Board Members

William (Bill) Dunkel has strong ties to Putnam County, spending his childhood going through the Carmel School District graduating from Carmel High School in 1991. Bill received a Bachelor of Science in Economics and Management Science from State University of New York Cortland. In 1998, Bill came back to Putnam County starting a career in banking with Tompkins Community Bank (then Mahopac National Bank) as their first Management Trainee. Bill has spent the last 25+ years developing his banking career and experiencing tremendous growth. Today, Bill is a Senior Vice President and Senior Commercial Loan Officer heading up the Hudson Valley Market’s commercial lending team. Bill is President of the Board for Habitat for Humanity of Putnam County, where he’s been a board member since 2014, and belongs to various chambers and business organizations throughout Putnam, Westchester and Dutchess County. Bill lives in New Milford, Connecticut with his wife, Lauren, and four children.

Dylan Miyoshi is a Government & Community Relations Program Manager at New York State Electric & Gas. Throughout his career, he has worked tirelessly to effect change within the Hudson Valley community. Under his direction, NYSEG launched a companywide food drive to provide food banks across New York with food and essential supplies for those in need during the holiday season. He coordinates and leads employees from NYSEG’s Brewster office in monthly volunteer opportunities across Dutchess, Putnam and Westchester counties. Dylan holds a Political Science degree from St. John’s University. In addition to serving on the Putnam County EDC Board of Directors, he serves as a
board member for the Hudson Valley Economic Development Corporation. With his high energy, Dylan is always looking to cultivate relationships with elected officials and community stakeholders on behalf of NYSEG, while continually finding ways to improve the lives of his neighbors in the Hudson Valley.

Putnam EDC President Kathleen Abels Kathleen Abels is the President of the Putnam County Economic Development Corporation (PCEDC). Her primary responsibility includes attracting appropriate new businesses to Putnam County. Marketing, public relations and developing strategic alliances are her top skill sets. Abels was appointed to her current position on July 1, 2019, after serving on the Board of Directors of the PCEDC for several years. She brought with her extensive experience in community outreach, customer service, construction and project management, as well as strong core values. Abels previously completed a lengthy career at NYSEG, culminating as their Manager of Community Outreach and Development.
More recently, Abels’ focus has pivoted to assisting existing Putnam County businesses to survive and recover from the financial disaster incurred by shutdowns necessitated in order to diminish the spread of the Corona virus.
A resident of the County since childhood, Abels presently serves on the Boards of Directors for the Town of Southeast Cultural Arts Coalition and for Friends of Lasdon Park in Katonah, NY. She actively supports the Old Town Hall Theatre project in downtown Brewster and was the former Chair of the Town of Southeast Historic Sites Commission for many years.
Abels received a Master of Science in Organizational Leadership from Mercy College and a Bachelor of Business Administration in Management from Pace University.

CONTACT INFORMATION:
(845) 808-1021
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Christopher Ryder, Putnam County National Bank Christopher Ryder is Executive Vice President of Putnam County National Bank in Carmel, New York. Christopher is directly engaged in all aspects of the Bank’s lending operations, in addition to serving as the Bank’s in-house legal counsel for a wide range of matters.

Most recently, Christopher helped implement the SBA’s Paycheck Protection Program at PCNB, which issued hundreds of loans to community businesses during the COVID pandemic.

Prior to joining PCNB, Christopher was a corporate attorney at a law firm in New York City. Christopher advised clients on a host of complex commercial transactions and provided practical solutions to his client’s legal and regulatory concerns.

Christopher received his Bachelor of Arts from Johns Hopkins University and his Juris Doctor from the University of Chicago Law School. Born and raised in Carmel, Christopher currently lives in Mahopac with his girlfriend, Alley, and Newfoundland dog, Bear.

Dr. Mark Hirko, a healthcare executive with diverse clinical and academic leadership experience, is the president of both Putnam Hospital in Carmel, NY and Sharon Hospital in Sharon, Connecticut. The hospitals are part of Nuvance Health.

Dr. Hirko began his tenure with Health Quest Medical Practice in 2017 as associate vice president of surgical services, women’s health and medical specialties. He collaborated with senior and physician leadership to enhance care across the system and helped develop undergraduate and post-graduate medical and surgical education programs.

An Ohio native with more than 20 years of experience in surgery, Dr. Hirko previously held the position of chair of the department of surgery, director of the general surgery residency program, and medical director of the vascular lab at Monmouth Medical Center, part of RWJBarnabas Health System, in Long Branch, N.J.

Dr. Hirko completed his vascular surgery fellowship at Loyola University Medical Center in Maywood, Ill., and a general surgery residency at Akron City Hospital, a member of Summa Health System, in Akron, Ohio.

He earned his medical degree from the Wright State University in Dayton, Ohio. He also received bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology from the University of Akron. Outside of the office, Dr. Hirko enjoys golf, exercise and traveling to Manhattan with wife, Pamela, to visit their two children, Geoffrey and Marie.