Senior Staff & Board of Trustees

President

James H. Mullen, Jr. became Hartwick’s interim president on December 16, 2023


Senior Staff

Dr. Laurel Bongiorno, Vice President for Academic Affairs & Provost
Dr. Cary M. Dresher, Dean of Students
Ms. Gail Glover, Vice President for Strategic Communications
Dr. Bryan Gross, Vice President for Enrollment Management & Athletics
Ms. Suzanne Janitz, Vice President for Human Resources & Compliance
Mr. James R. Kellerhouse, Vice President for Institutional Advancement & External Affairs
Ms. Alicia Richardson, College Diversity, Equity, Inclusion & Belonging Officer
Ms. Karen Zuill, Vice President for Finance & Operations


Board of Trustees

James H. Mullen, Jr. became Hartwick’s interim president on December 16, 2023, bringing over 21 years as a college and university president and 30 years of experience in public and private higher education leadership positions to Hartwick College. Most recently, Mullen served as transitional president of Saint John’s University, where he helped guide the university and the College of Saint Benedict in the implementation of a new model of governance between the two institutions. Before Saint John’s, Mullen served for 11 years as the president of Allegheny College. Prior leadership roles include as chancellor of the University of North Carolina Asheville and president of the College of Our Lady of the Elms. Mullen is already familiar with Hartwick’s mission, having served in 2019 as the external liaison in the College’s successful re-accreditation from the Middle States Commission on Higher Education. He has held leadership positions in major national organizations representing higher education, including as chair of the Board of the American Council on Education, chair of the Board of the Great Lakes Colleges Association, and as a member of the Board of the National Association of Independent Colleges and Universities. Mullen served as chair of the Board of Directors of Project Pericles and continues to serve on the board. Following his retirement from Allegheny, Mullen was invited to be the president-in-residence at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, where he brought his extensive experience to a seminar for graduate students hoping to pursue leadership roles in higher education. Mullen received his bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross, his master’s degree from the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University, and his doctorate in higher education administration from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst.

Trustee Fallon graduated from Hartwick in 1988 with a degree in anthropology. She served with the US Peace Corps in Niger, West Africa, and went on to earn a Master’s in Public Administration from UMass Boston’s McCormack Institute of Public Affairs, where she has served as a lecturer to graduate-level students for 10 years. Ms. Fallon has been with the Public Consulting Group in Boston, MA, for 18 years and now serves as the practice area director for the human services division. Previously, she worked for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in both the legislature and Executive Office of Administration and Finance, managing state budget and finance. Ms. Fallon was appointed by the governor of Massachusetts to serve on the state’s Public Employee Retirement Administration Commission (PERAC) and is a member of the American Public Human Services Association (APHSA) national work group on integration.

Trustee Connery graduated from Hartwick College in 1983 with a BA in Communications. She started her career in on-air radio news broadcasting before transitioning to corporate communications. She led employee and executive communications and community relations for a range of companies including General Electric, Deloitte & Touche, Levi Strauss & Co., Cable & Wireless, Cisco Systems, Gilead Sciences, and Lam Research. Colleen retired from her corporate career in 2018 and now provides communications consulting to small companies and professional services firms. She enjoys running, reading and creative writing, and resides in Oakland, CA.

Trustee Weeks is the CEO of CJ Weeks Inc. in Irving, Texas. She graduated in 1981 from Hartwick College with a BA in Economics. She participated in the Leadership Fort Worth program in 2016, is the President of Townhomes of Remington HOA, served on the Board of Directors of Farmers Political Action Committee, is a March of Dimes volunteer and served on the Hartwick College Alumni Board of Directors. She and her husband, Dr. David Mack, reside in Fort Worth, Texas.

Trustee Bloom has held management roles both domestically and abroad in the private sector and multilateral worlds. During his career, Bloom served in senior positions with Morgan Guaranty Trust Company and UNICEF in New York City, the IMF in Washington, D.C., Greenpeace in Rome and GAVI in Geneva. Bloom’s work frequently took him on the road, often to challenging duty stations. He considers ‘The Children of Chernobyl’ project, launched in Kyiv in1988, one of his most important and memorable involvements.

Trustee Chorbajian was born and raised in Lloyd Neck, NY, the youngest of seven children. She graduated from Hartwick College in 1986 with a degree in management and a minor in economics. She started her career on Wall Street at Sumitomo Bank, at One World Trade Center in New York City, as a junior currency and interest rate trader. In 1987, she joined Morgan Stanley, where she marketed and traded futures products, non-dollar bonds, US Treasuries and money markets. She was recruited onto the Institutional Foreign Exchange sales desk at Morgan Stanley in 1989, and has since served as a director in this area for several banks. Annie is currently with TD Securities in New York City. Over the years, she has served on a number of investment, recruiting, mentoring and gender committees.

