Board of Trustees Members

Dr. Michael Fiorentino Jr. is chair of the Board of Trustees. He is the former president of Lock Haven University in Pennsylvania, where he served for seven years following a long and distinguished career at Fitchburg State University. Fiorentino joined the Fitchburg State community as a faculty member in the Education Department in 1996, and was later named vice president and provost in 2004. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2021.

Lynn Tesconi Barrieau is vice chair of the Board of Trustees. She is the assistant director of the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Project in Worcester. She received a graduate degree in counseling from Fitchburg State in 1991 and has been an adjunct faculty member at Mount Wachusett Community College since 2000. She was appointed to the University's Board of Trustees in September 2017.

David C. Tiernan is clerk of the Board of Trustees. He is Senior Vice President, National Practice Leader at TRC Solutions in Lowell. A 1983 alumnus of Fitchburg State, he was appointed to the Board of Trustees in October 2017.

Jennifer L. Flanagan is the Senior Vice President at Liberty Square Group. She served for four years on the state's Cannabis Control Commission, to which she was appointed by Gov. Charlie Baker. Prior to that appointment she served in the state legislature for 13 years, including two terms as state representative and four terms as state senator. She is a Fitchburg State graduate, having completed a master's degree in mental health counseling in 2004. She was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022.

Matthew Gill is the student representative to the Board of Trustees. Majoring in English Studies, he was elected by his fellow students in 2024.

Eric A. Gregoire is a senior budget analyst with the University of Massachusetts. A 2011 graduate of Fitchburg State, he was elected to serve as the alumni representative to the board and was formally installed in 2022.

Sheila King-Goodwin is senior vice president and chief community banking officer for Fidelity Bank in Leominster. She has worked in retail banking for 30 years, managing traditional and in-store branches in urban and rural locations across Massachusetts. She was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2022.

Michael Morris is a founding partner at Tremont Strategies Group, an expert in designing and leading complex government relations campaigns at the state and local level. A 1993 alumnus of Fitchburg State, Morris also completed a master's degree in public administration at Suffolk University. He was appointed to the Board of Trustees in 2024.

C. Deborah Phillips served as chair of the board from 2020-2024. She is a founding partner of Nickless, Phillips and O’Connor, attorneys at law, in Fitchburg. A former member of the Board of Directors of the Fitchburg State University Foundation Inc., Phillips is a longtime supporter of the University. She is also a director at Fidelity Bank. She was appointed to the board in 2015.

Karen J. Spinelli is president, owner and managing partner of Spinelli CPA, PC, with offices in Worcester and Leominster and her firm is a certified woman owned business in Massachusetts. Spinelli completed and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in accounting at Fitchburg State in 1992. She grew up in Fitchburg and currently lives in Leominster with her husband Tom. She was appointed to the board in November 2020.

Carolyn Crowley Stimpson is co-owner and board member at Polar Beverages Company in Worcester, co-owner and vice president of Wachusett Mountain Ski Area and president of MTNside Ski and Ride in Princeton. She and her husband, John, live in Princeton. She was appointed to her second term on the board in January 2021.

President, Ex officio