Class Notes
Share your news with UConn Nation!
Your classmates want to know about — and see — the milestones in your life. Send us news about weddings, births, new jobs, new publications, and more — along with hi-res photos — to: Alumni News & Notes, UConn Foundation, 2384 Alumni Drive, Unit 3053, Storrs, CT 06269.
Submissions may be edited for clarity or length.
Spotlight Stories
Members of the Black Student Sit-In at the Wilbur Cross Library on April 22, 1974, reunited to mark the event’s 50th anniversary. From left: Charles Smith ’77 (ED); Rodney Bass ’75 (ED), ’77 MA; John Moore ’76 (CLAS); Henry Reed ’76 (BUS); Lois Coleman ’75 (CLAS), ’95 MA, ’08 Ph.D.; Glynis (Smith) Cassis ’74 (CLAS), ’91 MSW; Glenn Cassis ’73 (CLAS), ’74 (SFA); Mary Martin-Sweet ’76 (CLAS); and Gary King ’74 (CLAS).
Martha (Sertl) Hoffman ’79 (BUS) writes: I recently went to the final four in Tampa with three other “girls” who were dorm mates in Wade Hall, late ’70s. We had a blast watching the team win No. 12! We stayed at a friend’s house in Florida and were joined by two of our husbands, who also are huge fans and attended both games. We all love our women’s basketball team and connect during the season by texting before, during, and after the games. Shout out to Julie Smith and Diane Mackey, who could not be there with us. Go Huskies!
From left: Phil Hoffman, Jennifer Bayne ’79 (SAH), Martha Hoffman, Mary McNeil Earwaker ’79 (ED), Holly Daniell Miller ’79 (NUR), and Paul Miller.
Kathleen (Drumgool) Hermes ’81 (PHARM), of Guilford, enjoyed watching her son, Samuel, compete in regional and national fencing competitions while he grew up. She thought it looked like a fun sport, but always figured she was too old to take it up herself.
Then her husband, Paul Hermes ’80 (CLAS), surprised her with fencing lessons for her 49th birthday and the rest, as they say, is history.
This past October, Hermes won first place in the team event in the 2024 Veteran Fencing World Championships in Dubai at age 65. She and the U.S. team defeated France, Italy, Japan, Great Britain, and Germany to reach the top spot.
“I am proud to have made Team USA,” she says. “It isn’t a dream come true because I never would have dreamed such a thing. It is still unreal.”
She also came in eighth place in the foil, her weapon of choice. She prepared for the championships by practicing at least twice a week, taking two lessons a week, and competing in a tournament every month.
Hermes, who worked in retail pharmacy for nine years before becoming a full-time mom to their two children, is also an avid runner.
“Running does not come close to the fun I have fencing. Fencing is so hard,” she says, adding, “Any accomplishment, no matter how small, feels great. And I have met the most wonderful group of women in the sport.” —Grace Merritt
“It’s really hard to succeed as an entrepreneur. If you believe in what you’re doing, have persistence and the determination to stick with it, and believe in yourself, it can be done. If you’re learning by trial and error, you may end up knocking your head against the wall time and time again. If you can learn some of the techniques early on, you’d be so much farther ahead,’’ says Toni Boucher ’02 MBA, whose new book, “The Husky Effect: How UConn Is Creating the Entrepreneurs of the Future,” can help with exactly that.
Boucher, pictured with her School of Business Hall of Fame award, is the first selectman of Wilton, served 22 years in the Connecticut General Assembly, and directed a top asset-management firm. As an MBA student at UConn, she discovered a community of experts at the School of Business and beyond, who she says continue to nurture and guide entrepreneurs, encourage risk-taking, and support those who dare to dream big.
The book, co-written with Josh Young, notes that the rise of UConn basketball has become a catalyst for broad transformation. The teams — with three championship trophies in the last three years — have created a culture of excellence that extends to all areas of the University. “I think the future of the School of Business is bright. I’m looking forward to the school being in the Top 20 and then Top 10 of public university business schools,’’ Boucher says.
Austin Stowell ’07 (SFA) plays the lead role of Leroy Jethro Gibbs in the highly anticipated series “NCIS: Origins.”
The show follows a young Gibbs in 1991, years prior to the events of “NCIS,” and is narrated by Mark Harmon. In the series, Gibbs starts his special agent career at the fledgling NCIS Camp Pendleton office, where he forges his place on a gritty, ragtag team led by NCIS legend Mike Franks.
