Advisory Board
Over past 10 years, your local New York City Chapter has grown significantly with over 15,000 alumni & friends receiving our regular communications and with over 400 proud dues paying members. In 2017, the chapter established an Advisory Board to provide advice to help the organization continually improve, grow and evolve.
The Advisory Board is a group of esteemed alumni who provide guidance, feedback and support to the Chapter’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors. Those on the board are accomplished alumni that have served in senior leadership roles in various industries and organizations. Some members may also have strong ties to the University or were previous presidents of the New York City Chapter.
The Advisory Board meets 3-4 times per year (a combination of in-person meetings, conference calls and social gatherings) to provide ongoing feedback, input and expertise to chapter. By serving, our members also have the opportunity to build relationships with and network with other distinguished Penn Staters in the Greater New York City region. If you would like to nominate a distinguished alumus/alumae for inclusion on this board or have any questions, please contact the board's co-chairs by clicking here.
2021/2022 Advisory Board Members
Susan Ellis
Susan L. Ellis graduated from Penn State in 1990 with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science. Susan is currently working in the wine industry as a consultant, educator and Certified Sommelier. She also holds an MBA from Northeastern University and was formerly an investment banker. Susan started her career in Washington, DC as a lobbyist for affordable housing programs. She is a Mentor for students in the College of Liberal Arts, was past President of the NYC Alumni Chapter, as well as the Scholarship Chairperson for the Washington DC chapter.
Ellyn Fisher
Ellyn Fisher oversees PR and social media at the Ad Council and works to promote the non-profit organization and its more than 30 national public service communications programs to key audiences, including the press, the public and industry stakeholders. She has more than 20 years of experience in public relations and expertise in media relations, influencer engagement, content development and marketing, strategic partnerships and brand positioning. Noteworthy campaigns include the historic COVID-19 Vaccine Education campaign, Smokey Bear, and the Emmy-winning “Love Has No Labels” diversity and inclusion initiative. Under her leadership, the Ad Council implemented Creators for Good, an award-winning talent engagement program for digital creators, actors, musicians and athletes who want to use their powerful platforms to create change on behalf of social causes. Prior to the Ad Council, Ellyn worked at Middleberg Euro RSCG and at Baker Winokur Ryder, a division of Ogilvy & Mather, which promotes celebrity talent, and at USA Networks. Ellyn has been a classroom lecturer at numerous universities, as well as an active participant in undergraduate mentoring programs. She has spoken on panels at communications and marketing conferences, including South by Southwest Interactive, Vidcon, Blogher, the CDC’s National Conference on Health, Communication, Marketing and Media, the Ad Club and New York Women in Communications. Ellyn has served on numerous boards including the American Cancer Society in New York's Communications and Marketing Advisory Committee and Penn State’s Communications and Marketing Committee. She is a graduate of Penn State and she received Penn State’s Alumni Achievement Award in 2012. Ellyn is currently an Advisory Board Member of the Arthur W. Page Center for Integrity in Public Communication.
Rick Fisher
Rick Fisher is the co-partner-in-charge of human resources at EisnerAmper, a firm offering accounting, consulting and tax services. He has more than 30 years of experience in accounting, audit and human resources — more than 20 of them at the partner level. Rick’s responsibilities at EisnerAmper include a unique combination of recruiting, career development, compensation, and development of personnel policies and budgeting. He is also the plan administrator of the firm’s retirement plans and insurance programs. One of his major tasks has been overseeing a series of mergers that have seen his firm grow to over 1,300 professionals. Committed to Penn State, Fisher serves on the Accounting Advisory Board, a group of alumni from academia and industry interested in promoting accounting education and furthering its development and practice. In addition, he has created the Fisher Mentoring Endowment in Accounting to support teaching assistant wages in the master of accounting program. He also served as Treasurer and Executive Board member of the Penn State Alumni Association - New York City Chapter for four years. Fisher credits his early interest and academic success in accounting to a teaching assistant who was able to explain the mechanics of debits and credits during his early days at Penn State. Rick Fisher’s connections to Penn State are deep. His father graduated from Penn State, his nephew is a current student and his daughter Lauren is a 2013 graduate of the Integrated MAcc (master of accounting) program
Lynn Hendrickson
Lynn is Chief of Staff to the Chief Operating Officer at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute in Boston. In that role, she serves as a member of the Institute leadership team and a strategic partner to the COO. Prior to relocating back to Boston, where she is originally from, Lynn was the Administrative Director of the Seaver Autism Center for Research and Treatment at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City. In previous roles Lynn has worked as an Administrative Manager at Massachusetts General Hospital, an independent consultant at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard, and the Director of Operations at Addgene, Inc. Lynn graduated from Penn State in 2001 with a B.S. in Health Policy and Administration and minors in Business Management and Gerontology. While at Penn State, Lynn was president of the Academic Assembly (part of the former Undergraduate Student Government), Mortar Board Senior Honor Society, and the HPA Affiliate Program Group. She also holds an MBA with a concentration in Marketing from Boston University. She has been actively involved in the Penn State Alumni Association, serving on the Board of Directors of the Boston Chapter from 2002-2006 and as President of the NYC Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association from 2013-2017. She is a co-founder of the PSU NYC Advisory Board.
