Meet the Foundation Board of Directors 2012-2013


Timothy Burke, President - Evanston, Illinois

Jason AnselmentTim earned his Bachelor of Science degree from EIU in 1971 and Master of Science degree in 1972, and has been a principal with William Blair & Company, LLC since 1997. He is responsible for the finance and administrative areas of the firm including Financial Control, Human Resources, Office Services and the Business Information Center. Prior to joining William Blair & Company, Tim was a partner with Arthur Andersen in their Chicago office. He led Andersen's Capital Markets practice in the Central Region of the US and its Futures Industry practice in the US. In addition to his industry responsibilities in the US, Tim led projects sponsored by the World Bank to reform the financial markets system in Indonesia and investigate the possibility of creating a financial trading center in the Middle East.

Tim currently serves as a member of the Board of Directors of Health Care Service Corporation, which is the holding company for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Illinois, Texas and New Mexico. He has chaired the Health Care Service Corporation board audit and governance committees, is a CPA and a member of the AICPA, Illinois CPA Society, and the Securities Industry and Financial Management Association. Tim was most recently awarded the 2012 Louis V. Hencken Alumni Service Award. Tim is serving his fourth year on the Board and currently serves as President. He is also serving on the Board Development Committee. He has previously served as Vice President, Treasurer, Chair of the Oversight & Outreach and has served on the Finance/Audit and Investment Committees.

 

Christine Reid Robertson, Vice President - Naperville, Illinois

Christine RobertsonChristine graduated from Eastern with a BS in Education and received her MS in Education from Marquette University, Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her professional career spans more than 35 years, and reflects extensive and diverse leadership experiences. She began her career as public school speech therapist and, spent five years as an instructor and clinical supervisor in the Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences at Ohio University, before moving into educational administration. Christine retired from the position Assistant Superintendent for Human Resources and Planning, School District 202, Plainfield, Illinois.

 In her retirement, Christine continues to do consulting and volunteer work related to personnel administration and labor relations and planning in non-profit organizations. She is a member of the Lewis University Department of Education Advisory Board, and serves on two leadership commissions in her parish. Christine is currently serving her fourth year on the Foundation Board of Directors. She currently is serving as Vice President. She also serves as Chair of the Oversight & Outreach and Board Development Committee. In addition Christine is a member of the Scholarships and Grants Committee and a previous chair.

 

William Robinson, Treasurer - Scottsdale, Arizona

Bill RobinsonBill received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Eastern in 1976. He retired in 2009 as the senior vice president and general manager of the Pepsi Bottling Group, a $1.2 billion division of Pepsi’s largest domestic bottling operation. He served on the board of directors for the California Grocers Association, the California Nevada Soft Drink Association and Pepsi Northwest Beverages LLC and was Corporate Chair for the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He received the EIU Distinguished Alumni Award in 2003.

 Bill is currently serving his third year on the Board of Directors and is serving his second year as Treasurer. He is also serving as Chair of the Finance/Audit Committee. In addition he is serving on the Board Development and Real Estate Committees. He previously served as Chair of the Real Estate Committee and as a member of the Investment Committee 

 

 

 



Judy Ethell, Secretary - Chesterfield, Missouri

Judy EhtellJudy is a graduate of EIU where she received her B.S. in Business Accounting with honors. She is an operating partner for Thompson Street Capital Partners, a firm which manages over $445 million of private equity, investing in middle market companies. Previously, Judy served as the CFO/CAO of BearingPoint, Inc., a $3.5 billion services organization headquartered in McLean, Virginia, with activities in over 60 countries where she was responsible for the global finance functions (900 people) including; tax, treasury, international controller, corporate controller, shared services, finance transformation, SOX, SEC and financial reporting and analysis, business financial reporting, government contractor reporting, analyst and investor presentations, and rating agency contacts. During her tenure at BearingPoint, she restructured the entire global finance and accounting group and developed a long-term plan to significantly reduce costs via centralization of functions; revamped the financial closing process; was the steering committee chair for ERP systems implementation; managed tax authority negotiations; monitored SOX reporting and compliance process; met and discussed with SEC personnel the Company’s late filer status and had frequent interaction with Board of Directors and Audit Committee.

Judy started her career at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP where she served as Tax Partner in Charge for the St. Louis office and managed global tax relationships for several Fortune 500 companies (consumer products, services and financial services) including SEC/PCAOB/FAS 109 requirements, audit committee pre-approval process, and advised on financial statement reporting and disclosure. She also managed international tax and treasury restructurings focused to reduce effective tax rate and reduce cash taxes. Judy has actively supported EIU as a member on the President’s Capital Campaign Steering Committee and Treasurer of the Accountancy Advisory Board. She serves on the Board of the Alpha Phi Foundation and engages in numerous other volunteer activities. She is serving her second year on the Foundation Board of Directors and her first year as Secretary. In addition she is also serving on the Finance/Audit, Investment and Board Development Committees, as well as serving as Liaison to the Alumni Association.

