1960s

William Butler, SIS/BA ’61, was awarded a gold medal, the National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine’s highest honor, for services to Ukrainian law in March 2017.

Jill Ayn Schneider, CAS/BA ’66, published Annie Sunbeam, a comic book that teaches children about environmental issues. The comic was featured at the first United Nations Ocean Summit and San Diego Comic-Con International. Schneider is cofounder of Comics Uniting Nations, a partnership between UNICEF and NGOs PCI Media Impact and Reading with Pictures, whose mission is to make the United Nations’s Sustainable Development Goals accessible to the citizens of the world through comics.

Ann Beattie, CAS/BA ’69, published The Accomplished Guest, a collection of 13 stories set in a variety of locales, from Key West, Florida, to Virginia and Maine. The stories address the stark indignities of aging, friends reuniting, loneliness, and travel.

Joyce Hospodar, CAS/BS ’69, is senior advisor of rural programs at the Center for Rural Health at the University of Arizona’s Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health. She is a member of the newly formed National Emergency Medical Services Council led by the Federal Office of Rural Health Policy.

René Sacasas, CAS-SPA/BA ’69, is the first university faculty ombudsperson professor and chair of the business law department at the University of Miami. He is charged with helping individual faculty or groups of faculty resolve conflict, address problematic issues, and bring systemic concerns to the attention of academic leaders for resolution.

 

1970s

Janet Gibbs, CAS/BA ’72, published her second book, Pawn of Fate, a novel about the silk mill industry and the Industrial Workers of the World (IWW) labor union during the early twentieth century. A middle school literature teacher at St. Patrick School in Chatham, New Jersey, she was awarded the 2016 Joan Lavine Keats Social Justice Award from the Julius and Dorothy Koppelman Holocaust/Genocide Resource Center at Rider University in Lawrenceville, New Jersey. The grant will help the school expand its Holocaust and genocide studies curriculum.

Linda (Brownlee) Hyman, SPA/BA ’72, is executive vice president and chief human resources officer at Korn Ferry International. Her husband, Kenneth Hyman, WCL/JD ’72, is managing director for Black Diamond Trading LLC.

Benjamin Levin, CAS/BA ’72, is one of three Hyland Levin partners named to the Best Lawyers in America 2018. He is managing partner of the firm, headquartered in Marlton, New Jersey, and represents global food manufacturers and national franchise companies.

Dennis Lucey, Kogod/MBA ’72, along with his wife, Pam, and former US Senator George Mitchell (D-ME), hosted the National American-Ireland Dinner in Washington, DC, on March 15. The dinner honored both the senator and Vice President Mike Pence. Lucey cochaired the dinner, which raised $800,000 to support programs that promote peace and reconciliation, arts and culture, education, and community development throughout Ireland.

George Schaefer, SPA/BA ’72, was recognized by his peers as one of the leading mentors and investors to entrepreneurs and startups in the Central Texas area in December 2016. Schaefer advises, develops, and invests in new businesses in the Austin area, where he and wife, Lois, have lived for four years. He also lectures and publishes articles on the subject.

Kermit Washington, CAS/BA ’73, and Patricia Harris, CAS/BA ’73, coauthored 20-20: The Kermit Washington Story. The book chronicles Washington’s life, including his time at AU as a forward on the basketball team and his NBA career.

Robert Sandler, SPA/BA ’75, is 1 of 10 Farrell Fritz attorneys named to the Best Lawyers in America 2018. Farrell Fritz is a full-service law firm of 85 attorneys who support the New York business community.

Stephen Christy, SPA/BA ’76, was elected to the board of supervisors of Pima County, Arizona, in November 2016. Christy sold his car dealership, Steve Christy Chrysler-Jeep, which he owned for 40 years, in 2007. Since then he has served as chair of the Arizona State Board of Transportation and the Pima County Regional Transportation Authority. He and his wife, Susie, have been married for 35 years. They have three daughters and two grandchildren.

Jules Mermelstein, WCL/JD ’79, is the Green Party nominee for judge on the Pennsylvania Superior Court. He has been a criminal lawyer, social studies teacher, township commissioner, and UD Medal winner.

 

1980s

Stephen Tillett, SPA/BA ’82, has released a new book, Stop Falling for the Okeydoke: How the Lie of “Race” Continues to Undermine Our Country.

