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Dr. Joseph S. Brosnan
President, Delaware Valley College
Joseph S. Brosnan began his tenure as the 12th president of Delaware Valley College in August 2007. Dr. Brosnan came to DelVal after serving as Vice President for; Strategic Planning and External Affairs at Teachers College, Columbia University for 12 years As a senior officer, Dr. Brosnan led a $155 million capital campaign, the largest amount raised by a school of education in the nation, and provided leadership in areas including technology, finances, development, strategic planning and public affairs. He worked closely with two of Teachers' presidents to build a strong and active Board of Trustees.
Dr. Brosnan has been deeply involved in development and external-relations activities at several institutions of higher education. He possesses tremendous leadership skills and an ability to bring diverse groups of people together around common goals. He has completed the New Presidents' Institute and the Institute for Educational Management at Harvard University.
Prior to his time at Teachers, Dr. Brosnan served as President of Belmont Abbey College in Belmont, N.C., from 1990 to 1995 where he instituted a master of arts in Middle Grades Education, which has been recognized as one of the 12 best middle-grade teacher prep programs in the country, and was also a member of the psychology faculty. His research interests include the educational and vocational decision-making process of college students and the strategic decision-making process.
Dr. Brosnan's career has spanned several decades and reached all function areas of higher education. He was Senior Vice President for University Relations at St. Bonaventure University, Olean, N.Y., Chief Advancement Officer and Executive Director of the Potsdam College Foundation for the State University of New York at Potsdam and Associate Dean of Students at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
Dr. Brosnan earned his bachelor's degree from Marist College in Poughkeepsie, N.Y., and his master's and doctorate in counseling psychology from the State University of New York at Albany.
Dr. Brosnan serves on the Board of Directors of the national "I Have a Dream Foundation," empowering children from low-income communities to attain a college degree.
Donald D. Brown, Jr.
Senior Partner, Spiegel, Brown, Fichera, & Coté, LLP
Since 1975 Donald Brown has been affiliated with the law firm of Spiegel, Brown, Fichera,& Coté, LLP. He has been engaged in all phases of litigation and trial practice, as well as appellate work and general practice. Prior to this, he was a Confidential Law Assistant to the Justices of the Appellate Division of the Supreme Court, Third Department and Assistant District Attorney for Dutchess County. Mr. Brown has also served as Town Justice for the town of Washington in Dutchess County and as an adjunct instructor at Marist College in Poughkeepsie, NY.
Mr. Brown has been admitted as a member of the Bar of New York State, United States Supreme Court, United States Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, United States District Court for the Northern District of New York and United States District Court for Southern District of New York.
He has received many awards and distinctions including Who's Who in American Law, Who's Who in Practicing Attorneys and American Jurisprudence Awards for Excellence in Property Law. He's a member of Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Bar Register of Preeminent Attorneys and the American Board of Trial Advocates. He received his bachelor's degree from Marist College and his Juris Doctor from St. John's University School of Law.
Mr. Brown is the author of "Products Liability: The Genesis of 'Second Collision'", published in the New York State Bar Journal in January 1979. This publication has been reprinted on numerous occasions for instructional materials by the New York State Bar Association Continuing Legal Education Section.
Mr. Brown has also been involved with the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, New York State Trial Lawyers Association, New York State and American Bar Association, Dutchess County Magistrates' Association, New York State Bar Association Committee to Confer with New York State Medical Society, New York State Bar Association Committee on Continuing Legal Education and has served as President of Dutchess County Bar Association.
W. Warner Burke
Edward Lee Thorndike Professorship of Pychology & Education and Education Program Coordinator for Graduate Programs in Social-Organizational Psychology, Teachers College, Columbia University
Professor Burke is professor of psychology and education and coordinator for the graduate programs in social-organizational psychology. He is also Associate Editor of the Journal of Applied Behavioral Science. Professor Burke earned his B.A. from Furman University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from the University of Texas, Austin.
Prior to coming to TC in 1979, he served in senior positions at Clark University, the NTL Institute, and as executive director of the OD Network. Professor Burke's consulting experience has been with a variety of organizations in business-industry, education, government, religious, and medical systems.
A Diplomate in I/O psychology through the American Board of Professional Psychology, he is also a fellow of the Academy of Management, the American Psychological Society, the Society of Industrial and Organizational Psychology, and past editor of both Organizational Dynamics and The Academy of Management Executive.
He has authored over 100 articles and book chapters in organizational psychology and authored, co-authored, or edited 14 books. He has received numerous awards, including in 1989 the Public Service Medal from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, in 1990 the Distinguished Contribution to Human Resource Development Award, in 1993 the Organization Development Professional Practice Area Award for Excellence-The Lippitt Memorial Award-from the American Society for Training Society and Development, and in 2003 both the Distinguished Scholar-Practitioner Award from the Academy of Management and the Lifetime Achievement Award from the OD Network.
