accreditation review teams, led numerous workshops and conference presentations for NACEP, and worked with state higher education organizations and individual colleges to help improve their dual credit programs. Over the years, his volunteer activities have included the ICSD’s Equity and Inclusion Leadership Council (EILC), the operating committee of Access to College Education (ACE), the SUNY Task Force on Remediation, as well as the Village at Ithaca Board of Directors. Whenever possible, he spends time traveling with his wife, Linda, seeking out, and often photographing, the wonders of the natural world.

Peggy Odom-Reed, Vice President

Dr. Peggy Odom-Reed is a senior lecturer in the Marketing and Management Communication area at the Cornell SC Johnson College of Business, Nolan School of Hotel Administration, where she teaches courses in management communication. As a certified senior professional in human resources, Peggy has experience in human resources and communication coaching. She serves on the Leadership Council on Combating Racism and Promoting Diversity, Inclusion, Equity, and Belonging at SC Johnson College of Business and the Diversity and Inclusion Committee at the Association for Business Communication.

Peggy has two K–12 children including one Ithaca High School senior who serve as a Youth Affiliate Member, supporting the Village’s work to create an equitable and inclusive community.

Su Ghosh, Treasurer

Su has lived in Ithaca since 1999, when she arrived as a freshman at Cornell University.  After graduating in 2004, she joined the ranks of Cornell graduates that never left town.  Su is a Research Administrator at Cornell University, and has been a member of the Board of the Village since 2015.  She has two children in the Ithaca City School District and is a committed believer in the continued pursuit of educational equity.

Janet Smith, Board Member

Janet is a nonprofit and academic professional with over 15 years of experience working with international and local organizations. Janet currently works at the Cornell Atkinson Center for Sustainability where she partners with multinational organizations, bringing research into action. She brings her fundraising and project management skill set to her role at the Village at Ithaca. Janet enjoys engaging with the local Ithaca community through her involvement in the board and is proud of the strides the organization has taken toward social justice and educational equity.

Tyler Struble, Board Member

Tyler is a theatre director/dramaturg, producer, and administrator originally from Horseheads, NY. At Kitchen Theatre Company, Tyler has served as associate producer for Shape, assistant director for Cry It Out, The Children, Tribes, and directed in the 2nd Annual One Minute Play Festival. 

Anne Burns Thomas, Board Member

Dr. Anne Burns Thomas is a professor in the School of Education at SUNY Cortland. Additionally, she coordinates the C.U.R.E. program, a scholarship program that addresses the shortage of diverse teachers. Her research interests include teacher diversity, community-based urban teacher education, and mentoring of new teachers. She also participates in education reform through the Equity Inclusions Leadership Council and as the co-chair of the Code of Conduct Review Committee.  Anne has two children who attend ICSD schools and was a middle school teacher in Philadelphia.

E. Christine Thompson, Board Member

Christine is the Assistant Director of Admissions for Diversity in the College of Arts & Sciences at Cornell University. In the past, she has taught at Ithaca College as a lecturer in Communication Studies, and  worked in Admissions at Ball State University in Indiana. Christine holds a Bachelor’s degree from SUNY Plattsburgh and a Master of Arts in Organizational and Professional Communication from Ball State. In her free time, she is a member of the EILC, a lifestyle family photographer, mother of two kids in the district (pre-k and third grade),  dog mom, and lover of the outdoors.