Alumni Association Board Elections
Every year, Keene State College alumni elect members from its membership (now grown to over 40,000) to represent the alumni on the Alumni Association Board of Directors.
This 15-member governing body’s purpose is to lead programmatic and outreach efforts that promote the welfare of the College and its alumni. Each volunteer member serves on committees that strive to create, plan, and execute programs and events that bring alumni and students together, build institutional awareness and pride, and create valued connections.
Four alumni will be elected to serve three-year terms on the Keene State College Alumni Association Board of Directors. They will join nine other alumni representing classes from 1967-2018.
Your voice and your choice will influence the Alumni Association and Keene State College in the years to come. Voting ends April 15, 2024.
KSCAA Board Member up for Reelection
April Pongitory ‘96
Alumni Association 2nd Vice President
April serves as a vice president for a technology company providing business resilience software across multiple industries. She holds a doctorate in higher educational leadership and a master’s in international marketing in addition to a bachelor’s in management from Keene State.
Her research and professional interests focus on developing emerging leaders through mentorship and experiential learning. April resides in Quakertown, Pennsylvania, and is a native of Keene.
April seeks re-election to the KSCAA Board of Directors to continue connecting alumni through the decades with each other and to bring visibility to KSC’s strategy and progress to friends and alumni of the College.
She currently chairs the KSCAA Communications Committee which is focused on sharing alumni accomplishments through stories and bringing affinity group members back together.
Election Nominees
Choose four alumni to join the Keene State Alumni Association Board of Directors
Jason Beckta ‘08
Being born and raised in New Hampshire, it was impossible for me to understand the specific challenges NH residents faced when compared to larger, more urbanized areas. I matriculated into Keene State without much of a career plan, in large part due to lack of exposure/mentorship.
The faculty and staff at KSC were able to literally change the course of my life by giving me the tools and support to pursue a career in medicine that previously seemed impossible. After graduation, I lived in Virginia for a decade while completing a medical scientist training program, experiencing both medical school and graduate school in a very large urban setting.
I then went to Yale for my residency and postdoc training before practicing medicine in upstate New York. After a brief period, I joined the faculty at the University of Vermont and continued to staff Rutland Regional Medical Center as the medical director of Radiation Oncology.
At this point, I have significant experience in multiple academic institutions across five states, in both rural and urban locations, along the entire spectrum from an undergraduate student to medical school faculty. Along the way, I have seen the tremendous advantages available to students from bigger and more wealthy parts of the country. However, the education and mentorship I received at Keene State enabled me to excel and achieve as much as my colleagues.
My journey has been a constant reminder about the impact institutions can have through the opportunities they provide. Protecting and enhancing the University System of New Hampshire is one of the most important things we can do for residents of New Hampshire. My interest in joining the Board is driven by imagining the next “teenager without direction”, and ensuring they have the same opportunities that the university system provided me.
Hailee Centrella ‘18
After graduating from Keene in May of 2018, I moved abroad to Florence, Italy where I had the incredible opportunity to work as a tour guide for study abroad students. After moving back to the States, I started my career as a College Relationship Specialist at ALKU in 2020.
As a CRS, I traveled up and down the East Coast to attend and host Career and Professional Development events with many different universities, including KSC! In November 2022, I was promoted to Manager of the College Relationship Development team and now oversea all of ALKU’s on-campus recruitment efforts!
I want to serve on the Board of Directors at Keene State College because I am passionate about giving back to the community of KSC. Keene gave me the tools, drive, and curiosity that have gotten me to this point today. One of my favorite parts of my job is having the opportunity to help students find their home, like I have with ALKU. I am very involved on-campus and host multiple workshops per semester discussing all things professional development.
Keene State College holds a special place in my heart and I am excited to have the opportunity to be nominated to the KSC Board of Directors.
Phil Clay ‘64
Since graduation, I taught school at Charlestown, NH, and Fall Mountain Regional High School, for a total of 7 years. I then went into the retail business for Sears Roebuck and Company in Keene, NH. There I held three different managerial positions for a total of 22 years.
