Alumni Updates: Winter 2019

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1956

John Schneider BUS ’56, ’61G a long-time violinist, invented the Schneider Tailpiece, a kit for the violin that he says enhances the instrument’s resonance while reducing the need for frequent tuning.

1967

Louise Stanger A&S ’67 received the Peggy Albrecht Friendly House L.A. Excellence in Service Award for her work in the substance abuse and mental health fields. A licensed social worker, she recently coauthored The Definitive Guide to Addiction Interventions (Routledge).

1968

Patricia DeMarco A&S ’68, ’71G published Pathways to Our Sustainable Future: A Global Perspective from Pittsburgh (University of Pittsburgh Press), which explores how tools like regenerative agriculture and renewable energy can improve people’s everyday lives in addition to the environment. She is a visiting researcher and writer at Carnegie Mellon University.

Terry Weiler A&S ’68 is in his second term as treasurer of the Pennsylvania Bar Association. He is a partner in the Wyomissing, Pa., law firm Huckabee, Weiler & Levengood PC and serves on the board of directors of the Family Guidance Center of Berks County.

1969

Michael Feldman ENGR ’69 retired after a successful career in insurance and risk management. He resides in Ellicott City, Md.

1970

Hanwant Singh ENGR ’70G, ’72G received the NASA Distinguished Service Medal, the administration’s highest form of recognition awarded to a governmental employee. He works in the Earth Science Division at the NASA Ames Research Center in Moffett Field, Calif., where his research centers on understanding the impact of human activities on the chemistry and climate of the earth’s atmosphere.

1971

Larry Kemp A&S ’71, LAW ’75 published Modern Jazz Trumpet Legends (RoseDog Books), a look into the lives and works of jazz trumpeters born between 1925 and 1940. He is the primary host of the radio show The House That Jazz Built on KUNM in Albuquerque, N.M.

Linda Nesvisky A&S ’71 exhibited Job in Our Time, a 40-piece series of monoprints and etchings exploring how the story of Job applies to the 21st century, at the Leona P. Kramer Gallery at Gratz College in Melrose Park, Pa. She lives in Elkins Park, Pa.

1973

AJ Di Mattia BUS ’73G was named Instructor of the Year for the second time by the University of Bridgeport in Connecticut. He is a professor in the university’s School of Professional Studies and an attorney providing legal counsel and business advice.

1975

Warren Schmaus A&S ’75G, ’80G published Liberty and the Pursuit of Knowledge: Charles Renouvier’s Political Philosophy of Science (University of Pittsburgh Press). He is a professor of philosophy at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago.

1976

Barbara Craig NURS ’76, ’86G received the 2017 Jefferson Award for Public Service Team Award as a member of Free Store 15104, a nonprofit that redistributes surplus and donated goods to Allegheny County neighbors in need. She resides in Pittsburgh.

Francis Feld A&S ’76, EDUC ’86G, a nurse anesthetist at UPMC Passavant Hospital, joined Operation Walk Pittsburgh on a medical mission to Guatemala to assist in knee and hip replacement surgeries for 40 patients. He also volunteered at an evacuation center in High Point, N.C., with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ National Disaster Medical System.

Eva Paus A&S ’76, ’78G, ’83G edited Confronting Dystopia: The New Technological Revolution and the Future of Work (Cornell University Press), a collection of scholarship analyzing the economic and political implications of artificial intelligence, digital connectivity, and robotics. She is a professor of economics and the Carol Hoffmann Collins Director of the McCulloch Center for Global Initiatives at Mount Holyoke College in South Hadley, Mass.

1977

Sharon Brady UPG ’77, BUS ’87G has been appointed chief operating officer of SN3, part of Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Technical Solutions division in Newport News, Va. SN3 manages projects related to national security, the advancement of science and technology, and environmental protection.

Elise Davis-McFarland A&S ’77G was the 2018 president of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association. During her one-year term, she represented nearly 200,000 members and affiliates. She lives in Charleston, S.C.

1978

Rita Maimbourg A&S ’78 was listed in Chambers USA 2018 as a recognized practitioner in the area of Product Liability & Mass Torts. Maimbourg is partner and chair of the Trial Department at Tucker Ellis LLP in Cleveland, Ohio.

Michael Mezmar Jr. NURS ’78 was re-elected city commissioner of Harlingen, Texas. He is a financial analyst at Mezmar Money Management.

1979

Steven A. Koch A&S ’79 is serving his second term as president of Temple Beth-El, the largest synagogue in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.

1980

Jennifer Campbell MED ’80 was elected to represent District 2 on the San Diego City Council. Prior to running for office, she practiced and taught family medicine for 37 years.

1981

Dorothy Barresi A&S ’81G published her fifth poetry collection, What We Did While We Made More Guns (University of Pittsburgh Press). She is a professor in the Department of English at California State University, Northridge.

Larry Burk MED ’81 coauthored Dreams That Can Save Your Life: Early Warning Signs of Cancer and Other Diseases (Findhorn Press). He is president of Healing Imager in Durham, N.C.

