College of Communication & Information Class Notes

 

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Fall 2024

Dr. Amelia Anderson (M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’16) was selected for the 2024-2025 ALISE Connie Van Fleet Award for Research Excellence in Public Library Services to Adults.

Sara Beeler (B.S. ’19) started a new position as Senior Supervisor of the Enterprise AI team at L3Harris Technologies.

Lauren Chipman (B.S. ’12) started a new position as Director, Digital and Website Operations at Children’s Hospital Association.

Dara Cohen (B.S. ’14) started a new position as Senior Director, Strategic Communications and Media Relations at American Gaming Association.

Andie Garcia (B.S. ’19) started a new position as an Associate Production Manager at Warner Bros. Discovery.

Brooke Garringer (B.S. ’13) was chosen as an honoree for the 2024 Cynopsis Top Women in Media under the “PR Gurus” category.

Nikki Mendez (B.S. ’20) promoted to Senior Art Director at Weber Shandwick.

Sang Hoo Oh (Ph.D. ’23) started a new position as Assistant Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC).

Daniel Patton (B.S. ’23) completed Navy Officer Candidate School and was commissioned as a United States Naval Officer.

Shayla Perry (B.S. ’02) served as Program Director for the 48in48 2024 Social Justice Event.

Sandi Poreda (B.A ’05) was awarded the Golden Cambro Pin by the American Red Cross.

Michael Walsh (B.S. ’17, M.S. ’21) published his third book, Beyond the Rift.

Muhamad Prabu Wibowo (Ph.D. ’23) started a tenure-track position as an Assistant Professor at the University of Indonesia.

Jaliya Wilson (B.S. ’21) started a new position as a Public Affairs Officer at the United States Navy.

Krista Witiak (B.S. ’19) was awarded an Emmy for her series “Outdoor Colorado!”

Vincent Yan (M.S. ’20) started a new position as Lead Data Scientist at Blend.

 

Summer 2024

Stephanie Baarman (B.S. ’20) promoted to Senior Satellite Control Systems Engineer at Intelsat.

Rocky Bonasorte (B.A. ’19) started a new position as Certified Personal Trainer at Premier Health & Fitness Center.

Lesly Cardec (B.A. ’04) promoted to Chief Marketing Officer of ClearEdge.

Kara Darcy Chaffin (B.S. ’19) promoted to Assistant Vice President at CI

Nicole Cox (B.S. ’07, M.S. ’08, Ph.D. ’12) promoted to Interim Dean of the College of the Arts at Valdosta State University.

Aiven Davis (B.S. ’24) started a new position as a Studio Production Intern with the Buffalo Bills.

David Dejtiar (B.S. ’24) started a new position as a Business Analyst at Deloitte.

Joseph Dellosa (M.S. ‘23) received a Florida Library Association award for his project, “Storytimes Together”.

Dr. Aisha Johnson (M.S. ’09, Ph.D. ’15) was named a 2024 Mover and Shaker by Library Journal.

Olivia Kennedy (B.S. ’24) started a new position as Public Relations & Marketing Coordinator at Gravina, Smith, Matte & Arnold Marketing and Public Relations.

Jenny Lauer (M.S. ’16) started a new position as Director of Franchise Development at Franchise FastLane.

Ivanna Leitner Perez (B.S. ’16) promoted to Senior Associate at Cushman

Laura Luque (B.S. ’19) started a new position as Jr. Consultant Marketing Specialist at Holafly.

Bethany Swonson McAlister (B.S. ’13) started a new position as Director of Public and Government Affairs for Florida at Walmart.

Meredith McNulty (B.S. ’19) promoted to Senior Consultant at Deloitte.

Rachel Mulcahy (B.S. ’19) started a new position as Associate Creative Director at Sony Music Entertainment.

Anna Ponder (B.S. ’16) promoted to Social Media Marketing Manager at Fiore Communications.

Andrew Rawlings (B.S. ’12) started a new position as Proposal Manager at Harmonia Holdings Group, LLC.

Katelyn Rumenik (B.S. ’14) started a new position as Manager of Software Engineering at JPMorganChase.

Alejandra Sanchez (B.S. ’19) started a new position as Public Relations Specialist at Nicklaus Children’s Health System.

Donnica Smalls (M.A. ’12) promoted to Senior Press Officer at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Gabriella Teresi (B.S. ’18) promoted to Senior Manager, Integrated Marketing, at Newell Brands.

Julio Whalen-Valeriano (M.S. ’10) started a new position as Senior Director Communications at Environmental Defense Fund.

 

Spring 2024

Bridgett Birmingham (M.S. ‘04) elected Florida State University’s Faculty Senate President.

Brian Dooley (B.S. ’05) had his company, Independence Digital, recognized among the Florida State University Alumni Association’s Seminole 100.

John “JD” Doughney, IV (M.S. ’03) served as the keynote speaker at the Young Professionals (YP) Summit on April 26, 2024.

Herneshia Dukes (B.S. ’08) joined FSU CCI’s Speakers Bureau.

Dave Fiore (B.S. ‘86) had his company, Fiore Communications, recognized among the Florida State University Alumni Association’s Seminole 100.

Dr. Keisey Fumero (Ph.D. ’22) published her dissertation, titled “Supportive Language Strategies for Preschool Dual Language Learners: Associations with Early Language Outcomes” in the Early Childhood Research Quarterly journal.

Sydney Gilmore (B.S. ’19) received the Outstanding Achievement in Master’s Studies award from the Department of Communication at the University of South Florida.

Kate Hamill (B.S. ‘18) received the 2023 Insight Global President’s Award for its health division, the highest divisional award given out annually by Insight Global.

Schuyler Hample (B.S. ‘20) promoted to Assistant Digital Marketing Manager at Florida Blue.

Diana Haneski (MLIS ’98) honored with the “I Love My Librarian” award for going above and beyond as a librarian at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School.

Alan Harkness (MLS ‘90) was named Georgia’s Public Library Director of the Year on December 5, 2023.

Kallayah Henderson published her first book, Nature Inspires under her pen name Lee Sunshine.

Patric Holly (B.S. ‘11) promoted to Director of EMR and Analytics at Mays & Schnapp Neurospine and Pain.

Savannah Keys (ICT ’17) became a certified flight instructor.

Jonee’ Lewis (B.S. ’10) completed the FBI-LEEDA Master PIO course

Ryan McCormick (B.A. ’00) joined FSU CCI’s Speakers Bureau.

Justin McQuillen (B.S. ‘18) started a new position as Managing Consultant, HITRUST at A-LIGN.

Naomi Molina (B.A. ’11, M.S. ’13) appointed Associate Director of Alumni and Student Engagement for the College of Social Work.

Ahli Moore (B.S. ’93, M.S. ’95) organized this year’s “Speed Networking with Alumni,” an annual event hosted by FSU’s Black Alumni Network that presents students with networking advice and mentorship from an array of alumni.

Alexa Nikiforou (B.S. ’13) joined FSU CCI’s Speakers Bureau.

Alain Olguin (M.S. ’23) started a new position as a multimedia producer at TelevisaUnivision in Miami.

Anna Owensby (B.A. ‘11) started a new position as Associate Director of Marketing and Communications at Stetson University.

Anushka Patel (B.S. ‘17) promoted to Vice President of Marketing and Partnerships at Kyra Solutions.

Kaye Peterson (M.S. ’05) was one of 40 individuals selected worldwide to participate in a World Health Organization (WHO) meeting concerning people with a lived experience of diabetes. The virtual meeting took place on April 18, 2024.

Elle Rains (B.S. ‘17) started a new position as Senior Delivery Manager at Inventive.

Milton Ramer (B.S. ‘15) started a new position as Outside Plant Engineer at Smart City Telecom.

Khelsea Rantanen (MLIS ’15) started new position as Head of Reference and Information Services at the Bay County Public Library in Panama City, Florida.

Dr. Martha D. Saunders (Ph.D. ‘90) named No. 1 on Independent News’ Power List.

Nanette Schimpf (B.S.) ’89 hosted Florida State’s FPRA chapter at her company, The Moore Agency.

Christopher Truncer (B.S. ‘08) started a new position as Deputy Chief at Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency.

Paul Weaver (MCS ’87) recently completed the coursework to receive a Certificate in Fundraising Management from the Lilly School of Philanthropy at Indiana University.

Branigan Wright Rak (B.S. ‘12) received the Best Customer Support award from the U.S. Department of State.

Ricci Yuhico (MLIS ’12) made the New York Times list of “Six New Yorkers Who Made the City a Better, Cooler, Fairer Place in 2023.”

 

Fall 2023

Dr. Amelia Anderson (MLIS ’08, Ph.D. ’16) started a new role as an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida’s (USF) School of Information.

Courtney Caswell (B.S. ‘19) named Director of Operations for Baseball for the Naval Academy Athletic Association.

Alexandra DeCapua (B.S. ’21) worked at the 2023 Wimbledon Championships in London, England.

Blake DeVine (B.S. ’19) received an Emmy for his outstanding coverage of the 2023 Winter Storm in Austin, TX.

Chelsea Eagle (ICT) was promoted to Director of Public Relations at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida.

Scott Edinger (B.S. ’92) published his book, The Growth Leader, debuted as #4 on the Wall Street Journal bestseller list (business category).

Stephen Gorham (M.S. ‘04) named a Tech Leader of the Year Finalist by Tampa Bay Tech.

TaRhonda Harvey (B.S. ‘02) had her company recognized as Most Innovative Business Solutions Provider by Global 100 and as Digital Marketing Agency of the Year by Corporate LiveWire Global Awards.

Maura Hayes (B.S. ‘82) inducted into the FSU Alumni Association’s Circle of Gold.

Julian Hills joined the Institute Communications staff at Georgia Tech as a writer for the president and executive administration staff.

Thomas Hollar (B.S. ‘12, M.S. ‘15) and his team launched Streamlined Audience Building.

Anndi Jinelle Liggett (B.A. ‘15) received the HBO Short Film Award during the American Black Film Festival (ABFF) showcase for her short film “Jelly”.

Jason McArthur (B.S. ’12) opened two new coffeeshops in Tallahassee under his company, Argonaut Coffee.

Gregg McBride (B.S. ‘86) released two films, “Would You Kill For Me? The Mary Bailey Story” and “The Christmas Ringer”, in 2023.

Neill McKee (M.S. ‘88) published a memoir on his travels, My University of the World.

Captain Julie Kim Moss (B.S. ‘88) honored as one of the FSU Alumni Association’s Grads Made Good.

Katie Richardson (M.S. ’14) started a new role as Director of External Relations at Keiser University.

Ely Rosario (B.S. ’00) published her third book, 100 Things to Do in Tallahassee Before You Die.

Jocelyn Simmons (B.A. ‘17) published her first poetry book “Next Round On Me.”

Kiley Williams (B.S. ’16) started a new role as Agile Scrum Coach at T-Mobile.

 

Summer 2023

Stephanie Bertone (M.S. ’12) became the Monograph Cataloging Librarian at UCF Libraries.

Nora Clark (B.S. ’11) founded her business, The Clark Collective.

Savannah Greene (B.S. ’17) received a 2023 Moxie Award.

Maurice Johnson (M.S. ’11) spoke at the Leon County Library Lecture Series on using Hip Hop as an educational tool.

Kimberly King (M.S. ’16) recognized as a graduate of the Nasdaq Entrepreneurial Center’s Milestone Circle Program with an appearance on the Market Site Tower in Times Square.

Gina Lafleur (B.S. ’12) started a new position as the Senior Manager of Global Business Intelligence (BI) and Visualization within Pfizer.

Jackie LaPointe (B.S. ’15) was nominated for the Women Grocers of America’s Woman of the Year Award.

Mike Mitchell (M.S. ’19)  became Senior Director for Funding and Incentives with Gladstein, Neandross & Associates, a clean energy and transportation consulting firm.

Cedric Nabe (B.S. ’08) promoted to Partner at Deloitte.

Alexa Nikiforou (B.S. ‘13) honored as the NY chapter of the PRSA 15 under 30.

Brian Parrish (B.S. ’98) became the Chief Marketing Officer for ActiveHealth Management and Health Data Management Solutions (HDMS), both part of the CVS Health family of companies.

Dr. Neleen Leslie Piper (M.S. ’11, Ph.D. ’15) published her first children’s book, A to Z Affirmations: from a mother to her sons.

Samantha Rivers (ICT ’13) became Director of Communications at Revell Media, LLC.

Laura Sayer (B.S. ) started a new role as the Director of Communications for the Brevard Symphony Orchestra

Kass Seidenschnur (M.S. ’15) named Bryant School District Teacher of the Year.

Dr. Plato Smith (Ph.D. ’14) appointed Program Director for Learning and Workforce Development and Public Access in the Office of Advanced Cyberinfrastructure at the National Science Foundation.

Brandon Tirado (B.S. ’19) was promoted to Director of Threat Research at ReliaQuest.

Carlos Torres (M.S. ’03) received an Eagle Award.

 

Spring 2023

Dr. Amelia Anderson (MLIS ’08, PhD ’16) presented a webinar for ALISE on February 23, 2023.