Edward B. Droesch is a Managing Director in the Investment Banking Division at Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment banking, securities and investment management firm. He has spent his nearly 40 year career specializing in the underwriting and marketing of municipal bonds for large municipalities across the United States. Ed started at Goldman in 1987. In 1996 he took a similar role at Citigroup where he was a Managing Director in their Municipal Bond Department. He returned to Goldman in 2007.

Mr. Droesch is a member of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association (SIFMA). He is a former board member of the Larchmont-Mamaroneck Youth Lacrosse Program. This is Ed’s second time serving on the Hartwick Board of Trustees. His first term of service was from 2008 to 2017.

Trustee Epstein has been practicing law since 1992 and is a founding partner of Barket Epstein Kearon Aldea and LoTurco, LLP, in Garden City, NY. He is dedicated to educating others and is a nationally recognized lecturer at continuing legal education seminars for other attorneys, and the author of numerous published articles relating to trial techniques, legal challenges to scientific evidence, and other criminal and DWI defense-related issues. In 2023 Governor Hochul appointed trustee Epstein to the New York State Commission on Forensic Science. The Commission on Forensic Science was established by Article 49-B of the Executive Law. The Commission is empowered to, among other things, develop minimum standards and a program of accreditation for all forensic laboratories in New York State. He is also President of the New York State Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. Epstein is the Northeast Regional Delegate, and a faculty member of the National College for DUI Defense. He also has served as an adjunct faculty member at Elisabeth Haub School of Law at Pace University, where he has taught trial advocacy since 1997. The father of Alexis Epstein ’18, he lives in East Meadow, NY

Trustee Herbert is the Manager of Ring Brook Farm in Plainfield, NH, and previously owned the Whaleback Ski Area in Lebanon, NH. She is the District Commissioner for a United States Pony Club, the founding officer of the Upper Valley Ski Snowboard Association, and guides the Kimball Union Academy Equestrian program. Griffiths Herbert served on the Hartwick College Board of Trustees from 2009 to 2018 and returned to the Board to serve her current term in 2019. In addition to service on numerous Board committees, she served as the Chair of the Facilities and Student Affairs Committee. The College named the Sally Griffiths Herbert ’88 Aquatic Center in honor of her singular support for renovations to that space. She and her husband, Tim, support The Sarah Griffiths ’88 and Timothy Herbert Endowed J Term Scholarship, and have endowed a fund to support the Griffiths Center for Collaboration & Innovation on the Hartwick campus.

Trustee Lindsley graduated from Hartwick College in 1986 with a BA in Individual Studies Program and Biology. Mary Pat currently serves as the Women’s Health Regional Director for AbbVie, a biopharmaceutical company, where she has worked since 1997. She has previously held positions in the Metabolic, Cardiovascular/Primary Care, Pharmaceutical and Endocrinology sales sectors of the business. Mary Pat has served as a Board member and volunteer for various organizations including Hartwick’s MetroLink program, the Junior League of Annapolis, Health Care Business Women’s association, the Women’s Center in Vienna, VA, and the Literacy Council of Boston. Mary Pat resides in Annapolis, Maryland and Syracuse, New York.

Trustee Long came to Hartwick from his native Liverpool, England, to play soccer and became not only a two-time All-American, but also a John Christopher Hartwick Scholar majoring in mathematics. He went on to earn a Master’s degree in Finance from Boston College. Mr. Long is the retired chairman and chief executive officer of Liberty Mutual Insurance Group, a Fortune 100 company. He joined the company in 1985 as a financial analyst and has held positions in international operations, commercial markets, underwriting and financial, and mergers and acquisitions. He has been a member of the Board of Directors of Liberty Mutual since 2010. Mr. Long previously served on Hartwick College’s Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2011, including three years as its treasurer. His Hartwick family includes his wife, Stephanie Isgur Long ’84, his brother, Stephen Long ’79, and his godson, William Heydari ’14.

Trustee McCullough is the Deputy Executive Director for the New York State Funeral Directors Association, where he has been employed for the past 24 years and serves as the organization’s principal lobbyist and director of governmental and regulatory affairs. Randy graduated from Hartwick College in 1986 with a BA in Political Science with Departmental Distinction. Randy has also studied at The George Washington University, and is a graduate of the DC-based Public Affairs Council’s Public Affairs Institute. Randy has served on numerous boards, including serving as the Chairman of the Empire State Society of Association Executives, the Hartwick College Alumni Association, and the American Red Cross (Northeastern New York Chapter). Randy resides in both Saratoga Springs, NY and his hometown of Amsterdam, NY.

