Byram Hills Board of Education Photo Coming Soon

 

Scott Levy
Scott Levy is president of the Byram Hills Board of Education and is serving his fourth term on the Board. He serves on the Audit Committee, Finance Advisory Committee, Emergency Safety Team, and as the Board’s liaison to the Town of North Castle. He previously served as the Board’s liaison to the Byram Hills Education Foundation and the PTSA. He also served on the board of the Byram Hills Education Foundation, including two years as chairman. 

In July 2025, Scott was elected to the New York State Teachers’ Retirement System Board by the New York State Board of Regents upon the recommendation of the New York State School Boards Association. He also serves on the New York State School Boards Association’s Investment Advisory Committee. Scott is a former president of the Westchester Putnam School Boards Association and a former member of the Lower Hudson Education Coalition steering committee. In 2020, he was appointed to the New York State Regional Task Force for Reopening Schools. He is also a board member and former chairman of Blythedale Children’s Hospital in Valhalla.

Professionally, Scott is a partner at Lynrock Lake LP and serves on the board of a digital healthcare company. Previously, he spent more than 20 years in financial services as an investment banker and investor.

Scott is an adjunct lecturer and former visiting fellow at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he also serves on the Dean’s Leadership Council. During the 2014–15 academic year, he was a senior research fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School. Scott serves on the Harvard Alumni Association Board of Directors and the Committee to Nominate Overseers and Elected Directors. He graduated from Harvard College with a degree in economics.

Scott has two children who graduated from Byram Hills and a son who currently attends school in the district.

Mia DiPietro
Mia DiPietro is the Vice President, serving her fourth term (11th year) on the Byram Hills Board of Education. Mia has previously served as both the Board’s President and Vice President. She currently sits on the Audit, Health and Wellness Committee, and Athletic Advisory Council, and is one of the liaisons to the Town Board, the PTSA and the Byram Hills Preschool Association. 

Prior to joining the Board of Education, Mia served on the BHPA Board for five years, acting as liaison to the Board of Education. In addition, she managed the BHPA Facebook page and served on the Working Moms Committee. Mia works full-time as Lead HRIS Specialist for Learning at Marsh, where she has worked since 1998. She is active in the Byram Hills PTSA working closely with the Developmental Support Group and served as class parent for many years. She was also actively involved as a volunteer with the Varley Players theater program. Mia received a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology and Elementary Education from Clark University. She went on to study System Analysis and Design at Columbia University. Mia and her husband, Ron, have lived in Armonk, where Ron grew up, since 2007. They have three children: Rebecca, a 2024 Byram Hills graduate who now attends Bucknell University; Adam, a 12th grader; and Sam, an 8th grader.

Jason Berland
Jason Berland is serving the first year of his third term on the Byram Hills Board of Education. Jason has previously served as Board President and has twice held the position of Vice President. Jason sits on the Audit Committee, Policy Committee, Athletic Advisory Council, and is serving as a representative of the NYSSBA Legislative Advocacy Committee. Jason previously served for six years as a Board Member of the Byram Hills Education Foundation, where he spent his final four years as Chairman.

Jason is the General Counsel at 1/0 Capital, a venture capital firm in Manhattan that invests in growth-stage companies. Before transitioning in-house, Jason spent over a decade in private practice where he focused primarily on government and regulatory actions, internal investigations, white-collar criminal defense, international asset recovery and general commercial litigation. In the public sector, Jason served for eight years as an Assistant District Attorney in the New York County District Attorney’s Office.

Jason also sits on the Board of Tzahal Shalom of Northern Westchester and spent many years on the Management Team of the Armonk United Soccer Club. He is a graduate of Union College and the Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law. Jason has lived in North Castle since 2012, and he and his wife have one child currently attending the Byram Hills schools, and two who graduated from Byram Hills High School in 2022 and 2025.

Sally Cavada
Biography coming soon.

Melissa Jacob
Melissa Jacobs is currently serving the first year of her second term as Trustee. She serves on the Guidance Advisory Committee and is once again serving as a liaison between the Board and the Byram Hills Education Foundation (BHEF), as well as the liaison with the BH PTSA.

Melissa served as Vice President of the Board for the 2024-25 school year, and has also served on the Policy Committee, the Finance Advisory Committee, and served as liaison to the North Castle town Board. Melissa was also a member of the Literacy Committee to help examine in-depth the District’s literacy program and to evaluate ways to better help all students succeed in this area.

Melissa previously served for six years on the Board of the Byram Hills Education Foundation as a member of the Executive Board, Secretary, a member of the Grant Review Committee, and as co-chair for the Auction Fundraising Committee. She successfully planned and implemented an annual auction raising up to $70,000 each year to help fund grants in all four schools.

Melissa has also been active in the Byram Hills Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA) in various roles. She co-chaired the Teacher Appreciation Luncheon at Wampus and co-chaired the PTSA’s Cultural and Curricular Education Committee at Wampus. In addition, Melissa served as co-chair of the Cultural and Curricular Education Committee at HCC Middle School from 2012 to 2022, facilitating presentations and speakers at the school to enhance and enrich the curriculum for all students. Melissa also served on the Challenge Success Steering Committee at HCC and contributed to the District’s Site-Based Team as a parent member for several years.

Melissa is an experienced early childhood educator, who was previously tenured as a second grade teacher in Pleasantville, and is also certified in Teaching Students with Special Needs. She currently works one-on-one with preschool students with special needs who need support in the classroom. Melissa has also worked as a substitute teacher in local elementary and middle schools, including Byram Hills and a local preschool.

Melissa has a BA from Tufts University in English and Child Study, and an MA from NYU in Early Childhood Education. She is New York State certified in both Elementary Education and Teaching Students with Special Needs.

Melissa has lived in North Castle since 2003, and she and her husband Ari have three boys. Her sons, Alex and Ethan, graduated from Byram Hills in 2017 and 2019, and her son Owen graduated in 2025, and is currently attending the University of Texas at Austin.

Kevin Landesman
Biography coming soon.

Petrie Verma
Petrie is serving his second term and his fifth year on the Byram Hills Board of Education.  This year he will be a member of the Policy Committee (fourth time), Guidance Advisory Committee (second time), and Liaison to PTSA and Pre-School Association.  He has also been a member of the Finance Committee, Athletic Advisory Committee, BHEF liaison, and will continue to work with Challenge Success at the high school.  He spent eight years as a member of the PTSA executive board.  There, he was Recording Secretary, Assistant Treasurer, VP for Coman Hill and Wampus, and President of the board.  During his time with the PTSA, he worked closely with administrators and teachers to provide children an optimal learning environment with various school supplies and cultural enrichment programming. Throughout the years, he has been active in the buildings as a class parent and part of many committees such as book fair, beautification, sustainability, spirit wear sales, and staff appreciation luncheons.  He helped pilot the annual Coman Cares week in 2016 and assisted in the planning of the awnings at the Wampus entrances.  He has been a volunteer parent coach for Armonk Soccer Club and Armonk Baseball League throughout his son’s years.  Petrie was also a member of the Covid stakeholder group, district safety response team, and spent many years on the District Site-Based teams.

Petrie is married and went to Manhattanville College for pre-med, but took a turn towards energy commodities trading.  He is a Lay Eucharist Minister and on the Vestry Board overseeing Buildings and Grounds for St. Stephen’s Church of Armonk.  He grew up in Somers and has been living in this community since 1991.  Petrie has one son who is a Senior.


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