About Pattern
Executive Board of Directors
Pattern Board Chairman Michael J. Quinn is president and CEO of Rhinebeck Bank, where he began his career as a management trainee in 1984 after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Quinn serves on the board of directors for Family Services Inc. and the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, Inc. In addition, he previously served on the boards of the Hospice Foundation and Red Hook Public Library. He resides in the City of Poughkeepsie.
Pattern Board Second Vice Chair Suzanne Rhulen Loughlin is co-founder and chief administrative officer of Firestorm® Solutions, a recognized leader in crisis management, vulnerability analysis, risk mitigation and business continuity. She previously served as chief administrative officer of a public insurance holding company, was managing attorney of a law firm with offices throughout New York and Florida, and was a litigator at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker in NYC. Ms. Loughlin is a board member of the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency and the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, which awarded her their 2009 Distinguished Service Award. She also received the Catskill Mountain Business & Professional Women’s 2008 Woman of the Year award, and the Anti-Defamation League’s 2007 Americanism award.
Geoffrey Brackett is executive vice president at Marist College, a post he has held since August of 2010. In that capacity he functions as second officer to the college president and directly oversees many of the key operating areas of Marist. He also chairs many of the key operational committees of the college, oversees the strategic planning and annual operations for the College, and serves as a key point of contact for local government officials. Dr. Brackett came to Marist after having served 20 years at Pace University in many capacities, most recently as provost and executive vice president for Academic Affairs. He served as chairman of the Department of English from 2005 to 2006 and associate provost for Academic Affairs from 2006 to 2007. A member of the Association of Governing Boards, the American Council on Education, and Council of Independent Colleges, Dr. Brackett is also a member of the Modern Language Association. He serves on the board of St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital in Orange County. He lives with his wife, Danyelle Means, and their three sons Marley, Dylan, and Boone in the Town of Newburgh.
Executive Board Member Donna Johnson-Klonsky is president of DJ Consulting Services, Inc., a business and practice consulting & coaching firm that specializes in growth, transition, valuation, and sale. She is an emeritus board member of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce and a past chairman. Ms. Johnson has been a board member of Elant, GET, Mid-Hudson Civic Center and YWCA. For eleven years, she was a monthly contributing editor for business success articles in Fashion Mannuscript Magazine, a national publication. She graduated from Baruch College and obtained her MBA, Marketing & Small Business Entrepreneurship, from Empire State College in June 2011.
Richard L. O’Rourke, Esq. is a principal member of Keane & Beane, P.C., a general civil practice law firm with offices in White Plains and Fishkill. Mr. O’Rourke has served as counsel to large and small land development companies and municipalities throughout the lower Hudson Valley. He has served as village judge for the Village of Brewster for more than 20 years, and he has served as president of the Putnam County Magistrates Association, president of the Brewster Education Foundation, articles editor of the Westchester County Bar Journal and has served on various boards throughout the region. He received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Geneseo, a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University and his juris doctor from Pace University School of Law. He is a resident of Putnam County where he lives with his wife, Reneé, and two daughters.
Pattern First Vice Chair Michael Turturro, CPA, is a partner with Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni & Weddell, serving in the accounting and client service areas. Previously he worked for a large Washington, DC firm specializing in government contracting, software development and construction, and he was a project manager for IEX Corporation, the software and engineering firm that developed the Air Phone. Mr. Turturro serves on the executive committee of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, is vice president of the Hudson Valley Auto Dealers Association, and has been appointed to the Ulster County Comptroller’s Advisory Committee. He enjoys the performing arts, architecture and reading, and is an avid golfer, skier and bicyclist.
Pattern Treasurer Julie Krieger has been M&T Bank’s administrative vice president for the Hudson Valley region’s commercial banking group since 2002. Previously she was vice president, commercial lending for the Bank of New York and for Barclays Bank of New York. Ms. Krieger chairs the board of the Ulster County Development Corporation, is treasurer of the boards of United Cerebral Palsy of Ulster County and the Benedictine Health Foundation, and has served on many other boards including the Astor Home, Dutchess Ulster Heart Association, Vassar Warner Home and NY Council of Nonprofits, Inc. She holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Marist College, where she serves on the Business Scholarship Fund committee.
