Board of Directors

The United Way of Ulster County is independent, separately incorporated, and governed by a local Board of Directors.

Term: 3 years; maximum of two consecutive terms.

Responsibilities:

Robert F. Baker, Chair
Bob is the Assistant Vice President of the Tax & Financial Services division for Ulster Savings Bank, where he has been employed for 17 years. He holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Marist College and serves on the Ulster Savings Charitable Foundation. He was Chair of the Community Asset Builders Steering Committee, and is a former Board Member of Big Brothers, Big Sisters of Ulster County. He resides with his wife Beth in Kingston.

Gerald M. Brown, Vice Chair
Gerald M. Brown, LUTCF, is the Assistant Vice-President at Robert J. Ryan, Inc., a subsidiary of Ulster Savings Bank. He has been with Robert J. Ryan, Inc. (Ryan Insurance), since 1996. Previously, he was with The Reis Group, (1988-1996), and Gateway Community Industries, Inc. (1981-1988). He is a member of the Rotary Club of Kingston, where he is a Past President, and a Past-Treasurer, and where he presently serves as Chair of three areas. He also is the President of the Ulster County Chapter of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors. He is a member of and serves on the Nominating Committee for the Capital District Chapter of the National Association for Health Underwriters. He also participates in Insurance Company Advisory Groups. Gerald is a Cum Laude Graduate of Siena College, where he earned a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration (Accounting). He earned the Life Underwriters Training Council Fellow (LUTCF) from the American College, where he is continuing his studies. Gerald has been active with the United Way for many years, and with various non-profit agencies since coming to Kingston in 1981. Gerald lives in Kingston, NY with his wife Deborah. They have two sons, Brian and Benjamin, both Kingston High School graduates, also graduated from Emerson College, and Syracuse-ESF; they now live in Seattle and Boston, respectively.

Thomas P. Burns
Tom is employed with Central Hudson Gas and Electric Corp.  He has worked in a variety management positions such as Customer Services, Information Systems and Engineering during his eighteen years with Central Hudson.  He is currently the Communications Engineer in the Operation Services Division.  Tom has been active in the United Way, through Central Hudson for many years.  Tom is a graduate of Ulster County Community College and SUNY New Paltz with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering.  He lives in Kingston with his wife JoAnn and their four children.

Catherine Charuk
Catherine is a graduate of the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pennsylvania Law School. Admitted to the New York bar in 1980, she has been a staff attorney and executive director of Mid-Hudson Legal Services, Inc. She has been in private practice, specializing in family, guardianship and other civil matters, since 1995. She has previously served on the boards of Family of Woodstock and the Rural Ulster Preservation Company. At present, in addition to the United Way board, she serves on the Zoning Board of Appeals for the Town of Esopus.

Cornelia C. Denvir
Cornelia Denvir is currently a Professor of Business and Economics at SUNY Ulster.  Previous to that, Cornelia worked for Bristol Laboratories as a marketing analyst and Mead Johnson Pharmaceuticals as a marketing and sales representative.  In addition to her teaching responsibilities, Cornelia is the Department chair of Business and former chair of the Curriculum Committee.

Cornelia holds a B.S. from Rosemont College and an M.B.A. from Syracuse University.  She was an active member of the Junior League from 1987 to 1994 serving on the board of directors for three years.  She and her husband, Sean, reside in Kingston with their three children, Matthew, Audrey and Brendan.

Joan Donnelly
Joan Donnelly is the manager of Support Services for the DeForest Group Companies. She is an Honors graduate of Marist College with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a concentration in Marketing and a minor in Accounting. Joan has been involved with the United Way as both an Employee Campaign Manager and an Allocations Committee member. She lives in Ulster Park with her husband, Steve. They have two daughters; Jennifer and Danielle.

Robert A. Edge, Jr.
Bob is employed with IBM Corporation in Poughkeepsie, NY. He has been with IBM for 21 years, and has held a variety of management positions since 1986. Currently he manages the Integrated Engineering organization responsible for the manufacturing of IBM’s high-end eServer systems. Bob has been active in the community, holding positions such as alderman, City of Kingston Common Council, was appointed commissioner for the Urban Cultural Parks Commission, and served on the Town of Esopus Water Board. Bob is a graduate of SUNY Ulster, and graduated from Marist College, with a Bachelor of Science degree in Finance. Bob and his wife, Lori, reside in Port Ewen.

Priscilla Gerham
Priscilla Gerham is the Director of Sales for the Mid-Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union, where she has been employed since 1997. Her primary responsibility is to ensure the success of the credit union’s sales and service initiatives. She represents the credit union in its political activities as well as providing outreach to the under-banked and under-served members of our community.

Priscilla has served on the Advisory Board of the Food Bank of the Hudson Valley, the Board of Directors for Leadership Orange, and the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. She is past president of the New York State Development Association for Credit Unions. Priscilla has been a long-term supporter of the United Way – participating in the Day of Caring in addition to serving as both a Loaned Executive and an Employee Campaign Manager. She and her husband, Harry, live in the Hamlet of Wallkill.

Greg Howard
Greg is the Vice President of Human Resources at The Kingston Hospital and the Kingston Regional Health Care System of Kingston. He graduated from Hartwick College in Oneonta, with a BA in Business Administration. Greg is currently a Board Member for RCAL (Resource Center for Accessible Living) and is on the HART recruiting committee for Hartwick College. Greg is a member of the Society for the Preservation and Encouragement of Barber Shop Quartet Singing in America (S.P.E.B.S.Q.S.A.). He is a former District Champion in 1993 with The Riverside Rascals and an international representative to Alberta, Calgary for the Northeast District.  Greg resides in Saugerties, and has two children; Sarah and Ryan.