Brian Campbell (B.S. ‘99) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company Epyon Technologies, LLC.

Victoria Carlton (B.S. ’18, M.S. ’19) had her company, Carlton Creative Co., certified as a Woman-Owned Small Business and a Woman Business Enterprise.

Kelly Corder (B.A. ’07) worked with Kamala Harris’s communications team during the Vice President’s visit to Tallahassee in January, 2023.

Jesica D’Avanza (B.S. ’03) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company Round Square, LLC.

Lexie Diao (B.S. ’10) joined The New York Times as a Senior Editor of The Daily, the Times’s daily news podcast.

Brian Dooley (B.A. ‘05) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company Independence Digital.

Ahli Moore (B.S. ’93, M.S. ’95) was inducted into the FSU Alumni Association’s Circle of Gold.

Julia Skinner (Ph.D. ’15) had her book, titled Our Fermented Lives, mentioned in Salon’s “Favorite Books of 2022” and Smithsonian Magazine’s “The Ten Best Books About Food in 2022”.

Stephen A. Smith (B.S. ‘02) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company The Law Offices of Stephen A. Smith.

Misti Turnbull (B.S. ’95) promoted to Executive Director of News for Cox Media Group.

Alison Vincent (B.S. ’16) promoted to Vice President in the healthcare sector at Hill + Knowlton Strategies.

Elese Volker (B.S. ’18, M.S. ’21) became a Digital Marketing Strategist at Acumen Studio.

Michael Walsh (B.S. ’17, M.S. ’21) published a book, Project Vortex.

Alexandra Wendling (B.S. ’19, M.S. ’20) became a host and reporter for Karate Combat, a karate league which also works with alumnus Nicholas Rivero (B.S. ’06), who creates CGI environments for its live-action events.

Susannah Wesley-Ahlschwede (B.S. ’05) returned to FSU as the University’s first Chief Marketing Officer.

 

Fall 2022

Andres Bascumbe (B.A. ’15) named 2022 Reubin O’D. Askew awardee.

Farhood Basiri (SP ’11) interviewed by CBC Radio Episode about his commencement management software, Tassel Turner.

Jessica Clark (B.S. ’10) recognized as Notable Nole by the FSU Alumni Association.

Dr. John DuBard (Ph.D. ’93) retired after serving many years as a professor at FSU.

TaRhonda Harvey (B.S. ’02) received a 2022 Influential Businesswoman Award from Acquisition International Magazine.

Renaine Julian (MLIS ’14) secured a grant from NSF for the FAIR Facilities and Instruments Research Coordination Network.

Kaitie Kiger (B.S. ’16) awarded first place for three of her news stories at the 2022 Florida Media Conference.

Ariya Massoudi (B.S. ’17) joined ESPN and the ACC Network calling play-by-play in live games.

Patricia Rena McDonald (M.A. ’87) edited Waves: An Anthology of Caribbean Literature published by Cognella.

Meagan Nixon (B.S. ’11) recognized as Notable Nole by the FSU Alumni Association.

Orlagh O’Rourke (B.S. ’19) became a Marketing Coordinator at Cartoon Network.

Drew Piers (B.S. ’14) named 2022 Reubin O’D. Askew awardee.

Juan Camilo Sanchez (ICT ’13) started a new position at Spotify.

Dianne Hamby Wright (M.S. ’70) passed away in 2022. She had retired from Valdosta State University after 26 years of service as a librarian.

 

Summer 2022

Dr. Ginevra Adamoli-Kalbli (M.A. ’09, Ph.D. ’12) works as Strategy Director of Digital Customer Experience for Epsilon, part of the Publicis Groupe, one of the largest global advertising and media companies.

Patricia Brumley (M.S. ’95) returned to the U.S. after serving as the Chief Librarian and Asst. Professor at Xavier University School of Medicine in Aruba for 4 years. She now lives in Lithonia, GA.

Carlos Galindo (M.S. ’18) received the Excellence in STEM Innovation Award at the Tennessee STEM Innovation Network Summit.

Clem Harrod (B.S. ’01) joined the CCI Leadership Board.

Virginia Hennigar (B.S. ’88) joined the CCI Leadership Board.

Myrna Hoover (M.S. ’84) retired as Director of the FSU Career Center.

Janice Jones (B.A. ’92) co-founded CycleHere Media in 2012.

Casey Jostine (B.S. ’13) launched tech-inspired apparel company, called <dresscode/>.

Gregg McBride (B.S. ’86) published a children’s book, Biron the Bee Who Couldn’t.

Sharon Delaney McCloud (B.S. ’89) joined the CCI Leadership Board.

James Mullins (B.S. ’04, M.S. ’06) joined the CCI Leadership Board.

Linda Patton (M.S. ’81) retired in December 2021 as Director of the Research Library which she founded in 2018 at the Appalachian Trail Museum in Pennsylvania.

Dr. Neleen Leslie-Piper (M.S. ’11, Ph.D. ’15) has accepted a position as Assistant Professor of Strategic Communication and Public Relations at Notre Dame College in South Euclid, Ohio. She will be teaching in the Strategic Communication and Public Relations major offered by the Arts and Humanities school.

Ana Rosa Ramirez (MLIS ’16) received the Minority Leadership Development award from the American Association of Law Libraries.

Dr. Ania Rynarzewska (Ph.D. ’12) is supporting Ukrainian refugees with the proceeds collected by her own business, Lux Leonis Skin Care.

Margot Susca (Ph.D. ’12) was he recipient of a 2022 Outstanding Teaching Award from American University.

Caroline Westrup (B.S. ’09) named University of Missouri Women’s Golf Head Coach.

 

Spring 2022

Joseph Albano (B.S. ‘06) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company Ardent Eagle Solutions (AES).

Terrie Ard (B.S. ‘97) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for her company The Moore Agency.

Amanda Barksdale (B.S. ‘02) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for her company Barksdale Custom Pools.

Chloe Barr (B.S. ’20) started a new position at Allison Aubuchon Communications, a company founded by a fellow CCI alumna.

Blake Brannon (B.S. ‘17) currently covers all things Mississippi sports as a weekend sports anchor in Biloxi.

Dr. Jennifer Brown (B.S. ’03, Ph.D. ’12) received the Russell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching from the University of Georgia.

Malia Bruker (B.A. ’05) received the Outstanding Teaching in the Major award at FSU.

Victoria V. Carlton (B.S. ’18, M.S. ’19) launched her new company, Carlton Creative Co.

Ryan Cappy (B.S. ‘97, J.D. ‘00) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company Cappy Law.

Fabeanne Collins (M.S. ’09), Dr. Pablo Correa (Ph.D. ’18), Ariana Davis (B.S. ’18), and Dr. Lars Stoltzfus (M.A ‘14) participated as panelists on CCI’s panel EDI in Action: A Dialogue with Former CCI Students.

Juliana Cortes (B.S. ‘20) was recently promoted to the role of Senior Market Development Representative at GRIN.

Chris Cyrille (IT ’18) spoke at TedxUF on how fashion ties into self-image.

Lauren Daly (B.S. ‘20) recently accepted a producer position at Youtube.

Marquita Gooch-Voyd (MLIS ’11) was named Georgia Librarian of the Year in 2021.

Terri Gotschall (M.S. ’14) and Natasha Williams (M.S. ’13) presented at the National Medical Library Association’s Annual Meeting.

Kaye Grandstaff (MSIT ’21) recently started a new position as a Business & Integration Architecture Specialist at Accenture.

Robyn Hillison (B.S. ’03) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for her company Capital Speech & Language Therapy Services.

Brittany Holland (ICT ’14) was promoted to Director of Media Strategy & Planning at the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Caroline Krantz (B.S. ‘18) recently completed the entirety of the Appalachian Trail.

Pamela Monroe (M.S. ‘09, M.S. ‘19) recently became the Library Director for Leon County Libraries as well as a member of the Florida Librarian Association Board.

Janet Naughton (M.S. ‘15) helps uncover under-documented Florida history as an academic librarian and historian.

Brooke Pautsch (B.S. ‘91) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for her company Lucky Goat Coffee.

Mary Katherine Pittman (B.S. ’17) started a position as Strategic Policy Advisor in the Office of the Governor for the State of Alabama.

Aaron Rich (M.S. ‘03) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company Aaron Rich Marketing.

Rob Rogers (B.S. ‘92) recognized as a Seminole 100 recipient for his company Hadjo Media.

Dr. Awais Saleem (Ph.D. ’17) became an Assistant Professor at Lamar University.

Yevgeny Senkevich (B.S. ‘08) is the co-founder and CEO of  ROBOjuice which helps make fresh, healthy food more accessible.

Charlotte Sherman (M.S. ’05) published her second picture book, Mermaid Kenzie: Protector of the Deeps on January 18, 2022.

Donnica Smalls (M.S. ‘12) is making health information accessible, consistent, and inclusive through her role with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Bethany Swanson (B.S. ‘13) recently received the Reubin O’D. Askew Young Alumni Award for her continued contributions to the FSU community.

 

Fall 2021

Kristin Bass-Peterson (M.A. ’10) helped organize the sixth annual Florida Animation Festival (FAF).

Dawn Betts-Green (M.S. ’14, Ph.D. ’19) appointed as the Assistant Director of the Invisible Histories Project.

Dara Cohen (B.S. ’14) was recognized by the FSU Alumni Association as a Notable Nole.

Pablo Correa (M.S. ’14, Ph.D. ’18) served as an instructor for the Sunflower County Filmmaker’s Academy (SCFA) filmmaker’s workshop.

John Corry (B.S. ‘84) presented to undergraduate and graduate students in Dr. Malia Bruker’s Documentary Video Production class in celebration of the first on-campus screening of his film The Bowden Dynasty.

Ashavaree Das (Ph.D. ’13) helped organize the inaugural online Digital Literacy Leadership Forum.

Stephen Gorham (M.S. ‘04) spoke at the FSU’s fall 2021 graduation ceremony.

Kallayah Henderson (B.S. ’20) has received the CSCW Best Paper Award, as well as a Recognition for their Contribution to Diversity and Inclusion alongside CCI Faculty Member Dr. Yolanda Rankin.

Zach Heng (B.S. ’07) started a new position as Advisory Council for the Digital Marketing Certificate Program at The George Washington University School of Business.

Jeff Hipsher (M.S. ’20) presented at the Panhandle Libraries Access Network’s (PLAN) Panhandle Academic Libraries Conference.

Dr. Aisha Johnson (B.S. ’08, M.S. ’09, Ph.D. ’15) was awarded the Freedom Scholar Award by the Association for the Study of African American Life and History (ASALH).

Stephanie Johnson (M.S. ’16) presented at the Panhandle Libraries Access Network’s (PLAN) Panhandle Academic Libraries Conference.

Kyle Jones (B.S. ’17) served as an instructor for the Sunflower County Filmmaker’s Academy (SCFA) filmmaker’s workshop.

Renaine Julian (M.S. ’14) presented at the Panhandle Libraries Access Network’s (PLAN) Panhandle Academic Libraries Conference.

Shirin Khambalia (B.S. ’21) awarded the 2021-2022 iThink Financial Community Foundation Scholarship.

Sharon Delaney McCloud (B.S. ’89) joined UNC Health as Director of Corporate Communications.

Hannah Menendez (M.S. ’21) presented at the Panhandle Libraries Access Network’s (PLAN) Panhandle Academic Libraries Conference.

Mike Mitchell (M.S. ’19) recognized by the FSU Alumni Association as a Notable Nole.

Lisa Primiani (B.S. ’10) recognized by the FSU Alumni Association as a Notable Nole.

Mallary Rawls (M.S. ’21) presented at the Panhandle Libraries Access Network’s (PLAN) Panhandle Academic Libraries Conference.

John G. Rivest (M.S. ‘79) has retired after 42 years in academic librarianship, including 30 years as Music Librarian and Cataloger at Shorter University.

Ashley Rutstein (B.S. ’12, M.A. ’14) featured on AdWeek’s Creative 100 list.

Jaime Sanborn (M.S. ‘10) accepted a full-time role with Percepta as an Instructional Designer.

Daniella Smith (M.S. ’01, Ph.D. ’09) awarded the Hazel Harvey Peace Endowed Professorship by the University of North Texas.

Bethany Swonson (B.S. ’13) awarded the Reuben O’D Askew Young Alumni Award.

Rheannah Wynter (B.S. ’21) received an award for her documentary in the 26th Annual Palm Beach Student Showcase of Films (SSOF).

Marilyn Young (B.A. ’64) received the Circle of Gold award from the FSU Alumni Association.

Peiyao Yu (M.S. ’20) founded her company QW Cross Culture.

 

Spring 2021

John Abbott (M.S. ’83) is retiring after 30 years in academic library collection management, including 20 years as Head of Collection Management at Appalachian State University.

Max Anderson (M.L.I.S. ’99) was named Director of Instructional Design and Learning Innovation at the University of Illinois College of Medicine.

Melissa Angel (M.S. ’16) is the Communications Coordinator at Global Landscapes Forum.

