Meet Our Staff

Joe Steet Sr. is the owner of the Steet Ponte Auto Group and United Auto Sales of Utica. Joe started working in the auto industry at age 11, washing cars for his father and uncle's business, United Auto, then located on Oriskany Street in Utica. When the business moved to Commercial Drive in the 70's, he looked across the street for years at the then Hoff Toyota, telling himself he would own it one day. After years of wholesaling vehicles (and later pushing his father and uncle into retailing used vehicles,) he met Steve Ponte Sr., General Manager at the then Len Brown Chevrolet (now Steet Ponte Chevy!) The two teamed up to purchase what is now, Steet Toyota, the first store in the Steet Ponte Auto Group, and from there, it took off to the now 8 dealerships and 9 brands it is today including: two Toyota stores, Chevrolet, Ford, Lincoln, VW, Mazda, Nissan, and the used car dealership where it all began, United Auto Sales of Utica. Joe lives locally in New Hartford, NY with his wife and their two children and their families. In his spare time, Joe enjoys spending time with his family, especially his 3 grandkids, as well as skiing in the winter, riding his motorcycle in the summer, and going to their family's camp in the Adirondacks! His favorite vehicle is his 1966 Chevy Corvette, which he has fully restored himself over the years.

Steve Ponte Sr. is the owner of the Steet Ponte Auto Group. Steve has an extensive background in the auto industry, having gone to college locally in Herkimer and starting his career at the then, Len Brown Chevrolet. Steve met Joe Steet Sr. while Joe was wholesaling vehicles for his father and uncle's business, United Auto Sales. The two teamed up to purchase the former Hoff Toyota, now Steet Toyota in 1995! From there, they purchased the following dealerships: Len Brown Chevy, now Steet Ponte Chevy in 1998, Cater Ford Lincoln, now Steet Ponte Ford Lincoln in 2004, they built Steet Toyota of Johnstown-Gloversville per Toyota's request in 2007, Paolozzi's Car World including now Steet Ponte Mazda and Steet Ponte VW in 2011, and finally, the former Lithia Nissan, now Steet Ponte Nissan in 2021. Steve lives locally in Herkimer, NY with his wife and their children and families. In his spare time, Steve enjoys spending time with his family, including his four children and 9 grandkids, is an avid golfer, having traveled to many world renowned golf courses, and spending time at their family's home in Florida! Steve's favorite vehicle is the Lincoln Nautilus.

Joe Steet Jr. is one of the third generation owner/operators of the Steet Ponte Auto Group and United Auto Sales! Joe grew up in the auto industry just like his father, having started out also at age 11 washing cars in the shop at Steet Toyota. Throughout high school and college, Joe worked in every department to gain a knowledge of the store: starting by reconditioning vehicles, as a Service Advisor, Parts Consultant, working in the body shop, eventually working his was to the Sales floor as a Sales Consultant and, while in college at Syracuse University, attended weekly Auto Auctions in Syracuse for the Auto Group! After graduating, Joe came home to work full time in the business as a Sales Consultant and eventually Sales Manager at Steet Toyota. Joe lives locally in New Hartford with his wife, their baby boy, and their dog! Outside of work, Joe enjoys spending time with his family and friends, playing video games, watching sports, skiing in the winter months and spending time on his boat in the Adirondacks in the summer months. His favorite vehicle is his 1999 Toyota 4Runner, which he has been restoring himself!

Steve Ponte Jr. is one of the third generation owner/operators of the Steet Ponte Auto Group! Steve grew up in the auto industry, having worked at our dealership, Steet Ponte Chevy for years, as well as having experience on the manufacturer side with Toyota Motor Company. Steve started in Sales at Chevy, eventually working to Sales Manager and is now General Manager of the store. He lives locally in Ilion, NY with his wife, their two daughters and their two dogs. Outside of work, Steve enjoys spending time with his family and friends, especially with his sisters, 7 nieces and nephews, and their family trips to Florida. Steve is also actively involved in all of his daughter's sporting events, even coaching many of their teams, as well as many other local youth sports teams throughout Herkimer County! His favorite vehicle is the Chevy Tahoe, which he drives himself.

Carly Steet Mathias is one of the third generation owner/operators of the Steet Ponte Auto Group and United Auto Sales of Utica! Carly is the first female in a leadership role in the Auto Group's history and is proud to bring a different viewpoint to the table. Carly's main area of work is managing all of the dealership's websites, social media, and digital marketing efforts. Carly grew up working in the business, however, never thought she would end up here. Starting at age 14, Carly started out filing paperwork (so.much.paperwork.), working her way to cashier, then Assistant Title Clerk in the office at Steet Toyota. While working at the store, she also worked for two local law firms throughout high school and college, initially thinking she'd go to Law School. During her senior year at LeMoyne College, after being accepted to a law school in Florida, she ultimately followed her gut to what she first was interested in when starting college, and decided to change paths to Public Relations and Communications. She took a year off after graduating from LeMoyne and worked for the Children's Miracle Network and MVHS' PR Department. She then attended Pace University's brand new Graduate Program: Media, Communications & Visual Arts program, graduating with her Master's. While living in White Plains, she worked for Revlon in Manhattan, as well as a local Westchester Marketing Firm, MSCO. After returning home and seeing a need for a major improvement in the Group's websites and social media, Carly pitched the position of Digital Marketing & Communications Manager to her father and Steve Sr. Carly then worked out of the Ford Lincoln store for years, handling the internet leads for both brands, as well as building the Marketing Department and growing their social media presence. Carly lives locally in New Hartford, NY with her husband, their two kids, and their dog. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, yoga, tennis, skiing in the winter, and anything outside in the summer months. You'll also see her at any and all of her kid's school events throughout the school year! Additionally, she writes a regular column, "Mohawk Valley Road Trip" for the local Mohawk Valley Living Magazine. You can pick up a copy in any of our dealerships to follow along! Carly's favorite vehicles are the Toyota Land Cruiser (pre 2023 redesign) and the classic VW Beetle, both of which she drives herself.

