Posted by Julia Leef
Linda G. Toohey, a mainstay of the Saratoga community for more than 30 years and a member of the Skidmore College Board of Trustees since 2001, has been named chairwoman-elect. She will succeed Janet Lucas Whitman '59, who will step down in May after serving 18 years on the board and four years as chairwoman.
Vice chairwoman of the Skidmore board since 2008, Toohey chairs the Infrastructure Committee and is a member of the Budget & Finance, Executive, Special Programs, Strategic Planning and Trusteeship Committees.
An expert on board governance and time management who often lectures on those subjects, Toohey is a member of the board of Saratoga Performing Arts Center. She has a bachelor's degree in religion and master's degree in journalism from the University of Iowa, and she received the University's Distinguished Young Alumni Award in 1979.
"Given her long experience in the non-profit world, her knowledge of the Saratoga community and her understanding of Skidmore, Linda Toohey is uniquely qualified to help steer the College forward at this time," Whitman said.
Toohey was executive vice president of the Saratoga County Chamber of Commerce from 1980 until she semi-retired in June 2005, serving as vice president of its Leadership Saratoga program, which she founded in 1985. She also coordinated tourism, the Saratoga Film Commission, publications and special events. She will retire fully from the chamber in mid-June.
Prior to joining the chamber, Toohey was president and publisher of The Saratogian from 1977 to 1980. She became the youngest female publisher in the country when Gannett Co., Inc. named her to that position.
"Linda Toohey is an experienced and dynamic leader," President Philip A. Glotzbach said. "She has demonstrated her commitment to Skidmore through many years of dedicated service as a trustee. I welcome the opportunity to work with her in this new capacity."
Toohey co-chaired the Saratoga YMCA Capital Campaign, was a vice chairwoman of the most recently completed $12 million Saratoga Hospital Capital Campaign and was a member of Emma Willard School's $75 million Capital Campaign Executive Committee. She also served as chair of Saratoga Hospital board for two of the nine years she was on its board. A member of Emma Willard School's board for 12 years, she served as its president for six.
She was a member of the Steering Committee of the Workforce Housing Partnership of Saratoga County and a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the National Museum of Racing for 15 years.
Additionally, Toohey was a patient/family volunteer for Community Hospice for 12 years, chairwoman of the Saratoga Friends of Hospice and member on the Community Hospice Foundation Board for a number of years.
The Rotary Club of Saratoga Springs honored Toohey in 2003, and Business & Professional Women Tech Valley honored her as woman of the year in 2004. In 2006, NYS Senate Majority Leader Joseph Bruno named her one of New York State's women of distinction, and in the same year, the YMCA of Saratoga named Linda and her husband Michael as two of their volunteers of the year. Saratoga Today newspaper selected her as one of 10 Women of Influence in their inaugural year of presenting the award. In 2009, the Saratoga Economic Opportunity Council honored her as its person of the year.
Toohey and her husband Michael reside in Saratoga Springs. They have two adult daughters, Megan and Elizabeth, who live in Denver.
New Trustees Join Skidmore College Board
The College also added four trustees to the Board:
- Gail M. Dudack '70, an investment strategist who has served in many key volunteer roles for the College and holds both the College's Special Achievement Award (2001) and its Outstanding Service Award (2010). Managing director of New York-based Dudack Research Group, she and her husband Pat Colombo - whose son, Ross, graduated from the College in May - served for two years as co-chairs of the Parents Council. She began a three-year term as president of the Alumni Association last June.
- Andrew F. Hughes '92, a marketing consultant to the asset management community who has served as Alumnus Trustee since June. With 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, Hughes in 2009 founded Brooklyn-based HD Advisors, which focuses on institutional sales within the public pension, corporate, foundation and endowment marketplace. A lacrosse player while at the College, Hughes won honors as defensive MVP in his senior year.
- W. Scott McGraw P '12, a private investor and consultant who worked for 29 years as a television advertising executive, most recently with the Discovery Network and for many years previously with CBS. He currently is consulting for Akoo, the world's largest social music television network, and is a producer of "Magic/Bird," a show opening soon on Broadway that tells the story of iconic basketball legends Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird. His daughter, Carolyn, is a senior at the College.
- Antonio Mojica '02, the board's Young Alumnus Trustee, started his career in banking with a summer internship with the JPMorgan Investment Bank and today is a vice president with Iberia Bank, a leading financial firm in Louisiana, Florida, and Alabama. The owner of several investment properties in Houston, Mojica is a volunteer firefighter and is active in the Latino Bankers Association and the National Association of Hispanic MBAs. Born in New York City, Mojica attended the College via its Higher Education Opportunity Program.