Cara Treidel
Cara Treidel has served on the board since 2017 and has been chair of the BOLD/FAN
committee, liaison to the BOLD Leadership Council and served as the board’s secretary
since 2019. As a student, she was highly involved in President Harvey Stenger’s Road
Map Committee as a consulting intern, overseeing the Road Map Student Task Force and
assisting with the progress of each strategic priority. In addition, she was a resident
assistant in College-in-the-Woods and was an active member of the Alpha Kappa Psi
professional business fraternity. At one point, she was president of Onondaga Hall
and part of the Emerging Leaders Program. She continues to be a member of the Road
Map Renewal Committee and frequently attends University events in the Metro New York
area. Contact her by email.
Felicia Moreira
Felicia Moreira has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and has served
as the board secretary since 2021. She has served on the Lifelong Learning Committee
and Networking and Social Engagement committees. As a °®¶ą´«Ă˝ native, Moreira has
maintained a strong bond with her alma mater throughout her professional journey.
Currently serving as the associate director of employer relations and engagement at
the Fleishman Center for Career and Professional Development, she leverages her expertise
to facilitate meaningful connections between students, alumni and employers. Her previous
roles within the Residential Life department, Office of Alumni Engagement and Athletics
department have provided her with a comprehensive understanding of °®¶ą´«Ă˝'s
operations and a vast network of contacts across various departments.
Moreira’s dedication extends beyond her professional responsibilities. As a former
member of the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ varsity softball team, she has continued to stay
involved with Athletics, actively supporting the team by attending games and alumni
events. Moreover, she actively engages fellow softball alumni, fostering a strong
sense of camaraderie and encouraging their support through active participation and
donations.
As a native of the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ area, Moreira holds a deep appreciation for the University,
the local community and the alumni network. She cherishes the University's presence
in her backyard and frequently visits with her husband Jose, also a °®¶ą´«Ă˝
alumnus, and their three children, Isadora, Liliana and Jose III. Contact her by email.
Heather Provino
Heather Provino has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and has served
on the Finance Committee. She is one of the founders and a managing partner of The
Scanlon Group where she applies entrepreneurial and strategic expertise in her work
with start-up and growth companies to chart pathways of robust business acceleration
balanced with long-term organizational vision, strategy and viability in pursuit of
strategic exits and/or M&A. She credits her time at the University and the skills
developed during her time at °®¶ą´«Ă˝ to her ability to take the risk to found a
company and for the successful growth and exit of her healthcare company. Provino
is committed to mentoring, philanthropy and volunteerism which helped her find her
way back to her °®¶ą´«Ă˝ roots in Rhode Island during the Alumni Global Days of
Service. As a student, she was a student athletic trainer, fitness instructor and
manager at FitSpace and an active member of Smith’s Hall student council. Contact her by e-mail.
Dan Black
Dan Black is responsible for EY’s global recruiting strategy, leading a team of more
than 1,200 recruiters around the world who are responsible for hiring talent at all
levels, across all of EY’s locations and lines of business. Prior to his career in
recruiting, he was an auditor for financial services clients as a Certified Public
Accountant. He also serves on the Americas Inclusiveness Advisory Council, a group
of senior leaders focused on advancing the firm’s efforts related to belonging, equitable
sponsorship and accountability in the context of leading culture change.
Black regularly provides commentary for top media outlets such as The Wall Street
Journal, CNN, FORTUNE, Forbes, FOX Business and The New York Times, among others.
He frequently serves as a keynote speaker at conferences, universities and industry
events around the world, and was the School of Management Commencement speaker in
2016.
He is a former president and board member of the National Association of Colleges
and Employers, the country’s leading organization focused on the employment of the
college-educated. He currently serves as chair of the Executive Leadership Committee
for the Tri-State New York chapters of the March of Dimes, ranking among its top-100
U.S. fundraisers nationally for the past 10 years. Black is also active within his
local community, serving as a volunteer firefighter for the Archville Fire Department
and as a coach, referee and active supporter of youth sports in his hometown. He
remains an active alumnus of °®¶ą´«Ă˝ as a regular speaker and contributor at alumni,
admissions and mentoring events, as well as a site leader for the Global Days of Service.
His leadership role in recruiting has helped to solidify °®¶ą´«Ă˝ as a top source
of talent for EY for the past two decades. Contact him by email.
Scott Feuer
Scott Feuer has served on the board since 2015, and was elected president in 2021
after serving as vice president (2019-21) and treasurer (2017-19). As a student, he
lived in College-in-the-Woods before moving off campus to the West Side of °®¶ą´«Ă˝.