Alicia Anstead, CAS/BA ’83, was appointed associate director for programming in the Office for the Arts at Harvard University. She is editor in chief and cofounder of the Harvard Arts Blog, and editor in chief of Inside Arts, the magazine for the Association of Performing Arts Professionals in Washington, DC. Anstead is a journalism instructor at the Harvard University Extension School.

Charles DeBevoise, WCL/JD ’83, is 1 of 23 Davis Malm attorneys named to the list of 2017 Massachusetts Super Lawyers. Davis Malm is a full-service law firm in Boston.

Mark Chappell, CAS/BA ’84, was awarded the 2016 Paper of the Year by the American Physiological Society for his study, “Evidence for a Mitochondrial Angiotensin-(1-7) System in the Kidney.”

David Calabrese, SIS/BA ’88, was promoted to senior vice president of government affairs and deputy general manager at the Washington, DC, office of the Daikin US Corporation, a global air conditioning manufacturer.

Guillermo “William” Christensen, SIS/BA ’88, joined the Washington, DC, office of Brown Rudnick LLP, an international law firm, as a partner in the white collar litigation practice, where he leads the firm’s cybersecurity practice. He also recently joined the advisory board of the Reves Center for International Studies at the College of William and Mary.

Tracey O’Shaughnessy, CAS/BA ’88, published her second collection of essays, Put the Kettle On and Other Culture Disconnections. Her first book is Every Little Thing: Reflections on Family, Faith and Friendship. She has been a newspaper columnist for 33 years.

Steve “Sig” Greenebaum, SOC/BA ’89, has been named head of global live events for Overwatch and Overwatch League at Blizzard Entertainment. Overwatch League is the first ever professional e-sports league, kicked off in late 2017. Greenebaum, former director of the C3 Presents/Live Nation Festival, spent the last 10 years producing the Voodoo Music and Arts Experience, the NFL draft, the Quiksilver Pro World Championship of Surfing, and the Essence Music Festival.

John Quinlan, SPA/MSHR ’89, released his debut book, Tau Bada: The Quest and Memoir of a Vulnerable Man. He takes the reader on a motorcycle adventure through a remote mountain valley in Colorado to live in a secluded village nestled in the rainforest of Papua New Guinea. Quinlan and his wife, Fiona, live in Grosse Pointe, Michigan, where he manages Growth Strategies Global, a consulting firm.

1990s

Jeffrey Brenner, WCL/JD ’90, has been recognized by Chamber USA as a leader in his field at Nixon Peabody, LLP, a global law firm with clients in the United States, Europe, and Asia. He concentrates his practice on commercial litigation, construction disputes, complex real estate issues, and tort litigation in Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

Adam Greenberg, SPA/BA ’90, was sworn in as a municipal court judge in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, where he also serves as the managing partner of a law firm. A former cocaptain of the AU rugby club, he has been affiliated with the South Jersey Rugby Club since graduating from AU.

Michael Sharon, SPA/BA ’90, published Green Day Rising: Before the Dookie Flew, a small book that documents Green Day’s last Bay Area club gig before they hit superstardom.

Lamont Silves, SIS/BA ’90, joined Temporal Defense Systems as senior vice president with responsibility for business development and strategic initiatives. He returned to the United States last year after nearly four years in the Middle East.

Patricia Caballero, SOC/BA ’91, Kogod/MBA ’00, was appointed managing director for US business development at Burson-Marsteller, a strategic communications and global public relations firm.

Michelle Suskauer, WCL/JD ’91, was appointed the Florida Bar president for 2017–2018. Suskauer is president of the board of directors at the Legal Aid Society in Palm Beach County, where her work garnered a 2016 Bethesda Hospital Foundation Women of Grace Award. She is also a managing partner of the two-person law firm Suskauer Feuer LLC, making her the first president of the Florida Bar in 15 years to come from a firm composed of one or two lawyers.

Cindy Cesare, SOC/BA ’93, has been named to the board of directors of the Media Arts Center San Diego. The nonprofit provides new media tools and channels to create equitable and engaged communities where underserved voices are heard. Cesare owns CinCity Media in Las Vegas and is a full-time freelance field producer for CBS News and 48 Hours.

Sheryl Seiden, SPA/BA ’93, opened her own law firm in Cranford, New Jersey, where she specializes in family law matters, including dissolution of marriages, custody and parenting time issues, alimony and child support, domestic violence, postjudgment issues after a party’s divorce, and prenuptial agreements. 

