Link Foundation Board of Trustees and special advisors

 

Link Foundation Board of Trustees and Special Advisors, shown from left to right, first row:  Frank Cardullo, Marilyn Link, Jimmie Anne Haisley, Martha Gahring, Donna Wilt; second row:  Brian Thompson, Lee Lynd, Robert Hansen, Andrew Clark, Jon Forbes, Doug Johnson, Thomas Kelly, Richard Murray, David Gouldin.  Not pictured: Michael Augustine, David Gdovin, James Van Voorst

 

TRUSTEES

Dr. Thomas F. Kelly, Chairman

Dr. Kelly has served the Link Foundation since 1999 in positions that have included Trustee, Chairman, Secretary, and Special Advisor.  He currently serves as a Professor of Management at Binghamton University (State University of New York) and has held prior positions as Dean of the School of Management, and University Vice President for External Affairs at Binghamton University.  Prior to his service at Binghamton, he served as Dean at Wilkes College.  Dr. Kelly holds a MA degree from Lehigh University and a PhD from Cornell University. 

At Binghamton University, Dr. Kelly led the School of Management to AACSB accreditation and developed its PhD program. As Vice President, he led the University through its first Comprehensive Gifts Campaign, exceeding its goal by 20%.  Dr. Kelly has received numerous awards including the “Professional of the Year” Award from the Council for the Advancement and Support of Education, a national academic organization; 4 recently-received teaching awards; and the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Faculty Service.  Over the years, Dr. Kelly has served on the board of directors of 12 non-profit organizations and three business corporations, serving as Chair of five of these boards.  Dr. Kelly conducts research on Corporate Social Responsibility and his recent papers have been published in the international Journal of Business Ethics.

Mr. Douglas R. Johnson, Treasurer

Mr. Johnson has served the Link Foundation since 1991 in positions that have included Trustee, Treasurer, and Special Advisor.  Mr. Johnson has significant experience in the banking field and is highly regarded in the Greater Binghamton Area as the “Dean” of the region’s trust officers, with nearly 49 years of experience.  Prior to his retirement from Chemung Canal Trust Company in Binghamton, NY, he served as Senior Vice President and Regional Trust Executive.  Mr. Johnson is a graduate of Broome Community College and the National Graduate Trust School at Northwestern University.  He received the Baden Powell Council of Boy Scouts of America 2012 Distinguished Citizen’s Award.  This yearly award recognizes a community member for outstanding service and volunteerism to the community.

Ms. Jimmie Anne Haisley, Secretary

Ms. Haisley has served the Link Foundation since 2007 in positions that have included Trustee, Secretary, and Special Advisor.  Ms. Haisley has over 34 years of experience in the education field where she earned “Professor of the Year” and “Administrator of the Year” from the state of Florida.  Ms. Haisley served as Executive Director of the Indian River State College Foundation prior to her retirement in 2007, and has earned the title of Vice President Emeritus of the Indian River State College Foundation.  She has significant experience with non-profits and communication and public relations, which are valuable assets to the Link Foundation.  She holds a BS and MS degree from Florida State University and is strongly dedicated to furthering the mission of the Link Foundation. 

Dr. Andrew M. Clark

Dr. Clark has served the Link Foundation since 1999 in positions that have included Trustee and Special Advisor, and he currently chairs the Link Foundation’s Fellowship Program in Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation.  He began his career in the offshore oil industry prior to being awarded a Link Foundation Internship in 1979 at the Harbor Branch Foundation, an organization which was founded in 1971 by J. Seward Johnson, Sr. in collaboration with Edwin A. Link as a non-profit research organization (now known as Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute at Florida Atlantic University).  Dr. Clark remained at Harbor Branch for over fifteen years, eventually succeeding Edwin A. Link to head Engineering Research and Development.  Dr. Clark’s expertise is in ocean engineering and instrumentation and he has founded three successful companies in this field.  Dr. Clark holds BS and MS degrees in Ocean Engineering from Florida Atlantic University, and a PhD in Ocean Engineering from University of Hawaii.  He is a licensed Professional Engineer (PE), holds both US and International Patents for underwater vehicle systems, and has authored or coauthored over 50 technical and scientific publications.  Dr. Clark was elected President of the international Marine Technology Society, received the Lockheed Martin Medal for Ocean Science and Technology, and the Compass Distinguished Achievement Award.  Dr. Clark is a Trustee of Florida Institute of Technology and serves on the US Committee to the United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission (IOC).