 

Jason Anselment - Springfield, Illinois

Jason AnselmentAfter receiving a BS in Business and a BA in Social Sciences from Eastern in 1997, Jason went on to receive his Juris of Doctorate from the University of Illinois in 2001. Jason recently accepted the position of Legal/Legislative Counsel with the Illinois Association of Park Districts (IAPD), Springfield, Illinois. As the association’s lawyer he acts as a contact for legal questions on park district, forest preserve, conservation and local government issues by members and their local counsel, as well as planning the IAPD’s Legislative Conference and Legal Symposium, writing “Statehouse Insider” and legal columns for the Illinois Parks and Recreation magazine and developing the Association’s Grassroots Advocacy Program. He also serves as the associations’ liaison to the General Assembly and review’s introduction of all legislation for impact on membership. In addition, he serves as staff liaison to the Illinois Parks Association Risk Services (IPARKS). Jason previously served as Assistant Corporation Counsel with the City of Springfield, where he handled general municipal law, contracts, labor/employment issues, real estate transactions, municipal finance, constitution/litigation and general governance.

Jason was formerly an associate at Hart, Santhworth & Witsman, in Springfield. He is licensed in Illinois and the Central District of Illinois Federal Court and has held memberships in numerous bar associations and was Vice President of Illinois Government Bar Association. He served as EIU student body president and student member of the EIU Board of Trustees and Board of Governor's Universities and is a lifetime member of the EIU Alumni Association. This is Jason’s fifth year on the Board. He is currently serving on the Finance/Audit, Oversight & Outreach and Scholarships & Grants Committees. He formerly served as Foundation President, Treasurer and as Chair of the Finance/Audit as well as serving on the Board Development Committee.

 

Michael Cunningham - Marietta, Georgia

Mike CunninghamMike a graduate of Eastern (70’, 73’) completed the CPA program as an undergraduate and went on to earn his MBA from EIU. He retired as Senior Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of ING Canada after holding several senior level positions in the ING North American operations, including Executive Vice President and CFO of ING North America. ING is a global financial institution of Dutch origin with clients in more than 40 countries served by more than 100,000 people. After completing his CPA he joined Ernst & Young in Springfield, Illinois. He served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Integon Corporation, an insurance holding company, before joining ING.

 Mike's continuing involvement with EIU has included coordinating the recruitment of accounting students for Ernst & Young, teaching an entry level accounting class while in graduate school, serving on the Accountancy Advisory Board and assisting with ING involvement in EIU’s study abroad programs. He received the EIU Distinguished Alumnus award in 2010. Mike is serving his second year on the Foundation Board of Directors and also serves as Chair of the Investment Committee. He also serves on the Real Estate and Scholarships & Grants Committees. He previously served on the Oversight & Outreach Committee.

 

H. Michael Finkle - Naples, Florida

Mike FinkleMichael holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from EIU which he earned in 1962. Currently in his 44th year in the investment advisory business, he holds the position of Senior Vice President, Investments and the Senior Partner of Financial Legacy Partners, Wealth Advisors of Raymond James. In 1992 and 1993 he was named one of the nation’s top financial advisors by two different national investment trade publications. He completed the two year senior account executive program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania in 1998 and is also a graduate of the American College Estate Planning for Professionals certification program.

Michael has a long history of leadership in various community service organizations; serving twice as President for the Danville District 118 School Board, Board Chair for the Danville Convention & Visitors Bureau Board and Chair for the United Samaritans Medical Center Divisional Board. He has also served on the Danville Area Community College board and the Danville Chamber of Commerce board and the Vermillion Healthcare Foundation Board. He is also a member of the President’s Council of the University of Illinois. In 1986 he was named the Outstanding Alumnus form EIU Lumpkin College of Business. He is serving his second term on the Foundation Board of Directors and is also serving as the Chair of the Real Estate Committee. In addition he is serving on the Investment and Scholarships & Grants Committees.

