Clinton D. Gardner, PhD
President, Northcentral University
Dr. Clinton Gardner came to Northcentral University in 2007, following a five-year tenure as president of Argosy University, Phoenix Campus. At Argosy, he played an integral role in helping the campus obtain five-year re-accreditation status from the American Psychological Association for the Doctoral program in Clinical Psychology, and was instrumental in bringing to Argosy new Undergraduate and Graduate programs in Business, Education and Psychology. His other achievements at Argosy included leading the drive to gain re-accreditation by the Higher Learning Commission, and implementing new academic programs at the Master’s and Doctoral level in School Psychology and Industrial/Organizational Psychology.
Dr. Gardner earned his PhD in Higher Education Administration from Michigan State University, and held numerous leadership positions at Michigan State University and Olivet College in Olivet, Michigan. Throughout his 25-year career, Dr. Gardner has held several positions in higher education, such as University President, Senior Vice President for Management, Vice President for Finance and Administration, and Vice President for Enrollment Management.
In addition to his extensive background in Administration, Dr. Gardner has taught Economics and Education courses at at Davenport University and Argosy University, respectively, and has served on numerous dissertation committees in Business and Education. He is a former president of Data Point Research Consultants, a private higher education consulting firm, and has also consulted with numerous colleges and universities in areas of Admissions, Academic Program Planning, and Enrollment Management.
Dr. Gardner, a board member and past President of the Arizona Private School Association, serves as a Consultant-Evaluator for the Higher Learning Commission, and has membership in numerous organizations/associations, including the Detroit Economic Club. His areas of scholarly research and interest include Enrollment Management, Financial Management, Strategic Planning, Organizational Leadership, College/University Administration, and For-Profit Postsecondary Education.
Martin Gottlieb, LHD
Chairman
Martin Gottlieb joined First Federal Bank of California in 1980 as Vice President, and rose to the position of Corporate Executive Vice President prior to his retirement from the bank in 1995. He also served as Executive Vice President of FirstFed Financial Corp, a New York Stock Exchange Company, and on the boards of Oceanside Insurance Company and Seaside Financial Company.
Other board memberships include: Board Chairman of the UCLA/Santa Monica Medical Center Foundation, Chairman of the Charles Ruggles Medical Foundation, and Chairman of the Santa Monica Chamber of Commerce. He was also the founding President of the Las Vegas Boys and Girls Club. In 1994, the California State Assembly and the County of Los Angeles honored Gottlieb for his extensive community service.
Gottlieb earned his Bachelor’s of Science degree from Arizona State University, and received his Master of Public Administration from Pepperdine University. He later served for three years as an adjunct faculty member at Pepperdine.
In 2009, he received a Doctor of Humane Letters degree in recognition of his contributions to society and Northcentral University.
Since retiring and returning to his Arizona roots, Gottlieb has been involved with various Central Arizona community activities, serving as a Board Member for Wells Fargo Bank, Central Arizona; Chairman of the Norwest Bank Regional Board; Vice Chairman of the Yavapai Regional Medical Center capital expansion program; past Chairman of Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters; and past President of the Rotary Club of Prescott-Frontier. He formally served on the Board of Visitors, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and on the Advisory Board for Mayo Clinic Arizona Transplant House. In 2006, Gottlieb was named Philanthropist of the Year by the Yavapai County Community Foundation. Gottlieb and his wife reside in Prescott, Arizona. They have two grown children and five grandchildren.
Karen F. Rizk
Vice Chair
Karen Rizk is a retired Vice President of National Bank of Arizona, where she worked for over a decade. At retirement, she had been in Banking for nearly 25 years, having also worked with Norwest and Wells Fargo banks.
Prior to that, she and her husband lived in Jordan, Tunisia and South Korea for more than 10 years as her husband served as a Central Banking and Private Enterprise Advisor for the United States Agency for International Development. Rizk studied at Southern College in Chattanooga, Tennessee, and taught elementary school early in her career. She is a graduate of Arizona State University, with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in Finance.
Because education has always been important to her, Rizk has focused her extracurricular efforts in the educational arena of her community—serving since 1986 on the Yavapai Community College Foundation Board as President for two years. In 1996, she was appointed by then-Arizona Governor Fife Symington to the State Board of Directors for Community Colleges. She was reappointed by Governor Jane Hull for another term, serving as Chairperson of the board for nearly three years. A Rotary International Paul Harris Fellow,Rizk has also served on the Compensation Fund Advisory Board for the Arizona State Bar Association.
After retirement from Banking in 2009, Rizk established Rizk Consulting.
As past President, she continues to serve on the Prescott Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors. She also is a member of the Yavapai County Contractors Association Board of Directors, and serves on the Finance Committee for the Yavapai College Foundation Board.
Rizk and her husband reside in Prescott, Arizona. They have two grown daughters and four grandchildren.
