The Board of Directors of Buffalo Center for Arts and Technology (BCAT) named Michael W. Cropp M.D., M.B.A, to serve as Chairman of the Board effective August 1, 2024. Dr. Cropp is the chief executive officer at Independent Health, a local health insurer serving 400,000 customers and has served on the BCAT board since 2019. BCAT offers cost-free programs designed to engage, build skills, and highlight new opportunities so that high school and adult students have the tools to build stable, hopeful, and financially secure futures. 

Dr. Cropp is a board-certified family physician with more than 25 years of experience practicing medicine. Working as a physician leader, Dr. Cropp has a long and distinguished career in public health service. He was an associate medical director and family physician for three managed care organizations, and also served as medical director for the Millard Fillmore Health System.  In 1996, Dr. Cropp joined Independent Health as executive vice president and chief medical officer and was appointed president and CEO in 2004.

He has been a strong community advocate and has extensive involvement with local organizations in addition to his role at BCAT. Dr. Cropp was appointed by New York State Governor Andrew Cuomo to the University at Buffalo Council and the Western New York Regional Economic Development Council. He also serves on the boards of the Buffalo Niagara Partnership, and previously served on the boards of the Response to Love Center, the Olmsted Center for Visually Impaired, and the University at Buffalo Foundation. Dr. Cropp serves as the chair of the advisory board to FTI Consulting’s Center for Healthcare Economics and Policy and was the founding chair of three local 501c3 organizations – HealtheLink (our regional information organization), the Population Health Collaborative, and GO Bike Buffalo.

Dr. Cropp succeeds Robert D. Gioia, who served as Chairman since 2018 and has been on BCAT’s board since its creation in 2013. Gioia was instrumental in bringing BCAT to Buffalo after learning about the concept developed by Bill Strickland in Pittsburgh. 

Gioia was required to give up his formal role on the Board after he was appointed by President Biden to serve on the International Joint Commission that includes representatives from the United States and Canada, for preventing and resolving disputes over waters shared between the two countries and for settling other transboundary issues. 

Dr. Cropp commented, “There are many facets to a healthy community and creating strong, positive economic futures are a critical part. BCAT provides the pathway for high school students to stay in school and develop new interests and talents that inspire their future pathways, while the adult workforce program develops a strong local employee base, particularly in healthcare and IT. I am proud to lead this organization at a critical time of growth and as BCAT moves to its new home in the Pratt-Willert Park neighborhood on Buffalo’s East Side.”

Robert Gioia added, “It has been my honor to serve as BCAT’s Board Chair.  Since BCAT was formed in Buffalo a decade ago, it has consistently delivered on its promise to build strong positive futures for its high school and adult students and to deliver quality employees for the area’s employers. It has been so exciting to watch this organization grow and contribute to our community and I look forward to continuing to support BCAT in new ways.” 

Founded over ten years ago, Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology, offers cost-free adult workforce training programs in Allied Health, Landscape  and IT fields that lead to meaningful employment with family-sustaining wages, and a cost-free high school arts and technology afterschool program that motivates students to stay in school and graduate with an actionable pathway into college and fulfilling careers. Both programs are offered in a welcoming, supportive, and inspiring environment. 

Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology (BCAT) recently appointed Charisma DuBois as Adult Workforce Director at the nonprofit organization. BCAT offers cost-free programs designed to engage, build skills, and highlight new opportunities so that high school and adult students have the tools to build stable, hopeful, and financially secure futures.  

DuBois will oversee all aspects of the organization’s eight workforce development programs and classes including those in Allied Health, IT and Landscaping. She will be responsible for managing compliance requirements  to meet state standards, building  curriculum for new programs, and developing strategies for job placement pipelines for our students. Dubois will oversee a staff of nine. 

DuBois brings extensive background in education, teaching and in leadership development.  Previous to joining BCAT Dubois was with Teach for America serving as Director of Alumni Leadership where she developed and managed alumni engagement and outreach and developed a number of programs designed to create and fill a leadership pipeline in the education sector. She also built significant coaching and leadership development experiences while at Teach for America. DuBois  has teaching experience as an adjunct professor at Canisius College (now Canisius University), as well as teaching high school science at the Bushwick (now Brooklyn) School for Social Justice and The New York City Teaching Collaborative, both in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Dubois holds a Master’s in Education from St. John’s University in New York City and a BA in Biology from Alfred University. 

Founded ten years ago, Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology, offers cost-free adult workforce training programs in Allied Health, Landscape  and IT fields that lead to meaningful employment with family-sustaining wages, and a cost-free high school arts and technology afterschool program that motivates students to stay in school and graduate with an actionable pathway into college and fulfilling careers. Both programs are offered in a welcoming, supportive, and inspiring environment. 

Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology (BCAT) staff hosted a delegation from Belfast, Northern Ireland today for a tour and discussion so Irish officials can learn more about BCAT as they consider the model for a planned Center for Arts & Technology in Belfast. The tour was part of a visit hosted by State Representative Timothy Kennedy and included a number of local dignitaries who attended to learn more and lend their perspective. 

The group toured facilities that currently house BCAT’s high school afterschool arts & technology program and its workforce training programs in Allied Health and IT in its current location on Main Street in Buffalo.  Both programs are designed to engage, strengthen skills, and open doors to opportunity and financial security for their high school and adult students. The majority of BCAT students face significant barriers to successful futures including poverty, trauma, racism, and other issues. 