He majored in psychology and graduated with honors in 1990. After graduation, Feuer
attended Brooklyn Law School where he was a Dean’s Merit Scholar and member of the
Brooklyn Law Review. He is a partner at Rivkin Radler LLP, a commercial law firm with
offices in New York City, Long Island, Hackensack, Albany and Poughkeepsie. He is
a frequent Homecoming attendee, volunteer for the Office of Undergraduate Admissions
and participant in Alumni Global Day of Service. Contact him by email.
Directors
Vasu Dev Rao Aitharaju, MS '05
Vasu Dev Rao Aitharaju
Vasu Dev Rao Aitharaju is a director of product management at a construction-fintech
startup in New York, an entrepreneur and an active mentor at Yale tsai CITY. He graduated
with a master of science degree in industrial and systems engineering from °®¶ą´«Ă˝
University in 2005. He holds a bachelor of technology degree in mechanical engineering
from National Institute of Technology – India, and an MBA from Yale University. Aitharaju
is a passionate entrepreneur, product strategy and management leader, digital transformation
expert, and a sustainability and social responsibility enthusiast. He built multiple
products from ideation to go-to-market. He led multiple successful software and physical
product launches in diverse environments including several geographical regions, multiple
industries and organizations of different sizes from startup to global market leaders.
Aitharaju's passion and motivation extend beyond professional work. Some of his community
activities include donor and volunteer for New York Blood Center since 2014; mentor
at Junior Achievement USA since 2019; 5K runner for charity since 2015; active American
Red Cross Volunteer - Certified Adult First Aid/CPR/AED since 2014; and Yale SOM Class
Secretary since 2019. He is a father of two, son Ishaan and daughter Trishika. He
loves to spend his spare time with family and friends. He also likes racquetball,
cricket, camping, hiking and wine tours along the Finger Lakes.
Diane Castiglione
Diane Castiglione has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and has served
on the Mentoring and Career Development and Regional Chapters committees. She retired
in 2017 after a 32-year career at the U.S. Department of State. As a student, Castiglione
was active in Hinman College Council, including serving as president, and was on the
Political Science Undergraduate Committee and the Commencement Committee. After graduating,
she was one of the founding members of the Potomac Club/D.C. Metro Chapter, serving
as co-chair 1989-90. She was on planning committees for Hinman College’s 40th and
50th anniversary celebrations and also volunteers with the Office of Undergraduate
Admissions. She considers her work with the Fleishman Center, and other programs
in which she provides career information and mentoring, including being a four-time
sponsor of Liberal Arts to Careers Externship students, to be her most fulfilling
connection with the University. She received the 1990 Young Alumni Award and in 2015
was given an Alumni Association Medal of Distinguished Service.
Joseph Cordero ’90, MA ’93
Joseph Cordero
Joseph Cordero is a managing director of place at the William Julius Wilson Institute
at Harlem Children’s Zone, a national resource for place-based, people-focused solutions
that open pathways to social and economic mobility. He was principal of the renowned
Harlem Children’s Zone Promise Academy I Elementary School. Over the past decade as
principal, his students had seen substantial growth on the New York State math and
English examinations. They regularly outperform the district, city and state on these
tests. In 2023, he received the Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public
Service or Contribution to Public Affairs from the Alumni Association. The award recognizes
one graduate each year whose life, work, career and contributions exemplify the highest
standards of service and deepest dedication to the common good. His training as a
member of Kappa Alpha Psi Fraternity while an undergraduate prepared him for a lifetime
of service. As Frederick Douglass once said, “It is easier to build strong children
than it is to repair broken men.”
Matthew DeSaro
Matthew DeSaro has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and serves as chair
of the Mentoring and Career Development Committee. He earned a Bachelor of Science
in management from the School of Management, a Bachelor of Arts in political science
from Harpur College, and a Master of Public Administration from the College of Community
and Public Affairs. Thereafter, he graduated from Brooklyn Law School, where he was
the president of the Moot Court Honor Society.
DeSaro is a special assistant attorney general in the Medicaid Fraud Control Unit
of the Office of the New York State Attorney General. In that role, he investigates
and prosecutes a wide range of issues related to the state’s Medicaid program, including
violations of the False Claims Act, and qui tam litigation. Prior to that, he served
as both a county and federal prosecutor, and clerked for judges at the state and federal
levels.
Since graduating from °®¶ą´«Ă˝, DeSaro has remained engaged with the University
in both formal and informal capacities. He has been an active member of both the Metro
New York and the Long Island chapters of the Alumni Association, a perennial volunteer
at Metro Connections Night, a regular attendee of School of Management events in New
York, and a judge for the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ Mock Trial team. In recognition of
his efforts on behalf of the Office of Undergraduate Admissions, he received an Alumni
Association Medal of Distinguished Service.
