UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Results from this year’s Penn State Board of Trustees elections were announced at the group’s meeting today (May 9). Nine newly elected trustees will begin their terms on July 1.
Agricultural trustees
Six trustees are elected by delegates of the organized agricultural societies or associations in the commonwealth. Agricultural trustee terms are staggered so that the terms of two trustees expire each year. In 2025, delegates from agricultural societies:
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Re-elected Valerie Detwiler, senior vice president, senior commercial banker at Reliance Bank in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania. With her husband, she also owns and operates Forsheys Ag & Industrial, a New Holland agricultural machinery dealership in Martinsburg, Pennsylvania, as well as a beef and crop operation in nearby New Enterprise. She also serves on the Blair County Chamber of Commerce Farm City Committee, the loan committee of the Southern Alleghenies Planning & Development Commission, and the Pennsylvania Banking Association’s Agriculture and Rural Issues Advisory Committee. Detwiler is a 2006 graduate of Penn State with a bachelor’s degree in accounting.
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Elected Matthew D. Espenshade, a seventh-generation dairy farmer, operates Evergreen-Valley Farm alongside his father in Elizabethtown, Pennsylvania. He currently serves as president/master of the Pennsylvania State Grange, the oldest rural and agricultural fraternal organization in the commonwealth. Espenshade has represented the Grange and Farm Bureau while speaking with legislators about key issues, has served on the Lancaster County Blue Ribbon Commission for Agriculture, chairs the National Grange’s Conservation Committee, and has served on the Elizabethtown FFA chapter advisory board. He earned a bachelor’s degree in dairy and animal science from Penn State in 1995.
At-Large trustee
Three trustees are elected at-large by the Board of Trustees. At-large trustee terms are staggered so that the term of one trustee expires each year. In 2025, the board:
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Re-elected Tracy A. Riegel, former project manager for the Vanguard Group in Malvern, Pennsylvania. A 1985 alumna of Penn State, Riegel is a member of the Penn State Brandywine Advisory Board, the Schreyer Honors College External Advisory Board, and a former member of the Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Council, the Penn State Parents Council and the Schreyer Honors College Parents Council. She has also held leadership positions with the Union League of Philadelphia and several other community organizations. Riegel and her husband have created multiple scholarships, endowed awards and supported fundraising initiatives across Penn State. Riegel has been recognized as the Penn State Alumni Association Alumni Council Volunteer of the Year and the Division of Donor and Alumni Relations Volunteer of the Year.
Business and industry trustees
Six trustees are elected by the Board of Trustees to represent business and industry endeavors. The terms of business and industry trustees are staggered so that the terms of two trustees expire each year. In 2025, the board:
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Re-elected Naren K. Gursahaney, former president, CEO and a director of ADT Corporation. He currently serves on the boards of NextEra Energy and Berwind Corp. A 1983 graduate of Penn State, Gursahaney has created scholarships and excellence funds in the College of Engineering and College of Information Sciences and Technology and provided support for the Student Veteran Center. He serves on several advisory boards in the College of Engineering and across the University. He has been recognized with the Penn State Alumni Fellow Award, Distinguished Alumni Award and Outstanding Engineering Alumni Award.
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Re-elected Richard S. Sokolov, vice chairman of Simon Property Group, the largest owner of retail real estate in Pennsylvania, having served as president and chief operating officer from 1996 to 2018. A 1971 graduate of Penn State, Sokolov served as chair of the “A Greater Penn State for 21st Century Excellence” campaign, which raised more than $2.16 billion for the University. His charitable support to Penn State includes endowing the Sokolov-Miller Family Financial and Life Skills Center. He has been recognized with the Penn State Alumni Fellow Award and the Distinguished Alumni Award. Sokolov currently serves as vice chair of the Penn State Board of Trustees.
Student trustee
A trustee is elected biennially by the Board of Trustees from among the student body. The student trustee serves a two-year term. In 2025, the board:
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Elected Ruby Bjalme, a second-year student and Schreyer Honors Scholar majoring in marketing with a minor in information systems management. A native of Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, Bjalme comes from a long line of Penn State alumni in her family. At the University, Bjalme has served as a New Student Orientation leader and as an executive board member of the Nittany Lion Consulting Group. She is also a scholar in the Presidential Leadership Academy.
Alumni trustees
Nine trustees are elected by Penn State alumni and former students of the University. Alumni trustee terms are staggered so that the terms of three trustees expire each year. In 2025, the three alumni trustee candidates that received the highest number of votes cast are:
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Kelley M. Lynch, chief financial officer at sovaSage. In her 25-year career, Lynch has served as CFO for small to midsize high-growth companies. She earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Penn State in 1987 and an MBA from Carnegie Mellon in 1994. She has served in numerous volunteer roles in her local communities and at the University, including president of the Penn State Alumni Association (PSAA). Lynch assumed a seat serving a two-year term on the Penn State Board of Trustees in July 2023 as the immediate past president of the PSAA.
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Uma Moriarity, senior investment strategist and the global environmental, social, and governance lead for CenterSquare Investment Management. She serves on Green Building United’s board of directors, frequently appears on international media outlets and was named a 2024 Woman of Influence by GlobeSt. Moriarity graduated from Penn State in 2014 with bachelor’s degrees in accounting and finance and a master’s degree in accounting. She is a Smeal Sustainability Advisory Board member and was presented with the Scholar Alumni Society’s Outstanding GOLD Scholar Alumni Award in 2023.
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J. Gregory Pilewicz, owner and president of SingleSource Management. Over the course of his career, Pilewicz has built and managed small startups and led Fortune 500 acquisitions. He earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from Penn State in 1985.
Alumni ballot votes
The total distribution of the votes cast in the alumni election is listed below, in descending order by the total number of votes that each candidate received. Each candidate’s ballot position number is listed in parentheses after their name, followed by the total number of votes received.
- Kelley M. Lynch (11) - 4,942
- J. Gregory Pilewicz (16) - 4,816
- Uma Moriarity (17) - 3,396
- Steven B. Wagman (12) - 3,317
- Dr. Joseph S. DeRenzo (8) - 3,274
- Katherine Wheatle (14) - 3,233
- Karen Keller (5) - 2,978
- Daniel A. Zahn (9) - 2,609
- Laurie Anne Stanell (4) - 2,472
- David L. Morgan (15) - 2,325
- Pat Romano Jr. (3) - 2,286
- Jeffrey P. Ballou (7) - 2,100
- Trevor S. Hale (2) - 1,844
- Jordan Mott (13) - 1,780
- Robert J. Bowsher (6) - 1,153
- Jolie A. Elder (1) - 1,021
- Dale D. Predmore (10) - 680
Write-In Ballots – 2,048
Individuals with 250 or more votes are listed below:
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Barry J. Fenchak – 1,304
Total Eligible Voters - 743,852
Total Ballots Cast - 17,720 (15 mail-in)
On each ballot, voters could select up to three candidates
Penn State’s 38-member Board of Trustees is composed of six members appointed by the governor, nine members elected by alumni, six members elected by agricultural societies, six members elected by the board representing business and industry endeavors, one student trustee, one academic trustee, three at-large trustees, and the immediate past president of the Penn State Alumni Association. In addition, five members are ex-officio by right of their office, including Gov. Josh Shapiro (non-voting), Penn State President Neeli Bendapudi (non-voting), Secretary of Agriculture Russell C. Redding, Acting Secretary of Education Carrie Rowe and Secretary of Conservation and Natural Resources Cindy Adams Dunn.
For more information on the Penn State Board of Trustees, visit trustees.psu.edu.