Our Trustees
The Trustees of the Board at The Seeing Eye dedicate themselves to pooling their skills in finance, management, veterinary health, advocacy and strategic development to esure that The Seeing Eye and its mission endure for many years to come.
Lewis M. Chakrin, Chairman
Lewis Chakrin is the dean of the Anisfield School of Business at Ramapo College of New Jersey. Prior to this appointment in 2005, he was executive vice president, Corporate Strategy and Business Development at AT&T Wireless Services. He earned a Ph.D. in finance and an M.B.A. from New York University. In addition, he holds B.S. and M.S. degrees in operations research from New York University and Columbia University, respectively.
Peter N. Crnkovich, Vice-Chairman
Peter Crnkovich was elected to the Board of Trustees in 2003. He has a B.S. from Georgetown University
and an M.B.A. from the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Crnkovich is Chairman of Morgan Stanley's
Global Healthcare Industry Investment Banking Practice. He lives in Madison, N.J.
Thomas Duffy, Vice-Chairman
Thomas Duffy is the partner in charge of KPMG LLP’s Metro New York audit practice. He is a member of the AICPA and the New Jersey and New York Societies of Certified Public Accountants. Duffy holds a B.S. in accounting from St. Peters College. In addition to his position on The Seeing Eye’s Board of Trustees, he is a member of the board of trustees for the Northern New Jersey Leukemia and Lymphoma Society and a board member of St. Anthony High School in Jersey City.
James A. Kutsch, Jr., Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer
Jim Kutsch, a graduate of The Seeing Eye, was appointed President and CEO in September of 2006, having served for ten years on the board of trustees. He holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.S. in computer science from West Virginia University, and a Ph.D. in computer science from the University of Illinois. Dr. Kutsch served as vice president of Strategic Technology for Convergys Corporation from 2003 to 2006. Before joining Convergys, Kutsch held a number of positions withAT&T Universal Card Services andAT&T Bell Laboratories. He lives in Morristown, N.J.
Robert A. Hamwee, Treasurer
Robert Hamwee is the managing director of New Mountain Capital LLC. He holds a B.B.A. in finance and accounting from the University of Michigan. Previously Hamwee was with GSC Partners, Greenwich Street Capital Partners and The Blackstone Group. He is Chairman of the Board ofAPW, Ltd., and ATSI Holdings. He is also a director of InternationalWire Group, Inc., Precision Partners, Inc., and Viasystems Group, Inc.
Julie H. Carroll, J.D., Secretary
Julie Carroll is a graduate of The Seeing Eye and the senior attorney advisor at the National Council of Disability in Washington, D.C. She holds a B.A. in psychology and an M.S. in public health administration from the University of North Carolina. She received her J.D. from the University of Pittsburgh School of Law, and was admitted to the Bar of the Commonwealth of Virginia in 1994. Carroll sits on a number of boards and committees, including the Transportation Research Board, and the Rehabilitation Engineering Society of North America Standards Committee. She is also a member of the International Code Council Disability Advisory Working Group and the advisory panel at the National Center for Accessible Transportation.
Donna Chambers
Donna Chambers began with The Seeing Eye as a volunteer tour guide and outreach educator. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees since 2002. A resident of Mendham, N.J., Chambers holds a degree in business from Caldwell College.
Hugh A. D’Andrade
Hugh D’Andrade has been involved with The Seeing Eye since 1998, and a Trustee since 2000. He holds degrees from Rutgers University and Columbia Law School. D’Andrade is retired from his role as Vice Chairman, Chief Administrative Officer and member of the Board of Directors of Schering-Plough Corporation. He is currently serving on the Boards of Atlantic Mutual Companies and AutoImmune, Inc. He is a member of the Board of Trustees at Drew University and a past member of the Overlook Hospital Foundation. He is a member of the American and New Jersey Bar Associations. D’Andrade resides in Summit, N.J.
Anthony J. DeCarlo, VMD
Dr. Anthony DeCarlo is the co-founder and CEO of the RBVH Veterinary Healthcare Network which includes Red Bank Veterinary Hospital, one of the country’s premier privately-owned veterinary hospitals located in Tinton Falls, as well as the RBVH Physical Rehabilitation Center, RBVH Cherry Hill, RBVH Hillsborough, and RBVH Linwood. Dr. DeCarlo received his veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania in 1982 and completed a neurology residency there in 1985. Early in his career, he was a pioneer in performing MRIs in small animals. In addition to being active in the veterinary community, Dr. DeCarlo is a proud volunteer for the Ronald McDonald Cancer Camp for Children and Big Brothers Big Sisters of Monmouth County. He currently lives in Colts Neck, N.J.
