Park University Board of Trustees Elects Four New Members
The governing body of Park University — its Board of Trustees — has elected four individuals to serve as members of the Board. Vince Clark, Anthony Melchiorri, Cyprienne Simchowitz, J.D., and Troy Teague were all elected to serve their first three-year term on the board, effective July 1.
VINCE CLARK
Clark is vice president of business development at Creative Planning Inc., an independent financial advisory firm in Leawood, Kan. Prior to joining Creative Planning in 2015, Clark held several executive and senior management positions in domestic and international finance, including serving as owner of KC Capital Advisory Services, Kansas City, Mo., vice president and treasurer at H&R Block, Kansas City, Mo., senior vice president and head of the global specialty finance group at HSBC Securities, New York, and senior vice president of structured finance at Royal Bank of Scotland in Chicago.
Clark, the immediate past chair of the Park’s Civic Advisory Council, is a board member of the Kansas City Symphony and the Kansas City Ballet. He is also a commissioner of the Planned Industrial Expansion Authority, Kansas City, Mo. Clark, a resident of Kansas City, Mo., earned a master’s degree from the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, and a master’s degree from College of Charleston (S.C).
ANTHONY MELCHIORRI
Melchiorri, a 1990 Park graduate and a U.S. military veteran, is the host, co-creator and co-executive producer of Travel Channel’s “Hotel Impossible” series of shows, including “Five-Star Secrets.” Prior to beginning his career in hotel hospitality, Melchiorri served as a protocol officer in the U.S. Air Force. Beginning as director of front office operations at The Plaza Hotel in New York, Melchiorri has repositioned some of the nation’s finest properties. At age 29, he was appointed general manager of The Lucerne hotel in 1997, and under his management, The Lucerne was selected as The New York Times Travel Guide’s Best Service Hotel. He also served as general manager of New York’s historic Algonquin Hotel and led a $15 million renovation of the property.
Melchiorri founded Argeo Hospitality in 2010, a hotel management and consulting company, and he has launched a line of Anthony Melchiorri branded hotel products. A resident of New York City, Melchiorri earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Park’s Whiteman Air Force Base (Mo.) Campus. The University honored Melchiorri in 2016 with its Distinguished Alumnus Award, which recognizes Park alumni who have distinguished themselves through career service or community achievements.
CYPRIENNE SIMCHOWITZ, J.D.
Since April 2014, Simchowitz has been an honorary consul of the French Republic, serving French citizens of western Missouri and Kansas for the Consulate General of France’s Chicago office. She has also served as a member and secretary of the board for the International Relations Council of Kansas City since January 2016, and she is a member of Park University’s International Center for Music Advisory Council. Simchowitz is also a practicing attorney.
Previously, Simchowitz, a resident of Mission Hills, Kan., was an attorney for both Polsinelli Shughart (now Polsinelli) and Shook, Hardy and Bacon, both based in Kansas City, Mo., and she was a member and past president of Alliance Française de Kansas City. Simchowitz studied international law and economics at the University of Paris, and earned her juris doctor from the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law.
TROY TEAGUE
Teague serves as the director of recruiting at Cerner Corp., focusing on talent acquisition for the U.S., Europe and India, by developing strategies to identify and attract the best talent for the organization’s human capital needs. He also has responsibilities for recruiting operations. He joined Cerner in 2004 as a senior recruiter and has held a variety of recruiting and management positions with the company. Prior to joining Cerner, Teague worked at Aerotek Engineering.
He has previously served on advisory boards at Kansas State University, Missouri University of Science and Technology, the University of Central Missouri and several area community colleges. A resident of Kansas City, Mo., Teague earned both his bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in business from Northwest Missouri State University.
Park University’s Board of Trustees is the governing body of the University. The Board of Trustees is comprised of business, civic, educational and philanthropic leaders, as well as Park alumni and friends, who advocate on the University’s behalf.