Board of Directors

The Foundation is governed by a Board of volunteers who are business and community leaders and representatives from the College.

The Board:

1. Oversees the Foundation's asset management,

2. Develops new donors, and

3. Plans and executes special fundraising events.

   Letter from the Chair

John A. DeGasperis, Esq., Chair

 

Christopher Mikesh, Esq., Vice Chair

 

 

Katie Zell, Treasurer

Scott A. Davis, P.E., Secretary

Rudy J. Breedy, MPH, Executive Director

Ellenville native Elliott Auerbach’s career traverses the small and corporate business world, the public sector and the not-for profit universe.

In addition to enjoying a series of successes in private industry, he served as the Village of Ellenville Mayor, the Ulster County Comptroller, the New York State Deputy Comptroller and Executive Director of the Rural Economic Area Partnership.   Furthermore, Auerbach served on the Board of Directors of RUPCO, as Assistant Chairman and Assistant Secretary of the Ulster County Industrial Development Agency and currently serves as a member of the Ulster Chamber Foundation, the New York Government Finance Officers’ Association and is on the Board of Directors of the Catskill Borscht Belt Museum.

The Ellenville High School alumnus is a graduate of Hofstra University with a degree in Economics-Business and has pursued graduate studies at Long Island University and SUNY New Paltz.  Elliott is the father of three, grandfather of seven and resides in Ellenville with his wife Judi, a high school guidance counselor.  He is an avid skier, hiker and kayaker and dedicated runner who completed several NYC and Philadelphia Marathons.   His simple philosophy is to “bloom where you are planted”.  

John Bonavita-Goldman, MD, FACR, of Kingston is a retired board-certified radiologist. Dr. Bonavita-Goldman was most recently an assistant professor of radiology at New York University School of Medicine, teaching at NYU Langone Medical Center, and co-director of the NYU Langone Faculty Radiology Practice. He earlier taught ultrasound to radiology residents, fellows and rotating medical students at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, now the Perelman School of Medicine. He was additionally the school’s section chief of emergency radiology.

As well as the Ulster Community College Foundation board, Dr. Bonavita-Goldman also serves on the Ulster County Planning Board,  the Kingston Zoning Board of Appeals, the board of directors of HealthAlliance of the Hudson Valley and the HealthAlliance Foundation board.  

Cheryl D. Bowers is President and CEO of Rondout Savings Bank and the first female to lead the bank in its 150-year history. She has been an integral part of Rondout’s Executive Leadership Team since 2008 after joining the mutual bank in 2001 as a founding Business Banking Department Team member. She has a strong track record of supporting technology advancements, strengthening consumer and business relationships, and developing high performance teams built on trust, integrity and empowerment, as well as creating a culture of goal setting, coaching and mentoring that supports employee growth and strategic initiative execution.

As an accomplished financial industry leader with more than 30 years of banking experience in a multitude of areas including Executive Leadership, Commercial and Retail Banking, Branch Management and Marketing, Cheryl has a deep commitment and passion for developing female leaders and creating more diversity in the financial services industry. She is a founding member and co-chair of the New York Bankers Association Women’s Leadership Conference, where she regularly speaks, moderates, and participates as a panelist. Most recently, she was a panelist at SUNY, New Paltz Women’s Leadership Summit and a Session Speaker at the “Own It” Conference, hosted by Entrepreneurial Studies at SUNY, Ulster. 

Cheryl is dedicated to civic participation and volunteerism. She serves on the boards of the Ulster Community College Foundation, Kingston Boys and Girls Club, Lions Club of Kingston, and Vassar Brothers Medical Center and is Past Board Chair of the Ulster County Regional Chamber of Commerce. 

In recognition of her community commitment and professional achievements, she is a past honoree of the YWCA Tribute to Women and recipient of the Life Time Achievement Award and Volunteer of the Decade award given by Gateway Community Industries. In April of 2018 she was named Businessperson of the Year and was inducted into the SUNY New Paltz Business Hall of Fame. In October of 2018 she was an honoree at the annual SUNY Ulster Community College Foundation Gala and was awarded Woman of the Year. Most recently, she was the recipient of the 2019 United Way of Ulster County 2019 Raising Hope Honoree. 

Cheryl is a high honors graduate from the American Bankers Association Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA and attended Wharton Business School, where she earned her Leadership Certificate.

Barbara Connelly Cohen, has embodied the spirit of volunteerism in every sense of the word.  She currently serves on the boards of The Kingston Auxiliary of HealthAlliance, Jewish Federation of Ulster County, Mental Health Association in Ulster County, HealthAlliance Foundation, Children's Home of Kingston and Kingston Sunrise Rotary Club. She is a member of Congregation Emanuel of the Hudson Valley and serves on their Membership & Welcoming Committee.  She is the founder and one of the editors of Kolenu, a publication of the Jewish Federation of Ulster County. Barbara also serves on the Reher Center for Immigrant Culture & History Committee and is devoted to restoring and preserving this treasure. She is the Chairperson of Fall For Art Show & Sale dedicated to benefiting the arts in the Hudson Valley, celebrating its 22nd year. She is the owner of Schwartz’s Inn located in uptown Kingston, property owned by her husband’s family since 1917, and I’m A Star t-shirts, dedicated to empowering children.

Barbara introduced the President’s Challenge Scholarship to her Sunrise Rotary Club and is proud that her club is the first service club to accept the challenge to support a student’s tuition to SUNY Ulster. Barbara believes that everyone deserves an education and she feels that the community is blessed to have SUNY Ulster in its backyard. By serving on the Foundation board she appreciates the opportunity to help make a significant difference in students’ lives.

