OneBP
for all students

A lifelong resident of Bethel Park, Buffie Faes knows that a strong education system is crucial to any community's success.

Because the foundation for who we become as adults is based largely on the formative years we spend in school, Buffie believes all children must receive a well-rounded education in an environment where they feel safe and accepted.

Buffie earned a Bachelor of Education from California University of Pennsylvania, graduating with honors in 2002. Afterward, she had a successful career in sales before returning to school to pursue a Master’s in Special Education, which she earned magna cum laude in 2010.

Buffie works for the Chartiers Valley School District where she has been employed as a Life Skills Teacher at the High School for nearly 15 years. Her prior work experience combined with her current profession has helped her form a distinct understanding of education, which she has brought to the table as a sitting school board member since 2022. If re-elected, she will continue her fight to ensure that all children in our district have the best possible educational outcomes.

In her spare time, Buffie operates a cookie-baking business and enjoys spending time with her husband, Kevin, and her three adult children.

Raised just over the border in Mt. Lebanon, Sharon Janosik moved to Bethel Park in 2012 with her husband, Joe, a Bethel Park native, and their two sons, Jack and Max. 

Sharon knows that the main jobs of a School Director are to advocate, lead, plan, and evaluate—all of which she has been doing in her position as a sitting school board member since 2021, with a special focus on policy, school culture, meeting all students’ needs, and Special Education. In addition, she works closely with the Pennsylvania School Boards Association as BP’s Liaison and has been appointed to both the PSBA Governance & Policy Committee and the PSBA Platform Committee in recognition of her consistent and active participation at the state level.

If re-elected, she will continue working toward increasing family engagement, creating opportunities to improve whole-child education, and building a culture of genuine acceptance, all while remaining mindful of the board’s fiscal responsibility to taxpayers.

A 1997 summa cum laude graduate of Duquesne, Sharon is also a graduate of Temple University’s Institute on Disabilities, Competence and Confidence: Partners in Policymaking and of the PEAL Center’s Family Leadership Institute. Sharon has taken trauma-informed classes; is trained to provide Healthy Relationship education to people with disabilities; and has audited thousands of hours of training designed for professional Continuing Education credits for teachers, administrators, occupational therapists, speech language pathologists, social workers, and direct service providers. In her role at the Parent Education & Advocacy Leadership (PEAL) Center, Sharon works on a

family-led statewide network supporting systemic change in public education for students with disabilities through deep family engagement strategies, demonstrating collaborative and constructive problem-solving practices, and regularly presents training sessions for families, youth, and education professionals across the state.

Diagnosed as autistic as an adult, Sharon focused her attention on learning about Special Education and disability, particularly regarding dyslexia and autism. She has volunteered her time to support and assist families in understanding the Special Education process, including attending hundreds of IEP meetings throughout the region. This has given her a wide view of the concerns of students, families, and educators in the Bethel Park district. 

In September of 2019, Sharon was appointed by the Governor to serve on Pennsylvania’s Special Education Advisory Panel and works closely with the Pennsylvania teams overseeing Special Education and Early Intervention Services. She also helped found the Bethel Park affiliate of the Pennsylvania Association for Gifted Education in 2015, and she has been a vocal advocate for families and people with disabilities in the district, regional, and state levels.

Sharon knows that all people are valuable and have gifts that can enrich our society. She will continue to demonstrate the principle of embracing that there is more than one way ‘to be’ in the world and changing our culture to embrace differences and expect kindness and respect from one another.

Colleen Sokira is a lifelong resident of Bethel Park, where she and her husband, Gary, raised their two sons. Colleen is grateful for the education and opportunities she and her family received as students in the Bethel Park School District. She would be honored to play a role in ensuring that future generations of students continue to have the strong educational and community foundation from which she and her children benefited.

After high school, Colleen earned a Bachelor of Arts in Education from Carlow University in 2002. For two years following graduation, Colleen served as the Educational Coordinator and assistant director of a childcare center in the Knoxville neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Here, she was mentored by a child psychologist, combining focus on children's social and emotional needs with attention to their physical and educational needs.  

Advancing from that role, Colleen spent the next 17 years providing direct-support social service work focusing on parenting and life skills for adults with intellectual disabilities. In that role, she actively supported families by recognizing and advocating for their children’s educational needs.  Colleen often assisted teachers and school district personnel in communicating effectively with parents and vice versa. School administrators and individual teachers frequently called upon Colleen to guarantee that parents understood their role in their child’s education. She developed positive relationships with teachers and principals, assuring families of the schools’ cooperation and providing the most favorable outcomes for everyone involved. 

During her time in direct support social service, Colleen gained an understanding of the role that physical and mental health play in meeting children’s educational needs.  Colleen frequently worked with therapeutic support staff, mobile therapists, school-based therapists, family-based therapists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals to meet the needs of families.  Colleen was regularly called on to testify in court as a county expert in parenting and intellectual disabilities.    

Colleen currently works as a contract employee stationed at the Allegheny County Office of Behavioral Health. As the manager of Special Projects, her understanding of human development, substance use disorder, and mental health issues allows her to support the mission of the Bureau of Mental Health and the Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services. 

Passionate about education for all, Colleen is committed to ensuring that every child has access to quality learning opportunities and the resources needed to thrive. She believes not only in fostering academic success but also in raising children to be kind, responsible, and engaged members of their community. 

If elected to the school board in November, Colleen will collaborate with educators, parents, and community members to create a school environment where every child can succeed. She will work to strengthen student support services, ensure that all students in the district feel safe and welcome in their schools, and that every child can graduate with a solid education and a firm foundation to promote future success. 

If you would like to donate to our campaign, you can do so here. We appreciate your generosity.

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