Toby O. Krawitz, Vice Chair
Toby Krawitz was the co-founder of Jewish Family Services of Ulster County and served as its Executive Director for four years. She had created the Grandparents as Caregivers, Volunteer Visitor’s Program, Kosher Senior Lunch program and Mitzvah Day, an annual event for volunteers who enjoy giving back to the community. She is now a JFS board member and active volunteer. Toby started her working career in the banking industry and returned to school to earn her Masters in Social Work from University of South Florida. She moved to the Hudson Valley in 1994 and worked with various populations including crime victims and male sex offenders. She has served as a board member of the Children’s Home of Kingston, The Alzheimer’s Association of the Mid-Hudson Region, a past member of Sunrise Rotary of Kingston, is currently a board member of Temple Emanuel in Kingston and a volunteer for the United Way of Ulster County. She has been married 49 years and has three children and three grandchildren.

Eileen D. Larocca, Treasurer
Eileen LaRocca is the Manager of Human Resources/Environmental, Health and Safety with Alcoa Fastening Systems, formally Huck International Inc. She is a graduate of St. Bonaventure University with a Bachelor of Business Administration with a concentration in Management Sciences. She’s served the United Way as both an Employee Campaign Manager and an Allocations Committee member.

Michelle R. Martin
Michelle Martin, is a Financial Consultant with Smith Barney in Kingston. She began her career in the investment business with American Express Financial Advisors and joined Smith Barney in 2000. She serves a diverse clientele which includes non-profit organizations as well as individual investors. Michelle is a current member of the Association of Investment Management Consultants and the National Association of Female Executives. Michelle resides in Red Hook, NY with her family.

Ronald K. Myers
Ronald K. Myers is currently the CFO and Vice President of Finance at Rondout Savings Bank.  He has 20 years of financial experience in both the private and public sector of accounting.  He is a CPA and holds a Bachelor of Business Administration from Siena College.  Ronald has served on the Board of Directors for the Children’s Home of Kingston for 10 years including a 2-year term as Chairman.  He resides in Saugerties with his wife Margaret.

Ellen R. O’Leary
Ellen is Vice President, Commercial Lending for M&T Bank where she has been employed for nine years.  She holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business Administration from Simmons College and serves on the Banks Charitable Foundation Committee. Ms. O’Leary currently serves as Treasurer of the local YMCA, and a Board Member for Ulster Performing Arts Center.  In addition, she has served on the Boards of Ulster County Chamber of Commerce, The Gerontological Institute, American Cancer Society and as a former Treasurer of the United Way of Ulster County. As a lifelong resident of Ulster County, Ellen resides in the City of Kingston with her husband Tom Murphy and two sons.

JoAnne K. Parisian
JoAnne is employed by HITS, Inc., a special events management company that produces Hunter/Jumper Horse Shows in New York, California, Florida, Virginia and Arizona. A graduate of Krissler Business Institute, she attended Columbia-Greene Community College and is currently enrolled at SUNY Empire State College. JoAnne is a graduate of ULDI, the Ulster Leadership Development Institute sponsored by the Chamber of Commerce of Ulster County. She is a member of the Ulster County Advisory Board for Junior Achievement of Northeastern New York, the New York State Trooper Foundation’s Survivors Program and the Albany Chapter of Concerns of Police Survivors (COPS). An active volunteer, she chaired the sponsorship sale of Victorian streetlamps for the Village of Saugerties Streetscape Project. A life-long resident of Saugerties, JoAnne is married to Terry Parisian, and they are the parents of two sons, Robert and Daniel.

Gregory J. Riley
Greg Riley is the Store Manager of Lowe's of Kingston. He received his Bachelor of Science degree from Florida State University. Greg has been involved in United Way since 2004 as both a Loaned Executive and an Employee Campaign Manager. He is a member of Kiwanis, Ancient Order of Hibernians and a Board Member of Big Brothers/Big Sisters. Greg is also an AYSO Volunteer Soccer Coach in Saugerties and Co-Chair of the Lowe's Annual 5K Run. He lives in Kingston with his wife Melissa. They have two sons and two daughters, Kieran, Quillan, Reaghan and Gannon.

Sue Sarr
Sue Sarr, a native of Ulster County, retired from the Kingston School System after 23 years as a teacher aide in Special Education. She has been involved in human services in the community for some thirty-five years. In that time she has served as Chair of the United Way Board and Allocations Committee, Ulster County Youth Board, Advisory Council for the Office for the Aging, and Ulster County Mental Health's Community Services Board. Currently she chairs both the Mental Health and Mental Retardation/Developmental Disabilities committees of the Community Services Board, and works as a volunteer in the office of SeniorNet.

Ward D. Todd
Ward Todd is President/CEO of the Chamber of Commerce of Ulster County. He currently serves on the boards of Benedictine Hospital, Catskill Watershed Corporation, Hudson Valley Alzheimer’s Association, Ulster County Development Corporation, and the Watershed Protection and Partnership Council. He is a member of the John A. Coleman Catholic High School Advisory Board, Phoenicia Rotary Club, and the Junior Achievement Steering Committee. He was the Ulster County Arts Council ‘Arts Advocate of the Year’ in 2003, Gateway Industries “Toast of the Town” honoree in 2004, and a Rotary International Paul Harris Award recipient.

Among his past community activities, Ward has been a four term member of the Ulster County Legislature, member of both the Kingston and Onteora School Boards, and served on the boards of the American Heart Association, American Cancer Society,  Children’s Annex, Rip Van Winkle Council Boy Scouts and Ulster County Girl Scouts.

Ward Todd is a familiar voice to radio listeners in the Hudson Valley in a career that spanned more than three decades. He is married to the former Jane Sweeney of Kingston. They are the parents of Jennifer, Peter, Michael, and Philippe.