A turning point in Pete Buttigieg’s public service career came with unrelenting rainfall while he was mayor of South Bend, Indiana. The city of roughly 100,000 experienced flooding that washed out roadways, damaged properties and endangered lives.

Buttigieg activated the city’s emergency operations center and hit the streets to assess the damage. At the urging of a councilmember, he knocked on the door of a woman who needed assistance.

Inside, he saw her family’s possessions floating in the flood water.

“And that was the moment that my mental image of climate change stopped being polar bears and ice shelves,” he said. “I think of political rhetoric around climate change. Not that I don’t care about what happens in the Arctic, but this was happening on the west side of South Bend, Indiana.”

Capacity Crowd at Syracuse

Buttigieg reflected on the flood’s aftermath during a conversation-style event in the National Veterans Resource Center at the Daniel and Gayle D’Aniello Building on Friday, Oct. 3. Part of the Pontarelli Speaker Series—named for its sponsors, alumnus and University Trustee Kenneth A. Pontarelli ’92 and his wife, Tracey—the talk was co-hosted by the and the .

Buttigieg shared the stage with , Pontarelli Professor of Environmental Sustainability and Finance and director of the Syracuse University . Their conversation encompassed environmental issues, leadership, American democracy and more.

In his opening remarks, Maxwell Dean said he was heartened to see so many students in the audience—all tickets for the event were claimed less than 20 minutes after it was announced. “These individuals are passionate about the issues we’re going to discuss today, and they are our future leaders,” said Van Slyke.

Before welcoming Buttigieg to the stage, Whitman’s interim dean, , shared some of his accomplishments. Buttigieg became mayor of South Bend in 2012 at age 29. He was elected for two terms and departed for a 2014 deployment to Afghanistan as a Naval reservist. In 2020, he sought the Democratic nomination for president, winning the Iowa caucuses. As U.S. secretary of transportation from 2021-25, Buttigieg implemented the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act which funded over 70,000 projects.

The Syracuse event occurred three days into a shutdown of the U.S. government. Golden’s first question presented an opportunity for a general assessment: “Where are we today as a nation?”

Facing Unprecedented Challenges

“I don’t think it’s an exaggeration to say that not since the Civil War has our country faced this level of challenges—certainly not since World War II,” replied Buttigieg. “And so much of it is actually happening not because of an external threat.”

Social media, with its misinformation and algorithms, has distorted perspectives and relationships, he said. At the same time, Buttigieg said, the U.S. is witnessing an unprecedented level of government assertion of control over not only its own branches but also entities that have long remained independent such as academia and even late-night television.

“That makes this an extremely challenging time, but also a particularly important time for universities, because universities exist for the purpose of finding the truth, for the purpose of fostering dialogue and healthy difference and for charting where we are supposed to go next in ways that maybe won’t fully resemble the status quo that we inherited,” said Buttigieg, who later said universities need to fiercely guard their independence.

Several of Golden’s questions focused on the environment. For instance, he wondered what the current administration is trying to accomplish by repealing and diminishing protections. Buttigieg shared his view that much of the transitions have served to benefit certain friends and allies.

“Part of the tragedy of this is there is a healthy conservative critique to be made of environmental policies that are either self-defeating or unreasonable,” added Buttigieg. “And I say that as a strong believer in environmental protection.”

Several students posed questions, some related to climate change and the recent downsizing and dismantling federal departments like USAID.

Donough Lawlor, who is pursuing a master of science in sustainable organizations and policy, asked Buttigieg to comment on the impact of doing away with USAID and the worldview of U.S. leadership.

While he expressed deep concern, Buttigieg pointed out that many entities were formed in the 1940s and 50s “based on the way the world was.”

“Sooner or later, it’s going to be somebody’s job to figure out what to put in there next,” he said. “And that’s actually a huge opportunity to set up development aid in a way that is more responsive to the needs of the people it’s supposed to serve.”

He added, “my main impulse is not despondency, even though it can be depressing to watch, but actually propulsion.”