Rachel Agne is the Business Development Center Manager for the Steet Ponte Auto Group and has been with the group since April of 2019! Rachel is based out of Steet Ponte Nissan, however, oversees all store's Business Development Representatives and their duties of handling internet inquiries for the Sales Departments, as well as holding regular training sessions and meetings with Sales Managers to go over reporting and growth. Rachel attended and graduated from SUNY Poly in 2019. She has grown with our Nissan store since we purchased it in 2021, having started out as our photographer as well as general help in the Office, she then transitioned to our Business Development Center for our Auto Group and now leads our team of BDR's! Rachel lives locally in Newport, NY. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her family and friends, reading historical fiction novels, gardening, skeet shooting, and traveling! Her favorite Nissan vehicle is the AWD Nissan Altima.

Amanda Wrate is the Social Media Content Creator and Coordinator for the Steet Ponte Auto Group who joined our team in late 2025! Amanda comes to us with extensive experience in Social Media Marketing, Content Creation, and Brand Strategy, having run her own business, as well as a strong history as an influencer! Originally from New Hartford, but having lived in Florida for 10 years, as well as graduating from Florida Gulf Coast University, Amanda came back to the area and now lives locally in Utica with her boyfriend. We are so excited to have Amanda on our team, get her take on social media trends and strategy, and see how she can grow our presence to new heights! Outside of work, Amanda enjoys spending time with her family and friends, traveling, anything Disney and Halloween related, and finding new food trends. Amanda's favorite vehicles are the Mazda CX-90 and the Toyota 4Runner!

Brian Mathias is Sales Manager primarily located out of our Toyota store in Yorkville, however, can deal with any of our sister stores whether it's a new or used vehicle. Brian worked with us since 2013, having started as a Sales & Leasing Consultant working his way to Sales Manager in 2017. Prior to the Auto Industry, Brian worked locally for Upstate Cerebral Palsy, as well as the New Hartford DPW. He is a native of New Hartford where he lives with his wife, two kids, and dog, Harley! Outside of work, Brian is an active member of the New Hartford Fire Department and was recently voted in as a Lieutenant in 2026, you may also recognize him from his kid's pre-school and Elementary School's Fire Prevention Weeks! Additionally, he loves riding his motorcycle and exploring the Adirondacks in the warmer months, skiing in the winter months, and spending time with his family and friends. His favorite Toyota is the Toyota Sequoia, which he drives himself!

Chris Gardiner is the General Manager at Steet Ponte Nissan, however, can also deal with any of our sister stores! Chris joined the Steet Ponte Auto Group in late 2019, having started out at our Toyota store in Johnstown in Sales. In 2020, Chris took on the role of starting the Auto Group's Business Development Center, hiring Business Development Representatives for each location, allowing each dealership to effectively handle inbound and outbound internet leads that come in from our website and other online sources. Eventually, in 2021, Chris moved to Whitesboro with his wife and their two kids to run Steet Ponte Nissan. Prior to joining the Auto Group, Chris has an extensive background in Sales and in the Auto Industry, especially with CRM systems, having worked for ADP among other companies. Outside of work, Chris enjoys spending time with his family and friends, especially coaching his children's sports, playing basketball, golfing in the warmer months, and snowboarding in the winter months.

Tommy Pietruszka is the Wholesale Buyer for the Steet Ponte Auto Group! Tommy is a long-term employee here, having been with us since 2003. You may recognize his name as his father, Ray, was the Wholesale Buyer for our used car store, United Auto Sales of Utica for over 30 years! Tommy followed in his father's footsteps after attending college locally at MVCC. Pre Covid era, he regularly attended auto auctions across New York State, Connecticut and Pennsylvania selling vehicles that were trade ins, and purchasing vehicles for our used car store to sell at retail. Today, he handles all 8 stores wholesale buying and selling needs, by sourcing, appraising, and acquiring used vehicle inventory from online auctions and private sellers. He manages the inflow of inventory, negotiates competitive pricing with our Sales Managers, analyzes market trends to select high-demand vehicles, and maintain relationships with suppliers. Tommy lives locally in Utica, NY with his girlfriend and their son. Outside of work, Tommy enjoys spending time with his family and friends, is an avid NY Yankees fan, and infamously spent summers following Phish on their tours!