Wesley Fuller
Wesley Fuller is a Vice President at Falcon Investment Advisors, LLC. Previously an Investment Banking Analyst with Citigroup Global Markets, he received a BBA from the University of Texas McCombs School of Business.
Harold H. Greenberg
Treasurer
Mr. Greenberg attended Purdue University’s School of Industrial Management, graduating first in his class in 1962 with a Bachelor of Science degree, with highest distinction, in Industrial Management.
Greenberg spent years in the Computer industry, first with the Burroughs Corporation, and then with General Electric. In 1972, he left General Electric to return to Arizona and become a successful inventor and business owner in the areas of concrete block manufacturing, homebuilding, travel, residential masonry, commercial real estate brokerage, real estate development, licensing and mining.
Greenberg currently is a major stockholder and chair of The Royce Companies — Arizona’s largest residential masonry company — and PROTO-II™ Wall Systems, a company that markets and supports the use of licenses for proprietary masonry systems throughout the United States.
Among Mr. Greenberg’s early accomplishments was the 1967 publication of a mathematical paper in the journal of the Operations Research Society of America, in which he provided the first-ever solution to the general job-shop scheduling problem. Over the years,this paper, has been cited several times by other publications.
From 1990 to 2007, Greenberg held leadership positions in various Jewish community organizations. He served on the Wells Fargo Bank Regional Board (2003-2007), and was chairman of Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters (2005-2006). In 2004, he was honored with the Distinguished Alumni Award from Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management, and serves as a Senior Member of the Dean’s Advisory Council of Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. Greenberg is the holder of seven patents from the United States Patent Office.
Mr. Greenberg has a home in Prescott, Arizona, and lives part-time in Coronado, California.
Brian Hermelin
Brian Hermelin is a founding Partner of Rockbridge Growth Equity, LLC. He is currently the non-executive Chairman and formerly the Chief Executive Officer of Active Aero Group, a leading air charter broker and logistics provider that also operates USA Jet Airlines, Inc., a privately held charter service provider of freight and passenger air transport.
Presently, he sits on the Board of Directors at ePrize LLC, an interactive promotions company; Telemus Capital Partners, LLC, a wealth management firm; Veritix, a leader in electronic ticketing for sports teams and entertainment venues; and Northcentral University.
Hermelin previously worked in investment banking, as well as for The DJS Group, a private merchant bank for which he helped arrange and lead the acquisitions of the Steak & Ale and Bennigan’s restaurant chains.
Brian is involved on the boards of many non-profit organizations, including Children’s Hospital of Michigan Foundation; the Jewish Federation of Metro Detroit, where he sits on the board of governors; American ORT; and State of Israel Bonds. He is the incoming President at Congregation Shaarey Zedek.
Brian earned his MBA from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and his Bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan.
Steve Linden
Steve Linden is the Vice President of Rockbridge Growth Equity, LLC. He was formerly an Associate of Long Point Capital, a $300 million private equity fund. While at Long Point, Steve focused on the execution of middle-market leveraged buyouts. Steve served on the board of directors for several portfolio companies of Long Point, including Atlantic Plywood—one of the largest distributors of interior grade hardwoods in the United States—and National Print Group, Inc., a value-added large format printing company focused on serving leading retailers and other commercial customers.
Prior to Long Point, Steve spent four years in investment banking with both Credit Suisse First Boston and SPP Capital Partners, LLC in New York, where he focused on mergers and acquisitions as well as leveraged finance for both public and private middle-market companies.
Steve graduated with distinction from of the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan where he earned a BBA.
Curtis L. McCray, PhD
Curtis McCray retired from the university presidency in 2005. His almost forty years of professional life in higher education included positions of Professor of English, Dean of Arts and Sciences, Vice President and Provost, and twenty-three years as University President at the University of North Florida, California State University-Long Beach, Millikin University, and National-Louis University.
McCray earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology from Knox College, and his PhD degree in English from the University of Nebraska.
He is on the board of the Auto Club Group, a holding company for American Automobile Association clubs in the Midwest. He is the founder and a director of The Growth Group, a higher education consulting company. McCray provides institutional and personal consulting to higher education administrators and institutions.
McCray and his wife, Mary, reside in Grayslake, Illinois. They have three grown daughters and five grandchildren.
M. Kathleen Murphy
Kathleen Murphy has headed Yavapai Big Brothers Big Sisters since 1976, and currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the organization, which has a paid staff of 35 and ranks in the top-two percent of Big Brothers Big Sisters groups nationwide in terms of children per capita served. In addition, she served for two years as President of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Executive Directors/CEOs. In addition, Murphy conducts workshops and training seminars on Board Development and building successful mentoring programs, fundraising and recruitment, and has consulted with churches and schools on molestation prevention.
