Class Notes Spring 2012

Deaths

Alumni

Rev. Wilma (Chapman) McAllister, Class of 1932

Elsie M. (Chubb) Reitz,
Class of 1935

LaMar (Johnson) Hickman,
Class of 1936

Violet (ONeill) Patterson, Class of 1936

Philip Skeps, 
Class of 1936

James H. Annis, 
Class of 1938

Sylvia Loveless,
Class of 1938

Elsie (Holmes) Warn,
Class of 1939

Jessie B. (Borzilleri) Stoberl,
Class of 1941

Kathryne (Smythe) Hansen,
Class of 1944

Barbara (Luke) Weaver,
Class of 1944

Carol (Flynn) Wood,
Class of 1944

Ruthanne (Dikeman) Morrison,
Class of 1945

Lois (Darbee) Gordon,
Class of 1947

Jean (Wells) Kropat,
Class of 1950

Elizabeth H. (Grzebinski) Zuba,  Class of 1950

Dale E. Miller,
Class of 1951

Julanne (Stephens) Willis,
Class of 1952

Willie J. Dorsey,
Class of 1954

Susan A. (Lederes) Bielawski,
Class of 1958

Florence (Fields) Greene,
Class of 1958

Gloria A. (Kubasik) Thiers,  Class of 1959

Mary Ann (Cooley) Buttermore, Class of 1961

Carol (Dominick) Nelson,
Class of 1961

Joanne M. Nazzaro,
Class of 1967

Veronica A. Astrello,
Class of 1969

Janet (Gelia) Polvino,
Class of 1969

Jean A. Clauson, 
Class of 1970

Dennis J. Gaffney,
Class of 1975

Mark I. Brookmire,
Class of 1978

Rev. Dr. William M. Smith,  Class of 1982

Lisa (Wilhelm) Behn,
Class of 1983

Douglas McCollum Rawls,  Class of 1991

Pamela Rodriguez,
Class of 1991

Pura Maria (Cordero) Wakefield,  
Classes of 1994, ’96

William McKernan,
Class of 1994

Brian K. Ranney,
Class of 1997

Renee M. (McIntyre) Birt, Class of 1999

Janine Austin,
Class of 2007

Students

Graham E. Andrus, ’10

Ryan P. Purcell

Faculty/Staff

Mary J. Campese, Housekeeping, 1973-1989

Irene (Allen) Lamphear, Secretary, Mathematics, retired 1983

Esther S. Mackowiak, Cleaner,  1974-1988

Gertrude F. (St. George) Pagano, Faculty Student Association

Janice D. Slaton, Esq.; Lecturer, Department of Sociology, Anthropology, Social Work and Criminal Justice, 2008-2011;
Class of 1983

James A. Swierk, Janitor, Rockefeller Arts Center/ Reed Library, 1991-2011

Emeritus

Dr. Paul Dommermuth, TERC/Sociology, 1969-1999,

SUNY Distinguished Professor William T. Hagan, History, Academic Affairs, 1969-1989

Marie Dillon LoGuidice,
Assistant Librarian, 1961-1972
 

1930s

Phyllis (Ellis) Krantz Willson, ’39, (elem. ed.) was honored Dec. 17 at the official dedication ceremony for the new Brant Town Hall (the former Brant Elementary School) where she taught kindergarten until 1981.

1950s

Harold Ressel, ’51, (music ed.) has been married for 60 years, and has three children and four grandchildren. He plays chamber music at various times on the violin, viola, or cello, and taught instrumental music for 38 years.

Gloria (Cuccia) Lang, ’53, (elem. ed.) celebrated 20 years as a volunteer for Colonial Williamsburg.

Martha (Carlson) Harrington, ’56, (elem. ed.) reports that her grand- daughters, Meghan Harrington, ’10, (child. ed./soc. studies 7-9 ext.) is doing graduate work, and Emma M. Steever is a music education/piano major.

