Lafayette welcomes new trustees, honors those retiring 

Returning trustees will be joined by Josh Green ’92, founder and chief executive officer at Raven Capital Management; Heidi L. Hanson ’91, chair of the board at Rainbird Corp.; Alex Karapetian ’04, president of Acopian Technical Co.; and Kevin R. Mandia ’92, founder at Mandiant and general partner and co-founder at Ballistic Ventures.

In addition to retirements and the election of David Roth ’70 to emeritus status, the new members come alongside the renewal of three trustees’ terms: Kimberly W. Benston (two years), Laneta J. Dorflinger ’75 (two years), and Kamaka R. Martin ’04 (five years).

Four new College trustees

Josh Green ’92

After graduating from Lafayette Phi Beta Kappa with degrees in English and government and law, Josh Green ’92 earned his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1995. He comes from a family of Leopards, including his father, H. Kermit Green Jr. ’56 (deceased); his brother, David Green ’85; and his nephew, Zachary Green ’14.

Professionally, Josh has over three decades of institutional investment and asset management experience. He spent the first 15 years of his career at Merrill Lynch & Co. Inc. earning the title of managing director. There, he originated and managed a $12 billion principal investment portfolio. He was instrumental in creating a new strategy for asset-based investing, which ultimately led to the creation of the firm’s Alternative Assets Group. In 2008, Josh founded Raven Capital Management, a private equity firm with offices in New York and Los Angeles. As founder and chief executive officer, Josh is responsible for the firm’s strategic and cultural direction, while chairing the firm’s investment committee. Raven’s strategies include real estate, intellectual property, and private credit.

In addition to his work at Raven, Josh is an advisory board member at Vanderbilt University Law School and serves on the Pacific Council on International Policy, an independent California nonprofit focused on cultivating engagement in global affairs. Josh initially was recruited by Lafayette to run varsity men’s track, participating in the 800m, and he was successful in “walking-on” to the men’s soccer team his freshman year. He remains an avid runner today. Josh, his wife, Sarah, and his two daughters, Darby and Florence, are bicoastal, spending time at their homes in Santa Monica, Calif. and Tribeca, NYC.

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Heidi L. Hanson ’91

Heidi L. Hanson ’91 graduated from Lafayette with a degree in economics and business, and went on to earn a master’s degree in accounting with a concentration in tax from University of Southern California (USC) in 1995. In 2009, she earned her EMBA from the Drucker School of Management at Claremont Graduate University in California.

After graduating from Lafayette, Hanson continued her family’s legacy by beginning her tenure at Rain Bird Corp., an international manufacturer of irrigation products founded by her grandparents. She spent five years as a senior accountant at Nodar & Co. following her graduation from USC before returning to Rain Bird as a group accounting manager in 2000. She has 30 years of experience in finance and administration at Rain Bird, and spent most of her years as part of Rain Bird International where she established 10 of the company’s foreign subsidiaries and managed the tax compliance, audit compliance, and financial reporting of the company’s 17 subsidiaries outside the United States.

Hanson was appointed chair of Rain Bird Corp.’s board of directors in December 2024 following a decade serving as a director and over two decades as a member of the board’s audit advisory committee. For almost 100 years, Rain Bird Corp. has developed and manufactured quality irrigation solutions for farms, golf courses, sports arenas, commercial developments, and homes around the world.

She has served 11 years on the Los Angeles County Fair Association board of directors and was appointed chair for 4 ½ years. The Los Angeles County Fair Association is a nonprofit organization that manages a 500-acre year-round educational/entertainment complex and hospitality businesses in Pomona, Calif., and produces the annual Los Angeles County Fair.

Hanson has remained involved at Lafayette since her graduation, serving over the years as an alumni admissions representative, an Annual Fund co-chairperson, and most recently, a member of the College’s West Coast Advisory Council for 15 years. She is the youngest person to be inducted into the Société d’Honneur, a group selected by the Board of Trustees in recognition of outstanding generosity from alumni, parents, and friends.

