Board

Being raised in an impoverished neighborhood in the Bronx, my mother worked day and night to provide me with a quality education and the means for me to achieve more out of life. Seeing friends and others in the community committing crimes, going to jail and/or dying, I quickly disavowed myself of the notion that I was better or somehow different than them, other than the fact that I was given such an opportunity to learn, to dream, to hope and to actually believe that I could achieve a better life for myself. That is the transformative power of education. Hudson Link provides the opportunity for graduates to embrace the world of opportunities that can only be realized through education.

Mr. Dobson serves as Vice President, Associate General Counsel and Assistant Secretary at The Interpublic Group of Companies, a global advertising and marketing services company. His responsibilities include providing legal counsel to the corporation on matters of corporate governance, securities regulation, public company disclosure, corporate finance and mergers and acquisitions.

Mr. Dobson resides in Manhattan and his interests include golf, tennis, bicycling, hiking and photography. He is a contributor to various causes as well as a participant in a number of annual fundraising endeavors, including the Covenant House Sleep Out, Avon 39 Walk to End Breast Cancer and Cycle for Survival.

Christian French helps to guide the vision and strategic direction of the organization and ensure that the board of directors and its members fulfill their governance responsibilities.

Mr. French joined the Hudson Link family in 2004 after attending their annual Spring Benefit Dinner at the Supper Club and meeting several Hudson Link alumni who, through the help of Hudson Link, transformed their lives.

Mr. French has stated that his hope is that “the incredible success we have developed in Sing Sing, Fishkill and Sullivan Correctional Facilities can be spread to all qualified candidates in the prisons throughout the state and country. It takes hard work, self-examination and dedication to graduate with a degree from our program and if there are people who are willing to rehabilitate themselves through education, our society needs to find a way to support it.

Some would say that Hudson Link’s greatest accomplishment is its 0% recidivism rate, but I think that really undervalues the impact Hudson Link has on individuals and their surrounding community. As a result of our program, our graduates self esteem changes – they develop a belief in their ability to lead by example and they develop a greater understanding of their role in society, the impact of their actions and their responsibility to leave this world a better place.”

Mr. French earned his Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University’s School of Hotel Administration and is Chief Operating Officer of WRNN-TV Associates, owner of the Regional News Network (RNN), a local, independent television station in New York. He has spent the last ten years establishing RNN as a media competitor in the New York market, growing its distribution from 300,000 cable homes to now over 5 million homes including all five boroughs of New York City. In September of 2005, he completed construction of RNN’s 5th facility, a brand new all-digital production center and studios in Rye Brook, NY.

Mr. French is a board member of the Spectrum Clearing alliance and the Broadcasters Digital Cooperative; is a Rockefeller Fellow for the Partnership of New York City and volunteers with the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation. He and his lovely wife Sharon live in Westchester with their three children: Connor, Madison and Maximus.