Lafayette welcomes new trustees, honors those elected to emeritus status
Returning trustees are joined by Francine Della Badia ’91, C-suite executive and adviser; and David MacKnight ’94, founder and portfolio manager at One Fin Capital Management LP.
In addition to the election of Harry S. Cherken Jr., Harold N. Kamine ’78, P’04,’07,’11, Judson C. Linville ’79, P’13,’18, and Pamela S. Passman ’83 to emeritus status, the new members come alongside the renewal of six trustees’ terms for five years: James L. Benjamin ’84, James R. Birle Jr. ’83, John A. Fry ’82, Claudine D. Lilien ’90, Wynne A. Whitman ’86, and Alvin M. Yearwood ’83.
Jefferson W. Kirby ’84, P’19,’22, has been elected chair of the Board of Trustees, with his term effective July 1. He succeeds Robert E. Sell ’84, H’18, who has served as board chair since 2018 and trustee since 2006. Sell will remain on the board for two more years.
Two new College trustees
Francine Della Badia ’91
Francine “Fran” Della Badia ’91 is a board adviser and C-suite executive with deep expertise in business transformation and growth for retail and consumer brands. Since 2016, she has operated as an independent consultant, providing brand advisory services to early-stage consumer lifestyle, footwear, and accessories companies.
Della Badia’s executive career includes a 16-year tenure at Coach (1999 to 2015), where she rose to president of North America retail and where she led and transformed the $2.4 billion retail business. She subsequently served as CEO of Worth New York and Bonobos, and from 2019 to 2023 as president of GIII Retail, a subsidiary of the $3 billion G-III Apparel Group. She has also served on the boards of Senreve and Loeffler Randall, and earlier in her career held leadership roles at Victoria’s Secret/L Brands, J.Crew, and Banana Republic.
Della Badia is committed to civic and philanthropic leadership, supporting The Shelter for Abused Women and Children, Project Morry, Delivering Good and Goodwill. She founded a global fashion education program for students ages 13-18 from more than 15 countries, which she subsequently sold to private equity.
A member of Kappa Kappa Gamma and recipient of the Gilbert Prize in English at Lafayette, Della Badia extends that commitment to her alma mater through service as president of the Alumni Association Board since July 2024 and as co-chair of the Bicentennial Planning Committee, roles in which she has been a tireless advocate for the College and its mission.
David MacKnight ’94
David MacKnight ’94 is the founder of One Fin Capital Management LP, a San Francisco-based hedge fund he established in 2015 where he currently acts as its portfolio manager. The firm employs an event-driven investment strategy focused on special situations, distressed securities, and risk arbitrage, and currently manages approximately $500 million in assets for institutional and high-net-worth clients.
Prior to founding One Fin Capital, MacKnight spent 14 years at Mason Capital Management LLC, a $1.5 billion investment adviser based in New York, N.Y., progressing from analyst to partner. That tenure provided the foundation for his independent investment approach, which centers on identifying asymmetric opportunities created by corporate or market events.
MacKnight started his investment career in college, interning on the American Stock Exchange for J Streicher & Co. He also worked in the capital markets division of Kidder, Peabody & Co. and ABN AMRO N.V. (1994-98). Before joining Mason Capital, MacKnight was a manager at Excite@Home Corp., evaluating technology deals. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Lafayette College and an MBA from the Haas School of Business at University of California, Berkeley.
At Lafayette, MacKnight was a member of Zeta Psi and was president of the Investment Club his senior year, for which he was honored with the J.H. Tarbell Award—a distinction he keeps on display in his office today. His support for the Simon Center for Economics and Business included funding the J.H. Tarbell Lab, named to honor past and future Investment Club presidents, reflecting his deep connection to that student experience. His Lafayette legacy extends across generations: His nephew David Perron ’19 and two additional family members are graduates of the College and alumni of the Investment Club. MacKnight credits Lafayette’s faculty, particularly Prof. Don Chambers, as formative to his career in finance.
Four trustees elected to emeritus status
Harry S. Cherken Jr. ’71, retired partner at Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP, served as a trustee from 2015 to 2025.
Cherken 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. Cherken 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 the boards of Urban Outfitters Inc. and Perpay Inc., and remains 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.
Harold N. Kamine ’78, P’04,’07,’11, CEO and owner of Kamine Development Corp., served as a trustee from 2000 to 2025.
At Lafayette, Kamine studied mechanical engineering and was an Academic All-American baseball player. As CEO and owner of the Kamine Development Corp. for over 40 years, Kamine was heavily involved in building and operating large infrastructure businesses, including independent power generation, solar energy, telecommunications and a national data platform, and recycling technologies. Now, he and his sons are building and owning AI data centers, as well as advanced fiber technologies and energy projects involved in data centers. Kamine and his wife, fellow Leopard Kathleen Coogan Kamine ’78, have been instrumental in the building of several structures on Lafayette’s campus, including Kamine Hall, Kamine Baseball Stadium and Kamine Varsity House, and the Kamine Gymnasium at Kirby Sports Center. His three children, Michelle ’04, Matthew ’07, and Justin ’11, have all graduated from the College.
Judson C. Linville ’79, P’13,’18, retired senior adviser of General Atlantic, served as a trustee from 2010 to 2025.
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 more than 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. 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. He served as chair of the Educational Policy Committee for eight years.
Pamela S. Passman ’83, global chair, corporate advisory, for APCO Worldwide, served as a trustee from 2015 to 2025.
Passman has served on the Student Life (chair), Educational Policy, Audit, Compensation, and Executive committees. She 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. Passman 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. Passman serves on the board of Kinaxis Inc. and chairs its Nominations and Governance Committee. She also chairs the board of the children’s immigrant rights organization Kids in Need of Defense (KIND).