Tripodi named trustee on BC3 board
Nadine Tripodi, owner and CEO of Butler Technologies, recently was named a trustee of Butler County Community College.
Butler County Commissioners Leslie Osche, Kimberly Geyer and Kevin Boozel appointed Tripodi to the 16-member BC3 board of trustees.
Tripodi will complete the term of longtime trustee Ray Steffler, who died in February. Steffler served 34 years as a BC3 trustee, the longest tenure since the first board was chosen in 1965.
The decision to name Tripodi on Oct. 23 was praised by BC3 President Nick Neupauer.
“She brings a wealth of experience, expertise and passion, not only from a business perspective, but certainly from a financial and an organizational systems perspective,” Neupauer said. “Nadine has great communication and interpersonal skills. She's an incredible complement to an already outstanding board.”
In addition to its main campus in Butler Township, BC3 has locations in Cranberry Township, Armstrong County, Lawrence County, Mercer County and a Brockway site that serves Clarion, Clearfield, Elk, and Jefferson counties.
Tripodi holds a bachelor's degree in organizational leadership and development from what was Wheeling Jesuit University in Wheeling, W.Va., which recently became Wheeling University.
“I want to be involved with where the college is going because I really appreciate what BC3 offers to the community,” Tripodi said. “Not only for the educational opportunities that it provides, but even in the economic development that is going on in our region.”
Butler Technologies designs and manufactures custom-user interfaces and printed electronics, and was picked by Ralph Lauren to design, engineer and manufacture innovative flexible heating elements bonded into U.S. Winter Olympians' parkas for the 2018 Seoul Games.
It also creates force and bio sensors that can be transferred into wearables, and printed switch assemblies for equipment and instruments.
Tripodi moved to Penn Township from Allegheny County in 1989.
“Since we moved here, I've felt a strong connection to the college,” Tripodi said, citing BC3's Kids on Campus, Lifelong Learning and Workforce Development opportunities as complements to its associate degree and certificate programs.
BC3's board of trustees is a policymaking body that provides direction and guidance to the college's president and administration. The primary functions of the board include establishing basic policy, appointing the president and financial control of the institution.
“The college just doesn't sit there and offer classes,” Tripodi said. “It's made a huge impact on the lives of people in the region in so many ways. I just keep looking for what's the next thing BC3 is going to do and how much everybody in this region will benefit from it.”