Felicia Brunson (B.S. ’94) was elected as Mayor of the City of West Park in Broward County, FL.

Chris Cyrille (B.S. ’18) is a Data Visualization Specialist at Coast Dental in Tampa, FL.

Kerry Czubko (B.S. ’07) is VP of Inventory Engineering at Cars.com.

Sydney Dell (B.S. ’17) is a Digital Drop Ship Specialist at Finish Line in Boulder, CO.

Greg Dugger (B.S. ’07) is Director of Software Development at Brandt Information Services in Tallahassee, FL.

Joseph Gaccione – (B.A. ’09) is the new Associate Director of Communications at UNLV School of Nursing.

Melissa Gracey (B.S. ’87) was elected to chair the marketing committee and serve on the board of directors and executive committee of United Way of Miami-Dade County.

Connor Griffin (B.S. ’17) is an IT Specialist at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

Marion Hargett (B.S. ’93) was one of four FSU alumnae selected for an Inspire Award by the FSU Alumni Association.

Stephanie Hernandez (B.S. ’12) is Manager, Customer Engineers, at Microsoft in Dallas, TX.

Russ Hill Jr. (B.S. ’15) is an IT Program Manager at PropLogix in Sarasota, FL.

Julian J. Hills (B.A. ’98) is the Deputy Press Secretary for the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office of Communications under Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms.

Brittany Holland (B.S. ’14) is Senior Manager, Growth and Media, at the National Basketball Association (NBA).

Rhiannon Jacobson (B.S. ’20) is a Software Developer at General Motors in Atlanta, GA.

Heather Larson (B.S. ’11) is a Technical Operations Manager at Facebook in San Jose, CA.

Courtney Lisenbee (B.S. ’15) is Manager, Product Owner at Aptean, in Atlanta, GA.

Gerard Massey (B.S. ’13) is a Systems Engineer at Bezos Academy in Seattle, WA.

Samantha Rice McCandless (B.A. ’19) is a Park Ranger at Yosemite National Park.

Yvonne Mosley (B.S. ’99) is a Performance Improvement Specialist at North Carolina Healthcare Association and recently earned the certifications of ASQ Certified Six Sigma Black Belt, the NAHQ Certified Professional for Healthcare Quality, and IHI Certified Professional Patient Safety.

Kyla Murphy (B.S. ’19) is an insurance agent at Brown & Brown.

Kristin Norena (B.S. ’08) owns three franchise locations of Card My Yard in New Jersey.

Mikayla Owen (B.S. ’20) is a Configuration Analyst at Lockheed Martin in Orlando, FL.

Gilberto Parada (B.S. ’13) is a Senior Product Designer at Solar Turbines in San Diego, CA.

Brian Pearson (B.S. ’18) is a Senior Enterprise Sales Development Representative at Okta, Inc.

Katie Pere (B.A. ’00) recently launched a jewelry brand called Katie Pere Jewelry.

Janmaris Perez (B.A. ’17) is a Production Assistant at StoryCorps where she helps produce a weekly broadcast on NPR’s Morning Edition.

Stephanie Plucinsky (B.S. ’15) is a Public Affairs Specialist at NASA.

Julia Skinner (Ph.D. ’15) published a book with FSU iSchool Professor Melissa Gross titled “Underserved Patrons in University Libraries Assisting Students Facing Trauma, Abuse, and Discrimination”.

Brandon Tirado (B.S. ’19) is a Cbersecurity Analyst – Incident Response Shift Lead at Reliaquest in Tampa, FL.

Julia Zimmerman (B.S. ’16) is a Website Editor/Blogger at Excite Medical in Tampa, FL.

 

Fall 2020

Daniela Agurcia (B.A. ’14 ) launched a jewelry company called Loulou La Mar.

Britney Anderson (B.S. ’16) is a security administration analyst at TECO Tampa Electric.

Lucille Spann Asbury (M.S. ’14) was named one of Tallahassee’s Top 20 Under 40 by Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals for 2020.

Chloe Barr (B.A. ’20) is an account manager at Allison Aubuchon Communications, LLC.

Brianna Biancardi (B.A. ’18) is a production coordinator at Nickelodeon.

Bradley Wade Bishop (Ph.D. ’10) presented a paper on data management at ASIS&T’s 2020 virtual conference.

Wonchan Choi (Ph.D. ’15) presented a poster during ASIS&T’s 2020 virtual conference.

Michael Copeland – (B.A. ’09) won the Associate Rising Star award from the Florida Society of Association Executives.

Diego Corzo (B.S. ’12) is the recipient of a 2020 Notable Noles award from FSU Alumni Association. 

Ariana M. Davis (B.S. ’18) is a full-stack engineer for the Golden State Warriors. 

Brett DeHart – (B.S. ’91) is the new Pastor at Aldersgate United Methodist Church in Augusta, GA.

Ashley Dias – (B.S. ’12)was named one of Automotive News’ 40 Under 40 for 2020 for her work as a Customer Marketing Manager at AutoNation.

Amy Dickinson – (M.S.I. ’17) accepted a position as Assistant Branch Manager for St. Mary’s County Library System in Lexington Park, MD.

Qaree Dreher (M.A. ’18, B.A. ’16) is the recipient of a 2020 Notable Noles award from FSU Alumni Association. 

Sara Duff (M.S. ’09) published a book with co-author Tina Buck titled Guidance for Librarians Transitioning to a New Environment.

Erica Eckland (B.S. ’15) was named one of Tallahassee’s Top 20 Under 40 by Tallahassee Network of Young Professionals for 2020.

Aaron Elkins (Ph.D. ’14) presented a poster about inclusive gaming communities at ASIS&T’s 2020 virtual conference.

Erika Gianni (M.A. ’05, B.A. ’97) is a new member of FSU’s Hispanic Marketing Communication Advisory Board.

Jaime Goldman (M.S. ’09) was named president of the International Association of Aquatic and Marine Science Libraries and Information Centers. 

Daniella Horváth (M.S. ’20) is the social media editor at Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty under the U.S. Agency for Global Media.

Shantira Jackson (B.A. ’08) was a guest on a segment of the Amber Ruffin Show called “Journalism 101”. 

Jolanda Jakeyra (B.S. ’15) launched a vegan skincare line, Sanai’s Skin.

Richard Johnson (B.S. ’18) is a cyber security analyst at Cognizant Infrastructure Services. 

Shelly Joines (B.S. ’07) received the Executive Rising Star award from the Florida Society of Association Executives. 

Trevor Madden (B.S. ’18) is a security analyst for Zoom Video Communications.

Greg Matthews – (B.S. ’90) authored self-published books, Roses, Desires of My Father, and The Table.

Chelsi McDonald (B.S. ’12) is a sports reporter for WHDH 7News, Boston.

Carson Mitchell (B.A. ’15) is a communications manager for Florida Conservation Voters.

Shruti Nair (Ph.D. ’12) leads Ashoka’s Youth Years program in South Asia.

Ana Ndumu (Ph.D. ’18) presented research on integrating immigrants into the library and information studies workforce at the ALISE 2020 conference.

Tiana Prince (B.S. ’19) is an SOC staff consultant at A-LIGN.

Elizabeth Ray (Ph.D. ’20) published a paper with FSU Associate Professor Patrick Merle on the influence of emojis on the interpretation of restaurant inspection reports.

Aaron Redda (M.S. ’20) is the youngest member to serve on the FAMU NAA-Leon County Executive Board. He is serving as fundraising chair.

Julia Skinner (Ph.D. ’15) was included in 40 Under 40 recognitions from Georgia Trend and Atlanta Business Chronicles for 2020. 

Tyler Smith (B.S. ’16) is a cyber threat and forensics analyst at General Atomics.

Mega Subramaniam (Ph.D. ’07) presented research on youth digital information practices at the ALISE 2020 conference.

Margot Susca (Ph.D. ’12) is an assistant professor at the American University’s School of Communication.

Kenneth Thomas (B.S. ’08) is OTT/IT operations director at the Black News Channel.

Jenn Topper (M.A. ’07) was a guest speaker about the role of media during elections for an FSU media ethics class with Professor Jennifer Proffitt.

Jennifer Whelihan (M.A. ’02, B.A. ’01) received the Rotarian of the Year award from the Rotary Club of Westshore Tampa.

Shuheng Wu (Ph.D. ’14) presented a poster during ASIS&T’s 2020 virtual conference.

 

Spring 2020

Jarryd Boyd (B.S. ’14) Named Public Relations Manager at Hinge.

Scott Cohen (’72) Received the 1st Scott Cohen Torchbearer Award from the West Tennessee Academic Library Consortium.

Robert I. Davidson (M.S. ’89) Winner of the Florida Historical Society’s 2019 Hampton Dunn Digital Media Award.

Angiah Davis (M.S. ’08) named Director of Library Services at Gordon State College.

Juan R. Guardia (B.S. ’97) Received the National Association of Student Personnel Administrators Latinx/a/o Knowledge Community Outstanding Senior Student Affairs Officer award.

Julian Hills (B.A. ’98) Received M.S. in Communications with a concentration in Public Relations from the Brian Lamb School of Communication at Purdue University, awarded in December 2019.

Rodney McElveen (B.S. ’04 & M.S. ’07) named Director of Satilla Regional Library System.

Katherine (Clemens) O’Clair (M.S. ’04) Named Associate Dean for Academic Services at Robert E. Kennedy Library at California Polytechnic State University in San Luis Obispo.

Kelly O’Keefe (B.S. ’91) Joined Stearns Weaver Miller’s new Government and Administrative legal practice area and group.

Linda Patton (M.S. ’82) Founded the Research Library at the Appalachian Trail Museum in Pennsylvania in 2018.

 

Spring 2019

Wade Bishop (Ph.D. ’10) Associate Professor for the School of Information Sciences at the University of Tennessee-Knozville named the 2018-19 Human Dimensions Champion for Belmont Forum e-Infrastructures & Data Management.

Melissa Carlton (M.A. ’08) Assistant Professor in Computer Science at Houston Baptist University College of Engineering.

Joshua Cartwright (B.S. ’18) full-time professional Supercross/Motocross racer.

Joseph Clark (B.S. ’80) Associate Director of the FSU Testing Center.

Ty Corfield (B.A. ’18) Enrolled in ATP Flight School in Jacksonville, Florida.

Lauren Del Brocco (B.S. ’14) 2-year Peace Corps assignment in Namibia teaching STEM subjects and HIV/AIDS prevention.

Lindsay Durrenberger (B.A. ’08) Executive Assistant for Blessed is She, a worldwide online Catholic women’s ministry.

Gerald Ensley (B.A. ’80) The Gerald Ensley Emerging Journalist Award has been established in Ensley’s honor to provide financial support for students in the College of Communication & Information.

Tremaine Grant (B.S. ’13) co-founder of BULK, a fitness app with 31,000+ users designed to build muscle.

Juan Guardia (B.A. ’97) Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students for the University of Cincinnati.

Abigail Goehring (M.S. ’15) Librarian at Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio.

Patric Holly (B.S. ’11) Elecrtonic Health Record (HER) Coordinator at Aledade, Inc. in Bethesda, Maryland.

Keri Keene (B.S. ’12) Artist in Vero Beach, Florida in several fine art galleries.

Christie Koontz (Ph.D. ’90) Served in the International Federation of Library Agencies and travels around the world teaching marketing principles to librarians.

Kathleen Moeller-Peiffer (M.S. ’77) FSU CCI Leadership Board member is a candidate for the American Library Association (ALA) Council.

Bianca Spurlock (M.S. ’15) School librarian at St. Catherine’s School in Richmond, Virginia. Selected as one of two 2019 American Association of School Librarians Emerging Leaders.

Plato Smith (Ph.D. ’14) recipient of the 2019 GreyNet Award. Currently working as the Data Management Librarian at the University of Florida.

Jenn Topper (M.A. ’07) working in Washington D.C. as the Communications Director for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

 

Fall 2018

Robert Abbott – (B.S. ’86) President of Hey Abbott! Entertainment and worked for ESPN.

Richard Basen (B.S. ’17) Program Manager at AT&T.

Mariliis Beger (M.A. ’13) Appointed first honorary Consul of Pakistan in Estonia.

Kiersten Denny (B.A. ’15) Tallahassee Lawyer at F &I Sentinal, LLC.

Rachel Dix-Kessler (B.A. ’17) Public Relations and Content Coordinator for finder.com.

Ritesh Gupta (B.A. ’98) – Group Creative Director for the full-service digital agency VaynerMedia in New York City.

Ciara Hensley (M.A. ’17) Librarian at Valencia College.

Adriana Joseph (B.A. ’11) Strategy Specialist at HBO Latin America.

Neleen Leslie (M.S. ’11) Program Director of Graduate Studies in the School of Advanced Management for the University of Technology, Jamaica (UTech) in Kingston, Jamaica.

Nathan MacDonald (M.S. ’12) Senior Public Relations Specialist for Seattle City Light in Seattle, Washington. TedX Speaker.

