Three leaders with diverse backgrounds and a broad range of expertise in healthcare, technology, and business operations have joined Pace University’s Board of Trustees, the University today announced.

The new trustees are: Marki Flannery, former president and chief executive officer of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York; Christopher Roker MBA ’07, CEO and chief growth officer of NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln; and Hemant Khemka, managing director at Stesalit Group, a global technology and manufacturing group based in India.

Mark Besca, chair of Pace's Board of Trustees, said each new trustee brings a wealth of experience, professionalism, and energy — and all three are committed to Pace’s mission of Opportunitas, or creating opportunities for its diverse student body.

“Marki, Chris, and Hemant understand that a Pace education opens doors for our students and creates opportunities for them over the course of a career and a lifetime,” said Besca. “We welcome their broad range of experiences, and we are excited that their input and vision will help guide Pace students for generations to come.”

Flannery and Khemka, whose son is in the Pace Class of 2022, were elected to the board in March. Roker, an alumnus, was elected to the board in May.

The new trustees are joining the board at an exciting juncture at Pace University. Pace is in the midst of launching a new website and branding campaign; adding 12 new online graduate programs that align with growing market demands; remaining hyper-focused on experiential learning, career readiness, diversity and inclusion, and providing a strong return on investment to its students while investing significantly in its nationally acclaimed programs such as its School of Performing Arts, College of Health Professions, Seidenberg School of Computer Information Systems, and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law, which this year was ranked as the No. 1 environmental law program in the country.

Furthermore, Pace is transforming Lienhard Hall, home to its College of Health Professions on the Pleasantville campus, into a modernized Healthcare Hub that will add important programming for students preparing for careers in the region’s burgeoning healthcare and biotechnology sector.

Marki Flannery served as president and chief executive officer of the Visiting Nurse Service of New York (VNSNY). In this position, she oversaw the largest not-for-profit home- and community-based health care organization in the United States. With annual revenues of approximately $2.3 billion and over 10,000 employees, VNSNY serves the five boroughs of New York City, Nassau, Suffolk, and Westchester Counties, and parts of upstate New York. VNSNY typically has over 44,000 patients and members in its care, and offers a comprehensive array of programs and health plans designed to meet the diverse health care needs of their patients and members. Although she retired earlier this year, Flannery serves as an executive consultant to VNSNY’s CEO. She earned her bachelor’s and master’s degrees from New York University. Flannery is married, has two adult sons, and lives in Palisades, NY.

“I’ve always been so impressed by the students, graduates, staff and organization as a whole,” Flannery said. “I’m really excited to be joining the board and to make a meaningful contribution to Pace University.”

Hemant Khemka is the managing director at Stesalit Group, a global technology and manufacturing group based in India that focuses on making electronic and sensor based products in the areas of transportation and automation, AI solutions for Imagery Analytics and Dashboards for Internet of Things (IOT). Stesalit group includes companies such as Stesalit Systems, Stesalit Infotech and Stesalit Automation etc. As managing director, Khemka is responsible for strategic planning, product development, and marketing. In the future, the company expects to expand into more sensor-based products and solutions with a large focus on the internet of things – IOT. He previously worked for Credit Suisse in lower Manhattan, and holds a BBA from Adelphi University. He is a founding member of the Kolkata Chapter of the Entrepreneurs Organization and an active member of the Young Presidents’ Organization. He lives in Kolkata, India, with his wife. They have two children, including a son who is studying Computer Science at Pace University.

“I’m really excited to join Pace University’s Board of Trustees,” said Khemka. “I hope to help and contribute to the University’s overall vision and strategic direction. There is a lot we can do to position Pace as a global brand. We are positioned so beautifully in a location that is the envy of the world.”

Christopher Roker serves as CEO, NYC Health + Hospitals/Lincoln and as the health system’s Chief Growth Officer. He previously served as NYC Health + Hospitals/Queens and Metropolitan CEO. Under Roker’s leadership, the hospital has achieved an increase in patient satisfaction scores, inpatient discharges, outpatient volume, and operating room (OR) volume. He has also been credited for strengthening collaborations with physician, labor, and community partners. Prior to NYC Health + Hospitals, Roker held leadership positions at The MetroHealth System in Ohio, St. Barnabas Hospital in the Bronx, Beth Israel Medical Center in Manhattan, and The Parkway Hospital Queens. He holds a Bachelor of Arts from The State University of New York (SUNY) at Oswego, an MBA from Pace University, and a Certificate in Healthcare Leadership Advancement from Cornell University. He lives in Scarsdale, N.Y., with his wife, and they have a son.

“I know first-hand the power of education and the importance of Pace University’s mission of Opportunitas,” said Roker. “I’m excited to join the Board of Trustees and help make a significant contribution to the students we serve.”

