HUDSON VALLEY, NY – The Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley today announced Arthur R. Upright as its new chair, and several newly elected officers and trustees for 2015-2016.
t has been a pleasure serving the Hudson Valley region through the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley,” said Nancy Rossi Brownell, immediate past chair. “I am proud of the work we have accomplished together and am pleased to hand the baton to such a dedicated and community-minded leader as Art Upright, who brings decades of nonprofit leadership and financial expertise to his chairmanship.”
Arthur R. Upright, of Highland in Ulster County and newly elected Chair of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley, succeeds Nancy Rossi Brownell of Dutchess County. With four decades in the utility industry, his long career has included executive and board leadership to CH Energy Group, Inc. and Affiliates with responsibility for state and federal regulatory matters; accounting, budgets and financial forecasts; electricity and natural gas procurement, and forecasting demand for those services.
Upright is active as a construction volunteer for Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh, a director of The Lutheran Care Network, and council member of St. John’s Lutheran Church. He previously served as board president of The Kingston Hospital, Ulster County Development Corporation, United Way of Ulster County, and Boy Scout Council of Ulster and Greene Counties.
Additional newly elected officers and trustees include:
Sheila Scott, CPA, Vice Chair, Audit: A resident of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County and a partner at Passikoff & Scott, CPA, since 1988, Sheila Scott has worked in public accounting in the Mid-Hudson region since 1976, with two years at Ernst & Ernst early in her career. She is a former a trustee and treasurer with the Poughkeepsie Public Library District. A Vassar College graduate with a master’s degree from SUNY Albany, she is also a member of the New York State Society of CPAs.
Thomas J. Murphy, Vice Chair, Ulster: A resident of Kingston in Ulster County, Thomas J. Murphy is Vice President and Regional Manager of Government Banking with M&T Bank. Active in the community, he serves with M&T Charitable Foundation, Mohonk Preserve, Bardavon, St. Joseph Church and Camp Callabar in Kingston, NY.
Peter Krulewitch, Secretary: With a family farm in Clove Valley in the town of Uniondale in Dutchess County, Peter Krulewitch is President of Kingston Investors Corporation, a real estate investment group he formed in 1983. Kingston Investors owns or controls numerous office buildings, industrial and hospitality assets in New York, Boston, Atlanta, San Francisco and Houston. Krulewitch has lectured on real estate subjects at the New School and served as an adjunct professor at New York University’s Real Estate Institute. His nonprofit board service, past and present, includes Episcopal Social Services, Rollins College (FL), New York Studio School, Columbia University Medical Center, William J. Matheson Foundation; Sharon Hospital (CT).
Arthur L. Gellert, Esq., new Trustee: Born and raised in Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, and a founding partner of Gellert, Klein & MacLeod, LLP, Arthur L. Gellert returns to the board of the Community Foundations, having served as a trustee from 1995-2003, and chair from 1997 to 1999. He has also served as its pro bono legal counsel for the last 20 years. Gellert’s law practice is concentrated in commercial transactions, including real estate and banking, as well as estate planning and trust and estate administration and advising professional practices. At present, he serves the State of New York as a commissioner of the State Park, Recreation and Historic Preservation Commission, Taconic Region.
Gellert has served as a director of Bankers Trust Company of the Hudson Valley, N.A. and Barclays Bank of New York, N.A. Past president of the Dutchess County Bar Association and the recipient of many awards for his community and board service, he has also served Dutchess Community College Association, Inc., Premier Cares Foundation, Poughkeepsie Area Chamber of Commerce, the Salvation Army Advisory Board, Poughkeepsie Tennis Club, Lawyers Division of the United Way, Hudson Valley Stadium Corporation, Advisory Board of SCORE and Commissioner of the State Hudson-Fulton-Champlain Quadricentennial Commission.
Kevin Hamilton, new Trustee: A resident of Pawling in Dutchess County, Kevin Hamilton is co-founder and CEO of NuEnergen, LLC, a market leader in its field. With more than 25 years of experience in the energy conservation and energy risk management businesses, he has held business development and leadership roles. Hamilton started in the energy performance contracting business with Honeywell Corporation, where he developed energy asset management programs with institutional clients throughout New England. Following Honeywell, he became the Northeast and later North American Vice President of Sales, Institutional Markets, for Duke Solutions (the de-regulated arm of Duke Energy). Hamilton co-founded NuEnergen in 2007. He serves on the board of Astor Services for Children and Families, the United States Selective Service Board and has served on the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley’s Dutchess Advisory Board since 2012.
Cora Mallory-Davis, new Trustee: A lifelong resident of Poughkeepsie in Dutchess County, Cora Mallory-Davis’s career includes more than 30 years as a professional nurse and administrator with Planned Parenthood of Dutchess/Ulster, Inc., and 15 years as a consultant for the Accreditation and Evaluation Department of Planned Parenthood Federation of America. A graduate of Poughkeepsie High School and Bellevue Hospital School of Nursing in New York City, she has served in various volunteer capacities with a wide range of community activities and board memberships and positions, including Dutchess County and New York State Mental Health Associations, Potential Unlimited, Family Services, United Way of Dutchess, Cornell Cooperative Extension of Dutchess, Girl Scouts of Dutchess County, Meals on Wheels of Greater Poughkeepsie, Eleanor Roosevelt Center at Val-Kill, World Affairs Council of the Mid-Hudson Valley, Meals on Wheels of Greater Poughkeepsie, Multicultural Committee of the Poughkeepsie Journal and Catharine Street Community Center.
Mallory-Davis’ community service has been recognized many times over with awards from Mental Health Association of Dutchess County, Family Services, Girl Scouts of Dutchess County, Marist College, United Way and Catharine Street Community Center.
Brenda K. Santoro, CPA, new Trustee: A resident of Hyde Park in Dutchess County, Brenda Santoro is a partner at the accounting firm D’Arcangelo & Co. LLP, where she is the partner-in-charge of nonprofit audits and engagements and tax services for small business clients. With an undergraduate degree in accounting from SUNY New Paltz, she worked as an accountant in private industry before joining D’Arcangelo & Co. in 1997, rising to partner in 2005.
Santoro is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants (AICPA), the New York State Society of Certified Public Accountants (NYSSCPA), the Institute of Internal Auditors (IIA) and the Construction Financial Management Association (CFMA). She has served previously on the audit and finance committees of the Community Foundations of the Hudson Valley.