Nashieli Marcano (M.S. ‘06) Librarian at Kennesaw State University.

Dustin Mathews (B.S. ’04) – Chief Wealth Evangelist at Wealthfit.

Krystyn Pecora (M.S. ’13) Lietenant Commander for the US Coast Guard Seneca in Boston, MA.

Christina Pommer (M.A. ’05) President of Association of Independent School Librarians.

Katie Ragen (B.S. ’17) Owner and founder of e-commerce business, Legit Halloween, LLC.

Darren Raj (B.S. ’09) Founder of Agribugs, a drone service provider for agriculture.

Danielle Skeen (B.A. ’09) nominated for the ADCOLOR Change Agent award. Currently serves as the Sales Excellence and Strategy Manager for Bing Ads in the US, Canada, and Latin America.

Travis Earl Tyer (M.A. ’69) Presented with Albert Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award for his work and accomplishments in libraries across the country.

Jennifer Whelihan (B.A. ’01) Nominated for Tampa’s 40 Under 40.

Alexandria Whitaker (B.S. ’15) – Breast Cancer Survivor/Advocate and Founder of Whitty’s Titty Committee.

Karen Kayir Wilson (M.A. ’12) Librarian in Pyeongtaek, South Korea for Osan Middle/High School.

 

Summer 2018

Amelia Anderson (Ph.D. ’16) is an assistant professor at the Old Dominion University.

Rachel Bayles (M.S. ’15) is an Information System Security Officer at LASP.

Joaquin Coston (B.S. ’13) is an IT Specialist for the Navy Department of Defense.

Lisa Fitton (Ph.D. ’18) is a researcher at the Florida Center for Reading Research.

Connor Griffin (B.S. ’17) is a member of the Peace Corps serving in Malekula, Vanautu.

David Lauen (B.S. ’01) is a Principal Systems Engineer at Enterprise Architecture.

Mallorie Lesher (B.A. ’17) is a business presentation designer at McKinsey Company.

Erin Lisch (B.A. ’14) is a multi-media journalist/reporter at WRTV in Indianapolis.

Abigail Phillips (Ph.D. ’16) is an assistant professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Stephanie Plucinsky (B.S. ’15) is the Social Media and Content Manager at the Kennedy Space Center’s Visitor Complex.

Jacqueline Ortiz Ramsay (M.A. ’08) is the Vice President and Head of Communications for the National Association of Federally-Insured Credit Unions (NAFCU).

Ginger Reichl (B.A. ’93) is the founder and president of Pinstripe Marketing and CEO of Parvus House.

Carter Rooney (B.S. ’16) is a patrol officer for the Austin Police Department.

Julia Skinner (B.S. ’15) is the founder and director of Root, an idea that combines historically-inspired recipes to build community.

Christopher Truncer (B.S. ’08) is the Offensive Security Lead and Co-Founder of FortyNorth Security.

Omar Sayem Ismail (B.A. ’17) is a consultant for Oculas Group LLC, an Information Technology Consulting Company.

Sharon Delaney McCloud (B.S. ’89) currently leads Walk West, a full-service and award winning digital marketing agency in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina, as Partner and Vice President of Professional Development.

Harrison Minchew (B.S. ’14) in his present position at Mad Mobile, Minchew leads a team of engineers focused on transforming the in-store retail experience with Concierge.

Kevin Kling (M.A. ’17) is part of Cartoon Network’s marketing team at Turner Broadcasting.

Christian Sanders (M.S. ’11) Director of Sales for Stacked Sports, specifically for the product RecruitSuite.

Karim Rahmat (B.S. ’16) CRM Functional Consultant at Tribridge, a DXC Technology company in Tampa, FL.

 

Spring 2018

Michael Bane (B.S ’10) is a Systems Support Engineer for Lifeway Christian Resources and a singer/songwriter.

Kristin Bass-Peterson (M.A. ’10) is the VP in Digital Media Services at Pod Advertising.

Courtney Calhoun (B.A. ’17) is the Marketing and Communications Coordinator at the Panama City Beach Chamber of Commerce.

Qaree Dreher (B.A. ’16) is a Facebook Account manager.

John DuBard (Ph.D. ’93) is a professor at the School of Communications at FSU and the manager of his own company, Advanced Systems Design.

Giselle Girones (B.A. ’13) is an Intellectual Property attorney at Shullman Fullgate PLLC in Jacksonville, FL.

Isabel Lawton (M.A. ’13) works at the Brooks System of Care as a speech language pathologist.

Holly Lodinger Mandelkern (M.S.L.S. ’73) is the author of Beneath White Stars: Holocaust Profiles in Poetry ( AlmondSeed Press, 2017), a collection of original poetry about people from the Holocaust whom she has known or whose stories she has taught. Brief historical sketches and illustrations by Byron Marshall accompany the poems.

Lee Pang (B.S. ’15) is a DevOps Specialist at Levatas.

Jamie Rich (B.A. ’99) is the Founder, Publisher, and Editor in Chief of Flamingo Magazine.

Jeffrey Schermer (B.A. ’15) is a Creative for Walt Disney World.

Alisha Russell (M.A. ’13) works at the Brooks System of Care as a speech language pathologist.

Desireé Williams (B.S. ’17) is an IT Audit Analyst at The Florida Auditor General.

 

Fall 2017

Anna Benbrook (M.S. ’15) is a Health Educator for the Emory-CDC AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG).

Gregg Bishop (M.S. ’07) is the Commissioner for the New York City Department of Small Business Services.

Evelyn Bradfield (M.S. ’15) is the Casting Associate Producer for Leopard USA in New York City.

Caleb Castro (M.S. ’16) is a GolfNow Plus Senior Specialist at GolfChannel in Orlando.

Sean Cooley (B.S. ’12, M.S. ’14) is a Communications Manager at Audubon Florida.

John “JD” Doughney, IV (M.S. ’03) is the Managing Global Client Partner for Facebook.

Kelli Gemmer (B.S. ’14) is the Publications & Promotions Coordinator at the Florida State University Career Center.

Daniel Gonzalez (’13) is the Advertising Research and Insights Analysts at Comcast NBC Universal.

Ronnie Myers (B.S. ’15) is a Support Engineer for Microsoft in Texas.

Roger Croix Newson (B.S. ’10) is the Senior Database Engineer at Massey Services.

Abigail Phillips (PhD ’16) is a Postdoctoral Fellow for the Department of Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences at Utah State University.

Ashley Rutstein (B.S. ’12) is the Copywriter at advertising agency LRXD and Apparently Ashley.

Tanner Stiehl (B.S. ’11) is a Marine Safety Supervisor for the US Coast Guard.

Baillie Ward (B.S. ’17) is a Marketing Assistent for Benevate.

Denay Warner (M.S. ’14) is the eCommerce Analyst for Nespresso in New York City.

Jermaine Washington, Jr. (B.S. ’15) is the Software Developer at State Farm.

Mark Wilson (B.S. ’91) is the Primary Evening News Anchor for WTVT Fox13 Television.

Heath Woodlief (B.S. ’01) is the Senior Producer for the Tennis Channel.

 

Summer 2017

Ryan Cappy (B.S. ’97) opened his law firm, the Law Offices of Ryan Cappy. His practice covers personal injury and is located in Tampa, Fla.

Diane Farnsworth Kachmar (M.S. ’81) recently retired from Florida Atlantic University where she served as a University Librarian for 35 years. During this time, she authored three books and is working on her fourth.

Mary McConnell passed in March 2017.

Richard J. Newman (M.S. ’53) passed away March 15, 2017. He is survived by his wife, Jo Ann Newman (B.A. ’53). Richard was a Business Librarian at Miami Public Library and the Director of Salina Kansas Public Library.

 

Spring 2017

Laura Clark (Ph.D. ’16) is a post doctoral fellow at the University of West Florida with the Florida Public Archaeology Network in Pensacola, FL.

Matthew Collins (M.S. ’10) serves as the Director of the Ernest Miller White Library at Louisville Presbyterian Theological Seminary. He was recently promoted from Associate Professor to Full Professor.

Sarah Davis (B.A. ’14) is a Content Coordinator at DZone in Raleigh, NC.

Carolina Gonzalez (M.A. ’16) is the Director of E-Commerce for Five Ultimate, an athletics company, in Seattle, WA.

Melissa Johnston (Ph.D. ’10) received the outstanding research award for the entire faculty at the University of West Georgia at a recognition ceremony.  Melissa is an associate professor of school library media and educational technology at UWG.

Julie Jordan (M.S. ’16) has joined the Georgia Dept of Public Health as a Health Education Specialist.

Marjory E. Leposky (B.S. ’98) announced her children’s chapter book Mr. Grumbles will be published with Crimson Cloak Publishing in 2018.

Ryan McCormick (B.S. ’00) is the co-founder of Goldman McCormick Public Relations. He is a 2016 recipient for a Bulldog Reporter Corporate Social Responsibility PR Gold award for his work on the campaign ‘Truth for Nick Hillary’.

Katharina Muehlbauer (M.S. ’16) joined Ketchum PR in New York City, NY as a Senior Research Associate.

Anna O’Sullivan (B.S. ’03, MPA ’04) was appointed as the Assistant Vice President for News & Strategic Communications of Barnard College, Columbia University in New York City.

Ron Rule (B.S. ’05) won the Global Diversity & Inclusion from his employer, Bank of America.

Elam Stolzfus (B.S. ’88) and son Nic Stolzfus (B.S. ’12) debuted a new documentary, The Great Florida Cattle Drive: Unbroken Circles.

Mike Sklens (B.A. ’06) is FSU Admissions Director of Marketing, Media & Communication.

Kelsey Styles (B.S. ’16) is a Junior Art Director at Funworks, a San Francisco based agency.

Lynnsey Weissenberger (Ph.D. ’15) is the recipient of the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) Individual Fellowship for two years of postdoctoral research in the European Union.

 

Fall 2016

Robert Abbott (B.A. ’86) is a six-time EMMY Award winning producer who spent 14 years with CNN and 11 with ESPN before starting his own company, Hey Abbott Entertainment. He recently produced the ESPN 30 for 30 film Catholics vs. Convicts.

Kelly Alvarez Vitale (B.A. ’04, M.A. ’06) is President of Strategic Philanthropy in South Florida and was named an FSU Alumni 2016 Notable Nole.

Charles R. Anderson (MSLS ’69) retired as the Associate Director of IT and Reference Services for the King County Library System (WA) and recently published his third book, titled Giulio Ulivi; The Inventor Who Might Have Ended Wars.

Elizabeth Barrios (M.S. ’16) is a Speech and Language Pathologist at November & Associates Speech Therapy in Port St. Lucie, FL.

Megan Bobiak (B.S. ’00) joined Anson Stoner as an Account Executive in Winter Park, FL.

Alex Browning (B.A. ’14) is a reporter with WPBF 25 (ABC) in West Palm Beach, Fla.

Lisette Calveiro (B.A. ’14) writes as a contributor to Huffington Post and at Max Borges agency as a copywriter.

Alexis Carter (M.A. ’15) is a Youth Services Librarian in Jacksonville, FL. Abby Phillips (Ph.D. ’16) has joined Utah State University, working as a post doc fellow on the IMLS grant.

Lenese Colson (Ph.D. ’16) is joining Old Dominion University as a lecturer in the Darden College of Education.

Michael J.A. Davis (M.A. ’10) is the Brand Manager and Chief Designer at the National Institute of Health’s Office of Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion in Washington D.C.

Lauren Del Brocco (B.S. ’14) is serving as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Namibia, teaching grade 6 and 7 English and ICT in the Omusati Region.

Chrys Egan (Ph.D. ’98) received the Alumni Faculty Appreciation Award at Salisbury University, where she is an Associate Professor of Communication.

Samara Gerard (B.S. ’13) is working at a digital media planner at MullenLowe Profero in NYC.

Juan R. Guardia (B.S.’97) is Assistant Vice President for Student Affairs and Dean of Students at the University of Cincinnati. 

Marion Taormina Hargett (B.S. ’93) was recently named a Grad Made Good by the FSU Alumni Association and is a member of their national board of directors.

Julian Hills (B.A. ’98) is a Public Information Specialist for Pinellas County Government and President of the Pinellas Seminole Club.

Daniel Kennedy III (M.S. ’74) passed away in April 2016. Kennedy served as a librarian at Mobile University, University of Florida, Orlando Public Library and DeVry University.

Kimberly Kosch (B.S. ’91) is the Senior Court Operations Consultant for the Supreme Court of Florida.

Alexandra Kranick (B.A. ’10) is the Senior Marketing Manager of Brand & Retail for Ibotta, a mobile shopping app based in Denver, CO.

Jennifer Luetkemeyer (Ph.D. ’16) has joined Appalachian State University as an Assistant Professor of Library Science.

Jeff Macharyas (B.S. ’83) is a Senior Graphic Designer for University Communications at St. Lawrence University in Canton, NY.

Ashleigh McDonald (B.S ’05) is a Director of Commercialization and Coca Cola Bottling Co. in Charlotte, NC.