Taylor Harton ’22 (NUR) felt like she “blacked out” when longtime boyfriend Chris Thomas ’23 (CAHNR, CLAS) got down on one knee at Gampel during the Dec. 3 women’s basketball game. Her surprise was less about the proposal than the venue: “Chris is so not a public person.” But the two started dating the summer before college and bonded over going to women’s basketball games, making this the perfect proposal backdrop. Thomas meticulously coordinated the moment with UConn Athletics and invited 20 family members and friends to witness it. The happy couple now live in New York City and are planning a Vermont micro-wedding next year. —valeria diaz ’25 (CLAS)
Gallery
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- 2020
Congrats to Kurt Telford ’79 (ED) on being promoted to president of Charlotte Catholic High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Telford, who has 45 years of experience in education, will lead Charlotte Catholic as its inaugural president.
Matt Light ’78 (CLAS) reports that the former experimental, self-governing dormitory on northwest campus called the Intentional Democratic Community (IDC) had a successful reunion recently. The IDC operated from 1974 to 1983 and had no resident assistants, janitors, or kitchen staff except for a cook. In return for doing the work of such staff, the IDC received $6,400 a year to invest in educational activities, mostly guest speakers and field trips to Boston and New York City. During the reunion, about 100 alums spanning several graduating classes gathered on a July weekend. The group watched a play at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and enjoyed a catered dinner with live music by the Neybas at the nearby Holiday Hill Day Camp. “Our IDC experiment is still alive and well as we had a great time!”
Frank Baskind ’71 (MSW), ’79 6th Year retired after a long career devoted to social work. Most recently, he spent 32 years at Virginia Commonwealth University as a professor and dean emeritus in the School of Social Work. Previously, he founded the undergraduate social work program at the University of Tennessee as an associate professor. He later became dean of social work at Southern Connecticut State University. Along the way, he taught in a nursing education program, worked in a police department, assisted patients in a chronic disease and rehabilitation hospital, and developed a suicide prevention and crisis intervention helpline in Connecticut.
Vicente Ithier ’85 (CLAS) was a 2024 honoree in the Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade. Born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and raised in Hartford, Ithier played basketball as a walk-on at UConn from 1982–84, played in the Puerto Rican professional league for his father’s hometown, and played for the Puerto Rican national team at the XXIV Olympic Games in Seoul. He has served on many boards and organizations, including the Newington Parks and Recreation Travel League, Mayor Mike’s Companies for Kids, and El Futuro en Nuestras Manos mentoring program, and co-founded the Connecticut Spirit AAU girls basketball program. He is an assistant director at Imagineers LLC. He and his wife, Jacqueline, have three children, Yasmin, Vicente Jr., and Andres.
Leslie Imse ’87 MM, MA earned a Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional dedication and impact on choral music in Connecticut and beyond from the American Choral Directors Association.
Patricia A. Saunders ’88 (CLAS), an award-winning author, poet, blogger, and motivational speaker, was a featured guest at the National Black Book Festival in Houston in October. She presented her latest memoir, “Saying Goodbye,” a heartfelt exploration of grief and loss.
Donna Lynn Germano Phillips ’92 (CLAS) is one of Nevada’s first educators to receive a Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) endorsement, helping to shape more inclusive and supportive learning environments. She was appointed to the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Cabinet, where she champions the power of social-emotional growth and resilience as a special education teacher and speaker. She says her journey showcases the difference UConn alums make in education, inspiring students and fellow educators to grow, connect, and lead with empathy.
Zygmunt F. Dembek ’95 Ph.D, ’05 MPH is the 26th editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal Public Health Reports, the official journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service. He takes the helm of the oldest public health journal in the nation, dating back to 1878.
Omar Randall ’96 (CLAS) was promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Marine Corps.
Dawn Works-Dennis ’98 (BGS), ’04 MSW, ’22 MS was selected as the NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic Deputy Public Works Officer for the Naval Submarine Base in New London. She is the senior Navy federal civilian for the more than 200 men and women on the sub base and oversees a $1.2 billion construction recapitalization program.
Random House Studio published “World More Beautiful: The Life and Art of Barbara Cooney” by Angela Burke Kunkel ’02 MA. Her fourth picture book, it is a biography of beloved author and illustrator Barbara Cooney, a two-time Caldecott Medal winner whose work is kept in UConn’s Archives & Special Collections.
James Geisler ’11 (CLAS), executive director of Wellness Services at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, published “Thrive Year One: The Essential Mental Health Workbook for First-Year College Students.” Based on his experience overseeing student mental health in higher education, it takes a proactive approach to helping first-year college students prepare themselves and prioritize their mental health as they begin the college journey.
