Appointed by Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus on May 18, 2018, Tom Weddell is a managing partner with RBT CPAs and has been with the firm for 40 years. His industry experience includes, but is not limited to, transportation, manufacturing, non-profit, and wholesale, retail, and distribution. Tom’s various community affiliations include serving as a founding member of the Orange County Community Foundation. He has also worked on the Board of Directors of Mid-Hudson Pattern for Progress and is currently serving on the board of directors for The Newburgh Armory Unity Center and the National Purple Heart Hall of Honor.

• Appointed: 7/1/2018
• Current term expires: 12/31/2025
• Hometown: Newburgh
• County appointment

Appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo on March 17, 2021, Maria Bruni is currently the economic and community development director for the City of Middletown. She administers the city’s annual Community Development Block Grant that is allocated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).  She is also responsible for applying for, and managing, other state, federal, local grants as well as business development. In her current role, she administers two public authority agencies: the City of Middletown Industrial Development Agency (IDA) and the Community Development Agency.

A lieftime resident of Middletown, she has worked for the City for 27 years, having begun her career in public service as an intern in 1994 and gradually gaining roles of increasing responsibility. In 1996, the city placed the Historic Paramount Theatre under her direction. In 2000, she was also appointed to lead the newly created Cultural and Civic Affairs Department before moving to her current role in 2010.

She oversaw the city’s successful application for a New York State Downtown Revitalization Initiative in 2016, which awarded the city $10 million for the redevelopment of downtown Middletown. She also oversaw the redevelopment of the Historic Paramount Theatre, which included improvements to the building while ensuring the iconic Middletown theater was placed on the state and national Registers of Historic Places.

She has served on the Board of Directors of the Downtown Middletown Business Improvement District since 2003 and currently serves as board president. She was appointed to the New York State Bridge Authority Board of Commissioners in 2020 and serves as vice chair. She is also a member of the Middletown Rotary Club, Friends of Middletown Thrall Library and the HOME Committee for the County of Orange.

• Appointed: 3/17/2021
• Term expires: 6/30/2022
• Hometown: Middletown
• Governor's appointment

Appointed by Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus on May 18, 2018, Flo Hannes recently retired following 40 years as a professor and department chair (since 2001) in SUNY Orange’s Occupational Therapy Assistant (OTA) program. Flo has served on numerous advisory boards and with many community organizations, including the SUNY Orange BRIDGES Advisory Board, the New York State Regents Board for Occupational Therapy, the Orange County Office for the Aging and the Orange County Mental Health Association. She is a resident of Salisbury Mills.

• Appointed: 7/1/2018
• Current term expires: 6/30/2028
• Hometown: Salisbury Mills
• County appointment

Elinor Hart, a passionate advocate for education and land preservation, was sworn in as a Trustee to the SUNY Orange Board of Trustees on Nov. 20, 2024. 

Presently, Hart holds board membership on the Wild Woods Restoration Project in Salisbury Mills, a non-profit dedicated to restoring native woodlands, as well as the Orange County Planning Board. She is chair of the Garden Club of Orange and Dutchess Counties’ Horticulture Committee and serves as lead for that group’s Newburgh Free Academy West/Downing Park collaboration. She is chair of the Blooming Grove Community Preservation Committee and is a past secretary of the Hudson Highlands Nature Center’s Board of Trustees and is presently on the Center’s Education Committee. 

Previously, she has served on the Orange County Climate Resilience Planning Advisory Committee, the Orange County Land Trust (vice president); and the Blooming Grove Conservation Advisory Commission. From 2009 to 2015, she was a counselor and coach for the Taft Elementary School Girls Running Club.Hart earned bachelor’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology and business management from Moravian University in Bethlehem, Pa., and her master of education degree in secondary school counseling from Kutztown University in Kutztown, Pa.

• Appointed: 11/20/24
• Current term expires: 6/30/31
• Hometown: Blooming Grove
• County appointment

For more than 50 years, Higgins has served in official and volunteer capacities in and around the City of Newburgh, supporting the operation of youth recreation programs, developing and beautifying open spaces in the City, and renovating community facilities to be used by residents of all ages. 

He twice served in the City of Newburgh’s Recreation Department, providing 30 years of leadership as recreation leader and recreation director. In 1980, he created the Newburgh Youth Bureau and served as its director for six years, also overseeing the rehabilitation of the former Montgomery Ward Catalog Store on Broadway into space for the Youth Bureau. He also was involved in rehabilitation of the Stanwick Coil Building on Lander Street for use as a youth center, and participated in construction of the Hasbrouck Street playground, Xavier Lunan Park and Mayor Audrey Carey Family Park.

