Mark Cannizzaro, the executive president of the Council of School Supervisors & Administrators, AFSA Local 1, has served the children of New York City as an educator for more than 28 years.

He received the Angela Zirpiades Outstanding Physical Educator Award in 1994 while teaching at Totten Intermediate School on Staten Island. He served as assistant principal at Totten and, in 2003, was named principal of Paulo Intermediate School, also on Staten Island, which was recognized as a model middle school in 2005.

In 2008, Mr. Cannizzaro received the Entertainers4Education Outstanding Leadership Award, and in 2009 he was chosen as a Teacher’s College Cahn Fellowship, a professional development program for effective principals with a track record of success.

Mr. Cannizzaro served briefly as the D-31 assistant district chair before his election as one of the union’s vice presidents in the fall of that year. He has served as the union’s secretary and as executive vice president. He is currently a member of the New York Academy of Public Education and the Middle School Principals’ Association of NYC; he served as the MSPA’s president from 2009–2011.

Mr. Cannizzaro received a bachelor’s degree in physical education from SUNY Cortland. He earned his master’s degree in special education and his sixth-year certificate in supervision and administration, both from the College of Staten Island.