AVCBoard

A big thank-you to Mike Chapman '76, Herb Philpott '85, and Sam Reckford '83 for their years of service to Sigma Phi Epsilon NH Alpha. We appreciate all that time and effort they have put into guiding the chapter, building relations with alumni, and recruiting alums to help serve. We have some big shoes to fill going forward.

At our annual meeting held via teleconference on December 19, 2018, the Sigma Phi Epsilon New Hampshire Alpha AVC Board of Trustees elected Keith Jacobsen ’97, Isaiah Berg ‘11, and Kevin Gilles ’76 as new members to the board. Jim Shields '88 was elected in May of 2019 to fill the spot of Dan Windauer '10 who stepped down due to work commitments.

Richard Crocker volunteers with the chapter

The Reverend Dr. Richard Crocker is returning to service to the fraternity after a brief retirement in 2014. Besides being Dartmouth’s Chaplain emeritus, he is formerly the Dean of the Tucker Foundation. A graduate of Brown University, with an AB and MA in English and American literature. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and holds the M.Div. and Ph.D, degrees from Vanderbilt University. Dean Crocker is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is a licensed pastoral psychotherapist. He is interested in the intersection of psychology and religion, as well as the interaction of religion and politics. Re-engaging with the chapter, Richard will make conversations with future members a top priority and is looking forward to helping the chapter reach its full potential.

2018-2019 SigEp NH Alpha AVC Board of Trustees Profiles

JD Optekar, D'91, Th'92, AVC President, served as Social Chair and unofficial Historian as a NH Alpha. After completing his BE at the Thayer School of Engineering in 1992, JD spent his first year working for a civil engineering firm. After a year of working in the wastewater/water treatment field, JD then switched over to the software world working in product management for small software companies. He served as a VP for Enabling Technology; President of RTSE's US company; and as a Product Manager for Virtual Systems. JD stepped down from the work force in 2004 with the arrival of their first child while his wife, Dr. Tina Yen D'91, continues to serve as the primary breadwinner in the family. JD spends his time raising his 3 kids, coaching, volunteering in the PTO, and playing/recording/managing his band Tweed Funk. JD's musical career has been featured in both the Dartmouth Alumni Magazine (March 2014) and Dartmouth Engineering Magazine (Summer 2016). During the past 4 years, JD has served as an Advisory Board Member to the Friends of Dartmouth Track & Field/XC and is involved in the Dartmouth Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin where his family has resided since 2004.

Jason DiMarino ’97, Vice President, joined the Board in October 2014, and is a first generation SigEp becoming a member in 1994. Shortly after joining, he served as Secretary and later served as Sigma Educator and House Manager. In addition, he was Rush Chair and President of the Inter-fraternity Council. He practices corporate law with the Albany, New York firm of Whiteman Osterman & Hanna LLP where he began his legal career after receiving a JD from the University of Virginia School of Law. He is a current member of the finance committee at Holy Trinity Parish and formerly served on the Board of Directors of Historic Albany Foundation. Jason lives Latham, New York with his wife, Riele Morgiewicz, and their children, John and Natalia.

Keith Jacobsen D’97 Th ’98, VP Housing, previously served on the AVC for several years as its President as well as House Manager and Chaplain when he was an undergraduate. After completing his Engineering undergraduate and Thayer MEM degrees, Keith joined E Ink in 2002 and currently serves as Director of Supply Chain Engineering. He is married to Kristina Jacobsen and has sons Andrew and Matthew. Keith is an avid skier who enjoys coaching youth soccer and serves as Eucharistic Minister at the Blessed Sacrament Church in Walpole, Massachusetts.

Isaiah Berg ‘11, VP Finance, grew up on a third-generation family farm and ranch in rural North Dakota. While at Dartmouth, he served as President of Sigma Phi Epsilon and the Cycling Team, graduating with a major in Geography and minor in Economics. He traveled to South America as a Tucker Fellow and to Europe while attending the Geography Foreign Study Program in Prague. Following graduation, Isaiah and his two brothers rode their bicycles from Alaska to Argentina on behalf of Habitat for Humanity as part of a project called Bound South. He then served for six years in the United States Marine Corps as an infantry officer and now attends business school at Wharton. He and his wife Shanel Balloo plan on settling in New York following graduation. His interests include bicycles, agriculture, technology, finance, new urbanism, and reading.