1985

Neal ElAttrache MED ’85 was elected president of the American Orthopaedic Society for Sports Medicine. He is an orthopaedic surgeon specializing in sports medicine at Cedars-Sinai Kerlan-Jobe Orthopaedic Clinic in Los Angeles, Calif.; the head team physician for the NFL’s Los Angeles Rams and the MLB’s Los Angeles Dodgers; and the orthopaedic consultant to the Los Angeles Angels, Los Angeles Clippers, Los Angeles Kings, and the Anaheim Ducks.

Elizabeth “Betsy” Krisher A&S ’85 received the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants’ 2018 Women to Watch Award at their Women’s Leadership Conference. She is president of Maher Duessel in Pittsburgh.

Greg Petro A&S ’85, BUS ’00G competed in the 2018 Pittsburgh Vintage Grand Prix, driving a 1963 British-built Turner sports car. He lives in Wexford, Pa.

1987

Christopher Reber EDUC ’87G was named president of Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, N.J.

1988

Alexander F. C. Webster A&S ’88G was appointed dean and professor of moral theology at Holy Trinity Orthodox Seminary in Jordanville, N.Y. He retired as a colonel from the U.S. Army, where he served as a chaplain.

1990

Tammy Singleton-English LAW ’90 was selected to serve as a trustee for the Community Foundation of Upper St. Clair and was elected chair of the South Hills Morning Networking Subcommittee of the Solo and Small Firm Practitioners Section of the Allegheny County Bar Association. She is the founder of Singleton-English Law Offices, located in Bethel Park, Pa.

1991

Richard Fellinger A&S ’91 published Made to Break Your Heart (Open Books), a novel about raising a child, holding a marriage together, and maintaining sanity “in the cutthroat world of Little League baseball.”

Lori Kalisky-DePorter ENGR ’91 is helping to start a Parkinson’s Fitness program in York, Pa. She shares her journey with young-onset Parkinson’s disease on her blog, Dance Like No One Is Watching.

John Lombardo A&S ’91G retired from the Kiski School as dean of faculty, world languages chair, and director of studies after working there for 44 years. He resides with his wife, Geri, in Saltsburg, Pa.

Douglas E. Moses A&S ’91 was named assistant dean of admissions for Northeast Ohio Medical University College of Medicine in Rootstown, Ohio, where he additionally serves as a course director. He also works as a pediatric hospitalist at Akron Children’s Hospital.

1992

Angela Timashenka Geiger A&S ’92, BUS ’97G rang the April 5 closing bell at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square in honor of World Autism Month. Geiger is president and CEO of the nonprofit Autism Speaks.

Brandy Simms A&S ’92 won second place in the sports column category at the 2018 Maryland-Delaware-D.C. Press Association Awards. He has been a sports journalist for more than 20 years and is a frequent contributor to radio and television talk shows in the greater Washington, D.C., area.

Christine (Orie) Zaccarelli A&S ’92 is CEO of the Crime Victims’ Center of Chester County, Inc., an agency providing counseling, advocacy, and resources to victims of crime and their families in West Chester, Pa.

1993

Greg Ayres A&S ’93, ’97G is a senior geologist for RETTEW’s geoenvironmental group. He leads a team of geologists who support the energy industry in the firm’s Pittsburgh office.

1994

Aparna Rayaprol A&S ’94G addressed a forum on “Australia-India Student Mobility—Experiences, Lessons, and Transformations” at Deakin University in Melbourne, Australia. She is a professor of sociology at the University of Hyderabad in India.

1995

Harold Brown A&S ’95 is vice president of Iredell Health System’s Physician Network, which provides wellness and acute health care to communities in Iredell County, N.C.

Bagele Mankha Chilisa EDUC ’95G, ’97G was appointed to the United Nations Development Programme Evaluation Advisory Panel under the Independent Evaluation Office. She is a professor in the Post Graduate Research and Evaluation Programme at the University of Botswana and a founding member of the Botswana, Lesotho, Swaziland, and Namibia Research Association.

1996

Delphine Traoré Maïdou BUS ’96, chief operating officer for Allianz Africa, joined the board of directors for African Risk Capacity Limited, an agency of the African Union that assists member states in tackling the impact of natural disasters on vulnerable people. She was also recently named CEO of the Year by Africa Economy Builders and Insurance CEO of the Year by the African Reinsurance Corporation.

1997

Cynthia Reed EDUC ’97 was named dean of the Bagwell College of Education at Kennesaw State University in Kennesaw, Ga. She previously served as the dean of the college of education and human services at Northern Kentucky University in Highland Heights, Ky.

1998

Sharon Praissman Fisher A&S ’98 opened Nurtured Well, a women’s mental health practice in Towson, Md. She coauthored Beyond the Egg Timer: A Companion Guide for Having Babies in Your Mid-Thirties and Older (Lystra Books).

Judith Samson LAW ’98 invented and launched Bra Bridge, a discreet bra clip that she says helps women of all sizes gain confidence about the way they look. She practices criminal defense law in her own firm in Minneapolis, Minn.

