Greensburg, PA – At its recent meeting, the Seton Hill University Board of Trustees officially welcomed four new members: alumna and Ford Motor executive Bibiana Boerio, entrepreneur Lalit Chordia, alumna and foundation director Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney-Higgins and attorney Julia Trimarchi Cuccaro.

Bibiana Boerio currently serves as the finance and strategy director for Ford Motor Company’s International Operations. Prior to this position, Boerio served as Ford Credit’s executive vice president and CFO for over two years, and before that as finance director for Jaguar Cars, Ford’s wholly-owned subsidiary, from 1995 – October 2000. At Jaguar, Boerio provided financial and business strategy support for the design, development, manufacture and sale of Jaguar’s vehicles worldwide. Prior to joining Jaguar, Boerio held a number of finance positions at Ford in product development, manufacturing, sales and corporate profit and business planning. Boerio served as Assistant Controller at Ford Credit from 1988 - 1991. Boerio graduated from Seton Hill in 1975 with a Bachelor of Science degree in merchandising, and received Seton Hill’s Distinguished Alumni Leadership Award in 1995. She earned her M.B.A in accounting from the Joseph M. Katz School of Business at the University of Pittsburgh, and joined Pitt’s Board of Directors in 2002.

Lalit Chordia, Ph.D., is the president and founder of Thar Technologies, Inc. which specializes in commercial application of high-pressure carbon dioxide "supercritical fluid" technologies. Since its inception, Thar Technologies has been involved in the design, development, and manufacture of pumps, heat exchangers and other components for supercritical equipment. The company holds eight patents and has several pending. Chordia has been a fervent supporter of developing traditional and new markets overseas, making his company one of the export leaders in western PA. Chordia serves on the World Affairs Council of Pittsburgh, the Leadership Council of Pittsburgh and the District Export Council. He is also the founder of the U.S.-India forum, which promotes business and political cooperation between the two countries. Born in India, Chordia received his bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology in 1980 and his doctorate in chemical engineering from Carnegie-Mellon University in 1985.

Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney-Higgins is the director of the Cashel Foundation, which she established in 1997. The foundation is committed to social programs that address the educational needs of disadvantaged children, provide long-term community-supported homes for children and help to provide high-quality care and service to medically fragile children and their families. Cooney-Higgins is also a member of the Achievement Rewards for College Scientists (ARCS) Foundation, a national volunteer women's organization dedicated to helping the best and brightest graduate and undergraduate students in the United States by providing scholarships in natural sciences, medicine and engineering. In addition, Cooney-Higgins made the first $1 million dollar gift ever made to Seton Hill by an alumna, which supported, in part, the Mary Ellen Lawrie Cooney-Higgins Endowment Fund, which provides scholarship support to students with financial need and academic merit. A native of Erie, Pennsylvania, Cooney-Higgins is a 1964 Seton Hill graduate with a degree in English.

Julia Trimarchi Cuccaro, Esq. is an attorney and associate at Tomb & Tomb, in Indiana, PA. Prior to this, she served as a personal staff assistant to Congressman Joseph Kolter. Cuccaro is also a board member and legal counsel to the YMCA of Indiana County, a board member of First Commonwealth Bank (Indiana County) and a member of the Pennsylvania and Indiana County Bar Associations. Born in Indiana, Pennsylvania, Cuccaro attended St. Mary’s College, Notre Dame, Indiana, where she received her Bachelor of Arts degree in philosophy and English literature. She then attended Duquesne University of Law and earned her Juris Doctorate in 1986, the same year she passed the Pennsylvania Bar Examination.

For more information on Seton Hill please visit www.setonhill.edu.