John Jay College Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees
John Jay College Foundation, Inc. Board of Trustees
2021-2022
Chairman of the Board
Jules B.Kroll is executive chair and co-founder of K2 Integrity. He also serves as chairman of Kroll Bond Rating Agency, Inc., and as a member of the board of directors of BlueVoyant.
Jules is the founder of Kroll, Inc., and the acknowledged pioneer of the modern investigations, intelligence, and corporate security industry. In 1972, he established Kroll Associates Inc., the prototype for a new breed of professional services firms dedicated to mitigating risk. By employing former prosecutors, law enforcement officials, journalists, and academics who used sophisticated fact-finding techniques to address decision-makers’ need for accurate information, Jules established investigations and risk consulting as indispensable corporate services.
In 2004, Jules sold Kroll Associates to Marsh & McLennan Companies, ultimately reaching $1 billion in annual revenue. He currently serves as chairman of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Foundation. Jules is a former member of the Board of Regents of Georgetown University and the Board of Trustees of Cornell University and also served as the chairman of the Georgetown Law Center Board of Visitors.
Jules received an LL.B. from Georgetown University Law Center and a B.A. from Cornell University.
Trustees
Alan S. Abel is Executive and Global Leader of Crowe Horwath LLP’s Anti-Money Laundering Practice, and served similar roles at PwC and Coopers & Lybrand. Abel has assisted numerous global and regional financial institutions including the Bretton Woods and other multinational enterprises to help them improve their governance, business processes and controls. Abel has worked with thirty-five foreign governments to help them strengthen their legal and regulatory regimes, including the privatization process of Latvia following the fall of the Iron Curtain, the accountancy profession in Jordan, and assisting the transition of the Panama Canal Zone from the U.S. to Panama under the Torrijos-Carter Treaties.
Abel represents the AICPA (American Institute of Certified Public Accountants) to the Treasury Department for developing U.S. anti-money laundering guidance, and to the International Federation of Accountants for the accountancy profession globally. At the request of former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers, Abel participated in a Task Force for developing guidance on providing financial services to foreign “Politically Exposed Persons” (PEPs). Abel is formerly the CFO and Information Technology Director for the Jewish Social Services Agency of Greater Washington, one of the country’s largest community services and health care agencies, and was the only staff in the Agency’s 100-year history to be appointed to its Board. Abel has testified before Congress as a private industry expert on financial crime, has made live appearances on the CNN “SquawkBox” and CNBC “Maverick of the Morning,” and has written numerous articles. He speaks often in professional venues and is quoted frequently by the press. Abel is a CPA who is also certified in Financial Forensics. He is licensed in the District of Columbia and Florida, and is a Certified Fraud Examiner as well. Abel holds a B.A. from Brown University and an M.S. Accounting from Georgetown University. He is also the Executive Sponsor of Crowe’s Gay and Lesbian Association (GALA) People Resource Network (PRN).
Mark Flower serves as Interim Vice President and Chief Operating Officer at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In this role, he oversees areas that include Public Safety, Information Technology (DoIT), Facilities Management, Finance and Business Services, Human Resources, Space Planning and Capital Projects and Theater and Event Support Services. He joined John Jay in 2014, serving first as Business Manager, before being named Assistant Vice President for Finance in 2016-2020.
Prior to coming to John Jay, Mark worked in the K-12 public school system and was the Assistant Superintendent for Business at the Levittown, Port Jefferson, and West Babylon school districts from 2006-2014. He also taught as a 7th grade Technology Education teacher for the William Floyd School District.
Mark holds a professional diploma in School Business Administration from Long Island University, a master’s degree in Technology Management from Stony Brook University, a master’s degree in Manufacturing Engineering from NYU Polytechnic University, and a bachelor’s degree from Drew University.
