Board of Trustees

Arthur H. Rice ’73, Esq., is of counsel at Rice Pugatch Robinson & Schiller, P.A. He has extensive experience as both a litigator and a bankruptcy lawyer, including a significant number of jury trials in state and federal courts. Originally a native of Middletown, Connecticut, Rice graduated from Quinnipiac with a bachelor of arts in 1973 and moved to Miami to attend the University of Miami School of Law. After graduation, he stayed to practice law in Florida. Rice served in the U.S. Army as a helicopter pilot and was awarded the Purple Heart and the Distinguished Flying Cross as well as other citations. He retired with the rank of captain. Rice is a trustee for the Miami Art Museum.

John C. Abella ’83 is executive vice president with DDI Leasing Inc., cofounder and owner of DDI Leasing of New England, LLC, and cofounder and owner of BR Associates, LLC. He is a technology leasing veteran with more than 30 years of IT solution and equipment leasing sales and sales management experience. Prior to his election to the Quinnipiac Board of Trustees, Abella was an active member of the School of Business Advisory Board. He earned his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Quinnipiac in 1983.

Carlton L. Highsmith founded Specialized Packaging Group, a package design, marketing and engineering firm in New Haven in 1983. By 2009, SPG, with revenues of more than $180 million, had grown to become one of the largest manufacturers of consumer paperboard packaging in North America. The company was recognized as the largest minority-owned company in Connecticut. Highsmith currently serves on the board of directors of Key Bank and chairs the board of directors of the Connecticut Center for Arts & Technology (CONNCAT), a nonprofit organization that provides world-class, market relevant job training and financial literacy training to underemployed and unemployed adults in the New Haven area. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin and was awarded an honorary degree from Quinnipiac in 2008.

Barbara M. Beever ’81 served as a physical therapist at Hartford Hospital upon earning her bachelor’s degree in physical therapy from Quinnipiac in 1981. She also provided at-home physical therapy services for many years. Beever was an active member of the School of Health Sciences Advisory Board.

Brett M. Amendola ’91 is the managing partner of Aegis Wealth Partners, an agency of The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America in New York, New York. With more than two decades of experience at some of the world’s largest investment firms, Amendola works to assist clients in meeting their current financial needs while providing for future concerns. He received Guardian’s National New Agency Recruiting Award for 2013 and the GAMA–Career Development Award. Amendola earned a bachelor of science in financial management at Quinnipiac in 1991.

Patrick A. Charmel ’81 is the president and CEO of Griffin Health. Charmel has been associated with Griffin since 1979, when he served as an undergraduate intern while attending Quinnipiac University. Throughout his more than 40 years at Griffin, he has held various administrative positions leading to his appointment as chief executive officer in 1998. During his tenure, he has positioned Griffin Hospital as an innovative organization recognized as an industry leader in providing personalized, humanistic, consumer-driven health care in a healing environment. Charmel also serves as chairman of Planetree Inc., a subsidiary not-for-profit organization dedicated to improving the care experience in more than 800 care sites across 27 countries. In addition, he is chairman of the Value Care Alliance, a collaboration of Connecticut hospitals, health systems and physician organizations building the infrastructure necessary to deliver high value accountable care. Under his leadership, Griffin Hospital has received numerous awards including being named one of Fortune Magazine’s 100 best companies to work for in America 10 years in a row and a 2019 Newsweek Magazine “World’s Best Hospital.” Charmel earned a bachelor’s degree in health management from Quinnipiac and a master’s degree in public health from Yale University.

Alexander Clark is chief executive officer at Technolutions, Inc.

Erik M. Clemons is co-founder of Connecticut Community Outreach and Revitalization Program (ConnCORP), a subsidiary of the Connecticut Center for Arts and Technology (ConnCAT), designed to explore and implement opportunities for economic development and investment in New Haven.

Prior to this, Clemons was the founding CEO and president of ConnCAT, a non-profit organization based on the model of Bill Strickland’s National Center for Arts and Technology, which is dedicated to creating empowering art-based educational environments for at-risk public-school students and workforce training programs for under- and unemployed adults.

