Six new members have been appointed to Pattern for Progress Board of Directors, joining a diverse group of leaders from across the Hudson Valley.
The new members are part of a 37-member board that includes business owners and executives, nonprofit directors, college leaders, developers, land stewards, and more. The board helps drive Pattern’s mission of promoting regional, balanced and sustainable solutions to quality-of-life issues through research, planning and advocacy.
“I am delighted with the six new additions to the Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress Board,” said Pattern Chairman John Rath. “Each brings a unique and broad perspective, intelligence and the kind of leadership we need to provide us with a focused, balanced and regional view of the issues that are so important to our Hudson Valley citizens.”
“We are thrilled to add these new members to our board,” said Jonathan Drapkin, president and CEO of Pattern for Progress. “Their diverse backgrounds and expertise will help use examine housing, government efficiency, transportation and other issues that matter to all residents of the Hudson Valley.”
The new board members area:
Lisa Cathie is president and CEO of Ulster Savings Bank. Prior to joining the bank, Cathie was senior vice president and chief operating officer of Orange County Trust Company. She was the founder and president of Optimum Performance Inc., which provided consulting expertise to mid-sized institutions throughout the country. Cathie has served on the Marist College Strategic Planning and Steering Committee, as chairman of Marist College’s Global and Professional Programs Advisory Board, and numerous other organizations. She is a graduate of Marist College, Dutchess Community College and of the Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the University of Pennsylvania. Cathie resides in Highland with her husband and two children.
Kenneth Kearney is the founder and president of The Kearney Realty & Development Group, which has established itself as a leader in developing and managing senior and affordable housing across the Hudson Valley. Kearney has guided affordable senior housing and workforce housing projects in Beacon, Catskill, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie, Red Hook, Somers, Yorktown and elsewhere. In 2009, he was recognized by Pattern for Progress as Hudson Valley Developer of the Year. Kearney has been actively involved in real estate since 1990, working as property manager, broker, builder and developer. A native of Mahopac, he and his wife, Jean, continue to reside there with their three sons.
Mary Madden has been president & CEO of Hudson Valley Federal Credit Union since 2002. She serves on the boards of Health Quest, the American Heart Association of Dutchess/Ulster, the Filene Research Council, the Dutchess County Economic Development Corporation, and the advisory council for Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh. Madden was named 2011 Business Person of the year by the Poughkeepsie Journal, and she received the 2010 Commitment to Community award from Greater Southern Dutchess County Chamber of Commerce. She earned her MBA from the University of Massachusetts and her bachelor’s degree from Indiana University.
Kevin O’Connor is the CEO of Rural Ulster Preservation Company, located in Kingston. He has more than 23 years of experience in housing and community development. He is vice chair of the Ulster County Housing Consortium and a driver of its “Give Housing a Voice” campaign. O’Connor serves on the board of directors for the NYS rural Housing Coalition, the Federal Home Loan Bank of New York’s Affordable Housing Advisory Council, and sits on NeighborWorks America’s National Real Estate Development Committee. O’Connor earned his bachelor’s degree from Marist College, and currently resides in New Paltz with his wife, Maria, and their three children.
Richard L. O’Rourke, Esq. is a principal member of Keane & Beane, P.C., a general civil practice law firm with offices in White Plains and Fishkill. O’Rourke has served as counsel to large and small land development companies and municipalities throughout the lower Hudson Valley. He has served as Village Judge for the Village of Brewster for more than 20 years, and he has served as president of the Putnam County Magistrates Association, president of the Brewster Education Foundation, articles editor of the Westchester County Bar Journal and has served on various boards throughout the region. He received his bachelor’s degree from SUNY Geneseo, a master’s degree from Bowling Green State University and his Juris Doctor from Pace University School of Law. He is a resident of Putnam County where he lives with his wife, Reneé, and two daughters.
Ross Pepe is president of Construction Industry Council of Westchester and Hudson Valley, Inc, and building Contractors Association of Westchester and Mid-Hudson, Inc. Collectively, these organizations represent more than 500 local firms in the Hudson Valley. He is publisher of CONSTRUCTION NEWS, a monthly news publication. Pepe is co-chairman of the NYS DEC Clean Water Collaborative; a three-term member of the NYS Department of Labor’s Public Works Advisory board; a member of Audubon New York’s Board of Directors; and was appointed by former Westchester County Executive Andrew Spano to the Westchester-Rockland Tappan Zee Bridge Task Force. Pepe is a veteran of the Vietnam War, having served with the U.S. Navy.
Hudson Valley Pattern for Progress is a not-for-profit policy and planning organization that promotes regional, balanced and sustainable solutions to enhance the growth and vitality of the Hudson Valley. Founded in 1965 by business, academic and civic leaders, and based in Newburgh, N.Y., Pattern works within the nine-county area that includes Columbia, Dutchess, Greene, Orange, Putnam, Rockland, Sullivan, Ulster and Westchester.
