We’ll be closing our conference with a panel discussion featuring three SUNY alumni, all of whom are playing major roles in the redesign and construction of the famed Tappan Zee Bridge, located just steps from our conference hotel. University at Buffalo alumni Troy Calkins, John Kowalski and Craig Teepell will discuss their roles in bringing life to this $4 billion project — the largest bridge project in state history — in a panel discussion moderated by former Buffalo News Business Editor Grove Potter.
Jonathan Anzalone is assistant director of the Center for News Literacy at Stony Brook University. He has been teaching news literacy for the last 10 years, first as a graduate news fellow and now as a lecturer. He completed his Ph.D. with the Stony Brook University History Department in 2012. His book, “Battles of the North Country: Wilderness Politics and Recreational Development in the Adirondack Park,” will be published next year by University of Massachusetts Press.
Kat Banakis assists clients in using analytics in campaign, staffing and prospect projections and in related staff performance metrics. She supports clients across industries to maximize prospect management and research, align staff metrics to overall development goals, gain insight into donor preferences and behavior, create effective prospect pipelines and improve donor outreach and engagement efforts. She recently designed and implemented portfolio review processes, projections, metrics and dashboards at Cornell University, the University of Delaware, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina Greensboro, DePaul University and SUNY Delhi.
Vinnie Cazzetta is currently the vice president for advancement at Orange County Community College where he oversees the areas of marketing, government relations, communications, grants, public relations, intercollegiate athletics, information technology and auxiliary services. Prior to his tenure at SUNY Orange, he spent more than 11 years in a management position within the Department of Intercollegiate Athletics at the United States Military Academy. Vinnie earned his B.S. from Fairfield University and holds an M.B.A. from the Isenburg School of Management at the University of Massachusetts.
Kerry Chapin-Lavigne has served as an associate director of alumni relations at her alma mater, SUNY Plattsburgh, for nearly nine years. She received her bachelor’s degree in education in 1998 and has worked at SUNY Plattsburgh for 16 years. Prior to her current role, she held positions as assistant women’s basketball coach, admissions adviser and assistant sports information director. Her primary responsibilities include planning and implementing alumni programs such as Homecoming Weekend, Athletic Hall of Fame, Distinguished Visiting Alumni, Capital District Golf Tournament and regional events. She oversees the Alumni Awards Committee and has served on several other campus committees such as the Intercollegiate Athletic Board, Programming Grant, Alumni in the Classroom and Athletic Hall of Fame.
Chris S. Cornell has successfully managed public relations, social media, and digital marketing activities for a wide range of clients, including motion pictures, advocacy organizations, hospitals, schools and colleges, non-profits, governmental agencies, restaurants and hotels. He understands that quality content is the fuel that drives social media success, and that properly using analytics is the best way to obtain the feedback necessary to optimize an organization’s content strategy. A former journalist and professional photographer, Chris creates specialized online content and social media strategies used in successful promotions. Chris excels in social media advertising and is Google Analytics and Adwords certified.
Ryan J. Coyne is a serial tech entrepreneur, innovator, father and speaker based near New York City with a passion for making all digital things relatable. Ryan is a skilled communicator who has spent over a decade re-engineering the experience of coming into contact with new technologies and concepts. Ryan serves as the President of Infinite Tech & Explorify3D, partner at Topset.co, CTO of the LIincs organization, and Director of IT for Ryan Serhant and The Serhant Team. An expert on several applied technologies including virtual reality, Ryan has spent his 30 years of life immersed in what’s new and shiny.
Peter Crescenti is an award-winning journalist and media relations professional with more than 40 years in the business. Peter began his career writing for rock-music magazines and then moved into publicity. He transitioned into higher education, joining C.W. Post College as staff writer and later director of public relations. He wrote for The New York Times and later Newsday as pop-music critic and features writer. He enjoyed a 20-year career as director of public information at AAA New York, where he supervised the company’s member magazine, website and media relations.
