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Paul M. Higbee (Chair)
Mr. Higbee is a partner of G.C. Andersen Partners, LLC, a merchant banking firm engaged in investment banking for emerging growth and middle-market companies. Mr. Higbee advises clients regarding, mergers, restructurings, and financings. Mr. Higbee has over 30 years of experience in all facets of investment banking. Prior to joining G.C. Andersen in 2001, Mr. Higbee was a Managing Director at Deutsche Banc Securities, PaineWebber, and Burnham Lambert. Mr. Higbee serves as a member of the board of directors for several public and private companies. Mr. Higbee received a BA in Economics from Princeton University and an MBA from the Wharton School.
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Ismael Betancourt
A successful businessman, leader and dedicated community member who has made significant contributions to the financial services industry and to the organizations he serves. He is the owner and Chief Operating Officer of Lazer Check Cashing which has five financial service centers located in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Queens. Mr. Betancourt serves on the Board of the Financial Service Centers of America and was a Board Director for the Financial Service Centers of New York where he served on the Scholarship Committee. He currently serves as LaGuardia Community College Foundation's Events Committee Chair.
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Nellie Borrero
A LaGuardia Community College alumna, Ms. Borrero is the Global Inclusion & Diversity Director for Accenture. In that capacity she leads an international team which is responsible for career development programs and opportunities for women and minorities in Europe, Latin America, South Africa and Asia. Ms. Borrero leads Accenture’s involvement in the United Nations-sponsored International Women's Day in all 49 countries in which Accenture does business. She has received numerous awards including: 2000 National Society of Hispanic MBA's Individual Corporate Executive Award; 1999 National Management Consulting Diversity Achievement Award; 1999 ASPIRA Circle of Achievers Award.
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Ms. Cecilia Briones
Ms. Briones is currently a Director in the Wealth Management Division of UBS AG serving Latin American clients. She was born in Santiago, Chile and immigrated to the U.S. in 1969. She has had an extensive career in the Wealth Management business working with Latin American countries at Marine Midland Bank, ABN Amro N.V. and Merrill Lynch. Ms. Briones has traveled extensively because of her work and enjoys visiting new countries and experiencing different cultures. She resides in Bayside, New York with her husband Gaston, who runs his own export business.
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Deborah Chan
A 1982 LaGuardia graduate, Ms. Chan now serves as a trusts and estates attorney with offices in Flushing, Queens, and Manhattan. She is also chair of the Chinatown Partnership. Prior to her appointment to the board, Ms. Chan was involved in a number of foundation events. She participated in an Alumni information session in which key alumni gave feedback on the College’s alumni relations’ plans and attended the LaGuardia Community College Foundation’s Innovative Leadership reception in 2010.
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Arvind Dharia
Mr. Dharia has been the CFO and Secretary of Steven Madden Corp. since 1992. He also served as a Board Director of the Company from 1993 through 2004. With an MBA in Finance, Mr. Dharia helped take the Company public in 1993 and oversaw the growth in annual sales revenues from $1 million in 1992 to $650 million in 2010. Thanks in part to his strong financial leadership, Steve Madden is now the second largest company in Queens in both revenues and profitability. Away from Steve Madden, Dharia is very active in his community. He is serving as a trustee of Vaishnav Temple of New York and was a director of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in New Yorkand is a committee member of Balasinor Association of America. Dharia served on the Internal Audit and Finance Committee and is a Trustee of the VRAJ temple of Pennsylvania. He is a trustee of Gujurati Samaj of New York. He is a passionate believer in the activities and goals of LaGuardia Community College.
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Peter Katopes, Ph.D.
Before coming to LaGuardia, Vice President of Academic Affairs Peter Katopes was Campus Dean/Dean of Faculty of the Ammerman Campus of Suffolk Community College. He is also the former Associate Dean of Business and former Associate Dean of University College at Adelphi University. His varied publications include scholarly writing about adult education, the Vietnam War and the Harlem Renaissance. His doctorate and master’s in English are from SUNY Stony Brook, with a BA from St. John’s. He is a poet and musician and he grew up in Astoria, Queens.
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Nick Lugo
After serving as President of the New Bronx Chamber of Commerce for three and half years, Nick announced in April, 2006 the establishment of the New York City Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Lugo founded Casa Publications, Corporation, parent company of the Spanish-language weekly newspaper, La Voz Hispana. He also took over the family travel business in memory of his father and mentor, changed the name from Cophresi to Nick Lugo Travel, a name that has become synonymous with air travel in New York’s Hispanic communities. The same year, Mr. Lugo founded the Hispanic Marketing & Advertising Group where he serves as CEO. Mr. Lugo served as a member of numerous boards including the National Economic Development Association, Ponce De Leon Federal Bank, the Governor’s Committee on Transportation Bond Issue, the Puerto Rican Dance Theatre, Inc., and the South Bronx Puerto Rican Development Corporation and as a member of the Advisory Boards for the NYC Off Track Betting Corp and Banco Popular.
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Gail O. Mellow, Ph.D.
President of LaGuardia Community College in NYC, one of the most ethnically diverse campuses in the U.S. LaGuardia is a two-year public college, serving over 50,000 students from 160 countries. Under her leadership, the College has won numerous awards. Dr. Mellow spearheads local economic development with LaGuardia’s Small Business Development Center, and NY Designs, a business incubator for design professionals. Dr. Mellow is the co-author of three books and more than thirty articles. Her third book, “Minding the Dream: The American Community College”, was published in 2008. She received an A. A. from Jamestown Community College, a B.A. from SUNY Albany, and her M.A. and Ph.D. from The George Washington University.
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Jose L. Orengo, Esq.
