The Adelphi University Board of Trustees elected a new chair and other officers at its June 2021 meeting.
Over the past six years, the board, which provides governance and leadership to the University, has elected 19 new members—including seven women, eight people of color and seven young alumni, one of whom is the renowned disability rights activist Emily Ladau ’13. Today, the Adelphi board is 32 percent racially diverse and composed of members ranging from 29 to 78 years of age, with a gender balance of 40 percent women and 60 percent men.
Marc S. Strachan ’81 will be the new chair, along with Carmen Ortiz ’78, JD, ’12 (Hon.), and Loretta Cangialosi ’80, vice chairs, and Leonard Achan ’99, secretary.
“I am proud to welcome our new board officers and to celebrate the growing diversity of our entire board of trustees,” President Christine M. Riordan said. “Together, they will have a tremendous impact on the future of our University and our efforts toward becoming the welcoming and inclusive Adelphi we strive to be.”
New chair Strachan joined the board in 2017 and has served as vice chair since 2020. A generous supporter of the University who established four multicultural scholarships in 2019, he is now the first male African American chair of Adelphi’s board. A senior-level marketing and advertising executive, Strachan is chair of ADCOLOR, an organization that celebrates and advocates diversity in the creative and technology industries. He previously held positions as executive vice president and chief client officer at Publicis Sapient, North America, and vice president of on-premise strategy and multicultural marketing and director of brand marketing for Cîroc Vodka and Tanqueray Gin at Diageo, North America. In 2018, he earned a Certificate in Strategies for Leading Successful Change Initiatives from the Harvard Division of Continuing Education. He is founder and head coach for Coach Marc Consulting and principal and chief marketing officer of Adgile Media Group, the nation’s first data-driven truck-side advertising/media company.
Vice Chair Ortiz is the first Hispanic woman to serve in the role at Adelphi. A trustee since 2018, Ortiz is a partner at the Boston law firm Anderson & Kreiger, focusing on internal investigations, white-collar criminal defense and civil litigation. She was U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts from 2009 to 2017, overseeing investigation and litigation of significant and complex criminal and civil cases in matters involving financial and securities fraud, healthcare fraud, public corruption, money laundering, cybercrime, national security, organized crime, and violent crime. She directed the prosecution in the high-profile cases against the Boston Marathon bomber and organized crime boss Whitey Bulger.
Vice Chair Cangialosi increases the growing presence of women serving in board leadership positions. Before becoming a trustee in 2013, she had served on the President’s Advisory Council. With more than 30 years of experience as a certified public accountant, Cangialosi was most recently senior vice president and controller of multinational pharmaceutical corporation Pfizer Inc., where she oversaw accounting guidance, policies and training, external and internal financial reporting, consolidations, and internal controls and lent her expertise to various business development activities and transformational projects. Previously, she was a senior manager with KPMG in the New York Audit Group.
New board Secretary Achan, who became a trustee in 2016, is the first male of Asian descent to serve in this board officer role. A nurse and nurse practitioner turned healthcare executive for more than 20 years, he is president of the Innovation Institute at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, where he joined the organization in 2016 as its chief innovation officer, leading the institute to cultivate care delivery and biomechanical device and life science technologies. Previously, Achan was chief marketing and communications officer and chief of access services at Mount Sinai Health System in New York City, and senior associate dean for global communications, branding and reputation at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. In 2020, he was included on the Crain’s New York Business prestigious Notable in Healthcare 2020 list and also received the Award of Distinction from Healthcare Leaders of New York.
Strachan will succeed board of trustees Chair Ronald B. Lee ’67, who has been in that role since 2016 and served as a trustee for a decade, helping to give direction to the University as it has added many new academic programs and campus facilities and navigated the COVID-19 pandemic and its many challenges.
In making the announcement to the Adelphi community, Dr. Riordan thanked Chair Lee, as well as Susan Murphy, PhD, trustee for more than eight years and vice chair for the past five, and Lois Schlissel, JD, trustee for 12 years and secretary for the past four.
“They have made significant contributions to our University’s progress and success, and Adelphi has been fortunate to benefit from their deep commitment and leadership,” Dr. Riordan said.
See Adelphi’s full board of trustees