Brianna McKenzie is an Officer with the Department of Homeland Security, where she has worked since 2018. In her first year, she became invested in helping improve the office’s work-life culture for her colleagues. Which has been successful through a litany of programs and events focused on employee engagement. Prior to DHS in 2017, she worked at the New Jersey Department of Education within the office of the Amistad Commission. The only continuous commission dedicated to ensuring “African-American history, contributions and experiences are adequately taught in the state’s classrooms.” Brianna enjoys volunteering. She was a member of the Alumni Association Board where she assisted in the development of the Young Alumni Engagement committee. In addition to serving as an Americorps VISTA member in 2016.

Trustee Mehri is a preeminent civil rights attorney, and a founder of the law firm Mehri & Skalet, PLLC, in Washington, DC, the consulting group Working Ideal and the not for profit Fritz Pollard Alliance. A staunch advocate of diversity and inclusion, his many career highlights include helping establish the Rooney Rule, which revamped hiring practices of minority coaches in the National Football League and leading some of the largest race and gender employment cases in U.S. history. Mehri is also a passionate and engaged supporter of his alma mater. A frequent public speaker, Mehri was selected to present at the inauguration ceremony for President Richard A. Detweiler in 1992. Mehri was a political science graduate at Hartwick, and the department annually recognizes outstanding theses with the Mehri Best Senior Thesis Award. In 2006, he launched the Cyrus Mehri ’83 Global Pluralism Fellowship Award. He returned to campus in 2009 to present the College’s Commencement address, and in 2021, the College conferred upon him an Honorary Doctor of Laws degree.

Neal Miller

Trustee Miller is the President of Miller Financial Services, a privately held company that he founded in 1976. Prior to starting his own company, he was the Assistant Director of Admissions and Director of Transfer Students for Hartwick College. Miller is a life and qualifying member of The Million Dollar Round Table, the Premier Association of Financial Professionals. He has remained involved at Hartwick College since his graduation. He was one of the founding members of Hartwick’s Coaches’ Club, now known as the Wick Athletic Association, served as a member of Hartwick’s Alumni Association Board for thirteen years, serving two terms as President, and has also served as a member of Hartwick College Citizens Board Executive Council. He is the founder and Treasurer of the Unatego Central School District Dollars for Scholars. He is a member of the First Presbyterian Church of Oneonta and serves on the finance committee. Miller graduated from Hartwick College in 1972 with a BA in History Education.

Trustee Miller came to Hartwick believing he would be a teacher and believing in second chances. He graduated from Hartwick in 1973 with a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry. In 1980, he started his journey at Northern Composites, a composite, metal bonding and tooling firm serving companies from aerospace equipment to hockey sticks, based in Hampton, NH. He began as a Technical Sales Representative and was eventually promoted to Vice President, President, Co-President, and eventually CEO. Trustee Miller served his Town as an elected Budget Committee member and elected Select Board member for 16 years. Trustee Miller has been a long-time supporter of the College.

Trustee Patterson majored in Theater Arts and graduated from Hartwick College in 1996, Cum Laude with Honors. After graduating from Hartwick, Joel built a career in the media and entertainment industry as a producer and writer for a variety of television networks. He began his career in broadcast journalism at 60 Minutes and 48 Hours where he received several Emmy Award nominations and Emmy Award recognition. He later became the Executive Producer of the History Channel’s popular show Pawn Stars, overseeing more than 300 episodes. He also created History’s Counting Cars, which remains the network’s highest rated unscripted series premiere. He launched Letter 10 Productions where he created History Channel’s newest hit show The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch. Letter 10 has also produced projects for the Discovery Channel, Science Channel, Smithsonian, HGTV, Travel, Food, and Lifetime.

Trustee Regelman serves as Principal in Financial Services Practice at EPAM Systems. She came to Hartwick from her native Russia after being recruited by Dr. John Lindell, now a professor emeritus of political science. Ms. Regelman graduated from Hartwick Summa Cum Laude with a major in computer science and a minor in mathematics and went on to earn a Master’s in Business Administration from the Sloan School of Management at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. She served as vice president of strategic planning for Brown Brothers Harriman in Boston, MA, where she focused on the company’s future in the context of its past and worked closely with the Office of Innovation. Before joining this 200-year-old privately owned and managed financial services firm, Ms. Regelman was a director at Fidelity Investments, L.L.P.; a consultant at Bain & Company, Inc.; and a senior associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers L.L.P.

