Catholic Charities of Buffalo has announced the members of its Appeal 2023 leadership team which include Adam Sumlin, Ph.D. as chair, Kevin Gannon as vice chair, Kevin Brayer and Daniel Mecca as corporate division chairs, and Laurie Brown-Croyts-Alford as community division chair.
Dr. Sumlin, who served as vice chair for Appeal 2022 and as parish chair in 2021, is chair for Appeal 2023. He served as the parish Appeal chair for St. Martin de Porres Church for more than 15 years and is now actively involved at Saints Columba Brigid Parish. Dr. Sumlin is an assistant professor of oncology with Roswell Park Comprehensive Cancer Center and focuses his research on the development of innovative biomarkers for the early detection of prostate cancer. He resides with his family in Getzville.
After serving as parish chair last year, Kevin Gannon is taking on the role of vice chair. Gannon is the chief sales officer of Azeros Health Plans and has 35 years’ experience as a benefits broker. He is a member of the St. Vincent DePaul Society and serves as a committee member at OLV Homes of Charity. Gannon and his wife reside in Hamburg.
Corporate Division Chairs Brayer and Mecca return for the third year to direct the team of volunteer business leaders and develop strategies for seeking contributions from local corporations and small businesses.
A volunteer with the corporate team for more than five years, Brayer is retired executive director of the St. Bonaventure Buffalo Center. Brayer is a long-standing parishioner of St. Louis Church where he currently serves as the business manager and as usher, Eucharistic minister, sacristan, and parish council member. Brayer also serves on the Bishop’s Council of the Laity, the Foundation for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Buffalo, and the board of directors for the Ronald McDonald House. A founding member of First Night Buffalo, Brayer has also been very involved in events with Catholic education and St. Bonaventure University and served on the diocesan Upon this Rock campaign. He resides with his family in Buffalo.
Mecca is president and managing creative director for Abbey Mecca, a Buffalo-based branding, advertising, and digital marketing firm. He currently serves as a member of the board for Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center, the Buffalo Niagara Medical Campus, the Buffalo Renaissance Foundation, and the Regional Traffic Alliance. Mecca first become involved with the Appeal corporate team nearly 20 years ago. A resident of Williamsville, he is a member of the St. Joseph University Parish community.
Brown-Croyts-Alford returns as community division chair for the third year, working with Catholic schools, parish societies and other local organizations throughout the Appeal. A member of St. Martin de Porres Catholic Church, she serves on the women’s guild and the compassion ministry. Brown-Croyts-Alford is a nurse practitioner and has a research background in pharmacology. She lives with her family in Buffalo.
With a goal of $9.5 million, the annual Appeal kicked off Jan. 5 and runs through June 30. Funds raised during Appeal 2023 support Catholic Charities’ 57 programs and services, along with several ministries through the Fund for the Faith. More than 134,000 people of all faiths were served by Catholic Charities last year. For more information or to donate to Appeal 2023, visit ccwny.org/donate.