Meet the Presidential Search Advisory Committee
Select committee members below to learn about their career and professional accomplishments
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Select committee members below to learn about their career and professional accomplishments
Committee chair
Mr. Edward Morton
Committee chair; FGCU Board of Trustees vice chair
Naples resident Edward Morton was the principal of the investment firm Wasmer & Schroeder & Co. from 2007-20 and has served as a board member of Glencoe Diversified Holdings since 2021. He retired in 2006 after 34 years of service as the CEO of the NCH Healthcare System. In addition to his service on the FGCU Board of Trustees, Mr. Morton is a former member of the Florida Board of Governors for the State University System of Florida and a past chair of the FGCU Foundation Board of Directors. In 2016, he was appointed by the Board of Governors to serve on the Presidential Search Advisory Committee, which led to the hire of President Mike Martin. In 2009, he graduated from FGCU with a master’s degree in health science, adding to his other academic achievements from the University of Notre Dame and University of Miami.
Ms. Grace Brannigan
FGCU Board of Trustees; FGCU Student Government president
Grace Brannigan is FGCU’s 25th Student Government president and serves as the student representative for FGCU’s Board of Trustees. Originally from Orlando, Ms. Brannigan is pursuing a double major in history and political science with a minor in philosophy. The FGCU senior is a first-generation college student with ambitions of attending law school. Ms. Brannigan most recently served as president for the 24th Student Body Senate, previously serving as a senator for the College of Arts & Sciences. She was president (2022) and vice president (2021) of the Resident Housing Association. Ms. Brannigan is a member of the Eagle Chapter of the National Residence Hall Honorary and represents FGCU’s Honors College.
Mr. Joseph Catti
Director, chairman and CEO of FineMark National Bank & Trust and FineMark Holdings, Inc.
Joseph R. Catti is a graduate of Florida International University. He serves on the boards of The Canterbury School, Community Cooperative, Inc. (Soup Kitchen), Cypress Cove, FGCU Financing Corporation, FGCU Foundation, Lee Health Foundation and Lee Healthcare Resources. He is also the former chair of FGCU’s Foundation, a former member of the FGCU Board of Trustees and the former chair of the capital campaign for the Golisano Children’s Hospital of Southwest Florida.
Mr. Richard P. Eide, Jr.
FGCU Board of Trustees
Richard P. Eide, Jr. is in his fourth year on the FGCU Board of Trustees and represents the FGCU Financing Corporation as one of its board of directors. A Naples resident who summers in Michigan, Mr. Eide is a graduate of Williams College and served in the U.S. Marine Corps. In 2003, he retired from J.P. Morgan and Co., Inc., capping off 34 years with the company. He managed the Municipal Bond Department, managed trading and underwriting for the U.S. Treasury, federal agency, fixed-income futures and derivatives markets, and worked in institutional sales, primarily with hedge funds. In 2009, he helped found Pierpont Securities (Amherst Pierpont Securities), where he worked until 2013.
Mr. Joseph G. Fogg III
FGCU Board of Trustees
Joseph G. Fogg III is a member of the FGCU Board of Trustees and chair of the Audit and Compliance Committee. He is the retired chairman and CEO of Westbury Capital Partners LLC, a Long Island-based, late-stage venture capital firm that he founded in 1990. Mr. Fogg is a Naples resident who summers in Maine. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Yale College in 1968, where he was a member of the Fence Club, and his Master of Business Administration from the Harvard Business School in 1970, where he was a George F. Baker Scholar.
Ms. Darlene Jordan
Florida Board of Governors
Since 2016, Darlene Luccio Jordan has served on the Board of Governors of Florida’s State University System, where she serves as chair of Academic and Student Affairs and vice chair of Academic and Research Excellence. Ms. Jordan is a former assistant attorney general in Massachusetts and was an assistant district attorney in the Norfolk District Attorney’s office. She lives in Palm Beach and is the executive director of the Gerald R. Jordan Foundation, a nonprofit organization named for her husband that supports education, health and medical research, youth services and the arts. Ms. Jordan earned her juris doctor from Suffolk University School of Law and remains involved with Fordham University, where she earned a bachelor’s degree.
Ms. Gail Markham
Partner, Markham Norton Mosteller Wright & Company, P.A.