°®¶ą´«Ă˝ is a special place for DeSaro, as he proposed to his wife, also a °®¶ą´«Ă˝
University graduate, outside the University Union where they first met as undergraduates.
As a student, he was a resident assistant in College-in-the-Woods, where he twice
chaired the Casino-in-the-Woods charity event, a graduate assistant in the Center
for Civic Engagement, executive director of the ESCAPE Bus Company, and a tour guide
with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions.
Michael Devinoff
Michael Devinoff learned to manage a diverse group of individuals through leadership
roles on the College-in-the-Woods Student Council. Then, he learned to manage fundraising
and charitable work in association with his fraternity, where he held senior leadership
roles. He worked to improve the overall Greek experience at °®¶ą´«Ă˝, becoming the
Inter-Fraternity Council president and helping shape the rules that govern fraternity
pledging and behavior.
Devinoff leveraged his °®¶ą´«Ă˝ education and the leadership skills he acquired
to create a successful 25-year career in the healthcare/pharmaceutical industry. During
his extensive analytics and insights career, he has shaped how medicines get discovered
and developed, how they go through approval processes globally, and how they ultimately
arrive in the hands of patients. He runs an enterprise-wide team of more than 300
individuals who serve as strategic consultants for his company’s C-suite.
Devinoff has increased his commitment to giving back, participating in various °®¶ą´«Ă˝
University alumni events, career development activities, career fairs and campus recruiting
efforts.
Kate Gromatsky is a highly skilled professional with a bachelor's degree in English
from Harpur College of Arts and Sciences. She has always been passionate about her
alma mater and, as an alumna, she has remained actively engaged with the University,
volunteering with the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and Metro New York Networking
Nights. Gromatsky has served as an inaugural Bearcats of the Last Decade (BOLD) Leadership
Council member, where she successfully chaired the Social and Networking Committee
and Career and Mentoring Committee, and led the Long Island Chapter before relocating
to the Hudson Valley.
During her time as a student, Gromatsky was a highly active member of the campus community.
She served as an admissions tour guide, intern in the Fleishman Center for Career
and Professional Development, and student information assistant in the Call Center.
After graduation, she pursued her passion for integrated marketing and communications
by earning a master's degree from Marist College.
Gromatsky is a seasoned marketing professional with extensive experience in Demand
Generation marketing for CVENT, the industry-leading meetings, events and hospitality
technology provider. With over 10 years of experience in higher education, specializing
in engagement events, marketing, communications, and volunteer management, she is
a confident and capable leader in her field.
Amy Hyatt
Amy Hyatt is recently retired from serving as the U.S. Ambassador to the Republic
of Palau 2015-20. Previously she worked for the U.S. Department of State in various
postings negotiating successful outcomes around the world in Egypt, Finland, North
Korea, Australia, Korea, Thailand, Philippines, Norway and the Czech Republic. Hyatt
was also a trial attorney in San Francisco during her early career. In 2016, the
Alumni Association presented her with the Edward Weisband Distinguished Alumni Award for Public Service or Contribution to Public
Affairs. She has also served as a TIER Talk speaker for the University, coming back
to campus for Homecoming in 2018 when she spoke with two other panelists on “The Effects
of Climate Change.”
Balki Iyer
Balki Iyer has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and has served on the
Mentoring and Career Development and Signature Events committees. He is a seasoned
energy and utilities industry management professional, with rich experience driving
business development for global conglomerates and successful startups. He has successfully
steered three startups from inception to exit, with investments from some of the largest
utilities and financial investors worldwide. Iyer strongly believes in the power of
mentoring and the lasting impact it can leave. A prolific speaker at global conferences,
he is passionate about the role of clean energy in changing the world and the role
of education in empowering the people who can change the world. His business and entrepreneurial
pursuits over the past decade have been guided by this passion. He is on the advisory
group for INK, a TED-like platform in India that promotes inspiring ideas by game-changers.
Iyer sat on the executive board for GE’s Asia Pacific American Forum, a diversity
group focused on mentoring Asian American business leaders. As someone who believes
in making a positive community impact through education, he, along with his wife,
co-founded Iyer Educational Institutions with the mission to offer inclusive learning
opportunities for children with autism. He is a recipient of the prestigious Outstanding
50 Asian Americans in Business award in 2017 and was listed in the Top 100 North American
Power List 2020.
