91��Ƶ

Image

Joan Mazzotti ’72 is the new chair of the 91��Ƶ Board of Trustees. Additionally, four new members were elected to the Board: Chris Carothers ’91, ’94, Neil Gerard ’89, Meghan Holohan ’99, ’01 and Christopher Nikolich '92. William M. Rue '69 was also named a trustee emeritus for his 27 years of service to the Board. All terms were effective July 1.

Joan Mazzotti ’72 is now the first woman not only to lead the Board of Trustees, but to do so twice. She previously served as Board chair from 1998 to 2002. Most recently, she served two consecutive, two-year terms as vice chair of the Board. She currently serves as vice chair of Transforming Students - Transforming Lives: The Campaign for 91��Ƶ, the institution’s largest fundraising campaign in its history. 

“My ongoing commitment to Rider is grounded in my profound belief in the power of education and in the University’s mission,” says Mazzotti. “ I am honored to be leading the Board at this critical juncture in higher education.”

Being of service is central to Mazzotti’s leadership. In 2006, she and her husband created the Mazzotti Awards in Women’s Leadership, which have provided leadership development opportunities for hundreds of Rider female faculty and staff. For more than 16 years, Mazzotti was the executive director of Philadelphia Futures, a nonprofit organization that serves low-income, first generation-to-college students. In 2018, a $1 million gift to Rider established The Joan C. Mazzotti '72 and Michael C. Kelly Endowed Scholarship, which benefits first-generation, underrepresented students. 

“Rider’s sweet spot has always been transforming the lives of first-generation students,” says Mazzotti. “It was that way when I attended Rider, and it remains so today. Providing access to a quality education for students historically underrepresented on college campuses is one of my core values.”

Mazzotti received a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science from Rider and a Juris Doctor from Villanova University. She is the recipient of the Harold L. Conover Award for Distinguished Leadership as well as honorary doctorate degrees from Rider and Haverford College.

Chris Carothers ’91, ’94 is the founder, president and CEO of FCC Consulting Services, LLC, an information technology consulting and professional services firm that supports the needs of the financial, telecommunications, health care, manufacturing and government markets. Throughout his career, he has had the opportunity to work with Fortune 500 companies such as Bristol-Myers Squibb, J.M. Huber Corporation, S&P Global, Madison Square Garden, AT&T, Hunter Boots, Inc. and McGraw Hill Financial. 

Carothers previously served 18 years as a member of the Board. Throughout his tenure, he served as Board vice chair for three years, chair of the Student Affairs Committee and vice chair of the Business Affairs Committee; he was also a member of the Executive and Facilities Committees. Carothers earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in decision sciences and a Master of Business Administration from Rider, and received a full athletic scholarship for basketball. 

Neil Gerard ’89 is a tax partner at CohnReznick with more than 25 years of diversified public accounting experience. He is the firm’s top resource in tax provision (ASC 740) and compliance consulting and is a member of the firm’s manufacturing and distribution, consumer products, and technology and life sciences industry practices. Gerard earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in accounting from Rider and a Master of Science in Taxation from Fairleigh Dickinson University. Since 2011, he has served as chair of the Accounting Advisory Council for Rider’s Norm Brodsky College of Business.

Meghan Holohan ’99, ’01 is a sales executive with over 20 years of professional experience. In her current role as vice president of North America sales for the Altus Group, she leads a group of 35 salespeople and customer success representatives. The Altus Group is an industry leader in software, data and valuation services for commercial real estate investors. Prior to joining Altus, Holohan spent 20 years at Bloomberg LP. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in English and Master of Arts in Human Services from Rider. As a student, she received a full athletic scholarship for basketball. She was a two-year captain and was named to the All-MAAC Academic Team three times. 

Christopher Nikolich '92 has nearly 30 years of experience at the global investment firm AllianceBernstein. Currently, he is the head of 91��Ƶ glide path strategies in the organization’s multi-asset solutions group. He previously served as a senior investment director and blend strategies senior portfolio manager, based in both New York and London, and as a portfolio manager for the Index Strategies Group. Nikolich served on the Board from 2011 to 2020.  During that time, he served four years as Board secretary while also serving as vice chair of the Investment Subcommittee and member of the Executive, Governance and Human Resources Committees. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration with a major in finance from Rider and a Master of Business Administration in finance from New York University.  

William M. Rue '69 serves as vice chair of Transforming Students - Transforming Lives. In 2018, he and his wife, Joan, made a $2 million scholarship gift to the campaign. For more than 20 years, the couple has provided support to dozens of students in Rider’s Norm Brodsky College of Business through the William M. and Joan Rue Endowed Scholarship. Previously, Rue served as chair of the 1996-2003 Campaign for 91��Ƶ and held the position of Alumni Association president. 

He is the recipient of Rider's Distinguished Alumnus Award, the University’s Gordon Prichard Award for Volunteer Service and a Sesquicentennial Medal of Excellence for his dedicated service to the University.

Rue is the chairman and owner of Rue Insurance in Hamilton Township, New Jersey. He earned a Bachelor of Science in Commerce with a major in insurance management from Rider.