Union College has named five new members to the Board of Trustees.
They are Kathleen Browne ’88, Brian Huang ’21, Brad Karp ’81, Dr. Shari Midoneck-Pochapin ’85 and Sarah Pontius ’04. Betsy Modest Brand ’82 was re-elected as alumni trustee.
“Union College is fortunate indeed to have such talented and dedicated members joining the board,” said Robert Bertagna ’85, chair of the board. “I look forward to working with them as we embark on a new Strategic Plan that will chart Union’s future course.”
Kathleen Browne ’88 of New Albany, Ohio is chief investment officer at Denison University, an independent, coeducational, residential college of liberal arts and sciences founded in 1831. Previously managing director in Wellesley College’s investment office, Browne also served as the director of alternative investments at Alcatel-Lucent Investment Management Corp. Prior to that, she was an associate at the law firm Goodwin Procter LLP.
A term trustee, Browne earned a B.S. in electrical engineering from Union College, a juris doctor from Boston College Law School, and an MBA from the MIT Sloan School of Management.
Brian Huang ’21, student trustee, is a political science major from Rockland County, N.Y., who has been active as a midshipman in the U.S. Navy Reserve Officer Training Corps. At Union, he serves as house coordinator for Breazzano House, student representative for the Middle States Accreditation Steering Committee, admissions tour guide, student affiliate calling manager for College Relations and a representative on the Student Affairs Council.
Brad Karp ’81 of New York City has been chairman of the law firm Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP since 2008. He is a leading litigator and corporate adviser who has guided financial institutions and other major companies through numerous “bet the company” litigations, regulatory matters and internal investigations. Prior to being named chairman of Paul, Weiss, Brad chaired the firm’s litigation department. Brad has spent his entire career at Paul, Weiss, beginning as a summer associate in 1983.
A term trustee, Karp earned a degree in political science from Union College and went on to graduate from Harvard Law School.
Dr. Shari Midoneck-Pochapin ’85 of New York City has practiced internal medicine at MD2 Park Avenue since 2013. MD² is a provider of personalized medicine in which physicians dedicate their practices to just 50 families. MD² has 13 concierge medical practices in 11 cities across the U.S., including New York, Boston, Washington D.C., Chicago, Dallas, Beverly Hills, San Francisco, Menlo Park, Portland, Bellevue and Seattle. Previously, she served as associate dean of academic affairs at Weill Cornell Medical College. She is a clinical associate professor of medicine and continues to teach at the medical college.
She graduated from Union with a B.S. in chemistry and went on to earn her M.D. from the Joan & Sanford I. Weill Medical College of Cornell University.
Midoneck-Pochapin chairs the Union College President’s Council.
Sarah Pontius ’04 of New York City is the Global Head of Real Estate Partnerships at WeWork, which is the largest space-as-a-service technology company worldwide. Sarah joined WeWork in 2018 from CBRE where she was a Senior Vice President in advisory and transaction services, advising many of the world's largest owners and developers. Before CBRE, she spent over 10 years at Brookfield where she held various positions in New York, London, Toronto and Sydney working in acquisitions, asset management and leasing.
A term trustee, Sarah also sits on the boards of the Make-A-Wish Foundation of New York and the Citizens Budget Commission. Sarah is a running guide for Achilles International and has completed nine marathons. She holds a degree in economics from Union College.
Betsy Modest Brand ’82 of Ridgefield, Conn. is the founder and principal of Brandmark Studios, a full service boutique marketing agency dedicated to developing strategic and inspired marketing solutions. She has broad experience in the marketing of the arts, entertainment, healthcare, financial services and sports.
An alumni trustee, she earned a degree in English at Union, and an MBA from Columbia Business School. “I am delighted to begin my second term as Alumni Trustee, and thrilled to be part of the College’s 50th anniversary of Women at Union in the coming year,” she said. “Union holds a very dear place in my heart and I look forward to continuing to spread the word about Union’s incredible position as a higher ed leader at the intersection of liberal arts and engineering.”