Robert Wooley ’17 (BUS), chief operating officer of Apple Rehab, was named to the Hartford Business Journal’s 2024 “40 Under 40” list. Wooley, of Simsbury, manages 20 skilled nursing facilities with 2,500 employees. At age 26, he co-founded Nurses at Home, a home health agency, serving around 100 seniors daily. He started his career working full time in senior care while a full-time student at UConn.
Abhi Patni ’19 (ENG), Astha Patni ’16 (ENG), Ali Hosey ’16 (ENG), ’17 (CLAS), and Nicki Hosey ’18 (CLAS), ’23 MA got together last year to share the Dairy Bar’s classic Thanksgiving dinner ice cream pie.
East Hartford High School teachers Jeremy Crouse ’13 (ED), ’14 MA and Rachael Orbe ’13 (CLAS), ’17 (ED), ’18 MA got married last summer at Harkness Memorial Park.
Congrats Allyson (Gambino) Beluk ’13 (CLAS) and Michael Beluk ’15 (CLAS), who were married last July in Stamford. They began dating a few years after college, when they moved back to their hometown of Stamford. Allyson works in media planning and analytics on the personal health team at Philips in Stamford, while Michael works in finance at Direct Wines Inc. in Norwalk. “We have been avid Huskies fans our entire lives and still attend basketball games together,” Allyson says. They even have a 6-year-old Shiba Inu named Maya, after who else but UConn women’s basketball phenom Maya Moore.
Miller Oberman ’13 MA, ’17 Ph.D. has published his second book of poems, “Impossible Things,” an intimate account of fatherhood, loss, grief, Jewish identity, and family.
Erin Craw ’15 (CLAS) and Jason Timko ’15 (BUS), who met at UConn and married in 2022, welcomed their baby boy, Luca Robert Timko, in November 2024. He’s already ready for game day!
Ryan Verano ’18 (CLAS) reports that he graduated from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine last May and started his residency in podiatric medicine and surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. ? Jenny Tang ’18 (CLAS) and Fook Yee Harry Lo ’17 (CLAS) were married last July in Hong Kong, surrounded by UConn friends. They met during Lo’s senior year and had dated long-distance ever since. They now live in Boston, where he is a psychologist at the Boston Latin School and she is a Cloud FinOps engineer at Apple.
UConn law student Will Butler ’18 (CLAS), ’21 MPA and Rebecca Ouellette ’19 (CLAS), ’21 MPA were recently engaged. “We met at UConn and were very excited to celebrate with our friends from UConn!” Will says.
Marissa Gelfand ’19 (NUR) and David Angelo ’19 (CLAS) were married last July in Westchester County, New York. She’s a nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and he’s a math and computer science teacher at Greenwich High School. They met at UConn and began dating their senior year, when they lived next door to each other.
After meeting for the first time at Dunkin’ in the Student Union, Olivia Levine ’20 (CLAS), ’22 MA and Justin Szeglin ’19 (CLAS) were married last July at Candlewood Inn in Brookfield before a crowd of fellow Huskies. “We are so grateful for our UConn chapter, and we owe finding each other to Storrs!” Olivia says.
Ryan Palzere ’21 (ENG) and Chelsea Cocozza ’22 (BUS) married last June at the Vyne in Middlebury. They met through Phi Sigma Pi fraternity and began dating in February 2020, just before the COVID pandemic. “Our time at UConn was spent catching sunsets at Horsebarn Hill, grabbing a bite to eat in Storrs Center, and going for walks in Mansfield Hollow. Thank you so much for bringing us together. Go Huskies!”
Sharing this pic with legendary superfan Big Red at the Big East Tournament! From left: Aaron Belletsky ’22 (CLAS), Cam Treichal ’22 (CLAS), Tom Emery aka Big Red.
1950s
Herbert “Herb” Cohen ’55 (BUS) is retired from the real estate business and lives in Boca Raton, Florida, where he spends his days playing golf and bridge and rooting for Husky hoops.
Richard J. Green ’59 (BUS), sent a life update. As a CPA, he spent years in senior positions in banking and securities firms. Along the way, he founded G & S Numismatics, Cindy’s Restaurant, FoxFire Golf Course, and Personnel Connection Inc., all based in Texas, before retiring at age 85 as the CFO of Global Cash Card. He also flew his hot-air balloon worldwide. “My grandson, Ryan Keane ’23 (BUS), was a member of the men’s ice hockey team. His four years at UConn brought back wonderful memories of my years at Storrs.”
