POTSDAM -- The Potsdam College Foundation recently welcomed four new members to the Board of Trustees.

The accomplished new trustees include three alumni and one professor emeritus. The board approved the addition of James Berriman '80, Anthony B. Brennan '75, William Kirchgasser and Sean Leous '86 at its last meeting.

The new trustees will work alongside the other board members to steward scholarship support and giving to SUNY Potsdam, including overseeing the College's Take the Lead Campaign.

"The Potsdam College Foundation will strongly benefit from the depth of expertise, years of experience and strong sense of dedication that our new trustees all bring to the board," Foundation Executive Director Vicki Templeton-Cornell said. "We are fortunate to work with Jim, Tony, Bill and Sean."

The new trustees included:

James Berriman '80: After earning his bachelor's degree in philosophy from SUNY Potsdam, Berriman went on to earn his law degree from Boston University, where he also studied computer science. He went on to the O'Connor & Gacioch law practice in Binghamton, where he developed the first litigation support database system, on behalf of a Fortune 100 client involved in a nationwide series of lawsuits, and also developed an integrated timekeeping, billing and accounting system for the firm. In 1990, he moved to Goodwin Procter LLP in Boston, Mass., where he founded the firm's litigation technology group and eventually became senior counsel and director of litigation technology. Berriman designated, coded and implemented the firm's litigation case management system, and led the firm's team of 15 specialists to use cutting-edge technology to increase efficiency and lower the cost of litigation for clients.In 2006, Berriman co-founded the Evidox Corporation, where he serves as CEO. The firm specializes in electronic discovery, evidence collection and preservation, the hosting of documents for online review, electronic trials and litigation technology consulting. He has provided electronic trial services and evidence presentations in a number of prominent cases nationwide.

Anthony B. Brennan '75: Brennan earned his bachelor's degree in chemistry at SUNY Potsdam before going on to pursue his master's at the Rochester Institute of Technology and his doctorate in materials engineering from Virginia Tech. Now, he leads a team of research scientists at the University of Florida, where he is the Margaret A. Ross Endowed Professor of Materials Science and Engineering. He has authored or co-authored more than 150 publications, and has filed 27 invention disclosures and 12 patents along with his team. As the founder of Sharklet Technologies Inc., Brennan works to expand the use of one of his inventions, Sharklet, a material that mimics the consistency of shark skin to protect humans from bacteria without requiring the use of antibacterial chemicals or drugs. First developed for the Office of Naval Research, Sharklet also has life-saving applications in preventing infections in hospitals and other environments. In recognition of his work, Brennan has been awarded a Johnson and Johnson Fellowship, a Dow-Corning Internship and a DuPont Young Faculty Award. SUNY Potsdam recognized him with an honorary doctorate at the College's Commencement in May 2012. He is a member of the President's Club, and has returned to his alma mater as the Distinguished Alumni Speaker and as the keynote speaker at the CSTEP dinner.

William Kirchgasser: Kirchgasser holds a bachelor's degree from Union College, and a master's degree and doctorate from Cornell University. He was also a Fulbright-Hay postdoctoral fellow at the University of Hull in Yorkshire, England. Kirchgasser joined the SUNY Potsdam faculty in 1969, going on to serve as the chair of the Department of Geology from 1985 to 2000, before retiring in 2004. His research interests include Devonian stratigraphy and paleontology. He is the co-editor of "Devonian Events and Correlations," a volume of papers honoring the late Professor M.R. House of Dorset of England, a world authority on the Devonian. As a professor emeritus, Kirchgasser donated his extensive collection of fossils from around the world, which he gathered throughout his 40-year teaching career, to the College. The W.T. Kirchgasser Fossils Collection consists of several hundred invertebrate fossils, and parts are displayed on a rotating basis in the geology museum located in Timerman Hall.

Sean Leous '86: Leous graduated from SUNY Potsdam in 1986 with his bachelor's degree in art history and French. An award-winning media strategist specializing in corporate communications and media relations, Leous has worked with leading organizations, including Accenture, GlaxoSmithKline, Intel, Pfizer, Microsoft and Bank of America. Leous currently works as a healthcare communications consultant for Kyne Communications and Burson-Marsteller in New York City. Previously, he served as director at Burson-Marsteller, where he developed strategic media plans for financial, life sciences, non-profit and technology clients. Prior to joining Burson in 2011, he served at Hill+Knowlton Strategies. There, he led the Deloitte media team and served as the personal publicist to the executive director of Deloitte's Center for Health Solutions. His team won PR Week's 2009 and 2012 Healthcare Campaign of the Year awards, and was nominated for the best Overall PR Campaign of 2009. Leous has also served as a media consultant for issues management and crisis communications, including providing global strategy for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation's United Against Malaria campaign. Prior to his time at H+K, Leous had leadership roles at both Rooney & Associates and Financial Dynamics.