Board of Directors
Kimberly Ann Brusatori – Founder & Executive Director, Village Learning & Achievement Center
Kim Brusatori graduated from the University of Florida in 1979 with a Bachelor of Science in Environmental Engineering. Upon moving to Kingwood and marrying her husband, she gave birth to their son Kyle, who was born with mental retardation and a seizure disorder. She and her husband have raised their son, along with their three other children in Kingwood for the last 27 years.
Brusatori’s engineering career came to an end when she was faced with raising her son. There were no childcare centers at that time that would accept him or private schools available locally that would enroll him. Over the years it became evident that services and programs were lacking in their community. Over the next 18 years Kim worked alongside other mothers to try and make a difference in the lives of their children through the Humble ISD Parent Council.
Ten years ago, with the aid of another mother who had the same vision, The Village Learning Center, Inc. was founded to provide services to children and adults with disabilities who lived in their community. Brusatori’s son Kyle currently attends Village Learning & Achievement Center’s day program and participates in their residential transition program.
Brusatori is a past Board member of the Lake Houston YMCA, a current board member of the Village Learning & Achievement Center, a member of Humble Intercontinental Rotary, Humble and Kingwood Chambers of Commerce and an honorary member of Kingwood Kiwanis. She is a recipient of the 2003 Woman of Achievement Award – Visionary from FamilyTime Foundation. She was a participant in the 2009 Class of Leadership North Houston.
David Bubier – Chairman of the Board/President, The MINT National Bank
David A. Bubier is the President of The MINT National Bank located in Kingwood. Bubier was formerly the regional branch president and director of Main Street Bank in Kingwood/Cleveland Texas. He brings 37 years of banking experience to our Board. Bubier is married to Hildy Bubier and is the father of three.
Bubier has an MBA from the University of Houston and has been an active member of the Kingwood/Humble community since 1985. He is a board member for Keep Kingwood Beautiful.
Gwendolyn Condoleo-Crawford – Community Liaison to the Mayor of Houston
Gwendolyn Condoleo-Crawford has served as the Community Liaison to the Mayor of Houston for the last six years. She has over 19 years of customer service experience with emphasis in problem solving, resolution and public relations. Condeleo-Crawford is a mother of three children and is very active in the Kingwood community. She was educated in Denver, Colorado and studied English and Criminal Justice. She was a Police Officer, a Flight Attendant and a television anchor. Condeleo-Crawford has a proactive attitude about her volunteerism and loves to serve the community in which she lives.
Jeff B. Early – President, Northern Trust Bank-South Texas
Jeff B. Early serves as President of South Texas for Northern Trust. Early joined Northern Trust in 1978 as a management trainee in commercial banking. He served in various management assignments with The Northern Trust Company including commercial banking, mortgage lending and heading retail banking for the Chicago market. In April 1992, Early relocated to Texas as a managing executive for Northern Trusts’s Houston bank. In his current position, he has management responsibilities for all Houston and Austin activities.
Early received a B.S. degree from Purdue University in West Lafayette, Indiana. He currently serves as a member of the executive committee of the Houston Symphony, a board member for the Honors College of the University of Houston and is a Trustee of the Alley Theatre in Houston. Early is past president of the Houston Symphony Society, a former member of the advisory board of the Assistance League of Houston, a former trustee of the Houston Ballet, the Houston Symphony Endowment, the Houston Grand Opera, and a former member of the Lombardi Award Committee. He also serves as the finance committee head of the Village Learning and Achievement Center and a member of the General Council of the Presbytery of New Covenant.
Marie Halvatzis –
Marie Halvatzis, a native of Florida is a 26 year resident of Kingwood, Texas. She attended the University of Florida and graduated from the University of Tulsa with a degree in Political Science. Halvatzis also holds a Juris Doctorate from Mississippi College School of Law. While living in Jackson, Mississippi, she had a career as a Landman for Cities Service Oil Company and also was in the private practice of law.
After moving to Texas, Halvatzis stayed home to rear two children and do a great deal of volunteer work in the community. She served on her children’s school’s PTA Board of Directors as well as on the school district wide PTA council, was a Girl Scout leader, and was active in Kingwood Panhellenic and Kingwood Women’s Club. Halvatzis has had leadership roles in National Charity League, Kingwood Project Graduation and the Philoptochos Society of Annunciation Greek Orthodox Cathedral. She also formerly served as a court appointed Guardian ad Litem for children in CPS custody through Child Advocates, Inc.
Halvatzis was a former Child Care Director for the Lake Houston Family YMCA. In this position, she directed the YMCA after school child care program in twenty-five elementary schools in Humble ISD and Huffman ISD which provides services to 1,000+ children daily.
Halvatzis currently volunteers a great amount of time lending legal and professional advice to Village Learning & Achievement Center.