Jamie C. Hilton
Jamie Hilton is a graduate of The Seeing Eye and was elected to the board in 1999. She is a retired executive director of the New Jersey Commission for the Blind and Visually Impaired. Hilton holds a B.S. from New York University and an M.S.W. from Fordham University. She lives in Edison, N.J.
John D. Hollenbach
A graduate of The Seeing Eye, John Hollenbach is the retired president and chief executive officer of First Federal Savings Bank of Perkasie. He is a graduate of the School of Executive Development, University of Georgia. Hollenbach lives in Sellersville, Pa.
Margaret E. L. Howard, Ph.D.
Peggi Howard joined the Board in 2009. She holds a B.A. from Kenyon College, an M.S.W. from Rutgers University and a D.Lit. from Drew University. Peggi is currently the Vice President of Administration and University Relations at Drew University. Peggi also served as New Jersey Governor Thomas H. Kean’s Deputy Chief of Staff and Cabinet Secretary from 1984 to 1990. She lives in Whitehouse Station, N.J., with her husband and three children.
Christopher P. Kauders, Esq.
Christopher Kauders is an attorney and president of Pre-Trial Solutions, Inc., a mediation firm in Boston, Mass. He has had Seeing Eye dogs since 1978, and has been a trustee since 1996. Kauders holds a B.A. in political science from Northwestern University, and an M.B.A. and J.D. from Boston College. He was admitted to the Bar of Massachusetts in 1981. He resides in the Boston area and has been a full-time mediator since 1995.
S. Dillard Kirby
Dillard Kirby graduated from Lafayette College in 1981 with a major in economics. He is executive vice
president and director of the F.M. Kirby Foundation, a family foundation started in 1931 and located inMorristown. Previously, he was a vice president at American Express Financial Advisors, and a corporate banking officer at Horizon Bank. Kirby has served on the board of the Shakespeare Theatre of NJ, theMorristown Memorial Health Foundation, the New Jersey Grantmakers Association, the Gladney Fund, Newark Academy, the Madison YMCA and the Leukemia Society of North America. He lives in Mendham Township, N.J., with his wife and two children.
Marvin F. Kraushar, M.D.
Marvin Kraushar graduated Bowdoin College and received an M.D. degree from Tufts University School of Medicine. After a residency in Ophthalmology, Dr. Kraushar took a fellowship in medical and surgical diseases of the retina at Harvard Medical School. Kraushar formerly served as the Chief of Ophthalmology at Beth Israel Medical Center and the Interfaith Medical Center in NYC. Currently, Dr. Kraushar serves as Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at UMDNJ and Associate Clinical Professor of Ophthalmology at the Mount Sinai School ofMedicine. He is in the private practice of medicine in Westfield and Livingston, N.J.
Herbert A. Lurie
Herb Lurie has been a trustee since 2002. He began his career as a securities lawyer at theWall Street firm of Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. Lurie subsequently joined Merrill Lynch & Co. as an investment banker where he helped found the firm's Financial Institutions Group. He retired as Chairman of that group and from membership in Merrill Lynch's global management committee. He holds a J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law, and a B.S. in finance and economics from the State University of New York at Albany. Lurie lives in Rancho Santa Fe, Calif.
D. Murray MacKenzie
Murray MacKenzie lives in Toronto and Vancouver. He received his B.A., M.A. and D.H.A. all from the University of Toronto. He is the retired president and chief executive officer of North York General Hospital. MacKenzie has held many leadership positions in the Canadian Cancer Society and is a former member of the Board of the National Cancer Institute of Canada. He is a founding director of OHAfrica created by the hospitals of Ontario to provide a broad range of treatment and other services to those with HIV and AIDS in southern Africa.
Michael May
Elected to the board in 2007,May is an innovator who founded Sendero Group, LLC, a software development company and manufacturer of the first accessible GPS navigation products, as well as a distributor of various adaptive technologies. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from the University of California, Davis, and a master’s degree in international affairs from Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies. May is a graduate of The Seeing Eye and lives in Davis, Calif.
