We’d love to hear what you’ve been up to. Update your information to share career, family or personal news with your classmates.

Sherwin Jack Kolof (BS Accounting, ’52) is a retired partner in Bayer, Kolof & Lev, a local accounting firm in Northbrook, Ill.

George Peter Zimmar (BA Psychology ’60, MA Psychology ’61) has retired as a computer scientist from Hewlett-Packard Company and has relocated to Ellicott City, Md.

Sandra Boyd Evans (BA Mathematics, ’63) was honored by Pace University for 50 years of service as a professor of psychology and has published a dozen peer-referenced journal articles. Zimmar also served as an editor, then publisher, at several publishing companies, including Routledge, Academic Press, Springer-Verlag and Praeger for 42 years.

Joel Mark (BS Chemistry, ’64) was selected as one of the nearly 100 artists chosen to participate in county-wide Los Angeles County exhibition We Are Here / Here We Are, organized by Durden and Ray. The exhibition explores our innate desire for connectivity through sensation.

Stuart Bernstein (BA Mathematics, ’65) retired in 2004 after a 39-year career with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services as a health manpower statistician.

Leonard “Lenny” Cohen (BSBA Marketing, ’67) retired after 30-plus years in the advertising industry.

Margaret Ann Pent-Bakardjiev (BA Vocal Performance, ’69) was an opera singer in Europe and the United States, and later became a stage director, set designer and founder of the Wichita Grand Opera in 2000.

Erick Tippett (BM ’69) has retired after performing in New Jersey and New York, teaching in public schools in Newark, N.J and New York, and performing as soloist and organist in Chicago’s Morgan Park and Austin communities.

Paul Mares (BS Marketing, ’71) has been retired since 2014 after a great career in various retail management positions. Mares will celebrate his 50th wedding anniversary in 2021 with his wife, three grown children and eight grandchildren.

Nancy Bechtol (BA Art Education, ’72) has directed a film that was accepted into the Gene Siskel Film Center, The Last Hippie FREAK: By the Beard of Lee Groban.

William Fligeltaub (MPA ’73) has retired after 42 years as an attorney in Seattle, Wash.

Ethel Leonara Crisp (BA History, ’74) achieved 50 years of outstanding federal government service in January 2020 and currently works as a senior environmental protection specialist/project officer at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in Chicago. She was nominated for the Career Achievement Award for the 2020 Federal Employee of the Year Awards for her exemplary service to assure equal opportunity, diversity and inclusion within the EPA. Dr. Crisp is a member of Blacks In Government® where she was elected to the Distinguished Service Hall of Fame for her exceptional contributions to the organization and their respective communities.

Barbara D. (Strom) Thum (BGS Business Institutions, ’76) has retired.

Paul Klein (BA Psychology, ’77) is a psychologist in California with an office in Palo Alto. He lives in a small town with his wife of 34 years, Gabriela, and Coco the chihuahua.

Karen Plunk ’78 retired from State of Illinois employment on December 28, 2012 after 34 and a half years, starting out as a Clerk Stenographer III. Plunk is the process of moving from Southern Illinois to Southwest Florida.

Diana Kouis ’83 is working as an Executive Administrative Assistant at JPMorganChase.

Mary (Barnes) Walthour (BA Special Education ’86, MPA ’97) has retired after 34 years of teaching. Walthour taught for 31 years at Chicago Public Schools and three years in private school. Currently she is completing a paralegal certification.

Dorothy J. Pruitt (BA Public Administration, ’83) retired from Michael Reese Hospital as a medical technologist in 2007. She currently works as a substitute teacher at Dorman High School and Spartanburg High School in Spartanburg, S.C.

Evan D. Bennett (MS Accounting, ’84) spends time with a great family, consulting, writing, speaking, teaching and serving as a board member.

Cynthia (Taylor) Modeste (BSBA Management, ’84) enjoyed a rewarding corporate management career with ShopTalk Trade Publications and Junior Achievement of Chicago. Modeste then joined the Chicago Police Department, where she positively impacted the lives of many Southside citizens, and also assisted in the training and development of new officers. After serving over two decades with the Chicago Police Department, Modeste recently retired with highest accolades and honors and is now contributing to the ongoing excellence of middle school students in her community as a youth seminar instructor.

Steven Brady (BA Philosophy, ’89) is a history professor at The George Washington University in Washington D.C. and will publish Chained to History:  Slavery and United States Foreign Relations to 1865 with Cornell University Press in 2021. He is working on another book, The Bond of Peace: American Catholics and the Vietnam War.

Richard Lange (BS Accounting, ’93) has retired.