Chet Harris –
Chet Harris is a multi-dimensional Human Resource executive with a proven track record as a strategist, consultant, and department head. He has had broad and diverse responsibilities in a variety of industries including oil and gas, space exploration, medical, and management consulting. Harris has demonstrated distinctive competence in the following areas: Leadership Development/Training, Human Resource Management, Strategic Partnering, Start-Ups, Mergers and Acquisitions, Recruiting and Retention Systems
Harris is a high integrity professional possessing exceptional communications and interpersonal skills. He is a high energy, results oriented leader with extensive experience in visualizing, prioritizing, and implementing successful business solutions.
Harold Hutchinson – President, Fern River Marketing, Inc.
Harold Hutchinson was born in Springfield, Missouri to parents Willard & Virginia Hutchinson. He was educated in various schools in the Midwestern states of Missouri, Iowa and Illinois until High School graduation. Following graduation, Hutchinson joined the U. S. Air Force and continued his education at various colleges and universities ending with a degree in Electrical Engineering from Auburn University in Alabama in 1974. Commissioned as an officer in the U. S. Air Force, he spent 10 more years in Communications Systems Engineering until retirement in 1985. Hutchinson is a veteran of Vietnam, having served one year of his career in combat service. He spent his last five years of military service managing programs and budgets for $250 million worth of Department of Defense communications systems development. That included managing approved funding for the prior three years and planning funding for the next five years. His post military experience involved personal investment, refurbishment and management of residential real estate in the 1980’s.
Hutchinson is married to Barbara J. Hutchinson and they share five adult children and seven grandchildren. He is a volunteer member and supporter of the building renovation, finance and Annual Gala committees. He also attends and supports various community events and fundraisers supporting the mission of Village Learning & Achievement Center. Hutchinson also serves in the capacity of Policies and Procedures development advisor.
Hutchinson is President of Fern River Marketing, Inc., a Kingwood company which provides state sales tax consulting for the manufacturing industry. He also serves as Vice president of White Horse Western Manufacturing Co. LLC and White Horse Western Trading Co. LLC. Both companies, located in Porter, are related to the western décor and rustic furniture industry. The former business manufactures the products sold by the latter.
Stephen King – CEO, Growth Force
Stephen King, CPA, has more than 25 years of experience in accounting, systems design and management consulting in large and rapidly-growing companies. He is currently President and CEO of GrowthForce LLC, an outsourced bookkeeping & controller service located in Kingwood Texas.
Prior to GrowthForce, King was Division President of Administaff Financial Management Services (FMS). FMS was created through the acquisition of Virtual Growth, which King built to be the largest outsourced accounting service serving small businesses in the United States.
King served for seven years as CFO and Director of Development for Amnesty International USA, the world’s largest human rights organization. During that time he was responsible for all fundraising activities for the $20M organization and designed the organization’s accounting and operating systems. As one of five global members of Amnesty’s Computer Communication Working Group, King was instrumental in building and raising money for a technology infrastructure enabling Amnesty International members and volunteers to access information from around the world.
King holds a B.B.A. from Pace University, is a member of the Texas Society of CPAs, New York State Society of CPAs, and American Institute of CPAs (AICPA). He is on the board of the Houston Society of Certified Public Accountants and serves on the Audit Committee and is Vice-Chair of the Public Relations Committee. King also serves on the board of the Association for Accounting Marketing – Houston Chapter, chairs the Accounting Pod for the Houston Technology Center, and is on the advisory board of The Entrepreneur Institute.
Peter W. Mantell – Business owner & Managing Partner, Independent Consulting Associates
Peter founded Independent Consulting Associates (ICA) in 1997 to assist entrepreneurs and small to mid-size business owners develop a sound strategic focus and planning framework. The goal was to improve their organizational strengths and business processes resulting in growth and profitability for the longer term.
Peter spent thirty-four years with Exxon Mobil Corporation in marketing, program and project development, and business communication. Peter has been a past member of the New York State Industrial Management Council, the American Petroleum Institute, and the Houston Ad Club. Professionally, he has been an advisor to the Board of Directors of the Exxon Independent Marketers Insurance Trust (Dallas, TX), AICE Corporation (Houston, TX), and the VCMG Marketing Group (Birmingham, AL). Peter holds a B.S. in Economics from the University of Rochester, Rochester, NY.
Ellen Nipe – Special Education Coordinator, Humble ISD
Ellen Nipe was born in Michigan and began a post secondary education at Western Michigan University (WMU), graduating with a BA and MA from WMU. She taught in Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota and Texas, and she earned her Special Education certification from St. Cloud State University and Mid-Management Certification from the University of Houston.
Nipe has worked for Humble ISD for the past fourteen years, first as a special education teacher and currently as a Special Education Coordinator overseeing Life Skills and Applied Skills, Transition, as well as other programs. She currently serves on the Special Needs YMCA Board at the Kingwood YMCA and the Planning Advisory Council (PAC) for the Mental Health and Mental Retardation Authority of Harris County (MHMRA).