Shirley (Miller) Erbsmehl, ’58, (elem. ed.) cooked all 443 recipes from the Fredonia First United Methodist Church’s cookbook in just over a year, inspired by the popular film, “Julie & Julia.”

Robert Willover, ’58, (music ed.) recently performed an original program of the most loved music of Edison and Ford at a yacht club in Fort Myers, Fla., for Edison and Ford Winter Estates volunteers. Robert is Sanibel church organist at the First Church of Christ Scientist and a docent at the estates.

1960s

Dr. Bob Quatroche, ’63, (speech drama) is serving as Interim CEO/ President for the Terre Haute (Ind.) Chamber of Commerce.

Marjorie (Karl) Geise, ’65, (elem. ed.) is traveling, busy with eight grandchil- dren, serving as a Meals on Wheels volunteer, and enjoying retirement from Franklinville Central School after teaching fourth grade for 25 years.

Peter Goetz, ’65, (speech drama) performed the roles of Dogberry in Shakespeare’s, “Much Ado About Nothing,” and Major Paul Petkoff in Shaw’s, “Arms and the Man,” at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minn.

Martin Zavadil, ’65, (music ed.) continues to stay active as a conductor, performer and adjudicator.

Elaine (Zielinski) Zielin, ’66, (music ed.) has been working as a letter carrier for the U.S.P.S. for 24 years. Also, she recently spent two years (on days off) singing standards with jazz piano at nursing and retirement homes and learning to play the harmonica.

Victoria (Ferraro) Dutton, ’67, (psych.) is retired and plans to travel, relax, and have fun with her five grandchildren.

Jayna (Fleishman) Monroe’s, ’67, (speech drama) company, J MONROE DESIGNS, recently won an Esprit Award from the International Special Events Society.

Marna (Terry) Wolaver, ’67, (history) was recently honored with a Paul Harris Fellowship award from the Mechanicville Rotary Club.

Rebecca (Gifford) Bennett, ’69, (English) is still loving retirement - hiking, biking, traveling, gardening, and reading whatever she wants (instead of what she was teaching); after 10 years, she has no shortage of wonderful things to do.

Lynn Chapel, ’69, (soc. studies/sec. ed.) retired as a guidance counselor at Jamestown High School.

Kevin Dibartolomeo, ’69, (soc. studies/ sec. ed.) retired in 2010 after 41 years of teaching, the last 13 years as department chair.

1970s

Thomas, ’70, (art) and Andrea (Beatty) Gestwicki, ’74, (elem. ed.) played with the Svenska Spelman band at a luncheon in Jamestown celebrating the Norden Club’s 100th anniversary, with special guests King Carl XVI Gustaf and Queen Silvia of Sweden.

Deborah (Eckstrom) Barron, ’72 (elem. ed.); ’89 (reading); ’00, (school admin.) retired from Jamestown Public Schools as a reading specialist. She is looking forward to becoming a snowbird in Port Charlotte, Fla.

Suzanne (Desantis) Boland, ’72, (elem. ed.) retired in June from Jamestown Public Schools as a reading specialist.

Gerald Grahame, ’72, (music ed.) was recently promoted to Associate Professor of music at Broome Community College. He directs College Choir, BCC Chamber Singers and teaches other vocal music courses.

John, ’73, (history) and Corrine (Martinez) Cochol, ’74, (elem. ed.) are enjoying life one year retired from careers in education; John as a special education principal with the Wayne- Finger Lakes Board of Cooperative Educational Services (BOCES) and Corrine as an elementary/reading in- structor with the Canandaigua schools.

Karl L. Holz, ’73, (bus. admin.) has taken an expanded leadership role with Walt Disney Parks and Resorts. As president of Disney Cruise Line and New Vacation Operations, Karl now oversees Disney Vacation Club, the company’s innovative vacation ownership business, in addition to maintaining his responsibility for the company’s cruise business, Adventures by Disney (the company’s guided tour business) and Aulani, a Disney Resort & Spa, Ko Olina (the company’s new resort in Hawaii). Karl is responsible for bringing Disney vacation experiences to new markets and destinations outside the boundaries of the company’s theme parks. Karl now reports directly to Tom Staggs, chairman of Walt Disney Parks and Resorts.

