Board of Trustees

Corinn McCarthy Bergeron G’10

Biography

Corinn McCarthy Bergeron (Elected June 2017) is a Sales Operations Manager at Constellation Brands, the world leader in premium wine and spirits as well as the number 3 beer company in the US. She oversees TRU Estates and Vineyards, which is Constellation’s Fine Wine Portfolio. Prior to joining Constellation, Corinn was the Business Manager for Vermont Stage Company for six years. She has a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Vermont and an MBA and Graduate Certificate in Managing Innovation in Information Technology from Champlain College. Most recently, Corinn passed with Distinction the Wine and Spirits Educational Trust (WSET) Level 3. Corinn lives with her husband, Raymond, and their cat in the suburbs of Washington, D.C.

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Mari McClure

Biography

Mari McClure (Elected October 2021) is President and CEO of Green Mountain Power (GMP), an industry-leading clean energy company based in Colchester, Vermont that leverages pioneering innovation programs to reduce costs and carbon emissions while delivering cost-effective, reliable power to Vermonters. Mari joined GMP in 2010, after working as a corporate lawyer in Burlington, Vermont. Mari earned her law degree from the University of Buffalo School of Law in 2006. She was also a captain of the University’s women’s basketball team and played from 1997-2001. Mari loves playing, coaching and watching sports, and spending time enjoying everything Vermont has to offer with her family and dogs.

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Kojo Mensah-Bonsu III ’97

Biography

Kojo Mensah-Bonsu III ‘97 (Elected January 2022) is the Global Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at CDW, a leading multi-brand provider of information technology solutions to business, government, education, and healthcare customers in the United States, the United Kingdom and Canada. A Fortune 500 company and member of the S&P 500 Index, CDW was founded in 1984 and employs over 10,000 coworkers. He is also the host of The DaBu Podcast. From 1999-2006, Kojo was a Professional Basketball Player for CAB Madeira in Portugal – Liga Profissional.
Kojo received his Associate’s Degree in Liberal Arts and Sciences from Champlain College in 1997. During his time at Champlain, he played for the Men’s Varsity Basketball Team where he was the Team Captain, and received two Champlain awards: Scholar Athlete of the Year (1997) and Basketball Team Sportsmanship Award (1996). The team was ranked #4 nationally in 1997 as part of NJCAA Division1.

Kojo also received a Bachelor’s Degree in Communication and Media Studies from Washington State University in 1999. He played for the Men’s Varsity Basketball Team (Pacific-10 Conference, NCAA Division 1), and was Team Co-Captain from 1998-1999. He won MVP in 1999.

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Michael Metz

Biography

Michael Metz (Re-elected October 2021) is a retired materials scientist and entrepreneur with over 40 years of experience in the development, production, application, and sales of precious metals in high technology applications worldwide. Since retiring, he focuses much of his time on supporting Vermont’s creative economy and its role as an economic driver. Michael has had a long history of leadership roles in for-profit and nonprofit organizations and currently serves on the board of Generator, The Burlington City Arts Foundation, The Vermont Academy of Science and Engineers, The Echo Leahy Center, and The Curtis Fund. Michael rejoined the Champlain College board in 2021. In his past service, he chaired the College’s recent capital campaign. Michael has a lifelong passion for photography and exhibits locally from time to time. He graduated from Middlebury College with a degree in Chemistry and Columbia University with an MBA. He lives with his wife Denise Shekerjian (an attorney, author) in South Burlington. They have two grown sons.

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Ken Minklei P’21

Biography

Ken Minklei (Elected October 2020) is the managing partner and chief investment officer at Whitney Peak Capital, LLC, in Boston. Prior to that Ken was an early partner at SCS Capital and served as the Chief Investment Officer and later the Co-Chief Investment Officer. Ken has spent over 25 years guiding institutional investors and endowments on their strategy and investment portfolio.

During his career in finance, Minklei has worked for various institutions including Cambridge Associates, where he worked closely with higher education foundations and sovereign wealth funds. He has also served as a vice president at J.P. Morgan and spent part of his career at CIBC and Citicorp. He received his bachelor’s degree at SUNY University at Binghamton and has been actively involved with the institution’s endowment. His son Gregory is currently a student at Champlain College, studying Early Childhood/Elementary Education. Minklei and his wife Joan have been active members of Champlain’s Parent Advisory Council for the past three years. He lives in Wellesley, Massachusetts.

