MEGAN BEGERT has joined Concept Systems Inc. (CSI) of Ithaca as director of management and planning. She began building her professional career working with nonprofit organizations in Ithaca. With a master’s degree in public administration, focused on nonprofit management and leadership, Begert has worked in domestic and global contexts with public, private, and nonprofit organizations that include working with the USAID monitoring and evaluation team in Dhaka, Bangladesh; as the North America operations manager for a global consulting firm; and with colleges and universities. She developed systems and strategic plans that have facilitated each organization’s rapid growth and long-term sustainability. In her leadership role, Begert will develop and nurture CSI’s client relationships, lead business management and strategic planning, and support both the CSI consulting team and the “groupwisdom” product team.

EMMA TERWILLIGER has joined CSI as client-services consultant. Throughout her career, she has focused on helping education professionals and not-for-profit agencies increase their impact and efficiency through systems and capacity-building. In her most recent position prior to joining CSI, Terwilliger was most recently the director of community impact with the United Way of Tompkins County (UWTC), overseeing UWTC’s grant processes and management systems, K-12 student programming, and other programming related to community impact, including program-impact evaluation. At Concept Systems, she will work closely with senior consultants and client teams on the planning, design, management, and successful completion of client initiatives and internal CSI planning.

ANTHONY (TONY) CONTENTO has recently been named the new dean of the School of Agriculture, Business & Technology at SUNY Morrisville. He comes to Morrisville with a strong background in academic development, assessment, and budget management, including experience with Middle States accreditation procedures. Contento holds a Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Wyoming and a bachelor’s degree in recombinant-gene technology from SUNY Fredonia, He most recently was program manager of academic affairs at Colorado State University Global. In that role he was responsible for program planning and implementation for the academic areas of general education, mathematics, sciences, and interdisciplinary professional studies. Contento also supervised budget planning, faculty and student affairs, and department partnerships, while serving as the dean-level manager for all mathematics and science programs. Prior to his work at Colorado State Global, Contento was a visiting assistant professor, interim assistant provost, and interim director of agricultural research and testing at SUNY Oswego and the Port of Oswego. During his tenure at SUNY Oswego, he pioneered an interactive learning lab at the Port of Oswego. Designed to streamline agricultural product testing, the Grain Analysis Lab provided students with hands-on training in agricultural product quality and contamination testing. Contento also has extensive experience with fostering community and corporate partnerships. His visionary work at the Port of Oswego garnered grants of more than a quarter of a million dollars and the testing results were recognized as aligned with USDA standards.

SYDNEY O’HARA has rejoined the Syracuse University softball program as an assistant coach. O’Hara, a four-year letterwinner and All-American for the Orange during her college playing days, has returned to the Hill to work primarily with the Syracuse pitchers, But she will also assist in all aspects of the softball program. O’Hara spent the past three seasons on the sidelines as an assistant coach at Binghamton University, where she worked with the pitchers. She assisted in recruiting, team travel and meals, as well as organizing camps. Prior to Binghamton, O’Hara was an assistant coach at neighboring Le Moyne College from 2017-18, where she worked primarily with the Dolphins’ softball pitching staff and assisted in working with the hitters, recruiting, scouting opponents, scheduling games, and running team camps. O’Hara’s name is synonymous with Syracuse softball, and it is plastered across the Orange record book. She holds the career record for saves (12) and ranks in the top-10 in program history in 19 other career categories. O’Hara’s .476 batting average as a senior remains as the single-season record at Syracuse and her six saves that season and five in 2016 rank No. 1 and No. 2 in program history. She played for Syracuse from 2014-2017. Before that, O’Hara was a star player at Cicero-North Syracuse High School.

MARK SABATINO has been promoted to chief mechanical engineer at SRC Inc. He will guide the technical direction of mechanical design for the company and remain instrumental in ensuring SRC stays at the forefront of research for the industry. Sabatino has been with SRC for 11 years. Over that timeframe, he worked on multiple SRC programs and systems. Most recently, he served as a senior principal mechanical engineer to support proposals and solve critical technology-related problems. Sabatino’s 32 years in military and commercial-product development have provided him with experience in developing and executing advanced systems, business plans, budgets, and management skills. Sabatino has a bachelor’s degree in mathematics from Siena College, another bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University, a master’s in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, and is currently pursuing a doctorate in mechanical engineering from Syracuse University.