Before her appointment to the board at Northcentral University, Murphy served as a member of the Board of Directors for Wells Fargo Bank, Central Arizona region, and was a member of the founding committees for Yavapai County United Way, Child Safe and Passport to Higher Education. In 2003, she was named Woman of the Year by the Partners for Active Leadership in Yavapai County, and was the 2006 recipient of the Margaret Slack Award.
Murphy was a part-time teacher at Yavapai College, and worked two years with the Juvenile Justice Center in Maricopa County. She is a former partner in Murphy's Restaurants Incorporated.
A native Arizonan and graduate of Arizona State University, Murphy has three children and three grandchildren, and has lived in Prescott, Arizona since 1973. She is an avid backpacker, camper and hiker, competing in several triathlons. She volunteers as a Big Sister, and has been a volunteer Art Teacher in area schools for many years.
Kevin Prokop
Kevin Prokop is a founding Partner of Rockbridge Growth Equity, LLC. He was formerly a Managing Director at Questor Partners Fund, a $1.1 billion private equity fund.
Prior to Questor, Prokop was an Engagement Manager with McKinsey & Company. He graduated with distinction from Georgetown University, where he was an elected president of his class for three years, and was the first student appointed to the university’s Board of Governors. He has an MBA from the University of Chicago, where he graduated summa cum laude, and first in his class with a perfect grade-point average.
Prokop has been a frequent speaker and panelist at conferences on private equity. He recently spoke on developments in private equity at M.I.T. and the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School. He has also written numerous articles on business strategy, private equity and public policy issues. His writings were recently published in The Journal of Private Equity, and in a book edited by Harvard Business School’s Robert Kaplan.
Kevin has served and continues to serve on several boards of private and publicly-traded companies, including the Board of Directors for One Reverse Mortgage. He also sits on the Advisory Boards of the Michigan Cancer Research Foundation and New Detroit, and is actively involved in Detroit Renaissance’s “Road to Renaissance” effort. In 2007, he was appointed by Michigan’s State Legislature to be Co-Chairman of the State of Michigan’s Commission on Governmental Efficiency, a private sector commission established to make recommendations to address the state’s fiscal health.
Kevin lives in Birmingham, Michigan with his wife and their three children.
Cynthia A. Russell, DNSc., RN
Dr. Cynthia A. Russell is the Vice President of Academic Programs with Orbis Education in Indianapolis, Indiana, a position she has held since 2006. As VP, she assists in bringing together top-tier nursing education programs with high-quality health care systems to creatively address the workforce shortage in Nursing. Cynthia uses nearly twenty-five years of experience in higher education to confront this challenge. She progressed to rank of Professor at Valparaiso University, Valparaiso, Indiana, where she also served as Acting Dean for three years. In 2000, she moved to Phoenix, Arizona to become the Dean of Nursing, and eventually served as Provost/Vice President of Academic Affairs at Grand Canyon University before returning to Indiana. At Grand Canyon University, she assisted in the institution’s transition from a not-for-profit to a proprietary institution.
With Baccalaureate and Master’s degrees in Nursing from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Cynthia attended Rush University in Chicago, Illinois, where she earned a Doctorate of Nursing Science with an emphasis in Geropsychiatric Nursing. As an Adult Psychiatric Clinical Nurse Specialist, her practice has focused on family-sensitive care, especially for those addressing the heavy demands of dementia. In addition, she is certified in integrative imagery. She has been active in nursing research, authoring or co-authoring numerous publications. A member of Sigma Theta Tau International, Cynthia has served as chapter president and vice president, and in numerous committee appointments. She is also a member of the American Nurses Association and the Global Nursing Exchange. Cynthia has supported community-based service groups, including Hilltop Neighborhood House and Porter County Family Counseling Center in Valparaiso, Indiana.
Cynthia lives with her husband, Douglas Lemster, on their hobby farm in Valparaiso, Indiana.
John Schnabel
John Schnabel is a Partner at Falcon Investment Advisors, LLC. He was previously a partner at Canterbury Capital Partners. Prior affiliations include Generation Partners and General Motors Investment Management Corporation.
John received a BS in Chemistry from Adelphi University, an MBA with emphasis in Operations Research from Hofstra University, and an Advanced Studies certificate from New York University’s Stern School of Business Administration.
Bill Whittington, JD
Bill Whittington joined the Board of Trustees in December, 2009. He is well versed in board roles and responsibilities. Additionally, he has a substantial corporate, business, and human resources background. Bill received his BA and JD from the University of Arizona and has been employed with the Law Firm of Boyle, Pecharich, Cline, Whittington & Stallings since 1981. Bill is a frequent lecturer at statewide conferences. Moreover, he has been an adjunct business law professor, is a member of the Yavapai County Bar Association, and is a published author. His area of emphasis in his law practice include government and private commercial transactions, real estate matters as well as employment and contract issues, labor issues, and estate planning. Bill represents a variety of commercial, banking and governmental clients. Bill lives in Prescott, Arizona.
