Advisory Council

Buffalo Niagara Sports Commission is always fine-tuning its game, analyzing and breaking down each play to set the bar for the next event.  The Sports Advisory Council is a team of 34 industry professionals compromised of athletic directors, venue managers, city and county officials, local sports events rights holders and other powers of influence. These members provide support, ideas and resources to keep the sport industry in Buffalo pushing forward.

Council Members

Eric Guzdek (Chair)

Recreation Specialist/General Manager
Town of Amherst Youth & Recreation Department/Northtown Center at Amherst

Kate Braun

Niagara Frontier Sports Executive Director/The Champion Project Executive Director
Buffalo Niagara Court Center

Mike Buczkowski

President, Rich Baseball Operations
Buffalo Bisons

Charlie Cannan

Director of Events
Pegula Sports & Entertainment

Renee Carlineo

Director of Athletics
Buffalo State University

Christopher Catanzaro

Project Manager
Erie Canal Harbor Development

Drew Cerza

Founder
National Buffalo Wing Festival

Rob Crean

Director of Live Events
Pegula Sports & Entertainment

TJ Day

Head Coach & CEO
STAR Swimming

Mark DiFilippo

Executive Director
Section VI NYSPHSAA

Natalie Giaccio

Business Development Manager
Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy

Sean Green

Director of Athletics & Corporate Sponsorship
Buffalo RiverWorks

Linda Groff

Local Representative
NYS Amateur Hockey Association

Ona Halladay

Executive Director of Intercollegiate Athletics
D’Youville University

Peter Jerebko

Athletic Director
Erie Community College

Katie Jurkas

General Manager
Outloud Sports

D’Ann Keller

Senior Associate Athletics Director
University at Buffalo

Pete Kennedy

Vice President of Enrollment Management at St. Joseph’s Collegiate Institute
The Monsignor Martin High School Athletic Association

John Lambert

Director of Marketing & Communications
SUNY at Buffalo

Kirk Lang

President
West Side Rowing

Chuck Lawless

General Manager
Sahlen’s Sport Park

Joseph Lojacono

President
Valmark Associates

Bill Maher

Athletic Director
Canisius University

Lynn Marinelli

Director of Intergovernmental Relations
Empire State Development Corporation

Nick Mendola

Co-Owner
FC Buffalo

Traci Murphy

Director of Athletics
Daemen University

Norm Page

Local Representative
Greater Buffalo Adaptive Sports

Jeff Qualey

President
Buffalo Rugby

Charles C. Swanekamp

Litigator
Gross Shuman PC

Brad Waltz

Recreation Supervisor
Town of Amherst