Clemons has an extensive background in nonprofit management and organizational leadership. For more than 20 years, he has served the interests of diverse and traditionally underserved communities. He serves as an education fellow at the Aspen Institute, Yale New Haven Hospital trustee, member of the Connecticut State Board of Education, board chair of the Housing Authority of New Haven (HANH) and on the Board of Directors at New Haven Bank.

With a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Southern Connecticut State University and a master’s degree in theology and ethics from the Hartford Seminary, Clemons is a recipient of an Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters from Albertus Magnus College in New Haven, Conn.

Deborah Dyett Desir, MD, is a graduate of Harvard University and Yale University School of Medicine. She completed residency in internal medicine at Yale-New Haven Hospital and fellowship in rheumatology at Yale University School of Medicine. She was the founder of the Arthritis and Osteoporosis Center, PC, in Hamden, Branford, and Milford, Conn., and served as its medical director for 26 years. She is currently an Associate Professor of Clinical Medicine in the Department of Medicine, Section of Rheumatology, Allergy & Immunology, Yale School of Medicine and the Medical Director of Yale Medicine Rheumatology Hamden.

Desir has served as the ACR Alternate Advisor to the AMA RUC Committee. She was a member of the ACR Government Affairs Committee, Committee on Rheumatologic Care, RheumPac and Finance Committee. She was a member of the State of Connecticut Partnership Advisory Panel on Lupus. She has served on the Ethics & Judicial Affairs Committee of the New Haven County Medical Association. She is on the Finance & Legislative Committees for the Connecticut State Medical Society (CSMS) and served as the CSMS Council representative from the Elizabeth Blackwell Woman’s Section. She is a past President of the New Haven County Medical Association.

She is active with the Theta Epsilon Omega chapter of AKA Sorority heading up the chapter’s COVID-19 Rapid Response Committee. She is a member of the New Haven Chapter of The Links, Inc., the New Haven Chapter of Girlfriends, Inc., the Garden Club of New Haven and the Board of Directors of the International Festival of Arts & Ideas. She is a member of the Garden Club of America’s Ad Hoc Committee on Cultivating Common Ground and Building Diversity. She currently serves on the Police Commission for the Town of Woodbridge, Conn., along with the Democratic Town Committee. She is a member of Trinity Episcopal Church on the Green in New Haven.

David W. Keiser is the former president, chief operating officer and director of Alexion Pharmaceuticals, building the company from an early stage development firm into a highly successful, profitable and fully integrated global biopharmaceutical company. Prior to cofounding Alexion in 1992, he held senior management positions in international operations, regional management and business development for G.D. Searle & Company Limited, a manufacturer of pharmaceutical products. Before joining Searle, he held Europe and Asia/Pacific regional management positions for the pharmaceutical companies Hoffmann La Roche Ltd. and subsequently Mundipharma AG, both headquartered in Basel, Switzerland. Keiser advises and serves on the boards of several development stage biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies. He is also president and director of a private foundation and serves on the boards of a number of nonprofit charitable organizations. He received his bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College and attended the University of Basel in Switzerland.

Marybeth L. Noonan ’82, along with her husband, Michael, founded a fiber optic company in 1992 and sold it in 2006. Prior to that, she enjoyed successful careers in real estate sales and human resources. She was also involved in her family’s wine importing business, Global Wine Importers, for many years. She serves on the UMass Memorial Hospital and Medical School Development Council as well as many charitable boards in Massachusetts. She earned a bachelor’s degree in organizational development from Quinnipiac in 1982.

