Board of Trustees

Stephen Ciucci was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Governor John Kasich in September, 2018. He is Vice Chair of the Board, Vice Chair of the Clinical Affairs Committee and is a member of the Finance and Audit and Trusteeship and Governance Committees.

Ciucci is the President of Stone Circle Group, a Consulting and Advisory firm focused on supporting small to middle market industrial firms. Prior to this role, Ciucci was President and CEO of Toledo Molding & Die, Inc., a Tier 1 automotive supplier of interior and air/fluid management systems. He began his employment with TMD in 1997 and held a variety of operational and staff positions including Plant Manager, Operations Manager, Director of Sales, Marketing and Product Development, Chief Operating Officer, and President, prior to becoming CEO in 2012.

Prior to his employment at TMD, Ciucci worked at Ford Motor Company for 13 years in various engineering, operations, and management positions.

Ciucci graduated in 1983 from Pennsylvania State University with an undergraduate degree in Chemical Engineering and received his Master’s in Business Administration with High Distinction from the University of Michigan in 1997.

Ciucci is a Board and Executive Committee member for the Toledo Regional Chamber of Commerce and for Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio.

Ciucci is married with two children and resides in Sylvania, Ohio.

Will Lucas was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Governor John Kasich in February 2016. He currently serves as Chair of the Finance and Audit Committee and as a member of the Academic and Student Affairs Committee as well as the Clinical Affairs Committee.

Will Lucas is Founder and CEO at Creadio, a marketing technology firm servicing nationally recognized brands since 2007, and is Founder and Curator at TEDxToledo.

Lucas was named as Co-Chair of President Obama's Ohio Small Business Committee in 2012 and was appointed a State Commissioner serving on the Ohio Casino Control Commission by Ohio Governor John Kasich in May 2013 (reappointed in 2017). He was then appointed to his second state commission, the Ohio Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission in January of 2014.  Additionally, he was selected in 2019 by Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted to serve on the advisory board for Innovate Ohio, and he serves on the corporate Board of Directors for Plastic Technologies, Inc. (PTI).

Widely recognized as a leading technology entrepreneur, Business Insider listed Lucas on The 25 Most Influential African-Americans in Tech (2013), and The 46 Most Important African-Americans In Technology (2014). NBC New's 'The Grio' named Lucas to the Top 10 Blacks in tech to look out for in 2013. In 2015, TechCrunch listed Lucas on 40 Diverse People In Tech Who Made Big Moves In 2015, and in 2019, Tech Funnel listed Lucas among theTop 14 black Entrepreneur's in Technology.

Will graduated with a Bachelors degree in Organization Technology from The University of Toledo and has previously served on the Boards of Directors for Ohio Council of Community Schools, Kids Unlimited, and Lucas County CASA.

Eleanore Awadalla was appointed to the University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Governor Dewine in September 2019. She serves on the Academic and Student Affairs and the Trustee and Governance committees.

Dr. Awadalla is a general Dentist practicing in Toledo since 1985.

She was appointed by Governor Voinovich to the Ohio State Dental Board in 1994 for a 5-year term and reappointed by Governor Taft in 1999 to serve for another five years. She served as President and Secretary of the Dental Board. During her tenure on the Dental Board advocating for Public Protection she became interested in Dental Licensure Limitations in the state of Ohio. She then became an active member of CDCA, the Commission on Dental Competency and Assessment, an agency that conducts clinical examinations now accepted in 48 jurisdictions. That association led to a District Representative position with ADEX, the American Board of Dental Examiners representing Ohio, Michigan, Illinois and Indiana. These organizations have changed the landscape of dental licensure.

Dr. Awadalla previously served on the Eberly Center and the Valentine Theatre Boards, and currently serves on the Crime Stopper Board.

Dr. Awadalla is a graduate of McGill University (1975) and The Ohio State University Dental School and received one year of training in Anesthesia at Case Western Reserve Hospitals. She has two children, Ryan Seal who resides in Cincinnati and Alexandra Seal who resides in Perrysburg.

Alfred A. Baker was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Governor John Kasich in July 2016. He has served in various roles including chair of the Board from July 2020 through June 2022.

