Officers
New York State Magistrates Association 2025-2026 Officers & Directors
President
Hon. Susan Sullivan Bisceglia – Town Justice, LaGrange
Hon Susan Sullivan-Bisceglia – President
Previous City of Poughkeepsie, Towns of Union Vale, Patterson and Pawling Acting Justice, and Associate Village Justice, Wappingers Falls
Judge Susan Sullivan-Bisceglia, 1st Woman Judge in her hometown, of LaGrange, provides justice in the Hudson Valley with the highest of integrity and fairness. Having previously served as Acting City of Poughkeepsie, Town of Union Vale, Pawling and Patterson Justice, as well as Associate Justice of the Village of Wappingers Falls, Judge Sullivan-Bisceglia brings over 7 years of experience as a Judge. Elected as 1st Vice President of the New York State Magistrates Association, and President of the Dutchess County Magistrates Association, Judge Sullivan-Bisceglia is the “Judge Who Teaches the Judges”, traveling across New York State providing education to the judiciary. Having a commitment to civic mindedness, Judge Sullivan-Bisceglia frequently welcomes students to her court to participate in mock trials providing them an opportunity to learn about the courts and the administration of justice to the community. She received her Juris Doctorate from New York Law School and is a licensed attorney admitted to practice in NY and CT, the United States Supreme Court, as well as the U.S. District Courts for the Southern and Eastern Districts of New York and maintains her law office at the Hudson Valley Regional Airport. Judge Sullivan-Bisceglia has well over 25 years of combined experience obtained in the courts, major law firms, Fortune 500 companies and the State of New York. Inspired by her family of U.S. Air Force fighter pilots, she is a licensed Commercial Pilot with Instrument and Multi-Engine Ratings and prior Federal Aviation Administration Aviation Safety Counselor. Judge Sullivan-Bisceglia maintains her hometown residence in the beautiful Hudson Valley with her husband Paul and two children Brianna and Brendan.
President Elect
Hon. David Kozyra – Town Justice, Marcy
Hon. David W. Kozyra – President Elect
Hon. David Kozyra has served as a Town Justice in Marcy, New York, since January 2008. He graduated from Syracuse University with a Bachelor of Science degree in 1987. David was nominated as a Director of the New York State Magistrates Association in September 2012 and re-elected in 2016 and 2021.
He assumed the Vice Presidential duties in 2022. Prior to his First Vice President election in 2024, David served on the following committees: Conference/Judicial Training and Education, County Association/Outreach, Consolidation and Court Reform Issues, Media and Public Relations, Bylaws, and the Finance and Audit committees. He was a regular lecturer for first time conference attendees.
Vice Presidents
1st – Hon. Barbara Seelbach – Town Justice, Clinton
Hon. Barbara Seelbach – First Vice President
Hon. Barbra Seelbach has been Justice in the Town of Clinton, Dutchess County, for the past 19 years. She is currently employed as the Confidential Secretary to Dutchess County Supreme Court Justice Christi J. Acker. During her tenure as Town Justice, she was elected Secretary, Vice President and President of the Dutchess County Magistrates Association. In 2010, She was the recipient of the Dutchess County Magistrate of the Year award for her decision regarding the New York State Police position regarding plea bargaining.
In September of 2015, she was elected to the ranks of directors of the New York State Magistrates Association. She is a long-standing member of the Training and Education Committee where she has been responsible for developing and implementing CJE training programs for annual conferences. She has taught several continuing judicial education courses in small claims, summary proceedings and other topics for the New York State Magistrates Association. In addition, she has served as a member of the Judicial Outreach Committee and the By Laws Committee.
In 2022, she was selected to be a Judicial Ambassador for the National Judicial College. She is currently serving as President of the Dutchess County Magistrates Association and Second Vice President of the New York State Magistrates Association.
2nd – Michael A. Fedish – Town Justice, Chenango
Hon. Michael A. Fedish – Second Vice President
Michael Fedish (Second Vice-President) is a Town Justice in the Town of Chenango, Broome County. He was first elected in 2014. Judge Fedish has been an active member of the Broome County Magistrates Association, serving as President.
Judge Fedish served for 26-years in law enforcement with the Broome County Sheriff’s Office, starting in Corrections and retiring as the Law Enforcement Division Commander with the rank of Captain.
Judge Fedish served one year as NYSMA’s Third Vice President and five years as a Director on the NYSMA board. While on the Executive Board he has served as the chair of the County Association Outreach Committee, co-chair of the Conference, Training and Education Committee, cochair of the Site Selection Committee and has also served on the Finance Committee, Audit Committee, Bylaws Committee, and the Media Public Relations Committee.
Judge Fedish lives in the Town of Chenango with his wife Laurie where he is an active member in the community. He has a daughter Amanda and son-in-law Ted who live in Pennsylvania with his four grandchildren, Maddie, John, Al, and Katie
Judge Fedish looks forward to serving all members of NYSMA as your Second Vice President.
Hon. Ronald W. Meister – Town Justice, Mamaroneck
Hon. Ronald Meister , Third Vice President
Hon. Ronald Meister , Third Vice President, has served as Town of Mamaroneck Justice since 2012, and is a former two-term President of the Westchester County Magistrates Association.
After his graduation from law school, where he was a member of the Board of Editors of the Yale Law Journal, he served four years on active duty in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps of the United States Navy, as a court-martial counsel and military judge.
In private practice, he has represented a wide variety of clients in civil and criminal matters, including a former Vice President of the United States, former and future Prime Ministers of Israel, and the Association of the Bar of the City of New York prosecuting the disbarment of Richard Nixon. He travelled to Guantanamo Bay as an observer of military commission proceedings, represented civil liberties organizations in a successful challenge to the military death penalty, and continues to represent military personnel in a variety of matters.
Judge Meister has appeared in varying roles as a member of the Mighty NYSMA Art Players, bringing to bear his experience in amateur theatricals portraying, among others, Juror # 8 in Twelve Angry Men, Matthew Harrison Brady in Inherit the Wind, and Canon Chasuble in The Importance of Being Earnest.
He is a member of the New York State Advisory Committee on Judicial Ethics, which provides guidance to judges at all levels of the State court system.
Judge Meister is an avid reader of nautical fiction, and participates in the annual conventions of the international C.S. Forester Society, dedicated to the author of the Horatio Hornblower novels. He is color-blind and occasionally wears mismatched socks.
Treasurer
Hon. James Evans – Town Justice,
Secretary / Executive Director
Hon. Tanja Sirago – Town Justice, Cairo
Tanja Sirago was a chief court clerk for six years prior to being elected town justice in 2008 for the Cairo Town Court. She is married to her husband Vinny for 35 years, enjoys traveling and spending time with her children and two grandchildren.
Directors
Hon. Timothy E. Cox - Town Justice, Olive
Hon. William F. Franks - Town Justice, Stoney Point
Hon. Jeffrey B. McCabe - Town Justice, Moreau
Hon. Christopher D. Penfold - Town Justice, Dunkirk
Hon. Dawn Fiorillo - Village Justice, Cobleskill
Hon. Debra K. Kluth - Town Justice, Kendall
Hon. Klu K. Padu - Town Justice, Tusten
Hon. Jeffrey M. Stone - Town Justice, German Flatts
Hon. David M. Brockway - Town Justice, Horseheads
Hon. William R. Jacobs - Town Justice, Catskill
Hon. Albert E. Raymond, III - Town Justice, Berne
Hon. Christine H. Seppeler - Town Justice, Webster
Immediate Past President
Hon. Thomas J. Sheeran – Town Justice, Lewiston