Finally, I retired in 2006 from Findings, Inc. where I held a managerial position. I was a communicant of the United Church of Christ in Keene, NH where I taught Sunday school and also served on the board of Deacons where I held the position of Chairman.
I married had two children, and now the family has grown to four grandchildren and a great-grandchild. I serve on the Golden Circle planning committee along with Norma Walker.
I would like to serve on the Board of Directors to give back to Keene State College and help foster the continuation of the Keene State College Alumni Association in this everchanging world, in whatever capacity deems necessary.
Roberto Ferragina ‘96
After graduating I spent twenty-five years in the corporate sector where I managed regional and national teams in the realms of sales, marketing, technical service, and customer service. During the past five years, I have been in the public sector; currently the Administrator for the Borough of Atlantic Highlands, New Jersey, overlooking Manhattan’s financial district and skyline. In addition, I continued my education, earning an M.A. from Monmouth University, an M.A.S. from Fairleigh Dickinson University, and executive certificates from the University of Notre Dame, Cornell University, and U-Penn Wharton. I am blessed with an amazing wife and two beautiful daughters.
Serving on the Board would be an honor, as I cherish my time at Keene State. Serving would provide an opportunity to use my experiences, lessons, and knowledge gained over the years from my professional, academic, and community engagement (serving on various local and regional boards) to assist with alumni association initiatives and fundraising goals. A successful alumni association strengthens the relationship between the college and its alumni and friends. It provides a lifelong connection between its alumni and the institution. It would be a privilege to be a part of that continued process by serving on the alumni board.
Elizabeth Mullen ‘10
Since graduation, I have been working in Talent Acquisition and Business Development. This has introduced me to Board and Community opportunities such as Keene Young Professionals, Catapult Seacoast, Junior League, and University Employer Advisory Boards. I’ve served on mission trips to Mexico and Sweden, and I am locally active with Stay Work Play NH and Habitat for Humanity.
My mission is to keep empowering young people to take on leadership in NH through community efforts and business ownership. I’ve lived in the Seacoast for 8 years, spent the summers camping in the Lakes Region, and am currently hiking the NH 48.
My Keene State years were pivotal, and incredibly influential for me. I was able to get involved on campus, have a voice, and find my people. To this day, my best friends are my core group from KSC. There is also something special about meeting other Alumni We all have that same pride in being Owls.
KSC was the kind of campus where when you walk down Appian Way, you never know everyone, but you always know someone. Our Alumni community is the same way, and I would be privileged to be part of serving the community that has given so much to me, and helping in the efforts to keep Alumni connected to KSC.
Casey Sault ‘18
Since graduating from Keene State with my degree in early childhood education, I have been working full time in education. My first job was teaching Title I in Vermont. Then, I began teaching Kindergarten. Last year, I moved to Boston and took a year-long position teaching first grade. Now, I live in Keene and I am teaching Kindergarten in Swanzey.
I live with my fiancé and my cat in Keene. We love exploring walking and hiking trails and attending Keene State basketball games.
I would like to be on the Alumni Association because I want to be able to give back to Keene State. Now that I am settled in after college life, it feels right to be able to be a part of the community that guided my future. I would also like to connect with other alumni and support current college students.
It feels like a great opportunity to help students be able to see that Keene State is always a part of who they are even after graduation.
Eric Walsh ‘18
Upon graduating from KSC, I landed at a start-up company named Globalization Partners in Boston. We were a small, 80-person company at the time. I was excited to make an impact. Since then, we have grown to be a 1,500-person company. I was awarded the Top Global Producer award in 2021 and 2022.
This year, I was promoted to lead a sales team of my own in North America. Additionally, I earned a graduate certificate in Global Business from Harvard Business School. Outside of work I got engaged to a fellow KSC alumni and our wedding is in August!
KSC holds a special place in my heart. It provided the foundation for me to enter my career prepared. It provided me the opportunities to make lifelong friends. It is even the place where I met my future wife. I was involved as a student, and I want to continue to make an impact as an alumnus.
My story is not unique. I want to grow our alumni network for the KSC student community and beyond. Most importantly, my goal is to help KSC continue being a school that provides opportunities to diverse groups of people for a long time.v