Iris Chen
President & CEO, "I Have A Dream" Foundation
Iris has served as President & Chief Executive Officer of the "I Have A Dream" Foundation since June 2007.Prior to this role, she served for four years as Teach For America's New York City Executive Director, where she led a major expansion in the city and grew the local corps from 250 to 1,000 teachers. Previously, she worked as a management consultant with McKinsey & Company, and as a summer associate at both Sullivan & Cromwell and the United States Attorney's Office in the Southern District of New York.
Iris got her start in education as a 1990 charter corps member with Teach For America in New York City, where she taught fourth and fifth graders for three years at P.S. 307 in Brooklyn. After completing the Coro Fellows Program in 1993-94, Iris joined Teach For America's national staff, serving in several positions including Director of Public Affairs and then Vice President of Program, where from 1995-98 she led the recruitment, selection, training, and ongoing support of corps members nationwide.
Born in Washington, D.C., as the middle of seven children, Iris graduated magna cum laude from Yale University with a bachelor's degree in East Asian studies. She earned her JD/MBA from Harvard University, where she graduated with honors and was awarded the Horace W. Goldsmith Fellowship for nonprofit leadership. Iris currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Achievement First-Bushwick Charter School, and on the advisory boards of the William E. Macaulay Honors College at The City University of New York, Children For Children, New York Civil Rights Coalition, and Metro New York. She is also a member of the New York Bar. In her spare time, she likes to run marathons, cook, and entertain. She just completed her first ultramarathon in the fall of 2007.
Michael Gallis
Principal, Michael Gallis & Associates
Michael Gallis & Associates, a strategic planning and design firm, was formed in 1988. Since that time, the company has grown to become a multi-disciplinary firm offering a wide variety of planning, real estate and information services to a broad range of public, private and institutional clients across the country.
In addition, Mr. Gallis has led in-depth strategic development programs for a number of regions including Detroit, Cincinnati, Memphis, West Michigan, Orlando and Charlotte, as well as for several states, including Connecticut, Rhode Island, Illinois, New Jersey and for nations including Canada and the US. Mr. Gallis was recently a consultant to the National Surface Transportation Revenue and Study Commission on developing the "Big Picture" component of the US 21st century transportation vision, which involved describing the infrastructure the US must develop to effectively compete in the global economy.
Mr. Gallis was recently named a member of the Founding Board of the International Radical Innovation Institute. He has been a featured speaker and seminar leader for a variety of international and national meetings and conferences on subjects ranging from urban development and regional planning to transportation, economic development and technology. Gallis and his firm have received many awards and honors, including a National Design Award from the U.S. Department of Transportation and the National Endowment for the Arts, and two National Economic Development awards for work on the Concord-Cabarrus Sourcebook.
He has served on numerous boards and commissions, including the Governor's Commission on a Competitive North Carolina, the Advisory Board of the International Congress of the Atlantic Rim and the Mayor's International Cabinet. He also was selected to join a technical assistance team sent to Poland to provide advice on major metropolitan development, and is a Fellow of the Institute of Urban Design in New York.
Mr. Gallis was an associate professor of architecture and planning in the College of Architecture at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte from 1974 to 1997. In 1990 he was selected as the first Fellow at the Institute of Urban Studies. Gallis received a Bachelor's degree in Architecture from the University of California, Berkley and two Master's degrees - one in Architecture and one in City Planning - from the University of Pennsylvania.
Arthur Levine
President, The Woodrow Wilson Foundation
Arthur Levine is the sixth president of the Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation. Before his appointment at Woodrow Wilson, he was president and professor of education at Teachers College, Columbia University. He also previously served as chair of the higher education program, chair of the Institute for Educational Management, and senior lecturer at the Harvard Graduate School of Education.
Dr. Levine is the author of dozens of articles and reviews. His most recent book is When Hope and Fear Collide: A Portrait of Today's College Student (with Jeanette S. Cureton). Among other volumes are Beating the Odds: How the Poor Get to College (with Jana Nidiffer); Higher Learning in America; Shaping Higher Education's Future; When Dreams and Heroes Died: A Portrait of Today's College Students; Handbook on Undergraduate Curriculum; Quest for Common Learning (with Ernest Boyer); Opportunity in Adversity (with Janice Green); and Why Innovation Fails.
Much of his research and writing in recent years has focused on increasing access to higher education and improving equity in the schools. Dr. Levine's numerous opinion editorials appear in such publications as The New York Times; The Los Angeles Times; The Wall Street Journal; The Washington Post; and The Chronicle of Higher Education.
