Staff

Stephen P. Tuttle
General Counsel and Secretary of the College

Stephen was appointed to the position as the college’s chief legal officer and as a member of the president’s cabinet in the fall of 2011. Before joining FIT, Stephen was senior vice president and chief legal officer for operations at Forest City Ratner Companies, the regional subsidiary of Forest City Enterprises, a publicly traded real estate development company. His responsibilities included management of a team of professionals that provided legal support on all matters related to the ownership and operation of more than thirty commercial properties in the New York metropolitan area inclusive of office buildings, shopping centers, residential developments, and hotels. In addition to real estate matters, his responsibilities extended to providing counsel on a broad range of general corporate matters and initiatives. He also served as the company’s senior legal counsel providing services to several subsidiary service companies and support departments, including information technology, and human resources. Stephen’s career also includes more than 12 years of corporate and investment related in-house services to the New York Life Insurance Company. Prior to assuming in-house positions, Stephen was in private practice as an associate in the banking and finance practice group of the New York based law firm of Dreyer and Traub. He earned his Juris Doctorate degree from Syracuse University College of Law and his Bachelor of Arts from Franklin and Marshall College.

Alicia S. O’Connor
Associate General Counsel

Alicia joined the office in the spring of 2023.  Immediately prior to joining FIT, Alicia was the Deputy General Counsel in the Office of Legal Affairs at Suffolk County Community College.  In that role Alicia provided legal advice and guidance on a full array of topics and issues impacting on higher education institutions. Her specialized knowledge of the range of laws that govern such institutions includes experience in support of the Offices of Academic Affairs, Student Affairs, Business and Financial Affairs, Human Resources, Facilities, Disability Services, Mental Health and Wellness Services, Fire and Public Safety, Special Events and Programs, Information and Technology Services, Planning and Institutional Effectiveness, Institutional Advancement, Enrollment Management, and Procurement.  Prior to joining Suffolk in 2012, Alicia served for six years within the Office of the Town Attorney for the Town of Islip, New York, eventually assuming the leadership role of Town Attorney.  Alicia received her Juris Doctorate from St. John’s University School of Law and received her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Scranton. She also holds a Master of Arts degree in Communication Studies from Queens College of the City University of New York.

Eric Odin
Associate General Counsel

Eric joined the OGC as an Assistant General Counsel in October of 2017 and was promoted to Associate General Counsel in March of 2020. Eric came to the college in 2008 and has held positions within the Human Resource Management and Labor Relations division that included Senior Human Resource Generalist and Director of Human Resource Services, and Acting Vice President of Human Resource Management and Labor Relations. In those roles he advised senior management on all strategic issues impacting on personnel practices and policies, labor relations and contractual matters. Eric began his legal career in private practice in 1994 with the Virginia based law firm of Odin Feldman & Pittleman. He has also been an adjunct professor at Manhattanville College, where he has lectured on subjects inclusive of organizational psychology, organizational behavior, and law and psychology. Eric received his Juris Doctorate from The George Washington University Law School. He also holds a Master of Arts in Industrial –Organizational Psychology from George Mason University and received his undergraduate degree from Northwestern University.

Stephen R. Peoples
Director of Legal Support & Division Administrative Manager

Stephen Peoples joined the OGC in the fall of 2013. Prior to joining FIT, Stephen worked as a paralegal and legal support professional for several nationally recognized top tier law firms including, among others, Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Debevoise & Plimpton. He also worked in-house in the legal department at Chanel, Inc. Within the Office of the General Counsel, Stephen’s role is to act both independently and/or collaborate on a wide variety of administrative functions to assist the Office of the General Counsel with daily operational matters and to ensure efficient and effective office operations applying a high degree of confidentiality, discretion, responsibility, and judgment. His responsibilities include FOIL requests management, research, analysis, and writing on legal issues and related projects under the supervision of an attorney. He also provides support on corporate governance matters for the Secretary of the College. Stephen earned his Juris Doctorate from the Howard University School of Law and received his undergraduate degree from the University of Illinois-at Champaign.

Bafemi Silver
Senior Legal Assistant

Bafemi Silver joined the college’s Office of the General Counsel in the summer of 2013. Prior to joining FIT, Bafemi was a Research Study Assistant at Memorial Sloane–Kettering Cancer Center. Within the Office of the General Counsel, Bafemi performs a full range of administrative and paralegal functions. In addition to responsibilities for the department’s budget and the management of the client matters database, he routinely performs research, analysis, drafts communications on diverse issues, and serves as a professional liaison between the department and external parties. Bafemi is a graduate of the State University of New York at Stony Brook where he earned his Bachelor of Science in Biology.