Peter Novak is a general agent of Charter Oak Insurance and Financial Service Co. A 30-year veteran of the insurance and financial services industry, he previously served as general agent to MassMutual’s Rochester agency; co-general agent at the New England/Robinson Co. in Waterbury, Connecticut, and as an agent at the New York Life Insurance Company. Before entering financial services, Novak coached college basketball and was a social worker in his hometown of New Haven. He is the co-founder of the Charter Oak Fund, Charter Oak’s charitable arm, which supports numerous local philanthropic causes and organizations. In 2013, Novak and his wife, Kasia, established the Novak Family Polish Chair to strengthen ties between the United States and the countries of Eastern Europe. The chairman of the Central European Institute Advisory Board, he is a graduate of American International College and received a master’s degree from The Catholic University of America.

Lynne Pantalena, JD ’85, is the former managing director at Bank of America Private Bank. With more than 30 years of experience, she led a team of wealth management advisers to high net worth clients in the areas of estate and financial planning, tax payments, business succession and philanthropy. Formerly an attorney in private practice, she is a member of the Chicago Bar Association, the Chicago Estate Planning Council and the Connecticut Bar Association. A nationally sought-after speaker, Pantalena is a member of the Lyric Opera Planned Giving Committee and is a former trustee of La Rabida Children’s Hospital. She earned a bachelor of science degree from New Hampshire College and a master of public administration degree from New York University. She also holds a juris doctorate from Quinnipiac School of Law and a master of laws degree from Boston University.

An investor, philanthropist and art collector, B. Waring Partridge is the CEO of Antilles Financial Services Group, LLC in the United States Virgin Islands. Prior to this, he served as a vice president of AT&T for corporate strategy and new businesses. He holds 16 patents for telecommunications systems and apparatus. He also served in high level staff positions in Congress and in the U.S. Trade Representative’s office, as acting U.S. Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce and as a consultant for the State Department. In 2018, he and his wife, Carmen, established the Waring and Carmen Partridge Faculty Fellows Fund for the School of Law. An adjunct professor at Columbia University Business School, he holds a bachelor’s degree in economics from Yale College and a law degree from The Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law.

William T. Platt ’78 is the retired deputy managing partner of professional practice and retired deputy chief quality officer for Deloitte & Touche. Platt was a long-time member and the former chairman of the School of Business Advisory Board and currently chairs the President’s Advisory Board. He earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and served as an adjunct faculty member at Quinnipiac.

Robert J. Potter Jr. ’91, P’23, is a senior executive at Verodin, Division of FireEye. Prior to FireEye’s acquisition of Verodin, he held the position of chief revenue officer and was responsible for developing and delivering the global sales and marketing strategy, services, customer success and solutions that support Verodin’s customer needs. He is recognized as a leading expert in the field of cybersecurity by several publications and trade associations. Prior to joining Verodin in 2017, Rob held senior executive leadership positions at Symantec, EMC (RSA), IBM, Attachmate (WRQ), Lancope (acquired by CISCO), as well as multiple startups including co-founding STS Technologies. He currently serves as an adviser for BroadBranch Advisors, KCP Media and PICNIC Technologies and previously served on the board of Operation Renewed Hope Foundation, a nonprofit that assists homeless veterans. Rob has a BS in computer science from Quinnipiac, where he was captain of the men’s ice hockey team. He and his wife, Kathryn, founded the Robert ’91 and Kathryn Potter Endowed Scholarship Fund at Quinnipiac to further the participation of women in STEM.

Charles A. Saia Jr. ’91, MBA ’94, is a Senior Partner at Deloitte, the author of "You Got This, Kid! Words of Advice for Young Leaders," the former Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte’s Risk and Financial Advisory business, former Chief Risk, Reputation and Regulatory Affairs Officer of Deloitte and a frequent contributor to publications, including Forbes, The Wall Street Journal and Fortune. Chuck enjoys leveraging his more then 30 years of experience in providing a broad range insights on purpose driven leadership, risk, reputation and regulatory management, strategy and corporate governance to C-Suite executives, board members, young leaders and professionals. Saia served on the School of Business Dean’s Advisory Council, is a 2010 Business Leader Hall of Fame inductee and a 2015 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. A certified public accountant, he earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting and computer science, and an MBA from Quinnipiac.

