Advisory Committee - Faculty - Administration

Chris Bandura ‘99

Chris Bandura is the Director of Athlete Relations at Hit Parade/Dave and Adam’s. He previously served as Vice President of Media Relations and other media positions for the NHL Buffalo Sabres for 15 years.

Brad Buyce '91

A hybrid communicator with more than 25 years of agency experience combined with in-house nonprofit experience, Brad is now a solo practitioner. His specialty is corporate branding – translating a company’s “why” into business-driving communications.

Brad has counseled world-class organizations including The American Cancer Society, Goodyear, Pennzoil, Visa, Sony, Philips Lighting, Best Buy, Procter & Gamble and Absolut. He’s worked for start-ups, mature brands, associations and nonprofits trying to reach mass audiences, business enterprises or influentials.

He recently served as Vice President of External Communications for the American Cancer Society. As a new brand strategy was being rolled out to ACS staff and external audiences, Brad was on a mission to find new ways to embody its positioning, “Attacking cancer from every angle.” He rooted out new storylines, created and refined core messaging and then collaborated with channel teams to execute across internal, earned and social levers. All told, his team increased external visibility for ACS by 20 percent despite being reduced by one-third.

At CoynePR, Brad provided strategic guidance across various clients to ensure that integrated communications programs were on solid footing strategically and creatively. His integrated teams helped to personify Eureka! organic bread; to drive sign-ups for DineTime restaurant management technology; and to create an engaging marketing communications campaign for Proponent Federal Credit Union, among others. Prior to Coyne, Brad lead multi-office accounts and held P&L responsibility at multinational agency Ketchum, ran the NY office for Deming agency PainePR (now Citizen Relations) and drove sports programs at Cohn & Wolfe.

In higher education, Brad has advised clients such as Gallaudet University, The Johnson School of Business at Cornell University and the Simon School of Business at the University of Rochester to differentiate. He also consulted with online learning service 2U to convey thought leadership in online learning.

Brad graduated Summa Cum Laude from UC in 1991 with a Bachelor of Science in Public Relations.

Brooke Simon Candelaria

Brooke Candelaria, the daughter of Raymond Simon, is the co-founder and managing partner of events and marketing company 2Can Consulting. Previously, she was senior events manager at Anaconda, Inc., and client services director for experiential marketing agency George P. Johnson. She began her career in public relations, then shifted to corporate event management after two decades.

Yvonne Dennis ’91

Yvonne Dennis, ’91, senior editor overnight for Editorial Review at NPR. Previously, she was news editor at The Wall Street Journal.
 

Renee Gamela '04

Renee Gamela, ’04, is deputy chief of staff for U.S. Representative Glenn "GT" Thompson, chairman of the House Committee on Agriculture. She was vice president of public affairs for Powell Tate/Weber Shandwick in Washington, D.C. and was senior adviser/communications director for U.S. Representative Richard Hanna, who represented Utica in the U.S. Congress. She also worked as a reporter for the Utica Observer-Dispatch.
 

Angela Grande '05

Angie Grande, ’05, is vice president of NBCU Local Streaming News Channels, based in Miami. Previously, she was Executive Producer of NBC Stay Tuned and a TV News Producer at WNBC in New York City.
 

Dorree Gurdak '92

Dorree Gurdak, ’92, is vice president of marketing for Clearwater Marine Aquarium, where she leads brand evolution, strategic communications, and mission‑centered storytelling that strengthens community connection and organizational impact. She previously held senior leadership roles at Pollack Communications, Chameleon Collective, and Weber Shandwick Boston, bringing more than two decades of experience in consumer, financial, and global brand strategy

Deborah Kessler ’90

Kessler has significant community involvement. Currently, she is an active board member with the Greater Utica Chamber of Commerce and is serving as committee chair for the Small Business Council. Kessler also serves on the board for the Central Association for The Blind and Visually Impaired. Kessler is also a former board president of Leadership Mohawk Valley and a past board member of The Mohawk Valley Advertising Club. Kessler also serves as President for the Glass Hill Golf Course located in Barneveld.

Kessler has more than 15 years of experience producing, promoting and marketing trade shows and events. Shows and promotions range from outdoor sports to boat and business expos. “I continue to focus and be consistent in building a solid foundation for all marketing and communications. My number one priority is the exhibitors who participate in the shows that are produced.”

Previously, Kessler was employed with The Greater Utica Area Chamber of Commerce, as the Public Relations Director. She coordinated monthly events and the writing of weekly publications. As the Public Relations Director, Kessler spent a majority of her time enforcing the mission of the Chamber throughout the business community.

Kessler also was employed with Steffen Publishing as an Account Manager in representing national and local publications.

Kessler spent nine years working as the Director of Marketing for M.A. Polce Consulting, Inc., a local information technologies company. Kessler produced monthly newsletters, ‘Lunch and Learns’, and various seminars and events for the current customer base, as well as prospects. Kessler also worked in a dual position serving as an account manager working with various businesses from a wide variety of industries.

Frank Maurizio, Jr. ’77

Frank Maurizio, ‘77, retired manager of media and web relations for New York State United Teachers, based in Latham, New York. Frank is former chair of the Raymond Simon Institute Advisory Committee and currently serves as member emeritus. He is also a former member of the Schenectady City Council and now lives in Fort Mill, South Carolina.
 

 

James McClendon '17

James McClendon, '17, is a managing producer for high school sports at Syracuse.com. He was previously a Sports Reporter at the Utica Observer-Dispatch. 

Tim McGowan ‘80

Tim McGowan is associate vice president of advancement marketing and engagement at Dartmouth College. Tim leads the way in developing communications and content strategies in all media that advance the strategic goals of Dartmouth's Alumni Relations and Development programs. He collaborates throughout the Advancement Division to realize high impact volunteer support, deep alumni engagement, and the full philanthropic potentials of constituencies in support of the institution's teaching and research mission.

Prior to his position at Dartmouth College, Tim was assistant vice president for strategic donor engagement in Princeton’s Office of Development for three and a half years. He joined Princeton University from Columbia University. Tim served on the senior leadership team as chief strategic communications and donor engagement officer, overseeing development marketing and communications, development events, and donor relations.

For four years, he served as deputy vice president for alumni and development marketing and communications at Columbia, where he created and led a strategic agency model to support the university’s alumni relations and development marketing and communications. He also served as publisher of “Columbia Magazine,” the university’s quarterly print, digital and mobile alumni publication.

Prior to Columbia, Tim worked for more than 31 years in top marketing and advertising agencies — 26 of those on Madison Avenue for the Young & Rubicam Group of agencies: Burson-Marsteller, BrandBuzz, The Lord Group, and Y&R Advertising. His clients included some of the world’s leading brands, such as AT&T, Du Pont, Kodak, IBM, LG, Major League Baseball and Xerox. In addition, he was a founding partner of Y&R.Edu, aimed at the higher-education market.

 

Richard Puff ’81

Richard Puff, ’81, retired from the University of Cincinnati as assistant vice president and chief communications officer, College of Medicine.

 

Thomas Caputo

Thomas Caputo, ‘22, is an award-winning journalist and photographer covering news across Utica and the Mohawk Valley for the Daily Sentinel. Born and raised in the Mohawk Valley and a proud Utica University alumnus, Thomas earned his Bachelor of Science in Communication and Media with a concentration in Journalism. He is currently advancing his expertise as a graduate student at SUNY Polytechnic Institute, where he is pursuing a Master of Science in Information Design and Technology.