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Judith W. O’Connell, Chairperson of the Board

Biography

Chairperson of the Board
Judith W. O’Connell (Elected October 2012) has over 30 years of financial services experience. She is a founding partner and Chief Executive Officer for Champlain Investment Partners, LLC, an institutional asset management firm located in Burlington Vermont. Prior to founding Champlain Investment Partners, she was a Senior Vice President at NL Capital Management, Inc. where she led the firm’s institutional business. Before this, she was the Director of Mutual Funds/Intermediary Markets at Dresdner RCM Capital Management in San Francisco, California, where she had overall responsibility for business management, operations, marketing, sales, and product development functions for mutual funds. Early in her career, she held management positions within investment operations, compliance, and treasury at The Boston Company. Judy graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst and earned her Master of Business Administration from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Judy has been inducted as an Honorary Commander with the Vermont Air National Guard and currently serves as the Board Chair for Vermont Business Roundtable. She resides in Stowe with her husband, Emmett.

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Premila Peters

Biography

Premila Peters (Elected October 2021) enjoys business and is passionate about growing talent. She is currently the President of Data Innovations. Prior to that, Premila was at GE Healthcare where she held multiple positions including that of CFO. She started her career working at KPMG and then spent a decade at KDP Investment Advisors. Premila holds an MBA from the University of Vermont and a bachelor’s degree from the University of Bombay, India. Additionally, she holds the designation of Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Certified Public Accountant (CPA).

Premila is on the board of Vermont Mutual Insurance and King Street Center. In addition, Premila is an appointee to the Capital Debt Affordability Advisory Committee for the State of Vermont. Premila resides in Shelburne, Vermont with her husband.

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David Provost

Biography

David Provost (Elected January 2022) is the Executive Vice President of Finance and Administration at Middlebury College and plays a strategic role in the overall management of the Middlebury enterprise. Primary responsibilities include planning, implementing, managing and controlling all financial-related activities, including accounting, finance, student financial services, investments/debt/treasury, forecasting and strategic planning. Other responsibilities include oversight of facilities, capital planning, dining operations, information technology services, and business services. Provost is responsible for the annual operating budget in excess of $350 million. In January of 2019, David was successful in gaining board support of Energy 2028, a holistic plan to address Middlebury’s leadership role of dealing with climate change. David is also the President of the Green Mountain Higher Education Consortium, and has led efforts to create an administrative cost solution for the Green Mountain Consortium, which consists of Middlebury College, Champlain College, St. Michael’s College and Norwich University.

David previously held the position of Senior Vice President of Finance and Advancement, and Senior Vice President of Finance and Administration at Champlain College. At Champlain David was responsible for the business operations of the College including Finance, Advancement, Campus Planning, Physical Plant, Safety and Security, Event Center and Auxiliary Services. He was instrumental in creating the College’s 1st comprehensive Master Plan that created a road map for Champlain’s projected growth and needs for the next 10 to 15 years. He led the transformational restructuring of the Advancement Office and created a focused and well executed Development Plan. In addition, he was an integral part in establishing the Champlain College Campuses in Montreal and Dublin, and the creation of a sophisticated financial modeling tool for Champlain College’s Board of Trustees.

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Raj Rawal

Biography

Raj Rawal (Elected October 2020) is the Managing Partner for SF Mango Investments, LLC, a real estate investment company. Previously, he has served as CEO of Fresh Diet, as SVP and Chief Information Officer (CIO) at Burger King, as SVP and CIO at Avis Budget Group, and as CIO at Trilegiant. Raj started his career as an engineer at GE and left after 18 years when he was the CIO at GE Information Services.

Raj was an active Board member of The Education Fund (non-profit providing private sector leadership and support for innovation in public education) for over 10 years and an advisory board member of IT Women (non-profit with a mission to increase the number of women in the fields of technology and engineering) for over 9 years.

