St. Mary’s College of Maryland welcomed four new trustees in June: Paula Collins, Judith M. Fillius ’79, William E. Seale, and Ray Wernecke. All four will serve a six-year term of service on the College’s Board of Trustees.
“We continue to encounter individuals who are committed to higher education excellence, in general, and to that which is uniquely St. Mary's College of Maryland in particular. I am honored that the newest cohort of trustees accepted our invitation to join the Board of Trustees. Their commitment to the tradition of liberal arts and sciences coupled with their areas of expertise and life experiences will serve our students and the College well for many years to come as we solidify our place as the National Public Honors College,” said Tuajuanda C. Jordan, president of St. Mary’s College
“Each of our new trustees brings special talent and energy to the Board,” said Arthur “Lex” Birney Jr., chairman, Board of Trustees. “We welcome each of them and are excited to work together to continue St. Mary’s College’s mission of providing an outstanding educational experience as the National Public Honors College.”
Collins is a retired government relations and business executive with nearly 40 years of experience in government relations, public policy, coalition building, and strategic communications. Most recently, Collins was vice president for Worldwide Government Relations at Texas Instruments where she provided strategic advice and counsel to TI’s senior management and business unit executives on key issues and emerging policy trends in the United States, Europe and Asia with regard to international trade, immigration, education, workforce, tax, university research funding, cybersecurity, privacy, diversity and environmental issues. Prior to joining TI, Collins worked for American Express and held positions at the Business Roundtable, Eastman Kodak and the Fratelli Group, a strategic communications firm. She began her career as a legislative assistant on Capitol Hill.
Collins is a graduate of Yale University, where she majored in history, and attended the Program for Management Development at Harvard Business School.
Fillius ’79 is currently the department manager for Northrop Grumman (NG) Mission Systems where she is responsible for profit and loss for the annual operating plan and long-range strategic plans. She oversees offices with multiple programs in support of the Department of Defense. Prior, Fillius was responsible for the Air Operations Center Modernization program. She provided programmatic leadership and management of the contract valued at $419M, established trusted relationships with Air Force program management team, restructured the internal management team, and streamlined internal program processes based on value stream analysis resulting in schedule and dollar savings. Fillius has also served as vice president of PRB Associates, which was acquired by Comptek PRB Associates. She was responsible for information systems, product support, human resources, training, facilities, security and database development. Fillius has 35 years of experience leading, managing, planning, testing and deploying system capabilities in response to Department of Defense customer requirements. Prior to entry into the defense industry, Fillius was employed by St. Mary’s College of Maryland as an admissions counselor/public relations assistant.
Fillius holds a bachelor’s degree from St. Mary’s College, majoring in social science, and a secondary education certificate.
Seale is a partner in the ProFunds Group, the parent of ProShare Advisors LLC and ProFund Advisors LLC. For over 10 years as chief investment officer, he developed the financial models and investment techniques that direct the investments of over 200 ProShares and ProFunds, managed the portfolio staff of 35, and oversaw the funds’ trading. Seale is a professor emeritus of finance at The George Washington University where prior to the formation of ProFunds he was chairman of the department of finance and senior associate dean of the business school. His academic teaching areas included futures markets, derivative securities, and financial management. While at GWU he was actively engaged in a consulting and expert witness practice through his firm, Financial Markets Group Inc.
Seale received his PhD from the University of Kentucky. He is a longtime member of the Washington government and business community, having served a five-year term as a commissioner on the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, worked as government relations vice president for a New York-located futures exchange, and as a senior legislative assistant to United States Senator Walter D. Huddleston. He is a former director of the St. Mary’s College of Maryland’s Foundation.
Wernecke is currently serving as a principal/director at Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. He has more than 30 years’ experience in public and private sector senior leadership positions. Previously, Wernecke held various leadership positions in the U.S. Navy and his last assignment was as director of corporate operations for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division.
Wernecke holds a bachelor’s degree in education from Towson University and is pursuing an Executive Scholar Certificate from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management. He is also a graduate of Leadership Maryland (2006), the NAVAIR Senior Executive Management Development Program, and the Federal Executive Institute. He is active in the community, serving as board director of Three Oaks Center for Homeless, The Patuxent Partnership, and past president of Leadership Southern Maryland.
