UTICA — Robert Brvenik, chair of the Utica College board of trustees, has announced the addition of four new board members: Krista DiBerardino, John Forte, Wester Miga, and Treesa Salter.

A Rome native, DiBerardino earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Utica College in 1982. She began her career in merchandising and management with Montgomery Ward. A recognized expert in digital and social marketing, brand strategy, consumer insights, and global expansion, she is now retired from her position as chief marketing officer with Spin Master, a global children’s entertainment company.

Forte is a 1973 graduate of Utica College with a bachelor’s degree in political science. He is a financial advisor with Eagle Strategies LLC. A member of the Capital District Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors, he is past president of the Eastern New York Chapter of the Society of Financial Service Professionals. Forte is founder and managing partner of Wealth Strategies Group in Latham.

Miga is a 1976 graduate of Utica College, earning his bachelor’s degree in speech communication and dramatic arts. Retired from General Mills, Inc. after 30 years of service, Miga managed a $100 million budget to produce a $1 billion in sales. He currently serves as deputy town supervisor for the Town of Newcomb, where he has held positions on the planning board, comprehensive plan, smart growth, and special projects committees. 

Salter hails from Buffalo and is a 1988 graduate of Utica College. She recently retired from the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps, where she served as director of program operations at TRICARE Regional Office North within the Defense Health Agency in Falls Church, Virginia. Throughout her 24-year career in the military, she has held leadership positions including clinical nurse, flight nurse, assistant nurse manager, nurse manager, chief of operations, director of medicine services, and chief nurse executive.

UTICA — Utica College (UC) recently announced several additions to the college’s senior leadership team.

The leaders are: Anthony Baird, VP for diversity, equity and inclusion; Karen Ferrer-Muniz, associate VP for enrollment management; Stephanie Nesbitt, dean of the School of Business and Justice Studies; Musco Millner III, director of campus safety; and Sharon Wise, dean of the School of Arts and Sciences.

Baird, who earned his bachelor’s degree from UC in 1993, joined the college this past May. He earned his doctorate in higher education leadership from Johnson and Wales University, and retired recently from UMass Dartmouth, Charlton College of Business, Business Innovation Research Center, where he was director of corporate programs development and career management and coaching. He is principle consultant of I Am EPPIC Enterprises LLC, an educational, personal, and professional-coaching enterprise.

Ferrer-Muniz has more than 25 years of experience as an educational administrator, faculty, and academic advisor, specializing in student-life development, developmental education, academic-support services, and programming. She earned a bachelor’s degree from the Inter-American University of Puerto Rico, and a master’s degree from the University at Albany in social sciences and Latin American studies. Ferrer-Muniz is currently an ABD doctoral candidate at the University at Albany. Prior to joining UC, she was the associate dean of students and director of Minority Student Affairs and HEOP at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy.

Nesbitt, associate professor and director of the Utica College MBA program, has served as associate dean of UC’s School of Business and Justice Studies for several years. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Ithaca College, an MBA from Syracuse University, and her law degree from the University at Buffalo. Her research is in the development and effective teaching of business education programs and legal issues in cybersecurity. A licensed attorney, Nesbitt was risk manager and associate counsel for Faxton-St. Luke’s Healthcare before joining UC.

Millner, retired captain and 26-year veteran of the New York State Police, joined UC last August. Born and raised on what was formerly Griffiss Air Force Base, he earned a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from the University at Albany and a master’s degree in mathematics education from SUNY Empire State College. A longtime adjunct professor in mathematics, Millner received the SUNY Chancellor’s Award last year for Excellence in Adjunct Teaching.

Wise earned her master’s and Ph.D. in environmental and evolutionary biology from the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. A professor of biology, she returns to the position of dean of UC’s School of Arts and Sciences, following her recent sabbatical. Wise received the Virgil Crisafulli Distinguished Teaching Award in 2011.