1960s
Many years after meeting in the Student Union during a dance demonstration, Shirley (Dimmock) Perregaux ’63 (SFA) and Paul Perregaux ’58 (CLAS), ’66 MA celebrated 66 years of marriage! They were married in New London shortly before Paul began his military assignment in Germany as a Ranger/Airborne Army lieutenant. Shirley continued her junior year at UConn before joining him in 1959 in Germany. In 1962, they returned to UConn, where he taught military science and Shirley completed her fine arts degree and launched a professional singing career as a soprano soloist in sacred music. Paul later earned an MBA at Harvard and began a 40-year banking career. The Perregauxs, who live in Hernando, Florida, have four children, 11 grandchildren, and two great-granddaughters, and enjoy alumni reunions and watching Husky sports.
Burton R. Bell ’64 (Home Ec.), ’66 MFA shared a life update. He launched his career in professional costume design after becoming the first UConn student to get a master’s degree in costuming — from the department of clothing in the School of Home Economics, as the School of Fine Arts did not yet offer one. He went on to design costumes for the Guthrie Theater, Broadway, the New York City Ballet, the Center Theatre Group, and Bob Mackie. He also taught theater for two years at the University of Wisconsin while designing costumes for the Theater at Monmouth. He left costuming in the ’80s, taught himself computers, and worked as a database creator for a forensic accounting firm, Freeman & Mills, in Los Angeles. Now he’s returned to New England and lives in Vermont, where he was born.
Joan (Forryan) Baldwin ’66 (ED), ’70 MA reports that her family has had three generations serving on UConn’s faculty. Joan’s late husband, Robert C. “Bob” Baldwin ’66 (CLAS), ’71 MA, who started working at UConn in the greenhouse at age 16, retired in 1999 as interim dean of continuing education in Storrs. His father, Robert C. Baldwin, was chair of the philosophy department from 1932 to 1961. And now, Joan’s son Michael T. Baldwin ’94 (CLAS), ’04 MD is an associate professor of radiology at UConn Health, where his wife, Jennifer (DeLuca) Baldwin ’04 MD, is also associate professor of medicine. Meanwhile, Joan’s other son, Jonathan “Jon” Baldwin ’96 (ENG), graduated from UConn, as did his wife, Jennifer “Jen” Baldwin ’97 (CLAS).
Richard Sigmund ’68 (CLAS) retired from Weston Public Schools after 30 years and lives in Southport, North Carolina. After UConn, he spent two years in the Army and a year in Vietnam, from 1969 to 1970.
Matthew Stackpole ’68 (CLAS), who was UConn’s student government president his senior year, received the Martha’s Vineyard Medal from the Martha’s Vineyard Museum for outstanding commitment to preserving the island’s history, arts, and culture and a Life Trustee award from the USS Constitution Museum.
William I. Brustein ’69 (CLAS), the Eberly Family Distinguished Professor of History Emeritus and former vice president for global strategies and international affairs at West Virginia University, recently published a monograph, “Anti-Semitism Without Jews in Germany, France and the U.S.: Phantom Enemies.”
1970s
Lynne Maquat ’74 (CLAS) earned two more awards for her groundbreaking RNA research: the 2024 Albany Medical Center Prize in Medicine and Biomedical Research for her research on RNA mechanisms that contribute to a wide range of diseases and the 2024 Dr. Paul Janssen Award — with Alexander Varshavsky — for their fundamental discoveries regarding the regulated degradation of RNA and proteins.
Rose Jung-Gaggero ’75 (SFA) describes recent travels to Malaysia and Borneo. She visited an orangutan sanctuary and the village where one of her travel companions grew up — where she had the honor and privilege of participating in the customary longhouse welcome ceremony.
Eva (Ogens) Steinberger ’75 (CLAS) shares that she recently published two textbooks: “Social Context of Education,” which was designed for her History of Education course, and “Resource Guide for Teaching Elementary Science,” which is aligned with the Next Generation Science Standards and includes websites and ideas for teaching inquiry-based lessons. She recently retired as a professor of math/science methods at Ramapo College of New Jersey and works as a science education consultant.
Matt Light ’78 (CLAS) reports that the former experimental, self-governing dormitory on northwest campus called the Intentional Democratic Community (IDC) had a successful reunion recently. The IDC operated from 1974 to 1983 and had no resident assistants, janitors, or kitchen staff except for a cook. In return for doing the work of such staff, the IDC received $6,400 a year to invest in educational activities, mostly guest speakers and field trips to Boston and New York City. During the reunion, about 100 alums spanning several graduating classes gathered on a July weekend. The group watched a play at the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry and enjoyed a catered dinner with live music by the Neybas at the nearby Holiday Hill Day Camp. “Our IDC experiment is still alive and well as we had a great time!” (See Gallery)
Paul Clapis ’79 (CLAS), ’80 MS, ’85 Ph.D. has a new book, “Project Management in the Age of AI,” which explores the challenges and opportunities of integrating artificial intelligence into business practices. He is the oldest of eight children, all UConn grads.
