SYDA Foundation Board of Trustees

Arnold Drogen

Arnold is president of Drogen Electric Supply in Oneonta, New York, a wholesaler of electrical equipment to contractors and institutions founded by his family in 1948. Since assuming its leadership in 1979, he has expanded the company from a local supplier to a regional distributor serving all of central New York State.

He served on the SYDA Foundation Board of Trustees from 1984 to 2004 and as chairperson of the board from 2000 to 2004. He rejoined the board in 2009. He also offers seva with the Planned Giving Department.

Arnold has served on philanthropic boards in areas relating to business and the arts. He currently serves as a board member for the Bassett Healthcare Network. He was vice chair of the Hartwick College Board of Trustees for eight years and is now trustee emeritus. He was formerly director and vice president of the Foothills Performing Arts Center.

Arnold graduated magna cum laude from Union College in Schenectady, New York, with a BA in theater and English. He is a member of Phi Beta Kappa. A year of study at the Sorbonne in Paris culminated in a Thomas Watson Fellowship for postgraduate studies in African music and dance. As a Hickman Graduate Fellow at the University of California, Berkeley, he received an MA in theater directing, a field in which he has professional experience.

Arnold lives in central New York State.