Tom Rasely, ’73, (music ed.) celebrated the world premiere of his choral collection, “The Best of Times,” by the Greg Kunde Chorale in Pittsford, N.Y., on Oct. 30. The piece is seven short songs for soprano, alto, tenor and bass, and piano, based on texts from the writings of Charles Dickens. For more information, visit www.rasely.com.

David, ’73, (history) and Marjorie (Pendleton) Switala, ’73, (music ed.) report that after retiring from Chautauqua Lake Central School after 32 years of teaching and mentoring 57 SUNY Fredonia student teachers, Marjorie now teaches in her private voice studio. She would love to hear from her former student teachers at marjorieswitala@yahoo.com. David is the owner of Southern Tier Financial in Falconer.

Robert Del Zoppo, ’74, (math/sec. ed.) has been promoted to Assistant Vice President, Advanced Technology Programs, for O’Haver Financial in Jamesville, N.Y.

Mary Mcdonnell, ’74, (theatre) was nominated for a Prime Time Emmy Award in the category of Outstanding Guest Actress in a drama series for her appearance as Capt. Sharon Raydor in TNT’s “The Closer.”

David Smith, ’74, (pol. sci.) has been elected chair of the board of directors for The Business Council of New York. 

David Bristol, ’75, (math) is a statistical consultant, serving as President of Statistical Consulting Services, Inc.

Dr. Lawrence Gwozdz, ’75, (music ed.) played his saxophone in a concert at Southeastern Oklahoma State University and led a master class for students. He has also performed in major cities in Asia, Europe and North America.

Debra (Horn) Stachura, ’75, (elem. ed.) has been named a director of the Greater East Aurora Chamber of Commerce and is Chair of the Fredonia College Foundation Board of Directors.

Dr. Michael Maccalupo, ’76, (English) published, Where the Road Begins, a coming of age novel of a boy growing up in South Buffalo. The setting of the story covers areas from “Allentown” in Buffalo to Chautauqua Lake and Zoar Valley. Michael holds a doctoral degree in Educational Leadership from East Carolina University.

Terrie (Benson) Murray, ’76, (pol. sci.) is a partner at Cohen & Lombardo, a Buffalo-based law firm, and was honored with the 2011 Verizon HopeLine Volunteer Award at a Buffalo Bills game.

Elizabeth Petiprin, ’76, (English/sec. ed.) celebrated her 32nd year of teaching English at Jamestown Community College.

Dr. Deborah (Anders) Silverman, ’76, ’79, (music ed., English) received tenure and promotion to Associate Professor at Buffalo State College, where she serves as Associate Chair of its Communication Department.

Dr. Sherryl Weems, ’76, (elem. ed.) received the Community Service Award from the Minority Bar Association of Western New York in September. She is Executive Director of the Educational Opportunity Center, affiliated with the University at Buffalo.

Sarie (Naetzker) Mackay, ’77, (English) returned to SUNY Fredonia to give a craft talk and read from her works, followed by a book signing. She is the author of, Lodestar, and, Fair Game, the latter named a quarterfinalist in the 2009 Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards Competition.

Alan Siebert, ’77, (music ed.) has been elected Vice President of the International Trumpet Guild (ITG) and will hold the office of President in 2013-2015.

James Spann, ’77, (pol. sci.) was elected as Town Judge in Westfield.

Cheryl (Mancini) Drake, ’78, (music ed.) was selected to receive the 2010 Outstanding Music Educator Award in the Outstanding Band Director category from the Rochester, (N.Y.) Philharmonic Orchestra Musician’s Educator Awards Committee. She is an instrumental music teacher in the Canandaigua (N.Y.) City School District.

Shawn Simon, ’78, (special stds.) was appointed Vice President of Sales for INSYS Therapeutics in Phoenix, Ariz.

