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Meet The Board

Dr. Elmore Alexander is Dean of the School of Management at Marist College. Previously he held positions in faculty and administration at Philadelphia University, Johns Hopkins University, American University and the University of Memphis. His research interests include organizational communication and verbal and sexual harassment in the workplace, and he has served as a consultant for such organizations as the Army Research Institute, Federal Express, Hunt-Wesson Foods and the U.S. Postal Service.
Dr. Daniel Aronzon is president and CEO of Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie. He was the first medical director and founding partner of The Children’s Medical Group in Poughkeepsie, before which he was director of the Pediatric Emergency Service at Bellevue Hospital Center, and associate director of pediatric ambulatory care at the New York University School of Medicine. He has served on many boards, including the Pediatric Advisory Council for the Ann E. Dyson Initiative, a collaborative venture between the American Academy of Pediatrics and the Dyson Foundation, and has been honored by Healing the Children for his many volunteer missions abroad.
Scott Batulis has been president and CEO of Orange Regional Medical Center since 2006. He had been CEO of St. Joseph’s hospital in St. Paul, MN, where he was also vice president of HealthEast Care System. He was accountable for the heart care and neuroscience departments of three hospitals, as well as HealthEast’s ambulance, hospice and outreach laboratory businesses. He had also headed HealthEast’s Bethesda Rehabilitation Hospital and nursing home/assisted living network, ambulance company, medical equipment company, and three retail pharmacies. He lives in Orange County with his wife, June, and three children.
Peter Bienstock is president and chairman of Shawangunk Reserve, and is engaged in real estate investment and development in the Hudson Valley. He is vice chairman of Open Space Institute, a land trust which has helped preserve millions of acres of open space in the eastern U.S., and he is chairman of the Shawangunk Valley Conservancy, which supports environmental and land conservation work and historic preservation, primarily in the valley of the Shawangunk Kill in Ulster County. Mr. Bienstock also chairs the advisory board of the Hudson River Valley Institute at Marist College, and the executive board of Storm King Art Center. He and his wife Helena Johnson Bienstock reside in Princeton, NJ, New York City and Edgartown, MA.
Deborah Bogdanski is Frontier Communications’ general manager for NY South/Southeast, which includes Orange and parts of Sullivan, Ulster and Dutchess Counties. Prior to joining Frontier in 2007, she was VP of government initiatives and special projects for the Orange County Chamber, and chief of staff for former NYS Assemblywomen Mary McPhillips. Her numerous board positions include Orange County United Way, for which she was 2009 campaign chair. Ms. Bogdanski was recognized in 2003 by the US Small Business Administration as the Women in Business Advocate of the Year. She lives in the town of Wawayanda with her husband and two daughters.
Paul Calogerakis is senior vice president and senior relationship manager for the mid-Hudson Valley region at Key Bank, where he is responsible for commercial accounts in Dutchess, Putnam, Ulster, Orange and Sullivan Counties. Previously he worked for Fleet Boston, Riverside Bank and Poughkeepsie Savings Bank. Mr. Calogerakis served on the City of Poughkeepsie Planning Board and as City Councilman in the 1980’s. He has also been a board member of the Council of Industry, and is currently on the board of the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation. He has served on the board of the New York Business Development Corporation since he was elected their “Banker of the Year” in 1999.
Kevin Dahill became president of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association in July 2010, as CEOs of NORMET’s nearly 30 hospitals agreed to collaborate with their counterparts from Long Island, where Mr. Dahill remains president of the Nassau-Suffolk Hospital Council. He is also executive VP of the Healthcare Association of New York State. Previously he was president and CEO of New York United Hospital Medical Center in Port Chester. In addition to serving on a variety of health care task forces, Mr. Dahill has chaired the National Conference of Metropolitan Hospital Associations, and currently serves on the board of the New York Organ Donor Network and the Urban League of Long Island.
Tim Dean is president of Marshall & Sterling, one of the 30 largest privately held insurance agencies in the United States with more than 15 offices in New York and the US Virgin Islands. He came to Marshall & Sterling more than 25 years ago after graduating from the University of Michigan. In addition to holding property and casualty and life and health brokers and consultants licenses, Mr. Dean is a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC) and a Certified Risk Manager (CRM). He serves on several nonprofit boards including the United Way of Dutchess County, The Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley and the VBH Insurance Company, and he has been board chairman for the Dutchess County Regional Chamber of Commerce and the Mid Hudson Civic Center.