Looking Forward, Not Back

In South Bend, he said, prior generations often reflected about the economic boomtime prior to the 1963 closure of a main employer, the Studebaker auto plant. His community had a breakthrough in part, he said, because his generation was the first that didn’t experience its automaking heyday. As mayor, he said, all he could consider is “what do we do next?”

A parting message seemed directed toward students.

“If you’re considering participating in civic processes, which I hope you will, don’t underestimate the moral authority that you carry as a young person saying, ‘This decision you’re about to make affects me,’” he said. “The longer you are planning to be here, the more you have at stake, and I think, the more you have to say.”

Syracuse University has announced the election of six new members to its Board of Trustees. All innovators in their fields, the new members bring diverse backgrounds and experiences as entrepreneurs, investors, executives and visionaries. The new members are Nomi Bergman, Brian D. Grossman, Stephen H. Hagerty ’91, G’93, Allegra F. Ivey G’99, Jeannine L. Lostritto ’90 and Kirthiga U. Reddy G’95,

“We are excited to welcome these new trustees, all of whom have a connection to the Orange community either though their personal experiences or through their families,” says Board Chair Jeff Scruggs. “They have each demonstrated extraordinary vision and expertise in their different fields of interest, and we look forward to their insights and service to our students and the continued growth of the University.”

“Our trustees express their dedication in so many different ways,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “They share their wisdom, their experiences and their generosity of time, talent and treasure in ensuring that we deliver on the promises we make to our students to prepare them for success. The newest trustees are joining a board that works collaboratively and effectively to strengthen our university.”

Nomi Bergman

Bergman is a senior executive at Advance and president of Advance/Newhouse Investment Partnership, a subsidiary of Advance. Throughout her career, she has been an executive, investor and advisor in the communications and emerging technology space with a focus on transforming the customer experience.

Bergman also recently served as interim CEO of 1010data, a technology platform provider of decision science, data management and data analytics that was owned by the Advance/Newhouse Investment Partnership and acquired by SymphonyAI. Previously, Bergman was president of Bright House Networks and helped lead the company to become the sixth-largest cable operator in the nation. She and her team provided corporate guidance, execution and oversight of technology, product and strategic partnerships across the company’s video, broadband, voice and wireless platforms.

Bergman currently serves on the board of directors for Advance’s growth investment HawkEye360. In addition, she is on the boards of Visteon and Black & Veatch, and was honored to serve as a Comcast board member. She is involved with several industry and nonprofit organizations; as a member of the FCC Technological Advisory Council, The Marconi Society, Adaptive Spirit and Bridging Voice.

She received the National Cable & Telecommunications Association’s Vanguard Award for Distinguished Leadership in 2008. In 2011, she was recognized with Women in Cable Telecommunications (WICT) highest honor, Woman of the Year.

Bergman earned a B.A. in economics and statistics from the University of Rochester in 1985. Growing up in Syracuse, her association with Syracuse University runs deep. Her father, Bob Miron ’59, is a Martin J. Whitman School of Management alumnus and a life trustee. Her husband, Neal, is a 1981 graduate of the Whitman School. Bergman herself has served on the College of Engineering and Computer Science (ECS) Dean’s Leadership Council and taught part-time as an adjunct professor. She is working to complete her own Syracuse degree, as she is enrolled in the Whitman School’s online MBA program.

Bergman lives in Fayetteville, New York, with her husband. They have three adult children, Becca (Hayworth), Dori and Allison.

Brian D. Grossman

Grossman is managing partner and chief investment officer for San Francisco-based PFM Health Sciences, a $1.6 billion health care focused investment advisor. The firm is one of the longest tenured public market life science investment funds, which focuses broadly across health sciences from small biotech firms to large global pharmaceutical, medical device and diagnostics companies. The firm also has a long history of investing in hospitals, health insurance and other businesses involved in providing medical services.