Dr. Levine has received numerous honors, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Carnegie Fellowship, as well as the American Council on Education's "Book of the Year" award (for Reform of Undergraduate Education), the Educational Press Association's "Annual Award" for writing (three times), and 17 honorary degrees. In 1998, Change magazine listed him as "One of the Most Outstanding Leaders in the Academic Community." He currently sits on the Boards of Blackboard, Inc., DePaul University, and All Kinds of Minds. He is a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.
Dr. Levine was also previously President of Bradford College (1982-1989) and Senior Fellow at the Carnegie Foundation and Carnegie Council for Policy Studies in Higher Education (1975-1982). He received his bachelor's degree from Brandeis University and his Ph.D. from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
James J. Linksz
President, Bucks County Community College
Since July 1992, Dr. Linksz has served as President of Bucks County Community College. During that time the College has built on its fine reputation by increasing its investments in technology by over $10 million, by creating options for students at new off-campus sites and via distance learning, and by updating campus buildings and infrastructure. In 1996, the college opened a new Music building, and in 1999 the College opened its new Gateway Center and Upper County Campus. A new Art building and Wellness Center opened in 2002, and an Allied Health addition in 2007. The new Lower Bucks Campus <http://www.bucks.edu/lbc> opened in Fall 2007.
Prior to coming to Bucks, Dr. Linksz served for 12 years as the Chief Academic Officer and five years as Professor of Art and Chairman of the Humanities Division at Catonsville Community College near Baltimore. Before that he was the founding Chief Academic Officer at Rappahannock Community College in Virginia, where he had oversight of the total academic program in this two-campus college.
Dr. Linksz completed his bachelor's degree at Dartmouth College, and earned his master's and doctoral degrees at Columbia University. At Columbia he was a W. K. Kellogg Fellow in community college management. He also completed Harvard University's Institute for Educational Management.
His community activities include service as Treasurer of the Federal Lands Reuse Authority, memberships on the Lower Bucks Chamber Leadership Board, Bucks County Violence Prevention Task Force, Pearl Buck International Board, Temple/Lower Bucks Hospital Advisory Board, YWCA Advisory Board, and Children's Cultural Society Board. He is an ordained elder at Doylestown Presbyterian Church and served on its Session, as former Chair of the Personnel Committee, and as a member of the Senior Choir.
Dr. Linksz also served as President of the Pennsylvania Commission for Community Colleges, and Chair of the Council of Community College Presidents, and founding Chairman of the Pennsylvania Virtual Community College Coordinating Board.
He is married to Dr. Donna Linksz, Dean of Mathematics, Science, Engineering and Computer Science at Catonsville, and they share three children all in graduate school or working in the Maryland/DC area.
Michael Moss
Member of the Bucks County Board and overall Managing Board, Team Capital Bank
Michael Moss is a member of the Bucks County Board and overall Managing Board for Team Capital Bank. Team Capital Bank was organized in early 2005 by a group of prominent business leaders in Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The bank provides a comprehensive set of financial services, including traditional retail and commercial banking products, mortgage banking and commercial lending.
The bank's business strategy is to open different locations as de novo banks, each with its own management team and locally based Board of Directors. The purpose of this decentralized approach is to create unparalleled service quality through local decision-making that is sensitive to the unique needs of each market.
Mr. Moss is involved with the Bucks-Mont Katrina Relief Project. In addition to continuing to rebuild homes, and following the completion of a day-care center, the Bucks-Mont Katrina Relief Project broke ground on March 13, 2007 for a desperately needed animal center in Hancock County. Mr. Moss is Chairman of the animal center project. The 6,000 square foot center will provide a haven for dogs and cats and other small household pets to receive medical care and, for those without homes, to await adoption.
Mr.Moss is also CEO of Intercontinental Distributing Inc., which is a world wide operating trading company, with the main office based in Easton Pennsylvania. The company's main objective is to trade, import and export various kinds of consumer products.
Michael O'Connor
President/Founder Independent Professional Services, Inc
In 1997, Michael O'Connor started Independent Professional Services, Inc., a financial service company providing back office, benefits administration, and contract and vendor management services to corporate customers and professional consultants across the USA.
Mr. O'Connor is also the President and Founder of PrimeNet Enterprises Inc., a New York based consulting firm servicing the New York regional financial services sector, Traxis Management LLC, a Pennsylvania based commercial real estate management company that owns and operates commercial real estate in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, and Friends Lane Commercial Condominium Association.
Previously, Mr. O'Connor served as a Board Member and Vice President of Newtown Business Development Association, Senior Vice President and Founder of SQL TOOLS Inc., Group Vice President of The NetPlex Group, President and Founder of Software Resources of New Jersey Inc., Programmer Analyst/Independent Contractor to Financial Institutions, and Market Analyst/Project Manager for Howard Hoffman Associates, a wholly owned real estate management subsidiary of Lehman Brothers Kuhn Lobe.