Executive Board Member Glenn Hoagland, executive director of the Mohonk Preserve, has for 25 years worked to save important landscapes and advocate for their balanced use. He has served as land preservation director for Scenic Hudson, executive director of the Dutchess Land Conservancy, and director of the Open Space Institute’s Citizen Action Program. Mr. Hoagland chairs the Region 3 Citizen Advisory Committee for the New York State Open Space Conservation Plan, serves on the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership Steering Committee and the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition, and is ex-officio to the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway Regional Partnership. SUNY New Paltz named him Alumnus of the Year in 1998.
James Laurito is president and CEO of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. He was president and CEO of New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas & Electric until 2009. Previously he headed the Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and Connecticut Natural Gas Corp., and Consumer Applied Technologies, a subsidiary of Consumers Water Company. He serves on the board of the American Gas Association, the Upstate New York Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Bank, and the board of University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital. He received his B.S. in civil engineering from West Virginia University. Mr. Laurito, his wife VaNita and their son, Tyler, live in Rochester and Fishkill.Board of Directors
Dennis Barnett is president of Propinquity Associates Business and Management Consulting in Washingtonville, NY. For the past 15 years, his company has been involved in finding the most value for his clients’ businesses through executive coaching, leadership and management training and development, board development, and other programs. The clients served has been varied, they have been from Fortune 500 companies to sole proprietor businesses, from for-profit companies to not-for-profit entities, from large companies to small organizations. For seven-plus years Dennis served as Chairman of the Board of the Orange County Capital Development Corporation. He later took on a concurrent role as Managing Director/ CEO for the organization. In addition to these activities, Dennis has served as an adjunct professor at New York University, Marist College, Mount Saint Mary College and at our own Culinary Institute of America. He as also participated on other not-for-profit boards as chairman and president.
Alexander Betke is an attorney with Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP where he is a member of the firm’s government relations practice and co-chair of the municipal practice. A registered lobbyist, Mr. Betke has worked with the governor’s office, the legislature, state agencies, the attorney general, state comptroller and New York’s federal government representatives. His clients range from major industry associations to small businesses to nonprofit organizations. He currently serves as attorney for the villages of Catskill, Chatham and Saugerties. Mr. Betke has been elected to multiple terms as councilman of the town of Coxsackie and served as town supervisor for 8 years.
Debbie Bogdanski is Frontier Communications’ general manager for NY South/Southeast, which includes Orange and parts of Sullivan, Ulster and Dutchess Counties. Prior to joining Frontier in 2007, she was vp of government initiatives and special projects for the Orange County Chamber, and chief of staff for former NYS Assemblywomen Mary McPhillips. Her numerous board positions include Orange County United Way, for which she was 2009 campaign chair. Ms. Bogdanski was recognized in 2003 by the U.S. Small Business Administration as the Women in Business Advocate of the Year. She lives in the town of Wawayanda with her husband and two daughters.
Timothy Cawley is President and CEO of Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., an electric and gas utility headquartered in Pearl River, New York. Orange and Rockland is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Consolidated Edison, Inc., operating energy utility companies in New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Prior to being named President and CEO of O&R, Mr. Cawley was senior vice president of Central Operations for Consolidated Edison Company of New York. His responsibilities included the planning, design, operation and maintenance of the electric transmission system, the company’s primary control center and electric substations, electric and steam generating plants, the steam system, and engineering and construction activities. Mr. Cawley joined Consolidated Edison of New York in 1987 and has served in various positions, including vice president of Substation Operations, vice president of Bronx and Westchester Electric Operations, general manager of Transmission Operations and director of Gas Operations at O&R. He presently serves on the boards of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, the New Jersey Utilities Association, the New York Transco, the Orange County Partnership and the Rockland Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Cawley holds an MBA from New York University and a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from Union College.
Donald Christian was appointed the eighth president at the State University of New York at New Paltz, in June 2011. Prior to that, he served as interim president and as provost and vice president for Academic Affairs at the college. In addition to serving as president, Dr. Christian is a professor in the biology department. Prior to his arrival at New Paltz, Dr. Christian was dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and a professor of biology at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. Previously, he served as associate dean for the biological sciences at the University of Montana and he held many positions at the University of Minnesota-Duluth including chair and professor in the biology department. Dr. Christian earned a B. S. in Wildlife Biology, and an M. S. and Ph.D. in Zoology from Michigan State University. Dr. Christian and his wife Sandy, a psychotherapist, reside in New Paltz and have two children.