Dr. David Fountaine, ’79, (bus. admin.) was appointed to the 2011 Board of Examiners for the Malcolm Baldrige National Quality Award. He is President of the firm, AQUEST Consulting, of Hamburg, N.Y.

Francis Hornung Jr., ’79, (bus. admin.) was appointed Vice President and Certificate of Deposit Account Registry Service Sales Manager for Five Star Bank.

Lynn Taplin, ’79, (psych.) is retiring after 25 years of practicing law and moving with her fiancée to Costa Rica to live the “pura vida.”

1980s

Brian Moore, ’80, (pol. sci.) was named Chairman for the 2011 United Way/ Red Cross Campaign for Summit County in Akron, Ohio. He is a partner at Roetzel Law Firm.

Melissa Sorci Taft, ’80, (art) opened Feather Your Nest, a home decorating business, in Fredonia.

Mark Balzer, ’81, (history) recently had his first book published, The People Principles - Leadership in the 21st Century. It is available at Authorhouse.com. He is Vice President for Learning and Development for Exel in Westerville, Ohio.

Sean Kirst, ’81, (English) received first place for his columns in The Post- Standard in Syracuse, N.Y., and James McCoy, ’81, (special stds.) received first place in the photography category for sports, in the New York State Associated Press Association 2010- 2011 competition.

Jane Mcgrath, ’81, (art) was promoted to Senior Creative and Design Manager at AAA of Western and Central New York.

Jerome Moss, ’81, (special stds.) coached the Dunkirk High School boys’ basket- ball players to an 18-0 regular season in 2011, reached the B-1 playoffs, and won the Chautauqua-Cattaraugus Athletic Association Division I regular-season title, which was the second best record in Dunkirk school history.

Timothy Niziol, ’82, (account.) was elected to the Texas Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) Board of Directors.

Elizabeth (Koepcke) Russell, ’82, (special stds.) authored, “U.S. Trade- mark Practice: A Guide For Australian Attorneys,” in the September 2011 issue of the Australian Intellectual Property Bulletin (Vol. 24, No. 5). She is a former bassoon major and a current copyright/ trademark attorney in Madison, Wis.

Pamela (Krna) Barry, ’83, (chem.) just completed her 28th year in the pharmaceutical industry, working for Proctor & Gamble. Currently she is the senior manager for WWGCP Compliance Cephalon, Inc.

Chris Demiris, ’83, (med. technology) is living in Maryland and working at Becton Dickinson Diagnostics as the WW Group Marketing Manager for Molecular Diagnostics.

Dina (Corsetti) Rath, ’83, (theatre) won Best Screenplay at the 2011 Buffalo Niagara Film Festival for her feature- length work, Nina. The spec script is a period romantic drama based on Chekhov’s, The Seagull.

Marcia Drayo, ’71, ’88, spent a week at the Tuscan Renaissance Center, a restored 1,000-year-old monastery, in San Fedele, Italy, and while there ran into another Fredonia graduate, Michael Ferris, ’86, who works as a Program Manager/Facilitator for Il Chiostro, Inc., a company which designs and hosts workshops in the arts at different locations in Italy.

Several Fredonia alumni members of the American Legion Band of the Tonawandas, Post 264, performed at Chautauqua Institution on July 2, including: Sara Abrahamian, ’05; Richard Sowinsk, ’65; Kevin Hauser, ’69; Betsy Geneo, Jill Dueringer, ’00; Mary Anne Harp, ’63; David Reeves, ’10; Robert DeSantis; Michael Nascimben, ’59; Andrew Bodemer, ’00; Sheryl Rohr, ’91; Jen Scarum, Jon Steward, Deborah Hogan, ’02; Marcia (Frick) McGlarry, ’60; and John McGlarry, ’60. 

Scott Martelle’s, ’84, (pol. sci.) book, Detroit: A Biography, will be released in April. It is already listed in the Library of Congress database and is available for pre-order with online booksellers.

