Foundation Gala Honors Philanthropic Leaders, Raises Funds for New Workforce Training Center at Hudson Valley
October 23, 2023
The Hudson Valley Community College Foundation hosted its annual Gala on Friday, Oct. 20, 2023 at the Franklin Plaza ballroom in Troy. Pradip Singh and Hui Peng Koh of GlobalFoundries (GF), Alexander “Sandy” Keeler of Keeler Motor Car, and the T & L Longe Charitable Foundation were this year’s recipients of the Foundation Leadership Award, in recognition of their service and dedication to the college and greater community.
The Gala’s proceeds exceeded $111,000 and will support the creation of a new workforce training center named the Applied Technology Education Center (ATEC). ATEC will allow the college to address the urgent need for skilled, trained technicians in applied technologies and skilled trades, an area of increasing demand across the state and nation. In addition to the Gala proceeds, each of the organizations honored this year donated $1 million to the creation of ATEC.
Vice President and General Manager of GF’s New York advanced semiconductor facility Hui Peng Koh has more than 23 years of extensive experience in semiconductor research, development, high-volume manufacturing and global leadership with multi-national organizational management. She specializes in equipment and process engineering innovation and large-scale operational performance and cost management and has a proven track record of delivering transformative business results and developing strong workforce talent pools.
GF’s Senior Vice President and General Manager of US Fab Operations Pradip Singh’s career spans manufacturing, management and operational leadership in various countries across the company’s global network to bring best practices to all GF fab sites. His work supports New York and Vermont fab operations as they accelerate the performance of their respective fabs and drive greater regional collaboration and synergies across the sites.
Sandy Keeler started his Mercedes-Benz dealership in 1967 with six employees. He added BMW in 1970, Honda in 1975, DeLorean in 1980, Jaguar in 1982, Volvo in 1986, Land Rover in 1987, MINI in 2002, Smart in 2007 and Sprinter in 2013. After the 2008 recession, many of the secondary franchises suffered and were spun off. Today, Keeler Motor Car represents Mercedes-Benz, BMW, MINI, Honda, and Sprinter and proudly employs more than 300 people locally and at their BMW dealership in Ridgefield, Connecticut.
The T&L Charitable Foundation was established in honor of Michal Longe, who was born in 1973 and lived with cystic fibrosis until she died in 2003. As a champion for knowledge and a lifelong learner, Michal did what she could to help those helping others, including investing in the people who helped treat her disease and in the scientific and medical advancements they achieved. Her do-good, give-back mentality is what led to the creation of the T&L Longe Charitable Foundation, which was developed to honor the memory of Michal, serve as a legacy for the kind of person that she was, and help others gain the education they need to pursue their dreams and make a difference.
“We are so pleased to recognize Pradip Singh, Hui Peng Koh, Sandy Keeler, and the T&L Longe Charitable Foundation with the 2023 Foundation Leadership Award in honor of their dedication to our students and our college,” said Hudson Valley Community College President Dr. Roger Ramsammy. “Their generosity and leadership have helped to ensure that we can make the new Applied Technology Education Center at Hudson Valley a reality, and the college is grateful for supporters like them, who help us continue to expand offerings that train our students for the jobs our community needs to thrive.”
Currently, the college houses several programs that prepare graduates for in-demand careers in the skilled trades. ATEC, a new facility filled with modern equipment and the latest technology, will allow Hudson Valley to educate the next generation of workers, including electricians, HVAC technicians, mechatronics technicians, plumbers and pipefitters, welders and welding fabricators, automotive, electric and autonomous vehicle technicians, hacking and cybersecurity specialists, artificial intelligence and data analytics experts, and more.
With the creation of ATEC, Hudson Valley will be able to expand capacity in high-demand programs and create new ones, as well as grow fast-track workforce training courses for those already employed in key industries by offering advanced, industry-validated certifications and skill- and competency-based non-credit workforce training programs and bootcamps. More information on ATEC can be found at www.hvcc.edu/atec.