Executive Director for Government Relations of LaGuardia Community College. Mr. Orengo, previously the founding Executive Director of the Foundation, is a licensed attorney and graduate of Queens College and CUNY Law School. He has worked as a legislative attorney for the New York City Council and was the Deputy Borough President of Manhattan under C. Virginia Fields. Mr. Orengo is currently on the Board of Directors of the Puerto Rican Bar Association, serving as the treasurer.
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Raymond G. Saleeby
President & CEO of Remco Maintenance, LLC. Mr. Saleeby is an entrepreneur having successfully started several firms for himself and for large corporations. He was the Managing Director and Co-Founder of Blue Ridge Partners, a management consulting and venture development firm focused on business process outsourcing, particularly for banking and brokerage businesses. Formerly he was Co-Founder and President/CEO of FirstPoint, a technology services corporation with a business value network consisting of national contractors and financial services companies. Mr. Saleeby acquired and served as the President/CEO of FirstPoint Energy’s wholly owned subsidiaries Teldata Solutions, Myutility Inc., UtilityOne and Energy Information Services. Mr. Saleeby is currently a member of the Board of Directors of Energy New England.
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Mr. Suresh L. Sani
Mr. Sani is Vice President of First Pioneer Properties, Inc., a family owned company, which manages commercial buildings and land owned by family related entities across the U.S. A graduate of Harvard College and New York University School of Law, Mr. Sani was formerly an associate in the Real Estate Department at Shea & Gould in New York City, and is a current member of the New York Bar. Mr. Sani serves on the Dean’s Strategic Council at New York University School of Law and is also a member of the Compact Committee, an elected committee that oversees the curriculum at the Port Washington Public Schools.
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Jane Schulman
Jane E. Schulman is the Vice President of the Division of Adult and Continuing Education (ACE) at LaGuardia Community College, where she leads the division’s senior leadership team. Last year ACE served over 35,000 adults, children and businesses in a wide variety of programs, courses and workshops. Serving at LaGuardia for over 30 years, Jane has greatly contributed to making LaGuardia Community College a city, state and national model in the field of adult and continuing education. Over the years, Jane has secured grant funding of more than $25 million, and created and promoted numerous entrepreneurial programs that are responsive to the needs of individuals, businesses and the community. She is recognized by the New York State Department of Education as a leader in career development, and has authored training materials that have been implemented throughout the state. Jane has spearheaded many successful initiatives, including the establishment of a Workforce1 Career Center on campus and strengthening the use of educational technology within ACE. Jane's educational background includes an undergraduate degree from SUNY at New Paltz and an MS in Guidance and Counseling from Brooklyn College.
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E. Ramone Segree
E. Ramone Segree was appointed Vice President for Institutional Advancement/Foundation Executive Director at LaGuardia Community College in February 2009. A Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE), Mr. Segree, in 2002, established Segree Associates, a fundraising and strategic-management firm, and before that led advancement efforts at several higher education institutions. Mr. Segree is a faculty member in Columbia University’s M.S. in fundraising management program, and he has served on numerous civic, cultural and professional boards including the Association of Fundraising Professionals. Mr. Segree received a bachelor’s degree in political science and education from California University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in community psychology and organizational development from Pennsylvania State University, and an honorary associate’s degree from Community College of Allegheny County.
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Marilyn Skony Stamm
Ms. Skony Stamm is the Chief Operating Officer of Stamm International (SIC), a 70 year old, privately held global mid-sized manufacturer and distributor of industrial and commercial heating, ventilating, air conditioning equipment, chimney and flues. Ms. Skony Stamm is responsible for strategic and financial planning, budgeting, investment management, acquisitions, tax, audit and overseeing the operating subsidiaries in the United States, Canada, England and Ireland. Prior to joining Stamm International, she was Vice President and Curriculum Development Officer for Chase Manhattan’s Global Bank reporting to the Vice Chairman. She also worked for the Continental Grain Co., one of the world’s largest privately held commodity companies where she was a Vice President of Conti Currency, a subsidiary specializing in risk management and currency arbitrage. Ms. Skony Stamm holds a BA in Political Science from Northwestern University and an MA in International Law and Finance from the Fletcher School of Law & Diplomacy affiliated with Tufts and Harvard Universities.
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Angie Yu
Ms. Yu, and her husband, Michael, were instrumental in the formation of Tommy Bahama, a men’s clothing company, which they sold recently. She is now Executive Vice President of G. Star Apparel, Inc., in New York. Ms. Yu, who is involved philanthropically in China and the United States, has made a generous contribution to the Foundation. She and her husband have established the Yu-Lin Chinese Language Scholarship Fund to provide scholarships for non-Chinese LaGuardia students taking Chinese language and culture classes.
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Michelle V. Francis
Ms. Francis, the founder and principal at THE FRANCIS COMPANY, an intellectual advisory company, has 20 years of experience in intellectual property. Prior to founding her company, she worked with over 40 companies in both the United States and abroad. Ms. Francis, who has a JD from Pepperdine University School of Law, was a litigator in a private practice in Los Angeles before she began her in-house intellectual property experience.
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Lisa Selz
Ms. Selz graduated from Goucher College with a B.A. in Latin. She worked at Manufacturers Hanover Trust and Tiffany and Co. before going to work in a small family business, which she eventually ran. Since 1993, Ms. Selz has helped manage the Selz Foundation with a focus on humanitarian, educational, geriatric, homeopathic, animal causes and the arts. She currently serves on the boards of the Allen-Stevenson School, The Ethel Walker School, Goucher College, Touch A Life Foundation, The Middle Patent Rural Cemetery Association and the Alumni Board of the Rippowam Cisqua School. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Bernard, and their two sons.
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