Romeo Eldridge Phillips (MM ’51) studied at the Chicago Musical College. In August 1951, he was drafted for the Korean War, returning in August 1953. He later earned an MA from Eastern Michigan University and PhD from Wayne State University. In 1968, he joined the faculty of Kalamazoo College, gaining emeritus status as a full professor in 1999.

Timuel Black (BA Sociology ’52) celebrated his102nd birthday in December. Black encourages Chicago’s young generation to be active citizens who make a difference in their neighborhoods.

“You will find that you will feel so much better because you made a difference in more lives than yours,” he said during his birthday celebration.

Michael Silver (MA Education, ’68) has retired.

Marilyn Cole (BS Mathematics, ’77) has retired.

David Ernest Whale (MA Educational Administration and Supervision, ’88) has retired from Central Michigan University.

Nuria Fernandez (MBA ’90) was appointed to serve in the Biden-Harris administration in the Department of Transportation. She led the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority for seven years.

Vincent Grout (MGS ’92) retired from Northern Michigan University.

Keesha Karriem (MBA ’92) published the children’s book The Twins Say…Always, Always Keep Your Promises with Christian Faith Publishing.

Dasha Kelly Hamilton (MS Integrated Marketing Communications, ’93) is the first Black woman to serve as Wisconsin Poet Laureate. She is a writer, performance artist and creative change agent, applying the creative process to facilitate dialogues around human and social wellness.

Joan Willis (BA Education, ’97) and her husband John retired after nearly three decades of providing early childhood education in the Chicago Loop.

Sheila Chalmers-Currin (MS Integrated Marketing Communications, ’98) was elected village president of Matteson in 2017.

David Rickert (MS Accounting, ’99) was appointed as the new chief financial officer of the Winnebago County Board.

Adriana Sandoval (RMU ’99) became a C.P.A. and is currently the chief financial officer at a Chicago-based technology company. She is happily married with two children and a puppy.

Aaron Mikulsky (MBA ’00) has published the book L.O.V.E. 2 Lead: A Journey of Self-Reflection, Significance, and Servant Leadership. He includes a quote by Joseph Chan, dean of Roosevelt University’s Heller College.

Lorie Johnson-Osho (EdD ’01) joins the University of Pittsburgh Office of the Provost as director of faculty diversity and development. She will exercise her leadership in envisioning, developing, delivering and promoting a comprehensive set of programs to support the career and professional development of all University faculty.

Patricia Aguilar (BA Integrated Marketing Communications, ’04) is out to change what she calls the “underprivileged small business landscape” in Little Village. In collaboration with the Little Village Community Foundation and the Little Village Chamber of Commerce, the FourStar Branding Hub Program offers competitive branding services — at no cost — to small businesses in the Chicago neighborhood.

Joyce Brooks (BPS ’06) lives in San Antonio, Texas working at the VA hospital as an administrative support assistant, where she supports veterans with their health care needs. She is the proud grandmother of eight grandchildren.

Adrian Dunn (BM Voice ’07, MM Voice ’10) founded the Black Music Experience (BMETV) is a new streaming platform created to amplify the narratives of Black musicians, Black culture, and justice for Black Lives. BME aims to showcase high-quality shows, socially conscious programming and concerts produced by independent artists who aim to change the narrative through their stories and music.

Timothy Stoddard (MM Voice, ’08) released an EP of a new song cycle for tenor and piano, Michael Markowski’s “Mortally Wounded” (now on all major streaming platforms), as a testament of his journey as a classical singer since leaving graduate school.

Max Gugel-Dawson (RMU AAS) is now a 3D art director and mentor.

Kathleen (Stewart) Singh (RMU MBA ’10) has worn many hats throughout her career. She is a senior account executive at Adtaxi, where she is developing brand strategy for Kids at Risk Action Group (KARA) and InvisibleChildren.org.

Jacquelyn Kress (MM ’11) is vice president of people and culture at Smokeball, a company specializing in legal productivity software. She and her husband Ben live in Chicago. Jacquelyn also serves as cantor at St. Norbert Catholic Church in Northbrook.

Katie Leimkuehler (MFA ’11) is the executive producer of Fresh Tracks, a documentary on adaptive skiing that was accepted at the Denver Film Festival and Twin Cities Film Festival.

Jessie Lyons (MM ’11) and Jordan Mandela (MM ’12) currently live in Chicago. Jessie works in Clinical Research at UChicago Medicine, where she negotiates budgets and contracts for clinical trials. She also performs with Thompson Street and New Moon Opera Companies, as well as local composers to premiere new opera works. Jordan is the Program Manager for Chicago Jazz Philharmonic and he oversees its educational outreach program. Jordan also moonlights as a mixing engineer.

Mauricio Palli (MA Training and Development, ’12) recently accepted a new role at Aon as a training design and delivery senior analyst. He just celebrated a year of marriage with his husband.

Henry Mendheim (BA Media Studies, ’15) went on to earn a Master’s Degree and was promoted to executive producer of ABC7’s Windy City LIVE.

Ben Black (RMU BA Computer Networking ’14, MBA ’16) is a graduate assistant coach for the Indiana University football program. He played on the defensive line for the Robert Morris University Eagles.

Veronika Charytonik (BA Political Science, ’15) is a contracts manager at Mobilitie.

Monique Davis (MS Hospitality and Tourism Management, ’16) is a volunteer coordinator at  Lawrence Hall, which offers community-based programs and resources for the youth, community and families.

Ana Garduno (BA Political Science, ’16) is a second-year law student at UIC John Marshall Law School. She’s interested in family law and divorce, and plans to explore more areas of law this summer.

Susanne Boniadi (BA Political Science, ’17) will graduate from the UCLA School of Law in 2021. She has accepted a position in the civil litigation group of a corporate firm in Los Angeles.

Natalia Galica (BA Criminal Justice, ’17) practices criminal defense, working with the Office of the State Appellate Defender. She graduated from UIC John Marshall Law School in 2020.

Claudia Della Pona (MBA and MA Industrial-Organizational Psychology, ’20) is an associate consultant at The Lindsay Group. She co-hosts the Bias Check-In podcast, which covers industrial-organizational psychology topics, current events and the experiences of international students in the United States.