Westchester County Revolving Door, December 14, 2015

​Manhattanville College Selects New President

Last week, the trustees of Manhattanville College appointed Dr. Michael Geisler as its 13th President. Dr. Geisler is Vice President for Risk and Compliance, Professor of German, and former VP for the Language Schools and Schools Abroad at Middlebury College in Vermont. He will assume the presidency on July 1, 2016, following the retirement of Dr. Jon C. Strauss, who has served as president of the Purchase school for five years.  During his more than 20-year career at Middlebury, he held a number of significant leadership roles devoted to strengthening, integrating, and expanding Middlebury’s brand, programs, and enrollment here and abroad. Currently he is responsible for college-wide planning, management and oversight for risk management and compliance matters. In selecting him, Marcia Pearce Dewitt, Chair of the Presidential Search Committee and Vice Chair of Manhattanville’s Board of Trustees, said, “The Board and the Search Committee are strongly united that we’ve found in Dr. Geisler a most inspirational, thoughtful, and collaborative leader who comes with strong academic credentials, entrepreneurial and fiscal sensibilities, new business development, and fundraising expertise.”

HEINEKEN USA Adds Three Women to Its Leadership Roster

The landscape of brewing and distributing beer continues to change, and one of the biggest movements has been the increase in women becoming major players in the industry that has traditionally been male dominated. HEINEKEN USA, headquartered in White Plains, has recently added three new women to its leadership roster: Jessica Robinson has been recently appointed to Senior Director of Marketing for Portfolio Brands. Robinson, who most recently served as Brand Director of Sierra Mist at PepsiCo, succeeded Charles van Es. In her new role, she will oversee the company’s Strongbow, Newcastle, and Amstel Brands. Bridget Lasda was recently named the new Vice President of National Accounts. Lasda joins HEINEKEN USA from the Coca-Cola Company, where she was Vice President of Sales. Lasda had been with Coca-Cola for 13 years, most recently as head of the Target account. And Esther Garcia Martin was recently announced as the new Senior Director of Innovation. Martin is joining HEINEKEN USA from HEINEKEN Spain, where she most recently served as the Senior Group Brand Manager of Amstel, Non-Alcoholic and Flavored Beer. In that role, she led the innovation agenda for the Amstel Oro Radler brand. Prior to that role, she was Heineken Brand Manager in Spain, where she developed the brand plan that delivered doubt digit volume growth and improved all key brand health attributes.  

Concordia College Elects Its Ninth President

The Rev. Dr. John A. Nunes of Valparaiso, Ind., has been elected unanimously by the Concordia College-New York Board of Regents to serve as the school’s ninth president. Nunes, 52, has served for the past two years as the Emil and Elfriede Jochum Chair at Valparaiso University and plans to finish the current academic year before assuming the Concordia presidency on July 1, 2016. Concordia Board of Regents Chairman T. Scott Wittman noted that Nunes was unanimously and enthusiastically selected by the Board of Regents to be the ninth president of Concordia College‹New York. “John’s unique combination of qualifications, skills, and experience is perfect to lead the college forward, building on the 16 years of tremendous leadership provided by President George.” Nunes, an ordained LCMS minister, was President and Chief Executive Officer of Lutheran World Relief (LWR), Baltimore, from 2007 to 2013. Prior to joining LWR, Nunes taught theology at Concordia University Chicago in River Forest, Ill., and served as a management consultant, urban parish pastor, and community organizer in Dallas and Detroit. He holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Concordia College (now Concordia University), Ann Arbor, Mich.; a Master of Divinity degree from Concordia Seminary, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada; and both Master of Theology and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago. He also has received honorary doctorates from Concordia University, Ann Arbor, and Carthage College, Kenosha, Wis.

Friedland Realty Advisors Appoints Sarah Jones-Maturo as President 

Friedland Realty Advisors, a full-service commercial real estate, recently announced that Sarah Jones-Maturo has been named president of the company, effective immediately. In this role, Jones-Maturo will oversee day-to-day operations, with a particular focus on recruiting and internal training efforts. She will work alongside Founder and CEO Bob Friedland and work out of the company’s Harrison headquarters. Jones-Maturo spent her entire career at CBRE, being promoted three times and most recently serving as first vice president. Throughout her time at the company she represented clients such as Sprint, Sony, Dow Jones, and Aeropostale. In 2014 and 2015 alone, Jones-Maturo transacted over 1 million square feet of office deals. “We are thrilled to welcome Sarah to the Friedland Realty team,” said Bob Friedland. “Her extensive background in office services as well as leadership and business development acumen will be a true asset to the continued growth of the firm.”

