New York Governor Kathy Hochul has appointed Abe Uchitelle to the SUNY New Paltz College Council.
Uchitelle is an accomplished alumnus of the University and widely respected leader in the Hudson Valley who was recently recognized as a 40 Under Forty awardee.
Since 2020, he has served as a member and deputy majority leader in the Ulster County Legislature. He currently chairs the body’s Law Enforcement and Public Safety Committee and is a member of the Health, Human Services and Housing Committee and the Committee of the Whole.
Prior community service engagements include tenures on the boards of directors at Family of Woodstock (2016-20) and Kingston Land Trust (2017-19).
He was previously president of Dragon360, a digital media agency located in Kingston and currently provides independent consulting services with a focus on workforce development and economic development.
Uchitelle’s work with the legislature has roots in his time as a New Paltz student who was active in campus and local governance. He is a former Student Association president who worked closely on the effort to create the LOOP bus, a collaboration of SUNY New Paltz, the town and village of New Paltz, and Ulster County to provide affordable and reliable public transportation. He also advocated for tenants’ rights as a member of the Village Landlord-Tenant Relations Committee.
Uchitelle met his wife Eileen while the two were students at New Paltz. Eileen, also a prior 40 Under Forty awardee, is an accomplished software engineer currently working at Shopify.
Each state-operated campus in New York State has a College Council, which exercises powers and duties including recommending candidates for president; making regulations regarding campus facilities; naming buildings and grounds; and supervision of student housing and safety, among many other responsibilities.