Paula Howell Anderson '98 is a partner in the law firm of Shearman & Sterling LLP, where she works in the Litigation Group and has built an international reputation in such areas as Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (“FCPA”) investigations, anticorruption, sanctions and AML compliance, cross-border commercial disputes, M&A-related litigation, bankruptcy litigation, antitrust and international arbitration. Her clients have included global leaders in the finance, technology, healthcare, insurance, automotive, telecommunications, oil and gas, mining, media and entertainment, and manufacturing industries. She has been a longstanding member of the firm's Diversity Committee and co-chaired its Black Lawyers Inclusion Network. She currently serves as the Global Associate Development Partner, overseeing the firm’s professional development initiatives for associates, including practice support, training, and mentoring. In addition to her work as a litigator, Anderson has done extensive pro bono work teaching Advanced Trial Advocacy Training programs for prosecutors at the United Nations International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and at the International Criminal Court. She has also trained prosecutors, judges and law enforcement personnel in East Africa on prosecuting cases of human and wildlife trafficking. Anderson has been recognized by a number of industry publications, including Savoy Magazine, which recently named her as one of the Most Influential Black Lawyers. Anderson earned her bachelor’s degree, summa cum laude, from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, where she was class valedictorian, and her law degree from Harvard Law School..
Gerry Byrne is the Vice Chairman of PMC (Penske Media Corp). PMC owns leading entertainment, fashion and digital media brands that include Variety, the Hollywood Reporter, Rolling Stone, Billboard, Deadline, Indiewire, TVLine, WWD, Footwear News, The Robb Report, ArtNews and SheMedia. Byrne’s decades of accomplishments as a media executive, entrepreneur and community leader are highlighted by a long time run as publisher of Variety where he dramatically transformed that business into a powerful, diversified, global media brand. The start-up publisher of both Electronic Media and Crain’s New York Business, Byrne also successfully created The Quill Awards for NBC before he led a division of Nielsen that included The Hollywood Reporter, Billboard, Adweek and Backstage. Additionally, Byrne’s serves as Executive Chairman of Washington Life Magazine.
A staunch believer in “participation”, Byrne is on the boards of numerous not-for-profits including Fisher House (Audit & Executive Committees), the Intrepid Museum, Friends of the Vietnam Veterans Plaza, the Bob Woodruff Foundation, Fisher Center for Alzheimer’s Research, the Creative Coalition, the Hamptons International Film Festival (Advisory Board), the IFP – Independent Filmmaker Project, the John A. Reisenbach Foundation (Chairman), and the Armory Foundation. He is also on the U. S. Advisory Council of the IESE Business School, University of Navarra in Barcelona, the Advisory Board of the Fordham University Gabelli School and the Board of the John Jay College of Criminal Justice Foundation. In November 2012, Byrne also launched, as Founder/Chairman, the first ever Veterans Week NYC, a series of events dedicated to honoring and supporting veterans and their families. He was awarded the “Salah M. Hassanein Humanitarian Award” at ShowEast ’96, New York’s Elaine Kaufman Cultural Center’s 2002 Distinguished Service Award and the NYPD Marine Corps Association 2002 “Semper Fi” Award for his work in the community. And in June 2009, NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg presented Byrne the “Made In NY” Award for his support of Gotham’s entertainment and media industries. In June 2014, he was inducted into the MIN Sales Executive’s Hall of Fame. In November 2017, General Robert Neller, then Commandant of the Marine Corps, presented Mr. Byrne the Department of the Navy’s Meritorious Public Service Award. And in March 2019, he was named to the Hillvets 100. Hillvets is a DC based initiative seeking to amplify the power and presence of veterans in government, policy, and politics.
Byrne is a member of the British Academy of Film & Television Arts and the New York Athletic Club.
A 1966 graduate of Fordham College, Byrne served as a Marine Officer in Vietnam in 1968/69 and was awarded the Navy Achievement Medal with Combat V.
Angela M. Crossman serves as Professor and Associate to the Provost for Faculty at John Jay College. Angela earned a Ph.D. in Developmental Psychology from Cornell University in 2001 (M.A., Cornell University, 1998; B.A., Dartmouth College, 1994). She came to John Jay College in 2003 from a Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Institute for the Study of Child Development (UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School, New Brunswick, NJ). She is a faculty member of the Psychology & Law, Criminal Justice and Developmental Psychology doctoral programs at the CUNY Graduate Center.
Dr. Crossman’s research interests include the development and socialization of lying and truth-telling in children, the reliability and credibility of children’s memory and testimony, and adolescent sexting behavior. Her research has been funded by the National Science Foundation and the Canadian Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (with Dr. Victoria Talwar). Her research has been published in Developmental Review, the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, and Trauma, Violence & Abuse. She is a member of the Child Maltreatment editorial board and a Fellow of the Association for Psychological Science.
