2022-2023 MEMBERSHIP
LEE BRAGGS was appointed to the Board of Trustees by the New York state governor in 2019. Braggs retired in 2013, after serving more than 30 years as the chief waste water treatment operator at Great Meadow Correctional Facility. He serves as first vice president of the NAACP Glens Falls Branch and has held a number of offices during his more than 20 years of activity with the organization. His volunteer work also includes having served on the board of World Awareness Children’s Museum and being a trustee and ordained deacon of Faith Tabernacle Baptist Church. Braggs earned a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Alcorn State University in Mississippi.
ELIJAH CULLUM, a native of Brooklyn, New York, is a first-generation college student studying criminal justice. He serves as a student ambassador and is this year’s student trustee. A natural leader, Cullum led protests in New York City following the murder of George Floyd and ensuing Black Lives Matter movement. He is also a poet and an active member of the college’s Men of Color Alliance (MOCA).
EDWARD FITZGERALD is a co-managing partner in the Glens Falls-based law firm of McPhillips, Fitzgerald & Cullum, for which he represents a broad spectrum of private and nonprofit organizations. He is a past president of the board of World Awareness Children’s Museum, and serves as trustee and secretary of Warren County Bar Foundation, is a board member of Glens Falls Rotary Club and is on the finance committee of Tri-County United Way. He has also been a regular presenter at SUNY Adirondack’s Start-Up ADK course. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Maine and a doctorate from Albany Law School, cum laude.
AMIE GONZALES is the president and project manager of Hunt Companies, a general contractor specializing in light commercial construction, and serves as vice chair of the SUNY Adirondack Board. She served for eight years as a first class petty officer in the U.S. Navy as a mass communication specialist. Her work was published by more than 12 media outlets within the Department of Defense and external media outlets. She holds a Master of Business Administration in project management from Strayer University, a Bachelor of Science degree in business from Excelsior College and an associate degree in photographic technology from Herkimer County Community College. She holds a Certificate in Women in Leadership from Cornell’s SC Johnson College of Business and a Certificate in Business Strategy from Cornell’s SC Johnson Graduate School of Management. She is also a 2019 graduate of the Association of General Contractors, Future Construction leaders of New York State program.
KATHLEEN GRASMEDER, appointed to the Board of Trustees by the Warren County Board of Supervisors, serves as the Board's chair. Grasmeder is a managing director, senior portfolio manager and financial planning specialist at Morgan Stanley. In 2017, 2018 and 2019, she was named to Forbes magazine’s list of America's Top 200 Women Financial Advisors and Forbes' Best-in-State Financial Advisors. She is president-elect for Glens Falls Rotary. Her term on the college's Board expires June 30, 2024.
ROBERT JUDGE, Ed.D., a Washington County resident, was appointed to the Board of Trustees by New York state governor. Judge’s long career in education began in New York City. Regionally he worked at Shenendehowa Central School, Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake Central School, Hudson Falls Central School, SUNY Plattsburgh and College of St. Rose. Judge was a consultant for the United States State Department and traveled to West Africa to provide service to the American Schools of Ouagadougou, Upper Volta; Bamako, Mali; and Nouakchott, Mauritania. He was an authorial reviewer for the Economy Company’s reading program and was a member of Houghton Mifflin’s reference division’s task force. He earned a bachelor’s in English from St. Francis College, a master’s in English from University at Albany and a doctorate in reading from University at Albany. Judge’s term on the college’s Board expires June 30, 2021.
COLLEEN McDONALD, a New York native and National Board-certified teacher, was appointed by the Washington County Board of Supervisors. She is executive director of TEACHMEducation Services. She transitioned from a 32-year career in public education — during which she was a teacher, teacher leader, administrator, grant writer, curriculum writer, statewide grant site director and elected school board member — to leading local and statewide work. She is a professional learning facilitator, coach, grant writer and WSWHE BOCES program coordinator of the Classroom Academy, a sustainable two-year teaching residency and Apprenticeship program for graduate-level teacher candidates.
JAMES NOLAN, Ph.D., is a Washington County resident appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Kathy Hochul. He had a long career in higher education, including 40 years as a professor of business analytics and computer science and dean of the business school at Siena College. In addition, Nolan served on several school and nonprofit boards. He is the supervisor of the town of Greenwich and a member of Washington County Board of Supervisors. Nolan holds a bachelor’s degree in Physics, an MBA in Finance and Management Information Systems, and a Ph.D. in Public Administration.
DIANA PALMER, LP.D, LMFT, was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Gov. Kathy Hochul. Palmer is a licensed therapist and clinical supervisor in private practice in Glens Falls. In addition to her clinical work, she collaborates with graduate programs to train students for licensure and presents educational seminars and is a part-time lecturer at Northeastern University, teaching Public Policy Theory and Practice to doctoral students. She is the past president and a clinical fellow with the NY Association for Marriage and Family Therapy. Dr. Palmer is serving her second term as Third Ward councilperson for Glens Falls. She was appointed by Warren County Board of Supervisors to serve on the County Ethics Board and by Gov. Hochul to serve on the Juvenile Justice Advisory Group for New York state. She participated in numerous volunteer positions in the community, including at Open Door Mission, The Red Cross, coaching Odyssey of the Mind, and previously serving as Kensington Road School PTA vice president. She holds a master's degree in Counseling from California State University Los Angeles and a Doctorate in Law in Policy from Northeastern University. Palmer's term on the college's Board expires June 30, 2028.
PATRICIA PIETROPAOLO, Ph.D., was appointed to the Board of Trustees by the Warren County Board of Supervisors in 2009, serving as chair, a position she also held from 2015-2018. She is secretary of SUNY Adirondack's Board of Trustees. Pietropaolo is an educational consultant with a lengthy career in education, as a science professor and an administrator. She has served as assistant provost of the State University of New York, dean of Academic Affairs at Herkimer County Community College, and associate dean and dean of Academic Affairs at SUNY Adirondack. Pietropaolo’s term on SUNY Adirondack’s Board expires June 30, 2024.
TRUSTEES EMERITI
- H. Hudson Barton, 1960-1971
- John Bishop, 1992-1998
- R. Harry Booth, 2000-2020
- Leslie Bristol, 1971-1987
- Mark Bulmer, 2003-2016
- John J. Castle, 1970-1983
- Robert Clark, 1979-1995
- Catherine Crank, 1993-2002
- Barbara DeSantis, 1982-1996
- Homer Dearlove, 1960-1984
- Jack Irion, 1994-2003
- Joan Kubricky, 1991-2000
- John Morabito, 2008-2017
- Rich Norman, 1993-2007
- William Potvin, 1984-1998
- Joseph L. Randles, 1970-1988
- Merritt E. Scoville, 1960-1992
- Robert Van Dyke, 1983-1989
- William Walsh, 1996-1999
