Authority Team

Mr. Adelman joined the Authority as its Director of Capital Projects in 2002; in 2005, he was promoted to the position of Executive Director, where he is responsible for managing the real estate portfolio of 55 residence halls that house 16,400 students on nine campuses, coordinating strategic and other planning to ensure future capacity and occupancy, overseeing assessments and disbursements to service $1.2 billion of debt, and directing the issuance of new money and refunding bonds. Since 1979, Mr. Adelman has managed capital project planning, design and construction for public agencies and academic institutions, including Babson College, Brandeis University and Salem State University. Mr. Adelman is a registered architect in Massachusetts and a member of the American Institute of Architects, College of Fellows. He received a Bachelor of Architecture degree from Cornell University and a Master of Architecture degree from Kent State University.

Ms. Chrisos joined the Authority in 2005 as Capital Projects Coordinator having worked for the Authority as a consultant since 2003. In 2007, she was promoted to Director of Capital Projects and then to Deputy Director in 2013. Ms. Chrisos manages the Authority’s project management staff and all design and construction activities of the Authority from project planning through delivery. She is also responsible for development of the multi-year integrated capital plan incorporating projected housing needs of the nine state universities, anticipated facility renewal requirements and university capital improvement requests. Ms. Chrisos has 30 years of construction project management experience as an employee for General Electric and as a consultant to manufacturing, construction and higher educational clients, including Hewlett Packard and Salem State University.  She has a Bachelor of Science degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Massachusetts.

Ms. Ostberg joined the Authority in November 2011. As Chief Financial Officer, Ms. Ostberg is responsible for managing the Authority’s financial controls, accounting, reporting, debt and rate-setting process and providing oversight and direction for the financial operations of the Authority. Ms. Ostberg has over 30 years’ experience in the public finance field, most recently serving as the Commonwealth’s Director of Capital Finance. Previously, she was the Director of Financial Planning at the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission and Vice President in the public finance division at two investment banking firms. Ms. Ostberg received a Bachelor of Arts degree from Denison University and a Master of Business Administration degree from New York University.

Ms. Bench joined the Authority in January 2015 as Controller, overseeing accounting, treasury and financial reporting.  Her prior experience includes serving as the Assistant Budget Director for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Executive Office for Administration and Finance.  She began her career with PricewaterhouseCoopers and is a Certified Public Accountant. Ms Bench has a Bachelor of Science degree in Management and a Masters of Accounting Degree, both from Boston College.

Ms. Withelder joined the Authority in 2018 as Finance Manager responsible for the state universities residence hall operating budgets, rent setting process, and collection and disbursement of assessments to meet the Authority’s debt and other obligations. She joined the Authority after serving as the Senior Financial Analyst for Campus Planning and Operations at Boston University. Her prior experience includes data analyst positions at Sightlines, LLC, a facilities benchmarking and capital renewal consultant for higher education. Ms. Withelder has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Environmental Analysis and Policy and is a candidate for a Masters in Business Administration, both from Boston University.