Muhammad U. Faridi '04 is a partner at the law firm Patterson Belknap, where he works in the litigation department. His practice focuses on complex commercial litigation, and he has handled a wide variety of litigation matters at various stages for large financial institutions, such as financial guarantors and hedge funds. He was the recipient of the New York State Bar Association’s 2014 Outstanding Young Lawyer Award for having rendered outstanding service to both the community and the legal profession. Faridi has also received The Legal Aid Society’s Pro Bono Publico Award for multiple years, MFY Legal Services, Inc.’s Partner in Justice Award, the Brooklyn Bar Association Volunteer Lawyers Project’s TD Bank Champion of Justice Award, and has been recognized for multiple years as a Rising Star in the New York-Metro edition of Super Lawyers. From 2007 to 2008, Faridi served as a Law Clerk to the Hon. Jack B. Weinstein of the United States District Court, Eastern District of New York. He graduated with a B.A. summa cum laude from John Jay in 2004 and went on to attend City University of New York School of Law, where he graduated in 2007.
Todd Fisher is Managing Director Scalable Solutions at Year Up, a not for profit focused on closing the opportunity divide by connecting diverse young adults to high quality jobs and employers and providing them the skills, experience, and support to be successful. Following a
30-year career in the finance and investment industry as a private equity investor and C-level business leader, Todd decided to pursue a second career focused on social impact and economic mobility. He spent 2018 as a Fellow in Harvard’s Advanced Leadership Initiative (ALI), a one-year program which transitions individuals with at least 25 years of leadership experience to new careers solving significant societal problems. At Year Up, he created and leads a disruptive innovation team that provides
solutions to both connecting opportunity talent to high quality jobs at scale and enabling other organizations to deliver an end-to-end Year Up- like program in a cost-effective, rapidly scalable way.
Prior to ALI, Todd was a Partner and Global Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) at Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co (KKR) in New York, a global investment firm specializing in private equity, real estate, energy, infrastructure and credit strategies. He chaired KKR’s Management Committee and Risk Committee and sat on a number of the firm’s Real Estate and Private Equity Investment and Portfolio Committees. Prior to KKR, Todd worked for Goldman Sachs in NY and Drexel Burnham Lambert in Los Angeles.
Todd holds a BA in Biology from Brown University, an MA in International Affairs from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) and an MBA in Finance from the Wharton School. He is a member of the Boards of KKR Real Estate Finance Trust Inc, New Visions for Public Schools, Johns Hopkins SAIS, and John Jay College of Criminal Justice, as well as a member of various committees of Brown University and the US Holocaust Memorial Museum. -
LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson '75, graduated magna cum laude from John Jay College in 1975, after which she earned both a J.D. and an LL.M. in taxation from the New York University School of Law. She began her legal career in 1978 at the New York Office of Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, which she left to join the staff of the nonpartisan Congressional staff of the Joint Committee on Taxation in 1982. In the early 1990s she turned her attention to tax legislative and regulatory work and became a founding partner of the highly regarded boutique law firm of Washington Counsel, PC. She became a Principal of Ernst & Young LLP in 2000 when this Big Four Accounting firm acquired Washington Counsel. After a distinguished 35-year career as a tax lawyer, she retired from Ernst & Young in June 2013. LaBrenda now devotes time to her longtime avocation as a genealogist. She qualified for the Certified Genealogist® credential in 2015, and focuses on writing and lecturing in the field. In 2017 LaBrenda was first elected as a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists and currently serves as President of the credentialing body.
Richard H. Girgenti is CEO and Owner of IDPL Consulting, an executive leadership coaching and risk consulting firm and Vice Chairman of the Board at K2 Integrity, a global financial crimes, risk compliance, monitoring and investigative firm. He is also Senior Counsel at Compliance Systems Legal Group (CSLG), a boutique law firm that focuses exclusively on corporate compliance, ethics and governance.
Previously, Mr. Girgenti retired from KPMG LLP where he served as the National and Americas leader for the firm’s Forensic Advisory Services, a member of the Board of Directors and the firm’s Global Forensic Executive Committee. As a member of the Board of Directors, he chaired the Governance Task Force, Professional Practice and Ethics & Compliance, and Nominating Committees. He has also served as a member of the Audit & Finance and Pension Committees.