The Belfast delegation included Lord Mayor of Belfast and Councillor Ryan Murphy of Belfast, Northern Ireland and three other members of the Belfast City Council who focus on economic development.  

Officials in Belfast are planning to develop a “CAT” program for Belfast residents and are currently working with Strickland Global Leadership Institute, whose leader, Bill Strickland, created the model and founded the initial center – The National Center for Arts & Technology in Pittsburgh. Strickland recommended that the group visit Buffalo to learn more from one of the most successful programs of the thirteen that exist in the United States and Internationally.

In its ten year history, BCAT has successfully offered programs to high school students and adults as they discover pathways to positive, economically secure futures. BCAT  has a 100% high school graduation rate and an 85% job certification rate for its adult students. High School students are prepared for their postsecondary transition and adults are prepared for employment in mid-skill jobs with sustaining wages.

Twenty-three students in Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology (BCAT) Landscaping Maintenance Technician class were awarded certification from the National Association of Landscape Professionals (NALP) upon completion of the 60 hour, 5-week class and successfully completing the NALP exam.

Students received their official certificates at a graduation celebration held at BCAT on Thursday, March 28 and are now  ready to embark on landscaping careers. Students completed 30 hours of classroom training and 30 hours of  field work with a variety of local employers as part of their course of study. Students were awarded a stipend while in the program to minimize financial hardship while in the training program.

Now in its third year, the Landscape Maintenance Technician course is one of BCAT’s newer workforce training programs. BCAT also offers training programs in Allied Health and IT. The landscape program was developed in collaboration with Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy (BOPC) and The Riverline and has been generously funded by First Niagara Foundation (in its initial year)  and The Riverline. This year BCAT saw a significant increase in the demand for the training and a waiting list for additional students was necessary. 

The next landscaping class begins in January 2024 and registration will become available in late Fall 2024.

Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology (BCAT) today announced the establishment of the Blythe T. Merrill Scholarship to support the organization’s graduating high school seniors with college expenses. The Scholarship was conceived in response to rising college costs as well as issues arising from changes to the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) that have been particularly challenging for incoming college freshmen this year. BCAT has a 100% high school graduation rate, and this year every graduating senior has been accepted to the college of their choice. 

In addition to rising tuition and other increased college costs, changes to the FAFSA have resulted in a significant delay in notifying students if and how much aid they are eligible to receive. This means that students must commit to the school of their choice BEFORE they know if and how much aid they may receive and if they can afford the school of their choice. Late notice of aid also imperils additional scholarships, including Say Yes Scholarships, as many of these are only committed after other avenues for financial aid are exhausted. Funds raised through the Scholarship will be used to provide aid to students so that they have peace of mind that they can afford the college of their choice before they commit to attending. 

BCAT has a goal of raising $11,000 to fund the Scholarship that will support BCAT students who plan to attend SUNY at Buffalo (UB), Buffalo State University, Erie Community College (ECC), Hilbert College, Villa Maria College, Alfred University, the and Art Institute of Chicago. All donations made up to $5,000 will be matched, doubling the value of the donation. 

The Scholarship is named in honor of Blythe T. Merrill who recently retired as Executive Vice President and Program Officer of The John R. Oishei Foundation.  Blythe was one of the community members responsible for bringing BCAT to Buffalo in 2013 and she has been a tireless champion for excellence in education and of BCAT and its students. 

BCAT’s afterschool arts & technology program provides a welcoming space for high school students for self-expression, to be part of a welcoming community, and to explore new interests through the arts and technology. The majority of BCAT’s students face significant barriers to success including poverty, trauma, bullying, racism and more. Many of these students come from low-income, single parent households and will be the very first in their family to attend college 

The eleven graduating students are emblematic of all BCAT students who are striving to develop their own future pathway and have grown and flourished at BCAT with the guidance of talented staff and programs that provide students a chance to develop new interests and discover their talents. To make a donation to the Blythe T. Merrill Scholarship Fund, click here.

Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology (BCAT) has named Sean Crawford as Director of Development, overseeing all fundraising and development activity for the nonprofit organization. BCAT offers cost-free programs designed to engage, build skills, and highlight new opportunities so that high school and adult students have the tools to build stable, hopeful, and financially secure futures. 

Crawford brings development experience to his new role, having previously served as Director of Development and Operations for Shakespeare in the Park, and through his consulting work in strategic planning and fundraising with Total Fundraising Solutions. He also brings experience in the arts, having worked at the Community Music School and serving on the board of Locust Street Art. Crawford is also a Foundation Fellow through the Cullen Foundation, an 18-month program focused on leadership and development for emerging arts administrators. 

In his new role, Crawford will lead BCAT’s development work including fundraising, donor stewardship, grant writing, and relationship-building with the philanthropic sector. 

Founded ten years ago, Buffalo Center for Arts & Technology, offers cost-free adult workforce training programs in allied health and IT fields that lead to meaningful employment with family-sustaining wages, and a cost-free high school arts and technology afterschool program that motivates students to stay in school and graduate with an actionable pathway into college and fulfilling careers. Both programs are offered in a welcoming, supportive, and inspiring environment.