Carnegie Mellon University

Our Leadership Team

Melanie Lucht

Melanie Lucht

Associate VP & Chief Risk Officer

  • GATF Building
Address
5000 Forbes Ave
Pittsburgh, PA

Melanie Lucht is the Associate Vice President and Chief Risk Officer for Carnegie Mellon University.  In this role, Melanie oversees the following Organizations: Environmental Health and Safety, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity, Emergency Preparedness, and Risk Operations.

Under Melanie’s leadership, her teams support the mission, values, and strategic objectives of the university by sustaining and enhancing a safe and healthy environment and supporting organizational resiliency with a risk-conscious culture. She oversees the development and deployment of risk management tools and practices across the university and leads a cross-functional group to provide risk intelligence to university leadership and inform strategic decision making.

Melanie’s tenure with Carnegie Mellon began in 2013 as the Senior Manager for Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity Services.  In 2017, Melanie was appointed the Assistant Vice President of the newly formed Enterprise Risk Management department while also serving as interim director for each of the Organizations reporting to her.  In August of 2018, Melanie was promoted to Associate Vice President and Chief Risk Officer. Prior to her years at Carnegie Mellon, Melanie was the Vice President for Enterprise Business Resiliency at PNC Financial Services and has an extensive background in the insurance industry. 

Melanie is a Master Business Continuity Professional (MBCP), a member of the Business Continuity Institute (MBCI), a Certified Insurance Counselor (CIC), a Certified Continuity Manager (CCM), and holds the Associate in Risk Management (ARM) designation. In 2017, she was recognized internationally by the Business Continuity Institute as Continuity and Resiliency Professional of the Year for the private sector.  In 2018, she successfully completed the first offering of the Chief Risk Officer (CRO) Executive Education Program at the Heinz College. The only woman in the class of 16 executives, she was a member of the project team that achieved top honors in the program.  She now serves as a project team coach and guest lecturer. Melanie also serves on the Fusion Risk Management Executive Peer Exchange, the Disaster Recovery Journal (DRJ) Editorial Advisory Board and is a board member of the New Hazlett Theater.

Melanie received a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice and master’s degree in administration of justice from Mercyhurst College.

Frank Marcopolos

Frank Marcopolos

Senior Director, Risk Operations

Address
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh PA 15213

Frank Marcopolos is the Senior Director for Risk Operations in the Enterprise Risk Management Department for Carnegie Mellon University. Under Frank’s leadership, the team supports the mission, values, and strategic objectives of the university by working with campus partners to effectively identify, analyze, treat, and monitor university risks, while consistently scanning for emerging risks. The team accomplishes this through active collaboration with subject matter experts, providing risk training and awareness, establishing and managing a university risk register, and through the administration of technology services that support the Enterprise Risk Management program. The team is also responsible for identifying and monitoring Key Risk Indicators and Key Performance Indicators for the university.

Frank's tenure with Carnegie Mellon University began in August of 2018. Before his service at CMU, Frank was a Senior Risk Manager at the Texas State Office of Risk Management in Austin, TX for over six years. Prior to that, he was a Risk Manager at GCG Risk Management, Inc. in New York City for over five years, working with clients in New York State Insurance Fund (NYSIF) safety groups.

Frank holds the following professional certifications: Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Scrum Master (CSM), Associate in Risk Management-Enterprise Risk Management (ARM-E), and Certified Business Continuity Professional (CBCP), among others. He has earned the Infrastructure Liaison Officer (ILO) designation through his work with the Texas Department of Public Safety and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. He is a graduate of the Texas Governor's Center for Management Development.

Frank received a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at New Paltz, and is currently enrolled in a Master of Business Administration (MBA) program. He served as a U.S. Army paratrooper in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 18th Airborne Corps in the middle '90s.

Francisco Molina

Francisco Molina

Senior Director, Disaster Recovery & Business Continuity

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  • GATF Building
Address
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh PA, 15213

Francisco is the Senior Director of Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity (including Emergency Management) services at Carnegie Mellon University. Francisco’s role in the Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) organization, is to provide the guidance, tools, and governance commensurate with the strategic mission and risk tolerance of the university and its divisional units so that they may continue to provide critical services in the event of a disaster or significant business disruption.

Before CMU, Francisco worked for most of his career in the financial private sector in organizations such as AEGON/Transamerica in the U.S., The National Bank of Mexico (now Citi-Banamex) in Mexico City and other international locations implementing, maturing, and managing business resiliency programs and projects to identify, mitigate, and respond to enterprise operational risks.

Francisco holds a B.S. in Industrial Engineering from Universidad del Valle de Mexico, a Master of Science in Administration from Central Michigan University and a Ph.D. in Information Sciences from Nova Southeastern University in Florida. He also holds the Project Management Professional (PMP) certification.

