Governor Appoints Three North Country Natives to SUNY Plattsburgh University Council

Gov. Kathy Hochul has appointed three North Country natives to the SUNY Plattsburgh University Council for terms ranging through 2028 to 2032.

Danielle King, a Malone, N.Y., native, is president and CEO of TDC NNY Inc., which develops industrial parks, markets the region for new business, and works to retain and expand the local industry, is a 2013 SUNY Plattsburgh grad with a degree in public relations. She served as student speaker at the university’s winter commencement.

King joined TDC NNY in June 2019 as its business development manager and rose through the ranks, from director of business and workforce development to vice president. In January 2025 she was named president and CEO. Prior to her TDC NNY tenure, Kin served first as economic development assistant with the North Country Chamber of Commerce from 2014 to 2017 and then as its director of the North American Center of Excellence for Transportation Equipment from 2017 to 2019.

She is a certified economic developer through the International Economic Development Council, holds a master’s degree in community and economic development with an advanced certificate in workforce development through SUNY Empire State College.

She serves as vice president on the Foundation of CVPH Board of Directors, secretary on the Clinton Community College Foundation Board of Directors and is a member of the Plattsburgh College Foundation Board of Directors, the CV-TEC Advisory Council, the North Country Regional Economic Development Council, and the Community Advisory Board for Mountain Lake PBS.

King’s university council term runs through June 30, 2028.

“I am so honored to be appointed to the SUNY Plattsburgh University Council. It feels very much like a full-circle moment,” King said. “I was sure it was just yesterday that I was delivering the commencement address at graduation and heading out into the Plattsburgh business community.

“In my role at TDC, everything I do is to support our mission of attracting and retaining quality jobs in the North Country. One of the most important parts of that is ensuring we have a talented and skilled pool of professionals to attract investment here in Plattsburgh,” she said. “What better way to do that than by supporting the incredible higher education institutions that call our community home. I look forward to bringing the perspective of the industrial and business community to the conversations at this level and being part of ensuring our region and SUNY Plattsburgh enjoy mutual success for generations to come.”

Brandon Menard, an Altona, N.Y., native, is a 2016 SUNY Plattsburgh graduate with a degree in broadcast journalism and a Clinton Community College graduate with an associate’s in humanities and social sciences. He serves as director of the North American Center of Excellence for Transportation Equipment and Strategic Initiatives with the North Country Chamber of Commerce, a position he’s held since 2025. There he plans, organizes and runs events on behalf of the chamber and the center, establishes and maintains relationships with manufacturing companies, recruits new chamber members, manages its social media platforms, writes grants and more.

Prior to that, he served as director of communications/constituent liaison in the office of then-state Assemblyman Billy Jones. Jones left the Assembly at the end of August 2025 and was named vice president for strategic initiatives and workforce development at Clinton Community College.

Menard served as a news reporter with NBC5 in Plattsburgh from 2020 to 2021, and a multimedia journalist with WENY TV in Horseheads, N.Y. from 2017 to 2020. As a broadcast journalism student at SUNY Plattsburgh, he was producer of “Sports Rap Live” on PSTV, co-anchored the Great Northern Shootout pre-game, intermission and postgame reports for Primelink and worked as a WPTZ intern, among other college experience.

A multiple Associated Press award-winner, Menard was named to Strictly Business’ 2023 “Top 20 Under 40. Among his volunteer work, Menard has served as a member of the Clinton Community College Alumni board and has held the position of treasurer from 2023 to 2025 and was appointed vice president in 2025.

"Being appointed to SUNY Plattsburgh's University Council is truly a full circle moment for me. SUNY Plattsburgh was instrumental in laying the foundation for my professional career. Having the opportunity to give back to a place so meaningful to me, my family, and the North Country is a privilege," Menard said. "To sit in a seat once occupied by the likes of Kehoe, the Amells, Mannix, and many other influential campus and community leaders is not only an amazing honor, but also a tremendous responsibility — one that is not lost on me.

"In this position, I bring new perspectives while still holding true to the traditions and values that make SUNY Plattsburgh special," he said. "Having actively served on other higher education boards, I hope to lean on that experience when making informed decisions. Ensuring the college is better than I found it will always be my driving motivation. I'm humbled and honored to receive this appointment, and I'm ready to get to work with my fellow council members to proudly represent SUNY Plattsburgh."

Menard’s term on the university council runs through June 30, 2032.

Derek Rosenbaum graduated from SUNY Plattsburgh’s psychology program in 2004. A Morrisonville, N.Y., native, has owned and operated Rosenbaum Appraisal & Consulting in Plattsburgh. From 2011 to 2013 he was sole assessor in the City of Plattsburgh and from 2007 to 2011 was real estate appraiser and trainee with his father, Jerry Rosenbaum’s business, Adirondack Appraisal Services.

He is a New York state certified accessor-advanced, and a state certified general real estate appraiser.

Rosenbaum has served as a member of the City of Plattsburgh Downtown Grant Review Committee, the City of Plattsburgh Planning Board, the Plattsburgh School District Board of Education and is currently a member of the Beartown Ski Area board.

“I am honored to have been considered and appointed to the university council, and I'm very glad that I'll be able to give back in this way to my alma mater,” Rosenbaum said. “I feel my experience on the Plattsburgh City School Board, the City of Plattsburgh Planning Board and working in real estate valuation, specifically with student housing, helps me to bring multiple perspectives to the table.

“In addition to that, I am a neighbor of the university as I live just around the corner from Hawkins Hall and get to see and interact with the university community daily,” he said.

Rosenbaum’s term on the university council runs through June 30, 2031.

For more information on the SUNY Plattsburgh University Council, visit https://www.plattsburgh.edu/about/president-leadership/university-council.html.

— By Associate Director of Communications Gerianne Downs; Photos Provided