Mr. David Gdovin

Mr. Gdovin has served the Link Foundation since 2007 in positions that have included Trustee and Special Advisor.  Mr. Gdovin is the President and Founding Partner of Diamond Visionics, LLC, Vestal, NY, and has over 45 years of experience in visual display design, optical packaging, and structure analysis for flight, ground, and space vehicle simulators.  He holds four US patents and has held positions in Engineering and Program Management, as well as Vice President of Marketing/New Business Development for CAE Link before starting his own company.  Mr. Gdovin holds a BS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Buffalo, a MS degree in Applied Mathematics and Computer Science from Binghamton University, and he is a graduate of the Department of Defense Systems Management College at Ft. Belvoir, VA.

 

SPECIAL ADVISORS

Mr. Michael E. Augustine, CPA, CMA, MBA

Mr. Augustine has served as a Special Advisor to the Link Foundation since 2009. He currently serves as Vice President for Finance and Chief Financial Officer for the West Virginia University (WVU) Foundation. Prior to joining the WVU Foundation, Michael served as Vice President and Chief Financial Officer for the Torrey Pines Institute for Molecular Studies, Vice President, Chief Financial & Administrative Officer for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, Director of Finance and Administration for the West Virginia Network for Educational Telecommuting, and Controller of Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute (HBOI) where he met the Link Family. 

Mr. Augustine is a certified public accountant (CPA), certified management accountant (CMA) and holds a MBA from Florida Institute of Technology and a BS from California University of Pennsylvania, where he graduated Summa Cum Laude as a Presidential Scholar from both institutions. Mr. Augustine is a member of the AICPA, PICPA, Institute of Management Accountants and Big 12/10 University Foundation Financial Officers.

Professor Frank M. Cardullo

Professor Cardullo has served as a Special Advisor to the Link Foundation since 2002 and he also serves as the chairman of the Link Foundation’s Advanced Simulation and Training Fellowship Selection Committee.

Professor Cardullo is currently a full professor of mechanical engineering at the State University of New York at Binghamton.  He conducts research in the area of man-machine systems, mathematical modeling and analysis of the dynamics of both the human operator and the machine.  He has applied this research to the perception and stimulation of visual and motion cues and computational methods for real time systems. His recent addition to his research repertoire includes tele-robotic surgery.  He has been an active consultant in this area for many aerospace companies and US Government agencies.  He is the author of over 60 technical publications, and has been awarded a patent for the "Advanced G-Seat."  Professor Cardullo has been invited to lecture at 13 universities and research institutes in Europe and Asia.  He is a recipient of the AIAA De Florez Award for Flight Simulation and Training.  Prior to joining the Binghamton University faculty in 1980, Professor Cardullo spent 14 years as an engineer in the simulation industry.  He is an Associate Fellow of the AIAA, and a member and former chairman of their Modeling and Simulation Technical Committee.

Mr. Jon E. Forbes

Mr. Forbes has served the Link Foundation since 1998 in positions that have included Trustee and Special Advisor.  His past aerospace industry positions include President of CAE-Link Simulation, President of Simuflite Training International, President of The Forbes Group and VP of Hughes Electronics.  He is a retired naval aviator and Vietnam veteran.  Mr. Forbes holds a BSME from the University of Maine and a MBA from the University of Rochester.

Mr. David M. Gouldin, Esq.

Mr. Gouldin has served the Link Foundation since 1989 in positions that have included Trustee and Special Advisor, serving as Chairman of the Board from 1993 to 2010.  He is a Senior Partner in the law firm of Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP in Binghamton, NY.  Mr. Gouldin obtained his Bachelor’s Degree from Princeton University and his Juris Doctor was conferred by the Cornell Law School.  He has, on occasion, served as legal counsel for the Link Foundation.  He is a past President of the Broome County Bar Association and the Federation of the Bar of the Sixth Judicial District, specializing in commercial litigation and professional liability.  He has served as a member of the Committee on Professional Standards for the Appellate Division, Third Department.  For over a decade he served as a member of the Board of Law Examiners appointed by the New York Court of Appeals.

Mr. Robert Hansen

Mr. Hansen has served as Special Advisor to the Link Foundation since 2007.  He is an executive with L3 Communications and presently serves as Site Manager for Link Simulation and Training, Binghamton, NY, and as B-2 Training Systems Manager.  He formally served in engineering and management positions in the Link Simulation and Training successor companies including Link Flight Simulation.  A former Captain in the US Air Force, Mr. Hansen holds a BS degree from Rensselear Polytechnic Institute, a MA degree from Central Michigan, and a MS degree from Binghamton University.