Pat DeCoster has more than 16 years of progressive leadership and management experience working with presidents and provosts at three different colleges and universities. Her experience includes coordination and management of projects, special events and strategic planning initiatives. A few notable projects include overhauling Empire State College’s policy library; planning and implementing the 2011 International Council on Open and Distance Education’s Standing Conference of Presidents, which hosted presidents from five different continents; the Presidential Inauguration of Empire State College’s third president and planning the college’s yearly All College Conference, which hosts up to 600 faculty and staff each year.
Chris D’Orso is the assistant director of enrollment communications for Stony Brook University, coordinating social media outreach for one of the top-ranked public research universities in the northeast. A SUNY lifer, he has a B.A. from Geneseo in communications, worked in student activities at Finger Lakes Community College, and in admissions and orientation at Old Westbury before joining Stony Brook in 2005. He is a Mets fan and baseball card collector and is the on-field host of the Spirit of Stony Brook marching band during football games. He also got his butt kicked on “Jeopardy!,” a defeat he rues to this day.
Daniel Doyle is senior director of annual giving at the University at Albany. Since 2004 Dan has led the UAlbany Fund, which generates $3 million+ annually in support of UAlbany students, faculty and programs. He also maintains chief responsibility for the Great Dane Athletic Club (GDAC), the primary fundraising vehicle for UAlbany Athletics. Dan holds an M.A. in Organizational Communication and a B.A. in Rhetoric and Communication from the University at Albany, and currently serves as past-president of the SUNYCUAD Board of Directors.
Sandy Dylak is director of communications and creative services at Purchase College, which she joined in 1999. Initially head of publications, she now also oversees print and digital marketing and communication campaigns and materials. With a B.A. in journalism from Rutgers, she began her career as manager of communications for a global medical research foundation. She later joined McGraw-Hill as managing editor of a monthly journal. She continues to write and edit on a freelance basis and maintains strong relationships with an extensive network of professional photographers, writers, designers, print vendors, multi-media specialists and social media experts.
Ryan Deuel joined St. Lawrence University in June 2013 as director of media relations and strategic communications after working as chief of staff to the president at SUNY Canton from 2007 to 2013 and as government relations and communications coordinator at SUNY Potsdam from 2006-2007. He also spent six years as a newspaper reporter and copy editor at the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton, N.Y., from 2000 to 2006. Ryan received a bachelor’s degree from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina and a master’s degree in history from Kent State University and. He is currently a Ph.D. candidate at McGill University, focusing his research on rhetoric and discourse analysis.
Bonnie Eissner is an award-winning writer and editor with nearly 14 years of experience in higher education communications. As the communications director at Adelphi University, she served as editor-in-chief of the alumni magazine as well as the annual research magazine. She also managed a wide variety of marketing and advancement communications, including e-newsletters, social media, fundraising materials and web content. At The Graduate Center at CUNY, she is involved in a number of special projects and new outreach initiatives. She is also a freelance writer and editor.
Peter Evans is co-founder and CEO of ExpertFile. His 20 years of startup experience includes CMO roles at software companies Platespin (acquired by Novell) and FloNetwork (acquired by DoubleClick). A regular speaker on marketing trends and best practices he has spoken at numerous conferences including CASE, International PRSA, The Associated Press University & Foundations Summit, SUNYCUAD and the Business Marketing Association. Peter and his team currently work with over 40 universities and colleges who run the ExpertFile software platform to build their market visibility and brand reputation. His clients include UNC Chapel Hill, Fashion Institute of Technology, SUNY Farmingdale, Villanova and Wheaton College.
Christine W. Fitzgibbons is the director of strategic development for SUNY System Administration and the executive director of the SUNY Impact Foundation. She is a member of the Princeton University National Annual Giving Committee and is currently the leadership gifts chair of the Class of 1992’s 25th Reunion campaign. She has served on many local boards in her community, including as the chairman of the board of the Bronxville School Foundation and chaired the Development Committee of the Board of Governors of Lawrence Hospital Center. She graduated with a B.A. in East Asian studies from Princeton University in 1992 and received a master’s degree in finance from The London Business School in 1996.
James Gallagher became Purchase College’s creative director in the spring of 2016. He has two decades of design and creative/art direction experience within the corporate and higher education fields. Gallagher is a working artist and illustrator, as well as a publisher, curator and former adjunct instructor at Parsons. He graduated from School of Visual Arts and lives in Brooklyn with his wife and three children.