Tim Dean is president of Marshall & Sterling, one of the 30 largest privately held insurance agencies in the United States with more than 15 offices in New York and the U.S. Virgin Islands. He came to Marshall & Sterling more than 25 years ago after graduating from the University of Michigan. In addition to holding property and casualty and life and health brokers and consultants licenses, Mr. Dean is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and a Certified Risk Manager (CRM). He serves on several nonprofit boards including the United Way of Dutchess County, The Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley and the VBH Insurance Company, and he has been board chairman for the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Mid Hudson Civic Center.
Todd Diorio is president of the Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents 28 trade locals and 10,000 members, and is business manager of Laborers International Union Local No. 17. He serves on boards such as the Eastern NY Laborers District Council, Stewart Newburgh Empire Zone, Catskill Casino Coalition and NYS Laborers PAC Fund, and chairs the board of the Local 17 Health, Pension and Training Fund. He has served on the Ulster County IDA, and was appointed to Ulster’s Well Being Committee and to the Orange County Business Development and Retention Task Force. He has also worked as a registered lobbyist on issues such as prevailing wage, IDA reform, casino development and most recently the Utility Street Cutting Bill.
Richard Donatuti is senior vice president of JPMorgan Chase Bank, where he manages marketing and new business development in the Connecticut, Bronx, Westchester and Hudson Valley markets. A 35-year veteran of the Chase Bank Middle Market Group, he has held several managerial positions in the firm. Mr. Donatuti has served on numerous civic and nonprofit boards, and has been board president of both the Bronx YMCA and the Boy Scouts of America’s Bronx River District, Greater New York Council. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he is married with a daughter and lives in Rockland County.
Patrick Doulin is a vice president at Sterling National Bank. He has over 30 years of banking experience. He has served as market credit executive and a senior vice president at Provident Bank and previously was regional commercial executive, commercial banking for HSBC Bank USA, N.A. in Greenwich, CT. In his role with Provident Bank, Doulin managed the commercial banking team members and developed complex commercial banking business for the bank in the greater Westchester County area. Doulin resides in Salisbury Mills, N.Y., with his wife, Prudence, and their three children. He earned his B.A. from SUNY Oneonta..
Pamela R. Edington, Ed.D., was named the fifth president of Dutchess Community College in August 2014. Immediately prior to her arrival at DCC, Dr. Edington was current Provost and Dean of Academic Affairs at Norwalk Community College in Connecticut where she served for nine years. At Norwalk Community College, Dr. Edington began as Dean of Academic Affairs and in 2011, earned the additional title of Provost. Previously, she worked for 19 years at Middlesex Community College (Bedford/Lowell, MA), first as an Assistant Professor of Sociology, and then as division chair – and ultimately Dean – of Social Science and Human Services. Dr. Edington was one of just 37 community college leaders selected in 2010 to attend the prestigious Executive Leadership Institute sponsored by the League for Innovation in the Community College, an international association dedicated to catalyzing the community college movement. In 2011, the Community College National Center for Community Engagement honored Dr. Edington as a “Beacon of Vision, Hope and Action” for her commitment to service-learning and civic engagement. Dr. Edington holds an Ed.D. in Educational Policy, Research and Administration from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, an M.A. in Sociology from the University of Notre Dame and a B.A. in Sociology from the College of St. Benedict/St. John’s University, Collegeville, MN. She and her husband, William, a research administrator, have two adult daughters.
Karen Fisher is president and co-founder of FisherMears. She formed the Liberty, NY, business in 1995 after 12 years as a copywriter and creative manager for Alan Gerry’s Cablevision Industries. At FisherMears, Ms. Fisher is responsible for business development. Under her leadership, the firm’s work has been recognized for excellence by Medical Marketing & Media, The New York Governor’s Tourism Conference, American Graphics Design Guild, and The Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing. In 2011, Ms. Fisher and her partner, Anne Dubrovsky, were honored with the Distinguished Service Award by the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development. Outside her business life, Karen is an avid tennis player and sports enthusiast. 
