Three candidates are running for the Manhasset Board of Education, one incumbent and two newcomers, with only two seats up for grabs.
Running is incumbent Trustee Nadia Giannopoulos and newcomers Allison O’Brien Silva and Desiree Woodson. Board of Education President Steven Panzik will not be running for re-election.
Panzik said in an email to the Manhasset Press that he was not running for re-election as his kids have graduated from the school district and he and his and his family were ready to embark on the next chapter.
“Time for the next generation of the community to continue to build the district with the administration,” Panzik wrote.
He said serving on the board for the past three years has been an honor, especially while witnessing the growth of Superintendent Gaurav Passi and the strengthening of the district’s administration.
“Working closely with his team and the board, we have solidified the district post-Covid, improved culture, successfully negotiated new contracts for all members of the district and increased the academic offerings,” Panzik wrote. “… As great as it has been to serve the community, it has been even more enjoyable to work closely alongside the administration and faculty. We are truly lucky as a community to live in a district with such a strong faculty and staff. I look forward to what the district can continue to accomplish with the new BOE.”
Panzik and Giannopoulos were both elected to the Board of Education in 2022.
Giannopoulos, a Manhasset resident of eight years, has served as an administrator to a statewide educational program. She is seeking a second term on the board.
On the Board of Education, Giannopoulos serves as a liaison to the Parent Association for Special Education, the Coalition Against Substance Abuse, the Economic Opportunity Council and the Policy Committee.
Efforts to solicit comment from Giannopoulos were unavailing.
O’Brien Silva is a Manhasset resident of 11 years, with three daughters attending Manhasset public schools.
She is a graduate of the University of Pennsylvania and the Columbia Business School, going on to work for McKinsey & Company. She is also a local Girl Scout Leader, chair of the Manhasset-wide Girl Scout cookie sale, member of Backstage, which supports the high school theater program, and organizer for the Say No to the Casino Civic Association.
O’Brien Silva said she is running for the Board of Education to continue the excellence of the school district and enhance offerings to provide for students’ every need holistically.
“The goal from K-12 is to create whole adults who are confident and self-aware and know who they are and have found their passions and their strengths and their loves,” O’Brien Silva said. “So they can go out in the world and just succeed and strive and make their own marks in the world.”
O’Brien Silva’s campaign focuses on providing rigorous fiscal oversight, delivering excellence in education at all levels, initiating proactive communications with families, prioritizing students’ mental health, and recruiting, retaining and empowering teachers and staff.
She said with the district’s high performance, pressure can be placed upon students to succeed academically. She said it is important to also focus on the whole child by providing to their mental health needs as well.
“At the end of the day, our district is amazing,” O’Brien Silva said. “But I think we can do more for the kids than just check all the boxes.”
O’Brien Silva also said she has noticed a reduced engagement with members of the public attending Board of Education meetings. To ensure the community is still informed, she said she would want to initiate direct communication with them through emails recapping the board’s meetings and actions.
O’Brien Silva described herself as a team player, saying she would bring to the board collaboration, open-mindedness and collegiality to achieve the best for the district.
While she said she does not have all the answers, she does have experience in organizing and collaboration to seek out solutions. She said she would bring this to the district to advance student offerings like mental health services.
“When you pick a town and move in, you are entrusting everyone around you – your friends, your neighbors, your teachers, the administrators – to collectively help raise your kids,” O’Brien Silva said. “I want to keep Manhasset focused on excellence, focused on delivering the best they can for the students.”
Woodson is a 34-year resident of Manhasset and a 1993 graduate of Manhasset High School. She has two children who have graduated from the Manhasset School District and one foster son currently enrolled in elementary school.
Woodson is active in Manhasset, serving as the Board of Directors chairwoman of the Manhasset/Great Neck EOC, which supports low-income families through early education and after school programs, commissioner for the Town of North Hempstead Housing Authority as its secretary and vice president of the North Shore chapter of the NAACP.
Woodson is also a child advocate for the Spinney Hill community, a historic Black enclave in Manhasset. She said many of the parents within the Spinney Hill community are working and do not have the ability to engage as deeply with the school district. She said this is where she steps in to ensure that the community’s children’s needs are being met.
“For the children that live in the Spinney Hill area it’s like living two different lives,” Woodson said. “The needs and the issues are kind of different and I feel like the school doesn’t focus in on that.”
With more than three decades living in the district, Woodson said she has gained the experience as a student, parent and advocate.
Woodson said she is running for the Board of Education in order to bring greater representation to the board and advocate on behalf of all students and families, especially for students of color, different socio-economic statuses and abilities.
“I would consider myself just a regular, everyday, average person who cares about her community, cares about all children no matter race, color, creed, religion,” Woodson said. “I just want to bring a different perspective to the board. I want everyone to feel like they have a voice, that they have representation there.”
Woodson said being Black in Manhasset is not easy. She said this is why it is important to have representation on the Manhasset Board of Education to ensure all students’ needs are met.
But these challenges are not exclusive to students of color, Woodson said, also affecting children of different religions and backgrounds.
“We need a different perspective on what the makeup of our community looks like in the school district,” Woodson said. “I think we’ve been lacking that for a long time. Yes, we’re a school of excellence, yes, our children score very high, but where are they emotionally?”
Woodson’s foster son has autism, which she said has given her insight into the challenges and barriers that many parents with special needs children face.
While she said she was equipped with the knowledge to traverse these difficulties, she thought of the parents who were not. She said she would also want to draw greater attention to providing to the needs of families of children with special needs.
Woodson said her volunteer experience has sharpened her skills in community relations, which she would bring to the Board of Education to bridge some of these gaps she has identified in the district.
“What sets me apart is my unwavering commitment to every child, every voice, every day,” Woodson said. “As a mother of a child with special needs, I know firsthand how important inclusion, emotional wellness, and individualized support are in a student’s journey. I’ve spent my life fighting for families, building bridges between communities and services, and ensuring that no one is left behind—especially those who have historically gone unheard.”
The three candidates will be featured on the district’s May 20 ballot, but other individuals can also be voted for via write-ins.
