UNH Manchester welcomes six new members to the college’s advisory board for the 2015-2016 academic year. With a focus to bring in new talent from diverse backgrounds, the board elected members who represent a variety of industries and bring valuable experience to the board. UNH Manchester is pleased to welcome Matt Albuquerque, founder and president of Next Step Bionics and Prosthetics; Brad Cook, partner at Sheehan Phinney; Debra Livingston, superintendent of Manchester School District; Paul Mailhot, VP of Business Operations at Dyn; Selma Naccach-Hoff, Chair of the English Department at Manchester Central High School; and Gail Wolek, Deputy Director at DRED Division of Parks and Recreation.
Matthew Albuquerque is the founder and president of Next Step Bionics & Prosthetics, Inc. and primarily works in the Manchester, N.H. facility. Albuquerque plays an integral part in the development of advanced upper-extremity technologies, working as a prosthetic consultant for Dean Kamen and designing the interface used for the DARPA-funded DEKA Luke Arm project. Albuquerque is a graduate of the Leadership Greater Manchester program, former chairperson for Easter Seals’ Veterans Count Advisory Board, past member of the New Hampshire State Veterans’ Cemetery Board of Directors and is actively involved with the Wounded Warrior Project.
Brad Cook is head of the Sheehan Phinney’s Estate Planning and Probate, Government Relations and Not-for-Profit, Charitable and Religious Institutions Practice Groups. He is a past President of the firm and has practiced with Sheehan Phinney since 1973. A UNH alumnus, Cook has received several awards including Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Citizen of the Year Award, Easter Seals New Hampshire’s Eugene M. Van Loan III Leadership Award and UNH Alumni Meritorious Service Award. In 2012 he was the National Easter Seals’ Volunteer of the Year and was named a “Political and Nonprofit Maestro” in Business NH Magazine's 2012 Influencer Index. Cook currently serves as Chair of the Warren B. Rudman Center Campaign, President of the Boys Club of New London and as a member of the Executive Committee of the Business and Industry Association of New Hampshire (BIA). He serves as secretary of the Bishop’s Charitable Assistance Fund, Camp Fatima and Camp Bernadette of the Diocese of Manchester. A graduate of the first class of both Leadership Manchester and Leadership New Hampshire, Cook is a member of the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce’s Leadership Manchester Steering Committee. Cook is also a member of both the Steering Committee of the New Hampshire Forum on the Future and the Board of Directors of Canterbury Shaker Village; Chair of the Easter Seals Vermont Board of Directors; Assistant Secretary of Easter Seals New York and Connecticut; and a member and Chair of the N.H. Ballot Law Commission.
Debra Livingston is the Superintendent of Manchester School District. Livingston previously served as Superintendent of the Fall Mountain Regional School. Prior to her tenure at Fall Mountain, she was the Executive Director of Curriculum and Instruction in Socorro Independent School District in El Paso, Texas, which had over 37,000 students.
Selma Naccach-Hoff is Chair of the English Department at Manchester Central High School and has taught for more than 30 years. Naccach-Hoff is a UNH graduate and was part of the UNH Manchester STEM Discovery Lab Work Group. She previously served as a board member of the New Hampshire Humanities Council and chair of the Bean Foundation.
A fixture in the New Hampshire high tech scene for years, Paul Mailhot has spent the last two years as the VP of Business Operations at Dyn. Prior to that he spent 19 years in various leadership positions at Autodesk, Inc., including Sales, Sales Management, Academic Programs, Learning & Training and Business Development. Mailhot is now focused on the development of new revenue streams and leveraging business and market opportunities for Dyn. He is the current Chair of the NH High Technology Council and is also one of the earliest members and supporters of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of New Hampshire.
Gail Wolek is Deputy Director of the Division of Parks and Recreation at N.H. Department of Resources and Economic Development. In this role she works with the Attorney General's Office and the state's legislators, keeping them informed of what's happening in New Hampshire's parks, particularly in areas of the Division's finances. Wolek also oversees the division's legal agreements, marketing, public relations and retail operations. In 2009 Governor John Lynch appointed Wolek to a 10-month term as the Executive Director of the Gaming Studies Commission for New Hampshire. Wolek previously served as Executive Assistant to Governor Jeanne Shaheen. She is a graduate of the Political Science program at UNH Manchester.
The UNH Manchester Advisory Board also named their first three Emeriti members: Jaye Gibson, office manager at Casinghino Law Offices; Joe Lovejoy, retired principal at Baker, Newman & Noyes; and Kevin Clougherty, former commissioner for the N.H. Department of Revenue Administration — all of whom have served on the board for many years and largely contribute to the college’s success.
Current members also include William Hill, program manager at BAE Systems; Stephanie McLaughlin, principal at Savoir Faire Marketing/Communications; Heather Ramsey, executive coach at Sojourn Partners; Nick Soggu, founder and CEO of SilverTech; Virginia Theo-Steelman, Virginia Theo-Steelman Professional Corp.; Susan Walsh, associate professor of English at UNH Manchester; and Frank Wells, managing director at Hoyle, Tanner & Associates
The board advises Interim Dean J. Michael Hickey and the college community on matters surrounding UNH Manchester’s programs and outreach, working to increase UNH Manchester’s visibility in the community.
