Meet the Foundation Board of Directors 2011-2012 |
Jason Anselment, President - Springfield, Illinois 
Jason After receiving a BS in Business and a BA in Social Sciences from Eastern in 1997 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. He 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 third year on the Board. He is currently serving as the Foundation President and is also serving on the Board Development Committee. He has formerly served as Foundation Treasurer and as Chair of the Finance/Audit as well as serving on the Scholarships & Grants and Board Development Committees.
Timothy Burke, Vice President - Evanston, Illinois
Tim 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. He 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 is serving his third year on the Board and currently serves as Vice President. He also serves as chair of the Oversight & Outreach and is serving on the Finance/Audit, Investment and Board Development Committees. He has previously served as Treasurer.
William Robinson, Treasurer - Scottsdale, Arizona
Bill 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 second year on the Board of Directors and is serving as Treasurer. He is also serving his second year as Chair of the Real Estate Committee and as Chair of the Finance/Audit Committee. In addition he is serving on the Investment and Board Development Committees.
Christine Reid Robertson, Secretary - Naperville, Illinois
Christine 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, she 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 third year on the Foundation Board of Directors. She currently is serving as Secretary. She also serves as Chair of the Scholarships & Grants Committee and is a member of the Oversight & Outreach, Board Development and Events Planning Committees.
Mike Cunningham - Marietta, Georgia
Mike 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 later served as Executive Vice President and CFO at Integon Corporation, an insurance holding company, before joining ING. His 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 first year on the Foundation Board of Directors and will also serve on the Oversight & Outreach, Investment and Scholarships & Grants Committees.
Judy Ethell - Chesterfield, Missouri
Judy 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 first year on the Foundation Board of Directors. In addition she is serving on the Foundation Finance and Investment Committees, as well as serving as Liaison to the Alumni Association
H. Michael Finkle - Naples, Florida
Michael 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. He 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 first term on the Foundation Board of Directors and is also serving on the Investment, Real Estate and Scholarships & Grants Committees.
Dave Maurer - Charleston, Illinois
David graduated with a B.A. from Beloit College in 1957, and earned his M.A. in 1958 and his Ph.D. in 1962 from Ohio State University. From 1962 to 1995 he served as assistant, associate, and professor of History at Eastern. He served as coordinator of Faculty Development and then as chair of the Department of History from 1989 to 1995. He chaired the Faculty Senate, the University Personnel Committee and the BOG Council of Faculties. Additionally he served the American Association for State and Local History as a scholar-in-residence and as a peer reviewer for the American Association of Museums. He is past president of the Illinois State Historical Society and the Congress of Illinois State Historical Societies and Museums. He volunteers as an elderhostel ambassador and is a volunteer with the Foundation's Annuitant Ambassadors. David served one year of a partial term, one full three year term and is in his second year of his final term. He previously served as the Foundation Board Vice President and Secretary, and is the Board's liaison to the Annuitants Association. He currently serves as Chair of the Events Planning Committee and is a member of the Oversight & Outreach and Real Estate committees.
Honorable Sue C. Payton - Colorado Springs, Colorado
Sue 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, she 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 second year on the Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of the Finance, Investment and Scholarships & Grants committees.
Charles W. Witters - Las Vegas, Nevada 
Chuck 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 he was President of the Nevada Chapter of SIOR and is the president of the Las Vegas chapter again 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 third year on the Board and is a member of the Real Estate, Oversight & Outreach and Finance/Audit committees.