Frank Baskind ’71 (MSW), ’79 6th Year retired after a long career devoted to social work. Most recently, he spent 32 years at Virginia Commonwealth University as a professor and dean emeritus in the School of Social Work. Previously, he founded the undergraduate social work program at the University of Tennessee as an associate professor. He later became dean of social work at Southern Connecticut State University. Along the way, he taught in a nursing education program, worked in a police department, assisted patients in a chronic disease and rehabilitation hospital, and developed a suicide prevention and crisis intervention helpline in Connecticut. (See Gallery)
Congrats to Kurt Telford ’79 (ED) on being promoted to president of Charlotte Catholic High School in Charlotte, North Carolina. Telford, who has 45 years of experience in education, will lead Charlotte Catholic as its inaugural president. (See Gallery)
After a 45-year career in the health care industry, Atlantic Health System President and CEO Brian Gragnolati ’79 (BUS) is retiring. Atlantic Health cares for 1 million patients across New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and the New York metropolitan area with a staff of 21,000 team members and 5,440 affiliated physicians.
1980s
Andy Young ’80 (CLAS) is out with his third book. “Life in 600 Words” features 99 columns of exactly, yup, 600 words each that appeared in Maine newspapers.
Carmella Cassetta ’81 (BUS) won the 2024 SoCal CIO ORBIE Award as chief information officer of the year in health care. Cassetta is vice president and chief information officer at Hoag Health System in Newport Beach, California.
Bill Keena ’81 (CLAS) was named to the board of advisors of MDI NetworX and the board of the Granite State United Way, where he serves on the audit, strategy, and selection committees and is secretary of the executive committee. He continues to serve as president of AmeriHealth New Hampshire, serving Medicaid members across the state.
Jerome H. Casey ’81 (CLAS), ’83 MBA received an honorary degree at last year’s Wentworth Institute of Technology summer commencement. Casey was elected to Wentworth’s board of trustees in 2012 and was the president and chief operating officer of Sekisui Diagnostics. He worked at Genzyme Diagnostics for 21 years, including as senior vice president of global sales and marketing.
The International DI Society gave A. Andra Grava ’81 (CLAS) its W. Harold Petersen Lifetime Achievement Award for a career of service, dedication, and expertise in the field of disability income insurance. Awardees have practiced the highest ethical standards and unselfish voluntary service.
Vicente Ithier ’85 (CLAS) was a 2024 honoree in the Greater Hartford Puerto Rican Day Parade. Born in Río Piedras, Puerto Rico, and raised in Hartford, Ithier played basketball as a walk-on at UConn from 1982–84, played in the Puerto Rican professional league for his father’s hometown, and played for the Puerto Rican national team at the XXIV Olympic Games in Seoul. He has served on many boards and organizations, including the Newington Parks and Recreation Travel League, Mayor Mike’s Companies for Kids, and El Futuro en Nuestras Manos mentoring program, and co-founded the Connecticut Spirit AAU girls basketball program. He is an assistant director at Imagineers LLC. He and his wife, Jacqueline, have three children, Yasmin, Vicente Jr., and Andres. (See Gallery)
Talk about bleeding blue! Alison (Orlando) Haigis ’85 (CLAS) always knew that her family had a long relationship with UConn. When cleaning out her mother’s home recently, she found a list of four generations of Huskies, starting with her maternal grandparents, Elsa (Thompson) Chubbuck ’30 (ED) and R. Daniel Chubbuck ’31 (CLAS), followed by Betsy-Eve (Chubbuck) Orlando ’58 (ED) and Charles Orlando ’61 (CLAS), ’68 MA, ’71 Ph.D; herself and John Haigis ’88 (ENG); and Jackson Haigis ’17 (BUS) (ENG), Emma (Haigis) Huntington ’17 (CLAS), and Nina Haigis ’20 (BUS), ’21 MS!
Bob Newman ’85 (BUS) was named to the board of directors for the LUNGevity Foundation, dedicated to transforming how people are diagnosed and live with lung cancer through research, education, and support. He’s also the chair of ASM Global.
The Kinsale Capital Group Inc. appointed Mary Jane B. Fortin ’86 (BUS) to its board of directors. She has held executive leadership roles with some of the largest companies in the financial services industry, most recently as president and chief commercial officer of Thrivent.