Prior to joining KPMG, Mr. Girgenti was the New York State Director and Commissioner of the Division of Criminal Justice where he oversaw and coordinated the policies and initiatives of all of the state’s criminal justice agencies and worked closely with all federal and state law enforcement agencies. He is a former veteran senior prosecutor in the Office of the Manhattan District Attorney, where he was the Chief Administrative Assistant District Attorney responsible for the operations and inter-governmental affairs of a 500 attorney prosecutor’s office. He also handled investigations, trials, and appeals in both the state and federal courts, including investigations and prosecutions of white collar, violent and major narcotics organized crime cases.
He has more than 45 years of experience both nationally and globally conducting investigations, helping assess, design and implement compliance programs and providing fraud risk management advisory services to public and private corporations, as well as government entities and not-for-profit organizations.
Mr. Girgenti serves on a number of non-profit boards and is a frequent lecturer and writer who is the co-author of two books: The New Era of Regulatory Enforcement: A Comprehensive Guide for Raising the Bar to Manage Risk (McGraw-Hill, April 2016) and Managing the Risk of Fraud and Misconduct: Meeting the Challenges of a Global, Regulated and Digital Environment (McGraw-Hill, March 2011).
Shauna-Kay Gooden '04 currently serves as Counsel for Newell Brands. She previously served as the Assistant General Counsel in the Office of the New York City Comptroller. Her experience encompasses a wide range of areas, including contract drafting and negotiation, resolving contractual disputes, general securities regulation matters, procurement matters and compliance monitoring. Prior to joining the Office of the New York City Comptroller, Gooden was an associate at the law firm of K&L Gates LLP. At K&L Gates she participated in litigating complex commercial disputes, including claims related to commercial contracts, foreclosures and constitutional law. She also has extensive experience in various matters involving non-profit organizations, including forming and organizing non-profit corporations and drafting and negotiating commercial contracts on behalf of non-profit corporations. Gooden holds a law degree from Northwestern University School of Law and a master’s and bachelor’s degree from John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
Dr. Yi Li is the Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs at John Jay College of Criminal Justice. Li brings more than three decades of higher education leadership, including award-winning research, scholarship and a proven track record for increasing gender and ethnic diversity in STEM programs and launching innovative student success programs.
Li grew up in China during the Cultural Revolution, when public K-12 education was largely in disarray and teaching was considered “suspect.” Being fortunate enough to test into Xi’an Jiaotong University, he earned his degree in Mathematics, and developed a deep appreciation for education, equality, and optimism. Li went on to receive his Ph.D. in Mathematics from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and did his postdoc at the University of Chicago.
Prior to coming to John Jay College, Li was the Provost and Vice President of Academic Affairs at California State University, Northridge, where he also served as Professor in the Department of Mathematics. At CSUN Li made diversity and inclusion one of his top priorities, recruiting, mentoring and retaining faculty and staff committed to building a supportive community for all people.
Li also served as Dean in the College of Science and Mathematics at Wright State University since 2011; professor and chair of the Department of Mathematics at the University of Iowa; associate professor at the University of Rochester; and L.E. Dickson instructor at the University of Chicago.
Li fully understands the transformative power of higher education and is deeply committed to the social mobility of underrepresented people. At John Jay he hopes to empower the faculty and execute smart strategic plans for the betterment of the entire College community.
Cal Mathis is the Chief Security Officer for S&P Global. In this role, he is responsible for leading, designing and driving all worldwide protective programs for the enterprise including global security initiatives, crisis management, incident response, protective services, travel safety and security technology & projects. He is also the coordinator of the Corporate Crisis Management Team.
Prior to S&P Global, Cal was appointed by the Mayor to the position of Deputy Commissioner and Sheriff, City of New York. In this role he
was responsible for leading an agency of 250 employees tasked with enforcement and emergency incident response functions. While in this position, he modernized the agency and oversaw the response and recovery efforts of the Office of the Sheriff after the attacks on the World Trade Center. Prior to this role, Cal was a lieutenant detective commander with the NYPD Intelligence Division and responsible for leading protective programs for visiting dignitaries and conducting terrorism investigations.
Cal is a member of the International Security Management Association (ISMA), Overseas Security Advisory Council (OSAC) and the American Society of Industrial Security (ASIS). He is also a volunteer with Get Out & Stay Out NYC, a non-profit organization that supports young men with criminal justice involvement. He holds Bachelors and Master’s degrees from John Jay College, is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and has completed security executive leadership programs at Georgetown University and the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School.
