Five new members have been appointed to the UVM board of trustees. Each member received an appointment from current state legislators. The new members’ educational and professional backgrounds span from environmental consulting, electrical contracting, the culinary arts to accounting.
These new members are Ed Pagano, Bernard Juskiewicz, Curt McCormack and Tristan Toleno. These members will serve a six-year term on the board of trustees. Student trustee, sophomore David Brandt will serve a two-year term.
Ed Pagano, a 1985 UVM graduate and student athlete, said he has been a member of the private law firm Akin Gump since 2014 after working under the Obama administration as a senate liaison and assistant to the president for legislative affairs.
Pagano received his law degree from Fordham University’s School of Law and went on to receive his masters degree in 1990. Pagano said he worked for Sen. Patrick Leahy as his chief of staff for 19 years.
“For me it’s an honor to be on the board,” Pagano said. “I’ve never dealt with the board before so I believe I bring a fresh perspective to the University and to the student population and the community of Burlington.”
Bernard Juskiewicz, another board of trustees appointee shares Pagano’s idea of his position on the board.
“[Being a member of the board] is something that has been on my mind for the past couple of years,” Juskiewicz said. “My wife and I are big supporters of the product that comes out of UVM and education has always been in the front of my mind.”
Juskiewicz graduated from the College of Emporia in 1966 and said he is a first-generation college student.
“I look at education as a positive influence on people’s lives,” Juskiewicz said.
Juskiewicz worked for IBM in New York and said he later returned to the Burlington area in 1978. He had a career in account managing, Juskiewicz said.
Juskiewicz said he was the Department of Labor manager for the state of Vermont from 1992 until 2001 when he retired.
“It seems when you retire, you don’t have to look for work … work looks for you”, Juskiewicz said.
Juskiewicz said he looks forward to working with the students, the board and the faculty of UVM.
Tristan Toleno is a Vermont native who grew up in Brattleboro and graduated high school in 1989. He later went on to attend Wesleyan University and graduated with a philosophy degree in 1993, Toleno said.
Toleno eventually returned to Vermont and received his MBA from Marlboro College in managing for sustainability in 2013.
“I currently wear three hats right now,” Toleno said. He currently represents Brattleboro in the state legislature, serves as an adjunct professor at Marlboro Graduate School and runs a small catering company, Toleno said.
“I’m passionate about a lot of stuff,” he said. “If I can pull it off, [if] I can add value, then I can do it.”
Toleno said he is also passionate about his new position on the board of trustees.
“My background gives me perspective into the University as a whole,” he said. “I am experienced with putting things on the table and asking people the tough questions.”
“I want to do the work, and I am going to make it rewarding,” Toleno said.
Curt McCormack represented the city of Rutland from 1983 to 1996 in the Vermont House of Representatives and also said he served as chair of the Committee on Natural Resources and Energy as well as the Joint House and Senate Committee on Energy.
McCormack served as vice chair of the National Conference of State Legislatures as well as many other positions in the Vermont State Legislature according to University Communications.
David Brandt, a UVM sophomore and Vermont native graduated from Mount Mansfield High School in 2013, where he was involved with student government according to University Communications.
Brandt is pursuing a degree in political science.
In addition to his studies and involvement with the board of trustees, Brandt said he is a member of The Vermont Cynic, an AdvoCat for the University’s Undergraduate Admissions office and works as a intramural sports official for Campus Recreation.
