June 22, 2023
Susquehanna University has appointed six new members to its Board of Trustees.
“Susquehanna University’s leaders are committed to providing our students with an innovative education that prepares them for productive, creative and reflective lives of achievement, leadership and service,” said University President Jonathan Green. “Our Board of Trustees is integral to the university achieving these goals.”
Appointed to terms ending in 2027 are:
Kendra Aucker, president and chief executive officer, Evangelical Community Hospital, Lewisburg.
Aucker was appointed president and chief executive officer in 2015 after serving the hospital previously as executive vice president/chief operating officer. An integral part of Evangelical Community Hospital’s senior leadership team since 1990, Aucker also served in operations, physician practice management and marketing roles.
Aucker holds a Bachelor of Arts from The Pennsylvania State University and a Master of Business Administration from Frederick Taylor University.
Megan McMullen ’02 Blue, senior director of major gifts team, White Plains Hospital, New York.
McMullen Blue is a key member of the development senior leadership team at White Plains Hospital. Prior to her tenure there, she served in director of development roles at organizations including Read Alliance, The George Washington University and the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
After graduating summa cum laude from Susquehanna with a Bachelor of Arts in public relations, she earned a Master of Public Policy from the George Washington University’s Trachtenberg School of Public Policy & Public Administration. Before being elected to the Board of Trustees, McMullen Blue served as president of the Susquehanna University Alumni Board.
Douglas Powell ’75, attorney, Powell & Associates, Atlanta, Georgia.
After graduating from Susquehanna with a bachelor’s degree in English, Powell earned his law degree from Wake Forest University Law School in 1980. He practiced law in North Carolina before serving as a decorated lieutenant in the Judge Advocate General’s Corps in the United States Navy Reserve (1981-1985). After completing his service, Powell practiced law at Fortson & White (1985-88) and Hinton & Powell (1988-2021) before founding Powell & Associates in 2021.
In addition to his work as an attorney, Powell graduated summa cum laude in 2006 from the Art Institute of Atlanta in culinary arts. He was employed as a sous chef at the InterContinental Buckhead Atlanta hotel from 2006 to 2010. He became a certified sommelier and wine judge in 2009 and taught wine courses at the Art Institute of Atlanta in 2010. In 2021, Powell became a fine art and landscape photographer.
Joseph Yalch Jr., DDS, ’86, dentist, Penn Family Dental, Philadelphia.
After graduating from Susquehanna University with a bachelor’s degree in biology, Yalch enrolled in Georgetown University School of Dentistry, Washington, D.C., and graduated in 1990.
Yalch is a general dentist who spent nearly 29 years in private practice in downtown Washington, D.C., before joining Penn Family Dental in 2018. His emphasis is in advanced restorative dentistry, providing clinical skill and expertise in all aspects of restorative dentistry, but he is particularly adept at treating complex, multi-disciplinary cases.
He maintains memberships with the American Dental Association and Academy of General Dentistry, among others.
Emma Fleck, department head of management and marketing and associate professor of entrepreneurship and marketing at Susquehanna University, was appointed as a faculty representative to Susquehanna’s Board of Trustees.
Fleck came to Susquehanna from Colorado Mesa University where she was an assistant professor of entrepreneurship and marketing. She earned her doctorate in marketing and entrepreneurship from the University of Ulster, Northern Ireland, where she also earned a postgraduate certificate in teaching higher education.
Her research has included gendered aspects of entrepreneurship, internationalization and spirituality in the workplace. Additionally, she is the co-founder and strategic development director at Zenith Online Marketing.
Ryan Rorls ’25, of Frederick, Maryland, was appointed as the junior representative to the Board of Trustees and will serve a two-year term.
Rorls is a management major with a minor in data science & analytics. At Susquehanna, she is a member of the women’s volleyball team, Enactus and the Student-Athlete Advisory Committee.