Meet our Team

Kelly Smith (President) -Kelly Smith is a proud wife to her husband, Josh, of 18 years and a devoted mother to her 10-year-old daughter Emma, who is entering 5th grade Communications Class at Kinry Road Elementary. As a longtime member of the school community, I work as a teacher’s assistant at Kinry Road and also freelances in customer relations and data research. Since my daughter began school, I has been an active and dedicated member of the PTA. Over the years, I has served in several leadership roles—including Membership Chair, Secretary, and Vice President—and I am honored to now serve as PTA President. I am passionate about fostering strong communication, building positive relationships, and promoting inclusivity among schools, teachers, students, and families. I am especially excited to collaborate with both schools and the amazing team of volunteers who help make the PTA’s mission a success. With a deep appreciation for the work of my fellow PTA members, I look forward to a memorable year filled with community-building, fun fundraisers, and unforgettable experiences for the kids.

Kyra Tarquinio (Vice President) - I am a mother of two children, my oldest is in 6th grade and my youngest in 1st at Vassar Road. Due to their large age gap I know I will have many years between Vassar and Kinry Elementary Schools. Because of this I am making it my priority to be as involved in the community and district as possible, along with helping it thrive. I cannot wait to give our children exciting events and school year. I thrive on organizing events and pride myself on being highly involved in the planning and execution of events for children and staff of the students. 

Barbara Moore (Treasurer) - I am a mother of two kids, Devin (fifth grade) and Karisma (college). I’ve lived in Poughkeepsie for six years and am originally from Yonkers. I love to travel, read, spend time with my children playing board games and going to the beach. I also love to swim and be near water. I enjoy spending time with my dog, Molly. She is my third child and I absolutely could not imagine doing life without her. We all enjoy walking the trails and hiking. I hold a Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) in accounting. I am an experienced CMA (Certified Managerial Accountant) with expertise in financial statement preparation, budgeting, forecasting and financial planning. I currently hold the title as the Assistant Controller for a local Real Estate company in Wappingers Falls, NY. I also have my NYS Real Estate License.

Veronica Smith (Communications/Secretary) - I am a certified Teachers Assistant at Vassar Road and St. Martin De Porres. My husband and I both attended WCSD and love seeing our previous teachers/admin while volunteering for the PTA. I am the sister to 3 amazing people who attend Vassar Road. My brother will be attending second grade, my sister will be attending Kindergarten. I started off running Social Media for the PTA three years ago, starting our Instagram page and revamping our website. When the opportunity arose for Secretary I was excited to create new ways to increase the communication between schools, PTA, and parents. Understanding that social media is not everyone's forte, I upgraded and continue upgrading our website to make it easier and more accessible. I have a love volunteering and making connections throughout the schools along with in the district. You will find my husband and I at car shows/meets, with friends or family on weekends, along with taking local trips. 

Barbara Coste (Fundraising) - This fall will be my 12th year as a parent with the Wappingers Central School District. My husband and I have 5 children. Our two eldest are adults living on their own with their spouses. Our 6-year-old is enrolled in second grade at Vassar Road Elementary where he has been since UPK. Alongside them we have a 5-year-old who will be attending Kindergarten at Vassar and a 2 year old that is eager to start mommy and me classes in the fall. In my free time, I enjoy walking, reading and all things baking and cooking. I love spending time with my family and host them often. Prior to becoming a stay-at-home mom, I worked in the field of Education. I am certified in both General Education and students with special needs with the State of New York. During my tenure, I was a lead teacher, having taught students ranging from grades K through 7th. After hours I lent my skill set to high school students seeking enrichment. While with the DOE I was also the UFT liaison for my school. Before taking my leave to stay at home with my little ones I was pursuing an administrator position within my district. While teaching I worked tirelessly with my eldests elementary school to form several extracurricular activities. I was also an active member of the school's PTA. There I used my experience to lead events and gain new members. This past year ventured back into the classroom as a CCD teacher at St. Martin De Porres Parish where I am an active parishioner. If you ever have any questions or just want to say hi, please don’t hesitate to reach out. 

Jennifer Pollock-Hurst (Arts in Education) - I am a wife and mom to a fun loving Vassar Road 2nd grader named Brayden. I owned and ran a dance school in Westchester County for 20 years, which I sold just prior to the Pandemic to be able to spend more time with my then one year old. I was also elected and served as the United States National Team Captain for the World Dance Championships in Reisa, Germany for seven years, running and organizing the US National team. When my son attended the UPK program at Vassar Rd, I had so much fun volunteering at various PTA events, I was then honored to serve as Vice-President at Vassar Rd. for 1.5 years. I then followed that time up by serving for the past two years as the Arts-in-Education Coordinator for both Vassar and Kinry Road. I absolutely love helping bring fun and educational arts and curriculum based programming thru the PTA to our children! Most recently, I was honored to be appointed as the 2025-26 NYS PTA Arts Specialist and will be working with NYS to bring both a higher interest to the arts in our schools and a larger interest and participation in the National Reflections Award. I would love to hear from and talk to anyone with interest in PTA and/or the arts and can’t wait to help make this a super fun year for everyone!!

Christina Venturini (Events Coordinator) - Hi! I’m Christina Venturini, and I’m excited to serve as this year’s PTA Events Coordinator. I grew up in the small town of Moscow, Idaho and moved to New York in 2008. Not long after, I met my husband Christian (he made me laugh, so I kept him), and we’ve been married for 13 wild and wonderful years. We’ve got four amazing kids—ages 11, 9, 6, and 4—which means I’m pretty much a full-time snack curator, schedule juggler, and carpool DJ…and yes, our house is loud, sticky, and full of snacks. During the day, I’m an Infant Swim Resource (ISR) instructor, teaching tiny humans how to float, swim, and stay safe in the water. I also run a small charcuterie and catering business, where I turn meats and cheeses into edible works of art (and occasionally dinner when I forget to cook). As Events Coordinator, I’m here to help create fun, meaningful moments for our school community. I love bringing people together, thinking outside the (lunch)box, and finding ways to connect families, staff, and the amazing community around us. I believe school events should be welcoming, joyful, and maybe even come with a cheese board. Looking forward to a year full of creativity, connection, and just the right amount of chaos. Can’t wait to meet more of you—let’s make this a great year!

Shawna Pinto (Events Chairman) - I am a wife, boy mom and Cubmaster. I have a 3rd grader at Kinry and a 7th grader at Wappingers Jr High School. I am very active with the schools and scouting. I run multiple events such as Picture day, Mums, Book Fair, and Trunk or Treat. I am looking forward to what this year brings!

Dianne Zanin (Membership) - I’m really excited to be back in the roll of membership chair. I have 3 children in WCSD  and I am also a staff member at Kinry Road. I have enjoyed participating in all aspects of their learning journey. I joined the PTA so I could get a glimpse into their life at school and to ensure that they and all the students are getting the most out of their time in school- not only learning, but having fun and celebrating community together as a school. 

Please feel free to contact us by email: vassarkinrypta@gmail.com

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