Francisco was an adjunct faculty member at Norwich University - Master of Science in Business Continuity and has served on the Board of Directors of Safeguard Iowa Partnership, as Vice President of the Business Resiliency Professionals of Wisconsin. He was also founding member of the Wisconsin Business Emergency Management public-private partnership,

Outside of work and professional activities, Francisco volunteers with the Civil Air Patrol (U.S. Air Force Auxiliary) serving as staff officer with specialty qualifications in Community Emergency Response Teams, General Emergency Services, and Mission Air Crew (Mission Scanner and Aerial Photography).  He has also been a member of the Red Cross Disaster Services in Wisconsin.

Andrew Lawson

Andrew Lawson (HNZ 2016)

Director, Environmental Health and Safety

  • FMS Building
Address
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Andrew Lawson is the Director of Environmental Health and Safety for Carnegie Mellon University.  In this role, Andrew serves as the Biological and Radiation Safety Officer and oversees all aspects of laboratory and research safety.

Under Andrew’s leadership, his team supports the mission, values, and strategic objectives of the university by fostering and enhancing a safe and healthy environment through safety program development, training, and, collaboration with university partners.

Andrew’s tenure with Carnegie Mellon began in 2004 as the Biological and Radiation Safety Technician.  In 2019, Andrew was appointed the Senior Manager for Laboratory and Research Safety.  In 2022, Andrew was appointed the Director of Environmental Health and Safety. Prior to joining Carnegie Mellon University, Andrew was a graduate assistant at West Virginia University’s EHS department. 

Andrew is a Certified Industrial Hygienist (ABIH), a Certified Safety Professional (BCSP), and a Certified Legionella Water Safety and Management Specialist (ASSE).

Andrew received a Bachelor of Science degree in Medical Technology from West Virginia University, a Master of Science degree in Industrial Hygiene from West Virginia University, and a Master of Public Management degree from the Heinz College at Carnegie Mellon University.

Rebecca Cicco

Rebecca Cicco

Assistant Director, Environmental Health and Safety

  • GATF Building
Address
5000 Forbes Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15213

Rebecca Cicco is the Assistant Director for Environmental Health and Safety at Carnegie Mellon University.  In this role, Rebecca oversees the Workplace Safety and Fire Safety Teams within the Environmental Health and Safety (EHS), a division within Enterprise Risk Management.  Rebecca’s role is to provide guidance, hazard mitigation strategies, procedures and processes in an effort to meeting the strategic mission and risk tolerance of the university and its divisional units.

Rebecca’s tenure with Carnegie Mellon began in 2014 as the Workplace Safety Manager.  In 2019, Rebecca was promoted to into a Senior Manager role.  In January of 2022, Rebecca was promoted to become the Assistant Director of EHS.  Prior to her years at Carnegie Mellon, Rebecca was the Corporate Safety Specialist for United States Steel Corporation, and has an extensive background in the safety industry.

Rebecca is a Certified Safety Professional (CSP), and is a member of the CMULead program. 

Rebecca received a bachelor’s degree in environmental management from Slippery Rock University, a master’s degree in safety sciences from Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and a certificate in operations leadership and organizational management from Drexel University. 

Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity

Jennifer Bett

Jennifer Bett (HNZ 1998)


Senior Business Continuity Program Specialist

william maerkle

William Maerkle


Senior Consultant for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity

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Jamie Grace


Consultant for Disaster Recovery/Business Continuity

Rebecca Gaidrich


Emergency Preparedness and Response Specialist

Environmental Health and Safety

jeff harris

Jeffrey Harris


Chemical Safety & Hazardous Materials Senior Manager

Jelena Micic


EHS Specialist

Paul Minor

Paul Minor


Senior Hazardous Materials & Environmental Waste Management Specialist

Rebecca Cochran


Biological Safety Technician

Mary Sickles

Mary Sickles


Training and Communication Specialist

Tim Flaherty


Fire Safety Manager

Evan Orowetz

Evan Orowetz


Fire Safety Specialist

Eric Wharton


Fire Safety Specialist

Christina Goyda

Christina Goyda


Senior Industrial Hygienist

Nathan Newsom pictured

Nathan Newsom


Workplace Safety Specialist, Contractor Safety

Cole Bukowski


Workplace Safety Specialist

Kalie Hewitt


EHS Technician, Research Safety

Risk Operations

Ahren Hollis

Ahren Hollis


Systems Administrator, Enterprise Risk Management

Christopher Duffey

Christopher Duffey


Systems Analyst, Enterprise Risk Management

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Merey Kemelbek


Senior Systems Administrator, Enterprise Risk Management

Office Management

Nicole Shugart

Nicole L. Shughart


Executive Assistant