Class of 1972
Sharon Benedict (B.F.A.) has completed a three-year mural project on the stage backdrop of the Clifton Opera House. The mural includes Clifton Gorge, Clifton’s historic buildings and homes, a covered bridge, a stage coach stop, and opera house performances. She is the outreach manager for the Greene County Public Library.
Class of 1974
Michael R. Schock (B.S.) is the 2011 recipient of the A.P. Black Research Award from the American Water Works Association. The award is given to recognize outstanding research contributions to water science and water supply rendered over an appreciable period of time. Schock is a chemist with the U.S. EPA in Cincinnati.
Class of 1975
Steve DeVito (M.S.) is senior director for regional teams for IHS Inc. Based in the company’s Houston office, he covers the Latin America and Frontier North America regions, and is responsible for overseeing critical information development scouting and reports. With experience on six continents, DeVito has held positions with Mobil, Enserch, Esso, Union Texas, and Texas American Resources.
Class of 1976
Claire Orologas (B.S.Ed., M.Ed. 1982), who directs education and public programs at the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery in Washington, D.C., has been named executive director of the Polk Museum of Art in Lakeland, Fla. Her appointment is effective Feb. 1.
Class of 1977
Cynthia Preston (B.S.B.) has been promoted from associate professor to professor at the University of Northwestern Ohio. She currently teaches finance and economics courses.
Class of 1980
Jim Bennett (B.S.B., M.B.A. 1984) has been appointed the director of Revel Consulting’s mobile discipline. Bennett brings nearly 20 years of experience in the wireless industry as a senior executive and consultant to his new role.
Kieva Prema Irelan (M.S.) of Middletown, Ohio, has recently been included in Strathmore’s Who’s Who Registry for her outstanding contributions and achievements in the holistic health care field.
Eric Jacobson (B.A.) has received the green light from TELETOON Canada, Inc., to begin production on 26 episodes of Camp Lakebottom. Co-created by Jacobson and Betsy McGowen, the show is an animated comedy for six- to 11-year-olds. The half-hour series is slated for delivery in late fall 2012.
Chris McAtee (B.S.B.) will become managing principal of Brower Insurance Agency LLC in January. McAtee is a Certified Public Accountant, Certified Management Accountant, and a construction risk and insurance specialist. McAtee is on the board of the National Association of Surety Bond Producers, a member of the Institute of Management Accountants, the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants, and the AICPA.
Class of 1982
Tony Aretz, Ph.D. (M.A.), president of the College of Mount St. Joseph in Cincinnati, was appointed to the board of directors of the Council of Independent Colleges for a three-year term. Aretz is a retired lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force.
Class of 1984
Mike Meade (B.S.) is the new manager of laboratory services at Clinton Memorial Hospital. Most recently, Meade worked for Decypher Technologies as a consultant in transitioning the United States Air Force Epidemiology Laboratory from San Antonio, Texas, to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. He was formerly the laboratory director at Dayton Heart and Vascular Hospital and a laboratory supervisor with Kettering Medical Center.
Class of 1985
Ventriloquist Ian Varella (B.A.) and magician Todd Diamond performed recently in San Marcos, Texas, as a way to give back to their hometown. They have been seen all over the world, including TV specials in Asia, Last Comic Standing, MTV, Penn & Teller’s Sin City, Showtime, and more.
Class of 1986
Fernando Viera (B.A.) has been appointed as Stedman Machine Co.’s Latin America sales manager. Viera will be responsible for selling crushing equipment and systems throughout Latin America.
Class of 1987
Joseph M. Gordon, CPA, (B.S.) is a partner at Flagel, Huber, Flagel & Co. CPA’s. He was formerly a partner at Dohner, Louis & Stephens CPA’s until the two firms merged in January.
Mia Jarrell (B.S.) joined Colliers International Tampa Bay as managing director of office services. Jarrell will focus on tenant representation and landlord representation for office users and owners. She works on assignments for national, regional, and local clients with unique needs, such as law firms, professional service firms, multi-market clients, and clients with complex leasing issues.
Mark Steiner
Mark Steiner, PE, LEED AP BD+C, (B.S.) has been promoted to manager of the Dayton office of architecture and engineering firm Barge, Waggoner, Sumner, and Cannon, Inc.
Michael Wallace (B.S.B.), InfoSystems’ director of software services, has co-authored the book IT Governance: Policies and Procedures. Wallace has worked as an application developer, systems analyst, and technical and business consultant and has assisted the state of Ohio in developing statewide information technology policies.
Class of 1988
Alfredo A. Sandoval (M.B.A.) is a member of the Board of Visitors of the United States Air Force Academy. He resides in Indian Wells, California.
Judy Wyatt
Judy Wyatt (B.A.) has funded a geriatric study of the Patient-Centered Medical Home for People Living with Dementia. Larry Lawhorne, M.D., chair of the Department of Geriatrics at the Boonshoft School of Medicine, is spearheading the study to help people stay at home longer and live in a safer environment.