Todd Diorio is president of the Hudson Valley Building and Construction Trades Council, which represents 28 trade locals and 10,000 members, and is business manager of Laborers International Union Local No. 17. He serves on boards such as the Eastern NY Laborers District Council, Stewart Newburgh Empire Zone, Catskill Casino Coalition and NYS Laborers PAC Fund, and chairs the board of the Local 17 Health, Pension and Training Fund. He has served on the Ulster County IDA, and was appointed to Ulster’s Well Being Committee and to the Orange County Business Development and Retention Task Force. He has also worked as a registered lobbyist on issues such as prevailing wage, IDA reform, casino development and most recently the Utility Street Cutting Bill.
Richard Donatuti is senior vice president of JPMorgan Chase Bank, where he manages marketing and new business development in the Connecticut, Bronx, Westchester and Hudson Valley markets. A 35-year veteran of the Chase Bank Middle Market Group, he has held several managerial positions in the firm. Mr. Donatuti has served on numerous civic and nonprofit boards, and has been board president of both the Bronx YMCA and the Boy Scouts of America’s Bronx River District, Greater New York Council. A graduate of the University of Rhode Island, he is married with a daughter and lives in Rockland County.
Executive Board Member Phil Dropkin is counsel to Granite Associates, the Gerry Foundation, The Bethel Performing Arts Center, and related entities. He was general counsel to Cablevision Industries Corporation and to the NYS Legislative Commission on Science and Technology, and has also worked as an attorney with Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal (now SNR Denton) in NYC, and Garigliano Law Offices in Sullivan County. Mr. Dropkin serves on the Town of Goshen Environmental Review Board and Telecommunications Advisory Board, and chairs the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals. He is also president of the Arden and Horton LDC’s, and is a trustee of the Monroe Temple of Liberal Judaism. He runs marathons and enjoys skiing, tennis, golf and traveling; he and his wife live in Goshen and have a son in NYC.
William Helmer

William Helmer is president of Helmer-Cronin Construction, Inc. in Stony Point. He received a degree in civil engineering from Clarkson University, where he serves as a trustee, and received his professional engineers license in 1964. He is also a retired officer of the U. S. Army Corps of Engineers. Mr. Helmer chairs the board of Provident New York Bancorp and the Rockland Economic Development Corporation. The NYS Chapter of the Associated General Contractors of America elected him a director of the national association, where he chaired the Building Division and was elected a Life Director. Mr. Helmer and his wife, Sandy, have four daughters and seven grandchildren; they reside in Nyack and in Marco Island, Florida.
Executive Board Member Glenn Hoagland, executive director of the Mohonk Preserve, has for 25 years worked to save important landscapes and advocate for their balanced use. He has served as land preservation director for Scenic Hudson, executive director of the Dutchess Land Conservancy, and director of the Open Space Institute’s Citizen Action Program. Mr. Hoagland chairs the Region 3 Citizen Advisory Committee for the New York State Open Space Conservation Plan, serves on the Shawangunk Ridge Biodiversity Partnership Steering Committee and the Shawangunk Ridge Coalition, and is ex-officio to the Shawangunk Mountains Scenic Byway Regional Partnership. SUNY New Paltz named him Alumnus of the Year in 1998.
Jay Holt represents the fourth generation of Holt Construction Corporation in Pearl River. Mr. Holt grew up going to job sites with his father, Jack, before joining the company in 1989. Now Vice President – LEED AP, he manages new construction, alteration, renovation, and design-build construction for both the public and private sectors. He is past president of the Construction Contractors Association of Rockland County and a board member of the Rockland Community College Foundation. Mr. Holt enjoys snowboarding, ATV riding, boating and performing in the classic rock cover band Whiskey River.
Pattern Executive Board Member Donna Johnson-Klonsky is president of DJ Consulting Services, Inc., a management, business, career consultants & coaches firm that specializes in system analysis, development, management, and support. She is also chair of the board of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce. Ms. Johnson has been a board member of Elant, GET, Mid-Hudson Civic Center, and a SCORE business counselor. Since 2000, she has been a monthly contributing editor for business success articles for Fashion Mannuscript Magazine, a national publication, and authored NYS approved soft skills curricula. She graduated from Baruch College and expects to obtain her MBA from Empire State College in June 2011.
Julie Krieger has been M&T Bank’s administrative vice president for the Hudson Valley region’s commercial banking group since 2002. Previously she was vice president, commercial lending for the Bank of New York and for Barclays Bank of New York. Ms. Krieger chairs the board of the Ulster County Development Corporation, is treasurer of the boards of United Cerebral Palsy of Ulster County and the Benedictine Health Foundation, and has served on many other boards including the Astor Home, Dutchess Ulster Heart Association, Vassar Warner Home and NY Council of Nonprofits, Inc. She holds a bachelor’s degree and an MBA from Marist College, where she serves on the Business Scholarship Fund committee.