Sheila Chalmers-Currin (MS Integrated Marketing Communications, ’98) became the first woman elected as mayor of Matteson, Ill. in 2017.

Elizabeth Triplett (MA Early Childhood Education ’98, EdD ’08) teaches in the Chicago Public Schools.

Joseph G. Peterson (MA English, ’99) has published several works of fiction and poetry. He lives with his family in the Chicago Hyde Park neighborhood on the southern shore of Lake Michigan.

Armand Wray (MBA, ’99) is working and enjoying a great life with family.

Juan Rojas (BA ’01) works as a controller at Executive Construction Inc. in Hillside, Ill.

Alison Henderson (MFA Directing, ’02) has been helping businesses and career-seekers move their meetings online since the pandemic hit. Henderson’s TedX talk on digital body language was selected for Ted Global. Henderson is one of only 22 Certified Movement Pattern Analysts in the world and her firm, Moving Image Consulting, is sought after to train leaders and teams for using nonverbal communication to their competitive advantage.

Richard Bryant (MA Theatre, ’04) is an assistant professor at the University of Trinidad and Tobago, teaching abroad since 2013. Bryant is developing a Theatre Design and Production program with the Canon Theatre Technical History Project that better serves the students and theatre community.

Amit Jain (BBA ’02) is currently running a family business at a senior management position.

Christine B. Render (MS Human Resource Management, ’04) was recently named vice president of human resources at Dometic, a manufacturer providing branded solutions for mobile living.

Jori Weissman (BS Hospitality Management, ’04) is working at Alonti Catering in Chicago, Ill. and is catering fresh meals to frontline workers during the pandemic through a community donations program.

Leixy Lauren (Kidd) Blue (BPS Organizational Communication, ’05) received a master’s degree and became an empty nester in 2020 when her last son graduated from high school.

Pola Henderson (MS Integrated Marketing Communications, ’06) started her writing career in travel and has expanded into business and technology. She has now been featured as a contributor or expert guest in international media outlets, including CNN, NPR, WBEZ Chicago, Daily Express, AmEx Essentials, TechCrunch and more.

After graduating from RMU, Sarah (Balli) Oehler (Culinary Arts, ’07) spent the first few years working at various pizza kitchens. She changed professions in 2011, becoming a pharmacy technician. Oehler got married in 2013 and now has little boys. The family moved cross country to Florida in December 2019.

Velvetta Young (BGS Political Science, ’07) aims to help 1,000 single mothers discover the freedom in network marketing through her companies including Breakfast4CEOs, a monthly networking event for business owners based on personal development. Young also published her first book, Pushing Past Fear to Find the Best You!

Paula Gonzalez (BGS Psychology, ’08) is currently working as a psychotherapist at Symmetry Counseling in Chicago.

Kristina (Simpson) Cruz (BA History, ’08) is employed as senior legal counsel at Cigna and lives in Minneapolis, Minn. with her husband and daughter, Madeline, who was born in 2013.

David Hartley (MM Voice, ’09) is working as the newest faculty for Lyons Township High School music department.

Kenny Joyner ’09 relocated to North Carolina and is currently active in the American Legion and Marine Corps League.

Ulysses Peterson (BA Finance and Accounting, ’09) is earning his MBA at the University of Chicago Booth School of Business and wants to pursue a career in investment banking.

Filemon Reyes (BSBA Finance, ’09) is currently working at BP America as a business analyst in the loyalty space, where Reyes contributes by digitizing and transforming current processes by harnessing technology.

Collin Voigt (MA Teacher Leadership, ’09) has been promoted to division chair for mathematics/science at Lyons Township High School. Formally with Glenbard South High School, he served as a department chair for Science and Applied Technology.

Nikoleta (Kravchenko) Morales (MS Journalism, ’10) is working as an entertainment journalist and has interviewed hundreds of celebrities from Eva Longoria to Richard Kind, Mike Tyson and many others. Morales has attended the Oscars twice and was honored as the Communicator of Achievement award recipient by the Illinois Woman Press Association. Morales is also publishing her first memoir, My Life is a Movie You Don’t Want to Miss.

Chanel Holloway (BBA Professional Studies, ’11) is looking into graduate schools and new professional opportunities.

Gerasimos Fragia (BA Political Science, ’11) is building a successful insurance agency.

Abby Hoffmeyer (BA Political Science, ’11) is working at a nonprofit serving survivors of domestic violence experiencing homelessness.

Sharon D. Autrey (BPS Public Administration ’10, MPA ’12) has retired as the director of administration and governance at the American Hospital Association.

Javier Solorzano ’12 is a supervisor for PNC Bank in Chicago.

