Kate Tovar ('05) is a passionate ambassador for the aging community. With over a decade in the Human Services field, she had dedicated herself to being a resource and conduit for change. Prior to leading the establishment of CARE, she spent the last 10 years helping better the Greater Central New York community as a Case Manager for the Onondaga County Department of Social Services. In addition to her experience and leadership in community and social service, she is a certified Ombudsman through the New York State Office of Long Term Care and fervent supporter and regular volunteer for the Meals on Wheels program in Onondaga County. Driven to make real, positive change, she is committed to leading CARE to engage and support the aging community.
For more than two decades, Mike Madden has made immeasurable contributions that helped his alma mater achieve unprecedented levels of success. In 2012, his long-standing support for business education at Le Moyne was recognized when the Madden School of Business was launched. Le Moyne's first named school was made possible by a $7 million gift - the second largest single donation in College history.
A member of the Le Moyne College class of 1971, Mike is the co-founder and managing partner of BlackEagle Partners, LLC, a private equity firm whose mission is to invest in businesses that can benefit from its operational expertise. Prior to co-founding BlackEagle, he was a senior partner at Questor Management Company, another private equity firm that focused on special situation investing. He also served as a partner of Beacon Group Holdings, a merchant bank acquired by JP Morgan Chase and Co., and as vice chairman and a member of the board of directors and executive committee of PaineWebber Inc. Earlier in his career, Mike worked as an executive managing director of Kidder, Peabody and Co., where he was responsible for all investment banking and capital market activities worldwide, and was co-head of worldwide investment banking at Lehman Brothers Holdings.
A graduate of Le Moyne and the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School of Business, Mike has often pointed to the crucial role the College has played in his professional development and success. In addition to his $7 million naming gift, he has generously given back to his alma mater as a former member and chair of the board of trustees, co-chair of the Tradition With Vision Campaign, and founder of the Madden Institute for Business Education; this was made possible by the first $1 million gift in the history of the College.
Lynn McMartin, SPHR, established the Human Resources Department at Le Moyne College and retired after 30 years in 2013. As Associate Vice President, she was responsible for developing and implementing HR policy and oversaw compliance, employee relations, union negotiations, recruiting, benefits, compensation evaluation and more. At various times, she also served as the college’s sexual harassment Officer and Affirmative Action Officer.
Her career has also included management and consulting positions with large, mid-sized, and small companies in various industries. These included research, manufacturing, insurance, healthcare, restaurants and publishing with companies such as GE, Smith Corona, ETL Testing Labs and Erie Insurance Exchange.
Lynn has played an active role in the Syracuse community with her involvement with RLS (Regional Learning Services), Francis House and the Sisters of St. Francis of the Neumann Community.
After leaving Le Moyne College, Lynn joined BlackEagle Partners, LLC where she provides HR consulting and analysis of outsourcing services. She also assists in deal analysis and execution.
Lynn graduated from Champlain College and is certified as a Senior Professional in Human Resources (SPHR).
Dr. Norbert Henry received a Certificate in Gerontology in conjunction with his doctorate at Syracuse University. His dissertation dealt with quality of life issues for elders. At Le Moyne College, he mentored a strong national Elderhostel program. He helped develop a graduate course on aging and taught this graduate course at Syracuse University, Columbia College, and Elmira College. Dr. Henry is helping in the development of the Partnership for Aging Enrichment at Le Moyne College.
Dr. Roger Hiemstra, Professor Emeritus, Syracuse University, and Adjunct Professor (retired), Le Moyne College, has a long history of working with older adults. Beginning with ground-breaking research pertaining to older adult learners in Nebraska in the mid-1970s, he worked with an aging project in Iowa in the late 1970s. When he joined the Syracuse University faculty in 1980, he began working with students who obtained the University's gerontology certificate, supervised doctoral students doing aging-related research, and developed an educational gerontology course that he taught there for several years. When he began as an adjunct professor at Le Moyne College, he taught the Educational Gerontology course offered through the Education Department. For the past two years, he has served on an advisory committee related to the current Partnership for Aging Enhancement and also serves the partnership in a consulting role.
Matt Read teaches advertising, public relations and creative advertising at Le Moyne College. His expertise is borne from a career in the advertising and communications industry - starting out at Ogilvy & Mather in New York City, he has worked at Eric Mower + Associates and most recently served as the Chief Operating Officer for the Digital Hyve. He has experience in eldercare marketing, and a passion for helping the Le Moyne Community deliver on its mission. He has worked with a wide range of brands across a variety of B2B and B2C industries, including the American Dairy Association, Unilever, Aveda and Nationwide Insurance.
Shawn L. Ward, Ph.D., completed his doctorate in developmental psychology from Temple University.
His research interests include social cognition, gender differences, and adolescent decision-making
behaviors. Current projects include an examination of the transformational effects of global experiences
particular to the ego identity development. For the past 30 years Dr. Ward has taught at Le Moyne
College as an Associate Professor of Psychology. During his time at the college Dr. Ward also served as
the Vice President for Student Development for nine years. Dr. Ward has taught a variety of courses
including aging and adult development, child and adolescent psychology, and human sexuality. In 2000,
Dr. Ward was awarded the Rev. Msgr. A. Robert Casey Teacher of the Year by his teaching colleagues, in
2001, he received the Rev. Robert E. O’Brien Service Award, and in 2014 received the Dr. Beatrice
Robinson Advisor of the Year. In 2016, in recognition of his service to mission and identity, the College
bestowed the Ignatian Mission Award to Dr. Ward. In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. Ward
serves the College as the Faculty Athletic Representative, an NCAA position bridging academics and
athletics on the Heights.