Alumni Trustee
Alumni Trustee Election Provision
Per Chapter 15A section 21 of the Massachusetts General Laws "One member of such board of trustees shall be a full-time undergraduate student member from said institution, and ten members shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to the provisions of section eighteen B of chapter six, at least one of whom shall be an alumnus [sic] of said institution and one of whom shall be elected thereto by the alumni association of said institution. Each elected alumnus [sic] member shall be elected every five years. No elected alumnus [sic] member shall serve for more than two consecutive terms. A vacancy in the position of elected alumnus [sic] member prior to the expiration of a term shall be filled for the remainder of the term in the same manner as elections to full terms."
To learn more about the Board of Trustee's responsibilities, please visit the Massachusetts Department of Higher Education’s website.
Your Alumni Trustee
Laurie Weisse Martin is the Vice President of Finance-Support Services at Baystate Health, Inc. in Springfield, Massachusetts which is the largest integrated healthcare delivery system in Western Massachusetts employing over 13,000 team members.
At Baystate Health, Laurie is responsible for overseeing Financial Reporting, Investments, Debt, Cash Management, Payment Systems, Accounts Payable, Payroll, Decision Support, and Strategic Planning. She supports the various subcommittees of the Baystate Health Board of Trustees and coordinates all external audit activities. Laurie is very active with Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion initiatives at the health system and Co-Chairs the Military Veterans Employee Resource Group.
Prior to rejoining Baystate Health after serving as the Director of Treasury Services there for 20 years, Laurie was the Chief Investment Officer for the State of Connecticut Office of the Treasurer. There she managed a team of professionals responsible for the investment of over $33 billion dollars of pension assets for state and local employees including the public school teachers across Connecticut. She was active in financial literacy programs and managed the Connecticut Higher Education Trust college savings plan for Connecticut residents.
Laurie earned an MBA from UMASS Amherst, a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting from American International College, and an Associate Degree in Accounting from Springfield Technical Community College. She is a Certified Public Accountant in Massachusetts.
How would your professional experience and commitment to STCC help to make a significant contribution as the Alumni Trustee?
STCC represents the beginning of my educational career in Accounting and Finance and really set the foundation for my additional secondary education and my career. The Accounting program at STCC was one of the best in the State of Massachusetts and I am forever grateful for this foundation that was affordable and available in my hometown of Springfield. As a work-study student at STCC, I had the ability to work in Financial Aid throughout my undergraduate experience and this set the stage for my love of non-profit work. I went on to start my career in public accounting at KPMG Peat Marwick and continued to learn more about non-profit finance. From here, I spent time in the insurance industry focusing on investment accounting but returned to the nonprofit world at Baystate Health in 1997. I spent over 20 years progressing through this organization managing investments, debt, cash management, and pension management. In 2016, I took the opportunity to focus more on pension investments and became the Chief Investment Officer for the State of Connecticut, learning a tremendous amount about not only public pensions but the role that trustees play in governance and administration. Finally, in 2021, I returned to Baystate Health as the Vice President of Finance-Support Services and work there today. I think my experience that began at STCC makes me uniquely qualified to be a strong Trustee and would love the ability to contribute in a positive way.