Distinguished Trailblazers celebrated in on-campus ceremony
QUEENSBURY, New York (Dec. 18, 2023) — SUNY Adirondack is proud to announce the newest inductees to the college’s Trailblazers, a recognition that honors alumni who achieve outstanding professional success, have a tremendous philanthropic impact on their communities and give back through community service.
This year’s inductees are the late John Marcantonio, Class of 1990, Tori Bishop-McWain, Class of 1991, Dean Felicetti, Class of 1992, and Amy Ryan, Class of 2000.
“It was truly an honor to celebrate the accomplishments of these distinguished alumni,” said Liz Lastowski, Class of 2000, director of Annual Giving and Alumni Relations at SUNY Adirondack Foundation. “It was particularly meaningful to have peers from the Trailblazers’ respective fields introduce them at the induction in a room full of our local business leaders.”
The alumni were honored Dec. 8 at an Investors’ Breakfast in SUNY Adirondack’s Northwest Bay Conference Center. Shelly Marcantonio accepted the award on behalf of her late husband.
About this year’s Trailblazers
Amy Ryan, Class of 2000, founder and chief circular economist of ESG Strategies, has more than two decades of strategic leadership experience in the public, private and government sectors. She has extensive application experience of sustainability policy in manufacturing through auditing and participation in COP16 with the U.S. delegation in the European Union. Ryan was appointed vice chairwoman of the Strategic Foresight Board of the Circular Economy Alliance, an E.U.-based circular economy policy research center, after advising international clients on sustainability and circular economy projects since the mid-2000s. Ryan serves on the boards of Harvard University Alumni Association’s Disaster Preparedness and Response Team, LifeWorks Community Action of Saratoga County, and Capital District YMCA Camp Chingachgook, in addition to being an adjunct professor at UAlbany/International School of Business of the Americas and an independent director for The Oil-Dri Corporation of America, Forbes Magazine’s seventh most successful small-cap company in 2024. Amy was named among The Post-Star’s 20 Under 40 in 2020, the University at Albany School of Business’s High Peaks Impact Award Founder, and the Top 50 Women in Sustainability by SustainabilityX® Magazine in 2022. Ryan discussed the benefits of the circular economy to the local community at the 2023 Annual Africa-ESG, Impact Investing and Sustainable Finance Forum, the University of Albany, APEC Malaysia World-Class Circular Economy of Industrial Parks, and Mohawk Valley (New York) Brownfield Developers Summit. She graduated from SUNY
Adirondack with a degree in Humanities and Social Sciences, from University at Albany with a Bachelor of Science in Earth and Atmospheric Sciences, and from Harvard with a Master in Business Management.
Dean Felicetti, Class of 1992, is an international leader in digital forensics and information governance and founder and former partner of The Oliver Group, a company that provides litigation and compliance support in data acquisition, forensic and legacy data remediation. As director of Data Risk and Remediation for Sullivan|Strickler, Felicetti provides litigation support, information governance and electronic evidence discovery services. He is the longtime head coach of The Prout School’s varsity basketball team, last year’s Rhode Island coach of the year; founder and former coach of Chariho Youth Basketball Association; offers basketball clinics; and speaks regularly to high school students about digital footprints. He played basketball at SUNY Adirondack, from which he earned an associate degree in Data Processing.
Toni Bishop-McWain, Class of 1991, is chief nursing officer at Saratoga Hospital. She has published articles in ProQuest and Healthy Cells magazines, and lectured at national nursing and health care conferences, including the National Stroke Association. She served as a board member on Community Health Care Clinic, Illinois Organization of Nurse Leaders, Heartland Community College Foundation, Illinois State University Mennonite College of Nursing and Prevent Child Abuse of Illinois. Bishop-McWain has more than 30 years of nursing experience, including as a critical care nurse, nurse manager, director of critical care and vice president of patient care. She is a member of American Association of Critical Care Nurses, American Association of Neuroscience Nurses, American Nurses Association, American Organization of Nurse Leaders and Sigma Theta Tau International Honor Society of Nursing. She earned an associate degree in Nursing from SUNY Adirondack, bachelor’s and master’s degrees in Nursing and Nursing Administration from Sacred Heart University, and a doctorate in Nursing Administration from Saint Francis Medical Center College of Nursing.
John Marcantonio, Class of 1990, died July 22, 2023, but his larger-than-life personality and love of community live on in all the lives he touched. Marcantonio was vice president and Business Development officer at Arrow Financial Corporation. He worked for several years for Adirondack Regional and Saratoga County Chambers of Commerce. Passionate about making introductions and connections throughout the community, he remained an active chamber member throughout his career. He also served for a decade on Glens Falls Rotary’s Board of Directors. Marcantonio was a fervent supporter of Alzheimer’s Association. As co-chair of the Northern Saratoga and Adirondack Walk to End Alzheimer’s, he was responsible for raising awareness and hundreds of thousands of dollars for Alzheimer’s research. He attended the Alzheimer’s Association’s National Leadership Summit six times, twice as a presenter because of his incredible successes. He was named the Alzheimer’s Association’s Volunteer of the Year in 2019 and served on its Board of Directors. An avid hiker and Adirondack 46er, he developed Paint the Peaks Purple, a hiking challenge in support of The Longest Day fundraiser for Alzheimer’s Association. Marcantonio volunteered as a coach for youth sports, including South Glens Falls Little League and Pop Warner, Northeast Hurricanes Travel Baseball and Adirondack Youth Hockey. A 1990 graduate of SUNY Adirondack with a degree in Business Administration, he went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in Business from SUNY Institute of Technology.
Learn about SUNY Adirondack’s past Trailblazers at https://www.sunyacc.edu/past-trailblazers.