Baker, retired in March 2006 from Owens-Illinois, where he served as vice president of human resources since 1992.  He previously served as a member of the Medical University of Ohio Board of Trustees where he was Chairman from 2004-2006.  He joined the MUO Board in 1995 to complete an unfinished term and was reappointed to a full term in 1998.  At the end of his term in 2007, he was the first trustee to complete his service after the 2006 merger of MUO and UT.

Baker is a past member of the Fifth Third Bank Board of Directors (Northwest Ohio), and is a past member of the Toledo Employers Association Board.  He previously served on the UT Foundation Board of Trustees, as well as the MCO Foundation Board of Trustees.

Baker is a UT graduate who was a member of the 1969-1971 undefeated football teams with a record of 35-0. He was elected to the UT Hall of Fame in 1998. He received The University of Toledo Outstanding Community Service Award in 2011. In 2017, he was selected to the UToledo All-Century Football Team (#23).

G. Brent Bishop, a business consultant who serves as a partner for a real estate investment firm and for a business advisory firm, has been appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees.

Bishop, of Columbus, was named by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to a term ending July 1, 2028. He is completing the remaining years of the term of Richard “Dick” Walinski, who resigned in December.

“I’m very excited about this role and the opportunity to work on behalf of the University,” Bishop said. “It is both an honor and a pleasure to join the Board in support of the school’s goals and its entire community.”

Bishop’s business career has been spent helping business owners and their companies grow through successful public offerings, private equity recapitalizations and buy/sell transactions.

He began his career at Acceleration Life Insurance Company as an assistant treasurer. He then earned an Ohio life insurance license and joined the national insurance brokerage firm of Alexander & Alexander where he served as vice president. He went on to be a broker at the Paine Webber investment firm and later served as a divisional vice president.

Bishop applied his securities investment and insurance skills to owning a registered investment advisor firm, First Capital Asset Management, Inc. After selling that business, he got into the software technology business serving first as chief financial officer and then president and CEO of Irth Solutions.

After the sale of his technology company, he created Scioto Capital Partners to acquire, manage, trade and sell commercial real estate investments where he is managing partner.

Bishop has served on the boards of the Columbus Association for the Performing Arts, Catholic Social Services of the Diocese of Columbus, Franklin County Children Services and United Methodist Children’s Home. He currently serves on the finance committee for the Columbus Museum. He is a graduate of Ohio State University earning a bachelor’s degree in history.

Zac Isaac was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to a term beginning June 2, 2022 and ending July 1, 2030.

Isaac is President of the Isaac Property Co., a real estate development company. Prior to rejoining Isaac Property Company in 2022, he served as Executive Officer of State Bank and Trust Company for nine years. Isaac had previously spent 23 years at Isaac Property Company as an Executive Vice President. His career also has included serving as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of the Isaac Corporation, Vice President and assistant general counsel of First Gibralter Bank in Dallas, Texas, Vice President of InterFirst Bank Dallas and associate attorney with Keating, Muething and Klekamp in Cincinnati.

The Isaac family have been longtime supporters of the former Medical College of Ohio and UToledo College of Medicine and Life Sciences. Isaac is a member of Medical Research Society and College of Medicine and Life Sciences Dean’s Advisory Council.

Isaac has served on the boards of the Isaac family businesses, Spangler Candy Company, Rurban Financial Corporation/State Bank & Trust, Paramount Insurance Corporation, Defiance College, Greater Toledo Community Foundation, Toledo Zoological Society, Junior Achievement of Northwest Ohio and AAA Northwest Ohio.

He earned his J.D. from Ohio Northern University and was on the Law Review and bachelor’s degree in accounting and economics from Duke University.

Patrick J. Kenney was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Governor John Kasich in July 2017.  He is Chair of the Trusteeship and Governance Committee, Vice Chair of the Clinical Affairs Committee and is a member of the Finance and Audit Committee.

Kenney, a 1983 graduate of Miami University, Oxford, Ohio, was named to the list of Who’s Who in American Universities. With a degree in Accounting, Patrick began a career in public accounting and obtained his CPA designation. Shortly thereafter, Patrick entered the financial services industry and is in his 31^st year of running his financial advisory practice.

As a Registered Investment Advisor, he has extensive experience assisting individuals and corporations in a variety of financial issues and has built a strong reputation in the industry specializing in tax-advantaged investment planning.