Congrats to Kathleen Holt ’87 MBA, who was appointed by Gov. Ned Lamont to head Connecticut’s Office of the Healthcare Advocate, which provides free legal services, advice, and support to families and businesses facing claim denials or other challenges with their public or private health coverage. She was associate director for the Center for Medicare Advocacy. After earning her MBA, she worked as a hospital administrator, then earned a law degree and became a special assistant U.S. attorney for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services in Seattle. After her second child was born with significant disabilities, she founded a law practice to advocate for the needs of older people and people with disabilities.
Leslie Imse ’87 MM, MA earned a Lifetime Achievement Award for her exceptional dedication and impact on choral music in Connecticut and beyond from the American Choral Directors Association. (See Gallery)
Patricia A. Saunders ’88 (CLAS), an award-winning author, poet, blogger, and motivational speaker, was a featured guest at the National Black Book Festival in Houston in October. She presented her latest memoir, “Saying Goodbye,” a heartfelt exploration of grief and loss. (See Gallery)
1990s
Burton Osterweis ’90 (ENG) announced the release of his new book, “Thirty Years a Consultant: A Humorous Romp Through Corporate America’s I.T. Departments,” which he describes as a sassy collection of anecdotes, observations, and sage guidance for consultants, project managers, and anyone working in a corporate setting.
Inspired by a Christmas gift from his godson, Justin French ’10 (CLAS), of a piece of Gampel flooring, Russell Berube ’91 BGS wrote in about his longtime passion for UConn men’s basketball. It started when, at age 12, he traveled from Southington to Storrs to watch the Huskies take on the University of Maine at the old field house. In high school, he watched Corny Thompson play at Middletown High School and was thrilled when Thompson chose to play for UConn for four years. Berube, a retired F117 program manager at Pratt & Whitney, and his wife, Janice, were men’s basketball season ticket holders for many years, even traveling with the team during the Thanksgiving holiday to the Maui Invitational. Though they live in Rhode Island now, they still trek to Storrs to catch a game or two.
Congrats to Doug Bohl ’92 (ENG) on being promoted to associate dean of academic programs for the Coulter School of Engineering and Applied Sciences at Clarkson University.
Donna Lynn Germano Phillips ’92 (CLAS) is one of Nevada’s first educators to receive a Social, Emotional, and Academic Development (SEAD) endorsement, helping to shape more inclusive and supportive learning environments. She was appointed to the Superintendent’s Teacher Advisory Cabinet, where she champions the power of social-emotional growth and resilience as a special education teacher and speaker. She says her journey showcases the difference UConn alums make in education, inspiring students and fellow educators to grow, connect, and lead with empathy. (See Gallery)
Burt Williamson ’92 MBA, of Greenwich, released an e-book, “Social Security and the Three Bears,” which offers a unique approach to understanding Social Security. “My hope is to eliminate fear and doubt by equipping readers with the knowledge they need to have meaningful conversations with a financial advisor, leading them to make the best choice for themselves — and hopefully stir up some action in Congress, too.”
Mary Anne Kanakry Clarke ’94 MA was selected as one of 24 faculty members nationwide to be part of Clemson’s Civic Engagement & Voting Rights Teacher Scholars program. These faculty members will work together to create classroom teaching materials to support American democracy.
James R. Danaher ’94 (CLAS), a partner at the Schloemer Law Firm, was appointed to Forte Bank’s board of directors. He volunteers for several civic organizations, including the Kettle Moraine YMCA, SC Wave Washington County, and the West Bend Noon Kiwanis.
RingCentral Inc., a provider of AI communications for businesses, appointed Abhey Lamba ’95 (ENG) as chief financial officer. He previously was vice president of finance for global infrastructure for Amazon Web Services.
Zygmunt F. Dembek ’95 Ph.D, ’05 MPH is the 26th editor-in-chief of the peer-reviewed journal Public Health Reports, the official journal of the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General and the U.S. Public Health Service. He takes the helm of the oldest public health journal in the nation, dating back to 1878. (See Gallery)
Kudos to Jim Parker ’95 MBA on retiring from IBM after nearly 43 years. He and his wife, Marie, live in the Sandy Hook section of Newtown.
Omar Randall ’96 (CLAS) was promoted to brigadier general in the U.S. Marine Corps. (See Gallery)
Joshua C. Watson ’97 (CLAS) was named a 2022–23 Regents Professor by the Texas A&M University System, the highest honor a faculty member can receive there.
Dawn Works-Dennis ’98 (BGS), ’04 MSW, ’22 MS was selected as the NAVFAC Mid-Atlantic Deputy Public Works Officer for the Naval Submarine Base in New London. She is the senior Navy federal civilian for the more than 200 men and women on the sub base and oversees a $1.2 billion construction recapitalization program. (See Gallery)
Karen Kukish ’97 (ED), ’98 MA, ’06 6th Year was named the principal of Sedgwick Middle School in West Hartford.