Scott Davis, P.E. is a registered Professional Engineer licensed in NY, CT, MA, PA, NJ, NH and WY. Scott has more than 25 years of experience in Structural Design and Analysis, and Civil Engineering.  He is active in the Eastern New York Chapter of the Association for Bridge Construction and Design (ABCD) and the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE). Scott’s project experience includes civil/site development design, residential and commercial building design and analysis, forensic structural analysis, and project management. He is experienced with AASHTO, AISC, NYSDOT, and ACI codes.

Tamika Dunkley is an alumnus of Ulster County Community College with an Associate in Nursing Science. She went on to receive a Bachelor’s in Nursing Science from Chamberlain College of Nursing. Spending the majority of her nursing career working in the critical care unit as well as a building supervisor of a local long-term care facility. 

Currently, the  CEO of Seasoned Delicious Foods, a food product manufacturer based in Saugerties, NY. In September of 2020, opened up a small gourmet grocery market and cafe in the heart of midtown Kingston. And while “the food is our bread and butter,” the non-profit work is her heart. A portion of all sales goes directly to Seasoned Gives, a non-profit established to provide financial literacy, entrepreneurship, and job/life skills training with a special focus on BIPOC and women community members. Providing education on economics and how it affects communities of color through the “Circulation of Our Dollar” events. She has also been instrumental in the development of food equity and justice programs in Ulster County. And hosts a “Support Your Neighbor Program'' that has now distributed tens of thousands of pounds of food and meals to those in need. Cofounder of the Annual Caribbean Carnival in Saugerties which brings art, music, and food in addition to cultural education to Ulster County. 

Currently, she is a board member of Harambee, Black Farmers United, Ulster County youth board, Ulster county workforce development, YWCA, Kingston Midtown Business Alliance, Blackout Coalition, and advisory of Hudson Valley Agribusiness Development Corporation. And has been instrumental in social justice initiatives such as the Saugerties police reform commission. 

As a wife, mother and grandmother she has dedicated her life to creating a better world for the next generation. And looks forward to continuing to make a positive impact in the community as an Ulster Community College Foundation board member. 

Rachel Reyes Jackson grew up in Manila, worked in Singapore, completed her graduate degree in Syracuse, and worked at various banks in New York. Rachel believes that education is the great equalizer of society, and therefore she encourages people to get a good education. She supports scholarship funds at her alma maters, Ateneo and SU. She works as an artist rep, promoting several visual artists and selling their work.

Robert R. Jacobsen, Esq. earned his J.D. in 2003 from Western New England University School of Law in Springfield, MA, his BA in Accounting from State University of New York College at New Paltz, New Paltz, NY, and his AS in Business Administration from Ulster County Community College, Stone Ridge, NY.  Robert is admitted to practice law in both the states of New York and Connecticut and is a member of the New York Bar Association and Ulster County Bar Association.  As a sole practitioner, Robert specializes in Real Estate Law with an office based in historic uptown Kingston, New York. He represents clients throughout the Hudson Valley primarily with the purchase and sale of residential and commercial real estate. Along with individual and corporate clients, Robert represents various local and national lenders in the mortgage closing process.  Robert is also a licensed New York State Title Insurance Agent. He is the owner and president of the Title Service Company, which is a registered agent with nationally known underwriter Westcor Land Title Insurance Company. Along with volunteering with the Foundation, Robert is also a 12-plus-year City of Kingston Planning Board member, having served under three different administrations. Robert and his wife Carly first met as students at SUNY Ulster, are President’s Challenge Scholarship sponsors, and were recipients of the 2019 SUNY Ulster Distinguished Alumni Award. Robert was inducted into the SUNY Ulster Alumni Hall of Fame in 2020.

Olana O’Connor, SUNY Ulster and SUNY New Paltz Alumna, fluent in Ukrainian, Russian, English, elementary level Spanish and Polish, previously Ellenville Middle School - Social Studies 8th Grade 2009-2013 and current board focus is the President’s Challenge Scholarship.  Olana is married to Joe O’Connor, Esq. and they are current sponsors for the President’s Challenge Scholarship. 

Victoria St. John-Gilligan is a tireless worker on behalf of community causes and institutions. She is highly respected for her energy, judgment, and ability to organize and motivate individuals.  She has served as a member of the Board of Directors for many major regional organizations and is a recognized leader on behalf of the not for profit and educational communities. Her commitment to Ulster County Community College and its mission has been foremost among her interests and activities for almost a decade. Her father, the late attorney Howard C. St. John, was instrumental in the establishment of the College and the family has been strongly associated with it for many decades.

Dale Robbins is the Creative Director, Pie Design  www.piedesign.com.  Pie Design is a small shop that staffs some of New York’s top design and animation talent.

Kathleen “Katie” Zell is a certified public accountant and graduate of Western New England University.  She also holds a Master of Accounting from the University of Hartford.  Katie is the President of Zell CPA, PC, a public accounting firm in Kingston, NY, specializing in taxation services for individuals and businesses. 

Prior to starting her own firm, she worked for PKHB CPAs PC (formerly Kimball & O’Brien, PC) for 13 years specializing in taxes and not-for-profit accounting, auditing, and taxation.  She also worked as an auditor for PricewaterhouseCoopers for three years in their private company services department.

Katie continues to serve as a volunteer giving back to her community, having held leadership positions on many boards throughout Ulster County, including the Junior League of Kingston,  People’s Place and the Friends of the Senate House, and most currently, the Ulster Federal Credit Union, Cornell Cooperative Extension – Ulster County, and Ashokan Center. 

Katie currently lives in Hurley, NY, with her husband Andrew and their daughter, Peyton, and son, Augustus.