Senior Staff Biographies

Darby Fishkin  – Deputy Comptroller

Darby is in her second stint as deputy comptroller, having served from July of 2004 to October of 2007 when she left to join Kaleida Health as corporate controller.  She was reappointed by Comptroller SanFilippo as deputy in August of 2009.  Darby, a CPA, is a former senior accountant with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young and has a master’s degrees in accounting and business administration from Canisius College and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Buffalo State College.

Michelle Mesi – Special Assistant to the Comptroller

Michelle comes to her position with outstanding experience as an educator and excellent academic credentials.  As a high school teacher in Buffalo public schools, she developed lesson plans, projects, and tests for students in global history and U. S. history.  She also taught a class in government and economics to seniors.  She was graduated from the State University at Buffalo with a bachelor’s degree in history and education.  She also earned a master’s degree in educational administration from UB and is currently enrolled in post-graduate courses.  Michelle is a member the Western New York Association of School Personnel Administrators (ASPA) and of the Government Finance Officers Association (GFOA). 

Anne Forti-Sciarrino - City Accountant

Prior to her appointment as City Accountant, Anne served as the principal accountant in the Division of Accounting, a position she held since 1992. In that capacity, she assisted the city accountant in management and daily operations of the Division of Accounting. She specializes in technical research of complex accounting issues and development of new or revised accounting procedures with emphasis on the computerization of accounting records. From 1988 to 1991, she previously served as City Accountant, responsible for the overall management of the division and 24 employees. The division's functions include general accounting and the posting of all ledgers, cash reporting and reconciliation of all bank accounts, accounts payable and receivable, and payroll tax reporting for the City of Buffalo. Anne has worked as an assistant corporation tax auditor for the state and earned a master's degree in business administration, focusing on accounting, from Canisius College.

Darryl Mcpherson is currently the City Auditor for the City of Buffalo’s Department of Audit and Control. As a deputy of the City’s elected Comptroller Andrew SanFilippo, Darryl heads the Division of Audit, which audits all City accounts and approves all checks issued by the City, including payroll. He made this move after serving for almost two and half years as Chief Counsel to the Buffalo Fiscal Stability Authority, the control board created by the State to oversee the City of Buffalo’s finances in 2003.  McPherson graduated from the University at Buffalo School of Law in 1992. While at the Law School, he served on the Student Bar Association for two terms and became Features Editor for the School’s newspaper, the Opinion. He previously graduated from Canisius High School and the State University College of New York at Buffalo.  After a short stint in private practice, he was appointed by Mayor Anthony Masiello to work for the City of Buffalo’s Law Department as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in 1994. During the majority of his time there, he served as counsel to the Common Council, researching and drafting legislation and legal opinions and advising numerous departments, including the Bureau of Administrative Adjudication, the Office of Licenses and the Zoning Board of Appeals. He was appointed as staff attorney to the Charter Revision Commission, which drafted the new City Charter approved by the electors of the City in 1999. In addition to his advisory duties, he negotiated cable and other utility franchises, litigated Charter and other municipal issues, personal injury matters and prosecuted violations of City ordinances. In 2003, he was appointed Deputy Corporation Counsel, the third ranking managing attorney in the department.  A member of the Erie County Bar Association since 1992, Darryl is a member of the Municipal and School Law Committee. He is also a member of the American Bar Association, the New York State Bar Association, the Western New York Chapter of the Women’s Bar Association of the State of New York, the Minority Bar Association of Western New York and the New York State Government Finance Officers Association.  Darryl was named one of Business First’s Forty Under 40 in 2001. He is a member of Leadership Buffalo, having graduated from the Class of 2003.   He has served on the boards of the Buffalo and Erie County Botanical Gardens Society, Inc., the New Group at the Albright-Knox Art Gallery and is currently Vice President of the City Centre Condominium Association Board of Managers.  A lifelong City resident, Darryl enjoys living in downtown Buffalo.

Richard was appointed as the city’s Investment and Debt Management Officer in 2004 and is responsible for the day-to-day cash management of city’s financial resources.

Prior to joining the city, he served as the Chief Financial Officer for the Community Action Organization of Erie County where he was responsible for the development and implementation of the goals, policies and procedures relating to financial management, including cash flow analysis, budget, accounts payable & receivable and the procurement of banking relations.

Previously, Richard had served for 20 years as the Cash Management Manager for the Niagara Frontier Transportation Authority (NFTA). In that position, he was responsible for the supervision of all cash management staff, directing the NFTA’s investments and banking functions, and overseeing the preparation and analysis of various reports relating to those investments.

Today, as the Investment and Debt Management Officer for the City of Buffalo, Richard is responsible for the issuance of debt for the City of Buffalo, the Buffalo City Schools, the Buffalo Municipal Water Finance Authority and the Sewer Authority. He works cooperatively with credit rating agencies, financial advisors, bond counsels, investment bankers, and other related City Departments to solidify all of the financial resources that flow through City Hall on a daily basis.

Richard is a 1982 graduate of Niagara University and has been a certified government financial manager since 1996.  Mr. Calipari is also a member of the NYS Government Finance Officers’ Association and the Association of Government Accountants.