 

Timothy McCollum - Charleston, Illinois

Tim McCollumAfter receiving his B.S. in Education in 1973 and his M.S. degree in Zoology from Eastern Illinois University in 1977, Tim retired as a science teacher from Charleston Middle School in 2011. He has received numerous regional, state and national awards for his work in the classroom.  Included among those are the 2010 NEA Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence (one of only five recipients nationally), 2008 Golden Apple Award for Teaching Excellence, 2006 Jefferson Award and 2003 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching, which was presented to him by then-President George W. Bush during a ceremony in Washington, DC.  During his tenure, he also had the opportunity to spend a semester working with the NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston and on a NASA project in Lake Placid.  During that time, he assisted in the development of teaching curriculum for educators across the country utilizing photos taken by American astronauts.  Tim is also a co-investigator for the NASA project Expedition Earth and Beyond and served on the National Science Board’s Commission on 21st Century Education in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math.

A former president of the EIU Alumni Association board of directors, he is currently a member of EIU’s early childhood, elementary and middle level education faculty. Most recently Tim received the 2012 Distinguished Educator Award by the EIU Alumni Association. Tim is currently serving his first term on the Foundation Board of Directors and is also serving on the Finance/Audit Committee, Investment Committee and Real Estate Committee. In addition he also serves as Liaison to the Annuitant’s Association.

Honorable Sue C. Payton - Colorado Springs, Colorado

Sue PaytonSue graduated from Eastern in 1972 with a B.S. in Education. In 1985 she received an MS in Systems Acquisition Management/System Technology from the University of Southern California. She is also a 2006 graduate of Nova Southeastern University with an MS in Computer Information Systems. Sue was the manager of advanced technology/senior staff engineer and integration site manager for Martin Marietta/Lockheed Martin, responsible to the vice presidents for Space Development and Business Development for the successful integration of major software upgrades to a space operations facility and for providing recommendations and guidance on the investment of millions of dollars in independent research and development funds. She served as vice president of advanced technology/director of National Center for Applied Technology for ImageLinks, Inc.

In 2001, Sue began her government service as a Deputy under Secretary of Defense and acting Director of Defense Research and Engineering for the Office of the Secretary of Defense. Sue retired as the Assistant Secretary of the Air Force (Acquisition) in 2009, and was responsible for all research, development and non-space acquisition, and provided direction and oversight of all matters pertaining to acquisition policies and programs. Sue is serving her fourth year on the Foundation Board of Directors and serves as Chair of the Scholarships & Grants Committee. She is also a member of the Finance and Oversight & Outreach Committees. She previously served on the Investment Committee.

 

Janet Treichel - Reston, Virginia

Janet TreichelJanet is a graduate of EIU where she earned her B.S. in Business Education in 1964 and   her M.S. in Education in 1971, she went on to earn her Ed.D. from the University of Illinois in 1977. She currently holds the position of Executive Director of the National Business Education Association. Janet served as an Associate Professor and Director with the University of Tennessee, College of Education, Office for Research in High Technology Education. In addition Janet was an Assistant Professor, University of Illinois, College of Education. Her career also includes serving as the Technical Director for the U.S. Department of the Navy’s Occupational Development and Analysis Center. Janet has conducted numerous in-service training workshops and has been a consultant to federal, state and local agencies in the areas of business education, career development, career and technical education and occupational analysis. She has authored and edited many educational publications.

Janet is a former member of the EIU School of Business Advisory Board and maintains several EIU and Charleston relationships. She encourages and interacts with the faculty in the School of Business and School of Technology, keeping them current on issues facing business education and the workforce. She has been the recipient of the 1993 School of Business Distinguished Alumnus Award, named the 1996 Beta Gamma Sigma EIU Chapter Honoree. She received the 1996 EIU Alumni Association Distinguished Alumnus Award and in 2010 was awarded an EIU Honorary Doctorate Degree in Public Service. Janet is serving her first term on the Foundation Board of Directors. She is also serving on the Investment Committee, Oversight & Outreach Committee and Scholarships and Grants Committee.

 

Charles W. Witters - Las Vegas, Nevada

Chuck WittersChuck graduated from Eastern with a BS in Business and received his MBA in Finance from Illinois State University. He joined Lee & Associates in 1984 and became a founding partner of Lee & Associates' Ontario in 1987. He is currently senior vice president of Lee & Associates, Las Vegas, Nevada. Chuck has extensive background in office marketing, consulting, investment and land sales. He is a member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and is an SIOR Educational Foundation trustee. He was selected to serve as the SIOR regional director for the Mountain Region and served on the National SIOR Board of Directors for 2006, 2007 and 2008.

In 2001 Chuck was President of the Nevada Chapter of SIOR and was named the president of the Las Vegas chapter in 2010. He received the 1995 NAIOP Associate Member of the Year, served for nine years on the Board of Directors of the Southern Nevada Chapter of NAIOP, and was the 1996 President of the Las Vegas Commercial Marketing Group. Chuck is in his fifth year on the Board and is a member of the Investment, Oversight & Outreach and Real Estate Committees.