Board of Trustees Members

Portrait of C. Deborah Phillips

C. Deborah Phillips is chair of the Board of Trustees. She is a founding partner of Nickless, Phillips and O’Connor, attorneys at law, in Fitchburg. A former member of the Board of Directors of the Fitchburg State University Foundation Inc., Phillips is a longtime supporter of the University. She is also a director at Fidelity Bank. She was appointed to the board in 2015.


Portrait of Lynn Tesconi Barrieau

Lynn Tesconi Barrieau is vice chair of the Board of Trustees. She is the assistant director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Project in Worcester. She received a graduate degree in counseling from Fitchburg State in 1991 and has been an adjunct faculty member at Mount Wachusett Community College since 2000. She was appointed to the University's Board of Trustees in September 2017.


Portrait of David C. Tiernan

David C. Tiernan is clerk of the Board of Trustees. He is Senior Vice President, National Practice Leader at TRC Solutions in Lowell. A 1983 alumnus of Fitchburg State, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees in October 2017.


Dr Michael Fiorentino Jr

Dr. Michael Fiorentino Jr. is the former president of Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, where he served for seven years following a long and distinguished career at Fitchburg State University. Fiorentino joined the Fitchburg State community as a faculty member in the Education Department in 1996, and was later named vice president and provost in 2004. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2021.


Trustee Jennifer L. Flanagan headshot 150 x 150

Jennifer L. Flanagan is director of policy for the law firm Vicente Sederberg, LLP and served for four years on the state's Cannabis Control Commission, to which she was appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker. Prior to that appointment she served in the state legislature for 12 years, including terms as state representative and state senator. She is a Fitchburg State graduate, having completed a master's degree in mental health counseling in 2004. She was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022.


Headshot of Trustee Eric Gregoire

Eric A. Gregoire is a senior budget analyst with the University of Massachusetts. A 2011 graduate of Fitchburg State, he was elected to serve as the alumni representative to the board and was formally installed in 2022.


Photo of Sheila King Goodwin, appointed to board of trustees in 2022

Sheila King-Goodwin is senior vice president and chief community banking officer for Fidelity Bank in Leominster. She has worked in retail banking for 30 years, managing traditional and in-store branches in urban and rural locations across Massachusetts. She was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022.


Trustee Karen Spinelli

Karen J. Spinelli is president, owner and managing partner of Spinelli CPA, PC, with offices in Worcester and Leominster and her firm is a certified woman owned business in Massachusetts. Spinelli completed and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at Fitchburg State in 1992. She grew up in Fitchburg and currently lives in Leominster with her husband Tom. She was appointed to the board in November 2020.


Portrait of Carolyn Crowley Stimpson

Carolyn Crowley Stimpson is co-owner and board member at Polar Beverages Company in Worcester, co-owner and vice president of Wachusett Mountain Ski Area and president of MTNside Ski and Ride in Princeton. She and her husband, John, live in Princeton. She was appointed to her second term on the board in January 2021.


Portrait of Allison Turner student trustee

Allison H. Turner is the student representative to the Board of Trustees. A member of the Class of 2024, she is studying political science with a minor in history. She was elected by the student body in Spring 2022.


Portrait of Richard S. Lapidus

Richard S. Lapidus, President, Ex officio