Faculty - Business

Alex has been teaching at FMCC since 2002. She has taught twenty-two different courses during her tenure at FMCC. She has three degrees: AOS Culinary Arts from the Culinary Institute of America; BS Business Administration from Skidmore College and MBA from SUNY Empire State College. In addition to teaching classes, Alex is an Academic Advisor, the Business Division Chair, and serves on numerous committees. In 2015 Alex was presented the SUNY Chancellor’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. Outside of FMCC Alex serves on the Board of Directors for the Depot Theatre and is President of the Christopher Emmet Hallowell Fund. She lives with her husband of many years in Saratoga Springs, and spends her summers in Westport, NY on Lake Champlain. Her motto is “I get out of bed every day to help students succeed.”

A graduate of Fulton Montgomery Community College with an AA degree; Skidmore College, BS; and received her MS from Russel Sage College. Charlene has taught various courses while at FMCC including Quantitative Business Applications, Business Communications, Principles of Business, Word Processing Applications, Office Software Applications for Business Professionals, Computer Applications, Human Resource Management, Customer Relationship Management (CRM), Introduction to Sport Management, Career Search, and Career Success.

Charlene is the recipient of the 2021 Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Teaching.

Prior to coming to FMCC Charlene worked as a Vice President for a local bank and then a teacher in the Johnstown City School District. She taught courses such as Business Law, Career and Financial Management, Keyboarding, and Sports and Entertainment Marketing.

In addition to teaching, she is the Advisor for the Individual Learning, Collaborative Learning (COCAL) Program through the Business and Community Partnerships Office. As Advisor for the Individual Learning Program, Charlene will meet with students who are looking for a program that is focused on career training that combines off-campus “hands-on” experience with on campus related instruction. Charlene and the students will work together to create the perfect strategy and learning plan to ensure that they will acquire the skills they need to fulfill the job requirements in their chosen field.

Finally, Charlene is the Lead Trainer and coach for the Money Smart Program Grant which provides FMCC students with FREE financial coaching tailored to their specific needs in budgeting, establishing a relationship with banks, starting good savings habits, establishing credit and how to manage it.

Laurence K. Zuckerman, CPA, M.S. in Taxation, CFEI® has been active in the field of accounting and business education since 1991. A recognized, published author of accounting, taxation and business technology articles and a developer of Continuing Professional Education courses, he currently serves as a full-time faculty member, Professor, Department of Business, for SUNY - Fulton-Montgomery Community College; and, as Professor (Adjunct), Department of Business and Accounting, with SUNY - Suffolk County Community College.

A Certified Financial Education Instructor, Larry was the Director of Educational Services for AccountantsWorld.com, a leading educational resource and web portal for accountants, and Adjunct faculty member with Stony Brook University and Queens College. He has been a frequent speaker at Continuing Professional Education courses as well as accounting and business conferences and has appeared nationwide before state and local CPA societies and professional accounting, tax and business organizations.

Larry has also served as Editor-in-Chief of The Electronic Accountant, Executive Technical Editor of Accounting Technology and Contributing Editor with Accounting Today and The Practical Accountant. He has served as a tax practitioner and auditor with the international accounting firms, Price Waterhouse and Coopers and Lybrand.

Larry studied accounting at Siena College, where he was a Presidential Scholar, and Economics at Drew University, where he graduated Phi Beta Kappa and Summa Cum Laude. He holds an M.S. in Taxation from the State University of New York at Albany, where he received an academic merit scholarship and served as a graduate assistant.

Dr. Swain worked in business for the first ten years of his career both in the U.K. and the U.S. After leaving the U.K. he worked at GE as a corporate financial analyst for several years and moved on to become an Associate Director at MVP Healthcare, leading their model office and claims process system conversion. Mark is a certified Six Sigma Green Belt Analyst and has led several process improvement initiatives. Dr. Swain began teaching in 2003, as an adjunct professor and teaching business full-time at Galway High School.

Mark said that FMCC reminds him of one of the first colleges he attended in England. He is also an avid football (soccer) fan and supports both England and Liverpool football teams. Dr. Swain teaches Managerial Accounting, Principles of Business, Quantitative Business Applications, Essentials of Entrepreneurship, Computer Applications, MS Excel for Business & Financial Mgt., Digital Marketing, Marketing, and International Business: Study Abroad. FMCC students and community members have traveled with Dr. Swain to Ireland and the U.K. during their International Business course.