James Laurito is president and CEO of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. He was president and CEO of New York State Electric & Gas Corporation (NYSEG) and Rochester Gas & Electric until 2009. Previously he headed the Southern Connecticut Gas Co. and Connecticut Natural Gas Corp., and Consumer Applied Technologies, a subsidiary of Consumers Water Company. He serves on the board of the American Gas Association, the Upstate New York Advisory Board of the Federal Reserve Bank, and the board of University of Rochester, Strong Memorial Hospital. He received his BS in civil engineering from West Virginia University. Mr. Laurito, his wife VaNita and their son, Tyler, live in Rochester and Fishkill.
Pattern Board Secretary Suzanne Rhulen Loughlin is co-founder and Chief Administrative Officer of Firestorm® Solutions, a recognized leader in crisis management, vulnerability analysis, risk mitigation and business continuity. She previously served as Chief Administrative Officer of a public insurance holding company, was managing attorney of a law firm with offices throughout New York and Florida, and was a litigator at Wilson Elser Moskowitz Edelman & Dicker in NYC. Ms. Loughlin is a board member of the Sullivan County Industrial Development Agency and the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development, which awarded her their 2009 Distinguished Service Award. She also received the Catskill Mountain Business & Professional Women’s 2008 Woman of the Year award, and the Anti-Defamation League’s 2007 Americanism award.
Immediate Past Board Chair David MacFarland is retiring in July 2011 after more than 10 years as president and CEO of Riverside Bank. Previously, he was executive vice president of corporate banking for Premier National Bank, and regional president - Hudson Valley for Fleet Bank. He is a graduate of Rutgers University’s Stonier Graduate School of Banking. Mr. MacFarland serves on more than two dozen community boards and committees, and has chaired many charitable and civic projects in the region, including the Stewart Regional Alliance, the Orange County IDA, and the board of St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital. He has served on Pattern’s board since 1988.
Fr. Kevin Mackin, OFM, is president of Mount Saint Mary College, now ranked a Top-Tier Regional University (North) by U.S. News & World Report. A priest in the Order of Friars Minor, Father Mackin was previously president of Siena College. During his tenure as president-rector of Christ the King Seminary, a graduate theological school, he chaired the Seminary Department of the National Catholic Educational Association. Father Mackin is a commissioner of the Middle States Commission on Higher Education, has served on the board of the Association of Catholic Colleges and Universities, and chairs the Skyline Conference Presidents Council. He is also on the board of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce.
Executive Committee Member and past Board Chair Carl Meyer became president/CEO of The Solar Energy Consortium (TSEC) in 2010. Previously he was president/COO of Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corporation. He is past chair of the Northeast Gas Association, and serves on the board of New York State Business Development Corp. Locally, Mr. Meyer has chaired the SUNY New Paltz Business Advisory Council, as well as boards of Families First New York and Mount Saint Mary College, where he currently chairs the President’s Advisory Council. He is also a board member of the Vassar Brothers Medical Center and Winnakee Land Trust. He was awarded bachelor’s and master’s degrees in electric power engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is a registered professional engineer.
In 2004 Pattern Treasurer Michael J. Quinn was appointed president and CEO of Rhinebeck Savings Bank, where he began his career as a management trainee in 1984 after graduating from the University of Notre Dame. Mr. Quinn serves on the board of directors for Family Services Inc. and the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, Inc. In addition, he previously served on the boards of the Hospice Foundation and Red Hook Public Library. He resides in the City of Poughkeepsie.
Pattern Board Chair John Rath is TD Bank’s senior vice president for commercial lending in the lower Hudson Valley. He began his banking career in 1980 at the Bank of New York. Mr. Rath is active on many civic and nonprofit boards, including the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation, the Bardavon 1869 Opera House, the Orange County Community College Foundation, and the Vassar Brothers Medical Center, where he has served as chairman. He has also chaired the advisory board of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, and is past treasurer, trustee and elder for Mid Hudson Christian Church in Wallkill and Goodwill Evangelical Presbyterian Church in Montgomery. Mr. Rath lives in Newburgh with his wife Deborah; they have six children and one grandchild
Dr. William Richards has been president of SUNY Orange since 2003. He came from Denver, CO where he was CEO of the Westminster Campus, Front Range Community College. He has also been president of Otero Junior College in La Junta, CO, and president of Higher Education and Advanced Technologies (HEAT) Center. Dr. Richards says he finds the community college environment “most rewarding. The students are from diverse backgrounds and abilities, but above all they are committed to one goal: improving their lives and the lives of their community through education.”