Greg Meadows, ’84, (art) was promoted to Vice President/Creative Director for The Martin Group, a Buffalo- headquartered strategic branding and creative marketing firm. His photography was featured in the inaugural Spring 2011 issue of Codex, a quarterly international magazine and journal exploring the artistry and technique of typography.

Dana Brunett, ’85, (econ.) was selected as Cape Coral City’s (Fla.) new Economic Development Director.

Muffett (Mauche) George, ’85, (coop. eng./math) was promoted to Project Manager at TVGA Consultants in Elma, N.Y.

Gerard Picco, ’85, (history) has joined UGL Services’ Manhattan Office as a Senior Vice President of brokerage and client advisory services.

Scott “Spanky” Prince, ’86, (commun.) works for ADT Security Services in Buffalo, N.Y., and is an independent distributor for the Buffalo News. He is married to Mary Grace Miller and has a daughter, Olivia Grace. They live in West Seneca, N.Y., in Mary Grace’s childhood home.

Douglas Telban, ’86, (account.)was appointed Director of Corporate Compliance and Internal Audit for Fidelis Care in Amherst, N.Y.

Carol (Stanczyk) Krusemark, ’88, (applied music) is a Vocal Pathologist/Singing Voice Specialist at the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Laryngeal Surgery and Voice Rehabilitation in Boston, Mass.

Linda (Grisanti) Marszalek, ’88, (speech and hearing hand.) was named Chief Academic Officer at Pinnacle Charter School in Buffalo, N.Y. She previously was Dean of Academics and Chief Information Officer for the Buffalo Academy of Science Charter School.

Sean Ryan, ’88, (elem. ed.) was elected New York State Assemblyman for the 144th District, a seat formerly held by Sam Hoyt, in Buffalo, N.Y.

1990s

Bonnie (Fox) Garrity, ’90, (commun.) recently completed an M.B.A. at Canisius College and is an Associate Professor at D’Youville College in Buffalo, N.Y.

James Kincaid, ’90, (account.) was elected Treasurer for the WNY Affiliate of Susan G. Komen for the Cure. He is an accountant and partner at Lougen, Valenti, Bookbinder & Weintraub, LLP.

Dr. Bret Apthorpe, ’92, (elem. ed.) was appointed Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction in the Fairport (N.Y.) School District.

Michael Conroy, ’92, (bus. admin.) was named Vice President of Western New York Commercial Group Accounts for HealthNow New York.

Jeanne Gunther, ’93, (elem. ed.) was hired as an Assistant Professor of education at Francis Marion University in Florence, S.C.

Lavette “Lovey” Johnson-Debrow, ’93, (speech and hear. hand.) published a book, Fabric Photo Memories by Lovey, featuring fabric photo collages of African American women from the 1700s through the early 1900s. For more information, go to: www.magcloud.com/browse/Issue/165047.

Donna Benstead, ’94, (music ed.) was recently inducted into Cambridge Who’s Who as a VIP member of the year, honored for innovation and dedication to music education.

Jacqueline Latshaw, ’94, (school admin.) was appointed District Superintendent for the Bemus Point Central School District.

Chris Loss, ’94, (commun.) was promoted to Vice President of Promotion for the Valory Music Co. and relocated from Scottsdale, Ariz., to Franklin, Tenn.

Ellen (Parker) Sidey, ’94, (English) was appointed as Online Curriculum Coordinator for Medaille College.

Dr. Paul Connelly, ’95, (school admin./ supv.) was named Superintendent of Springville-Griffith Institute Central School District.

Chad Danford, ’96, (theatre) was appointed Multimedia Producer at MicroMass Communications, Inc., a leading health care agency in Cary, N.C.

Karla (Palermo) Ess, ’96, (elem. ed.) was one of 86 teachers to be named a 2011 Georgia Master Teacher. She has been teaching seventh grade math at Webb Bridge Middle School in Atlanta since 2006.

