Josephine Victoria Finn

Josephine Victoria Finn was first appointed to a 5-year term on the New York State Board of Regents effective April 1, 2014 and elected to a second 5-year term effective April 1, 2019. At the June 2021 Board of Regents meeting, she was unanimously elected by her peers to be Vice Chancellor effective June 8, 2021. Vice Chancellor Finn graduated from the State University of New York at Oneonta receiving a B.A. in Psychology and Black Studies and from the University of Buffalo Law School where she received a J.D. She has been admitted to the practice of law for 35 years and is trained in mediation.

Vice Chancellor Finn served as Assistant County Attorney for Sullivan County as well as Assistant Town Attorney and Town Attorney for the Town of Thompson. For over 18 years she served as legal counsel to the Sullivan County Branch of the NAACP.

Vice Chancellor Finn taught at Sullivan County Community College for 13 years and ran the Paralegal Program for several years. She served on the Sullivan County Community College Board of Trustees prior to her election to the Board of Regents. Vice Chancellor Finn has also served on several other boards including: the Private Industry Council of Sullivan County, the Cultural Diversity Committee of the New York State School Boards Association and the Sullivan County Conditional Release Committee. She was the first voice heard on WJFF, Sullivan County's first public radio station. She is presently on the Sullivan Renaissance Steering Committee, an organization dedicated to beautifying Sullivan County.

After serving 20 years as the Village of Monticello Justice, Vice Chancellor Finn has retired from the bench. She is a member of both the New York State Magistrates Association and the Sullivan County Magistrates Association. She has also served as the President of the Sullivan County Bar Association.