Trustee Russo is the Chief Legal Officer for Fidelis Care, a subsidiary of Centene Corporation and Fortune 25 company. He received his BA in Political Science from Hartwick College in 1991, where he played varsity soccer and was named a John Christopher Hartwick scholar. Following graduation, he attended Fordham University School of Law and served as the Research & Writing Editor on the Fordham International Law Journal. A recipient of Fordham’s Marks & Murase International Law Fellowship, Mr. Russo worked for the U.S. Department of Justice while in law school, and published an international law article on extradition titled In re Extradition of Khaled Mohammed El Jassem: The Demise of the Political Offense Provision in U.S. – Italian Relations, 16 Fordham Int’l L.J. 1253 (1992). After graduating from law school, Mr. Russo practiced law for an international law firm for a decade, where he counseled numerous Fortune 100 companies on antitrust, securities, financial, litigation, trademark, employment, products liability, governance, regulatory and corporate compliance issues. He is a member of the New York and Virginia State Bar Associations, and is admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court. Mr. Russo previously served as Chair of Hartwick’s Academic Program Committee, and is the current Chair of the Governance Committee. He also serves as a mentor to Hartwick and Fordham students, providing career advice and interviewing tips for students preparing to enter the workforce. He resides with his family in Park Hill, Yonkers, NY.

Trustee Samstein is the Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of UChicago Medicine. His background includes financial management of healthcare, higher education, government finance and capital markets. From 2017-2021, he was Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of University of Chicago. Other positions he has held include Chief Financial Officer of Cook County Government; Commissioned Officer in the United States Army where he served as a tactical intelligence officer in Afghanistan amongst other assignments; Director at Bank of America Merrill Lynch; and Assistant Vice President/Analyst at Moody’s Investors Service. He also served as a trustee of the Toyota Technical Institute of Chicago and the County Employees’ and Officers’ Annuity and Benefit Fund of Cook County. Samstein graduated from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign with a master of business administration, and a bachelor of arts from Hunter College, City University of New York. He is married to Shanti Samstein and they have two children.

Trustee Smith has held several leadership roles the field of nursing. She received her bachelor of science degree in nursing from Hartwick in 1985, and went on to earn her Ph.D. in nursing science from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2012. She joined the University in 1994 as an advanced practice nurse to assist in opening the Pediatric Epilepsy Program, and later the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center as part of the Neurosciences Department. She joined the College of Nursing in 2004 as faculty and later served as the executive associate dean for academics. Today, she serves the university as the associate provost for education innovation & student life, and as a professor for its College of Nursing. In 2016, she received the designation as a Fellow of the American Epilepsy Society for her clinical, research and leadership in epilepsy.

Trustee Vezina is the Vice President and Chief of Nursing Practice, Education, Advanced Practice Nursing Credentialing, and Nursing Labor Relations Partnerships for the Mount Sinai Health System. She previously served as the Chief of Nursing and Vice President of Nursing at Mount Sinai Morningside in New York, NY, where she worked in various capacities since 1982. Maria graduated from Hartwick College in 1973 with a BS in Nursing; she continued to receive her Master’s Degree in Nursing Education from NYU, a Master of Education majoring in Communications and Instructional Media from Columbia University, and her Doctorate of Education Degree from Columbia University. Maria resides with her family in New York City.

Trustee Warner is a 1984 graduate of Hartwick College with a BA in English. She is the global head of Talent and Community Engagement with Mastercard. During her tenure with Mastercard, she founded Girls4Tech™, now one of the world’s largest STEM programs for girls. Today, the program has reached more than 2 million girls in 51 countries. Susan is an avid volunteer in her community and also serves on the board of the Emily Catherine Fedorko Foundation to increase boating safety for children. Susan resides with James, ’82, and their family in Riverside, Connecticut.

Trustee Rob Wedeking is Chief Investment Officer at Geller in New York City, where he sets the strategic direction that guides all investment management decisions for clients. He has more than 30 years of experience investing in a wide variety of traditional, hedge fund, and private equity investments. Prior to joining Geller, he worked at Caxton Associates LP for more than 21 years, serving as Director for Alternative Investments, and as Portfolio Manager for Caxton Select LLC, a multi-strategy fund-of-funds. He is a member of the Economic Club of New York, the CFA Society of New York, and the Board of Trustees of the Center of Theological Inquiry in Princeton, NJ. Wedeking has also been an active advisor to the investment committee of the American Enterprise Institute in Washington, DC, and served on boards and investment committees for organizations including the Princeton Healthcare System and the CFA Society of New York Society of Security Analysts (formerly the New York Society of Security Analysts).

Office of the President

Yager Hall
Hartwick College
Oneonta, New York, USA
607-431-4990
Fax: 607-431-4206
president@hartwick.edu