Kerry Gotham has 18 years of experience in higher education and advancement. Kerry is the director of alumni engagement at The College of Brockport. Prior to that, he served as the director of alumni relations at Nazareth College. He received his M.S. in higher education administration from Syracuse University and a B.S. in biology from Nazareth College. Kerry has presented at multiple CASE and SUNYCUAD conferences. He is a member of the CASE DII Board where he serves as co-chair of the District Awards Program. He is currently vice president of the SUNYCUAD Board and co-chaired the 2015 SUNYCUAD Conference.
Nancy Griffin has been a member of the SUNY Potsdam Advancement Team for 34 years. As a development officer for the past 20 years, she has closed gifts totaling more than $11.5 million for Potsdam. Previously, she worked in graphic design, media relations, college relations and campaign planning. She is a charter member of the SUNYCUAD Hall of Fame and a member of the organization’s board of directors. Since 1989, Nancy has been a board member and chief fundraiser for the Potsdam Holiday Fund, which helps more than 600 children and 100 senior citizens very year.
Patrick Hennessey is the director of college relations at Westchester Community College. Prior to this position, he handled media relations at the Fashion Institute of Technology. A former president of SUNYCUAD, he is a member of the organization’s Hall of Fame. In a previous life, he was communications director at the Hotel del Coronado in the 1980s. As a member of the management team at this historic property in California, he coordinated media relations and helped supervise special events including the national historic landmark’s 1988 centennial.
Emily Hutchison joined the SUNY Potsdam advancement team in 2009 and serves as the assistant vice president of development. She currently oversees major gifts, planned giving, annual giving, advancement services, research, campaign planning and prospect management. During her tenure, she has also overseen donor relations and stewardship, alumni relations and special projects. Emily serves as the advancement liaison to the Development, Art Collection, Trusteeship and Campaign Steering committees of the Potsdam College Foundation. In addition, she has more than 25 years of experience in non-profit social service leadership and fundraising. She maintains a long-standing grant writing/consulting business with clients throughout the U.S.
Tim Jaques is principal of North Highland Worldwide Consulting. His work focuses on changing behavior through project/program management (PM), customer experience and business transformation. Tim has worked with a variety of organizations including Tufts University, the U.S. Census Bureau, General Electric and the Research Foundation of SUNY. Tim is a long-time entrepreneur, writer and speaker. He is passionate about driving individual change through collaboration. Based out of New York City, Tim recently co-authored an international project, program and portfolio competence standard, and serves as vice-president of the International Project Management Association-USA. He has published two books on PM practices; and written numerous articles on project management, organizational change and transformation.
Michael Jaromin serves as the executive director of student involvement at University at Albany with direct oversight of the Office of Student Activities, the Center for Leadership and Service and Fraternity and Sorority Life for the Division of Student Affairs at the University at Albany. Mike holds a B.A. from the College of the Holy Cross and an M.A. from the University at Albany.
Alex Joseph is the managing editor of Hue, which won the 2016 SUNYCUAD Award for Excellence Best of Category for magazines. He has published in Fashion Theory, Fashion Studies Journal, Vestoj, Surface, and other publications.
Laurie Kaiser, staff writer at Buffalo State, is a Dallas, Texas, native and recovering journalist who worked for newspapers from San Antonio, Texas, to Appleton, Wis. She also served as the editor of a parenting publication and worked in media relations for an Atlanta homeless organization and for DePaul University. In 2011, she joined the Buffalo State College Relations Office where she splits her time between writing web stories and pitching stories to the media.
Taras Kufel is assistant director of digital engagement at The State University of New York. In his position, Taras oversees digital content and engagement at SUNY System Administration, working closely with press, enrollment and external affairs teams to coordinate the central branding and content of the SUNY system on the web and social media. His work focuses on developing web content, material for SUNY’s social media activity and multimedia projects to enhance all communications. Taras holds a B.S in electronic media, arts, and communications from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. He has 14 years of experience working in communications, multimedia and web management.