Jerry McKinstry Joins November Team as Managing Director

The November Team (TNT), a leading New York political and corporate communications firm, today announced that it has named Jerry McKinstry managing director. McKinstry, a seasoned communications executive and a former Newsday columnist and editorial board member, will oversee TNT’s corporate communications unit and buttress the firm’s rapidly expanding political communications operation. “Jerry McKinstry is a number one draft pick—as a strategist, writer, and client manager—and The November Team couldn’t be more excited to welcome him aboard,” said TNT co-founder Bill O’Reilly. McKinstry, a Yonkers native who now lives in Ridgefield, Conn., most recently was a senior account executive at Thompson & Bender, a leading full service advertising, marketing and public relations agency based in Briarcliff Manor, where he was responsible for a wide array of corporate, government, real estate, not-for-profit and education clients. Prior to working in public relations, McKinstry was a columnist and Editorial Board member for Newsday, where he was responsible for coverage areas including New York State politics and policy issues pertaining to the northern suburbs of New York City and the Hudson Valley. Before Newsday, McKinstry was an investigative reporter and political correspondent for The Journal News/LoHud.com where he covered county government, state affairs and politics. At The November Team, McKinstry will be working with existing clients, which include candidates for office, issues campaigns, crisis communications and corporate media training, while also being tasked with growing the firm’s corporate clientele in the Tri-State area.

City of Yonkers Hires Two New Directors

Yonkers Mayor Mike Spano recently announced Andrew Lenney as the City’s new Budget Director, and Heliana Higbie as the City’s new Director of Sustainability. Lenney has been promoted to Budget Director after serving as the City’s Associate Budget Director since 2012. As Budget Director, Lenney will oversee and manage the City’s and Yonkers Board of Education’s capital and operating budgets. Lenney’s career with municipal budgets has spanned 16 years, having worked with New York City, Westchester County, and Yonkers. Prior to joining the City of Yonkers, he spent seven years with the Westchester County Budget Department, where he led the management, supervision, and training of countywide information technology as related to budget applications. In her new role, Higbie will facilitate efforts to achieve Yonkers’ sustainability policy goals of improving public health and quality of life, reducing costs, and expanding access to green jobs and businesses, within municipal government, homes, neighborhoods, and businesses throughout the City.

Higbie joins the City of Yonkers after serving as a Sustainability Project Manager for MTA New York City Transit where she worked in the climate adaptation and mitigation capital program area to protect New York City Subway and transit assets. Higbie also worked as a Sustainability Consultant at PepsiCo SAF where her accomplishments included greening the company’s fleet and implementing a recycling program between PepsiCo, the Inter-American Development Bank and elementary schools in Bogota, Colombia.

Westchester Community Foundation Names New Director of Philanthropy

The Westchester Community Foundation, one of the largest funders of nonprofits in Westchester County, has named Jennifer Hu Corriggio as its Director of Philanthropy and Donor Relations. Corriggio will be responsible for leading the Foundation’s initiatives for donors seeking to make an impact through their philanthropy in Westchester and beyond. She will oversee advising donors and their families on their giving goals and help them implement the best strategies for their personal philanthropy. Corriggio is a graduate of Cornell University and Duke University School of Law. Most recently, she served as a Program Fellow at the nonprofit Bolder Giving, whose mission is to support more effective philanthropy and to inspire donors to maximize their philanthropic impact. Corriggio came to the philanthropic world with a specialty in nonprofit law, previously practicing law at Perlman & Perlman LLP, and serving as General Counsel to the nonprofit Child Education International, Inc. She also has a certificate in Grantmaking and Foundations from New York University’s Heyman Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising. Prior to working in the nonprofit world, Jennifer practiced corporate law and litigation, and taught as a legal academic.