Profiles of the Members of the Board of Education

Angela DeVito is the President of the Board of Education and was first elected to the Board in 2003. Ms. DeVito is an associate director for apprenticeship programs for the Building and Construction Trade Council of Nassau and Suffolk County and is active in the Greater Jamesport Civic Association. She has a degree in anthropology and a masters in public health and has worked on commissions for Governor Cuomo and in the public sector for 32 years either through employment or as a developer of programs.


Christine Prete is the Vice President of the Board of Education and was elected to the Board in 2004. Ms. Prete owns a garden design company and is the former president of the Bayview Pines Civic Association in Flanders. She is a member of the audit committee, which reflects her prior experience working for Riverhead Town. She currently has two children that are students in the District.



Kathleen V. Berezny has been on the Board of Education since 2002. Ms. Berezny is also involved with the Riverhead Fire Department Ladies Auxiliary, where she serves as chaplain, and the New York State Association of Fire Chaplains. Ms. Berezny has worked as a corporate bookkeeper and currently works in the Greenport Village utilities department.



Ann Cotten-DeGrasse of Jamesport spent 32 years as a business teacher in the Riverhead School District and was president of the Riverhead Central Faculty Association for five years. She is one of the founding members of the North Fork Breast Health Coalition and has been its president for the past five years. Ms. Cotten-DeGrasse began her tenure with the Board in 2007.



Timothy Griffing has been on the Board of Education since 2003. He has a son and a daughter in the District's schools. Mr. Griffing is employed by Coldwell Banker Bagshaw Realty. He also owns Riverhead Landscaping Services LLC and operates a nursery in Calverton.




Mary Ellen Harkin has been on the Board since 1998. Ms. Harkin is a lawyer and an educator. She practiced law for 18 years and was a chief law clerk for a State Supreme Court judge. Currently, Ms. Harkin teaches English in the Connetquot School District. She has two children in the District's schools.




Gregory Meyer was elected to the Board in 2008. Mr. Meyer is a firefighter and emergency medical technician at the Brookhaven National Laboratory and also a volunteer firefighter for the Wading River Fire Department. He's also involved in coaching youth activities (PAL sports) and is a volunteer football coach at RHS. Mr. Meyer has two children currently attending Riverhead schools.