About Pace University

Pace University has a proud history of preparing its diverse student body for a lifetime of professional success as a result of its unique program that combines rigorous academics and real-world experiences. Pace is ranked the #1 private, four-year college in the nation for upward economic mobility by Harvard University’s Opportunity Insights, evidence of the transformative education the University provides. From its beginnings as an accounting school in 1906, Pace has grown to three campuses, enrolling 13,000 students in bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral programs in more than 150 majors and programs, across a range of disciplines: arts, sciences, business, health care, technology, law, education, and more. The university also has one of the most competitive performing arts programs in the country. Pace has a signature, newly renovated campus in New York City, located in the heart of vibrant Lower Manhattan, next to Wall Street and City Hall, and two campuses in Westchester County, New York: a 200-acre picturesque Pleasantville Campus and the Elisabeth Haub School of Law in White Plains.

Programmers won’t look like they used to. Not if⁠ Professor Pauline Mosley has her way. She’s opening the⁠ door to computer science for women and minority⁠ communities and teaching her students how to use⁠ their tech skills for the greater good. Her efforts⁠ extend from high school students in the GenCyber⁠ program she runs to advocacy and mentorship for⁠ women in tech.

Sukh Singh ’21 brings an incredible amount of perspective to his chosen profession of teaching. He came to the US from India when he was a child. “The first time I saw snow was when I was six years old,” he told us. That journey would eventually lead him to Pace, where he knew early on that he would be attending the Pleasantville Campus. “I wanted to teach in New York, [and] Pace offered great opportunities for success.”

From there, it seemed only natural that he would gravitate toward the English and adolescent education major. As an English language learner (ELL) himself, Singh told us he was “inspired by almost all my English teachers I’ve ever had. I want to provide students with skills for leadership and advocacy with the use of the proper effective language. I think this can empower them to make a change for their betterment.”

Singh may spend a lot of time in the classroom prepping to one day graduate, but he’s anything but stuck within four walls. He has a strong background in customer service across a variety of industries, and he’s also a Marine Corps veteran—both of which have aided in his personal and professional life. “I think my diverse background in a multitude of areas gives me an edge as a future educator,” Singh said. “The countless leadership [skills] I have been trained for in the military set me apart and allow my discipline to effectively influence my students to become leaders themselves.”

He’s been head counselor at the YMCA, worked as a customer service associate for Investors Bank, and participated in student teaching opportunities through the School of Education. For all his many talents, Singh makes time to lend his skills—and passion—to the Student Veterans Association as its vice president. He volunteers his time in order to help other military service members at Pace who follow in his footsteps. “My motivation comes from my own identity as a Marine Veteran,” Singh explained. “I am passionate about supporting my military service members. This will [also] help me as a professional because I will be trained to support, serve, and advocate for those who need it.”

Not only that, but he’s also an active member of Alpha Phi Delta, whose philanthropic efforts lend much-needed support for veterans experiencing homelessness through the Operation Home Front. “I think I am a natural leader and my core ideals of serving people will help me become an educator who stresses advocacy and service,” Singh said. “I’ve had a few inspiring English teachers who left a lasting impression on me and other peers.”

He left us with a quote from Mahatma Gandhi, one that he has lived by: “Be the change that you want to see in the world.” Singh is most certainly effecting change wherever he goes, and we know he will make an incredible future educator.

Sirens from a city street, the laughter of children, a text message notification. Sound combines in many forms, is ubiquitous, and informs our experience of life.

What if an opportunity, however, existed to behold an entire day, from dawn to dusk, in complete silence? Or, on a larger scale, from birth to death?

Associate Professor of Media, Communications, and Visual Arts Allen Oren, a faculty member in the Department of Media, Communications, and Visual Arts since 1985, has brought that unique experience to the screen.

Oren highlights the beauty of quiet and “meaningful silences” in our world in his latest documentary, “A Day in the Life of Silence,” which premiered in New York City on March 9 on WNYE and will continue to be shown on public television nationally throughout the spring and summer." The film guides viewers around the globe with beautiful images and quotes related to the importance of silence, and, appropriately, it consists of little to no audio.

This is quite a new approach for Oren, an Emmy award-winning producer whose professional background in journalism found him in mostly vociferous roles, in front of the camera or narrating. When video shutters are closed and lights are off, however, he returns to the state he also enjoys - silence.

Although Oren does not consider himself an introvert, he has always had a personal connection with quietude. After college, he spent a year within the whispers of libraries as he read his way through history, and among his first journalism pieces, he visited a silent monastery for a week, and also profiled the peacefulness of a cemetery keeper. Throughout the film, Oren displays these destinations, alongside many others, as “silent friends” from his life.

A major aspect of his experience creating this documentary included learning how fellow humans from around the world experienced silence during the coronavirus pandemic and related quarantine. Some may have been distressed by the forced stillness; others restored. By viewing this film, we are given a lens to understanding how meaningful silence truly is to Oren, as well as reflect on its meaning and place in our own lives.