He holds numerous industry awards including membership in the Million Dollar Round Table for the past 26 years, with 15 years at Top of The Table which recognizes less than 1% of advisors worldwide.  He was Field Advisory Chair Person for Union Central, one of the country’s largest and oldest mutual insurance companies and has qualified for their National Marketing Conference every year since 1986.  Union Central, a company with a 150-year history, selected Patrick as their 23^rd inductee into the company’s prestigious Hall of Fame, the youngest in the company’s history.

Besides his financial advisory practice, Patrick has additional entrepreneurial experience.  In 1987, he and a college fraternity brother started Health Care Solutions, a home health care business which grew to thirty-five offices in five states and which sold in 2003 to a publicly traded industry leader.  He is a co-founder of CareLink Nursing Services which in 2014 celebrated 25 years in business.  In addition, he was a founding member of Ohio Innovations Fund, a venture capital fund which provided initial round financing to technical startup companies, one of which now trades on the New York Stock Exchange. Patrick has been an angel investor to many local start-up companies to support the community entrepreneur efforts.

Patrick maintains a strong commitment to local civic and charitable organizations.  He is a recipient of the Twenty Under Forty Award which recognizes individuals under the age of 40 in Northwest Ohio for leadership in their career and community.  Currently Patrick serves on the Investment Committee for the University of Toledo Foundation Board. He is a past board member of Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce, Toledo Area Small Business Association, St. Francis de Sales High School, St. Ursula Academy, Toledo Botanical Gardens, St. Joseph Parish, Kids Unlimited, and Keep Toledo-Lucas County Beautiful.

In 2009, Patrick initiated an annual fundraising event to benefit University of Toledo football. To date, the initiative has successfully raised over $350,000 for the program. In 2016, Patrick was honored by the football team as the Rocket’s “12^th Man” for his dedication and service.

Toledo Mayor D. Michael Collins selected Patrick as the Chairman of the City of Toledo Economic Development Committee which oversees the City’s involvement with regional economic development agencies.

In support of the Toledo Museum of Art, Patrick and his wife are members of the President’s Council and the esteemed Apollo Society.

Patrick is a licensed pilot, has completed 15 marathons, and is an avid fly fisherman.  He and his wife, Maureen, have four children and reside in Sylvania, Ohio.

Mr. Miller is Chairman & CEO of Waterford Bank, N.A. He is one of the Directors and Founders of the Bank. The Bank was started in August 2007 and to date has grown to over $1 billion in total assets with over 100 employees. Mr. Miller is also the Chairman of the Board of the Toledo Mud Hens Baseball Club, Inc. and Toledo Arena Sports, Inc. and serves on the Board of Treu House of Munch. He has also acted as Past President of the Inverness Club in 2003 and 2004.

Mr. Miller is a graduate of the University of Toledo and while at the University of Toledo, he played four years of Varsity Golf serving two of those years as Captain of the team. More recently, Mr. Miller has acted as Past President of The Toledo Junior Golf Association, Past Co-Chair of the 2009 NCAA Golf Championship hosted by the University of Toledo at Inverness Club and the 2019 US Junior Amateur hosted by the Inverness Club.

Mary Ellen Pisanelli was appointed to the Board of Trustees by Governor John Kasich in August 2015.

Mary Ellen is Senior Vice President – Legal and Administration of Welltower, Inc.  Joining the company in July 2017, she provides legal support across the company’s portfolio of U.S.-based real estate assets and oversees a number of corporate administrative functions.

Prior to joining Welltower, she served as a partner at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick, LLP and was previously a member of the firm’s Management Committee. She was also Shumaker’s Relationship Partner for Welltower and Co-Chair of the firm’s REIT practice group. During her time at Shumaker, Ms. Pisanelli led the team supporting numerous successful debt and equity offerings including Welltower’s 2016 issuance of $700 million of 10-year unsecured debt, Welltower’s largest single-tranche debt offering in its history.

