Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties adds two new board members

UTICA, N.Y. — The Community Foundation of Herkimer & Oneida Counties announced it has appointed Robert Bojanek and Oghenekovie (Kay) Evi-Parker as new members to its board of trustees.

Robert Bojanek is co-founder of ShoreGroup Inc. and Optanix Inc., where he served as executive VP of operations and assisted with the growth of both companies from startup to becoming international network and system-management firms. As an innovator, he is listed as a co-inventor in a dozen patents related to systems management. Bojanek is involved with various community foundations and nonprofit organizations with a focus on education and youth development. He holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Syracuse University and a bachelor’s degree in electrical and computer engineering from the University at Buffalo.

Kay Parker is a quality engineering applications specialist at Indium Corporation, where she has held a number of engineering-related roles since 2015. She is a certified SMT process engineer and is focused on improving different manufacturing processes, equipment, techniques, and materials to optimize industry applications. Community organizations that Parker has volunteered with include Midtown Utica Community Center, OnPoint for College, Rescue Mission of Utica, Mohawk Valley Community Action Agency, and Upstate Cerebral Palsy. Parker holds a bachelor’s degree in applied mathematics with a minor in engineering science from SUNY Polytechnic Institute, where she started an award-winning robotics club among refugee students that was sponsored by a National Science Foundation grant. She studied chemical engineering at the Federal University of Technology in Owerri, Nigeria, before moving to the Mohawk Valley.