Raj received his MS Operations Research from Case Western Reserve University, and BS Engineering in Computer Science from the University of Connecticut. He currently resides in Essex Junction with his wife, Anne, and children.

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Russ Scully

Biography

Russ Scully (Elected January 2022) is a serial entrepreneur and life-long water sport lover. He attended St Lawrence University from 1987-1991 where he met his wife Roxanne. Following their graduation, the two of them moved to Santa Barbara, California where Russ pursued a career in graphic design. The two were engaged six years later and moved to Burlington, Vermont in an effort to get back to the east coast to reconnect with their families and siblings. Russ and Roxanne currently live on Lake Champlain in Burlington, Vermont with their two sons, Baxter and AJ.

Russ started his professional career as a technologist in the e-commerce space developing custom Web solutions for online retailers. Ten years later he pivoted to focus on his passion for water sports by building a successful restaurant business known as The Spot and a lifestyle and retail brand known as WND&WVS. A desire to create winter escapes for the Vermont community led to the purchase of Villa Playa Maria—a boutique hospitality resort in Rincon, Puerto Rico.

Russ served on the board of the Burlington Business Association from 2015-2021 and chaired the board for two of those years. In an effort to drive economic development opportunities for Vermont, Russ recently completed the development of a large-scale technology accelerator in the south end of Burlington known as Hula. Hula is host to over 60 technology companies as well as a very active early-stage investment fund.

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Julie Snow ’86

Biography

Julie Snow (Elected October 2014) is Director of Strategic Partnerships and Collaborative Philanthropy at the Lemann Foundation. Previously, serving as a senior fundraising consultant, working in healthcare, education and emerging ventures for Family Reach, a national non-profit in healthcare, and MassChallenge, a startup accelerator based in Boston. She spent 20 years working for Babson College in the advancement division, leading the principal and major gift teams in two comprehensive capital campaigns during her extensive tenure. Prior to Babson, Julie worked as Director, New Products and Services with the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE) in Washington, DC.

Julie graduated from Champlain College with a degree in Business Administration. She then earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Political Science from the University of Massachusetts. In 2011, Julie received the Robert Skiff Alumni Leadership Award for more than 20 years of serving as an ambassador for Champlain College. She was Champlain’s alumni speaker at commencement in 2007. She is dedicated to supporting students in Champlain’s BYOBiz entrepreneurship program and Vermont First Generation Scholarship, and is a current member of the Audeamus Society.
Julie currently resides in the Boston area with her husband and daughter.

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Eduardo Vazquez ’10

Biography

Eduardo Vazquez (Elected October 2021) is the Managing Director of Leoluca Limited, a technology start-up that he and a partner founded in Hong Kong in 2021 that specializes in building fully customizable, online 3D spaces. Prior to founding Leoluca, Eduardo worked for the Kuok Group in Hong Kong in various capacities related to its hospitality and real estate businesses from 2010 to 2021, most recently as Senior Manager, Investment & Asset Management for Shangri-La Group. He is a Champlain College Alumni having graduated in 2010 with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration. Eduardo lives with his wife, Susie, and their son Leo in Hong Kong.

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Jon Wettstein

Biography

Jon Wettstein (Elected April 2016) recently retired from Keurig Green Mountain after serving for 21 years as SVP of Supply Chain Operations. Prior to that, Jon worked at Digital Equipment Corp in a variety of finance and operations positions. During a good portion of his coffee career, Jon was a Director of Grounds for Health, a nonprofit organization focused on reducing the incidence of cervical cancer in coffee growing regions. Jon is a participant and advisor in a number of small businesses in Vermont. He has a BS degree from Purdue University in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Harvard University. He and his wife, Nancy, live in South Burlington.

recently retired from Keurig Green Mountain after serving for 21 years as SVP of Supply Chain Operations. Prior to that, Jon worked at Digital Equipment Corp in a variety of finance and operations positions. During a good portion of his coffee career, Jon was a Director of Grounds for Health, a nonprofit organization focused on reducing the incidence of cervical cancer in coffee growing regions. Jon is a participant and advisor in a number of small businesses in Vermont. He has a BS degree from Purdue University in Electrical Engineering and an MBA from Harvard University. He and his wife, Nancy, live in South Burlington.

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