Since 2005, she has been listed in Best Lawyers in America, was named Best Lawyers, "Toledo Corporate Law Lawyer of the Year," 2014, and is AV Preeminent^® Peer Review rated by Martindale-Hubbell. Mary Ellen earned her J.D. from Temple University School of Law, her M.A. in comparative western European studies from the University of Chicago, and her B.A. in Political Science, cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa, from the University of Vermont.   She was a recipient of a pre-dissertation fellowship from the University of Chicago and studied at the Johns Hopkins Center for Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Bologna, Italy. 

Mary Ellen is active in many organizations and serves on numerous Boards.  She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Toledo Museum of Art, its Leadership and Governance Committee and chairs its Audit Committee.   She is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Toledo Zoo and served as the Zoo Board’s President for two terms. Also, Mary Ellen is a member of the Rotary Club of Toledo and Women & Philanthropy at The University of Toledo.   

Mary Ellen lives in Ottawa Hills, Ohio and has two daughters, Eleni and Lia, who live in Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Mr. Chapman was the co-founder and CEO of ReNew, a privately held real-estate investment trust (REIT) specializing in senior housing communities across the United States. He was responsible for the overall vision and guidance of the company and oversaw all functions. Prior to his role at ReNew, he served as the CEO and chairman of the board at Welltower (previously known as Health Care REIT), which acquires, plans, and develops real estate properties in the healthcare field. During his tenure, the company built a $25 billion portfolio of properties across the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom.

Chapman also served on the board of National Storage Affiliates, a NYSE company. National Storage Affiliates is a self-storage REIT. He served on the boards of National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts on two separate occasions.

Chapman is the former chairman of the Medical University of Ohio Board of Trustees. He is an emeritus trustee of UToledo having served from 2006-2008. Additionally, he served on the Presidential Search Committee in 2014-15 when Dr. Gaber was appointed President at UToledo. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Cornell University and a J.D. from University of Chicago. He was married to Leslie Chapman, owner of Toledo Yoga.

Anjali Phadke was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine for a term beginning Aug. 27, 2021 and ending July 1, 2023. She is a member of the Student Affairs Committee.

Phadke is a senior pursuing a bachelor’s degree in bioengineering with honors and minors in psychology and chemistry with a pre-medical concentration. She currently serves as the Vice President of Membership for her sorority Alpha Xi Delta, the New Member Educator and Historian for the ARX Chapter of Blue Key Honor Society honoring 13 of the top undergraduate leaders at UToledo, and as Internal Chairwoman for Student Government. Prior to being Internal Chairwoman, she served as the Legislative Secretary and Vice President. She is also currently a member of The University of Toledo Engineering Council, Mortar Board Senior National Honor Society recognizing 28 of the top leaders on campus, and Order of Omega recognizing the top 5% of fraternity and sorority life on UToledo’s campus.

Phadke was also a participant of Global Public Health Brigades serving as the Vice President of Education from 2019-20, and Global Medical Brigades from 2018-19. Through Global Medical Brigades, she was able to travel to Tegucigalpa, Honduras, working alongside local communities and staff to implement sustainable health systems. Through Global Public Health Brigades, she traveled to Honduras again, this time working in the community to improve health by building in-home infrastructure projects.

Phadke has also served as an Undergraduate Admissions Ambassador, and has completed two co-op rotations as a Biomedical Engineering Intern at Wright Patterson Air Force Base in the Biodynamics Division of the Air Force Research Lab.

She is incredibly excited about and dedicated to The University of Toledo and cannot wait to help the University succeed and sustain a strong legacy.

Madeline Vining was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Gov. Mike DeWine to a term beginning July 2, 2022 and ending July 1, 2024.

Vining is a junior studying economics and political science and a member of the women’s cross-country and track and field teams.

In addition to her commitment as a student-athlete, Vining is active on campus as a senator and external chair on Student Government and served on the search committee for the vice president for intercollegiate athletics and director of athletics.

Vining said she has been a Rocket since she was a child living in a neighborhood near campus and regularly walking to basketball games in Savage Arena and wanting to be a UToledo student when she grew up. In this role, she looks forward to being the best voice for all students and making sure everyone feels valued on the campus.

Vining, a graduate of Notre Dame Academy, works as a small claims law clerk at Toledo Municipal Court and is spending summer 2022 at an internship with the Ohio Secretary of State. After graduation she intends to go to law school and enter a career as a prosecutor.