Mr. O'Connor's educational background includes the NYU Systems Analysis Program, Grumman Data Institute - Computer Programming, a Business Administration minor in Real Estate from City University of New York, Baruch College - Zicklin School of Business, and Palm Beach Junior College.
He is also an FAA Certified Air Traffic Controller- Radar Ground Approach Control and served in the US Army - Spec 5. Air Traffic Controller Tours of Duty - Vietnam and Germany.
Mark S. Schweiker
President & CEO, Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce
Mark S. Schweiker became President & CEO of the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce (GPCC) in February 2003 and set an aggressive economy-building agenda.
One of his early successful efforts was to raise an initial $16 million investment from the region's business leaders to create Select Greater Philadelphia, an economic development marketing affiliate. Select is governed by the CEO Council for Growth and Mr. Schweiker is its chairman.
Prior to joining the Chamber, Mr. Schweiker served as the 44th Governor of Pennsylvania - the only governor in the nation to hold the position as a direct result of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on the United States - and enjoyed a relatively short tenure that was long on accomplishment. Interestingly, many of his policy pursuits and program successes as governor parallel the current priorities of the GPCC.
As a precursor to his economy-building efforts at the Chamber, Gov. Schweiker worked to make Pennsylvania more attractive to both employers and employees through worker training and retraining.
Gov. Schweiker also ushered in an exciting, new era of academic achievement and fiscal stability to the troubled Philadelphia public school system. Working to ensure 215,000 students receive a quality education, he helped assemble the largest urban reform plan in the history of American public education.
In July 2002, Gov. Schweiker led one of the most successful mine rescues in national history when he oversaw a 77-hour operation in Quecreek, Somerset County that saved nine trapped coal miners. "Nine for nine" was his announcement to a thrilled world.
Mr. Schweiker earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Bloomsburg University in 1975. He also holds a master's degree in administration from Rider University. After college, he entered the business world and advanced to positions at Merrill Lynch, McGraw Hill, and his own management-consulting firm.
He was first elected to public office in 1979 as Middletown Township Supervisor, and in 1987 was elected Bucks County Commissioner. He was first elected Lieutenant Governor in November 1994 and re-elected in November 1998.
Mark Schweiker lives in Bucks County, Pennsylvania with his wife, Kathy, and their three children.
Thomas W. Watson
Former Vice Chairman, Omnicom Group
Dean of Omnicom University, Omnicom Group
Tom Watson is the former Vice Chairman of the Omnicom Group Inc. and continues to be responsible for Omnicom's management education and leadership development as Dean of Omnicom University. He also contributes to the management of the MBA Residency Program in his role as a Consultant to Omnicom Group.
In 1999, he initiated a company global study on Employee Relationship Management and its impact on profitability, and subsequently published in David Maister's 2001 book "Practice What You Preach." He wrote "People Make Profits" for Advertising Age (4/28/03) on this work. He has also contributed work on "The Organization Brain" concept and organizational learning at Omnicom in Heskett, Sasser and Schlesinger's 2003 book "The Value Profit Chain." In 2003, he introduced Six Sigma to Omnicom companies; a profit improvement program to quickly and cost-effectively make companies more efficient in their processes and more successful in client satisfaction and retention.
In 1994 he developed the Senior Management Program in conjunction with Len Schlesinger of the Harvard Business School for management education and leadership development for Diversified Agency Services, the largest division of Omnicom. In 2000 he expanded the SMP to include senior managers of all divisions of the company creating "Omnicom University."
Mr. Watson began his business career in 1958 in sales with Abbott Laboratories. From 1960-1963, he worked for Merck & Co. in marketing and started his advertising career with Interpublic's Erwin Wasey agency in account management in 1963-1965. This was followed by a year with the Robert A. Becker healthcare ad agency, before joining BBDO in 1966.
In 1986, he helped develop BBDO's network agency strategy, created the Network Training Program to implement the strategy and was a member of the "4101" team that created Omnicom. At the holding company level, he has contributed to the development of various integrated marketing communications business models for clients.
He has managed several OMC pro bono initiatives with Omnicom companies for; Jackie Robinson Foundation, In Roads and the Arthur Ashe Institute for Urban Health.
In 2004, he created an Executive-In-Residence program at Delaware Valley College. He is also a clown in the annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. He has produced a short film that was screened at The Palm Springs Film Festival in 2002 and is currently co-producing his first play in New York: "2 Bare Arms."
Mr. Watson is a graduate of Delaware Valley College (B.S.) and Hofstra University's Frank G. Zarb School of Business (MBA)and received an honorary Doctorate in Humane Letters from Delaware Valley College.
He lives in Soho with his wife, actor Judee Wales Watson.