Ms. Marilyn C. Link

Ms. Link has served the Link Foundation, an organization founded by her brother, Edwin A. Link and his wife Marion C. Link, since 1954 in positions that have included Trustee, Treasurer, Secretary, and Special Advisor.  Ms. Link holds a BS degree in Education from New York University, and a MS degree in Education from the University of Illinois.  Throughout her career she has held progressively advancing positions in education, first serving as a public school teacher in New Jersey, and an instructor at the University of Nebraska, before becoming a sales executive in the airline industry in New York City.  Ms. Link was an editor of children’s publications for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, DC, and culminated her career serving as Trustee and Managing Director of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation from 1974 until her retirement in 1982.  Currently, Ms. Link serves as Director Emeritus of the Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute Foundation and is a Trustee Emeritus of Florida Institute of Technology.

Ms. Link is a licensed commercial pilot, holding multi-engine and instrument ratings, she has logged over 2000 hours.  Ms. Link has received numerous awards throughout her career including the University Aviation Association Award, the Frank G. Brewer Trophy, the Lady Hay Drummond Trophy, Binghamton University’s Distinguished Service Award, the Florida Atlantic University President’s Distinguished Service Medallion, and several other honorary awards from professional organizations for her volunteer work. 

Dr. Lee R. Lynd

Dr. Lynd has served the Link Foundation since 1999 in positions that have included Trustee and Special Advisor, and the Link Foundation Energy Fellowship Program Administrator.  Dr. Lynd began his association with the Link Foundation in 1984 when he was selected to receive a Link Foundation Energy Fellowship.  Dr. Lynd is a Professor of Engineering and an Adjunct Professor of Biology and of Earth Science at Dartmouth College, Professor Extraordinary of Microbiology at the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa, and Director and Chief Scientific Officer of Mascoma Corporation, a biomass energy start-up company he co-founded.  He has been a member of the Dartmouth faculty since 1987.  Dr. Lynd holds a BS degree in Biology from Bates College, a MS degree in Bacteriology from the University of Wisconsin, and MS and PhD degrees in Engineering from Dartmouth College. 

Dr. Lynd is an expert on the utilization of plant biomass for production of energy.  His contributions span the science, technology, and policy domains, and include leading research on fundamental and biotechnological aspects of microbial cellulose utilization.  He has led an active research group addressing these issues over the last two decades, authoring over 100 technical papers as well as widely-cited reviews, book chapters, and 6 issued patents.  A frequently invited presenter on technical and strategic aspects of biomass energy, Dr. Lynd has three times testified before the United States Senate, and has been featured in prominent fora such as Wired, Forbes, Nova, and the Nobel Conference.  Dr. Lynd has received several awards including the Lemelson-MIT Sustainability Prize, the Charles D. Scott Award, he is a two-time recipient of the Charles A. Lindbergh Award, and received a National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award.

Dr. Richard W. Murray

Dr. Murray has served as a Special Advisor to the Link Foundation since 1993; however, his association with the Link Foundation started from birth.  Dr. Murray is the great nephew of Edwin A. Link and participated in many Link Foundation events prior to his formal appointment as Special Advisor in 1993.  He was instrumental in the development of the Link Foundation’s Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellowship Program.  Dr. Murray is a Professor of Earth and Environment at Boston University (BU), a position he has held since 1992.  He also served Boston University as Chair of the Department of Earth Sciences from 2000-2005, and Director of the Boston University Marine Program (BUMP) from 2007-2009. 

While pursuing his BA degree at Hamilton College, Dr. Murray also participated in the Sea Education Association’s (SEA’s) program in Woods Hole, MA.  After receiving his PhD from the University of California at Berkeley, he was a post-doctoral scholar at the University of Rhode Island’s Graduate School of Oceanography.  Dr. Murray’s research interests are in marine biogeochemistry, with an emphasis on marine sediments and modern oceanographic processes manifest in sediment traps and dissolved species in seawater.  He has authored or coauthored more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific research papers.  His research funding has been provided by the National Science Foundation, the Ocean Drilling Program and Integrated Ocean Drilling Program, the US Geological Survey, and other agencies.

Dr. Murray has received multiple teaching awards and professional honors throughout his career including being a former JOI/USSAC Distinguished Lecturer and a Fellow of the Geological Society of America.  He is a Trustee of the Sea Education Association.

Dr. Murray is active in civic affairs, and is an elected Selectman in the coastal town of Scituate, MA.  He has served three consecutive terms in office, and was elected Chair of the Board of Selectmen in 2008-09.  In his capacity as Selectman, he is active in local and state matters relating to policies and practices regarding adaptation to sea level rise, sustainable drinking water, marine fisheries, and other issues at the interface of government, science, and environment.

Dr. Brian J. Thompson

Dr. Thompson has served the Link Foundation since 1984 in positions that have included Trustee, Secretary, and Special Advisor.  He was instrumental in the development of the Link Foundation’s Energy Fellowship Program, serving as the Program Administrator from 1984-1999.  Dr. Thompson also was instrumental and assisted in the development of the Link Foundation’s Advanced Simulation and Training and Ocean Engineering and Instrumentation Fellowship Programs.  He edited a series of 15 volumes of the Research Reports of Link Energy Fellows, which was published by the University of Rochester Press, and he subsequently published four additional edited volumes of the Research Papers of the Link Foundation Fellows covering all three Link Fellowship Programs.

