SUNY Attendees

Chester (Chet) Warzynski is an organizational consultant specializing in developing capabilities to strengthen performance in universities, hospitals, Fortune 500 companies, and SME’s. He provides organizational consulting services in strategic planning, organization design, executive assessment, leadership and organizational development, project management, and innovation.

With more than 25 years of successful experience in leading innovation and change, Warzynski has consulted to leading companies and universities including Exxon, Dow Jones, Cornell University, Georgia Tech, Penn State, Carnegie Mellon University, the University of Arizona, and the City and State University Systems of New York.

His previous positions include Senior Adviser at Carnegie Mellon University, Executive Director of Organizational Development at the Georgia Institute of Technology, and Adjunct Professor in the School of Public Policy; Director of Organizational Development, and Lecturer in the School of Industrial and Labor Relations at Cornell University; Director of Corporate Planning and New Venture Development for a subsidiary of Dow Jones, Inc., and Director of Education and Training for St. Joseph’s Hospital and Mercy Hospital.

He did his undergraduate and graduate studies in sociology at Southern Illinois University and the University of Western Ontario, and post-graduate studies in education at the University of Toronto, and Florida International University. He is currently studying innovation at the University of Twente in the Netherlands.

He served on board of directors for the National Consortium for Continuous Improvement in Higher Education (NCCI), the Red Cross, and the 7th Arts Council. His publications cover a wide-range of topics including leadership, strategic planning, organization development, re-engineering, project management, and sustainability. His current research is on organizational innovation.

Mary Dolan retired from SUNY Potsdam as an Associate Vice President of Human Resources. With over 22 years of HR experience, Mary spent 17 years in higher education and 5 years as a Regional Human Resources Manager with Kraft Foods.

She has experience and skills in both union and non-union environments, employee relations, strategic planning, recruitment and retention, conflict resolution, employment law, performance management, succession planning, training and development and employment litigation. She is most proud of working with early career professionals to retain and advance them.

Mary holds a Bachelor of Science in Employment Relations from SUNY Potsdam. While she was born and raised in the New York City area, she currently lives in northern NY in a country farmhouse on a river. 

With over 25 years of professional experience in higher education, business operations, and non-profit management, MaryAnn Stark, M.Ed, ODCP, is known for being an inspiring leader with dynamic skills to teach and motivate other to follow in her passionate vision. MaryAnn serves as Employee and Organization Development Specialist in the Organizational Training and Development department at Upstate Medical University. 

MaryAnn’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Arts from State University of New York at Oswego and a Masters of Educatiomn from St. Lawrence University. MaryAnn started her professional career in the field of Higher Education Administration serving at three different institutions for 12 years directing major student life, residential, and judicial programs.

1n 2001, MaryAnn made the move into the non-profit world where she was the President & CEO for nearly 12 years. Under her leadership, the agency experienced tremendous growth from being a local, then state-wide, and then nationally based organization, the 4th largest of its kind in the country that received two national awards for excellence.

MaryAnn’s expertise lies in the areas of organizational development, business operations and management, and human services. She has made several contributions to her professional and civic community by way of regional and national conference presentations, outside consulting and training, and service on local Boards.

MaryAnn is a gifted public speaker, and creator and facilitator of a wide variety of training programs specializing in leadership development, strategic planning, teambuilding, culture and organizational change.

MaryAnn is a Certified Organizational Development Professional and a Certified EQ-12 and EQ360 Emotional Intelligence Practitioner. While serving the SUNY Leadership Institute, MaryAnn received rave reviews as the facilitator of the first ever Rising Stars leadership development program at SUNY Potsdam and SUNY Canton.