Alann D. Schmidt CGS ’98 coauthored September Mourn: The Dunker Church of Antietam Battlefield (Savas Beatie), a full-length study of one of the most notable houses of worship in American military history. He spent 15 years as a park ranger at Antietam National Battlefield and currently serves as a pastor for the Churches of God near Fort Littleton, Pa.

1999

Barbara (McKelvey) D’Souza A&S ’99G published If We Were Snowflakes (Pearlsong Press), a dystopian young adult novel. She works as an accountant in Bridgeville, Pa.

2002

Roy Phitayakorn MED ’02, an endocrine surgeon, joined Emerson Hospital in Concord, Mass. An associate professor of surgery at Harvard Medical School, his clinical interests include thyroid and parathyroid diseases.

2003

Kelly Happe A&S ’03G coedited Biocitizenship: The Politics of Bodies, Governance, and Power (NYU Press), a collection of essays exploring biocitizenship as a mode of political action.

William Lies A&S ’03G was elected provincial superior of the Congregation of Holy Cross, United States Province of Priests and Brothers, by the Provincial Chapter in Wilkes-Barre, Pa., through which he oversees the work and welfare of more than 500 priests, brothers, and seminarians.

2004

Ben Miller MED ’04 published his second psychological thriller, The Piper (Krac Publishing), about an FBI special agent’s investigation into a predator who steals infants from young mothers. He is a pediatrician living in Mars, Pa.

Nancy Reddy A&S ’04 published Acadiana (Black Lawrence Press), a collection of poems about a small southern town during the approach and aftermath of a hurricane. She recently toured the country reading excerpts from the book.

2005

Liz Adams BUS ’05 was appointed vice president of marketing of the Americas at Associated Luxury Hotels, a leading global hospitality and revenue company. She is based out of the company headquarters in Boston.

Erin George A&S ’05 was promoted to senior advisor at Lovell Communications, a national health care strategic communications firm based in Nashville, Tenn.

2006

Ben Gwin A&S ’06 published Clean Time: The True Story of Ronald Reagan Middleton (Burrow Press), a dark satire framed as the memoir of a drug addict-turned reality TV star.

Anne Garland Mahler A&S ’06 published From the Tricontinental to the Global South: Race, Radicalism, and Transnational Solidarity (Duke University Press). She is an assistant professor of Spanish at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville.

Tracey (Smith) Moher BUS ’06 is a controller for AlphaOne Capital, a hedge fund in the Philadelphia area, and a mother of three.

Carly Woods A&S ’06G, ’10G published Debating Women: Gender, Education, and Spaces for Argument, 1835-1945 (Michigan State University Press), which explores the role debating organizations played in women’s pursuit of higher education in the United States and the United Kingdom. She is an assistant professor in the Department of Communication at the University of Maryland in College Park, Md.

2007

Timothy L. DeFoor CGS ’07 graduated from the Martin Luther King Jr. Leadership Development Institute. He is the Dauphin County controller, serves on the Pennsylvania State YMCA Board of Directors, and chairs the Harrisburg Area Community College Foundation Board of Directors. 

2009

Whitney Grespin GSPIA ’09, a PhD candidate at King’s College London’s Defence Studies Department and graduate teaching assistant at the U.K. Joint Services Command and Staff College, was elected to the Council on Foreign Relations’ Term Member Program. She is also a contracted Peace Operations Analyst at the U.S. Army War College’s Peacekeeping and Stability Operations Institute in Carlisle, Pa.

2011

Brandon Mendoza GSPIA ’11 was named executive director of NAIOP Pittsburgh, the chapter of the national association that represents the interests of developers and owners of industrial, office, mixed-use, and related commercial real estate.

2012

Daniel Delaney A&S ’12, ’13G joined the Anchorage, Alas., office of global infrastructure firm AECOM as an environmental scientist. He is a member of the firm’s Pacific Northwest Region Impact Assessment & Permitting team.

2013

Jason Flatt GSPH ’13 worked on a research team examining the prevalence of dementia in lesbian, gay, and bisexual older adults and presented the team’s findings at the 2018 Alzheimer’s Association International Conference in Chicago. He is an assistant professor at the Institute for Health & Aging, School of Nursing, University of California, San Francisco.

Amy Mathieu A&S ’13, LAW ’16 joined Eckert Seamans’s Pittsburgh office as an associate in the Litigation Division. She concentrates her practice on commercial litigation matters.

Matt Ziance UPJ ’13 and his coworkers received a Sports Emmy Award for their work during the Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. He is the manager of consumer engagement for NBC Sports Group in Stamford, Conn.

2015

Kevin Krost EDUC ’15G joined the Institute for Defense Analyses in Alexandria, Va., as a summer associate in the Operational Evaluation Division. He is a graduate student at Virginia Tech working toward a doctoral degree in educational research and evaluation.

Robert Timmons II ENGR ’15 published his first book of poetry, Behind the Smile (WaveCloud), under the pen name Sleight. He lives in Houston, Texas.

2016

Maria Mongelluzzo A&S ’16 launched a tool-lending library at Millvale Community Library in Millvale, Pa., where she worked as a clerk until June 2018. The lending library is the first of its kind in western Pennsylvania.

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