Vicki N. Meyers-Wallen, V.M.D., Ph.D., Dipl. ACT
Dr. Vicki Meyers-Wallen is an internationally recognized expert in veterinary reproduction. She received both her V.M.D. and Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania. In 1986, she was board certified in Theriogenology (veterinary reproduction, American College of Theriogenologists). Her clinical research has led to the recognition of several disorders that affect reproductive performance, with the goal of identifying mutations that cause inherited disorders in dogs and cats. Recently her group produced a DNA-based test for an inherited disorder of this type, allowing definitive diagnosis of normal, affected and carrier dogs. She has been a trustee of The Seeing Eye since 2009. She is anAssociate Professor in Genetics and Reproduction at the Baker Institute for Animal Health, Cornell University, and is an active member of the University Faculty Senate. She lives in the country in Ithaca, N.Y., with her dogs, cats and several deer and wild turkeys.
Michael W. Ranger
Mike Ranger is a Senior Managing Director and co-founder of Diamond Castle. Prior to founding the firm in 2004, Ranger was Co-Chairman of DLJ Global Energy Partners. Previously, he was an investment banker in the energy and power sector for 20 years, most recently as head of the Domestic Power Group at CSFB and prior to that as group head of Global Energy & Power at DLJ. Before joining DLJ in 1990, he was a Senior Vice President in the Energy & Utility Group at Drexel Burnham Lambert and was a member of the Utility Banking Group at Bankers Trust. Ranger is a Director of Catamount Energy Corporation and Consolidated Edison Company of New York. He is a former Director of TXU Corp. and American Ref-Fuel Company. He is a Trustee Emeritus of St. Lawrence University and a member of the Board of Morristown-Beard School. He holds a B.A. from St. Lawrence University.
Mark G. Steinberg
Mark Steinberg recently retired as managing director of BlackRock's U.S. Cash Management team. He has 35 years experience in the financial services industry. Prior to joining BlackRock in 2003, Steinberg was chief operating officer of American Life Insurance Company (ALICO), AIG's International Life Insurance subsidiary. Previously he served as managing director of Allmerica Financial, senior vice president and director of the Financial Institutions Division with Putnam Financial Services, Inc., and senior vice president and director of corporate development at Oppenheimer Funds. Prior to entering the financial services industry he served as the personal assistant to Mayor John V. Lindsay of New York from 1969 to 1973. Steinberg holds a B.B.A. from the City University of New York, and completed the Executive Program at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College.
Stuart H. Fine, Dr. H.A.
Stuart Fine has served since 1987 as President & Chief Executive Officer of Grand View Hospital, a not-for-profit, community hospital and healthcare services provider located in Bucks County, PA. He earned a Bachelor of Science degree from the Pennsylvania State University, Master of Business Administration degree from Temple University, and Doctor of Health Administration degree from the Medical University of South Carolina.
Boards on which Stu currently serve include: The Delaware Valley Healthcare Council (Chairman); Hospital & Health Systems Association of PA (Executive Committee); Bucks County Council - Boy Scouts of America; Drexel University School of Public Health Advisory Board; Lutheran Community at Telford, and; Cassatt Insurance Co., LTD. (Past Chairman). He also serves as a Senior Policy Fellow of the Jefferson University School of Population Health.
Stu and his wife Sandy reside in Montgomery County, PA, with their horses Dixie and Dori, and dogs Truffles and Olive (a retired Seeing Eye dog).
Patti Aresty
Patti Aresty passionately volunteers at The Breeding Station two days every week. She has served on the following boards with a special interest in fund raising:- The United Jewish federation of Alabama
- The Morristown Jewish Center
- Hadassah of Morristown
- Gill St. Bernard's School
- St. Hubert's Animal Welfare Center
- Morristown Memorial Hospital
- The Songs of Love Foundation
- The Jewish Community Housing Corporation
Patti and David, her husband of 30 years, have 3 children, Adam (25), Rachel (23) and Ben (21) who are independently following their passions!Patti and David live in Far Hills, New Jersey with their 2 golden retrievers, Mandy and Marcy. Marcy is an adopted puppy from The Seeing Eye. She is the happiest when chewing on Mandy or chasing butterflies!
Walker Dillard Kirby, Honorary Trustee
Walker Kirby has been committed to the success of The Seeing Eye and its mission for over thirty years. Since her initial involvement in 1973, she has been a member of four of the board’s committees and chairman of three. She has chaired three benefits and was honorary chairman of two benefits in New York. She is the director and vice president of the F.M. Kirby Foundation, Inc. Over many years, Kirby has been a trustee or member of a host of different boards, benefiting every walk of life, from the arts, to education, gardening, and museums. She maintains a lifetime commitment to The Seeing Eye, and we are forever grateful to her.