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Alex Karapetian ’04

After his graduation from Lafayette, Alex Karapetian ’04 spent two years as a grassroots assistant director for the Armenian Assembly of America, an organization promoting awareness of Armenian issues in the United States and around the world. He then returned to school to earn his MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business.

He joined the team at Acopian Power Supplies as a third-generation member of the family-run business. The company was founded in 1957 by Karapetian’s great-uncle Sarkis Acopian ’51, the inventor of the first solar-powered radio. Headquartered in Easton, Pa., the company is now a leading manufacturer of power supplies that can be used in equipment from factory automation to energy facilities worldwide. Products from Acopian have been used on space missions, including the Apollo and Hubble Space Telescope, and in popular events like the ball drop in Times Square on New Year’s Eve.

Karapetian began as director of sales and marketing at Acopian in 2006 before transitioning to a vice president position and ultimately becoming president of the company in 2020.

In addition to his work at Acopian, Karapetian is an active leader in his community. He serves as president of the Summit, N.J., Police Athletic League (PAL) and is a member of the board at Notre Dame High School and the Armenian Assembly of America in Washington, D.C. He upholds his family’s long-standing commitment to sustainability by serving on the advisory board of the Acopian Center for the Environment and is intimately involved with Acopian BirdSavers, a popular product created by his uncle Jeff Acopian ’75, designed to prevent birds from flying into windows. The Acopian family has also sponsored the creation of centers for engineering and ornithology at Lafayette and Muhlenberg College, respectively, and endowed a faculty chair position for environmental education at the Florida Institute of Technology and the American University of Armenia.

Karapetian comes from a family of Lafayette alumni, following in the footsteps of Greg Acopian ’70, Jeff Acopian ’75, Ezra Acopian ’03 in addition to Sarkis ’51 and succeeded by Natalie Acopian ’19. He has remained deeply rooted in the College Hill community since graduation. He served as co-chair of the College’s Young Alumni Committee before a two-year tenure as Alumni Association president ending in 2016. In 2010, he helped to create the Wine 3/9 Event, a celebration of the anniversary of the College’s charter that brings together alumni all around the world to toast the occasion, and he currently sponsors events for Lafayette Motorsports.

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Kevin R. Mandia ’92

Kevin R. Mandia ’92 began his post-Lafayette career in the military, serving as both a computer security officer at the Pentagon and a special agent in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. There, he built on his computer science degree from Lafayette and his master’s degree in forensic science from The George Washington University by working to investigate cyber threats. He later obtained a certification from the Owner/President Management Program of Harvard Business School and an honorary doctorate from Lafayette as well as Stevens Institute of Technology.

After completing his military service, Mandia moved into the private sector, where he worked in security consulting for Sytex, a group since acquired by Lockheed Martin, and Foundstone, a division of security software company McAfee.

In 2004, he founded Mandiant Corp., a leader in cybersecurity services. The company was acquired by FireEye for $1 billion in 2014, where Mandia eventually served as CEO of the public company.  He oversaw the company’s continued expansion until its acquisition by Google in 2022 for $5.4 billion, serving as CEO until 2024. He remains an adviser for Google Cloud and serves on the Google Public Sector board.

In 2020, Mandia co‐founded Ballistic Ventures, a cybersecurity venture capital firm that funds cybersecurity entrepreneurs as they develop new technologies in the changing landscape. He is a thought leader in the country’s expanding cyber endeavors at the federal level, and he serves on the President’s National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee. There, he provides industry advice to members of the federal government regarding cybersecurity and emergency preparedness.

Mandia’s work has long been nationally recognized by major outlets. In 2011, he was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year, and in 2013, Foreign Policy magazine honored him as a Leading Global Thinker, citing his work “on the bleeding edge of the digital revolution.”

