Norwich University in Northfield recently announced the appointment of four new members to the school's board of trustees. They are John J Broadmeadow, a retired Marine Corps lieutenant general; John P Collins, a partner and chief financial officer at Denham Capital Management; Isabelle Desjardins, MD, chief medical officer at University of Vermont Medical Center and professor of psychiatry at UVM's Larner College of Medicine; and Francisco J Leija, chief operating officer at the computing firm Entanglement.
Broadmeadow, a 1983 Norwich graduate, is the highest-ranking Marine officer to have graduated from the university. He was previously honored with a Distinguished Alumni Award, and his name is engraved on the school's Bicentennial Stairs. Broadmeadow retired from the Marine Corps in 2020 after more than 37 years on active duty. His final assignment was in the Pentagon as the director, Marine Corps Staff.
Collins, a 1990 Norwich graduate, has more than 30 years' experience in private equity and back-office business operations. He is responsible for managing Denham Capital’s accounting, tax, human resources, information technology and administration disciplines and is a member of the firm’s Valuation Committee. Collins is a former chair of Norwich University’s School of Business Board of Fellows and is a past NU Club officer.
As CMO at University of Vermont Medical Center, Desjardins is responsible for providing physician executive leadership, direction and administration of medical management, including the integration, coordination, quality assurance and improvement of clinical care and patient safety. She has held several clinical leadership and educator roles, including vice chair of clinical affairs for the psychiatry department, executive medical director of the Vermont Psychiatric Care Hospital in Berlin, and medical director of inpatient psychiatry at UVM Medical Center.
Leija, a 2006 master's graduate of Norwich, is a retired Army colonel. During his time in the service, he held key leadership posts within the Pentagon, Joint Staff, Army Staff and Army Futures Command. He served in both Afghanistan and Iraq, and is the recipient of the Purple Heart, the Legion of Merit and two Bronze Stars. At Entanglement, a novel computing company that focuses on bridging the existing quantum computing gap, Leila is responsible for all operations and for C-suite coordination.