Sara Ponkow Falvo, MD

My name is Sara Ponkow Falvo, MD. I am a vivacious lifelong 2nd generation Chautauquan and the owner/proprietor of the newly established Dragonfly Inn, at 20 S. Terrace. I am also an Emergency Medicine Physician currently practicing medicine in Buffalo, New York, and a mother of 2 young children who have attended Children’s School and are currently attending Boys’ and Girls’ Club. My love of Chautauqua is deeply rooted in my own childhood in the early ’80s. As a young person, I loved Chautauqua, having attended art classes, lectures and Boys’ and Girls’ Club. My first job was as a Chautauqua parking attendant, and later, I worked as a lifeguard and swim counselor at Boys’ and Girls’ Club. For the past 2 summers, I have had the privilege to return to Boys’ and Girls’ Club, filling in as Health Director. I also had the honor to get to know the culture and workings of our neighbors outside the Institution’s gates, having worked in the ER of both UPMC Chautauqua Hospital in Jamestown and in the ER of Brooks Memorial Hospital in Dunkirk. Since becoming a Chautauqua property owner myself in 2017, I have felt a strong pull to be an active participant in both the CPOA and POWR. I have had the privilege to wear the hats of a Chautauqua property owner as well as a business owner on the Chautauqua grounds. This opportunity opened my eyes to issues facing property owners, business owners and Chautauquans. This past year, I served as an Area 2 Representative on the CPOA board. The wonderful people I have met and the insights and lessons learned from this experience have been invaluable. I understand more fully the issues facing our beloved Chautauqua. I would love to bring a fresh voice to the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees as someone who wears multiple hats. I am a multigenerational Chautauquan, a mother of young Chautauquans, a business owner on the Institution grounds, a physician from the Western New York area, and an individual who has worked in the community outside the Institution’s gates. My goal as a Class B Trustee is to be a bridge and a fresh voice for transparency and action between Chautauquans and the Institution. I enjoy building bridges between groups and organizations to expedite important conversations which, I hope, leads to action. My prior experiences as a coordinator in building sister cities between Cheektowaga and Lowitz, Poland, as well as my volunteer work with Bridges for Education in the Ukraine in the mid-1990s, has been invaluable. I am a people person and a team player. I pride myself on effective communication and leadership skills. I am a doer, and I actively listen to people’s concerns and seek to transform them into real solutions with a team approach. I am especially focused on the future of Chautauqua and its diversity and sustainability. I want people from all walks of life, and our children and grandchildren, and their subsequent generations to always be able to experience Chautauqua as we do and have. I actively keep abreast all the issues facing the Chautauqua Institution, especially as Chautauqua undertakes its 150 Forward plan. I am excited and honored to have an opportunity to serve Chautauqua in this capacity as a Class B Trustee.

James (Jim) Zuegel

Relevant Experience

• A lifelong, fifth-generation Chautauquan and owner of 15 Foster Avenue since 2006.
• Father of two young adult children (ages 28 and 22) who attended Children’s School and Boys’ & Girls’ Club every summer. 
• Building and supporting community for special needs son, both at Chautauqua and in Mountain View, California.
• 26 years of work experience as operations executive in medical device industry. 

Personal Statement

My experience as a lifelong Chautauquan growing up in Western New York combined with my professional and social networks in the San Francisco Bay Area allows me to bring a unique perspective and objectivity as a Chautauqua property owner. 

I will bring a fresh voice to the Chautauqua Institution Board of Trustees. In addition to being a multi‑generational Chautauquan, a father of young adult children who are lifelong Chautauquans, a son of parents who were and are deeply active in building and revitalizing Chautauqua, I am an engineer who has developed and delivered life-saving and health enhancing medical technologies to millions of Americans. I am a problem-solver with valuable experience as a corporate executive that will help guide the Chautauqua Institution through these tumultuous times. 

I am focused on the future of Chautauqua while also balancing its history and legacy with its potential to grow and evolve in the 21^st century. As a faithful protestant member of an interfaith couple, I’ve always valued diversity and sought to emphasize that which we have in common. As a father of an autistic son, my wife and I have worked tirelessly to seek out opportunities for him at Chautauqua working closely with his Children’s School teachers, Boy’s Club counselors, after program buddies, and the Chabad Jewish House. Based on our experience providing and developing ways for him to engage meaningfully at Chautauqua, I am committed to expanding options for diversity for my children, your children, and subsequent generations to be able to experience Chautauqua.

I would be honored and look forward to serving in the role of an Institution Class B Trustee. Thank you for your consideration.