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Five trustees retire from service

Harry S. Cherken Jr. ’71 has served as a trustee for a decade. He attended Villanova University School of Law where he was a member of the law review after graduating from Lafayette with a degree in economics. He subsequently received a master’s in liberal arts from University of Pennsylvania. He recently retired as a partner from Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath, LLP, a Philadelphia-based international law firm where he served as a managing partner and chair of its real estate department for many years. He continues to serve on corporate boards and to remain active in philanthropy in Philadelphia and beyond, now or previously serving on the boards of the Library Company of Philadelphia, Reading Terminal Market Preservation Fund, Armenian Assembly of America, Howard Karagheusian Commemorative Corp., Woodmere Art Museum, and more. He currently is the Honorary Consul of the Republic of Armenia to the greater Philadelphia area. He established an endowed fund at Lafayette during his tenure and is a member of the Société d’Honneur.

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Harold N. Kamine ’78 has been a trustee since 2000, during which time his three children, Michelle ’04, Matthew ’07, and Justin ’11, all graduated from the College. At Lafayette, Kamine studied mechanical engineering and was an Academic All-American baseball player. As CEO and owner of the Kamine Development Corp. (KDC), Kamine was heavily involved in several connected business ventures, touching every industry from agribusiness to solar energy to telecommunications. His companies have taken a special interest in combating food waste and minimizing the impacts of climate change. Kamine and his wife, fellow Leopard Kathleen Coogan Kamine ’78, have been instrumental in the building of several structures on Lafayette’s campus, including dormitory Kamine Hall, Kamine Stadium at Metzgar Campus, and Kamine Gymnasium at Kirby Sports Center.

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Dr. Judson C. Linville ’79 completes a 15-year tenure on the Board of Trustees, eight of which he spent as chair of the Educational Policy Committee. After graduating with a degree in psychology while playing on the men’s lacrosse team, Linville continued his education at Drexel University’s College of Medicine where he earned his doctorate in psychology. He then spent over 20 years working for American Express, his last role as president and CEO of Consumer Services. He then moved to Citigroup where he was chief executive officer of global cards and consumer services for the global credit card franchise, overseeing 55 million customers and billions of dollars. He recently left General Atlantic, a private equity firm, where he has been since 2019 as a senior adviser. Linville and his wife, Cynthia Oaks Linville ’80, have been supporters of the College’s athletic programs, including the men’s and women’s lacrosse teams and the Leopard Champions Fund athletic scholarship, the Wallach Center, and Gummeson Grounds, as well as the Annual Fund and the President’s Challenge for Financial Aid. Together, they have been members of Société d’Honneur since 2015. Linville was recognized with the George Washington Kidd award in 2009.

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Pamela S. Passman ’83 has been a trustee since 2015, serving on committees including student life (chair), educational policy, audit, compensation, and executive. Passman earned her law degree from University of Virginia after graduating from Lafayette with a degree in government and law. She practiced law in Washington, D.C., with Covington and Burling and also practiced in Tokyo, Japan, before joining Microsoft, first in Tokyo, Japan, and then in Redmond, Wash. Pamela became Microsoft’s corporate vice president and deputy general counsel, Global Corporate and Regulatory Affairs. She currently serves as global chair, corporate advisory, for the global advisory and advocacy firm APCO Worldwide, based in New York City. She also chairs the board of the children’s immigrants rights organization Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).

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William H. Spence holds degrees from Pennsylvania State University, Bentley University, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business. He is the father of Rachel L. Spence ’11, and became involved with the College through the Marquis Parents Council before becoming a trustee in 2020. That same year, he retired from his role as chief executive officer at PPL Corp., a utility company headquartered in Allentown, Pa. He joined the company in 2006 after nearly 20 years at Pepco Holdings Inc. Spence is deeply committed to the Lehigh Valley community and is an active member of the boards of Lehigh Valley Health Network, Downtown Allentown Community Development Initiative, and more. Spence and his wife also created the Spence Family Annual Scholarship Fund, which helps students from the Lehigh Valley attend Lafayette.