Anna O’Sullivan (B.A. ’03, MPA ’04) was appointed Vice President for News & Strategic Communication of Barnard College at Columbia University in New York City.

Milton Paris Jr. (B.S. ’91) is employed with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue, NVAA President and founder of the SF-FSU Black Alumni Group.

Shayla Perry (B.S. ’02) is an Experiential Event Manager with Octogon woring with BMW North America in Atlanta, GA.

Abby Phillips (Ph.D. ’16) has joined Utah State University, working as a post doc fellow on the IMLS grant.

Hue Reynolds (’03) works with the FL Dept. of Management Services, helping small businesses thrive.

Mariam Shaikh (Ph.D. ’15) is the Deputy Director at M/O Information & Broadcasting for the Pakistani government.

Anisha Singh (B.A. ’09) is a Campaign Manager for the Center for American Progress legal progress team and an 2016 Notable Nole

Rachel Skibicki (B.S. ’14) serves on the Chick-fil-A One Digital Experience team as the menu management and digital ordering support lead in Atlanta, GA.

Matt Taylor (B.S. ’02) is a US Army Major working on the Army Cyber Protection Team as a Cyber Network Defense Manager.

Lt. Tanesha Tutt (B.A. ’05, M.S. ’06) is an officer in the U.S. Public Health Services Commissioned Corps, working in Public Health.

 

Summer 2016

Alexis Carter (M.A. ’15) has started as a Youth Services Librarian in Jacksonville, FL.

Amy Graham (B.S. ’07) works in the United States Senate as Deputy Communications Director for Senator Capito.

Kara Hamilton (B.A. ’97) recently published her first book, A New Leash on Life.

Frankie Ironside (B.A. ’15) works with Sally Corporations, which builds roller coasters and animatronics.

Jon Jordan (B.S. ’01) is working as Sr. Content Manager for Triad Retail Media in St. Petersburg, Florida, planning and executing digital videos, banner media campaigns and custom content for clients such as CVS, Office Depot, Dollar General, Toys “R” Us and more.

Stephanie Kopplin (M.A. ’13) is a speech language pathologist at Northern Suburban Special Education District.

McKinley Lewis (B.S. ’13) has joined Governor Rick Scott’s team as the Deputy Communications Director for the Governor’s Office.

Moriah McLaughlin (B.A. ’15) is working in New York City with Mindshare as their associate negotiator.

Sarah Merrill (B.S. ’11) joined Atrium Staffing as the Director of Business Development. She runs the popular @BigKidProblems accounts.

Beth (Kemmer) Merrick (B.S. ’93) has dedicated her career to helping others find dream jobs with the Walt Disney Company as a Professional Recruiter. 2016 will mark Merrick’s 23rd year with the company. She is also a Brand Partner with Nerium International.  

Gina Oviedo-Martinez (M.S. ’10) joins the Hillsborough County Public Libraries as a Senior Librarian.

Sandra Phoenix (MLIS ’07) leads the HBCU Library Alliance.

Carol Russo (M.S. ’99) is the Community Library Manager at Northwest Regional Library.

Corey Saban (B.A. ’93) founder of TheLaw.tv has recently started a new venture, Newstation.com.

Ryan Sullivan (B.S. ’10) is working as a Windows Systems Administrator for WestRock Company.

Betty Jeanne Taylor (B.S. ’97) is UT Austin’s VP for Inclusion and Equality.

 

Spring 2016

Kara (Mock) Addy (B.S. ’91) recently joined the University of South Carolina in a newly-created position, Executive Director, Donor Communications and Stewardship.

Karyn Barber (B.A.  ’07, M.A. ’11) recently joined the City of Palm Bay as their Community Information Coordinator and Public Information Officer.

Kris Barton, PhD (B.A. ’00, M.A. ’02, Ph.D. ’07) recently published an edited collection of academic essays on the television series Arrested Development titled A State of Arrested Development.

Tyler Bradley (B.A. ’13) is working as a Social Media Manager at Pitchfork in New York City.

Doreen Brown Oyadomari (B.S. ’67, M.S. ’68) is giving the opportunity of a lifetime to students pursuing a bachelor’s in Communication Science & Disorders with the Doreen Brown Oyadomari Endowed Scholarship.

Giselle Bodden (B.A. ’12) is working as a Media Planning Coordinator at Discovery Communications for shows that are broadcast in Latin America.

Chris Creel (B.S. ’01, M.S. ’03) is working at Lyft in San Francisco as Sr. Online Marketing Manager.

Cameron Daniel (B.S. ’11, M.S. ’13) is working as a Sales Planner at Pandora.

Meredith DaSilva (B.S. ’96) is working as Director of Executive Operations at VISIT FLORIDA and was named by the Tallahassee Democrat as one of “2016’s 25 Women You Need to Know.”

Nicole Dial (B.A. ’06) is working as a University Relations Representative at DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, California.

Marin Dell (MLIS ’05, Spec. ‘07) started new position as Head of Digital and Electronic Services, tenure-track law library faculty position, at Texas Tech School of Law Library (January 2015). Recipient of the 2015 Frank B. Sessa Scholarship for Continued Professional Education (Beta Phi Mu)

Courtney Duran (B.S. ’11) is working as a Senior Consultant Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, D.C.

Joe Ferris (B.S. ’04) is working at AT&T as the Principal – Technology Security Engineer as part of the Global Customer Security Services (GCSS) team dedicated to the State of Florida MyFloridaNetwork (MFN) contract.

Maria Gebhardt (M.S. ’09) is working as the Manager of Integrated Marketing Communications and Social Media for Broward County Public Schools. She is also the Editor of the Florida Library Association’s journal, “Florida Libraries”.

Timothy K. Giordano (B.S. ’98), principal at Next Impact Ventures, has been appointed to the Board of Advisors of The AAT Project (America’s Amazing Teens), a collaboration of the worlds of academia, science, finance, business and media that discovers, mentors and manages young entrepreneurs and scientists making breakthrough innovations in STEM.

Amanda Green (B.A. ’00) is working as the Associate Director for the Healthy Schools Program with the Alliance for a Healthier Generation.

Juan Gomez (B.S. IT ’15) is working with Georgia Pacific Professional as a marketing manager.

Diane Howard (Ph.D. ’99) is excelling in her career as a painter and recently hosted a successful exhibit in New York City featuring her paintings of the Arctic.

Shanon Irish (B.S. ’04) is working as a Coordinating Producer and Editor for “Inside the HEAT” and recently won her fifth Emmy Award.

Brett Jula (M.S. ’11) has passed away following an automobile accident.

Michelle Kelly (B.A. ’07) was recently promoted to Vice President, Client Services, at luxury travel public relations firm, Hawkins International PR in Manhattan.

Mario Landera, AuD (B.S. ’04) has been promoted to Assistant Professor at the University of Miami’s Department of Otolaryngology, Division of Speech Pathology.

Morgan L. McCord (B.S. ’13) joined the Florida Department of Economic Opportunity as Press Secretary.

Ann McGee (B.A. ’70, M.A. ’71) is working as the President of Seminole State College and was recently presented with the Chief Executive Leadership Award.

Moriah McLaughlin (B.A. ’15) is working as an Associate Negotiator at Mindshare in New York City.

Kim Polacek (B.S. ’98) is the Public Relations Account Services Coordinator at Moffitt Cancer Center,  after years of working in television news production throughout Florida.

Amina Resheidat (B.S. ’13) is working as the Associate Director of Resource Development at PACE Center for Girls, Inc.

Edward Rodriguez (M.S. ’83) is President of the Gulf Coast Chamber based in Gulf Shores, Al.  Under his leadership, the Gulf Coast Chamber was awarded Chamber of the Year for North America in 2015. The prestigious award was presented at the Annual Convention of ACCE in Montreal, Canada.

Robin Safley (B.A. ’85) is working as the Executive Director of the Florida Association of Food Banks.

Anisha Singh (B.A. ’09) was named on Forbes 30 Under 30 for Law and Policy. Her work with anti-discrimination cases against the U.S. Army earned her the award.

Michelle Ubben (M.A. ’88) is working as COO at Sachs Media Group and was named by PR News as one of the top women in Public Relations.

Susannah Wesley (B.S. ’05) is working as the Senior Vice President of Edelman Detroit and has earned the Certified Information Privacy Professional/United States (CIPP/US) credential through the International Association of Privacy Professionals (IAPP). She is one of a handful of communicators in the US who has earned this credential.

 

Fall 2015

Jennifer Alcorn (M.S. ’07) is a speech language pathologist with Leon County Public Schools and writes a popular SLP blog, Crazy Speech World.

Julie Bettinger (B.S. ’83, M.S. ’09) co-authored ‘Blasted by Adversity: The Making of a Wounded Warrior” with fellow FSU alum Luke Murphy. Murphy survived an IED blast in 2006 and has emerged as a public advocate for wounded veterans.

Naomi Binnie (MLIS ’14) started as a Librarian with the New York Institute of Technology, Manhattan Library in September. She is working in reference, bibliographic instruction, and access services.

Tina Chadwick (B.S. ’88) leads at Moxie as the Director of Strategic Integration and owns two businesses, including Tina Chadwick Copy, Inc.

Doreen (Van Assenderp) Cohen (MLIS ’68) recently retired from a career as a librarian with NASA.

Sue Ann (Clemens) Connaughton (MLIS ’79) After retiring as Director of Intellectual Capital at a consulting company in Boston, Sue Ann began publishing short stories, poetry, book reviews, and essays. She credits her interest in writing to her time as writer and editor for the SOLTAS Newsletter of the GSLIS, and to encouragement from Dr. Goudreau and her advisor, Dr. DePew. In August 2014, she published her first novel, The Unraveling of Mrs. Noland.

Pablo Correa (M.A. ’14) is pursuing his doctorate in Communication through the School of Communication.

Molly (Wahl) Davidson (B.S. ’00) was recently hired as the Vice President for Fund Development at Habitat for Humanity of Jacksonville.

Amanda Ferguson (B.S. ’14) is a producer and editor for the Miami Heat.

Jeanne Ford (B.S. ’89) is heading up Corporate Citizenship and the Ambassador program for Walt Disney World.

Victoria Hollar (B.S. ’03, M.S. ’05) is the Director of Halcyon Rehabilitation’s Clinical Services.

Rebecca Kepto (B.S. ’15) is working on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ street team.

Chris Kuhn (B.S. ’92) published her first novel two years ago, The Muse Unlocked. This year, she is releasing her second novel, Our Seasons.

Mario Landera (B.S. ’04) was recently promoted to Assistant Professor at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine in the Department of Otolaryngology, Division of Speech Pathology.

Sam Levine (B.S. ’12) recently graduated from Nova Southeastern University with his Juris Doctorate. He hopes to pursue intellectual property law, business law or real estate law.

Jeff Macharyas (B.S. ’83) earned his Master of Science Degree in Cybersecurity and Computer Forensics from Utica College, August 2015.

Traci (Spriggs) Moreno, PhD (B.S. ’95) continued her education after FSU  and received a doctorate in psychology. Today, she is am a clinical and forensic psychologist. She serves the Director of Mental Health Services at the Antelope Valley Community Clinic in Lancaster, CA.

Milton Parris Jr. (B.S. 91) is employed with Miami-Dade Fire Rescue as a firefighter. He also serves as the Alumni President for Miami Norland Sr. High School and is the National Board Co-Chair for the FSU Black Alumni.

Maggie Peterson (B.S. ’11) works with the tenacious and driven people of Bowstern as the Senior Director.

Nanette Schimpf (B.S. ’89) is Vice President of Moore Communications Group and was recently named the FPRA Capital City Chapter President.

Erin Schmidt (M.A. ’09) is running social media for Schmidt Public Affairs, serving as their Digital Media Director.

Cathy Seeds (MLIS ’10) embraced her passion for reading with her new position at the Florida Department of Education, where she serves as their Library Media Specialist.

Tanya Shores (M.S. ’07) serves Seminole County Public Schools as the District Exceptional Student Education Administrator.

Mike Silverman (B.A. ’10, M.S. ’15) earned a highly-coveted position with Lockheed Martin as a Senior Cyber Intel Analyst.

Marc Sirkin (B.S. ’91) after a career leading non-profits such as Autism Speaks and The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, Sirkin joined retail start-up, SpendBoss, as their CMO.

Plato Smith (Ph.D. ’14) has accepted a tenure-track position with the University of Florida as an Associate University Data Management Librarian.

Sandy Smollar (MLIS) currently works as the school librarian at the Plumosa School of the Arts, and was selected as one of two finalists for the 2015 School Library Journal School Librarian of the Year Award.

Toby Srebnik (B.S. ’94) was recently promoted to In-House Manager of Public Relations, Social Media and Community Events at Truly Nolen Pest Control.

Teresa Temkin (MLIS ’15)  currently interns in Washington, D.C. with the Bureau of European and Asian Affairs Public Diplomacy.

Sabrina Torres (B.A. ’15) has joined Tallahassee-based Domi Station as a Marketing Coordinator.

Tim Tully (MLIS ’15) is a Business & Career Librarian at the Brooklyn Public Library.