Ronald Ladouceur is the principal and founder of POSTMKTG, a five-year-old branding and promotions agency located just outside of Albany. Previously, Ron served as executive creative director at Media Logic, where he led the strategic team that developed THINK WIDE OPEN, the Purchase College brand. Ron continues to serve Purchase College as a professional consultant. In addition to Purchase, POSTMKTG’s clients include the University at Albany, Siena College, The Lally School at RPI and many other notable higher education, B2B and nonprofit brands. Ron is also an adjunct professor at the University at Albany, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses in marketing and entrepreneurship.
Al Leibman is a former TV-news cameraman/editor and short documentary filmmaker. He has been teaching freshman composition, ESL, critical thinking and documentary film classes at Borough of Manhattan Community College (BMCC) and John Jay College, both part of the CUNY system, for 11 years. For the past four years, he has been designing curriculum and utilizing social media platforms for his CUNY students that require them to authentically apply their academic content by helping local populations in need.
Carol Leven, assistant vice president for communications at the Fashion Institute of Technology, has worked in higher education marketing communications for more than 25 years, including at New York University, the New School, and Parsons. Responsible for publications, marketing, and the college’s magazine, she has managed creative professionals from writers to designers, web specialists to video producers, advertising and media buyers to market research consultants. Under her direction, FIT has received numerous awards from CASE, the University College Design Association and NCMPR. In addition to sessions at previous SUNYCUAD conferences, she has been a presenter at the CASE district and NCMPR national conferences. A SUNYCUAD board since 2011, she has co-chaired two annual conferences.
Holly Liapis serves as SUNY’s principal spokesperson, engaging journalists about the university system and higher education topics. Her career has evolved within the public relations field. Most recently she has been a public relations consultant for the life insurance industry in New York state following 14 years of service in MetLife’s communications department. Her experience on issues is varied. She’s handled business, consumer and technology matters, as well as having done financial reporting, crisis communications, mergers and acquisitions.
Larry Lichtenstein is associate vice president for development at University at Albany, where he leads the major and principal gifts program and directs the university’s comprehensive campaign. Prior to joining UAlbany, he held fundraising roles at Skidmore College, Swarthmore College and Emma Willard School. He earned a B.A. at Skidmore and a J.D. at Boston College Law School.
Laura M. Lincoln has served as the director of the Office of Alumni Engagement at SUNY Oneonta since October 2008. In this role, she provides strategic direction and executes alumni programs for over 65,000 living alumni. Laura works closely with the Alumni Association Board of Directors, facilitating board meetings, staffing committees, and ensuring strong and productive relationships between its members and the college. Prior to this, she was a part of the Syracuse University Division of Student Affairs for 14 years. She received a B.S in political science and an M.S. in higher education administration from Syracuse University.
Hailley MacDonald is associate director for alumni engagement and external relations for the University at Buffalo School of Management. She is responsible for planning, implementing and promoting alumni programs that support the school’s strategic plan and alumni digital communications. Hailley has played an integral role in the development of an alumni engagement scoring system and is a member of the enthusiasm survey committee at UB. In addition to her responsibilities at UB, she is also the treasurer for SUNYCUAD.
Lauren McCabe joined SUNY System Administration in 2013 and is currently serving as the assistant director for alumni relations and special assistant to the chancellor in the Office of University Relations and Policy. She previously served in the Office of Academic Programs and Planning, during which she was a project manager for the START-UP NY program. McCabe is a proud SUNY alumna, having earned her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York College at Brockport in interdisciplinary arts for children. She received her Master of Public Administration from Marist College.
Kristi McKee became the associate director of communications at Purchase College in 2015. Before that she was editorial services manager for three years. She writes feature stories for the magazine, news briefs for the website, curates the homepage and edits documents as needed. From 2016–17, she served as the project manager for the relaunch of the college’s website. Before moving across campus, Kristi pursued a museum career, holding various roles at the Neuberger Museum of Art, ultimately as director of marketing. She earned a B.A. in English: business and technical writing from University of Delaware and an M.A. in visual arts administration from New York University.