Peter Hasenkamp '98 Th ‘99, Secretary, served as chapter President while a SigEp at Dartmouth and graduated with BE and MEM degrees. He spent ten years at Ford Motor Company working in Engineering & Program Management roles in both Detroit and overseas in Istanbul, Turkey. When an opportunity arose to join Tesla in 2009 as the company was starting work on its Model S program, he jumped at the chance to return to his native California and help shift the automotive industry towards a more sustainable energy source. Peter led the creation of the Supply Chain team at Tesla and contributed to launching Model S in a record three-year timeframe. In 2015, Peter took on a new challenge to do this all over again at Lucid Motors, another Electric Vehicle company in the San Francisco Bay Area. He resides in San Mateo, CA with his wife Allison and two sons, Evan and Tyce.

Sean Anthony ’06, At-Large, hails from Canandaigua, NY, and served twice as Chaplain and Scholarship Chair while in the NH Alpha (Dartmouth) chapter. Sean was selected for SigEp's Tragos Quest to Greece and played varsity lacrosse all four years while at Dartmouth. After graduation Sean went to work for SigEp's Headquarters staff, spending his first year as a Regional Director in the Pacific Northwest and an additional two and half years in Richmond, VA, as SigEp's Director of Chapter Services and Sr. Director of Chapter Services. Sean left SigEp in 2010 for Columbus, Ohio working as a Corporate Recruiter for Abercrombie & Fitch before becoming Director of Sales Operations at Kforce, a national provider of technology resource solutions for Fortune 500 and premier companies. Sean serves on the board of the Dartmouth Club of Central Ohio, and as the Recruitment Mentor for the SigEp chapter at The Ohio State University. Sean married his SigEp sweetheart Kaitlin Anthony in 2014.

Michael Kimmel '94, At-Large, joined NH Alpha in 1991. Over the next several years, he worked with his contemporaries to improve relations with the National Fraternity, regain college recognition, and become the first chapter to successfully implement the Balanced Man Program. He served as House Manager and VP of Finance and then as a Regional Director following graduation. Michael also served as Resident Scholar for SigEp chapters at Maryland and Duke University. Michael leads the Corporate Legal Services team at Vanguard, one of the world's largest asset managers. He has direct oversight responsibility for multiple legal practice areas, including Corporate, Finance, Litigation, Intellectual Property, and Tax. Michael also serves as Assistant Secretary of Vanguard and Vanguard's domestic subsidiaries. Michael received his law degree from Duke University School of Law and resides in Wayne, PA with his wife and two daughters. He serves on the Board of Directors of ICI Mutual Insurance Company and the Board of Trustees of Devon Preparatory School.

Kevin Gillis, ’76, At-Large, grew up in Portland, Maine. At Dartmouth, he completed a double major in Government and Economics, and graduated Magna Cum Laude. In addition to Sig Ep, his activities at Dartmouth included some sportscasting at WDCR and involvement in student government. After Dartmouth, he went on to graduate Cum Laude in 1979 from Cornell Law School and returned to Portland, where he practiced law for 36 years, specializing in employment-related litigation. In 2016, he became President of The Lunder Foundation, a family foundation with offices in Portland, Maine, which focuses on supporting higher education, healthcare, and art and art education. Kevin has a son (Dartmouth ’12) and daughter and resides in Kennebunk, Maine with his partner, Susan McDevitt.

Jim Shields, ’88, At Large, was social chair while at NH Alpha and majored in History with a minor in Education. He worked in the admissions office after college as an Assistant Director of Admissions until meeting his wife and moving back to CA. Once situated, he and his wife opened two women’s only health clubs in the Sacramento area, which they ran for 5 years. After selling the business, Jim moved into healthcare, starting with pharmaceutical sales and moving into the Long-Term Care segment (Seniors) which he has been a part of for the past 20 years. He currently works for SmartLinx Solutions and provides workforce solutions to long term care facilities across the western US. He is married to his wife, Beth, for 26 years and they have two kids and three grandkids.

Reverend Dr. Richard Crocker, Chapter Advisor, Dean Richard Crocker is returning to service to the fraternity after a brief retirement in 2014. Besides being Dartmouth’s Chaplain emeritus, he is formerly the Dean of the Tucker Foundation. A graduate of Brown University, with an AB and MA in English and American literature. He was a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University, and holds the M.Div. and Ph.D, degrees from Vanderbilt University. Dean Crocker is an ordained minister in the Presbyterian Church (USA) and is a licensed pastoral psychotherapist. He is interested in the intersection of psychology and religion, as well as the interaction of religion and politics. Re-engaging with the chapter, Richard has made conversations with the members a top priority and is looking forward to helping the chapter reach its full potential.