Julius Johnson
Julius Johnson was born and raised in the Brownsville and Crown Heights neighborhoods
of Brooklyn. He attended Clara Barton High School for health professionals while starring
in football for the Brooklyn Skyhawks. He received his bachelor of science, with a
major in nursing from °®¶ą´«Ă˝ in 2005, and received his master of science
with a major in family nurse practitioner from °®¶ą´«Ă˝ in 2009, and his Doctor
of Nursing Practice from the University of Miami in 2016. Johnson specializes in home-based
primary care, transitional care and transformational community intervention projects.
He has spent the past 13 years serving underserved communities and reducing hospital
rates for at-risk populations. He is a founding member of the Greater New York City
Black Nurses Association and currently serves as president. Also, Johnson is the founding
president of the Omega Nu chapter of Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society at
Long Island University (LIU) Brooklyn. He serves as an associate professor, chair
of faculty affairs and director of the family nurse practitioner program at LIU-Brooklyn’s
nursing school. In 2018, he was recognized as one of the National Black Nurses Association’s
40 Under 40 Rising Stars. In 2021, he received the Trailblazer in Nursing Award from
the National Black Nurses Association. In his spare time, he is the defensive coordinator
of the Brooklyn Skyhawks who are the current back-to-back U12 champions of the New
York City youth football league.
Karen Kerner
Karen Kerner has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and has served on
the Networking and Social Engagement and Signature Events committees. She works part-time
as an optometric physician and is very involved in her church as a member of the choir
and parish council. Kerner is originally from Nanuet, N.Y. Her family lived in Switzerland
for three years, which is where she developed her love of travel and learning languages.
She is a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys hiking and walking and her rescue dog,
Frankie. Kerner is actively engaged at °®¶ą´«Ă˝ and has served on the
Parent Leadership Committee and a panel of health professionals. As an undergraduate,
Kerner was a resident assistant in Hinman College. She and her husband, Michael, another
°®¶ą´«Ă˝ graduate, have created a scholarship fund at °®¶ą´«Ă˝. Their
son, Edward, has also graduated from °®¶ą´«Ă˝ and is currently working
on his master’s degree at American University. Daughter, Kimmi, is a graduate of
University College Dublin, in Ireland and is teaching in Korea.
Kenneth Kidder
Ken Kidder joined the Alumni Association board in 2018 and has chaired the Audit Committee
and served as treasurer during this time. He has been a development software and electrical
engineer for more than 30 years at Lockheed Martin where he has led several development
programs. Kidder is currently a software engineering associate manager. He has a bachelor
of science degree in physics from °®¶ą´«Ă˝ and an associate’s degree
in engineering science from SUNY Broome Community College. He currently serves on
the SUNY-Broome Student Housing Corp and the Goodwill Theatre boards and has formerly
served on boards for Visions Federal Credit Union and the Broome Community College
Foundation. Kidder has held officer positions for many of the boards he has served
on. He enjoys golf, investing, local history, keeping up with politics and spending
time with family and friends.
Stuart Koenig is chair of the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ Foundation Board of Directors.
He is a seasoned executive with significant experience in real estate private equity,
investment banking and finance. He is a retired senior partner and chief operating
officer of the real estate division of Ares Management and served as chair of all
of its real estate investment committees, including Ares Commercial Real Estate Corp.
(ACRE), a public mortgage real estate investment trust.
Koenig recently served seven years as an independent director of a multibillion-dollar,
NYSE-listed company. He has a 40-year work history of increasing responsibility and
leadership, with the last 20 years in senior management roles of chief financial officer,
chief administrative officer, and/or chief operating officer.
He earned a bachelor’s degree in English from °®¶ą´«Ă˝. He also has a
Master of Business Administration in accounting from Baruch College.
Manoj Mahtani
Manoj Mahtani has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and has served on
the Finance Committee. He has recently been named to the School of Management New
York Metro Advisory Board. As a student at °®¶ą´«Ă˝, he was active in the Indian
International Student Union and was Treasurer of the MCA. Since then, he has kept
close ties to °®¶ą´«Ă˝ by establishing an endowed scholarship for Services for Students
with Disabilities and has stayed engaged through volunteer work. He has participated
in round table discussion for students and provided a tour of the trading floors at
Deutsche Bank.
Jonathon Nevett
Jonathon Nevett was elected to serve as Student Association executive vice president
in his junior year and president in his senior year. In the mid-1990s, he chaired
the Alumni Association’s Potomac Club/D.C. Metro Chapter and was given the association’s
Young Alumni Award in 1996. He has volunteered for admissions, the mentorship program
and other Alumni Association activities over the years.
