Union Theological Seminary President Rev. Dr. Serene Jones today announced the appointment of Nina Wong to the position of Chief Financial Officer (CFO) and William H. Peabody III to the position of Chief Operating Officer (COO).
“Nina and Bill bring a wealth of experience and will be critical to Union’s efforts to strengthen and build capacity on both the financial and operations fronts,” said President Jones. “We are all excited to welcome Nina and Bill to the Union family and are eager to kick off our work with them. In particular, we are excited to engage them in realizing our strategic vision for Union.”
CFO: Nina Wong has longstanding leadership experience in higher education, having served in assistant dean roles in the last 16 years at Hunter College’s School of Arts & Sciences and New York University’s Division of Libraries. Her professional experience includes financial planning and management, master planning for capital projects and strategic initiatives, and renovation management with institutional partners. Nina has also served in senior leadership roles for New York City museums including Budget Director at the Guggenheim Museum and CFO roles at Neue Galerie New York and El Museo del Barrio. Nina began her financial management career in corporate publishing and has had a long term commitment to not-for-profit institutions.
In her role as Chief Financial Officer, Nina will provide leadership, vision, and oversight for Union’s financial operations encompassing sound, ethical, and transparent fiscal planning, financial management, and budgetary processes that ensure the long-term financial viability of the institution. She will also serve as staff to multiple committees of the Board of Trustees and serves as the Treasurer of the institution aimed at helping to realize our financial vision for Union.
Nina holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in Government from Cornell University and a Master of Arts degree in Arts Administration from Teachers College at Columbia University. Nina is a lifelong resident of New York City. She enjoys cooking, art, travel, swimming, skiing, and surfing.
COO: William H. Peabody III is an innovative executive with over 30 years of experience in designing and directing impactful initiatives focused on operations, strategic planning, and facilities management. Throughout his career, William has placed a strong emphasis on continuous improvement and effective communication, allowing him to nurture and build out high-performing, collaborative teams.
As COO, William will work closely with senior executives and the Board of Trustees to develop and implement organizational goals, operational strategies, and policies for the organization. He will also provide leadership, vision, and oversight for Union’s business operations encompassing sound, ethical, and transparent processes that ensure the long-term operational viability of the institution. William will work to establish management priorities, policies, and procedures that will promote teamwork and collaboration and lead to the strengthening of the seminary’s operational capabilities.
Prior to joining Union, William served as the Executive Director of Facility Operations with Vassar College, where he directed a workforce of over 180 union employees with an operating budget of $22 million and an annual spend on capital projects of $45 million. While at Vassar, William was responsible for a wide breadth of departments, including facility operations, finance, administration, the physical plant, grounds services, building trades, custodian services, facility systems, energy management, and the service response center.
With each role that he has held, William has spearheaded multiple high-value initiatives focused on facilities management, project management, capital budgets, strategic planning, safety, engineering, and business process improvement. As Managing Director of Facilities & Operations with Yale University, he notably created the business model for Yale School of Management Hospitality and integrated a full-service catering component and state of the art dining facilities.
Previous to Yale, William served in operational and financial leadership roles with organizations including Firth Rixson Limited, The Hotchkiss School, Driehaus Management Enterprise, Altamont Estate, and Connecticut College.
William holds a bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of New Haven.