Micah Vandegrift (MLIS ’11) is the first Digital Scholarship Coordinator for Florida State University, where he works to champion open access initiatives for the university.

Theressa Virgil (B.S. ’85) is the Senior Director of Creative Services for the UP TV cable network in Atlanta, GA.

Caroline Westrup (B.S. ’13) was named the Symetra Tournament Champion with her sights set on the Ladies Professional Golf Association (LPGA) Tour next.

Adam Worrall (MLIS ’08, Ph.D. ’14) has joined the faculty at the University of Alberta School of Library and Information Science.

 

Summer 2015

Heather Baum (B.S. ’13, M.S. ’14 Communication Disorders) is conducting research with nonverbal children with her dog, Rhea, a registered therapy dog.

Michael Bellanger (B.S. ’09) has been promoted at Dell. Michael works in external communications and will be leaving Panama for Round Rock, Texas to work at Dell Headquarters.

Blake Bieber (B.S. IT ’07) is working in project management and information technology at Newell Rubbermaid.

Nancy Brockman (MLIS ’14) graduated from the Sunshine State Library Leadership Institute Program.

Laura Byrne (B.S. ’01) was featured in the Tampa Bay Times for her work in the Tampa area, where she founded her company, Tampa Families.

Jill Chandler (B.A. ’09) was recognized in ‘Thirty Under 30’ for her work in the Tallahassee community. Jill works for the Zimmerman Agency as a Senior Account Manager and volunteers with Tree House of Tallahassee, an emergency shelter for young children.

Rev. Brett DeHart (B.S. ’91) has been named Director of Church and Community Relations at the United Methodist’s Children’s Home in Atlanta, Georgia.

Rachael Deja (B.S. ’14) works for General Motors and participated in Austin Over the Edge to benefit Children’s Miracle Network.

Joannie Descardes (B.S. ’15) has accepted a position as a Rehabilitation Technician with the Medical Neurological Outpatient Unit at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital.

Penelope Deutsch (B.S. ’86) has dedicated her career to working with youth. In June 2015, she was named Volunteer of the Year for the State of Florida.

Nicole Dial (B.A. ’06) is the University Relations Representative at DreamWorks Animation in Glendale, CA.

Toby Doebrich (B.S. ’15) co-founded Optimal Bagging, a company that aims to revolutionize the trash industry. The company makes aerodynamic trash bags that take half a second to replace. Their idea won them $15,000 at OneSpark and an additional $20,000 on KickStarter.

Colette Drouillard (Ph.D. ’10) has been granted full tenure and promoted to associate professor at Valdosta State University.

Herneshia Dukes (B.S. ’08) was recognized in ‘Thirty Under 30’ for her work at the KIIPP Leadership Academy, a middle school serving grades 5-8. Dukes is the school’s Principal.

Brittney Farley (MLIS ’15) interned with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), working in the Office of Science and Engineering Laboratories.

Vanessa Fuchs (B.S. ’01) was named the D1 Administrator of the Year by the National Association of Collegiate Women Athletics Administrators.

Patrick Fulton (MLIS ’15) is the Circulation and Reserve Manager at the Warren D. Allen Music Library at Florida State.

Lt. Christopher Gardner (B.S. ’09) was recognized in ‘Thirty Under 30’ for his courageous work in the United States Coast Guard.

Kelli Gemmer (B.S. MCS ’14) will begin her Master’s in IMC with CCI this Fall, while working as a Media Specialist for the FSU College of Education.

Summer Gilhousen (B.S. ’15) is the Corporate Communications Coordinator for VISIT FLORIDA.

Cristian Gonzalez Mendez (B.S. ’15) has been awarded the Jim McKay Scholarship for sports journalism. Mendez will pursue graduate school at the School of Communication in the Fall.

Chris Harrison (B.S. ’10) is a Systems Analyst Programmer for Publix Supermarkets.

TaRhonda Harvey (B.S. ’02) runs her own consulting firm, Kolmio Global, and helps businesses build their brand and website presence.

Jillian Heddaeus (B.S. ’05) recently graduated from the Institute for Organization Management at the University of Georgia.

Matthew Howard (B.S. ’12) is a Cyber Security Analyst for Boeing.

Noel Hutcheson (B.S. ’08, M.S. ’11) is working for KidSource Therapy in Little Rock, Arkansas.

Elvaro Jiminez (B.S. ’11) started a new adventure, opening Isabella’s Napoletana Pizzeria on Gaines Street.

Erin Kelley (B.S. ’02) has opened her own company, Simply Smart Technology, based out of Chicago, Illinois.

Jenny Knipe (B.S. ’15) is interning with the Rachael Ray show in New York City.

Michael Lindo (B.S. ’12) is living in Panama, working at BlueTide IT Consulting. Lindo started the cloud computing company with a group of friends, dedicated to bringing top standards in IT to Panama’s population.

Adolfo Lopez (B.S. ’13) joined the BSecure team after graduation, working first in sales and now as the Marketing and Sales Manager for the Panama-based company.

J.P. Marshall (B.S. ’14) was recently promoted to the Help Desk Coordinator at the CCI Help Desk.

Lt. JG Anthony Micco (B.S. ’12) works aboard the USS PREBLE in the United States Navy as a Surface Warfare Officer.

Linda Most (Ph.D. ’09) has been named the Department Head for Library and Information Studies at Valdosta State University.

Mark Neifeld (B.S. ’09) was recognized in ‘Thirty Under 30’ for his dedicated to the sports and live event industry. Neifeld works at the Dallas Cowboys AT&T Stadium as an Event Manager.

Sara Nodine (MLIS ’09) is the Assistant Librarian and Head of Collection Development at the Warren D. Allen Music Library at Florida State.

Dr. Robin Parker (B.S. ’85, M.S. ’86) recently passed away. Dr. Parker pioneered research for children and adults on the autism spectrum over her twenty five years of work. She was honored at the FLASHA 2015 Conference with Honors of the Association.

Azmat Rasul (Ph.D. ’15) was awarded Top Paper in Mass Communication at the International Communication Association.

D.C. Reeves (B.S. ’07) was named BlabTV’s Sports Director.

Doug Rillstone (B.S. ’79) was named Top Lawyer at Broad Cassel for his work in environmental law.

Kendra Scholz (B.S. ’14) sets her sights on Health Communication, pursuing a master’s in IMC from the School of Communication. Kendra hopes to educate the public about communication and science disorders and other health-related issues.

Julia Skinner (Ph.D. ’15) joined the Kennesaw State University team as a Rare Book Curator. She defended her thesis, Ernestine Rose and the Harlem Public Library: Theory Testing Using Historical Sources, on May 29th.

Demetrius Solomon (B.S. ’13) has found his personal mission at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, where he works as an IT Project Analyst.

Ann D. Thorton (MLIS ’94) was recently named the Vice Provost and University Librarian at Columbia University.

Lt. JG Lee Warwick (B.S. ’12) is advancing in the United States Navy as an Information Professional, coinciding with his graduation from the Information Systems Management master’s program at American Sentinel University.

Jennifer Wood (MLIS ’14) is pursuing her doctoral degree in the School of Information and was recently awarded the Takeshi Murofushi Research Award towards her thesis.

Changwoo Yoo (Ph.D. 10) has been promoted to associate professor and has been granted full tenure at Valdosta State University.

Spring 2015

Dr. Mary Ashlock (B.A., M.S., Ph.D. ’97) was named Mentor of the Year at University of Louisville, where she is an Assistant Professor of Communication.

Mitchell Bishop (B.A. ’04) is the Assistant Attorney General in the Criminal Division of the Office of the Florida Attorney General.

Demetrius Brown (B.S. ’07) has just accepted a position with General Motors.

Wendi Cannon (B.S. ’97) is the Associate Director of the College of Medicine’s Information Management  team.

Elaine Crepeau (B.A. ’72, MLIS ’73) has created an endowed scholarship in name of her mentor and friend, Dr. Martha Jane Zachert.

Sophia Danvers-Aarons (B.S. ’96) works for Cisco as a Global Integrated Marketing Communications Manager and will have been with the company for ten years in June 2015.

Kevin Davis (MLIS ’13) was awarded the F. William Summers Award, given annually to an outstanding master’s student.

Kathleen Foster (B.A. ’10) is working in Indianapolis, Indiana as the Client Services Coordinator at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Lauren Gibaldi (MLIS ’05) will publish her first novel, The Night We Said Yes, this summer through HarperCollins.

Ivey Glendon (MLIS ’11) is with the University of Virginia Library as a Metadata Librarian and is currently working on describing collections to improve discoverability.

Christie Green (B.S. ’04) is a Marketing & Sales Assistant for Rowland Publishing; known for Tallahassee Magazine, Seminole Booster’s ‘Unconquered’ and many others through the state of Florida.

Maura Hayes (B.S. ’82) is the Director of Operations at Disney’s Time Square Studios.

Erik Hazzard (B.S. ’09) is a successful author, entrepreneur and developer. His most recent project is his startup, Five.

Christina Hecht (B.S. ’14) is interning with the Safe Sociable London Partnership, working to reduce alcohol-related harm in London, England.

Michael Helfrich (B.S. ’14) is working for Google as a Corporate Operations Engineer in New York City.

Willie Jackson (B.S. ’07) is the founder and publisher of Abernathy Magazine.

Kianta Key (M.S. ’10) has owned a successful food truck, The Cravings Truck, and is now working for Delete Blood Cancer DKMS as a Social Media Manager.

Carolina Milner Ali (M.S. ’05) is working at a full service advertising agency, LMO Advertising, in Arlington, VA.

Mark Neifeld (B.S. ’09) is working for AT&T Stadium, home of the Dallas Cowboys, as an Event Manager.

Becky O’Brien (B.S. ’96) attended the Kappa Kappa Gamma National Leadership Academy with four other generations of KKG women from FSU.

Sarishni Poonen Patel (B.S. ’06) serves as the Director of Development for the College of Engineering at Florida State University.

Kathleen Peiffer (MLIS ’77) was named New Mexico’s State Librarian.

Becky Post (B.S. ’97, M.S. COMM ’97) is the running her family insurance company, Post Insurance Company.

Steve Schale (M.S. ’09) and Tim Center (B.S. ’88) are two of the ten investors that make up Awesome Tallahassee, a fund that offers $1,000 every month to Tallahassee-based groups and individuals with ideas to benefit the community.

Ed Stephen (B.A. ’92) is the Senior VP of CNN Newssource in Atlanta, Ga.

Nic Stolzfus (B.A. ’12) recently completed a book and documentary, titled “Coastal Dune Lakes: Jewels of Florida’s Emerald Cost”.

Margot Susca (Ph.D. 2012) is now working as the Program Director of the Interactive Journalism weekend master’s program in the School of Communication at American University. Since August 2013, Dr. Susca has worked as a full-time professorial lecturer at AU. 

Mary Turner (MLIS ’13) is now a librarian at the Auburn Public Library.

Jennifer Underhill (M.S. Info Systems ’07) leads the Florida State University Schools as the School Librarian.

Jordan Wenck (B.S. ’11, M.S. IMC ’12) is thriving as a digital marketing and social media strategist with Bridgestone Golf.

Fall 2014

Tyler Adams (’92 M.S., Ph.D. ’95) is working in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia as a Professor and Vice Dean of Academic Affairs at the Jeddah College of Advertising. Adams has taught across the world and is enjoying the Middle East very much. He was recently selected as a CIES Fulbright Peer Review Committee Member by the Cultural Affairs Division of the U.S. Department of State.

Michael Bane (B.S. ’10) released a new FSU themed video for his song “Zone.” He is working as a full time independent recording artist in Tallahassee.

Andrew Barnett (B.S. ’04) is a Senior Vice President, Executive Creative Producer for Hill Holliday in Boston, Massachusetts.

Andrew Bertino (B.S. ’08) works for EA Tiburon in Maitland, Florida as a UI Technical Artist. He works on games like NBA Live, Tiger Woods, and Madden.

Kelly Bowstern (’05) & Tom Derzypolski (B.S. ’04), principals at Bowstern Marketing Communications and their team celebrate their Dick Pope All Florida Golden Image Award from the FPRA Capital Chapter Image Awards in July 2014.

Dontrail Brinson (B.S. ’07) works in Burbank, California at the Walt Disney Company as a Technical Analyst. He will also appear in the EMMY nominated TV show ‘Shameless’ during it’s 5th season.

Arielle Burnett (B.S. ’10) has opened her own agency, The Burnette Agency, after many years of experience in the public relations field.

Waner Del Rosario (B.S. ’08) works at Lee Memorial Health System as an Information Systems Analyst. He serves on the Fort Myers Flying Club Board of Directors and recently got his Private Pilot Certificate.

Sarah Jean Ferraris (B.S. ’14) former Ad Club president is working for Team Detroit as a Digital Junior Project Manager. She works on the Shopper Marketing team for the Ford account.

Beth Frady (M.S. ’09) is working for Enterprise Florida as the Director of Public Relations.