Professionally, Nevett is president and CEO of Public Interest Registry (PIR), the
nonprofit domain name registry that operates .org and other Internet domain extensions
targeted to mission-driven entities and individuals. He is a veteran of the domain
name industry, co-founding Donuts Inc., in 2010 and helping to raise in excess of
$150 million to form a registry of more than 240 Internet domain extensions. Before
PIR and Donuts, he was senior vice president at Network Solutions, where he was responsible
for policy, government affairs, registry relations and corporate ethics. During the
Obama Administration, he was appointed to the Online Safety and Technology Working
Group to help protect children on the Internet.
After °®¶ą´«Ă˝, Nevett worked in the New York State Legislature and earned a juris
doctor from Harvard Law School. He lives in Rockville, Md., with his wife, Karen Post,
and they have three grown children.
Stacy Newman
Stacy Newman is an executive director, experience lead at JP Morgan Chase & Co., where
she has been since October 2018. She graduated from °®¶ą´«Ă˝ with a bachelor’s
degree in art and received a master's degree in human-computer interaction from Rensselaer
Polytechnic Institute. Newman has been on the Alumni Association board since 2018
and serves as the chair for the Mentoring and Career Development Committee. She is
also on the board of directors for the Wilson Area Partners in Education Foundation
and serves as chair of its Fund Development Committee. In her free time, Newman apprentices
in printmaking and also runs. She recently completed the Boston Marathon. Newman resides
in Pennsylvania's Lehigh Valley with her three children, daughter Tillie and sons
Murray and Harry.
Oluwateniayo Sopitan
Oluwateniayo Sopitan is the first graduate of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical
Sciences to be elected to the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ Alumni Association Board of Directors.
She is a PharmD fellow in the Rutgers University Fellowship program, working as a
product manager at Johnson & Johnson Innovative Medicine. At °®¶ą´«Ă˝, Sopitan was
a volunteer coach for the women’s volleyball team for two seasons. She served as vice
president of the Oncology Pharmacy Student Organization and served on various committees
for the pharmacy school's student government. Prior to attending °®¶ą´«Ă˝,
she earned her undergraduate degree at North Carolina State University where she was
a scholarship volleyball player and team captain.
Marjorie Strelzyn
Marjorie Strelzyn is an optometrist and director of the contact lens service at Montefiore
Medical Center. She is an assistant professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences
at the Einstein College of Medicine and enjoys teaching residents, interns and medical
students. Strelzyn has served on the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ Parents Leadership Council from 2016-2022
and has chaired the council for the last three years. She was on the advisory committee
for the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ Women’s Weekend in 2017 and was a speaker at the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ Women’s
Workshop in New York City in 2019. She and her husband, Barry Witt ’80, created an
endowed “Acts of Kindness” scholarship which provides recognition and financial support
to one undergraduate student annually who has impacted the community through acts
of kindness. Strelzyn is an active member of the °®¶ą´«Ă˝ Campaign Committee. Strelzyn
and her family have hosted numerous “summer send-offs” at their home for incoming
undergraduate students and their families, and organized and hosted dinners at local
restaurants for parents of students to create connections with each other and to promote
their engagement with the university. They also held a fundraiser for a °®¶ą´«Ă˝
mental health and wellness initiative. As a student, Strelzyn enjoyed participating
in co-rec sports and was secretary of the Canoe Club and sang in various campus shows.
She worked in the dining hall as well as in the administration office and was a Telefund
caller. Strelzyn and her husband have two sons, Dylan and Adin, who are also °®¶ą´«Ă˝
graduates. Dylan received a bachelor of arts in biology then a bachelor of science
via the accelerated nursing program. Adin received a bachelor of arts in economics
and then pursued an MBA in management information systems.
Dana West
Dana West has been on the Alumni Association board since 2019 and has served on the
Lifelong Learning Committee. He is founder and leader of the Westchester Chapter
of the Alumni Association and lives in Westchester County with his wife, Nancy, and
their two children. In his spare time, he enjoys exploring the great outdoors and
seeking out all the food, beverages and towns that make the Hudson Valley unique.
As a student, he was active in volunteer opportunities with College-in-the-Woods,
working as stage crew for Woods Jam and decorating for Woods War. Now, he is proud
to see the success of TIER Talks and the rapid growth of the Westchester Chapter.
Professionally, West is passionate about providing his clients with the planning
tools and education they need to navigate life’s financial challenges. With more than
20 years in the financial services industry, he recognizes the more knowledge his
clients have, the more empowered and confident they feel about achieving their goals.
