PAB names former schools superintendent as new leader
Rochester’s Police Accountability Board has named former city school superintendent Lesli Myers-Small as its next executive director.
In a news release Thursday, the PAB highlighted Myers-Small’s two decades of leadership experience in Rochester alongside a stealth commitment to diversity, equity and community building.
“Dr. Myers-Small is passionate about her work and commitment to the Rochester community and is eager to continue making a positive impact in her new role with the Police Accountability Board,” PAB Chair Larry Knox said.
Myers-Small will start on an interim basis Monday, pending a confirmation hearing by City Council next month. She takes over from Interim Executive Director Sherry Walker-Cowart, who has been leading the oversight agency since January 2023.
PAB picks Lesli Myers-Small as new leader
Walker-Cowart is credited for stabilizing the PAB after a period of tumultuous leadership. In 2022, the PAB suspended and then fired its first executive director, Conor Dwyer Reynolds, after a six-month investigation into personnel complaints. The complaints were determined unsubstantiated, but the board fired Dwyer Reynolds over confidentiality and policy issues.
Meanwhile, their first pick for an interim executive director, Duwaine Bascoe, was accused by PAB staffers of fostering a hostile work environment. Eight employees were fired or quit under his watch. The board removed Bascoe from the post in November 2022, and he resigned from his role of acting chief of investigations shortly after. Myers-Small faced her own tumultuous tenure as RCSD superintendent. She started during the pandemic and encountered a rocky and violent school year when students returned to the classroom in 2021. School and state officials rejected her school closure plan and budget proposal the following year. And in 2022, she was accused of sexual harassment by a member of her leadership team.
Myers-Small and RCSD negotiated an early exit in 2022, with two years left on her contract.
In a statement about her new role at the PAB, Myers-Small said she was excited about the opportunity to pursue public accountability and transparency.
“I recognize the importance of a smooth leadership transition and I am committed to listening, learning, and engaging with various stakeholders to drive our vision forward,” she said. “My focus will include relationship-building, governance, public affairs, and community engagement to enhance organizational capacity and alignment.”