Nada Bowie ’12 works in the public health sector, providing care to the underserved and underinsured community as Senior Health Care Operations, Quality, and Risk Manager. Bowie has found career success serving in communities that have limited access to care, with social determinants of health that prevent them from accessing care or maintaining their health.

Shira (Lambert) Parks (MS ’13) completed her veterinary degree from the University of Illinois College of Veterinary Medicine with awards in feline medicine and companion animal dentistry. Parks relocated to Madison, Wis. to begin her career as a feline veterinarian.

Garrett Taliaferro (MBA ’13) is expanding his career, now an AVP for an insurance company.

Anna (Gilgien) LaPlante (BS Hospitality and Tourism Management, ’13) has worked in restaurant operations and is pursuing a path to teach aspiring hospitality students and pursue her own business ventures.

Grant Ladniak (BA Psychology ’14, MA Organization Development ’18) is working as a marketing coordinator for National Equity Fund, Inc. and becoming certified in rental housing development finance. Ladniak received the 30 Under 30 Award from the Windy City Times for contributions to the LGBTQ community of Chicago, and sits on the leadership council for Citywide Pride, a newly formed nonprofit organization that separated from its National Affiliate Out & Equal.

Marcus Gaines (BSBA ’14) is studying to be a Certified Public Accountant, sharpening his computer skills to enter the workforce.

Lawrence Washington (Allied Health Science, ’15) works as an investment operations banking professional at a large banking institution in the downtown Chicago area.

Andrew McDonald (MBA Accounting and Finance, ’15) is working as associate chief financial officer of Weiss Hospital and West Suburban Medical Center.

Ashley Armstrong (MM Vocal Performance, ’16)

Ashley Armstrong (MM Vocal Performance, ’16) is working as an award-winning opera singer around the country.

Cassandra Monfiston (Cert. Paralegal Studies, ’16) had her first child last year.

Jenna Mosillami (Media Studies, ’16) is working full-time in a research library and is so grateful for the foundation that Roosevelt helped build!

Leah Cockrell (BSBA Finance, ’17) moved back to Chicago as a staff accountant at SCR Medical Transportation Inc. and has enrolled in master’s in accounting forensics program at Roosevelt University.

Damian Alvarez (BBA Accounting, ’17) is working with people with intellectual disabilities.

Kathleen Fowler (AAS Medical Assisting, ’16) is a certified clinical medical assistant with Advocate/Aurora.

Christa Friend (MA School and Clinical Counseling, ’17) is working as a school counselor in Rockford, Ill. and just bought a home.

Michael Kucynda (BSBA Human Resources, ’17) is a member of a group called the “Saturday Squad” at the Old Joliet prison in Joliet. For the past four years, he been working on cleanup and restoration of the prison as a historical site.

Megan Schuller Fernandes (BS Journalism, ’17) works at Pacific Business News in Honolulu, Hawaii as a full-time business reporter. She volunteers with RU’s communication department with judging a journalism contest and her former high school’s journalism team. The alum also takes family photography of military families, often donating her time and skills.

B. Pagels-Minor (MBA ’14) owns products in the membership and finance data space for Netflix. Pagels-Minor is the Vice President, Board of Directors of YWCA of Metropolitan Chicago and was voted in as the Vice Chair and Secretary, Board of Directors Howard Brown Health. Pagels-Minor was also named to the HERoes Women Role Model Advocates List 2020.

Ashley Pollock (MS Real Estate, ’18) works in Chicago, where she lives with her husband and first child.

Lauren Grimaldi (BA Political Science, ’18) is working full-time in Illinois politics as a communications assistant at an organization that advocates for Democratic issues in the state legislature and upcoming election. Grimaldi is also attending graduate school full-time at DePaul University, pursuing a master’s degree in public policy.

Naila Berry (BA Business, ’19) is working as an Experiential Learning Coordinator for Chamberlain University and is focusing on figuring out a career path and potential opportunities.

Grant Gibson (BS Hospitality and Tourism Management, ’19), a former Lakers basketball player, is taking on a new role as State Farm Insurance Account Representative in Galesburg, Ill.

Kevin Reppen (BA Political Science, ’19) is working for Hagerty Consulting and was deployed to Salt Lake City, Utah to support Salt Lake County’s response to, and recovery from, COVID-19. Reppen has supported the development, distribution and activation of Continuity of Operations Plans (COOP) for 45 county government entities, as well as the offices of independently elected government officials within Salt Lake County. Reppen served as the Deputy Intelligence Section Chief for the county’s initial response, helping to oversee data collection, review trends analysis and information/intelligence sharing across various areas of the response.