Syracuse Stage Names New Board Chair and Adds Members

Richard Driscoll has assumed the role as Chair of the Board of trustees at Syracuse Stage. Driscoll, Senior Vice President in the Commercial Banking Division at NBT Bank, has served on the board since 2011 and succeeds Rocco Mangano as chair. Additionally, five new members have joined the Board of trustees: Jessica Cain, reporter, NPR affiliate WRVO; Eric Jackson, founder and CEO, Black Cub Productions; Kenneth Jackson, publisher, “Urban CNY (The Constitution)”; Dr. Henry “Hank” Roane, professor of pediatrics and psychiatry, Upstate Medical University; and YiWei Qi, co-founder and CEO, AccuGPS LLC.

“Syracuse Stage will benefit from the breadth of experience these new board members bring to our organization,” said Robert Hupp, artistic director. “Each is passionate about the arts and is dedicated to helping Syracuse Stage make the best possible contribution to the cultural and civic life of Central New York.”

“I am very much looking forward to serving as the Board Chair for Syracuse Stage for the next two seasons,” said Driscoll. “My wife Therese and I have been season subscribers for 38 years, and we always eagerly look forward to each new season.”

Driscoll is a graduate of Syracuse University with over 45 years of experience in commercial banking. Prior to NBT Bank, he worked as a commercial real estate relationship manager at M&T Bank. In addition to Syracuse Stage, Driscoll has lent his leadership skills to service on boards throughout the region, including the Empire State Housing and Development Corporation and the Syracuse Economic Development Corporation.

Driscoll added: “Our Board is outstanding and will only become stronger as we welcome our five new members. Many thanks to Rocco Mangano for leading our Board the last two years as we continue to recover from the pandemic, which seriously impacted our organization and all regional theaters across the country.”

A Central New York native and graduate of Syracuse University (’06), Cain has spent nearly two decades working in the New York State media landscape. Before her current role as a reporter at NPR affiliate WRVO, Cain worked as an anchor, reporter and producer locally at CNY Central, WSYR and WWNY-TV and at Fox News in New York City—work that earned her recognition from the Syracuse Press Club and the New York State Broadcaster’s association. Cain teaches as an adjunct professor in the broadcast and digital journalism department at the Syracuse University Newhouse School of Public Communications. No stranger to Syracuse Stage, Cain played Belinda Cratchit in the company’s 1992 production of “A Christmas Carol” when she was just eight years old.

Eric Jackson is a native of Los Angeles, CA and the co-founder and CEO of Black Cub Productions. Jackson graduated from Syracuse University with a B.A. in Television, Radio and Film and a M.A. in Multimedia Production and Design. After founding Black Cub in 2018, he gained recognition for his work with the Salt City Market, playing a pivotal role in establishing the food hall and market’s brand. Jackson has collaborated on promotional videos for companies such as LG and Netflix, and his work on the “Put the ‘U’ back in Syracuse” campaign earned him an American Advertising (ADDY) award. He founded "Life Through My Own Lens," which focuses on empowering students in grades 7-12 to express themselves through storytelling, and “Call Time," which pairs aspiring high school filmmakers with industry professionals to create a short film on a professional film set.

Kenneth Jackson is the publisher and editor of “Urban CNY (The Constitution),” Central New York’s longest operating Black-owned media organization and has served in the role for 35 years. He is a native of Syracuse and was raised in the University Neighborhood on Harrison Street across from Walnut Park. Jackson is an Ithaca College graduate (’79), attended University of Wisconsin–Madison, studying urban and regional planning. and has been a Syracuse Press Club member for 20 years, including as president from 1994 to 1996. With “Urban CNY,” he has won more than 30 press club awards, including best blog/column for "The Hall Monitor,” was inducted into the Syracuse Press Club’s Wall of Distinction–located in the lobby of the Civic Center–and was honored by the Syracuse Onondaga County Chapter of the NAACP with their Emmitt Till Award in 2024.

Dr. Roane is a native of Louisiana who moved to Central New York in 2009 to establish a clinic for children with developmental disabilities at Upstate Medical University. Since then, he has not only helped raise over $6 million to develop the Upstate Golisano Center for Special Needs, where he serves as the Executive Director and Professor of Pediatrics and Psychiatry but has also spearheaded the development and expansion of existing services to the neurodivergent community on both a local and national scale. Prior to Upstate, he received his Ph.D. from Louisiana State University and trained at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine before developing the Marcus Autism Center in Atlanta and the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders in Omaha. 

Qi is the Co-Founder and CEO of AccuGPS LLC, a technology company providing products and services for companies in U.S., Canada and Indonesia. Qi was trained as a cardiac surgeon back in China before he joined the MIT Bioengineering department working for Institute Professor Robert Langer and Professor Ram Sasisekharan from 2000-2003, before becoming the founding employee of Momenta Pharmaceutics Inc., which was acquired by Johnson & Johnson in 2018. He earned his Ph.D.  from Peking University Healthcare Center and Postdoc training from MIT.

A full list of board members can be found at www.SyracuseStage.org/about.

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