Bob Farley
bob@1777freedomsgateway.com
Robert Thomas Farley is an Adjunct Professor of Law at the State University of New York at Albany.
He is also the co-host of the Freedom’s Gateway podcast, which details the story on how the Empire State built America, and delivered upon the promise of liberty.
Prior to his retirement in 2021, Mr. Farley served as Senior Counsel to the New York State Senate for 26 years, and before that, he served as Deputy Attorney General for the State of New York, and prior to that, as Assistant Counsel to the New York State Assembly Minority Leader.
From 1993 until 2011, he also served as a five-time elected member of the Schenectady County Legislature, and was selected by his colleagues to serve as Minority Leader, and as Chairman, of that Board.
He is the author of hundreds of State and Local Laws.
Prior to his government service, Robert Farley was a highly successful trial attorney with the Albany Law Firm of McNamee, Lochner, Titus and Williams. Starting in 1996, he began serving as the Managing Partner of his family law firm of Farley and Farley.
Robert Farley’s educational background includes: Graduating with honors from Niskayuna High School, in Schenectady, New York, in 1980; Earning a Bachelor of Arts degree, Magna Cum Laude, from the State University of New York at Albany, in 1984; Earning a Juris Doctorate Degree from Hofstra University School of Law, in Hempstead, Long Island, in 1987, where he served as Associate Editor of the prestigious Hofstra Labor Law Journal; and Earning an post doctorate L.L.M. Degree (Masters of Laws and Letters) from Albany Law School, Summa Cum Laude, where he was first in his class, in 2010.
Mr. Farley was born in Syracuse, New York, and presently resides at his home in Scotia, New York. His daughters Katie and Elizabeth are both accomplished attorneys, as is his father, Senator Hugh Farley, his wife, Marilyn E. Farley, and his sister Susan E. Farley.
Vinnie Asaro
vinnie@1777freedomsgateway.com
Vinnie is a graduate of James Madison High School, in Brooklyn, NY., whose graduates include Three Nobel Prize Winners, a Supreme Court Justice, Three United States Senators, and numerous television and broadcast personalities. Vinnie went on to Brooklyn College, where he received his Bachelor of Arts Degree and Masters Degree in Political Science and his Certificate in School Administration and Supervision. For 34 years he worked in the field of Education. He taught for the NYC Dept. of Education where he spent most of his career serving at Franklin D. Roosevelt High School, in Brooklyn, NY., as a classroom teacher, Dean of Students, Peer Mediation Specialist, and finally, as an Assistant Principal. Vinnie also taught at the City University of New York, and was an adjunct in the Department of History, Philosophy and Political Science at Kingsborough Community College.
Vinnie has been and continues to serve as a volunteer with the National Park Service, first at Ellis Island and after retirement, continuing to serve at Saratoga National Battlefield, giving tours of historic buildings and assisting and educating visitors to the park. Upon retirement Vinnie also began volunteering at Grant Cottage, in Wilton NY, where General Ulysses S. Grant spent the last 6 weeks of his life, completing his memoirs. Grant Cottage is a National Literary Landmark, and has recently been designated by the Department of the Interior as a National Historic Site. Vinnie continues in the tradition of the original caretakers of the Cottage, giving tours and telling the story of one of our greatest Americans, Ulysses S. Grant.
Vinnie is also active, singing in his church Choir and with a local choir, Rock Voices USA. He has made the teaching of history to all generations of people his life’s work. He is now a co-host of the 1777 Freedom’s Gateway podcast.
Simona “simi” Asaro was born in August 1967 in Câmpina, Prahova, Romania. In June 1978, her family had the opportunity to vacation in New York to visit her uncle. Soon after arriving her parents asked for political asylum to escape the Communist state in Romania. With English as her second language, she quickly adjusted to a new school, to new friends, and excelled in all her studies.
She graduated from Hillcrest High School, in Jamaica, Queens, New York in 1985. In 1990, she received a degree of Bachelor of Science in Sound Recording, from the State University of New York at Fredonia. She started interning for a recording studio in White Plains, NY and another in New York City. She had the opportunity to record a Dizzy Gillespie concert at Cooper Union in New York, as well as assist various recording sessions for voice overs, singers, and other artists.
In 1997, she graduated from New York University Tisch School of the Arts, receiving a degree of Masters of Professional Studies in Interactive Telecommunications. It was around this time that the Internet and web development was is in its infancy and she worked as a Project Manager for Ogilvy & Mather, and as a contractor Producer for AT&T’s Downtown Digital, before she started with Advance Media in 1998, where she remained for 22 years, lastly as a QA Engineer specializing in Automated Testing. In 2016, she and her husband moved to Wilton, NY, and in 2020 simi became a QA Engineer for Transfinder Corporation, Schenectady, NY.
simi is a mom to two doggies, Mia (Bichon-Poodle) and Allie (Schnauzer-Poodle). She also loves to knit and crochet. Her yarn stash is legendary among her friends. She enjoys reading, especially Science Fiction and Mystery. One day she wants to live in Scotland for a year or so and take a ferry to visit the Shetlands.