Gail Markham is a graduate of the University of Maryland College of Business and Management and has extensive experience in litigation support services, family mediation and forensic accounting. She is the founding partner of Markham Norton Mosteller Wright & Company, P.A. Ms. Markham carries certifications in accounting, fraud examination, financial planning, financial forensics, and she is accredited in business valuation. Additionally, she is a certified family mediator for the Florida Supreme Court and founded the Lee County PACE Center for Girls, where she also served as its former chair. Ms. Markham has many other professional and civic affiliations in Lee County and currently serves on the FGCU Foundation Board of Directors and its Finance Committee.
Ms. Tina McCain Matte
Of counsel, Gravina, Smith, Matte & Arnold Marketing and Public Relations
Tina McCain Matte joined the marketing and public relations firm Gravina, Smith, Matte & Arnold in 1999, became a partner in 2001 and assumed full ownership of the firm in 2016. In 2022, the University of South Florida graduate transitioned into an “of counsel” role after more than 35 years in professional communications, marketing, public relations, government relations and public policy. One of the firm’s most memorable events was the groundbreaking for “University X,” which became known as Florida Gulf Coast University. Ms. McCain Matte served two terms on the Supreme Court Judicial Nominating Commission, taking on the role of chair from 2006-07. Ms. McCain Matte is an alumni of Leadership Florida and Leadership Lee County.
Mr. Luis Rivera
FGCU Board of Trustees
Luis Rivera was appointed to the FGCU Board of Trustees by Gov. Ron DeSantis in March 2022. The North Fort Myers resident is a shareholder in GrayRobinson’s Fort Myers office, where his practice focuses on business litigation, bankruptcy, creditor’s rights and insolvency counseling. He is among 13 attorneys in Florida who earned board certification in business bankruptcy law and consumer bankruptcy by the American Board of Certification. For the past 12 years, Mr. Rivera has served as a U.S. Bankruptcy Trustee for the Middle District of Florida, and he currently serves as chair of The Florida Bar’s Grievance Committee. Mr. Rivera earned his bachelor’s degree from Loyola University and his juris doctor from Washington and Lee University.
Dr. Rebecca Totaro
FGCU associate dean of Curriculum & Assessment; English professor
Rebecca Totaro, Ph.D., joined FGCU’s faculty in 1998, one year after the university opened. She is a full professor of English in the College of Arts & Sciences and serves as an associate dean of Curriculum & Assessment. In addition to her work at FGCU, Dr. Totaro is a book series editor for Penn State University Press and has served as an invited speaker on bubonic plague at Shakespeare's Globe Theatre and the Folger Shakespeare Library, where she has held a fellowship. Her most recent of five books on plague and early modern disaster is Meteorology and Physiology in Early Modern Culture. Dr. Totaro earned her bachelor's degree from Whittier College, her M.A. from Yale University, and her Ph.D. from University of Massachusetts, Amherst.
Ms. Kristen Vanselow
FGCU assistant vice president for Innovation Education and Partnerships
For more than 20 years, Kristen Vanselow has been an advocate for students, faculty and staff through her work in academic affairs, enrollment management, student affairs, program development, accreditation and strategic planning. In her current role, Ms. Vanselow provides leadership for micro-credentialing and digital badge initiatives, FGCU Complete, Return to the Nest, prior learning assessment and professional development programs for regional partners. Before joining FGCU, Ms. Vanselow worked at Michigan State University, the University of Tampa, St. Petersburg College and Florida SouthWestern State College.
Dr. Shelton Weeks
FGCU director of the Lucas Institute for Real Estate Development & Finance
Dr. H. Shelton Weeks is a member of the inaugural faculty of Florida Gulf Coast University. He teaches in the areas of corporate finance, investments and real estate. His research focuses on pedagogical issues, corporate governance, and real estate. Dr. Weeks has extensive industry experience in valuation of real property with an emphasis on senior living projects. He is a member of the American Real Estate Society.
Mr. Charles Winton
President of Estero Bay Chevrolet
Charles D. Winton is a Certified Public Accountant who earned his bachelor’s degree in accounting from Christian Brothers University in Tennessee. With more than 30 years of experience in the retail automotive industry, Mr. Winton has served as the Chief Financial Officer of Cross-Continent Auto Retailers, Inc., the nation’s first publicly traded franchised auto dealer group. For more than a decade, Mr. Winton has served on the FGCU Foundation Board of Directors, where he carries the honor of Foundation Fellow, and he served on the FGCU Financing Corporation. In 2016, he served on the Presidential Search Advisory Committee, which led to the hire of President Mike Martin.