New CSB Board of Trustees members named

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August 28, 2013

Nine new members have been appointed to the College of Saint Benedict Board of Trustees.

Mark Fleischhacker, Margaret Murphy, Marilyn Porter, Nada Mourtada-Sabbah, Carol Schleif, Daniel Scott and Mary Thompson each began serving a three-year term effective July 1.

Andrea Driscoll, student trustee, and Jennifer Schweich Barta, president of the CSB Alumnae Board, joined the board as ex-officio members.

The CSB Board of Trustees consists of 42 members plus five ex-officio members who serve by virtue of holding another position. The board upholds the college's mission, appoints and empowers the president of the college and secures the financial future of CSB. 

Fleischhacker is a second-generation business owner. He is a graduate of Benilde High School in St. Louis Park, Minn. He served in the military for six years after high school and earned the rank of Staff Sargent E4. He is a past board member of CSB, a current board member of Dunwoody College of Technology and board chair of the Southwest Metro Chamber of Commerce. His daughter, Kathy, is a 2006 CSB graduate.

Murphy, a 1990 CSB graduate, is president of Olson, a next-generation agency that builds and activates brand communities in Minneapolis. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in management from CSB and a master's degree in business administration from the University of St. Thomas. Murphy was the managing partner and president of Denali Marketing from 2007-10 before selling it to Olson in 2010. She is a board member of Faith's Lodge and Catholic Charities, and an active member of the Minnesota Business Partnership.

Porter is the director of engineering and facilities for Metropolitan Council/Metro Transit in Minneapolis. She earned a bachelor of science degree in architectural studies from Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, Ill. She also earned a master's degree in management technology from the University of Wisconsin-Stout and a mini-master's in project management from the University of St. Thomas. She is a member of the American Institute of Architects and the American Planning Association, a certified plant engineer for the Association of Facilities Engineering, and a planning commissioner for the city of St. Paul.

Mourtada-Sabbah is the vice chancellor for Development and Alumni Affairs and professor of International Studies at the American University of Sharjah in Sharjah, United Arab Emirates. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in political studies from the American University of Beirut, and a master's degree in political science and a Ph.D. in public law from the University of Paris II. She is on the board of various organizations including Politique Américaine in Paris, the journal of the UAE Writer's Union, the Maghreb Mashrek in Paris, and the Annuaire Français de Relations Internationales in Paris. She is also the founding deputy editor-in-chief for the Journal of Social Affairs, American University of Sharjah & Sociological Association of the UAE.

Schleif is the regional chief investment officer of asset management for the Midwest region at Abbot Downing. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in business and equestrian science from William Woods College in Fulton, Mo. A chartered financial analyst, she is involved in the CFA Institute and the Twin Cities Society of Securities Analysts. She is also a mentor in the MENTTIUM Program, an organization dedicated to developing high-performance female talent. She previously served as ad hoc vice chair of the CSB Board of Trustees' Investment Committee.

Scott is a shareholder and attorney at Leonard, Street and Deinard in Minneapolis. He earned a bachelor of arts degree in business administration from Augustana College, Sioux Falls, S.D., and a juris doctorate from William Mitchell College of Law in St. Paul, Minn. Scott is currently serving on the board of the Minnesota Wild Foundation and the St. Paul Area Chamber of Commerce Executive and Nominating committees. He previously served on the chamber's Political Action Committee Board of Directors, the Board of Governors of Jete, LLC and the Board of Directors of Capital City Partnership. Scott was recently nominated for and will serve on the Minnesota Business Ethics Award Steering Committee.

Thompson is a reporter for CNBC in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Notre Dame, Ind., and a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York. Before working for CNBC, she was a reporter for Bloomberg Print, Radio and Television. She is on the development committee for the YMCA for Greater New York. Her sister, NBC News reporter Anne Thompson, gave the 2012 commencement address at CSB.

Driscoll, a senior at CSB studying elementary education, is serving her second term on the board (she previously served during the 2011-12 academic year). She is a member of CSB's Student Senate and the Up 'Til Dawn Executive Board, a student group supporting research at St. Jude Children's Research Hospital. Driscoll also volunteers as an admission ambassador at CSB and Saint John's University, and participated in the Greco-Roman study abroad program in 2012. She is from Spearfish, S.D.

Barta, a 1992 CSB graduate, is the senior research and development manager of General Mills in Minneapolis. She earned a bachelor of arts degree in chemistry from CSB and a bachelor of science degree in chemical engineering from the University of Minnesota Institute of Technology. She went on to earn a MBA from the University of Minnesota's Carlson School of Management. She has served on the CSB Alumnae Board since 2007.