Tom Legare, SPA/MS ’94, was appointed director of change management at Tufts Health Plan. He is responsible for defining the change management approach for the Core Health Rules Migration program, guiding the organization through changes in technology and business processes, and establishing the conditions for a smooth transition.

Julie Andreeff Jensen, SPA/BA ’95, WCL/JD ’02, has joined the board of trustees of the John G. Shedd Aquarium, Chicago’s most visited paid cultural attraction. Jensen is managing director and chief corporate affairs and communications officer for Citadel.

Kristen Eastlick, SPA/MA ’96, was named vice president of programs at the Capital Research Center (CRC), a nonprofit think tank that conducts research on various public policy advocacy organizations. She joined CRC after a nearly 20-year career at Berman and Company, an issue advocacy firm, where she served as the chief administrative officer.

Shaohua Hu, SIS/PhD ’97, associate professor of government and politics and coordinator of the International Affairs program at Wagner College, has published his second book, Foreign Policies Toward Taiwan.

Benjamin Jones, SPA/MPA ’97, earned a master’s degree in applied positive psychology at the University of Pennsylvania and published his thesis, “Positive Public Service: Turning Purpose into Progress by Changing How Government Works from the Inside.”

Brooke Forte Manrique, SIS/BA ’97, was appointed vice president of global human resources and communications for SI Group, a global chemistry company. At 40, she is one of the youngest female executives in the chemical industry.

2000s

Jean Accius, SPA/PhD ’00, was selected as one of 10 new generation social insurance leaders by the eight living founding board members of the National Academy of Social Insurance, a nonprofit organization committed to advancing solutions to challenges facing the nation by increasing public understanding of how social insurance contributes to economic security.

Anjali “Angie” Reed Phukan, Kogod/MBA ’00, is running for Maryland comptroller. 

Donna Ginn, SPA/MS ’01, was appointed AARP Florida State volunteer president. AARP is a nonprofit, nonpartisan, social welfare organization, with a membership of nearly 38 million people.

Ian Steff, SIS/BA ’03, was appointed deputy assistant secretary of commerce for manufacturing in the Trump administration. His responsibilities include overseeing several national initiatives designed to boost American manufacturers’ global competitiveness in more than
12 sectors.

Sandra Colareta, WCL/JD ’04, was promoted to vice president of contracts and risk management at Billy Casper Golf.

Carlos Andres Hunt, Kogod/BSBA ’04, and his wife, Carla, welcomed their son Adrián Lucas Hunt on July 2.

CJ Perego, SIS/BA ’04, and Jeff Rothenberg, Kogod/BSBA ’04, first met as freshman roommates in AU’s Anderson Hall, and later pledged Sigma Chi together. They have remained close friends ever since and are proud that their AU-based friendship has grown and thrived throughout the years. Perego is a US State Department foreign service officer and lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife, Andrea Perego, SIS/BA ’04, and their sons Charlie and Teddy. His family is preparing for their next posting to Almaty, Kazakhstan. Rothenberg lives with his wife, Sarah Feldman, WSP ’03, and daughter, Lilia, in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. He serves as managing director for the Sigma Chi Foundation, a public charity promoting values-based leadership and scholarship.

Christa Tinari, SIS/MA ’05, published Create a Culture of Kindness in Middle School: 48 Character-Building Lessons to Foster Respect and Prevent Bullying. An international speaker, trainer, peace builder, and educational consultant on bullying prevention and improvement of school environments, she cowrote this book with award-winning author Naomi Drew.

Sean Gunn, CAS/BA ’06, is the 2017 recipient of the National Association of Federal Defenders Award for Outstanding Research and Writing Attorney in a Capital Habeas Unit. He currently serves as an assistant federal public defender in the Capital Habeas Unit of the Office of the Federal Public Defender for the Northern District of Florida.

Stuart Matthews, SIS/MA ’06, has launched Matthews Immigration Group, an immigration and nationality law firm headquartered in Raleigh, North Carolina. His practice is nationwide and focuses on business and corporate immigration matters.

Nic Sakurai, CAS/MA ’07, became the first person in the United States to officially receive a driver’s license with the gender-neutral marker “X.”

Robert G. Borowy, Kogod/MST ’08, has been admitted as partner at Deloitte Tax LLP in Baltimore, Maryland.

Stacia Young Jackson, SPA/BA ’08, CAS/MEd ’14, and her husband, Simon, welcomed their son, Lachlan Brody Sweeting Jackson, on September 29, 2016, in Washington, DC.