Edmond Harrison, joined the Port Authority of NY & NJ in 1993, and became General Manager of Stewart International Airport on June 9, 2014. His goals as General Manager include developing air service and advancing the Port Authority’s vision for Stewart International Airport as a strong regional airport and important economic engine for the region.Prior to taking over at Stewart, Ed was the Manager of Properties and Commercial Development for Newark Liberty International and Teterboro airports. Before the Port Authority, Ed was Vice President of Business Development for Universal Maritime Service Corp. Ed is a past commissioner for the New York State Board of Commissioners of Pilots, and currently serves as an adjunct professor at St. Peter’s University. He also is a member of the Navy League of the United States, the National Defense Transportation Association, Airports Council International and the American Association of Airport Executives. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from Fairfield University, an MBA from Baruch College/The City University of New York, and is at work on a Master’s Degree in Theology from Seton Hall University. Ed lives in Short Hills, NJ with his wife, and they have two grown children.
William Helmer is president of Helmer-Cronin Construction, Inc. in Stony Point. He received a degree in civil engineering from Clarkson University, where he serves as a trustee, and received his professional engineers license in 1964. He is also a retired officer of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Helmer chairs the board of Provident New York Bancorp and the Rockland Economic Development Corporation. The NYS Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America elected him a director of the national association, where he chaired the Building Division and was elected a life director. Mr. Helmer and his wife, Sandy, have four daughters and seven grandchildren; they reside in Nyack and in Marco Island, Florida.
Jay Holt is director of construction in the Hudson Valley and is the fourth generation of Holt to play a key role in the company’s growth within the region. Mr. Holt brings with him over 20 years experience at Holt in new building construction, alterations and renovations of existing structures, as well as design/build construction in both the public and private sectors. Recent projects include the student union and technology center at Rockland County Community College and the new corporate research center at International Paper in Tuxedo, NY. Mr. Holt is LEED accredited He has been instrumental in working with municipal and government clientele, working extensively with PLAs, Wicks Law, HUD, LEED, DASNY and NYERDA requirements.
Mark Kastner is president of the Chazen Companies, one of the region’s largest engineering, land surveying, environmental, planning and landscape architecture consulting firms. A licensed professional engineer, Mr. Kastner earned an MBA from Union College and a B.S. in electrical and computer engineering from Clarkson University. Mr. Kastner also serves on the boards of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp., the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation, the Council of Industry, and Beacon Institute for Rivers and Estuaries/Clarkson University. He and his wife, Debbie, reside in Ulster County. 
Kenneth Kearney is the founder and president of The Kearney Realty & Development Group, which has established itself as a leader in developing and managing senior and affordable housing across the Hudson Valley. Mr. Kearney has guided affordable senior housing and workforce housing projects in Beacon, Catskill, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Somers, Yorktown and elsewhere. In 2009, he was recognized by Pattern for Progress as Hudson Valley Developer of the Year. Mr. Kearney has been actively involved in real estate since 1990, working as property manager, broker, builder and developer. A native of Mahopac, he and his wife, Jean, continue to reside there with their three sons.
Robert R. Lane is vice president of development at Phelps Memorial Hospital and has more than 20 years experience in fundraising, strategic planning, marketing and management. Mr. Lane has served as executive vice president for external relations at EcoHealth Alliance, an international organization focused on the field of conservation medicine. He worked for 16 years at the world-renowned Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, most recently as vice president for development. Mr. Lane has been chairman of the board of the Astor Home for Children Foundation and served on several other boards including Mount Saint Mary in Newburgh. 
Mary Madden has been president and CEO of Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union since 2002. She serves on the boards of Health Quest, the American Heart Association of Dutchess/Ulster, the Filene Research Council, the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation, and the advisory council for Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh. In 2011, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York chose her to serve on its local advisory panel reporting to the national Community Deposit Institutions Advisory Council. Ms. Madden was named 2011 Business Person of the Year by the Poughkeepsie Journal, and she received the 2010 Commitment to Community award from Greater Southern Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce. She earned her MBA from the University of Massachusetts and her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.
Anthony (Tony) Mahler has served as the Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning at Westchester Medical Center since 2006. He works closely with the Board of Directors Strategic Planning Committee and with the executive management team. He also oversees the Certificate of Need process and grants management at the Medical Center. His role was expanded in 2007 to include government relations, and he maintains an active advocacy role in local, state and federal issues. He is active in regional, state and national health care organizations, and serves as a member of the Finance Advisory Committee of the National Association of Public Hospitals and Health Systems. Mahler has over thirty years of experience in health care planning and administration. He served as Senior Vice President for Strategic Planning and Administration at the Catholic Health Care System in New York City, and many years as a strategic planning consultant to health care providers and payers. He was a Principal in the health care consulting practice of KPMG, LLP, and also spent twelve years at HealthScope United. His career began in Boston at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health and Boston University Health Policy Institute. Mr. Mahler received a BA from Cornell University and an MBA from Boston University. He serves as a Lecturer at New York Medical College School of Health Sciences and Practice where he teaches a course on Developing the Strategic Plan.
