Four Rider alumni are elected to University's Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees of Rider University elected four new members, all alumni, whose terms begin July 1.

Joan Mazzotti ’72, retired executive director of Philadelphia Futures, returns to Rider’s Board after having served previously for nine years, four of them as the first woman to chair Rider’s Board. Michele Powers ’84, global operations leader of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, Sherry Ritter ’84, principal and managing director of The Mercadien Group, and Mark Schweiker ’83, Pennsylvania’s 44th governor, will serve their first terms on the Board.

"I have great faith in Joan, Michele, Sherry and Mark and am grateful they will be contributing their knowledge and expertise to the Board during a transformative period in Rider’s history," said Board Chairman Robert S. Schimek ’87.

Mazzotti received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rider and a Juris Doctor from Villanova University. She enjoyed a successful 23-year career with Aramark Corporation before serving 17 years as executive director of Philadelphia Futures, a nonprofit serving Philadelphia’s low-income, first-generation-to-college students. Mazzotti has been recognized by the Philadelphia City Council, Team Up Philly, the Education Law Center and the Manhattan Institute for her work championing the needs of first generation college students and the transformative power of education. Mazzotti has played a significant role over the years in support of women’s leadership at Rider. In 2005, she and her husband, Michael Kelly, established The Mazzotti Awards in Women's Leadership. The awards support leadership development opportunities for women faculty and staff as well as the biennial Mazzotti Women’s Leadership Summit and other programming throughout the year. To date, their generosity has supported more than two dozen Rider women faculty and staff. In recognition of her work and generosity, Mazzotti received Rider’s Harold L. Conover Award for Distinguished Leadership and honorary Doctors of Humane Letters from Rider and Haverford College.

As managing director of The Mercadien Group and a principal of Mercadien, P.C., Sherry Ritter ’84 contributes her many years of nonprofit and human services management experience to Rider’s Board. She serves on the board of directors of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital — Hamilton and is a past chair of its foundation. She is the past chair of the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce's board of directors and former president and treasurer of the YWCA of Trenton, where she co-chaired its Centennial Anniversary Committee.

Among her many accolades, Ritter was named Citizen of the Year by the MIDJersey Chamber of Commerce in 2014. In 2013, the New Jersey State Society of Certified Public Accountants recognized her as a top accountant in its inaugural list of the "50 Over 50." The New Jersey Society of Association Executives bestowed the Points of Light Award on her in 2007 for her commitment to the community.

Ritter received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with a major in accounting from Rider. She was inducted in 2013 into the Rider University Accounting Hall of Fame and has been a member of Rider’s Accounting Advisory Council since 1997. Her son, Matthew, received a Bachelor of Science in Global Supply Chain Management from Rider in 2018.

Michele Powers ’84 has accumulated more than 30 years of experience in the healthcare industry. She is global operations leader for the worldwide benefits division of Metropolitan Life Insurance Company and former vice president of customer service for Independence Blue Cross from 2015-17. Previous to these positions, Powers worked for Prudential Healthcare, Aetna, CIGNA Healthcare and EmblemHealth. Powers received her Certified Healthcare Insurance Executive (CHIE) designation as a graduate of America’s Health Insurance Plans’ Executive Leadership Program.

Powers received a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with a major in management and organizational behavior from Rider and a Master of Business Administration from Monmouth University. Her parents both graduated from Rider, where they met and later married. Following in her father’s footsteps as a star baseball player, Powers played both field hockey and basketball as a Rider Bronc.

Powers is passionate about her alma mater and dedicates her time and energy in support of students. She is a founding member and vice president of Rider’s Women’s Leadership Council and an anchor donor for the Women’s Giving Challenge. Powers also serves on Rider’s Health Care Management Advisory Council and is a frequent visitor and speaker on campus.

Schweiker, who also served as lieutenant governor of Pennsylvania, earned his master's in management from Rider in 1983 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Laws from Rider in 2004. He was the Commencement speaker at the 2018 Graduate and College of Continuing Studies Commencement Ceremony. He currently serves as the senior vice president and corporate development officer of Renmatix, Inc., a sustainable alternatives company making clean bioproducts for food ingredients, personal care and other select industrial applications.

Schweiker was the only governor to assume his position as a result of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. Under his direction, Pennsylvania created the Office of Homeland Security and increased the security of state government facilities and its internet network, public venues, airports and nuclear power plants. In the spring, Schweiker was appointed executive in residence to Rider’s Department of Political Science, where he shares his considerable emergency management, crisis response and counter-terrorism experience to support the University’s homeland security program.

In addition to the newly elected members, two trustees, Gary Shapiro ’72 and Michael B. Kennedy ’72, ’75, retired from Board service following nine consecutive years, the maximum allowed. Both served previously on the Board, for a total of 18 years, and both are former Board chairs.

“Gary and Mike are simply two of the most generous and successful alumni to have graduated from Rider, and it’s impossible to measure their many contributions to the University,” said Rider’s president, Gregory G. Dell’Omo. “Although they will be deeply missed, I wish them the best and thank them for everything they have done for Rider.”