Gannett’s 2010 Publisher of the Year Barry Rothfeld has since 2004 been president and publisher of The Poughkeepsie Journal, where he was executive editor from 1990 to 1994. Previously he was president and publisher of the Ithaca Journal and editor of the Press & Sun-Bulletin in Binghamton. He began his career in 1973 at the Gannett Suburban Newspapers Group in Westchester County. He has chaired the New York Newspaper Publisher Association's board of directors, sits on the board of Vassar Brothers Medical Center and the Alumni Board of the Columbia School of Journalism, and was the 2010 chair of the Dutchess County United Way Campaign.
Alan Seidman was appointed Executive Director of the Construction Contractors Association of the Hudson Valley in 2010. He had been VP of business development and regional manager for Clough Harbour Associates. Mr. Seidman served twenty years on the Orange County Legislature, including four years as its chairman. He has served on many civic and nonprofit boards, chairing boards for the Hudson Valley Regional Council and the Orange County Partnership for Economic Development. He is a past recipient of the Boy Scouts of America’s Distinguished Citizen Award and the Leadership Orange Award, is a life member of the Cornwall Volunteer Ambulance Corps, and serves on the Cornwall Planning Board.
James P. Smith, Jr. is president and founder of Advance Testing Company, which operates a state-of-the art, accredited materials testing laboratory in Campbell Hall, NY, and provides inspection and testing services across the east coast with projects in twelve states and Canada. In 1995 he formed Atech Center, Inc. to develop training programs in construction materials testing. Mr. Smith has served on many community boards, such as the Orange County Workforce Investment Board, Orange County Citizens Foundation, Mount Saint Mary College, and SUNY Orange. He is past chair of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, the Orange County Partnership, and the Hudson Valley Boy Scout Council, which awarded him the 2002 Distinguished Citizen Award.
Ralph Tragale is assistant director of government & community relations for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He joined the agency as an auditor in 1988, and has been its primary external affairs representative for the New York/New Jersey region’s major air transportation facilities since 1997. He is also responsible for managing the Aviation Development Council, whose goal is that local residents and businesses most impacted by airports receive the job, contract and procurement opportunities that airports provide. Mr. Tragale is a Brooklyn native who resides with his wife and two daughters in Aberdeen, NJ, where he coaches little league baseball and basketball and is active in numerous community and civic organizations.
Executive Board Member Michael Turturro, CPA, is a partner with Vanacore, DeBenedictus, DiGovanni & Weddell, serving in the accounting and client service areas. Previously he worked for a large Washington, DC firm specializing in government contracting, software development and construction, and he was a project manager for IEX Corporation, the software and engineering firm that developed the Air Phone. Mr. Turturro serves on the executive committee of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce, is vice president of the Hudson Valley Auto Dealers Association, and has been appointed to the Ulster County Comptroller’s Advisory Committee. He enjoys the performing arts, architecture and reading, and is an avid golfer, skier and bicyclist.
Ray Watroba is VP, Server and Storage System Test for IBM’s Server and Technology Group. Since joining IBM in 1979, he has held engineering management positions, directed worldwide manufacturing operations, and most recently, headed client support for Systems Technology Group executive advocates. He lives with his wife Nancy and three children in Salt Point, Dutchess County, and enjoys skiing, snowboarding, boating and golf.
Art Weintraub has served on Pattern’s board for 11 years, but his service actually began in 1967 as one of Pattern’s first staffers. He was appointed executive director of the Hudson Valley Health Systems Agency, and then became president of the Northern Metropolitan Hospital Association. He represented the Hudson Valley on the NYS Commission on Healthcare Facilities in the 21st Century, also known as the Berger Commission. Today Mr. Weintraub is a planning consultant in the healthcare industry, and he serves on the boards of the Orange County Citizens Foundation and the Mount Saint Mary College Advisory Board. He lives in Balmville, Orange County, with his wife Carol, a realtor.
Pattern Board Vice Chair Larry Wolinsky is a partner in the law firm of Jacobowitz and Gubits, LLP where he heads the firm’s environmental/ land use team. He has played an integral part in the creation and implementation of many of the Valley’s most regionally significant development projects. His background as a planner has sensitized him to the larger land use and environmental concerns which have furthered credible and responsible land use development in the region. Mr. Wolinsky is a charter member of the American Planning Association, and serves on the board and executive committee of the Sullivan County Partnership for Economic Development and the board of the College Foundation at SUNY New Paltz.