Joseph McPheter is a vice president with Key Bank managing relationships of middle market companies in the Tri-State area. He turned to banking in 2002 after selling his interests in a full service commercial cleaning company he started and ran for 7 years in Rockland County and NJ. His banking career started as branch manager of a new Washington Mutual location and within 12 months he was managing 10 offices. Born and raised in the boroughs of New York City, he relocated to Rockland County where he studied Business Administration and Fire Science at Rockland Community College. McPheter worked and volunteered for 13 years with EMS and fire services in Rockland where he currently resides.
Carl Meyer is currently the President/CEO of The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC), headquartered in Kingston, NY. TSEC is a not-for-profit, public-private partnership dedicated to helping small and medium-sized manufacturers in the region grow their companies. Mr. Meyer retired as President/COO of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. and Executive Vice President of CH Energy Group, a publicly traded holding company headquartered in the Hudson Valley of NYS. In his current position at TSEC, Mr. Meyer is actively engaged in broad-based regional economic development initiatives including the attraction of businesses and jobs to the Hudson Valley. Notably, he was recently elected to the Board of Directors of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation. Mr. Meyer also serves on the board of the NYS Business Development Corporation. Mr. Meyer also serves on the boards of many regional not-for-profit organizations. He serves on the Board of Trustees of Vassar Brothers Medical Center, the SUNY New Paltz Business Advisory Council and currently chairs the Mount Saint Mary College Business Advisory Council. Mr. Meyer holds bachelors and masters degrees in electric power engineering from RPI in Troy, NY and is a registered Professional Engineer in NYS.
Kevin O’Connor is the CEO of Rural Ulster Preservation Company, located in Kingston. He has more than 23 years of experience in housing and community development. He is vice chair of the Ulster County Housing Consortium and a driver of its “Give Housing a Voice” campaign. Mr. O’Connor serves on the board of directors for the NYS Rural Housing Coalition, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council, and sits on NeighborWorks America’s National Real Estate Development Committee. Mr. O’Connor earned his bachelor’s degree from Marist College, and currently resides in New Paltz with his wife, Maria, and their three children.
Mike Oates joined Hudson River Ventures in February of 2013, serving as CEO of the company. Hudson River Ventures is a small business investment firm founded by Sean Eldridge that is focused on the Hudson Valley by making investments within its targeted sectors. Before Hudson River Ventures, Mike served as the President and CEO of the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation (HVEDC), which promotes New York’s Hudson Valley as one of the world’s premiere locations for business. For two years prior to joining HVEDC in October 2009, Mr. Oates was a senior executive with Empire State Development Corporation. Most recently, he served as Vice President/Regional Director and was responsible for managing New York State’s economic development initiatives in Westchester, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess, Sullivan, Ulster and Putnam Counties – the same seven counties represented by HVEDC. Prior to joining Empire State Development Corporation, Mr. Oates was CEO and President of The Creative Field Marketing Group, Inc. The special event and marketing agency created promotion campaigns for Bacardi, Anheuser-Busch and other consumer product companies.
Ross Pepe is president of Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley, Inc. and building Contractors Association of Westchester and Mid-Hudson, Inc. Collectively, these organizations represent more than 500 local firms in the Hudson Valley. He is publisher of CONSTRUCTION NEWS, a monthly news publication. Mr. Pepe is co-chairman of the NYS DEC Clean Water Collaborative; a three-term member of the NYS Department of Labor’s Public Works Advisory board; a member of Audubon New York’s Board of Directors; and was appointed by former Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano to the Westchester-Rockland Tappan Zee Bridge Task Force. Mr. Pepe is a veteran of the Vietnam War, having served with the U.S. Navy.