Adam Meltsner ’98 (CLAS) caught us up on what he’s been up to. After graduating from UConn, where he was a member of Alpha Epsilon Pi, he graduated from Quinnipiac University School of Law.
He went on to become a practicing attorney engaged in personal injury law; workers’ compensation; criminal law; social security claims; and wills, trusts, and estates. He’s currently a criminal defense attorney at the Kocian Law Group in Manchester.
Stephanie Radman ’99 MBA writes that she has launched a business, Mayflower Home Organizing. Calling herself the Gold Coast Organizer, her Fairfield County–based company does everything from creating Instagram-worthy closets and decluttering to preparing a home to come to market.
2000s
Kimberly A. Eddleston ’01 Ph.D., a professor of entrepreneurship and innovation at Northeastern University’s D’Amore-McKim School of Business, received the prestigious Entrepreneurship Practice Award from the Academy of Management. She is the founding editor and editor-in-chief of Family Business.org, a platform for family business scholars and practitioners.
Random House Studio published “World More Beautiful: The Life and Art of Barbara Cooney” by Angela Burke Kunkel ’02 MA. Her fourth picture book, it is a biography of beloved author and illustrator Barbara Cooney, a two-time Caldecott Medal winner whose work is kept in UConn’s Archives & Special Collections. (See Gallery)
Matthew Dunbar ’02 6th Year is Suffield Public Schools’ new superintendent. Dunbar most recently served as assistant superintendent for administration and personnel in Glastonbury.
The National Council on Problem Gambling appointed Diana Goode ’03 MBA to its board of directors. Goode has served as executive director of the Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling since May 2018, championing initiatives that address problem gambling and promote responsible gaming.
Jocelyn Tamborello-Noble ’03 (ED), ’04 MA, ’09 6th Year was named principal of Conard High School in West Hartford.
Symetra Life Insurance Company appointed Michael Derrig ’04 (CLAS), ’14 MBA vice president and chief underwriter for its Individual Life Division.
Marko Pavela ’04 (CLAS), ’14 JD writes that he’s a contributor to the 10th edition of “Mountaineering: The Freedom of the Hills.” Pavela is a practicing attorney with the Washington State Attorney General’s Office.
Mara Kaminowitz ’05 MA became deputy geospatial information officer at the U.S. Department of Transportation. She lives with her husband in Columbia, Maryland.
Rick Goldberg ’05 (BUS), ’06 MS, the chief financial officer for S&P Global Commodity Insights, recently became CFO for the company’s newly created Chief Client Office as well.
Congrats to Nelson Merchan ’06 (CLAS) on being awarded the 2025 MLK Living Legacy Award in the Community Member category. He was honored at a special ceremony at the Jorgensen Center for the Performing Arts. Merchan has worked at UConn’s School of Business as a business advisor in the Connecticut Small Business Development Center for more than 10 years.
Lauren Bird ’08 (ED), ’09 MA, ’15 6th Year was appointed assistant principal at Cos Cob School in Greenwich. She was previously the assistant principal at Cider Mill and Miller-Driscoll schools in Wilton.
Hartford International University for Religion and Peace hired Beatrice Fevry Stathers ’08 MBA as its inaugural vice president of business and finance. Stathers has an extensive background in higher education, most recently serving as vice president for finance and administration and chief financial officer at Western Connecticut State University.
Fany DeJesús Hannon ’08 MA was appointed as UConn’s dean of students, having previously held the role on an interim basis.
2010s
James Geisler ’11 (CLAS), executive director of Wellness Services at Sacred Heart University in Fairfield, published “Thrive Year One: The Essential Mental Health Workbook for First-Year College Students.” Based on his experience overseeing student mental health in higher education, it takes a proactive approach to helping first-year college students prepare themselves and prioritize their mental health as they begin the college journey. (See Gallery)
Salih Ayluctarhan ’13 LLM reports that he has earned his Artificial Intelligence Governance Professional (AIGP) certification. He started a new role as an innovation solutions analyst at Onal Gallant, where he helps navigate the complex landscape of AI implementation while ensuring regulatory compliance and ethical considerations.
