Mark C. Poloncarz is Erie County's eighth County Executive. Before being elected as County Executive, Mark served as Erie County Comptroller for six years.
Now in his fourth term as County Executive, Mark works every day to ensure Erie County government is focused on its core mission: providing the programs and services that residents and taxpayers demand in an efficient and effective way.
Under his guidance Erie County has enjoyed balanced budgets each year along with lower tax rates and increased investments in county roads, parks, libraries, and cultural organizations.
Mark's leadership has been critical to passing new local laws covering public health, governmental ethics, and fair housing, while staunchly advocating for women, seniors, veterans, the disabled, and the environment.
He is a graduate of Lackawanna Senior High School, the State University of New York at Buffalo, and the University of Toledo's College of Law. Mark currently resides in North Buffalo.
Lindsey Lauren Visser: Lindsey Lauren Visser is the City of Buffalo Historian and a researcher specializing in the history of the Western New York region.
She earned her Bachelor's in History & Political Science from Canisius University and her MSt from the University of Oxford in Modern History. She is currently pursuing a Master's of Education from Harvard University with a focus on K-12 social studies education policy.
She has worked in several of the area's historical nonprofits, including the Theodore Roosevelt Inaugural Site, The Buffalo History Museum, Forest Lawn Heritage Foundation, and the Italian Cultural Center. Presently, she serves as the Executive Director of the Niagara Aerospace Museum.
Lindsey Lauren has served on the boards of the Buffalo Presidential Center and Buffalo Niagara Heritage Village and is currently the Vice President of Membership and Outreach for the Niagara Frontier Council for the Social Studies and the Secretary of the New York Public History Trust. She sits on the Erie Canal Bicentennial Steering Committee and the Niagara County 250th Commission and is an active member of the Association of Public Historians of New York State.
She has been a writer and contributing historian for WIVB's Daytime Buffalo, The Buffalo History Museum Podcast, The New York Minute in History podcast, and has written several exhibits for area museums. Most recently, she has been featured on the American History Hit podcast with Travel Channel's Don Wildman.