Christian Sauska Sr. is president and CEO of Light Sources Inc. in Orange, Connecticut, and LightTech Ltd. in Budapest, Hungary. The company has grown to include manufacturing and sales locations in Europe and a sales location in China. An immigrant from Hungary, Sauska earned his bachelor’s degree in engineering from Bridgeport Engineering Institute and his MBA from the University of Bridgeport. In the early ’90s, he began to make wine. Today, the Sauska Wineries in Villány and Tokaj, Hungary, create world class dry wines, equal in quality and stature to the sweet Tokaji-Asz. for which Hungary is famous, and to the Bordeaux, which inspired his interest.

Richard A. Silver, Esq., a senior partner of Silver Golub & Teitell, is recognized as a leader of the litigation bar in the state of Connecticut and has been listed in Best Lawyers in America for Personal Injury and Medical Malpractice Litigation for the past 20 years. He is a past president of the Connecticut chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates, a prestigious organization of Connecticut plaintiff and defense trial attorneys, and was awarded the Lifetime Achievement Award by the Connecticut Law Tribune. He is also a past president of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and the Connecticut Chapter of the American Board of Trial Advocates. A graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law and the University of Pennsylvania, Rick received an honorary doctor of laws degree from Quinnipiac University School of Law.

Jeff Tengel is an executive vice president of M&T Bank. He leads the full complement of business lines, with enterprise-level responsibility for commercial banking, retail banking and wealth management. Prior to his current role, Tengel was senior executive vice president, commercial banking at People’s United. He moved to People’s United in 2010 from PNC Financial Services Group, which he joined pursuant to PNC’s acquisition of National City Corporation. At National City, he was a member of the executive management team and executive vice president of corporate banking, responsible for managing a portfolio of business units including capital markets, commercial real estate, leasing, specialized industry segments and private equity.

Tengel received his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Marquette University and his MBA from the Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University. He also sits on the boards of Bridgeport Hospital, Wakeman Boys & Girls Club and People’s United Community Foundation.

William C. Weldon ’71 is the former chairman of the board and CEO of Johnson & Johnson. He joined the company in 1971 in the sales and marketing department of its McNeil Pharmaceutical subsidiary. In 1982, he was named manager, ICOM Regional Development Center in Southeast Asia, and later held the posts of executive vice president and managing director of Korea McNeil, managing director of Ortho-Cilag Pharmaceutical in the U.K., and vice president of sales and marketing at Janssen Pharmaceutica. In 1992, Johnson & Johnson appointed Weldon president of Ethicon Endo-Surgery. He also was named a company group chairman of J&J and worldwide franchise chairman of Ethicon Endo-Surgery. In 1998, he was promoted to the executive committee and named worldwide chairman, Pharmaceuticals Group, and then vice chairman of the board of directors in 2001 before taking the helm as chairman. Weldon is a member of the board of JPMorgan Chase & Co., Exxon Mobil Corp., CVS Caremark and the Mountain Mission School.

Mike Zavodsky ’06 is the chief business officer of the Detroit Pistons. He oversees all sales, marketing and creative operations. Prior to joining the Pistons, he led the commercial sales, marketing and PR efforts for Roc Nation (U.S.). Before that, he spent 14 years with BSE Global, where he oversaw all sales and marketing for the company’s collection of teams and properties.

Zavodsky’s work in Brooklyn helped secure relationships with some of the top brands in the world. He also identified and engaged other nontraditional partners in the sports and entertainment industry, including GQ, Zappos, Steve Madden, Viacom, and Jackson Lewis, while introducing fantasy sports into mainstream sponsorship by securing FanDuel as one of the first two major pro partnerships in that category. Mike was critical in attracting New York Community Bank as the presenting partner for the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum and was responsible for the naming rights partnerships for IZOD Center, Rutgers’ High Point Solutions Stadium and Ford Amphitheater at Coney Island Boardwalk.

Zavodsky earned a bachelor’s degree in marketing and psychology from Quinnipiac in 2006.