Governmental Relations Staff

Areas of Responsibility: Oversight of the Government Relations Department, the Association's legislative agenda and responding to legislative and regulatory proposals affecting public education.

David Allan Little has directed NYSSBA's Governmental Relations Department since November of 1999. He is a graduate of Wittenberg University and the Capital University Law School. Dave previously served as counsel in both the New York State Assembly and Senate. His most recent position was Home Rule Counsel and Counsel to the Majority Leader for Local Government. Dave also served nine years on the Brittonkill Board of Education, the last seven as its president. In addition, Dave has served on the Rensselaer County Legislature, the Capital District Regional Planning Commission and the Board of Directors of the Cornell Cooperative Extension. Dave lives in Brunswick with his wife Lynne. Their sons Patrick and Daniel attend the University of Rochester and the Rochester Institute of Technology, respectively.

Areas of Responsibility: Direct supervision of the daily operations of the Governmental Relations Department, advocating for the Association's legislative agenda, addressing finance and budgeting issues, and covering the state legislature's education and fiscal committees.

Martin Reid joined the Governmental Relations staff on July 2009.

He received his B.A. in Political Science from St. John Fisher College and his M.A. in Political Science from American University. 

Martin previously served as Floor Assistant and Legislative Assistant in the New York State Assembly.  Recently, he served ten years as Director of Community Relations for the State University of New York.  Martin also serves on the Rensselaer County Legislature where he chairs the Social Services Committee and the Local Governments Committee.  He has also been a chair of the Education Committee.  He also serves as a Board Member of the Cornell Cooperative Extension of Rensselaer County.  Martin lives in Sand Lake with his wife, Caitlin.  His children, Chad and Grace attend school in the Averill Park School District.  

Areas of Responsibility: Advocating on behalf of the Association to the Board of Regents and regulatory affairs; State Education Department and various Legislative committees. Additional issue areas include Labor, Pensions, Curriculum and Testing, No Child Left Behind, Charter Schools/Choice/Vouchers, “Race to the Top”, 3020-a and Contracts for Excellence.

Andrew (A.J.) Bodden joined the Governmental Relations staff on June 2009.

He received his B.A. in history from Union College and his M.Ed. from St. Lawrence University.

Most recently, Bodden served as the Assistant Director of Alumni Relations at Union College where he recruited and managed an extensive network of volunteers from across the country. Prior to his tenure at Union, A.J. was a high school social studies and AP world history teacher at Cambridge Central School District in Cambridge, NY, where he also coached football and baseball. He began his career as an Assistant Football Coach at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.

A native of the Capital Region and Scotia-Glenville HS graduate, Bodden now resides in Clifton Park, NY.

Areas of Responsibility: Advocating on behalf of the Association’s legislative agenda to various legislative committees, the State Education Department and other agencies primarily focused on School Budget, Finance and Management issues. In addition to serving as the Resolutions Process Coordinator, areas of specific responsibility include Energy (green schools), Transportation, Construction and Maintenance, Real Property Taxation, Asset Maximization, State aid and PILOTS issues.

Laura E. Mann joined the Governmental Relations staff in May 2009.

Ms. Mann holds a B.A. in English Literature from the University at Albany and an M.B.A. in Marketing and Entrepreneurship from the Lally School of Management and Technology at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. 

She was a founder and managing partner of Glenmont Venture Capital Management in Albany, where she sought limited partner investments for deployment into early-stage technology companies.  Prior to Glenmont, Laura held a position with New York State’s Empire State Development Corporation where she evaluated investment opportunities and worked with emerging technology companies for the Small Business Technology Investment Fund.

She is a life-long resident of the Capital Region and remains active in the business, entrepreneur and academic communities serving in volunteer and advisory roles.

Areas of Responsibility: Advocating and bill drafting on behalf of the Association's legislative agenda and serving as the Federal Relations Coordinator.  Specifically responsible for issues affecting Special Education, Home Field Advantage, Common Sense Agenda, Federal Medicaid, School Environmental Concerns, Nutrition, Physical Education, School Safety, Youth at Risk and Cities as well as covering various legislative committees.

Quinn M. Morris joined the Governmental Relations staff in May 2009.

Quinn is a 2000 graduate of Canandaigua Academy.  She received her B.S. in Business Administration from Ithaca College in 2004 and earned her J.D. from Albany Law School in 2007.  She is admitted to the State of New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department and the United States District Court, Northern District of New York.

Before joining the association, Quinn was assistant counsel for the New York State Legislative Bill Drafting Commission where she researched and drafted bills for both the Senate and Assembly.  She is also involved in coaching cheerleading at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI) during the football season.

Quinn is a native of the Finger Lakes region and currently resides in Albany, NY.