Karol Mason is President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice. In her long legal career in both the private and public sectors, President Mason has been an exceptional voice for equality, fairness and criminal justice reform, issues that are at the heart of John Jay’s mission. She was a leader in the Obama Administration on juvenile justice issues, bail reform and reentry for individuals leaving prison, and in her distinguished career at Alston & Bird LLP she was the first African American woman elected as chair of the management committee at any major national firm.
President Mason, who assumed the office on August 1, was recommended by Chancellor James B. Milliken after an extensive national search. She will be the first woman and the first minority to serve as president of the college, whose motto is, “educating for justice.”
Jim McCann ’75 is a highly successful entrepreneur, public speaker and published author whose passion is helping people deliver smiles. McCann's belief in the universal need for social connections and interaction led to his founding of 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, which he has grown into the world's leading florist and gift shop and Celebrations.com, the leading website for expert party planning content and advice. McCann's willingness to embrace new technologies that help people connect and express themselves, such as 800 phone numbers, the Internet, mobile commerce and social networking, often long before others, has enabled him to stay at the forefront of consumer and social trends. As a result, McCann has become an award winning public speaker, a published author and a frequent guest on radio and television programs nationwide. McCann's strategy for growth includes an effective combination of birthing new businesses and making acquisitions of businesses and brands that resonate with customers as great sources for exceptional gifts. McCann has expanded his company's gift offerings to become a leading player in the gourmet food and gift baskets business. McCann has also steered the company into the emerging areas of content and media by founding Celebrations.com, a leading, interactive social website for party planning, tips and information. McCann's focus on customer engagement has enabled the company to stake out an industry leading position in the fast evolving areas of social and mobile communications, earning numerous awards for its initiatives and enabling it to deepen its relationships with customers. In addition to serving as Chairman of the Board of Directors for 1-800-FLOWERS.COM, McCann is a member of the Board of Directors of Willis Group Holdings Limited and a variety of private and not-for-profit boards.
Arthur J. Mirante II joined Avison Young in 2012 as a Principal and Tri-State President, based in the firm's New York City office. One of the most accomplished and respected professionals in the commercial real estate industry, Mirante serves as a member of Avison Young's Board of Directors and Executive Operating Committee, and is responsible for business development, growing revenue and building strategic industry relationships to establish Avison Young's position in the Tri-State regional marketplace. Prior to joining Avison Young, Mr. Mirante worked at Cushman & Wakefield for more than 40 years, where he most recently served as President of Global Client Development for seven years. Prior to that, he served as the firm's CEO for 20 years. During Mirante's tenure as CEO, Cushman & Wakefield's revenues increased from $100 million to $1 billion and the firm expanded from 60 U.S. offices to 173 offices, including 100 outside the country. He also significantly expanded the firm's capabilities into Advisory and Corporate Services, and diversified its financial services expertise to include the multi-family sector. In the role of President of Global Client Development at Cushman & Wakefield, Mirante focused on expanding existing client relationships and developing new systems in an effort to continuously improve client relations and service. Throughout his career, he has participated in some of the New York market's largest and most complex transactions, including the sale of the World Trade Center, the headquarters relocations of MasterCard International and the Guardian Life Insurance Company, the record $1.72 billion sale of 200 Park Avenue for Metropolitan Life in 2005, and the record $1.8 billion acquisition of 666 Fifth Avenue in 2007. Mirante and his wife, Elizabeth, are staunch financial supporters of the John Jay Vera Fellows Program for outstanding undergraduates who are committed to social justice and public service. Mirante earned his JD degree in 1968 from St. John's University Law School.
Secretary of State Rossana Rosado
Rossana Rosado was appointed New York State Secretary of State on February 3, 2016 and unanimously confirmed by the State Senate on June 15, 2016. Her leadership has helped make the Department of State one of the most dynamic agencies in State government.
As Secretary of State
From serving as the first woman Editor and Publisher of the largest Spanish-language newspaper in the country, to championing prisoner re-entry initiatives, to working as an award-winning producer, Rossana Rosado brings a unique depth and diversity of experience to her role as New York Secretary of State.
Throughout her time as Secretary, Rossana Rosado has led the department through a modern restructuring, including the implementation of innovative local government and professional licensing programs. Secretary Rosado has also ushered in improved and responsive services for immigrant New Yorkers and overseen the launch of the state’s foray into Mixed Martial Arts via the New York State Athletic Commission.