Michael Goldberg (B.S. ’88) returns to Florida as CEO of Zimmerman, one of the largest advertising agencies in the country.

David Grad (B.S. ’94) recently received an EMMY for his MTV PSA “It’s Your Sex Life.” Most recently, he joined the branding firm Siegelvision in New York City.

Brent Grooms (M.S. ’10) is working at the Shepherd Center as a Soarian Clinical Analyst in Atlanta, Georgia.

Daniel Jenkins (B.S. ’02) received the ALE Rising Star Award from the Association of Leadership Educators. Dr. Jenkins was nominated for his passion in research, teaching and advising. He is the project lead for the Leadership Education Academy and has served as editor of leadership journals and member of several ALE Conference Planning Committees.

Bryant Joseph (B.S. ’14) recently developed an app, Stadium Runner, that uses smartphones to order concession food for delivery at sporting games, tested in our own Doak Campbell Stadium.

Renaine Julian (MLIS ’14) is working as Florida State’s first Data Research Librarian at Strozier Library.

Karen Kayir (MLIS ’12) is working in Japan with the Department of Defense School System as a librarian.

Laura Linthicum (B.S. ’14) is working in advertising with Lowe Campbell-Ewald in New York City.

Donny MacKenzie (B.S. ’84, J.D. ’87) has taken office as the first vice president of the Florida Bar Association. MacKenzie is a member of Holland & Knight’s litigation department. The firm specializes in medical and professional malpractice defense. The past president of Jacksonville Area Legal Aid currently serves on a myriad of local and statewide bar committees, including Florida Bar committees, the Florida Supreme Court Standing Committee on Professionalism, and the Jacksonville Association’s Pro Bono and Guardianship Committee.

Casey McLaughlin (MLIS ’06) is employed at FSU’s Research Computing Center, where he coordinates support activities, works with research partners on campus and manages documentation.

Stephanie Mears (B.S.) is working at Microsoft in Dallas, Texas as a Senior Support Engineer for Skype/Lync.

Mark Neifield  (B.S. ’09) is the new Manager of Events for the Dallas Cowboys. He joined the team in July 2014 and oversees all event operations and logistics for the Dallas Cowboys Football Club and events hosted at AT&T Stadium.

Sheena O’Connors (B.S. ’07) is working for Black Knight Financial Services as a project manager.

Elizabeth Perez (B.S. ’94) was named a Top Lawyer for 2014 by South Florida Legal Guide. Perez is working for Broad and Cassel in Fort Lauderdale, where she works on their Health Law, Commercial Litigation, White Collar Defense, and Compliance Practice groups.

Ron Rule (B.S. ’05) is working at Bank of America as the Senior Vice President, Senior Business Support Manager.

Sherry Sanderford (B.S. ’89) serves as the Senior Director of Communications at Aetna Healthcare.

Lee Shiflett (Ph.D. ’79) is working at University of North Carolina at Greensboro as the Department Chair of the Department of Library and Information Studies.

Mike Siriwardena (MLIS ’13) is working in Strozier Library at Florida State University as a General Collections Coordinator and a volunteer fireman for the Midway Fire Department.

Katie Smith (B.S. ’12, M.S. ’13) is in Kansas City, Missouri working for Cerner Corporation as a Clinical Reporting Analyst.

Cecily Sorensen (B.S. ’00) is the Vice President of Corporate Communications at Firehouse Subs.

Guy Stephens (B.S. ’88, M.S. ’89) is thriving in his advertising career as the Senior Vice President of Strategic Planning at Fry Hammond Barr.

Erin Thompson (B.S. ’14) is currently working for Fox Television as a production assistant for the show Sleepy Hollow.

Caroline Underwood (B.S. ’06) has been promoted to vice president at Kreps DeMaria Public Relations and Marketing, where she previously served as an Account Director. When she’s not working, Caroline serves on the board of M.A.D.D.’s Miami-Dade County chapter.

Christopher Waldeck (B.S. ’13, M.S. ’15) is working for iHeartMedia as an Account Executive while finishing his graduate degree.

Jervishia Walker (B.S. ’09) was recently named Manager of Public Relations at TransMedia Group, a full-service public relations firm in Boca Raton.

Denny Windgassen (B.S. ’10) is working for Citigroup as a Senior Ethical Hack Analyst.

Summer 2014

Jason Adams (B.A.’98) received a Master of Divinity Degree from Wartburg Theological Seminary in Dubuque, Iowa on May 18, 2014. Adams has been called to serve as Senior Pastor at Reformation Lutheran Church in Las Vegas, N.V.

Tim Center (B.S. ’91) received the inaugural City Year Florida’s Hero of Service Award, which honors a public leader working for social justice as well as expands awareness about the organization’s work to drive student achievement in three of the most important urban hubs in our state.  Center is currently serving as the executive director of the Capital Area Community Action Agency, whose mission is to provide a comprehensive, seamless system of services and resources to reduce the detrimental effects of poverty, empower low-income citizens with skills and motivation to become self-sufficient, and improve the overall quality of their lives, and our community.  He is also the executive director of Sustainable Florida.

Elaine Crepeau (B.S. ’72, M.S. ’73) has enjoyed a lengthy and diverse career as a librarian, and now she is focusing on giving back to two of the entities that made a profound impact on her life – Florida State University and Up with People. Crepeau serves on the College of Communication & Information Leadership Board and was hired by Up with People last spring to work on the organization’s archives in conjunction with the University of Arizona.

Layla Dowdy (B.S. ’05, M.S. ’07), a communication & public outreach specialist for NASA, was named to Florida State University Alumni Association’s Thirty Under 30 list, which recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of Florida State’s young alumni.

Aaron Elkins (Ph.D. ’14), who will officially graduate on Aug. 2, accepted a position as an assistant professor at Texas Woman’s University’s School of Library and Information Studies beginning in August.

Joy Lynn Fields (B.S. ’86) is the president of Joy Lynn, Inc., a qualitative research consulting company she started in 1995.  Last year, Fields received two awards for her accomplishments.  Enterprising Women Magazine named Fields one of their 2013 Enterprising Women of the Year, and Fields garnered a Gold Stevie Award for Women in Business in the category of 2013 Female Entrepreneur of the Year – Business Services – 10 or Less Employees – Advertising, Marketing, & Public Relations.

Collin Gaston (B.S. ’93) is the vice president and general manager of WSFA 12 News, a Raycom Media entity.

Amelia Gibson (Ph.D. ’13) accepted a position as assistant professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill’s School of Information and Library Science beginning July 1.  She also received a Master of Science in Library and Information Studies from Florida State.

Derek Headley (Ph.D. ’13 Communication Disorders) just completed his first year on the faculty of the University of Northern Colorado’s Department of Audiology and Speech Language Sciences.  He was voted Faculty Member of the Year by the university’s students.

Mike James (Ph.D. ’92) has been named as the new dean of Harding University’s Honors College effective in 2015. James has been a member of Harding’s faculty since 1985 and began his career at the university in the office of public relations in 1973.

Sophie Janicke (Ph.D. ’13) accepted a position as a visiting assistant professor at the University of Arkansas, which she will start in August after finishing a visiting professorship in the Institute for Journalism and Communication Research at Hannover (Germany) School of Music, Theater, and Media.   She will be teaching Media, Community & Citizenship, an introductory undergraduate class and also an Entertainment Effects class.

Melissa Johnston (Ph.D. ’11) was awarded the University of Alabama School of Library and Information Studies’ Student Advisory Council Teaching Recognition Award in April. Students nominate faculty members for the award by writing letters to describe why the faculty member should win the award based on their teaching. Johnston is an assistant professor at Alabama’s School of Library and Information Studies and serves as the School Media Program Coordinator.

Jennifer Lamfers (B.S. ’06) is an audiologist is an audiologist working at Oro Valley & Tanque Verde Audiology in Tucson, Ariz.

S. Lizabeth Martin (B.A. ’92) is the founder and director of the inaugural Boca Black Film Festival 2014, whose mission is to celebrate and champion independent film works created, designed and inspired by persons of black heritage. She is also a full-time faculty member at Palm Beach State College where she teaches interpersonal communication, public speaking and speech communication.

Shayne Mifsud (B.S. ’05) recently moved into the position of Director of New Business Development at Dreamworks Animation in the Los Angeles area.  He also was named to Florida State University Alumni Association’s Thirty Under 30 list, which recognizes the outstanding accomplishments of Florida State’s young alumni.

Audrey Morris (B.S. ’05), Emily Read (B.S. ’02, M.S. ’05) and Fern Senra (B.S. ’02) are playing an integral part in the success of Moore Communications Group (MCG), a top 75 communications firm nationally, which is headquartered in Tallahassee, Fla. In April, the three FSU alumni were promoted within MCG’s account servicing team to bolster the firm’s renowned commitment and excellence in client servicing.

Shannon O’Neil (B.S. ’07, M.S. ’08) recently released her latest novel, “Killer Shine”, adding an unexpected twist to the story by creating a character with the rare disorder of Fanconi anemia. Florida State head football coach Jimbo Fisher and wife Candi’s son Ethan, who was diagnosed with the uncommon blood disease in 2011, served as inspiration for the character.  Fanconi anemia (FA) affects one in 131,000 people and currently has no cure.

Beth M. Paskoff (Ph.D. ’89) received the 2014 Beta Phi Mu Award, given annually to a library school faculty member or to an individual for distinguished service to education for librarianship, on June 29 at the American Library Association Annual Conference in Las Vegas. Paskoff served as director of Louisiana State University School of Library & Information Science since 2000 and retired on July 1.

Kevin Patterson (B.S. ’11) recently finished his third year as a television production teacher at Oviedo H.S. Two years ago, he created the Seminole County School Television Awards, a district-wide program that recognizes middle and high school students in the areas of broadcasting, film and video production. In that time, participation in the program increased by 80 percent and attendance of the awards ceremony quadrupled.

Eric Policastro (B.S. ’06) and his trial team were recognized in the National Law Journal’s Big Money Wins publication for the ninth largest verdict in the nation in 2013—a near $49 million jury verdict in a complex civil trial involving issues of breach of contract, conversion, gross negligence and fraud. The National Trial Lawyers also named Policastro to the association’s Top 100 Trial Lawyers list in both 2013 and 2014, and honored him as one of the Top 40 Under 40 Trial Lawyers in 2014.

Ilya Pozin (B.S. ’05), also a Thirty Under 30 honoreer, is an entrepreneur, writer and investor and a founder of PlutoTV based in Los Angeles. Pozin is also the founder and CEO of Open Me, a social greeting and gifting company backed by Threadless and the founder of Ciplex, a digital marketing agency.  He is also a columnist for Inc., Forbes, LinkedIn, The Next Web and other major publications. In 2012, Inc. Magazine recognized Pozin as a ’30 Under 30′ Entrepreneur.

Joey Ricard (B.S. ’07) is running the publicly traded Development Capital Group (DLPM), which gives anyone the opportunity to invest in technology startups by buying the company’s public stock.

Faye C. Roberts (MLIS ‘91) received the 2014 Florida Library Association (FLA) Leader of the Year Award in recognition of her distinguished service to the association.  Roberts served as FLA’s executive director for six years until January 2014, and is currently a consultant for the association while its office relocates from Lake City to Tallahassee.

Steven Rodriguez (B.S. ’13), a producer for the Spanish-language morning show “Un Nuevo Dia” which airs on the Telemundo Network, was a part of a team that won the category Outstanding Morning Program in Spanish at the 41st Annual Daytime Emmy® Awards by the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences on June 22.

Danielle Skeen (B.S. ’09) is a busy advertising professional, who uses her free time to run The Star Boutique, Inc., a charity-driven, pop-up shop that provides clothing, shoes, accessories, makeovers and workshops in self-esteem to underprivileged, teen girls who are affected by homelessness in New York City.

Gina Sprehe (B.S. ’97) was recently hired as a human interest producer for “The Jimmy Kimmel Show.”  Sprehe has worked in television since graduation and spent 10 years as a producer for “The Oprah Winfrey Show.”

Alyce Lee Stansbury (B.S. ’87) is currently the president of Stansbury Consulting, a leading fundraising firm, headquartered in Tallahassee, Fla., which she founded in 2006.  The firm helps nonprofit organizations build robust, sustainable fundraising programs. Stansbury Consulting was a finalist in the service category for the 2014 Chamber Awards, organized by the Greater Tallahassee Chamber of Commerce and held on June 3.

Myka Kennedy Stephens (MLIS ’07) has been appointed as librarian of the Lancaster Theological Seminary effective May 19. Stephens is a library professional with a background in theological and church libraries. She joins Lancaster Seminary after eight years as a library and information services consultant.

Michelle Ubben (M.A. ’88), partner and chief operating officer of Sachs Media, and Jessica Clark (B.S. ’10), project manager of campaigns and branding, were awarded a Gracie Award® from the Alliance for Women in Media (AWM) Foundation on June 11 in New York City for their work through Sachs Media on a campaign against child sexual abuse.  The 30-minute program they produced, Intimate Crimes: The Inside Story of Child Sexual Abuse, won in the category of Outstanding Interview Program or Feature.

