2024-2025 Board of Education Members

Rachel Gilker, President

Currently serving fourth term expiring in 2027

Email: rgilker@voorheesville.org

woman with long brown hair smiling, wearing a white shirt and silver necklace

Rachel Gilker works as an agriculturalist, supporting sustainable dairy farming in the northeast and across the United States.

Dr. Gilker served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Niger, West Africa. She earned a Doctorate in Soil Science, and Master’s in Agronomy from the University of Maryland. She also holds a biology degree from Wesleyan University.

Dr. Gilker and her husband Chris have two children in school in the district and one who recently graduated from Clayton A. Bouton High School.


Robert J. Samson, Vice President

Currently serving fifth term expiring in 2025

Email: rsamson@voorheesville.org

man with shoulder length hair and beard wearing a teal shirt

Rob Samson is a longtime Voorheesville resident, and a proud 1998 graduate of the district. He attended Colgate University, majoring in Economics and Creative writing, and currently works as a software architect at General Electric.

Mr. Samson lives in Voorheesville with his wife and four daughters, three of whom currently attend Voorheesville’s elementary and middle schools.


Matthew Bergeron, Trustee

Currently serving first term expiring in 2028

Email: mbergeron@voorheesville.org

VCSD Board of Education member, Matthew Bergeron, who has short reddish blond hair and long beard and wears dark rimmed eyeglasses, looks at and smiles for the camera.

Matt Bergeron grew up in New York’s North Country and is an attorney who has practiced primarily in the areas of labor, employment, education and administrative law for more than 20 years.

Mr. Bergeron received his law degree from Albany Law School of Union University and undergraduate degrees from Clinton Community College and SUNY Plattsburgh.

Mr. Bergeron and his wife, Erika, have lived in the district since 2012. They have two daughters: Molly, who graduated from Clayton A. Bouton in 2024, and Abby, who is in the Class of 2026.


Kathy Fiero, Trustee

Currently serving first term expiring in 2028

Email: kfieroboe@voorheesville.org

VCSD Board of Education member, Kathy Fiero, who has short, dark brown hair,and is wearing eyeglasses and a green blouse, looks at and smiles for the camera.

Kathy Fiero has been a Voorheesville resident for almost four decades. Fiero taught in Voorheesville for 32 years, before retiring in 2022.

Mrs. Fiero brings an understanding about educational and administrative processes to the role on the district board, gained from decades of involvement with various school and village committees. She served for 21 years as president of the teachers’ union, and currently serves as the chair of the Voorheesville Planning Commission.

Mrs. Fiero and her husband, Alan, also raised three daughters who attended Voorheesville schools.


Argi O’Leary, Trustee

Currently serving second term expiring in 2026

Email: aoleary@voorheesville.org

woman with her hair pulled back smiling, wearing a grey sweater with a white collar shirt

Argi O’Leary is employed as a Principal with Ryan, LLC, a tax consulting firm. She has a J.D. from Fordham Law School and M.S. and B.A. degrees from Boston College.

Mrs. O’Leary and her husband reside in Voorheesville with their three boys.

 


Barbara Owens, Trustee

Currently serving second term expiring in 2027

Email: bowens@voorheesville.org

Woman wearing stripped sweater and glasses smiles at cameraBarbara Owens is the Director of Development at the Children’s Museum at Saratoga. Prior to her time there, she held the same position at the Children’s Museum of Science and Technology in Troy, N.Y.

Ms. Owens has more than 20 years experience in development, team management, operations and strategic communications.

She earned her B.A. from the State University of New York at Buffalo in psychology.

Ms. Owens has lived in Voorheesville for 15 years with her husband Frank and their four children: Ian, VCSD Class of 2019; Maeve, VCSD Class of 2021; Erin, VCSD Class of 2024; and Griffin, a 8th grader at the middle school.


Robyn Willoughby, Trustee

Currently serving second term expiring in 2026

Email: rwilloughby@voorheesville.org

woman leaning forward smiling at camera

Robyn Willoughby began her career as a Spanish teacher in 2005 and has experience teaching grades 7-12. Currently she teaches grades 8, 9, 11, and 12 at Greenville Central School District.

She earned her B.A. from SUNY Plattsburgh in Adolescent Education and Spanish, which included a semester at Universidad Salamanca in Spain, and her M.A. in Latin American, Caribbean, and U.S. Latino Studies from SUNY Albany.

Mrs. Willoughby has been a resident of Voorheesville since 2013. She and her husband have two sons in the district, Sam, class of 2027 and Joe, class of 2029.