Board of Trustees

Will Lucas was appointed to the University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Ohio Governor John Kasich in February 2016. He serves as Chair of the Board and was previously Vice Chair of the Board, Chair of the Finance and Audit committee, and Chair of the Trustee and Governance committee.

He is Founder and CEO at aWLCo, a family of companies operating in the media, technology, real estate, and hospitality industries. Among them are Creadio, which is a full-service marketing technology and production agency; TolHouse, a private social club located in the heart of the historic downtown Vistula district of Toledo, OH; and CommPartHS, which creates strategic alliances between businesses and high school career technology, athletic, and student-athlete initiatives.

Will is the Brand Manager for AfroTech, the largest Black tech digital platform and conference globally, and leads strategy and content for Black Tech Green Money, a podcast and digital imprint. The podcast was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in 2023.

President Obama appointed Lucas as Co-Chair of the Ohio Small Business Committee in 2012. In 2013, Ohio Governor John Kasich named him a State Commissioner, and he would serve on the Ohio Casino Control Commission, the state-wide regulatory body which has the responsibility to ensure the integrity of casino gaming, sports gaming, skill-based amusement machines and fantasy contests by licensing, regulating, investigating and enforcing state laws. Governor Kasich reappointed him to a second four-year term in 2017. He was then renamed to the Commission for a third (and final) four-year term by Governor Mike Dewine in 2021. Lucas was appointed to his second state Commission, the Ohio Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission, in 2014, and he became Chair in 2016. In 2019, Lucas was named to the executive advisory board for InnovateOhio by Ohio Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted. He has also served 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 News named Lucas to the Top 10 Blacks in Tech to look out for in 2013. In 2015, TechCrunch listed Lucas among 40 Diverse People In Tech Who Made Big Moves In 2015. In 2019, Tech Funnel listed Lucas among the Top 14 Black Entrepreneur's in Technology.

Will graduated with a bachelor's 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.

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.

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.

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.

Lidia B. Ebersole was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine in 2023 to a term beginning July 2, 2023 and ending July 1, 2032.

Ebersole is an attorney and a shareholder in the Toledo office of Roetzel & Andress, an Akron-based law firm with 13 offices, including six in Ohio. Her legal practice focuses on litigating business disputes and liability defense matters in Ohio and Michigan. She also assists clients with business- and employment-related immigration and international transactions, especially with her home country of Poland. Before private practice, she worked as a judicial staff attorney at the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals and as a judicial extern at the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Ohio.

Ebersole was born and raised in Lukow, Poland, where she taught English as a second language in a local public school. She received two undergraduate degrees in tourism and teaching English as a second language and a master’s degree in teaching English while in Poland.

She moved to the United States in 2006 and received her law degree from UToledo shortly after gaining United States citizenship. Since then, Ebersole has appeared as a guest speaker, welcoming new citizens at naturalization ceremonies in northwest Ohio.

Ebersole gives back to the community by serving as vice chair of the Ohio Supreme Court Advisory Committee on Language Services and by being involved in numerous service organizations, including the Perrysburg Rotary Club, Saint Thomas More Society and various Polish-American groups in the northwest Ohio area.

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.

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.

Dr. Thomas Wakefield is Emeritus Professor of Surgery at the University of Michigan. He was the Head of Vascular Surgery at the University of Michigan for 16 years and was a Director of the Samuel and Jean Frankel Cardiovascular Center at the University of Michigan for 8 years. He attended the University of Toledo as an undergraduate student, where both he and Mrs. Wakefield participated in the Honors program. Dr. Wakefield obtained a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1975 and went on to attend the Medical College of Ohio. He graduated with his medical degree in 1978. He completed his general surgery residency at the University of Michigan in 1984 and completed a vascular surgery fellowship at the University of Michigan in 1986. He had an active clinical practice in all aspects of vascular surgery, focusing on venous disorders until his retirement in 2023. Dr. Wakefield previously served as the President of the American Venous Forum, Michigan Vascular Society, and the Frederick A Coller Surgical Society. He held two professorships, the S. Martin Lindenauer Collegiate Professorship in Vascular Surgery (2002-2012), and the Stanley Professorship in Vascular Surgery (2012-2023). He has received numerous awards including multiple Conrad Jobst Awards for Research in Vascular Surgery, American Heart Association Coeur D’ OR Award for Excellence, International Union of Phlebology Award for Excellence in Basic Science Research in Phlebology, Founders Award from the American Venous Forum, American Heart Association Arteriosclerosis, Thrombosis and Vascular Biology (ATVB) Special Recognition Award in Thrombosis, and the University of Michigan Vascular Surgery Excellence in Education. He has also been recognized by the University of Toledo James K. Larson Award for Outstanding Career Achievement, the University of Toledo College of Medicine Distinguished Alumnus Award, and the University of Toledo Blue T and Gold T Awards. He has authored more than 320 peer-reviewed papers, more than 150 book chapters on vascular surgery, vascular medicine, thrombosis, and venous disorders, and has delivered in excess of 500 regional, national, and international scientific presentations.

Mrs. Mary Wakefield graduated from the University of Toledo in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts. She went on to work as a Physical Therapist at the University of Michigan. She is an ardent volunteer. She is a longtime docent with the University of Michigan Art Museum and a founding member of the MEET ME Program for memory loss guests. She has been an advocate for affordable housing and Community Mental Health in Washtenaw County, Michigan. In Toledo, Mary is an active supporter of urban farming (Urban Wholistics at Tatum Park) as well as with the University of Toledo's Catherine S. Eberly Center for Women and the Minority Business Development Center. She has been on medical mission trips in Central America as well as spear heading a dormitory build with a water source at the St. Joseph School in Kakamega, Kenya. She and Tom work with International Samaritan whose home office is in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The Wakefield’s have two sons. Andrew, a graduate of Albion College and the University of Michigan Law School, is a priest ordained for The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington. He currently serves as Pastor of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church in Silver Spring, Maryland. Victor, a Princeton graduate with a EdD from Johns Hopkins, is currently a Senior Vice President for Teach for America. Victor’s wife Rachel holds a MSPH from Johns Hopkins and works as a Health Educator. They live in Maryland and have a son, Ezra John.

Tom and Mary are vigorous supporters of the Rockets, and reside in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

Kevin Bishop was appointed to The University of Toledo Board of Trustees by Gov. Mike DeWine to a term beginning July 28, 2023 and ending July 1, 2025.

Bishop is a junior studying finance in the Neff College of Business and Innovation. On campus, he has served as the Co-Overall Director for RockeTHON in 2023, currently serves as President of the College Republicans, and is a member of the Levis Leadership program. .

In addition to his commitment as a student leader, Bishop is active in the Toledo community. He serves on the Board of Directors for The Victory Center, a Northwest Ohio-based cancer non profit organization. He also is an assistant soccer and basketball coach for his parish, St. Patrick of Heatherdowns.

Bishop chose to attend UT for a few reasons:
- The wide variety of academic programs
- The priority of student success and safety
- The beautiful campus and location
He loves supporting the UToledo community by attending athletic events, attending student organizations meetings, talking with classmates, faculty and staff when he has the opportunity. 

Bishop graduated from Central Catholic High School in 2021. There, he had a long history of successfully representing large student populations. He was the President of his class for 4 years, President of the National Honor Society, Creator of IrishTHON, and President of Ohio Youth in Government.

Bishop, works for their family company Bishop Landscape as a crew leader. After graduation he intends to go to into the Financial investment industry and eventually return to earn his MBA degree.

In this role, he looks forward to working alongside the current Trustees to serve the student body, faculty and staff, and Toledo community.

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.