Dr. Thompson serves as Provost Emeritus, Professor of Optics Emeritus and Distinguished University Professor at the University of Rochester.  He joined the University of Rochester in 1968 as Director of the Institute of Optics and Professor of Optics, serving as Dean of the College of Engineering and Applied Sciences from 1975-1984, and University Provost from 1984-1994.  Prior to his service at the University of Rochester, he served as a Faculty Member at Manchester University, England; tenured Faculty Member in the Physics Department at the University of Leeds, UK; Technical Operations Research in Burlington, MA; and adjunct faculty member at Northeastern University.  Dr. Thompson holds a BS degree with honors and a PhD degree in Applied Physics from Manchester University.

Dr. Thompson received Rochester University’s Alumni Citation to faculty for outstanding scholarship and service to students in 1980, and was named the first William F. May Professor of Engineering in 1982.  Over his career, he has written over 180 scientific and technical papers and edited two major book series:  SPIE Milestone Series of Selected Papers, 182 Volumes, and Optical Engineering, 140 Volumes.

He has been active in national and international scientific organizations and their boards and served on the National Academy of Sciences and the National Research Council’s committees and panels; the Army Scientific Advisory Panel; the Center for Naval Analysis Advisory Panel; and the New York State Urban Development Corporation’s Technology Advisory Panel.  He is a member of the Board of Overseers of the Thayer School of Engineering at Dartmouth College and has served a number of local boards in Rochester, NY, including former Chairman and Trustee of the Board of the Center for Governmental Research; Trustee of the Rochester Museum and Science Center; and former Chairman and Trustee of Colgate Rochester Crozer Divinity School.  Dr. Thompson continues to serve the local boards in the Rochester, NY area as an active Life Trustee.  He was a former Corporate Director for Welch Allyn and currently serves, since 1992, as a Corporate Director for Boydell and Brewer, UK. 

Mr. James R. Van Voorst

Mr. Van Voorst has served as a Special Advisor to the Link Foundation since spring 2012.  Mr. Van Voorst’s significant experience in finance and administration is a strong asset to the Foundation.  He currently serves as vice president for administration at Binghamton University, and served as interim vice chancellor of finance and administration for the State University of New York from 2008-2009, controller at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, university accountant at the State University of New York at Albany, and auditor with the New York State Comptroller’s Office.  Mr. Van Voorst holds a BS degree from Siena College, a MS degree from the State University of New York at Albany, and he is a Certified Public Account.

Dr. Donna F. Wilt

Dr. Wilt has served the Link Foundation as a Special Advisor since 2006, and she served on the Link Foundation’s Advanced Simulation and Training Fellowship Selection Committee prior to becoming the Program’s Administrator in 2012.  Dr. Wilt began her association with the Link Foundation in 1995 when she was selected to receive a Link Foundation Advanced Simulation and Training Fellowship.  Dr. Wilt currently serves as the Associate Dean of the College of Aeronautics at Florida Institute of Technology.  She holds a BS degree from the University of Florida, a MS degree in Electrical Engineering and a PhD in Science Education from Florida Institute of Technology.

Dr. Wilt has a lifelong passion for aviation and engineering but as her career progressed, she was drawn to the training aspects of aviation as opposed to engineering design.  Dr. Wilt’s PhD research was on the forefront of how to teach higher-order cognitive skills, such as situation awareness and decision making, to beginning pilots using low-cost flight training devices (FTD). Dr. Wilt is an Air Transport Pilot, Master Certified Flight Instructor, and Gold Seal Flight instructor focused on the beginning, or ab-initio, pilot training. 

 

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

Ms. Martha J. Gahring

Ms. Gahring serves as Secretary II (senior-level secretary) in the Office of the President at Binghamton University, a position she has held since 2008.  Prior to this, she served as Executive Secretary to the Vice President of External Affairs from 2001-2008.  Ms. Gahring began her career with Binghamton University in 1984, serving the State University of New York Research Foundation; the Binghamton University Foundation; and the University’s Chemistry Department. Ms. Gahring received the Binghamton University Service Tradition Award Recognition (STAR) award in 2007, an award for which she was nominated by her peers.  The STAR award was in recognition of specific acts of exemplary service and ongoing dedication to the principles of quality service at Binghamton University.

Ms. Gahring has served the Link Foundation as Office Administrator since January 2009.  Her administrative background, with over 33 years of experience, is a strong asset to the Link Foundation.

Revised 9/12