Mark Brody – President
A far cry from where he was born and raised in New York City, Mark Brody has worked as a large animal veterinarian in Montgomery County for many years. He is married with two sons, Jake, a 2016 Canajoharie High School graduate, and Nate, who also graduated from Canajoharie.
Before entering veterinary school at the age of 41, he was a newspaper reporter, New York City cab driver, and, finally, garbage truck mechanic for the City of New York. He was also a shop steward and served on his union’s executive board. Dr. Brody enjoys woodworking, music, skiing, mountain biking, cooking and gardening. His punning ability pales in comparison to that of his elder son’s.
Email him at Mark.Brody@canjo.org or call 518-673-4186.
Peter Lawrence
Peter Lawrence has lived in the Canajoharie School District nearly his whole life.
He and his wife, Kim, have a daughter, Caitlynn, who is entering her Junior year in the fall of 2019.
Currently Deputy Executive Director of the Family Counseling Center in Gloversville where he oversees operations for a Behavioral Health Organization that serves over 3,000 individuals in Fulton County and Western Montgomery County. Lawrence previously worked at the YMCA and Special Olympics.
Lawrence is a graduate of Canajoharie High School and East Stroudsburg University in Pennsylvania.
Lawrence assisted with the 2019 Canajoharie High School Post-Prom party, Vice President Fulton County YMCA Board of Directors, and Special Olympics coach and volunteer.
Lawrence has served on the Board since July 1, 2019.
Email him at Peter.Lawrence@canjo.org
Jennifer Field
Jennifer Field moved to Montgomery County in 1996 with her husband, Timothy, who has been the band director in Canajoharie since this time. She has lived in Canajoharie since 2003. She graduated with her BA in English Writing and Elementary Education from SUNY Potsdam in 1993 and her MA in Teacher Education from the College of Saint Rose in 1999. In 2000, her twins were born. Samantha and Benjamin are 2018 graduates of Canajoharie and are currently attending college out of state.
After graduating from college, Jennifer taught high school ELA and elementary school for her alma mater in Goshen, NY. After moving to this area in 1996, she was a Liberty Partnership Program Counselor at Centro Civico for a year, and then taught in the Enrichment Program in the Albany City Schools for a year. Jennifer was then offered a teaching position in Sharon Springs in 1998. She taught elementary education from 1998 to 2008, specifically grades 4 and 5. In 2008 she started teaching 7-12 English Language Arts, which she currently enjoys immensely. She is a dually certified teacher. In addition to her teaching experience, she coached Softball in Sharon Springs, and has been a class advisor, SADD advisor, Odyssey of the Mind Coordinator, Book Club Advisor, Teacher Mentor, and Union President. In Canajoharie, she was a co-coach for her children’s Odyssey of the Mind teams, and was a modified volleyball coach. She also enjoys recording the Canajoharie concerts…and sharing these moments with everyone in the community. In Jennifer’s free time, she likes to spend time with her family, to read, and to travel.
Heidi Meka
Heidi Meka was raised in Canajoharie and is very proud of her experience as a student with Canajoharie Central School. Meka went on to attend college locally and build a career in business, most recently as a Director for the local e-commerce company Beekman 1802, an international Lifestyle Brand. Meka currently work as the Director Of Operations for a local company, Westmeadow Farm & Dairy another very exciting local company.
Meka adores Canajoharie including our excellent school system that is within driving distance to some of the best art and culture available and has beautiful natural assets that most people would travel to see.
Meka has two children currently enrolled at Canajoharie Central School. Andrew is a Sophomore and Olivia is in the sixth grade. They have had a wonderful experience in Canajoharie School with plenty of opportunities to keep them very busy with extracurricular activities.
Meka looks forward to the opportunity to bring her professional and personal experience as well as her love of the community to the Board of Education.
Patricia Prime
Patricia Prime graduated from Canajoharie High School in 1978 and while a student here, she played on the soccer, volleyball, basketball and track teams. In 1983 she married John Prime who is also a graduate of Canajoharie (1977), and they have two grown children, Kelly (’08) and Max (’10).
She started teaching at Canajoharie in 1985, and coached volleyball, soccer and softball. She was an advisor to four classes and various clubs, and served on numerous committees, most recently as revising the homework and class ranking policies, as well as studying the merits of mergers. She was science department chairperson and worked to develop curricula that was both innovative and challenging. She recently retired from teaching after 38 years, She looks forward to continuing working to advocate for parents, students and teachers, so that they may all work together to bring the best possible education to our children.