In 2017, the Secretary implemented Governor Cuomo’s County Wide Shared Services Initiative, which led to the submission of 34 specific county plans in its first year. The result so far: nearly 400 projects with more than $200 million in projected taxpayer savings.
Through the Office for New Americans, the Secretary launched Governor Cuomo’s Liberty Defense Project, a public-private initiative to bring critical legal services to immigrants, regardless of status.
Secretary Rosado also chairs an effort between the Department of State, the New York State Department of Corrections and Community Supervision and the State Education Department to re-establish and expand the Barbering Program for incarcerated individuals. This important initiative eases the complex re-entry transition by providing education, job skills and the opportunity for state occupational licensure prior to release.
Committed to the agency’s economic planning and development mission, Secretary Rosado also spearheads the Strategic Assessment Implementation Team, a multi-agency review of the Regional Economic Development Council (REDC) competition, helping to inform the state’s capital investments.
As Publisher and CEO of a Newspaper
Secretary Rosado served as Publisher & CEO of El Diario La Prensa for 18 years, overseeing more than $22 million in annual revenue. In the editorial pages, she advocated for women’s empowerment, re-entry and reintegration of individuals returning to society from prison, fairer and more humane immigration policies and many other issues affecting a wide array of New Yorkers. Through her leadership and voice, she established the paper as a leading entity for social and economic justice. During her 30-year media career, Secretary Rosado earned an Emmy Award, a STAR Award from the NY Women's Agenda, and a Peabody Award for Journalism.
Beyond the Department of State
Secretary Rosado is an accomplished public servant. She served on the board of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey from 2012 to 2015 and was reappointed in 2017. Secretary Rosado was a Distinguished Lecturer at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice prior to joining Governor Cuomo’s Administration, and has been a member of the College's Foundation Board of Trustees since 2012. She has served as an advisor to elected officials on their transition teams at the highest levels in New York City and State governments.
Spotlight on Re-Entry and Reintegration
Secretary Rosado has been personally involved in issues with respect to prisoner re-entry. Alongside Professor Anthony Thompson (NYU Law), Secretary Rosado co-chairs Governor Cuomo's Council on Community Re-entry and Reintegration of New Yorkers returning from prison. She also served on Governor David Paterson's Task Force on Juvenile Justice and taught at Sing Sing and Otisville Correctional Facilities in New York State.
Education and Personal Life
A native New Yorker, Secretary Rosado received her B.A in Journalism from Pace University and a Master in Criminal Justice from CUNY John J. College. Recently, she was awarded with an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Humane Letters from Pace University.
She resides in Westchester County with her husband and two children.
Dr. Alex Rovt is the President of IBE Trade Corporation, a world leader in the production, sales and marketing of agricultural fertilizers. A native of Ukraine, Dr. Rovt came to the United States in 1985, and two years later he took a sales job with IBE Trade. By 1996, he became the company's president and primary owner, leading the firm to its current position of controlling 12 percent of the world's ammonia supply and 6 percent of the ammonium nitrate. Today, IBE Trade clients include top agri-business players such as Cargill, ConAgra and Koch Nitrogen. Rovt has also diversified into New York real estate, having purchased 30 buildings, with plans for expanding that portfolio. A Brooklyn resident, Rovt is an active supporter of and contributor to civic and educational causes, including One Brooklyn Health System, Inc., that is composed of three hospitals, Interfaith Medical Center, Brookdale University Hospital Medical Center and Kingsbrook Jewish Medical Center, Chairman of the Board of Trustees, the New York City Board of Corrections, former Vice Chair of the Board of Trustees, and a local Jewish schools and community center. He also engages in charitable work in his native Ukraine. Rovt earned his PhD in International Economics from Kiev Academy of Sciences in Ukraine.