Class of 1989
Doug Bowling (B.S.) is the new dean of Cincinnati State Technical and Community College’s Center for Innovative Technologies. Bowling had been serving as associate dean at the center, which houses eight academic departments in information and engineering technologies and offers majors in 27 technology fields.
Robert Campbell (B.S.B.) was promoted to senior vice president and chief sourcing officer of Fifth Third Bancorp in Cincinnati. Prior to joining Fifth Third in 2010, he worked at New Page Corporation, General Electric, and MeadWestvaco.
Marilyn McCauley
Marilyn McCauley (B.S.B.) established the Boots to Books Veterans Support Fund at Wright State University to help veterans and their dependents meet monetary needs that would otherwise prevent them from graduating. She is a Fairborn City Councilwoman and runs McManagement Group, a consulting business that helps defense contractors meet industry standards on project performance management issues and systems.
Charles Powell (M.S.) is the new CEO of The Centers, a mental health facility in Ocala, Florida. He is the former CEO of South Georgia’s Behavioral Health Services.
Michael Zoglio (M.D.) is a psychiatrist based in Sacramento, Calif., who also sees adult clients at Oaklawn in Elkhart, Ind., via telepsychiatry.
Class of 1990
Terry Bouquot (B.S.B) has been named senior director of business operations for the Northern Cincinnati market by Cox Media Group Ohio. He has been with Cox for more than 18 years in various sales and management roles, beginning at the Dayton Daily News and including stints at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and CMG Ohio’s Southwest Ohio Newspaper Group.
Kimberly DeWeese (B.S.B.) has been named treasurer of the Wilmington City Schools. She is the former treasurer of New Lebanon Local Schools.
Class of 1991
Heather Douglas (B.F.A.) teamed up with her mother, Charlie Douglas, to direct the musical Cats at Presentation Academy in Louisville. Heather Douglas, who had performed for two years in a London production of Cats 10 years ago, was hired to be the choreographer and co-director for the show. Before coming to Louisville, she was in Beijing working on a production for a London company. After the show, she returned to London to work on a holiday-related theatrical project.
Thomas D. Reed, Ph.D., (M.S.) is co-founder and chief science officer of Intrexon Corp., a Blacksburg-based biotechnology company with major facilities in Maryland and North Carolina. A molecular geneticist, Reed is an inventor with numerous patents.
Class of 1993
Jennifer Frey (B.S.E.E., M.D. 2007) has joined the obstetrics and gynecology practice of Dr. Keith Watson in Yellow Springs.
Jennifer Gillespie (M.Ed.) was spotlighted as Educator of the Week in the Neighbors section of the Dayton Daily News. She teaches vocal music in the fourth and fifth grades at Fairborn Intermediate School.
Robert “Bobby” Rubin (M.A.) received the 10th annual International Education Award from the University Center for International Education at Wright State University. He is a senior lecturer of English and director of the English as a Second Language (ESL) program. Rubin has directed and taught the Ambassador program to Costa Rica for nearly 20 years.
Class of 1994
Monaqui Porter Young
Monaqui Porter Young (B.F.A.) is the president and CEO of MPGlobal Connect Inc., an import distribution company that offers green tea and nutrition education, in New York City.
Class of 1995
Kevin Bell (B.S.Ed., M.Ed. 1998) was named interim superintendent of Trotwood-Madison Schools. He will continue to be assistant superintendent, director of curriculum and instruction.
Class of 1997
Kavita S. Hatwalkar (B.A.) earned a Ph.D. in English from Stony Brook University in Stony Brook, NY. Hatwalkar, a former Wright State Honors Scholar, is a tenure-track assistant professor of English at Central Methodist University in Fayette, MO.
Tom Mayor
Mike King
Adam White
Tom Mayor (B.F.A.) released a documentary, Call of the Scenic River: An Ohio Journey, to coincide with the 40th anniversary of the Clean Water Act. He is an educational film and video producer and runs his own film production company, The Message Shop. The documentary was filmed by Ohio cinema-tographers and fellow Wright State motion pictures graduates, (B.F.A. 1991) and Adam White (B.F.A. 1995), with underwater footage by Mayor. Public screenings are scheduled throughout select Ohio cities.
Class of 1998
Josh Egbert (B.S.) has been named as continuous improvement director for Elgin Fastener Group, Versailles, Indiana, and will focus on lean manufacturing improvements at all of its divisions. He holds a membership in the Association for Manufacturing Excellence.
Lisa Whittaker (B.S.Ed.) of Blacklick has joined Porter Wright as an associate in the firm’s labor and employment department. She will focus her practice in all areas of management-side labor and employment law.
Class of 1999
Rick Wiecek (M.D.) was elected vice chief of staff at Memorial Hospital in Fremont, Ohio. Wiecek has served on the medical staff since 2005. He will serve as chairman of the Patient Care Evaluation Committee, and will also serve on the Medical Executive Committee and the Joint Conference Committee.
Class of 2000
Wanda J. Franklin (M.S.) recently became an assistant professor and chair of the Community and Global Health Department at Ashland University. Her teaching expertise includes community and public health nursing, cultural dimensions, and competency in nursing, nursing policy, and beginning nursing courses.
