Yale names Maurie McInnis and Marta Lourdes Tellado successor trustees

President Peter Salovey has announced the appointments of Maurie McInnis ’90 M.A. ’96 Ph.D., president of Stony Brook University, and Marta Lourdes Tellado ’02 Ph.D., president and CEO of Consumer Reports, as successor trustees to the Yale Corporation, the university’s governing body.

Gina Raimondo and Lei Zhang have completed their time on the board after years of exemplary and distinguished service.

“I am delighted and grateful that Maurie and Marta have agreed to share their deep knowledge and expertise as part of Yale’s board of trustees,” Salovey said.

“Maurie brings a wealth of vitally relevant experience in higher education, including her work to build research and educational initiatives as provost at the University of Texas-Austin and the vision she’s set for Stony Brook University as its president,” Salovey added. “Marta, meanwhile, has strategically built Consumer Reports into a not-for-profit enterprise focused on science-driven insights, consumer-facing tools, and evidence-based advocacy to advance a fair and just marketplace.”

Joshua Bekenstein, senior trustee for the Yale Corporation, said, “I know I speak for the entire board when I say how excited we are to work with Marta and Maurie. I’d also like to take this opportunity to thank Gina and Lei for their years of thoughtful, dedicated service.”

Maurie McInnis

As the sixth president of Stony Brook University (SBU), McInnis leads one of the two flagship universities in the State University of New York’s system. A member of the Association of American Universities, SBU is one of 66 leading U.S. and Canadian research universities, and in partnership with Battelle, manages the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory. SBU also includes Stony Brook Medicine, one of the nation’s leading academic health care systems. McInnis is committed to building on SBU’s strengths in research, teaching, and healthcare and its mission to expand educational opportunities for under-served and first-generation college students.

McInnis, an award-winning author and cultural historian of the American South, is the author or co-author of five books highlighting the interplay between politics and art in American history, including most recently, “Educated in Tyranny: Slavery at Thomas Jefferson’s University” (2019).

McInnis was a professor, provost, and executive vice president at the University of Texas at Austin from 2016 until 2020, before being chosen to lead Stony Brook.

After earning her bachelor’s degree with highest distinction from the University of Virginia in 1988, McInnis earned master’s and Ph.D. degrees at Yale in the 1990s. She was a faculty member at James Madison University for two years before joining the faculty of the University of Virginia, where she served in a variety of academic roles, ultimately as vice-provost for academic affairs.

Marta Lourdes Tellado

Tellado has led the largest nonprofit consumer organization in the world since 2014.

Throughout her career, Tellado has sought out transformational solutions to complex challenges facing modern society. Prior to joining Consumer Reports, she was vice president for global communications at the Ford Foundation from 2004 to 2014, overseeing strategic partnerships, government relations, and public affairs for the foundation.

Tellado’s professional background also includes extensive work with policymakers in Washington, D.C., in both government and nonprofit organizations. She served as vice president of communications at the Partnership for Public Service and was director of public policy programs at the Center for National Policy.

She also founded and directed the first bipartisan domestic public policy forum at the Aspen Institute and was named among the “Top Women in Media” by Folio Magazine in 2018.

Tellado earned her bachelor’s degree in 1981 from Fairleigh Dickinson University, where she has served as a trustee since 2013, and her Ph.D. from Yale in 2002. She is a member of the Yale University Council.

The Board of Trustees

The Board of Trustees, known formally as the Yale Corporation, is composed of the president and 16 trustees — 10 successor trustees selected and appointed by the current board and six alumni fellows nominated and elected by eligible alumni. A new alumni fellow is elected each year. In addition, the governor and lieutenant governor of Connecticut are board members ex officio.

As fiduciaries, the trustees ensure that Yale’s academic and administrative leadership is guided by sound policies and practices and equipped with adequate resources to further Yale’s mission. In this work, they balance the needs of today’s faculty, students, alumni, and staff with those of future generations.

Praise for trustees completing their service

Salovey thanked the retiring trustees for their leadership and service.

He praised Zhang for his wise counsel on a number of issues, including those concerning international programs, engineering, computer science, and the culture of innovation on campus.

“Lei has been an extraordinary ambassador for Yale in Asia,” Salovey said. “I am deeply grateful that he will continue to serve that important role for our university. Yale has benefited immensely from his insightful perspectives about the effective functioning of the board itself and his strong support for the School of Management.”

Salovey lauded Raimondo’s work on Yale’s behalf, as well, noting that she was selected by President Joe Biden to be the U.S. Secretary of Commerce.

“Gina’s service to Yale was extraordinary,” Salovey said. “Her stewardship of the Audit Committee and her valuable contributions to every committee on which she served were deeply appreciated. As a thoughtful leader and accomplished public servant, she enriched the board’s discussions and provided insightful advice about the future of Yale and higher education more broadly.”

Salovey also praised Catharine “Cappy” Bond Hill ’85 Ph.D., who has finished her term as senior trustee but will remain on the board.

“I am extremely grateful for Cappy’s partnership for the past three years,” Salovey said. “She is a wise, hardworking, and thoughtful leader, calm under pressure and a true fiduciary of this university. Her leadership and dedication as senior trustee have left a lasting mark on the university.”