East Hartford High School teachers Jeremy Crouse ’13 (ED), ’14 MA and Rachael Orbe ’13 (CLAS), ’17 (ED), ’18 MA got married last summer at Harkness Memorial Park. (See Gallery)
Congrats Allyson (Gambino) Beluk ’13 (CLAS) and Michael Beluk ’15 (CLAS), who were married last July in Stamford. They began dating a few years after college, when they moved back to their hometown of Stamford. Allyson works in media planning and analytics on the personal health team at Philips in Stamford, while Michael works in finance at Direct Wines Inc. in Norwalk. “We have been avid Huskies fans our entire lives and still attend basketball games together,” Allyson says. They even have a 6-year-old Shiba Inu named Maya, after who else but UConn women’s basketball phenom Maya Moore. (See Gallery)
Miller Oberman ’13 MA, ’17 Ph.D. has published his second book of poems, “Impossible Things,” an intimate account of fatherhood, loss, grief, Jewish identity, and family. (See Gallery)
Marcos A. Mendoza ’14 LLM, of Austin, Texas, was named a contributing lawyer-editor of the recently published 12th edition of “Black’s Law Dictionary.”
Erin Craw ’15 (CLAS) and Jason Timko ’15 (BUS), who met at UConn and married in 2022, welcomed their baby boy, Luca Robert Timko, in November 2024. He’s already ready for game day! (See Gallery)
Gregory P. Hnat ’17 (CLAS), of Groton, is a senior airman in the U.S. Air Force in Las Vegas. While stationed at Nellis Air Force Base, Hnat received numerous accolades and awards, most recently the Air and Space Achievement Medal for meritorious service. He also got the chance to ride in an F-16 fighter jet, which he described as “a definite bucket-list topper.”
Robert Wooley ’17 (BUS), chief operating officer of Apple Rehab, was named to the Hartford Business Journal’s 2024 “40 Under 40” list. Wooley, of Simsbury, manages 20 skilled nursing facilities with 2,500 employees. At age 26, he co-founded Nurses at Home, a home health agency, serving around 100 seniors daily. He started his career working full time in senior care while a full-time student at UConn. (See Gallery)
Cayla Franco ’17 (CLAS), an assistant vice president at The Bulfinch Companies Inc., received BOMA (Building Owners & Managers Association) Boston’s 2024 TOBY+ Industry Award for Rising Professional of the Year.
Emily Luna ’17 (CLAS) has graduated from Western New England University School of Law and joined the law firm of Diana, Conti & Tunila in Manchester.
Ryan Verano ’18 (CLAS) reports that he graduated from the New York College of Podiatric Medicine last May and started his residency in podiatric medicine and surgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City. (See Gallery)
Jenny Tang ’18 (CLAS) and Fook Yee Harry Lo ’17 (CLAS) were married last July in Hong Kong, surrounded by UConn friends. They met during Lo’s senior year and had dated long-distance ever since. They now live in Boston, where he is a psychologist at the Boston Latin School and she is a Cloud FinOps engineer at Apple.
UConn law student Will Butler ’18 (CLAS), ’21 MPA and Rebecca Ouellette ’19 (CLAS), ’21 MPA were recently engaged. “We met at UConn and were very excited to celebrate with our friends from UConn!” Will says. (See Gallery)
Marissa Gelfand ’19 (NUR) and David Angelo ’19 (CLAS) were married last July in Westchester County, New York. She’s a nurse at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and he’s a math and computer science teacher at Greenwich High School. They met at UConn and began dating their senior year, when they lived next door to each other. (See Gallery)
2020s
Giana DiNatale ’20 (SFA) took the stage at the Hollywood Bowl in July to play bass in a performance of “Barbie the Movie: In Concert.”
After meeting for the first time at Dunkin’ in the Student Union, Olivia Levine ’20 (CLAS), ’22 MA and Justin Szeglin ’19 (CLAS) were married last July at Candlewood Inn in Brookfield before a crowd of fellow Huskies. “We are so grateful for our UConn chapter, and we owe finding each other to Storrs!” Olivia says. (See Gallery)
Ryan Palzere ’21 (ENG) and Chelsea Cocozza ’22 (BUS) married last June at the Vyne in Middlebury. They met through Phi Sigma Pi fraternity and began dating in February 2020, just before the COVID pandemic. “Our time at UConn was spent catching sunsets at Horsebarn Hill, grabbing a bite to eat in Storrs Center, and going for walks in Mansfield Hollow. Thank you so much for bringing us together. Go Huskies!” (See Gallery)
Sharing this pic with legendary superfan Big Red at the Big East Tournament! From left: Aaron Belletsky ’22 (CLAS), Cam Treichal ’22 (CLAS), Tom Emery aka Big Red. (See Gallery)
Michael Sormrude ’24 Cert. completed Yale School of Public Health’s graduate certificate program in climate change and health, where his research focused on the impact of climate change on Connecticut residents afflicted with asthma. He’s currently pursuing Harvard Medical School graduate certificates in teaching in medicine and clinical research, while working as the anatomy and physiology series coordinator and as an assistant professor at Southern Connecticut State University.
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