Grossman was a founding member of Partner Fund Management (PFM), which started operations in the fall of 2004. Prior to PFM, Grossman spent time as an investment analyst at Andor Capital (2001-2004) and Pequot Capital (2001) where he focused primarily on the biotech industry. He started his career in 1996 at J.P. Morgan Investment in the summer of 1996.

A graduate of economics from the University of Pennsylvania, Grossman grew up in Syracuse and has strong familial ties to Syracuse University. His grandfather Lionel O. Grossman L’1916; his father, Murray Grossman ’43, G’45 (College of Medicine); and his uncle Richard D. Grossman ’51, L’55 all attended the University as undergraduates, with his grandfather, uncle and sister Sarah going on to graduate from the College of Law. His father, Murray, provided medical services for many years to the athletics department, for which he was later recognized in 2016 with a Letterwinner of Distinction Award.

Grossman now lives in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife, Elizabeth, and three children: Brady, Zoe and Sylvie. He currently serves as co-chair of the University of California San Francisco (UCSF) Health Executive Council, which evaluates business strategies, operations and financial performance for UCSF Health. The Grossmans are active philanthropically in their community, supporting the S.F. Ballet, Planned Parenthood, The Boys & Girls Clubs of the Peninsula, Tipping Point and their children’s schools.

Stephen H. Hagerty ’91, G’93

Hagerty is a management consultant, entrepreneur and civic leader. He is the founder and president of Hagerty Consulting, one of the nation’s leading emergency management consulting firms that help governments, schools, hospitals, businesses and other large organizations prepare for, respond to and recover from disasters. Between 2017 and 2021, he served as the mayor of Evanston, Illinois, successfully leading the city through a global pandemic and social unrest. As a result of his leadership, Evanston had one of the lowest infection and fatality rates in the state and one of the highest vaccination rates. Soon after leaving office, Evanston was named an All-American City in 2021 by the National Civic League.

Hagerty has successfully helped manage the recovery efforts from major U.S. disasters, including 9/11, Hurricane Katrina and the California wildfires. Before starting his firm in 2001, Hagerty worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) for eight years building a disaster recovery practice.

Hagerty earned a B.S. degree from the College for Human Development (now the Falk College of Sport and Human Dynamics) in consumer studies and went on to earn an M.P.A. from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. He has served on the Maxwell Advisory Board since 2014.

Together with his wife, Lisa Altenbernd G’93, they established the  in 2022, the Stephen Hagerty and Lisa Altenbernd Faculty Fellow Fund in 2018 and the William D. Duncombe Faculty Research Endowment in 2014. Hagerty and Altenbernd reside in Evanston, Illinois, with their two children, Caroline, a junior at Washington University in St. Louis, and Garrett, a sophomore at Evanston Township High School.

Allegra F. Ivey G’99

Ivey is a managing director at BofA Securities Inc. She has served as a public finance investment banker in the municipal banking and markets division for 15 years, primarily covering large cities, such as New York, Atlanta, Houston, Detroit, Nashville, Memphis and New Orleans.

During her 25-year career, Ivey worked for PaineWebber Inc. (which became UBS Financial Services), J.P. Morgan and Bank of America Merrill Lynch. She has helped state and local governments nationwide finance over $40 billion in infrastructure projects, including airports, toll roads and water and sewer facilities, among others.

Ivey earned a master’s in public administration from the Maxwell School, where she has served on the advisory board since 2017. She inspired other Maxwell graduates when she delivered the keynote speech at the 2018 convocation.

Ivey came to Syracuse University after earning a bachelor’s degree in economics from Harvard University in 1997. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Matthew Brennan, and their four children, Tiernan (TJ), Ellison (Ellie), Kellan and Braden.

Jeannine L. Lostritto ’90

Lostritto parlayed her interest in architecture into her professional, personal and volunteer experiences, most recently in her engagement with the board of trustees of Friends Academy in Locust Valley, New York, an independent Quaker college-preparatory private school serving early childhood through 12th grade.

A former Friends Academy parent, Lostritto serves as a member of its board of trustees and on its Governance Committee, and helps oversee new building construction, maintenance of the campus and existing buildings as clerk of the Buildings and Grounds Committee.