Higgins partnered in the creation of the Frank Masterson Memorial Fishing Facility for senior citizens, veterans and those with handicaps. He coordinated construction of the Activity Center at Delano-Hitch Park, as well as upgrades to the Delano-Hitch baseball complex, the Anne Delano-Hitch Aquatic Center and the Delano-Hitch Park soccer facility. He was also actively involved in the development of the Newburgh Landing and the Washington Street Boat Launch. 

Higgins serves on the boards of the Newburgh Armory Unity Center, Anne F. Bourne Memorial Fund, Meals on Wheels of Greater Newburgh and the Greater Newburgh Parks Conservancy. He is a past member of the New York State Parks and Recreation Association, Newburgh Optimist Club and the St. Luke’s Cornwall Hospital Board of Directors.

• Appointed: 2/19/25
• Current term expires: 6/30/26
• Hometown: Newburgh
• County appointment

Appointed December 8, 2010.  Tom Hunter is the Vice-President and Senior Relationship Manager for the Income Property Group of Key Bank in Manhattan.   He is a life-long County resident, who grew up on a dairy farm in Blooming Grove, NY. Tom is a current member of the Urban Land Institute, New Jersey Apartment Association, Real Estate Finance Association of Connecticut, Apartment Association of Greater Philadelphia, New Jersey Future, New Jersey Mortgage Banker Association, the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, and the Hamptonburgh Democratic Committee. He has also served as a member of the Board of Directors of Orange County United Way, Hudson Valley Better Business Bureau, and the Warwick Rotary Club. He has supported many local charities and organizations, and volunteered for numerous community service projects and youth sports programs. Tom earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology from Cornell University, Ithaca, N.Y., and an MBA from Pace University, Pleasantville, N.Y. He is an avid cyclist, golfer, skier and squash and tennis player. Tom and his wife Cathie live in Campbell Hall.

• Appointed: 11/2/10
• Current term expires: 6/30/17
• Hometown: Campbell Hall
• Governor's appointment

Appointed by Orange County Executive Steve Neuhaus on May 18, 2018, Ralph Martucci is a Finance Executive with more than 35 years of experience in financial management, operations and business development. A resident of the Town of Wawayanda, he is currently the Director of Business Development for M&R Energy Resources Corp. in New Windsor. Ralph was previously Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Treasurer for Alteva Inc., formerly WVT Communications. Prior to joining Alteva, he was Director of Corporate Business Operations for the Dow Jones Local Media Group. Ralph has previously served on the Board of Directors of the SUNY Orange Foundation, including a 10-year stint as Chairman. He was recently appointed Director Emeritus of the SUNY Orange Foundation, in recognition of his longtime service to organization. Ralph has served on the Board of Directors of the Orange County Chamber of Commerce since 1992 and currently serves as the Immediate Past Chair.

• Appointed: 7/1/2018
• Current term expires: 6/30/2028
• Hometown: Middletown
• County appointment

Karen Mejia, appointed by New York State Governor Kathy Hochul. 

Mejia, a resident of the City of Newburgh, possesses more than 25 years of professional experience working with public/private partnerships including the non-profit sector, community development and governmental policy. She has designed, managed and implemented local venture capital and voluntary sector finance initiatives in Africa and Latin America aimed at developing linkages between small and medium enterprises.

She has also organized conferences and symposia on issues ranging from local hiring and career paths to housing rights and economic development. A former council member in the City of Newburgh, she worked with her colleagues to address the foreclosure and rental crisis in her community. Mejia is currently an assistant director at the 1199SEIU Training and Employment Funds and is a founding member of Local Progress NY and serves on other local boards within the community.

A native of El Salvador who migrated to the United States at the age of 8, Mejia earned a master’s degree from New York University and a bachelor’s degree from Brown University. She and her partner live in the City of Newburgh where they are raising their daughter and their Siberian husky.   

• Appointed: 8/26/2022
• Current term expires: 6/30/24
• Hometown: Newburgh
• Governor's appointment

Peter J. Bambino II was sworn in as the student representative to the SUNY Orange Board of Trustees for the 2024-25 academic year on Sept. 18. As the student Trustee, Bambino will represent the College’s 4,000-plus students at Board meetings and other College events. 

A resident of Montgomery and a graduate of Dover High School in Dutchess County, Bambino is a second-year new media student who is also enrolled in the College’s TRIO Student Support Services program, which assists eligible students in achieving their academic, personal, and career goals. Bambino is also a Student Senator and a member of the Outdoors Club who enjoys the outdoors and adventuring. Upon completion of his degree, he hopes to expand his photography portfolio and pursue a career in photography. Outside of the College, he works for Yedei Chesed as a social mentor for those with disabilities.

His term will conclude at the Board’s June 2025 meeting.