Diane Krusko
Diane Krusko is a 1977 graduate from Penn State’s Eberly College of Science in Microbiology. She received her M.B.A. in Strategic Business Management from PACE University. Diane served on the Board of the NYC Chapter as Director of Chapter Relations and on the Eberly College of Science Alumni Society Board as a member of the alumni mentor program. She also served as past President of the Westchester County Alumni Chapter and led alumni volunteers in college recruitment efforts in Westchester and Rockland Counties. Diane continues to serve as a volunteer in Westchester County supporting high school visits and college fairs in the area. After graduating Penn State, Diane began her career in the pharmaceutical industry. Her experience includes lab research, new product planning, commercial development and professional relations in organizations that include Pfizer, Sanofi and Merck. Diane then transitioned to higher education as Director of University Alumni Relations and Development for New York Medical College. Currently, she is consulting at SUNY Westchester Community College supporting their STEM Scholars program. Diane enjoys her family connection to Penn State with her brother (B.S. Chemical Engineering), her nephew (B.S. Energy Engineering) and another nephew who is currently pursuing a B.S. degree from SMEAL College of Business in Supply Chain. Diane is a Lifetime member of the Penn State Alumni Association, a life member of the New York City Chapter, a member of the Nittany Lion Club and the Golden Lion Society.
Jeff Michelson
Jeff is a Partner in the Transaction Services practice of Cohn Reznick and has over 16 years of experience in finance and accounting. He is responsible for leading buy-side and sell-side transaction services to private equity and corporate clients. Jeff has extensive experience in financial due diligence analysis, transaction structuring and deal negotiation support in a variety of industries, including food and beverage, distribution, manufacturing, chemicals, industrial products, professional services, hardware and software production and development, and software as a service (“SaaS”). Prior to joining Cohn Reznick, Jeff worked in the mergers and acquisitions practice for a Big 5 accounting firm in New York. He has also conducted audits for public and private companies, including Fortune 500 companies, predominantly in the U.S. and UK. Outside of work, he focuses on his three kids, his dog, going to the gym to try to stay sane, as well as the New Jersey Devils.
Mark Reed
Mark graduated from Penn State in 2005 with a B.S. in Finance and minors in Economics and International Business. After graduation, he moved to Charlotte, NC to pursue a career in international investment management. He is now at Wells Fargo where he is assisting in managing enterprise risk programs and strategic initiatives. While in Charlotte, Mark was the President of the Charlotte Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association from 2011 to 2017 where he expanded membership, increased game watch locations from two to three, and received a Crystal Lion award in 2012 from the PSAA for his work in responding to the Sandusky fall-out. Mark now lives in Nyack, NY with his wife (also PSU alumna) and daughter.
Susan Robinson
Susan Robinson is a quintessential leader who shifts thinking, elevates potential and inspires action. She is making an impact on the world in a truly unique way. As a keynote speaker and business advisor, Susan masterfully blends 25+ years of multi- sector leadership with her experiences being legally blind. She works with executive leaders of global firms and Fortune 500 companies, top not-for-profits, leading universities and the United Nations. Her work increases relevance, revenue and reputation for her clients and impacts the lives of people in 130+ countries. Susan is an Executive Board Member of the Penn State Alumni Association's Alumni Council and a Board Member of both the New York State Preferred Source Program for People Who Are Blind and InTandem Cycling. She received her Master of Public Administration, specializing in Health Policy and Management, from New York University, Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service; and her Bachelor of Science, Health Policy and Administration, with minors in Business and Economics, from The Pennsylvania State University.