Skyler Vander Molen (B.S. ’08) is a member of the Communication Design team at Facebook. The former Dean’s List student recently spoke at the 2014 TechExpo, the annual conference and trade show of the Tallahassee Technology Alliance about the importance of global access to the Internet.

Carmen Vitton (M.S. ’87), who began her career as a speech-language pathologist, started her own company, Rehab Synergies, three years ago.  Vitton is the chief operating officer of the in-house therapy provider, which is strategically aligned to provide skilled occupational, physical and speech-language therapy.  The company has grown to over 250 full-time therapists, as well as another 250 therapists employed on an as needed basis.

Spring 2014

Ginevra Adamoli-Kalbli (M.A ’09, PhD ’12) has combined her love of fashion with her skills in digital and social media to create the budding blog
fashion4therealpeople.blogspot.com.  She is also currently working as a digital analyst for VISIT FLORIDA, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, where she analyzes the organizations digital marketing efforts on the website and social media, and assists/help the content team with content and social media strategy for bloggers.

Jennifer O’Flannery Anderson (B.S. ’89) is currently serving as Vice President for Advancement and Community Relations at Nova Southeastern University.

Alex Beltrami (B.S.), Brian Mckenna (B.S., M.S.) and Matt Thompson (B.S. ‘99, M.S. ‘00) opened Madison Social — a 6,500 square foot sports restaurant bar with indoor/outdoor eating areas located in Tallahassee’s Collegetown within walking distance of the Doak Campbell Stadium, Madison Social also caters towards business lunches/dinners and aims to reinvent the college bar restaurant experience.

Rachel Besara (M.S. ’07) accepted the position as the Head of the Dirac Science Library at Florida State University in January.  Her experience and science background made her the best candidate to lead Dirac forward in its mission to provide excellent service to the STEM students and faculty and to explore new ways to serve these communities.

Ashley Blasewitz (M.A. ’09) was appointed Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Heart of Florida United Way, Central Florida’s most comprehensive health and human services agency. In this role, she will lead the strategic direction of the marketing and communication department.

Maya Callender (M.S. ’08, M.S. ’09) recently received a Moellership Award from the Center for Leadership and Social Change, which will enable her to set off to South Africa in April for a two-month service project. The Moellership Award, named for its founder Bill Moeller, provides selected students at Florida State the opportunity to focus eight to 12 weeks of their summer to full-time service at a not-for-profit agency.  The scholarship is awarded to students with a desire to create positive change in communities.  Callender is currently a doctoral student at the School of Communication Science & Disorders.

Janet Capps (M.S. & Ph.D. ’11) joined Emporia State’s School of Library and Information Management as an Assistant Professor in Fall 2013 with qualitative and quantitative research skills and interests in the theoretical aspects of information, youth services and literacy.

Jessica Clark (B.S. ’10) earned the rare distinction of obtaining a Project Management Professional (PMP)® credential. Clark works as the project manager of campaigns and branding at Sachs Media Group in Tallahassee.

Dr. Even Culp (B.S. ‘74, M.S. ‘75) created and now directs Oral Roberts University’s Center for Faculty Excellence.  The Center mentors new faculty, offers professional development workshops, and guides faculty members through the promotion, tenure and the sabbatical leave process.  Culp also coaches faculty on best practices of online and blended teaching.

Justin de la Cruz (M.S. ’12) was promoted to manager of the Blake Library in Stuart, Fla., which is part of the Martin County Library System.  Previously, de la Cruz served as the Digital Literacy Librarian at the Peter & Julie Cummings Library, which is also in Martin County.

Penelope Deutsch (B.S. ’89) was appointed to the Children’s Services Council of Charlotte County for a two-year term by Florida Governor Rick Scott last September. She has also served on the board of the Children’s Network of Southwest Florida for the last eight years, and mentors and tutors at-risk children with AMI Kids Crossroads and the Children’s Home Society.

Meredith (Gorran) Farkas (M.S. ’04) was honored with a 2014 Association of College and Research Libraries Instruction Section Innovation Award. Farkas collaborated on with other faculty members at Portland State University, where she is a general education instruction coordinator, to develop the software Library DIY, which assists students in find the information they need quickly.

Drew Goldfarb (B.S. ’10) was named the pregame, postgame and intermissions host and sideline reporter for all the NHL’s Florida Panthers’ home games broadcast on Fox Sports Florida.  He also hosts “Inside the Panthers”, which airs on the network.

Michelle Gunning (M.S. ’08) was named this year’s Macy’s/Florida Department of Education Teacher of the Year for Palm Beach County.  Gunning is a media specialist at Sandpiper Shores Elementary School in Boca Raton, Fla.

Christopher Hinson (M.S. ’02 & Ph.D. ’07) became a member of the School of Library and Information Management faculty at Emporia State for the Spring 2014 semester to prepare for the launch of the University’s new Master’s of Science in Informatics degree program.

Aaron Hood (B.S. ’09) received the 2014 Spirit of King Award presented at the annual Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. celebration held in January at George Mason University, where he is Resident Director. The Spirit of King Award is presented to a staff member or administrator at George Mason who has made an exceptional contribution to the development of an inclusive learning environment through his/her programming, advising, student leadership development or other work that involves advocacy for equality and social justice.

Dr. Sophie Janicke (PhD ’13) accepted a teaching position at the University of Arkansas, which she will begin in August. She is currently serving as a visiting professor in the Institute for Journalism and Communication Research at Hannover (Germany) School of Music, Theater, and Media.

Carlos A. Kelly (B.A. ’93) has been elected vice president of the Southwest Florida Museum of History Foundation Board.   The museum is located in Fort Myers, Fla. Kelly, an attorney for Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., is a stockholder in the firm’s Commercial Litigation practice group.

Sean Kennedy (B.S. ’00) and his History Channel production team garnered an Emmy at the 65th Creative Arts Emmy Awards on Sept. 15 for the documentary series “Remembering 9/11” for History.com, beating out nominees such as “Jay Leon’s Garage”, Jerry Seinfeld’s “Comedians In Cars Getting Coffee” and “30 Rock: The Final Season” in the category of Outstanding Special Class – Short-Format Nonfiction Programs.

Jamie Linden (B.S. ’01) addressed Florida State University graduates as commencement speaker for the colleges of Arts and Sciences; Human Sciences; and Motion Picture Arts on May 2.  Linden joined Bobby Bowden and Merrill Lynch Wealth Management head John W. Thiel as the university’s three commencement speakers this spring.  Linden is best known for writing the screenplay for “We Are Marshall” in 2006.

Alan McCall (B.S. ’84) has been awarded a construction permit from the Federal Communications Commission to build a low power FM (LPFM) radio station near Tallahassee. The facility will operate on 101.9 with an effective radiated power of 33 watts from a site located about five miles east of Tallahassee. The station, which has been granted the call sign WDXD-LP, will feature classic country music, local specialized programming on the weekends, and will feature a full studio for the on-air presentation. http://www.bigdcountry.com

Rachel (Koeppel) Mueller (B.S. ’09) has opened Amelia Island Coffee in Fernandina Beach, Fla., with her husband Mark.  She is also the owner of the candle company Oil & Wax.

Mark Nicolou (M.S. ’13) recently accepted a position as a systems analyst at Florida Memory — the State Archives of Florida, which is the central repository for the records of Florida State Government. The Florida Memory website serves as one of Florida’s principal venues for citizens to access historical images, sound recordings and documents.

Joseph Ricard (M.S. ’07) was recently named as President and Director of Development Capital Group, a business that invests in and develops businesses and technologies with significant potential for growth and customer acquisition.

Josef A. Rill (M.A. ’08) has been named director of business and auxiliary services at State College of Florida, Manatee-Sarasota. Rill was the assistant director of auxiliary services at the University of South Florida St. Petersburg and communication director for Euro International Inc. in Tampa. He also has experience as a classroom instructor and admissions counselor. Rill is pursuing a doctorate in Higher Education Administration at the University of South Florida.

William J. P. Smith, Jr. (B.S. ‘56) continues his close affiliation with Florida State University teaching graduate classes in the School of Communication. Courses include Integrated Marketing Communications, Marketing Communications Management and Account Planning. In concert with his students, he is co-founder of The Alliance for Breast Cancer Awareness in Women & Men, and partner at Huckleberry Finn Tomorrow, an Integrated Marketing Communications consulting firm.

Elam Stoltzfus (B.S. ’88) earned a Suncoast Emmy Award in the Documentary category for his latest work – Florida Wildlife Corridor: Everglades to Okeefenokee. Stoltzfus joined a team of explorers on a Florida Wildlife Corridor Expedition, trekking 1,000 miles in 100 days in 2012 to raise awareness and generate support for the Florida Wildlife Corridor project.  The documentary aired on PBS throughout Florida.  Stoltzfus also returned to Florida State on March 30 for a special screening of the film and panel discussion, which was hosted by CCI’s Student Leadership Council.

Dr. Ronald C. Thomas, Jr. (M.S. ‘84) has been selected to give a half-day workshop for the Department of Homeland Security in June. He will present “Teaching Online, Face-to-Face, or Hybrid: Which Club to Pull From Your Bag” at the 16th Emergency Management Higher Education Symposium at the National Emergency Training Center in Emmitsburg, Md.

Deric Waite (M.S. ’10) has been appointed Manager of Card Services at Quinnipiac University. At Quinnipiac, Waite is responsible for the operation of the QCard, an official university ID used to access various campus locations and services, including the university’s meal plans.

Mark Zeigler (M.S. ’89), a research associate and instructor at Florida State University’s School of Communication, was inducted into FSU’s Circle of Gold on April 12 prior to the football spring game. The award, given by the FSU Alumni Association, was created in 1993 to recognize FSU alumni and friends who, through their service and achievements, personify the university’s tradition of excellence.

Khawaja Zain-ul-abdin (M.S. ’09, Ph.D. ’13) accepted a tenure line position as Assistant Professor to teach marketing & communication at the Suleman Dawood School of Business in the Lahore University of Management Sciences.  This University is the top-ranked academic institution in Pakistan and its Suleman Dawood School of Business has consistently ranked among the top business schools in South Asia for the last two decades.  It has a curriculum partnership with the Harvard Business School, teaching M.B.A. courses based on the Harvard case study methodology.

Fall 2013

John W. Asbury (M.A. ’10) recently portrayed diarist Adam Plummer in Civil War 360, a three-part miniseries documentary on the Smithsonian Channel, which was broadcast as part of the Smithsonian Institution’s commemoration of the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War.

James Walter Doyle (B.A. ’06) was featured in three issues of Gentleman’s Quarterly (GQ) as a recipient of a 2012 GQ Leadership Award.  He was also featured in the viral video “Meet Mr. Doyle” for DonorsChoose.org, a non-profit organization.  Doyle taught English at Thurgood Marshall Academy in Harlem, N.Y., for seven years before DonorsChoose.org hired him as the organization’s National Director of Teacher Engagement last summer.

Lisa Griffin Hodgdon (B.A. ’94), an attorney in the Tampa office of the statewide law firm Broad and Cassel, has earned an AV Preeminent® rating from Martindale-Hubbell®, achieving the organization’s highest marks for both competency and ethics.

Charles A. “Chuck” Julian (Ph.D. ’90) was named Director of the University of Tennessee at Martin’s Paul Meek Library in July.

Carlos A. Kelly (B.A. ’93), an attorney at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt, P.A., was appointed to the Southwest Florida Museum of History Foundation Board.  The Foundation, along with the Museum staff, strives to make the Museum an innovative, educational and engaging resource for approximately 15,000 visitors a year.

Dominic C. “Donny” MacKenzie (B.S. ’84, J.D. ’87) took office as second vice president of The Florida Bar Foundation, a statewide charitable organization that provides leadership and funding for justice in Florida, on July 1, 2013.

Ann Mezadieu (B.S. ’91) was hired as the Director of Human Resources at Daszkal Bolton LLP, an accounting and advisory firm in South Florida in November.

Leslie Mille (B.S. ’95) was honored by the Association of Business School Alumni Professionals (ABSAP) with the Outstanding Service to ABSAP Award in July.  Mille also recently accepted the position of Associate Director, Administration at the FSU Career Center. She previously served as the Director of Alumni Relations & Student Engagement at the FSU College of Business.

Samantha Strickland (B.S. ’96, M.S. ’99) was awarded an Emmy® from the Suncoast Chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in the Commercials category on Nov. 23 in Hollywood, Fla., for her work on Community South Credit Union’s brand video “Fish for the Future”.

Jill Sweetapple (M.S. ’09) was hired as a Reference Archivist for the Georgia State Archives.

Dr. Ronald C. Thomas (M.S. ‘84) was elected Chair of the Libertarian Party of Volusia County, Florida, representing Daytona Beach and the surrounding area. He is currently a course director for the graduate program in New Media Journalism at Full Sail University in Winter Park, FL.

Deric Waite (M.S. ’10) was appointed Manager of Card Services at Quinnipiac University in November.  Waite previously served as the program assistant in the FSUCard Center for five years.