Kate McKenna joined the University Communications Department at the University at Buffalo in 2015. She helps lead UB’s issues management and stakeholder communication functions and serves on the university’s crisis communication team. Prior to that, she spent more than 10 years at a major Western New York grocery retailer where she oversaw internal and crisis communication as well as media relations and social media. She holds a bachelor’s degree in communication from SUNY Potsdam and a master’s degree in public relations management from Buffalo State.
Maureen C. McKenna is chief advancement officer at SUNY Delhi where she plans, directs, manages and reports results of all private giving, including successful conclusion of $3.3 million capital campaign. She is a member of the SUNY planned giving committee and chair of the professional development committee. Prior to her role at SUNY Delhi, Maureen held senior development roles at Metropolitan State College (Colo.), Mansfield University Foundation (Pa.), the Cayuga County Community College Foundation, the Cortland College Foundation at SUNY Cortland and Tompkins Cortland Community College.
John Myers is a 2013 graduate of the Media Production Program at Buffalo State. He worked for several years in television and video production in the Buffalo area. In the summer of 2016, he joined Buffalo State’s Creative Media Services as a video journalist. He was hired to create video content that captures the vibrant life of the college and tells the stories of students, faculty, and staff.
Ben Nadler is based in the New York offices of the Associated Press and oversees text and multimedia products for the news cooperative. In that role, he helps to identify new technologies that streamline journalism production and drive new product and revenue opportunities. One of the products in his portfolio is AP Planner, a forward planning database containing more than 140,000 future events that is used by customers around the world for editorial, commercial and governmental planning purposes. Ben graduated from the University of Connecticut and received a master’s degree in journalism from the University of Missouri.
Michelle Ouellette is an assistant professor of public relations at SUNY Plattsburgh and the adviser to the college’s student-run firm and its chapter of the Public Relations Student Society of America. In that capacity, Michelle has helped students design and implement campaigns in support of college advancement and diversity efforts. She is also the founder of the North Country Virtual Operations Support Team, designed to provide situational awareness via social media to organizations in emergencies. Her research focuses largely on social media and crisis communications.
Rachael Hunsinger Patten is the executive director of development, alumni relations and the SUNY Adirondack Foundation in Queensbury, N.Y., where she currently is closing the college’s first comprehensive fundraising campaign, Reach New Heights: The Campaign for SUNY Adirondack. She began her advancement career in 2004 as the associate director of the annual fund at Skidmore College. From 2007-2012 she served as the director of the Albany Law School Fund.
Frederic Pierce is a former political journalist who has found his true calling with SUNY, promoting and protecting higher education. As director of communications at SUNY Cortland, he transformed the way his office approached and attacked its mission, expanded the media platforms used, stretched to encompass the full range of SUNY Cortland communications and helped lead the school’s marketing efforts. And, he and his team had fun doing it. He has a B.A. in government and soviet studies from Cornell University and a master’s in journalism from Northwestern University.
Diana Pollard has been a member of the Dutchess Community College Foundation team for almost 12 years and now leads its efforts. Diana has been involved in fundraising since 1990. She has risen through the ranks at the foundation, starting as the coordinator of annual fund and special events, then was promoted to assistant director and now is the executive director. She has helped take the DCC Foundation’s net assets from $3.7 million in 2005 to more than $11 million today. Diana is secretary for the SUNYCUAD Board of Directors and has been an active member of SUNY’s Community College CAO group, co-chairing programing for its annual retreat.
Grove Potter is a news content manager in the Department of Communications at the University at Buffalo where he writes about economic development and science. Prior to joining the university, he was the executive business editor at the Buffalo News for 16 years. In that role, he oversaw coverage of Buffalo’s economy as it began to flourish, helped tremendously by Gov. Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” economic development initiative. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont, and holds an M.B.A. from the University at Buffalo. He is also the proud father of three UB graduates.
Jana Putzig is a recent SUNY Plattsburgh alumna with a bachelor’s degree in public relations. While at Plattsburgh, she was a member of Cardinal PR, the college’s student-run PR firm and ran a campaign to build awareness of a local vocational school. She was also part of a student team that helped build a campaign to attract students to Homecoming and worked on “Give a Buck,” a student-centered campaign that raised awareness of the Plattsburgh College Foundation. Currently, she is the alumni relations and annual giving coordinator at the Hudson Valley Community College Foundation.