With an undergraduate degree from the School of Architecture, she first took a job as an architectural consultant at Avis Rent-a-Car and on commercial architecture projects. From 1995 to 1998, Lostritto was employed in the civil engineering division at Sear-Brown—an architecture, engineering, planning and construction services firm—where she worked on large highway and expressway projects, such as the renovation of the Queens Midtown Tunnel, as well as drainage and landscape architecture projects.

She is currently a board member of her family’s real estate company, Steel Equities and is a member of the Board of Regents at NYU-Winthrop Hospital. Additionally, she and her husband, Glenn, actively support Syracuse University through contributions to such initiatives as the Barnes Center at The Arch and the General Supported Scholarship Fund. She is also a member of the School of Architecture Advisory Board.

Lostritto lives in Old Brookville New York, with her husband. They have three children, Domenica “Sunny” L’23, Glenn Jr. and Joseph.

Kirthiga U. Reddy G’95

Reddy is an entrepreneur and investor who has been at the helm of technology-driven transformations in innovative companies. She is CEO and co-founder of Virtualness, a mobile-first platform to help creators and brands navigate the complex world of Web3, and use the power of generative AI and blockchain. She is a founding investment partner of f7 Ventures, whose mission is “Bold Women Investing in Bold Ventures.” She is co-founder of Liftery, a social impact initiative focused on working mothers.

Previously, she was the first female investment partner at SoftBank Investment Advisers focused on frontier, enterprise and health tech investments. She was managing director for Facebook India and South Asia and then became managing global partner and emerging markets lead for global accounts in markets, including Mexico, Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Middle East. She has also held engineering and product executive roles at of Phoenix Technologies, Motorola and Silicon Graphics Inc.

Reddy earned a master’s degree in computer engineering from the College of Engineering and Computer Science and later earned an MBA from Stanford University. She served on the ECS Dean’s Leadership Council for several years and has established the Kirthiga Reddy Graduate Scholarship in ECS.

Reddy lives in Summerlin, Las Vegas, Nevada, with her husband, Dev G’94, who also attended the College of Engineering and Computer Science. They have two adult children, Ashna and Ariya.

Momentum continues to build around two of Syracuse Athletics’ most exciting and transformational projects—the JMA Wireless Dome and the John A. Lally Athletics Complex. Today, those projects received a significant boost from Syracuse University Trustee Edward “Ed” Pettinella G’76 and his family, whose philanthropic investments in the future of Syracuse University are further supported by his service to his alma mater, has made a new $3 million gift to support the John A. Lally Athletics Complex and the JMA Wireless Dome Transformation Project.

“We are grateful for the support and leadership of Ed and his family. Their commitment to the John A Lally Athletics Complex and the JMA Wireless Dome will enhance the experience for all of our student-athletes at Syracuse and our fans who attend events at the JMA Wireless Dome,” says Athletic Director John Wildhack. “Ed’s gift provides tremendous momentum to two projects that are critical components of our long term vision for Syracuse Athletics.”

This new commitment will support Phase 1 of the ongoing John A. Lally Athletics Complex project, which includes the construction of the One Team Olympic Sports Center and the Football Operations Center. These two facilities will combine to support all 600 student-athletes and include updated dining and nutrition spaces, locker rooms, and medical training and strength and conditioning facilties. Additionally, a portion of this commitment will support the JMA Wireless Dome Transformation Project and the construction of Miron Victory Court.

Pettinella has been an influential and impactful figure on Syracuse’s campus for years. He first arrived at Syracuse to pursue an MBA after graduating with a B.S. degree from SUNY Geneseo in 1973 and beginning his career at Community Savings Bank (CSB). After earning an MBA in 1976, he returned to CSB to blaze a trail as the bank’s first investment analyst. In the years following, he continued to build his impressive resume in banking as the president of Charter One Bank of NY and executive vice president of Charter One Financial Inc., as well as several management positions with Rochester Community Savings Bank, including chief operating officer, chief financial officer and chief investment officer. In 2001, Pettinella joined Home Properties, which owns, operates, develops, acquires and rehabilitates apartment communities in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. After initially serving as the executive vice president, he became president and chief executive officer and ran the company’s $7 billion real estate investment trust.