Nipe is committed to working with students with disabilities and their families to provide the best possible education in the most inclusive setting possible. She strongly believes that all people have contributions to make to their community and only by including all people in their community will we reach our full potential as a society and a nation.
V. Scott Pignolet – Vice President, Balmert Consulting
V. Scott Pignolet leads the business development initiative for Balmert Consulting. On occasion he steps into the classroom as an instructor.
Pignolet had a twenty-six year career with DuPont that included assignments in project engineering, maintenance management and sales. He developed a reputation for successfully and safely developing, selling, and managing technology based services and products to the construction, petroleum, petrochemical, chemical, pulp and paper, mining, and utilities industries around the world.
Pignolet’s involvement with people with disabilities began with his father who contracted polio at the age of sixteen. Ten years ago he and his wife became caregiver’s for her brother who was born with Cerebral Palsy. Bobby attends the Village Learning & Achievement Center day center and is a resident at Village at Stoney Glen.
Pignolet served as an advisor to the Village Learning Center Board since its inception in 1999. In 2003 he was elected to the Board of Directors and voted Chairman in October 2003, serving in this capacity until September 2006. He is an Elder at First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood and a member of the Board of Directors of Presbyterian Outreach to Patients. He also directs and produces a weekly television show for cable television. Pignolet is a graduate of Cleveland State University and holds a BS in Civil Engineering.
Corinn Price – Director of Community Involvement, Administaff, Inc.
Corinn Price was raised both in California and New York. She moved to Texas in 1997 and has resided in Kingwood since that time with her husband, Joe, and two children. She has been the Director of Community Involvement at Administaff for over 10 years. During that time, she grew the corporate philanthropy department from one employee and a local contributions budget to four full-time employees, numerous Volunteer Council members nationwide, and an expansive corporate philanthropy program.
Price graduated from University of Maryland with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. Before joining Administaff, she worked in the administration area of several non-profit organizations both in New York and Texas. This helped prepare her for the role in leading the community involvement efforts for Administaff in the company’s local communities.
Price has served on the board of directors for several non-profit charitable and professional organizations which include, Humble ISD Education Foundation, Harkins House, Partners 5 West, Small Steps Nurturing Center, and the Corporate Community Relations Council. She is also a member of the Lake Houston Chamber of Commerce and The Houston Group. She is a recipient of the Women of Achievement Award from FamilyTime Foundation and an active member of her church, Second Baptist North Campus.
Robert Scarfo – Director of Credit Services, Administaff, Inc.
Robert Scarfo has worked for Administaff for more than ten years. As Director of Credit Services, he has responsibility for managing the company’s financial exposure (in excess of six billion dollars annually) and works closely with Administaff’s Legal Department on the financial aspects of labor-related compliance issues. Prior to joining Administaff, Scarfo worked in financial management roles at Fortune 500 companies, including United Technologies, GTE, and The Travelers Group. He was a recipient of the Administaff 2005 Chairman’s Service Excellence Award.
Scarfo received his MBA in Finance from Columbia University, attending on a full tuition scholarship. He holds a BS degree in Economics from Seton Hall University. Scarfo has been a resident in Humble I.S.D. for over 16 years, and he was elected to the Humble ISD School Board in May 2008. He is a single parent, and resides in Sand Creek Village with his son Alex, a student at Lone Star College-Kingwood. As a member of Christ the King Lutheran Church, Scarfo has been active in both the student and men’s ministries. He served for eight years as a Group Leader for the middle and high school student ministries. Scarfo was elected as a Humble ISD School Board member for position seven in May 2008.
Gregory White – Consulting Oracle Applications Developer, Schlumberger
Greg White has over 20 years experience in the area of Information Technology, including two years as Microsoft Practice Manager for Penta, a Local AS400 Consulting Company, and 13 years as a Consulting Project Manager for Shell, Texaco, Equiva Services, The University of Houston Downtown Campus, Air Products and Chemicals and Thoroughbred Technologies. Greg currently works as a Consulting Oracle Applications Developer for Schlumberger.
White has been a member of First Presbyterian Church of Kingwood since 1992, serving as an Elder from 2004-2007. A student at the College of Biblical Studies since 2001, Greg had a book published in 2009 by Biblical Studies Press, titled, The NET Bible Synopsis of the Four Gospels, which he began in 2002 as an extra-curricular assignment for his Gospels class.
White’s sister, Gail Harney, previously served as a member of the Board of Directors and is currently employed at Village Learning and Achievement Center. His nephew, Allen Harney, currently attends Village Learning and Achievement Center. White lives in Kingwood with his wife, Cyndi, and son, Greyson, a student at Kingwood Park High School; daughter, Quinci, attends University of Texas at Austin.
Advisory Board
Jeanette Burg, Owner, Occupational Therapy Services for Children
Leslie Haugen, MBA Professor, St. Thomas University
Dick Watts, Attorney