John Rath is senior vice president at Lakeland Bank. He began his banking career in 1980 at the Bank of New York. Mr. Rath is active on many civic and nonprofit boards, including the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, the Orange County Community College Foundation, and the Vassar Brothers Medical Center, where he has served as chairman. He has also chaired the advisory board of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, and is past treasurer, trustee and elder for Mid Hudson Christian Church in Wallkill and Goodwill Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Montgomery. Mr. Rath lives in Newburgh with his wife Deborah; they have six children and one grandchild.
Andrea L. Reynolds is chief executive officer for the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley whose affiliates include the Community Foundation of Dutchess County, Community Foundation of Ulster County and Community Foundation of Putnam County. The Foundation was founded in 1969 and currently administers $45 million in assets. Approximately $2.5 million in grants and scholarships are awarded annually. She previously worked at the Community Foundation of Greater Memphis for 10 years, holding a variety of positions that culminated in her being named executive vice president and chief operating officer. Reynolds has an MSSW in Social Administration from the University of Tennessee-Knoxville, Memphis Branch. Her undergraduate work was completed at Hartwick College, where she majored in business management and minored in music and sociology, with a concentration in psychology. Reynolds is a native of Woodstock, NY, and has been in the field of philanthropy all her life.
Gannett’s 2010 Publisher of the Year Barry Rothfeld has since 2004 been president and publisher of The Poughkeepsie Journal, where he was executive editor from 1990 to 1994. Previously he was president and publisher of the Ithaca Journal and editor of the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton. He began his career in 1973 at the Gannett Suburban Newspapers Group in Westchester County. He has chaired the New York Newspaper Publisher Association’s board of directors, sits on the board of Vassar Brothers Medical Center and the Alumni Board of the Columbia School of Journalism, and was the 2010 chair of the Dutchess County United Way Campaign.
Alan Seidman was appointed Executive Director of the Construction Contractors Association of the Hudson Valley in 2010. He had been vp of business development and regional manager for Clough Harbour Associates. Mr. Seidman served twenty years on the Orange County Legislature, including four years as its chairman. He has served on many civic and nonprofit boards, chairing boards for the Hudson Valley Regional Council and the Orange County Partnership for Economic Development. He is a past recipient of the Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Citizen Award and the Leadership Orange Award, is a life member of the Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and serves on the Cornwall Planning Board.
Diane Serratore is executive director of People to People, Rockland County’s largest food bank. She has served in that role since April 2008 and has seen the need for the organization grow dramatically over her tenure due to the economic downturn. In 2007, People to People assisted an estimated 400 households a month. In June 2009, the number of households served hit an historic high of 1,000. Today, People to People has surpassed that historic high and now assists an average of 1,400 households every month. Ms. Serratore has worked in the non-profit arena for more than 30 years including at the United Way of Rockland County, the Girl Scout Council of Rockland County and the March of Dimes. She has a record of achievement in strategic planning, fundraising & special events, community & media relations, creative & editorial services and volunteer development. Ms. Serratore is a Nyack native and holds a Bachelor of Journalism degree from the University Of Missouri School of Journalism. She has received the Girl Scout Pearl Award, the Rockland Business Women’s Network “Woman of the Year” Award, the New York State Grand Lodge of Masons DeWitt Clinton Award, the VERITAS Medal Award from Dominican College, the Nyack Center Woman of Leadership and Vision Award, the Venture Foundation Award and the Pattern for Progress Regional Fellows Award.
James P. Smith, Jr. is president and founder of Advance Testing Company, which operates a state-of-the art, accredited materials testing laboratory in Campbell Hall, NY, and provides inspection and testing services across the East Coast with projects in 12 states and Canada. In 1995 he formed Atech Center, Inc. to develop training programs in construction materials testing. Mr. Smith has served on many community boards, such as the Orange County Workforce Investment Board, Orange County Citizens Foundation, Mount Saint Mary College, and SUNY Orange. He is past chair of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, the Orange County Partnership, and the Hudson Valley Boy Scout Council, which awarded him the 2002 Distinguished Citizen Award.
Graham Trelstad, AICP, is a senior vice president and director of planning for the Hudson Valley office of the New York City -based firm, AKRF. Mr. Trelstad graduated with a B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia University and received an M.E.S. from the Yale University School of Forestry and Environmental Studies. He has more than 15 years of experience in community and regional planning, environmental impact assessment, integrated transportation and land use planning, and visual impact assessment. As a regional and environmental planner, he serves as the planning consultant to a number of towns and villages throughout the Hudson Valley.