“Ed’s generosity is matched by his vision and informed by his business acumen,” says Chancellor Kent Syverud. “He invests his time and philanthropy in faculty and academic initiatives that enhance both research and teaching, and in projects that transform the total student experience, both inside and outside the classroom. We are a much stronger university because of Ed.”

Pettinella’s success as a businessman is rivaled only by his impact on the communities in which he lives and works. In addition to his service as a Syracuse University Trustee, Pettinella is a member of the Martin J. Whitman School of Management Advisory Council and the Kuhn Real Estate Center Advisory Board. He received Whitman’s Jonathan J. Holtz Alumnus of the Year Award in recognition of his career accomplishments and dedication to Syracuse University,. He was also named SU Dritz Trustee of the Year in 2016. His leadership philanthropy funded two professorships at Whitman and a scholarship for athletic graduate students. With the announcement of this new $3 million gift to support Syracuse Athletics, Pettinella and his family continue to lead the way in providing the resources Syracuse’s  faculty, coaches and students need to be successful. Their generosity also advances the Forever Orange Campaign, the comprehensive effort to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support for the University.

“As a proud Syracuse University alumnus, it’s an honor to support the John A. Lally Athletics Complex, the JMA Wireless Dome Transformation Project and the Miron Victory Court as these projects are very instrumental to the future of Syracuse Athletics,” says Pettinella. “The combination of superior academics and exceptional athletics provides the student body with an unrivaled collegiate experience. I look forward with enthusiastic anticipation to watching our future students and student-athletes gain tremendous life experiences from these outstanding projects.”

The John A. Lally Athletics Complex and the reflect the commitment by Syracuse University to provide the best possible experience to all student-athletes, coaches, alumni and fans by improving infrastructure and resources that support all of Syracuse’s athletic programs. When complete, the will be a state-of-the-art academic and athletic village featuring a new Football Operations Center, One Team Olympic Sport Center and new Academic Center to serve all 20 sports teams and 600-plus student-athletes. The to reimagine the stadium experience, includes installation of upgraded seating and new premium offerings throughout the historic venue.

About Syracuse University

Syracuse University is a private research university that advances knowledge across disciplines to drive breakthrough discoveries and breakout leadership. Our collection of 13 schools and colleges with over 200 customizable majors closes the gap between education and action, so students can take on the world. In and beyond the classroom, we connect people, perspectives and practices to solve interconnected challenges with interdisciplinary approaches. Together, we’re a powerful community that moves ideas, individuals and impact beyond what’s possible.

About the Legends Society

The Legends Society is an exclusive group of Syracuse fans, family and alumni who join in this shared vision and are actively supporting the John A. Lally Athletics Complex by making commitments to the capital campaign. Donors to the Legends Society enjoy unique stewardship opportunities in recognition of their support.

About the JMA Wireless Dome Transformation Project

aims to enhance the game day experience for all Syracuse fans, student-athletes, coaches, students and alumni. The second phase of the project, which was announced in December, includes the installation of upgraded chairback seating throughout a majority of the Dome and the introduction of new premium offerings, building upon earlier enhancements that included the installation of a new roof, the largest center-hung video scoreboard in college sports, air conditioning throughout the venue, lighting and sound enhancements, and an improved concessions experience.

About Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University

Orange isn’t just our color. It’s our promise to leave the world better than we found it. Forever Orange: The Campaign for Syracuse University is poised to do just that. Fueled by more than 150 years of fearless firsts, together we can enhance academic excellence, transform the student experience and expand unique opportunities for learning and growth. Forever Orange endeavors to raise $1.5 billion in philanthropic support, inspire 125,000 individual donors to participate in the campaign, and actively engage one in five alumni in the life of the University. Now is the time to show the world what Orange can do. Visit  to learn more.