Two Penn State graduates will join the university’s Board of Trustees for the first time and another will remain on the board in a new capacity following the 2025 election of trustees by alumni.
Kelley M. Lynch, J. Gregory Pilewicz and Uma Moriarity won the three alumni trustee seats up for election this year. Results of the election, which included 17 candidates and 17,720 ballots cast, were announced at the board’s meeting on Friday afternoon.
Their three-year terms will begin July 1.
Lynch was the top vote-getter with 4,942. She is no stranger to the board, currently serving the final year of a two-year term in her role as immediate past president of the Penn State Alumni Association. A 1987 Penn State graduate with a degree in finance, Lynch is chief financial officer of medical technology company sovaSage.
Pilewicz received 4,816 votes. A 1985 graduate with a degree in finance, he had been owner and president of property management company SingleSource Management since 2015. In 2024 he served as a consultant to the university “to develop a comprehensive workforce mitigation plan safeguarding operational continuity across all PSU campuses during time-sensitive labor negotiations,” according to his biography.
Moriarity won 3,396 votes. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in accounting and a bachelor’s degree in finance in 2014. Moriarity is a senior investment strategist and the global environmental, social and governance lead for CenterSquare Investment Management, where she is the firm’s youngest partner.
They will succeed Ted Brown, Christa Hasenkopf and Barry Fenchak.
Brown has served on the board since 2013 and was ineligible to run for another term. Hasenkopf was elected in 2022 and did not seek a second term.
Fenchak, who has brought multiple lawsuits against the board during his only term as a trustee, received the required number of nominations to be eligible for the ballot, but was disqualified by a new nominating subcommittee in February.
He sued the board for access to financial documents last summer, and the board subsequently sought to hold a vote on his removal for alleged conduct violations after an incident involving a staff member after a meeting in July. A Centre County judge issued an injunction preventing the board from voting on removing him last fall.
After the nominating subcommittee deemed Fenchak unqualified and ineligible based on “eight records advising the candidate of failures to abide by board standards of conduct,” Fenchak sought an emergency order to be placed on the ballot and for the bylaw changes that created the subcommittee overturned. The same judge rejected Fenchak’s request, writing that nominating committees are common among universities.
Fenchak staged a write-in campaign for the election, which took place from April 21 to May 8. He was the only write-in candidate to receive 250 or more votes, garnering 1,304.
“Together we have, in [Penn State President Neeli] Bendapudi’s words, brought ‘transformational change’ to Penn State and I hope that these newly elected trustees will commit to engaging in responsible governance,” Fenchak wrote on Facebook after Friday’s meeting. “I will remain engaged in advocating for a better Penn State, led by a thoughtful, transparent, and deliberative Board.”
Alumni trustee vote totals
- Kelley M. Lynch – 4,942
- J. Gregory Pilewicz – 4,816
- Uma Moriarty- 3,396
- Steven B. Wagman – 3,317
- Dr. Joseph S. DeRenzo – 3,274
- Katherine Wheatle – 3,233
- Karen Keller – 2,978
- Daniel A. Zahn – 2,609
- Laurie Anne Stanell – 2,472
- David L. Morgan – 2,325
- Pat Romano Jr. – 2,286
- Jeffrey P. Ballou – 2,100
- Trevor S. Hale – 1,844
- Jordan Mott – 1,780
- Barry Fenchak – 1,304
- Robert J. Bowsher – 1,153
- Jolie A. Elder – 1,021
- Dale D. Predmore – 680
OTHER TRUSTEE ELECTIONS
Agricultural
Delegates of agricultural societies elected Valerie Detwiler and Matthew D. Espenshade.
Detwiler has served as an agricultural trustee since 2018. A 2006 Penn State graduate, she is senior vice president for Reliance Bank and co-owner and operator of Forsheys Ag &
Industrial.
Espenshade is a 1995 Penn State graduate and seventh-generation dairy farmer who operates Evergreen-Valley Farm in Lancaster County. He succeeds Abe Harpster, who served on the board since 2013.
Business and Industry
Naren K. Gursahaney and Richard S. Sokolov were reelected by the board for second terms as trustees representing business and industry. Gursahaney is the retired president and CEO of ADT Corporation. Sokolov, who currently serves as vice-chair of the Board of Trustees, is the vice chairman of retail real estate company Simon Property Group and a vice president of SC Gaming, which is developing the casino at the Nittany Mall.
At-Large
Tracy A. Riegel was elected by the board to a second term as an at-large trustee. A 1985 Penn State graduate, she is a former project manager for The Vanguard Group.
Student
Ruby Bjalme was elected by the board two a two-year term as student trustee. Bjalme, a Bellefonte Area High School graduate, is a second-year student and Schreyer Honors Scholar majoring in marketing with a minor in information systems management. She will succeed Kevin Schuyler as student trustee.