Michael B. Rosenblatt
Michael B. Rosenblatt is a 1968 graduate of Penn State’s College of the Liberal Arts. In addition to his commitment to the NYC Chapter of the Alumni Association and his life membership in the PSU Alumni Association, he is currently on the Board of Directors of the College of the Liberal Arts Alumni Society. Michael has served as a mentor to Penn State undergraduates for many years and is currently – and proudly – serving as a member of the Hope Gala Advisory Board. Michael recently retired as Counsel to Rosenberg & Estis, P.C., a major real estate law firm in New York City. He resides in Manhattan with his wife, Karen.
Joseph Sorrano
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Mark Shulman
With more than 25 years in the entertainment industry, Mark has managed projects as varied as music festivals, major venue development and high-profile stadium concerts. His career began by Penn State University (BA, Integrative Arts, 1996). and he's worked everywhere from the UBS Arena in Belmont Park, NY to Wolf Trap Center For The Arts in DC. He's been an agent (APA), a Talent Buyer (Metropolitan Entertainment), a Production Manager and a Promoter for AEG in major rooms across the country. In 2003, Mark joined AEG's newly established NYC team, opened the office and dove into the trenches on venue development and contract negotiations. He developed and supervised the construction of the Nokia Theatre Times Square, winning Pollstar's Best New Music Venue in 2005. As SVP of East Coast, he supervised bookings of thousands of concerts between Georgia and Maine. He's promoted several national tours and shows at MetLife Stadium, Central Park Summerstage, Madison Square Gardne, and Radio City Music Hall, working with artists from Prince to Phish, Jay-Z to JLo, The Cure to Radiohead, Fall Out Boy to Paul McCartney. In 2018, he produced the Paul Simon Farewell Concert in Flushing Meadows Corona Park in Queens, New York. The once in a lifetime concert drew 30,000 fans and was the first concert held in that park in over 30 years. Mark has served as an Entertainment Advisory Board Member and producer of the annual Global Citizen Festival - an action-rewarded, awareness driven music festival, where fans engage with causes to earn tickets. THe festival is part of an initiative of the Global Poverty Project and is timed to coincide with the UN General Assembly to raise awareness and leverage government aid. In the year since its inception, the annual event has drawn 60,000 each year to the Great Lawn in New York's iconic Central Park and featured performances by Beyonce, Neil Young, Rihanna, Coldplay, Pearl Jam, and The Foo Fighters. He has also served on the Advisory Board for the NYC Mayor's Office of Citywide Events. The goals of the board have been to study the impact of COVID-19 and develop new safety guidelines for all events in New York City including major concerts on the Great Lawn, the July 4th Fireworks, and the NYC Marathon. Mark served as the Chief Growth Officer for Global Citizen where he led the Just Vote campaign featuring artists such as Taylor Swift, Billie Eilish, and Shawn Mendes encouraging young people to register and vote. He also worked with Sal Slaiby, manager of The Weeknd, on the Global Aid for Lebanon campaign which raised over $1 million for those affection by the explosion in Port of Beirut. In Mark's current role as Senior Vice President - Programming at UBS Arena, he is responsible for booking and producing concerts, family events, collegiate sports, and private events at the new $1.2 billion arena. Opening in late November 2021, the arena has already made a huge splash in the marketplace with a grand opening performance by Harry Styles to be followed with a wide variety of entertainment including Eric Church, Genesis, Imagine Dragons, John Mayer, Sebastian Maniscalco and Tool.
Michael Tiliakos
Michael Tiliakos joined Argo Group in April 2020 as the Assistant General Counsel, Employment and Corporate Matters. Argo Group (NYSE: ARGO) is an underwriter of specialty insurance and reinsurance products in areas of the property and casualty market. Prior to Argo, Michael served as the Assistant General Counsel for Goodman Networks, and prior to that he was a partner in Duane Morris LLP’s Employment, Labor, Benefits, and Immigration group. In his more than two decades of practicing law, Michael has worked in the government sector, co-founded a boutique management-side labor and employment firm, and worked in two large, global law firms. He has been recognized as a “Super Lawyer” and among “The Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys – Up and Comers.” Michael received his juris doctor degree from New York Law School and his undergraduate degree from Penn State University.