Florida Atlantic University’s Foundation Board of Directors welcomed Noel Gonzalez ’94 and Charles Cartwright to its board of directors. The new board members were recently approved by the FAU Board of Trustees. Each will serve a three-year term beginning July 1.
Brian Poulin will serve as chairman of the board for the 2024 fiscal year. Poulin will be joined on the executive committee by Cheryl Wilke ’88, who will serve as vice chair and secretary, and Michael L. Miller, who will serve as treasurer and also chair the finance committee.
The board re-elected Phyllis Gladstein, D.Ed., and Raul Valero ’10 to serve their second three-year terms. Valero will chair the board’s philanthropy committee. Other committee chairs are Daniel Joseph ’11, audit committee; Ed Ventrice, investment committee; Keith Sanders ’81, nominating & governance committee; and Paul Kilgallon, real estate committee.
“The FAU Foundation Board is comprised of incredibly talented individuals, who are focused on bringing their passions and expertise to enhance the work of the foundation and its support of FAU,” said Poulin, incoming foundation chair. “We look forward to building on the incredible momentum created by our predecessors and the ‘Transcend Tomorrow’ fundraising campaign.”
Gonzalez is CEO and co-founder of Skillmil, Inc., a career management service company specializing in matching United States armed service veterans with civilian jobs. He also is the principal for SOTA Manufacturing, Inc., an Oakland Park-based manufacturing, engineering and design company serving the aerospace, government, medical, and oil and gas industries, and Targeted Bioscience, Inc., a leader in the cancer precision medicine company. A Navy veteran, Gonzalez was the commanding officer of the USS Cheyenne. He earned a master’s degree from the University of Maryland, a fellow from Stanford University, and a bachelor’s in mechanical engineering from FAU. Gonzalez will serve on the foundation board’s nominating and governance committee, and philanthropy committee.
Cartwright serves as senior vice president of The Legacy Group for Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC., where he is a certified financial planner and chartered retirement planning counselor. Prior to joining Morgan Stanley, he served as associate vice president for Merrill Lynch. Cartwright earned a Bachelor of Science in business administration with a concentration in finance from the University of Florida. He will serve on the foundation board’s finance committee and investment committee.
Poulin is a principal with Evergreen Partners, LLC. He has a background in tax law and has been a developer and owner of rental real estate for more than 25 years. Poulin also is a principal of Preservation Management, Inc., an affiliated property management company, and Evergreen Communities, LLC, a real estate development company focused on new construction of affordable housing.
Poulin has served on the boards of the Institute for Responsible Housing Preservation and the National Leased Housing Association. He has served on the foundation board since 2016.
Wilke is a partner with Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP. She specializes in employment law as well as corporate compliance and business litigation. She earned a juris doctorate from Stetson University College of Law and a bachelor’s degree from FAU. She joined the foundation board in 2018.
Miller is president and CEO of the iTHINK Financial Credit Union, formerly known as IBM Southeast Credit Union. He also serves as secretary and treasurer for iTHINK Community Foundation, Inc. Previously, he served 20 years for Indian Members Credit Union, serving as vice president and chief operations officer. He also has served as a problem case officer for National Credit Union Administration and as an internal auditor for Indiana University Employees’ Federal Credit Union. He has been a member of the foundation board since 2018.
The FAU Foundation Board is comprised of dedicated alumni and friends of the university who volunteer their time and expertise to oversee fundraising efforts and manage the foundation’s assets. The Florida Atlantic University Foundation, Inc., connects private philanthropy to powerful possibilities. Operating under the Division of Institutional Advancement, the 501(c)3 nonprofit foundation is a faithful fiduciary and trusted steward of donors’ gifts and wishes. For more information, visit fauf.fau.edu.