Cindy Riggi is an assistant vice president and chief financial officer for the Division of Student Affairs at the University at Albany. Her portfolio is administrative and operational with direct oversight of the offices of Student Learning and Assessment, Student Affairs Technology and Student Affairs Communications and Marketing. Cindy is also the student affairs liaison with development. She holds a B.S. from Siena College and an M.B.A. from the University at Albany.
Brian Rudolph is an associate director of annual giving at University at Albany. In this role, he manages the leadership giving program for the UAlbany Fund. Having spent five years in higher education, Brian is passionate about public education and development. In addition to his work with the UAlbany Fund, he is also an adjunct professor at the University at Albany School of Business with a concentration in human resources. He holds a B.S. from Binghamton University and M.B.A. from the University at Albany.
Amy Sheldon received her bachelor’s degree in public relations and multimedia journalism from SUNY Plattsburgh in May 2016. While at SUNY Plattsburgh, Amy interned in both the Admissions and Alumni Relations offices. She is currently pursuing her Master of Public Administration at Rockefeller College of Public Affairs and Policy at the University at Albany. She is also a graduate assistant in the Rockefeller College Admissions Office.
Cynthia M. Shore is senior assistant dean for alumni engagement and external relations for the University at Buffalo School of Management. She and her team involve alumni and the business and non-profit communities in the activities of the school to make a meaningful impact on students’ educational experience and research outcomes. Cynthia is also executive director of the School of Management Alumni Association, a key partner in helping the school achieve its mission and strategic objectives. Previously, Cynthia was director of the school’s Career Resource Center and led the office of Graduate Student Recruitment Services.
Noah Simon has more than 17 years of experience providing career services in both academic and private sectors. He currently serves as the director of career and professional development at the University at Albany. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from St. Lawrence University and his Master of Science in Counseling from the College of St. Rose.
Joel Smith is vice president for college relations and advancement at SUNY Delhi where he advises the president on fundraising, institutional image, crisis management, internal and external communications, marketing, governmental and community relations. Management responsibilities include supervision of staff in the areas of alumni, development, grants, communications and the web. Joel also serves as CEO of the College Foundation, which raises funds and manages real estate for the benefit of SUNY Delhi, including The College Golf Course at Delhi, the area’s premier 18-hole public course, and Riverview Townhouses, a 120-bed apartment complex. Joel also served concurrently as vice president for college relations for four years at SUNY Cobleskill.
Michael Stein brings more than 30 years of development experience to Constellation Advancement. Prior to joining the firm in 2014, he held a series of executive positions at the Bassett Healthcare Network in Cooperstown, N.Y., where he directed three successful capital campaigns and also had administrative responsibility for corporate communications, marketing and government affairs. Mike’s consulting clients have included Gundersen Medical Foundation, Crouse Healthcare Foundation, Princeton Health Care System, the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, Newseum, Washington, D.C., Dutchess County Community College and Union Graduate College. He has lectured on fundraising topics for many organizations and academic institutions throughout New York state.
Ruifang Hope Sun is an associate professor and coordinator for the Advanced Graduate Certificate Program in the School for Graduate Studies, Empire State College. Ruifang has earned her Project Management Professional (PMP) certification from Project Management Institute (PMI) and has been a major player in promoting project management practices in her teaching and research. She has helped in designing and developing project management curriculum and has taught courses including Tools and Processes in Project Management, IT Project Management and Strategy and Tactics in Project Management. Her research: “Who wants to be a PMP? A Game Based Learning Approach” was presented at an international conference.
Mona Ouimet Vroman is an alumna of SUNY Potsdam, where she has spent her entire career. She spent close to 20 years in Human Resources and has spent the last 12 years in advancement, first as a development officer and then as the alumni director seven years ago. She is a 2005 Charlton Scholar Award recipient. Mona received a B.A. in economics from SUNY Potsdam and an M.A. in administration and leadership from SUNY Plattsburgh.
Maureen Winney has more than 30 years of experience in alumni and development. For the last 23 years, she has been working with non-traditional alumni and students developing more creative ways to engage adult learners in the life of the college. She is the recipient of the James and Elizabeth Hall Award for Innovation and a 2009 inductee of the SUNYCUAD Hall of Fame.