Anne Beane Rudman is a solo practitioner specializing in criminal defense & environmental law. Prior to this she was a prosecutor with the New York County District Attorney’s office for 25 years, including fifteen years as Chief of the Asset Forfeiture Unit. Since 2007, she has worked with Lawyers Without Borders (LWOB), an international not-for-profit focused on promoting rule of law. She has traveled to Liberia, Kenya, Tanzania, Ghana, Namibia and Uganda representing LWOB in different capacities. She also was a contributor to the World Bank’s “Doing Business Project” for Liberia, Ethiopia and Papua New Guinea from 2007-2009. Most recently, Rudman was the Interim Executive Director of LWOB for one year following the retirement of the founder and the appointment of a successor in September 2020. She continues on the LWOB board. Rudman, a former trustee of Sarah Lawrence College, sponsored the College’s academic program in Cuba after visiting the country three times with the College. She has served on the Board of the New York Road Runners Club which is responsible for the New York City Marathon as well as youth fitness programs for over 115,000 NYC public school children. Prior to joining the John Jay College Foundation Board of Trustees in 2011, Rudman was on the Advisory Board of the Pre-Law Institute.
Dr. Andrew Shiva was the Chief Psychologist at Bellevue Hospital Center in New York until December 2009. He was also a Clinical Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the New York University School of Medicine and is currently an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Forensic Psychology at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice. He graduated from John Jay College, from which he also received a Master's Degree in Forensic Psychology. He holds a doctorate in Clinical Psychology from Columbia University.
Over the past four decades, Alan Siegel has become one of the best-known figures in the branding business. He achieved the stature of both pillar of the establishment and provocative iconoclast while building a leading brand consultancy, Siegel+Gale, which is devoted to positioning global companies for competitive success. As consultant, author and commentator, Siegel’s influence extends to advising such diverse organizations as Xerox, American Express, the National Basketball Association, Caterpillar, the Girl Scouts of America and Carnegie Mellon University. He created a series of bestselling guides for the Wall Street Journal on understanding financial markets and served on the boards of numerous business and cultural organizations.
Siegel pioneered the practice of simplification, bringing clarity to such daunting documents as insurance policies, bank-loan notes, mutual fund prospectuses and various government communications, including the 1040EZ tax form. His latest book, Simple: Conquering the Crisis of Complexity (Hachette), which he co-wrote with longtime colleague Irene Etzkorn, was released in 2013 to critical acclaim.
During the 1980s, Siegel popularized the concept of “brand voice,” and in the 1990s his firm Siegel+Gale championed the Internet as a powerful tool for developing brand strategy. In all he does, he is known for the plain speaking he demands of clients and for the excellence in individual and organizational communications that his work has come to embody. He also developed a global expansion program for Siegel+Gale opening and managing offices in London, Hamburg, Shanghai, Beijing and Dubai.
In 2011 Siegel founded Siegelvision, a firm committed to helping purpose-driven organizations with a passion for making a difference in society. Drawing on small teams of experienced, handpicked talent, Siegelvision develops distinctive brand identity programs for clients seeking to make their social purpose a reality. Current clients include NPR, the National Geographic Society, the College Board, the Lupus Foundation of America, Phoenix House, Univision, the Urban Institute, Cornell College of Engineering, New York University, the MIT Sloan School of Management and St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital.
Of special note is Siegel’s focus on law and justice. In the 1970s, he developed a groundbreaking writing course for lawyers, Writing Contracts in Plain English, at Fordham University School of Law, where he served on the adjunct faculty for 10 years. He also served on the executive committee of the Document Design Project, which was funded by the National Institute of Education, where he simplified federal government regulations. He developed a brand identity program for the Legal Aid Society, and served on their board for 12 years.
Working with Jeremy Travis, the dynamic President of John Jay College of Criminal Justice and chair of the Committee on Causes and Consequences of High Rates of Incarceration (National Research Council of the National Academies), Siegel developed the “Fierce Advocates for Justice,” positioning to change the perception of John Jay from a “cop college” to a view of it as a preparer of fervent, liberally educated professionals in forensics, law and law enforcement, social science and academia.
Siegel has a passion for helping educational institutions articulate their visions, develop distinctive identities and attract top-flight faculty and students. He served as adjunct associate professor at Carnegie Mellon University, where he conducted research and was the founder and co-director of a popular graduate program, the Communications Design Center. When former U.S. Senator Bob Kerrey was president of The New School, Siegel created its brand identity program, headed the business advisory board for its New Media program, and was interim director of its data-visualization center. For six years, he was president of the Advisory Council for the College of Art, Architecture and Planning at Cornell University.
A graduate of Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations, Siegel also attended the New York University School of Law, the School of Visual Arts, and Alexei Brodovich’s Design Laboratory.