Dean's Advisory Council

Photo of DAC members in May 2024

The Dean's Advisory Council is comprised of accomplished alumni and friends from industry, government, and academia who are dedicated to excellence in engineering education, research and innovation and share a commitment to building strategic academic-industry partnerships. Its members serve as ambassadors for UMass Engineering and provide invaluable insight, contacts, and support to help the Dean set priorities and garner the necessary resources to move the College forward. The council meets biannually, in the spring and fall.

Current Members

Kokui Adesokan ’09 ChE

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Chief of Staff to VP, Operations & Engineering Applications, RTX
Years of service: 2020–

Kokui Adesokan

Rena Bizios ’68 ChE

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Lutcher Brown Endowed Distinguished University Chair Professor; Dept of Biomedical Engineering; University of Texas at San Antonio. Years of service: 2020–

Rena Bizios

Ellen Ferraro '89, '94 PhD ECE

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Vice President of Engineering, Land and Air Defense Systems at Raytheon. Years of service: 2026–

Ellen Ferraro

Ileen S. Gladstone '83 MS

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Senior Vice President, GEI Consultants, Inc., Years of service: 2026-

Ileen S. Gladstone

Adam Miller ’93 CEE

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Owner, Summit Design + Build, LLC
Years of service: 2020–

Adam Miller

Meghna Misra '04 MS EE

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Head of Product, Claritas RX, Years of service: 2026-

Meghna Misra

Edward Oppedisano ’86 IE

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Founder, Chief Investment Officer, Oppedisano & Company LLC, Years of service: 2026-

Edward Oppedisano

Ivette Perez-Franco ’91 IEOR

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

VP, Human Resources — Finance, Global Services & EMEA Enterprise Functions, Johnson & Johnson
Years of service: 2022–

Ivette Perez-Franco

Edward Price ’90 ChE

Member of Dean's Advisory Council

Principal, Life Science API Manufacturing Consulting
Years of service: 2020–

Edward Price

Emeritus Members

Alaina Adams '05MS, '08PhD MIE
Sr. Product Manager, Sustainability, Google
Years of service: 2022–2026

John Armstrong ’03 Hon
Vice President for Science and Technology (retired), IBM
Years of Service: 2018–2023

Julie DelVecchio Savage ’79, ’85MS, ’90PhD IE/OR
Director, National Security Engineering Center, The MITRE Corporation
Years of Service: 2018–2022

Stephen Gordon ’89MS ECE
Founder and CTO of Walnut Home. Advisor at Metalenz
Years of service: 2018–2025

Robert Gorman ’63 ME
Co-founder & CEO (retired), Applied Physical Sciences, Inc.
Years of service: 2018–2021

Gillian Gregory ’82MS, ’86PhD CEE 
Vice President, GEI Consultants, Inc.
Years of service: 2018–2025

Divi Gupta ’00, ’06MS ECE 
Principal Entrepreneur in Residence Special Projects, Amazon
Years of service: 2020–2025

Marshall Jones ’72MS, ’74PhD ME
Principal Engineer (retired)
GE Global Research 
Years of service: 2018– 2024

Barun Kar ’95PhD ECE
Senior Vice President of Engineering, Palo Alto Networks
Years of service: 2018–2022

Kelly Kennedy ’15 ECE
Specialist, Aftermarket Strategy and Analytics, Collins Aerospace
Years of service: 2018–2021

Raymond Laplante ’87 ChE
Dir. of Polyolefin Technology, Westlake Chemical Corp.
Years of service: 2018–2024

Renee Harbers Liddell ’85 IE
Founder and CEO, Harbers Family Foundation 
Years of service: 2018– 2024

Kenneth Lloyd ’73 MIE
Vice President of Manufacturing (retired), Electro Switch Business Trust
Years of service: 2018–2025

Jonathan Roskill ’85 EE
Senior Advisor, EQT Partners
Years of service: 2018– 2024

Edwin (Ned) Thomas ’69 ME
Erle Nye ’59 Chair II & Hagler Institute Fellow,
College of Engineering, Texas A&M University 
Years of service: 2018– 2024