Angela Wright is the assistant vice chancellor for government relations at SUNY System Administration where she manages state relations and federal advocacy for research. She was director of government relations at the Research Foundation for SUNY and also worked in the state legislature as the director of the committee on higher education in the office of Senator Ken LaValle and as a fiscal analyst for the Finance Committee of the New York State Senate. Angela earned an associate’s degree from SUNY Cobleskill and bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cornell University. She is the president of the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Alumni Association at Cornell and serves on the board of the Cornell Club of the Greater Capital District.
Anthony Scordio’s goal is to produce work that tells a meaningful story and not only entertains people, but more importantly, moves them. Anthony studied Business Management at Bucknell University and worked in Investment Banking at JP Morgan before realizing that film production was his passion. His business experience coupled with a film producing degree from the New York Film Academy has enabled Anthony to channel his creative drive into Scordio Productions, Inc., a commercial film production company established in 2013.
Ashley Budd is a digital strategist and designer working primarily with higher education and non-profit organizations. Through speaking, writing, and research, she offers insights into contemporary issues in enrollment, fundraising and communication technology. Ashley is director of digital marketing for alumni affairs and development at Cornell University. Prior to joining the digital team at Cornell, Ashley spent more than five years at her alma mater, Rochester Institute of Technology, where she led social media strategy for undergraduate admissions. Ashley serves as producer and host on the Higher Ed Live network where she explores innovations and trends in higher education. Ashley speaks before national non-profit groups and appears regularly at higher education web professional conferences including Confab Events, NACAC, CASE, and HighEdWeb.
Board Chairman of the Recording Academy, the world’s preeminent music organization, best known for producing The GRAMMYs. John is a 30-year veteran of the music business. He is a producer, engineer, mixer/remixer, arranger, musician and artist manager who has worked with such icons as Michael Jackson, *NSync, Mariah Carey, Madonna, Diana Ross. He is also the founder of the production and artist development/management company Pop Productions in Westchester County. A proud Fredonia alumnus, John serves and develops the Recording Academy’s four pillars: Membership (recruitment)/Awards, Music Education, Philanthropy & Charity, and Advocacy — all of which parallel the work we do in higher education.
Troy Calkins is currently the Project Controls Manager for HNTB Corporation on the New NY Bridge project. In this role, he is responsible for all cost, schedule, reporting and contractual matters. Previously, Troy worked on the MTA Capital Construction’s East Side Access project (ESA), a $10 billion project connecting Long Island Railroad with Grand Central Terminal in Manhattan. While working on East Side Access, Troy was Construction Manager on the largest and most complex heavy civil and underground contracts ($1.75 billion). Troy holds a BS in Civil Engineering from SUNY Buffalo and is a licensed Professional Engineer in New York State.
Craig Teepell is the New NY Bridge project’s Deputy Construction Manager. He has been a part of the bridge replacement effort since 2007, having previously served as NNYB Project Controls Manager as well as Highway/Transit Engineering Manager for the Tappan Zee Bridge/I-287 Corridor Project. Prior to joining the NYS Thruway Authority, Craig was part of the NYS Department of Transportation Major Projects group. Craig also contributed to the reconstruction of Lower Manhattan as Engineering Coordinator for the Route 9A Project. In 2005, he took a year’s leave to work in Louisiana to contribute to the Hurricane Katrina recovery, functioning as the Transportation and Infrastructure Lead for long-term recovery of Plaquemines Parish, ground zero of the storm. Craig started his career as a project manager for a deep foundation contractor. He holds a BS from SUNY Buffalo.
Grove Potter is a News Content Manager in the Department of Communications at the University at Buffalo, where he writes about economic development and science. Prior to joining the university staff, he was the Executive Business Editor at the Buffalo News for 16 years. In that role, he oversaw coverage of Buffalo’s economy as it battled back and began to flourish, helped tremendously by Gov. Cuomo’s “Buffalo Billion” economic development initiative. He is a graduate of the University of Vermont, and holds an MBA from the University at Buffalo. He is also the proud father of three UB graduates.