Sherrie Niedermeier (M.Ed.) has been promoted to assistant vice president at Fifth Third Bancorp in downtown Cincinnati. She serves as a senior project specialist.
TyKiah Wright (B.S.B., M.B.A. 2001) was honored with five others at “Celebrating Visionaries” in November. Presented by the Columbus Young Professionals Club, the awards program and gala benefited the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Class of 2001
Noel McKinney (M.S.) has joined Obama For America as a database engineer.
Joseph Okolo (M.D.) has joined the cardiology department at the Jackson Clinic in West Tennessee. Okolo is certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and board-eligible for the American Board of Cardiovascular Diseases.
Class of 2002
Debbie Conn (B.A.) received the Caring More Award from Crossroads Hospice. She is a social worker and resides in Fairborn, Ohio.
Brian Popp (M.S.) was welcomed as a new assistant professor of organometallic chemistry at West Virginia University’s Eberly College of Arts and Sciences.
Class of 2003
Chad Creviston
Chad Creviston (B.S.) has been named a San Diego co-chair for the 2012 Mitt Romney Presidential Campaign, where he will support advancement of the campaign’s fundraising efforts in California.
Beth Graves (B.S.B.) has been chosen by Prime Controls, Inc., of Dayton to be the new marketing manager. Graves will be responsible for brand management, company communications, market research, distribution expansion strategy, as well as sales and engineering support.
Class of 2004
Susan Abouhassan (M.D.) has joined Group Health Associates in their allergy/immunology practice, seeing patients at the Anderson Township, Clifton, Kenwood, and Mason, Ohio, offices.
Cliff Towner (M.M.) became Georgia College’s director of band activities in July 2011. Towner oversees the university’s jazz and pep bands, and wind symphony.
Class of 2005
Andrew Groeber (B.S.) is the regional aftersales manager for Generac Power Systems.
Rachel Danielle Peterson (B.A.) received an M.F.A. in Creative Writing, Poetry from Ashland University. A poem from her manuscript, entitled “Ink,” will be featured in the upcoming issue of Literary Imagination, which is published on behalf of the Association of Literary Scholars, Critics and Writers.
Class of 2006
Jesse Coleman (B.F.A.) plays the Cowardly Lion and farmhand Zeke in the national tour of The Wizard of Oz. Coleman has been in his role since September 2009 and has completed some 300 performances, wearing a 30-pound costume. He has performed in each state except Hawaii.
Class of 2007
Jeffrey Crace (B.A.), a singer-songwriter in Springfield, Ohio, released his melancholic second CD, Monarch.
Karen Strider-Iiames (M.P.A.) received the Best Local Society Newsletter and Editor Award from the American Hosta Society. She is the director of brand development and integrated communications at Wright State, vice president of the Englewood (Ohio) Administrative Board for Planning and Zoning Appeals, and serves on the Friends of Aullwood executive board, supporting Aullwood Audubon Center and Farm.
Class of 2008
Grant Shirley (M.S.), an occupational medicine physician, has joined Blount Memorial Hospital’s medical staff and its business health program. He will see patients at the Blount Memorial Occupational Health Center at Springbrook in Alcoa, Tennessee.
Class of 2009
Carrie Cook Bray (M.B.A.) has joined Buckingham Financial Group in Dayton as a senior wealth manager. Bray leads their marketing and public relations strategies, including social media. She also manages comprehensive financial planning for individual clients.
Erin E. Martin (B.S.B.) has been promoted to regional sales manager at Nexstep Commercial Products in Paxton, Ill.
Jesse Thomas
Jesse Thomas (B.F.A.) took first place in the juried show “Launch,” a York Art Institute contest for emerging artists. Thomas is currently an M.F.A. student at the University of New Hampshire.
Will Xue (B.S.), owner of Yoba Frozen Yogurt in Beavercreek, plans to open a second location this summer.
Class of 2010
David Durkin (B.S.) is a police officer with the Beavercreek Police Department.
Tyler Pottkotter (A.T.S., A.A. 2011) was named to the Wright State University police force at the Lake Campus. Pottkotter is a graduate of the Grand Lake Law Enforcement Academy and serves as a reserve officer with the Mercer County Sheriff’s Office.
Class of 2011
Christine Retherford (B.S.) is a paralegal with Ohio Legal Rights Service in Columbus.
Hope R. Snead (B.S.N.) was commissioned as a second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force Nurse Corps during a recent ceremony. She earned her degree through the Nurse Enlisted Commissioning Program and graduated magna cum laude. After completing the Air Force Nurse Transitioning Program at Scottsdale, Arizona, Snead will report to her first assignment as a commissioned officer and registered nurse at David-Grant Air Force Medical Center, Travis Air Force Base, California.
"Things Fall Apart," Jesse James Thomas, B.F.A., ’09
"Call of the Scenic River," Tom Mayor, B.F.A., ’91; Mike King, B.F.A., ’91; Adam White, B.F.A.,’95.