He said, “When we’re finally gone, we all share a certain kind of silence. But while we’re here, we’re partly defined by the silences we prefer.” As a filmmaker, Oren has received many Emmy nominations, including two for his first faith-based film, “18 Voices Sing Kol Nidre" (2011), about Judaism’s sacred prayer. It aired on public television, as did another film, “The Four Sons and All Their Sons: A Passover Tale,” about a story told at the Passover Seder.

Oren plans to continue to produce films and speaks of an “ideas file” at home that he dives into quite often. Independent projects, however, tend to take a bit of time, and his work on “A Day in the Life of Silence” has only highlighted the importance of stillness in the creative process.

“I’ll savor this one in the meantime,” he said.

View a clip of the film.

Her maturity, her focus, and her determination to succeed was what originally made Maral Javadifar ’12 stand out to the Pace University Athletics Department.

Javadifar, still in high school and just a prospective student-athlete for the Pace Women’s Basketball team, was recovering from what could have been a career-ending torn ACL when she was recruited by Coach Carrie Seymour and Assistant Coach Patrina Blow. Amid her own concerns that she wouldn’t be able to play basketball at the collegiate level, Javadifar said Seymour and Blow believed in her and gave her the opportunity to earn an education and play the sport that she fell in love with as a little girl.

“I developed leadership skills that I have taken with me into the adult world,” says Javadifar. “Playing basket­ball for Pace University was a stepping stone for me to follow my dreams.”

Thinking back on Javadifar’s start at Pace, Seymour recounts, “Our confidence in her ability to compete at a collegiate level never changed in the slightest. Her dedication to her physical therapy and training was off the charts—she was ready to get back on the court and compete her freshman season.”

And that’s exactly what she did. Javadifar carved a place for herself as a forward on Pace’s team, even going on to compete in the NCAA tournament three times during her collegiate career. All the while committing to the field of sports medicine, an interest and passion fueled by her own injury and subsequent recovery.

After graduation, Javadifar went on to earn a doctor­ate in physical therapy from New York Medical College.

I take pride in being part of such an important movement happening in sports. It is a shift long overdue and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to embark on this path alongside many other talented female coaches.

Fast forward to the spring of 2019 when Bruce Arians, the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, announced the addition of Maral Javadifar as assistant strength and conditioning coach and Lori Locust as assistant defensive line coach. Javadifar and Locust were officially the first full-time female coaches in franchise history, making the Buccaneers the first NFL team with two female coaches on staff.

“I know how hard it can be to get that first opportu­nity to coach at the highest level of professional football,” said Buccaneers Head Coach Bruce Arians. “Sometimes, all you need is the right organization to offer up the opportunity. The Glazer family and our general manager, Jason Licht, were extremely supportive of my decision, and I know Maral and Lori will be great additions to my coaching staff.”

Drawing inspiration from her mother who fled her war-torn home of Iran after the revolution restricted women’s rights, Javadifar is deter­mined to break down barriers and make a name for herself in a male-dominated industry.

“I take pride in being part of such an important movement happening in sports,” says Javadifar. “It is a shift long overdue and I’m thrilled to have the opportunity to embark on this path alongside many other talented female coaches.”

“She’s going to open doors for other women in the field,” asserts Seymour.

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For Javadifar’s new colleagues, the Bucs players and other coaching staff, there was an immediate trust and reliance on her expertise. Her back­ground, personal experiences, and knowledgeability have already established her as a go-to staffer.

“Her wealth of experience and knowledge of the hu­man body—guys found out quickly that she was someone to go to,” said Bucs’ tight end Cameron Brate in a recent interview with ESPN. “Every morning before meetings and after every practice, there’s a line of five or six guys waiting to have her work on them.”

For Javadifar, there is strength in the diversity of thought and experience that a diverse workforce can bring to an organization. For her, strategy is about the ability to analyze and understand information—it’s about how good of a teacher you are.

“Coaches, of all sexes, offer diversity as everyone comes from a different point of view,” she says. “It has nothing to do with your anatomy. It has only to do with your mind.”

Urging teams to consciously seek out and recruit women candidates for coaching positions, Javadifar be­lieves there are numerous equally talented women ready for the coaching ranks, but they need the opportunity to showcase their abilities on that stage. Other sports, she says, should first recognize and acknowledge the lack of diversity in their field, and then create initiatives and programs that can address the inequity there.

“There may not be as many women with the same resume as their male counterparts, but that is because of the lack of access to those jobs and opportunities throughout their careers,” she says.

And as for the next generation of up-and-coming athletes and coaches? “The advice I would give to all kids, not just girls, is to take risks and work hard. The sacrifice is worth it.”