Jonathan McPike, CAS/BS ’08, SPA/BA ’08, joined the Indianapolis office of Taft Stettinius and Hollister LLP in the business and finance group. Prior to joining Taft, McPike practiced in the national private equity group of Kirkland and Ellis LLP in Chicago, where he focused on representing private equity fund sponsors and managers in the formation and operation of private equity funds and in the acquisition and disposition of their respective portfolio companies.

Colleen Zakrewsky, SOC/MA ’08, was appointed chief development officer at FINCA International, a nonprofit microfinance organization that provides financial services and social good products to low-income entrepreneurs worldwide. She is responsible for leading FINCA’s fundraising and marketing efforts for private and public donors.

Elizabeth Massa, SPA/BA ’09, SPA/MS ’13, and Clayton Massa, SIS/BA ’09, SIS/MA ’10, welcomed their first child, Abigail, on April 29, 2017, in Alexandria, Virginia.

Michael Minnick, SPA/BA ’09, is staff attorney at the Greensboro, North Carolina, office of Brooks Pierce, a business law firm providing strategic counsel and innovative solutions to clients nationwide. He works with attorneys across the firm to help them identify, review, and preserve electronic data in preparation for trial.

2010s

Brenda Gaydosh, CAS/PhD ’10, published Bernhard Lichtenberg: Roman Catholic Priest and Martyr of the Nazi Regime. She has also been promoted to associate professor at West Chester University of Pennsylvania.

Justin Gibbs, SOC/MA ’10, was appointed senior executive advisor at Jarrard Phillips Cate and Hancock, a strategic communications and engagement firm for leading health care providers across the country. Prior to joining the firm, he managed public affairs and grassroots campaigns at the St. Louis headquarters of Fleishman Hillard, a global public relations and marketing agency.

Lauryn Smith Gibbs, SOC/MA ’10, and Justin Gibbs, SOC/MA ’10, are delighted to announce the birth of their son, Marshall Louis Gibbs. He was born on February 19, 2017, in Nashville, Tennessee, where the family resides.

James Huver, SIS/MA ’10, earned a master of science degree in strategic intelligence from the National Intelligence University in Bethesda, Maryland, on July 28, 2017.

Samantha Schiro, SPA/BA ’10, Kogod/BS ’10, and Kristopher Kagan, SPA/BA ’10, were married on July 2, 2017, at the Vanderbilt Museum in Centerport, New York. They met during a four-year leadership program at the School of Public Affairs. Kagan is vice president of finance at the startup Scientist.com, and Schiro is a portfolio management associate at Becton Dickinson, an American medical technology company. They live in San Diego, California.

Gineen Cargo, SOC/MA ’12, was appointed to the Wells Fargo Endowed Chair in the Department of Communications at North Carolina Central University. She owns Cargo and Co. Events, an event planning company in Cary, North Carolina, and serves as lead planner.

Caitlin Soto, Kogod/BSBA ’12, has been appointed to oversight counsel with the Senate Finance Committee for the majority staff, focusing on health care-related issues.

Lee Blaser, SIS/MA ’13, and Andrew “AJ” Doty, SIS/MA ’13, were married on June 3 in Washington, DC. The couple met in 2011 when they took a statistics course together in the School of International Service. They now work for the US Forest Service International Programs.

Luke Heselden, SIS/MA ’13, is a policy analyst at the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls at the US Department of State. He works to prevent sensitive technology from getting into the wrong hands and advises policy makers to advance US interests at home and abroad.

Jessica Fredericks, SOC/MA ’14, was named director of communications for the White House Historical Association. Fredericks joins the association with 11 years of experience in media and strategic communications. She most recently served as public relations and publications manager for the Washington Ballet.

Erin Bell, SIS/MA ’16, received a Fulbright US Student Program Award to Senegal from the US Department of State and the J. William Fulbright Foreign Scholarship Board. She will support the teaching of English and community projects as part of the Fulbright English Teaching Assistantship.

Albert Alexander Rachel, Kogod/BS '60, Kogod/MA '68; April 25, 2017; New Smyrna Beach Florida

Colonel Heath Twichell, Jr., CAS/MA '64, CAS/PhD '67; June 10, 2017; Fall River, Massachusetts

Paul Thomas Perkins, Kogod/BS '65; July 31, 2017; Columbia, South Carolina

Michael Brandt, CAS/BA '69; October 16, 2013; Etna, New York

Steve Smith, SOC/BA '78; June 2017; Fredericksburg, Virginia