Frank Williams, ’97, (English) represented SUNY Fredonia at the inauguration of Daemen College’s fifth president, Dr. Edwin G. Clausen. Frank serves as Dean of Admissions at Daemen.

Shawn Sullivan, ’99, (math) was a basketball trainer for Attack Athletics in Chicago and the Detroit Pistons Will Bynum Point Guard Camp. He worked with current NBA players, foreign professionals and college players. He is a teacher at Webster Thomas High School in Webster, N.Y.

2000s

Dr. Amanda Emo, ’00, (psych.) accepted a position with the Federal Railroad Administration’s Office of Safety Analysis Risk Reduction Program. She will head the newly formed Fatigue Management program aimed at mitigating fatigue experienced by railroad employees. Dr. Emo was also recently named Scientific Coordinator for the Transportation Research Board of the National Academy’s standing committee on Railroad Operational Safety.

Peter J. Morgante, ’00, (account.) has joined the accounting firm of Schaffner, Knight, Minnaugh & Company, P.C.

Paul Nicholson, ’00, (visual arts) recently had an opening reception of his art work in Brooklyn, N.Y. He featured new work that uses appropriation and distortion of re-created cultural artifacts to attend to questions of use, value, and material worth. For more information, visit the link: pointofreference.org/objects.htm.

Ron Tongue, ’00, (music ed.) released his first solo album, “If Only.” For more information, visit www.rahnmusic.com, iTunes, Amazon or www.cdbaby.com.

Jeffrey Bianchi, ’02, (music perf.) performed in a free public concert at the courtroom of Lawrence County in Moulton, Tenn.

Lezlie (Brown) Farrell, ’02, (account.) was recognized by Business First magazine of Buffalo as one of the publication’s 2011 top financial executives. She is the Chief Financial Officer of the Genesee County Economic Development Center.

Tim Geiger, ’02, (sociology) won three gold, two silver and five bronze medals at the Empire State Senior Games at SUNY Cortland. He participated in horseshoes; the 5K, 10K, 1,500, 800 and 200-meter runs; the 1,500-meter race walk, indoor badminton and long jump.

Erik Reinhart, ’03, (music ed.) has taken over choral activities at Churchville-Chili High School outside of Rochester, N.Y. Previously he taught ninth grade choir and guitar classes. He will also continue to teach high school guitar classes.

Erynn Anderson, ’04, (English) was appointed by the State University of New York Institute of Technology as its inaugual head women’s lacrosse coach and full-time head women’s cross country coach.

Jennifer (Schaedler) Cinque, ’04, ’06, (child. ed., curr. and instruc.) was appointed Internship Coordinator and Career Counselor in the Career Development Office at SUNY Fredonia.

Magdalene Gluszek, ’04, (visual arts) joined the faculty of Northland Pioneer College in the art department at its White Mountain Campus in Show Low, Ariz.

Rob Hopkins, ’07; (visual arts), Ryan Brennan, ’05; (bus. admin.), and Chris Howard, ’06, (bus. admin.) are one of the founders and co-founders of FiveNineGroup, a digital Western New York sports marketing company which helps professional athletes, particularly hockey players, create and maintain their own websites.

William Doyle, ’05, (math) has been hired by New Canann (Conn.) schools as a high school math teacher.

Dr. Kristopher Hite, ’05, (chem.) earned a Ph.D. in biochemistry and molecular biology at Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colo. His scientific writing has apeared in The Journal of Biological Chemistry, Biochemistry, and The Journal of Biochemistry and Cell Biology.

Michael Muzza, ’05, (commun./ pub. rel.) was appointed Distributor Development Manager - Midwest Region at Unilever Food Solutions in Cincinnati, Ohio.

Dinecia Pierre-Louis, ’05, (French/adol. ed.) started a new job in Laurel, Md., at Capitol College as an Assistant Director of Advising and Student Success.

Stephanie Warner, ’05, (child. ed., music ed.) graduated from Columbia University in 2007 and has been teaching math and science in Brooklyn, N.Y., for six years.

Jamel Corbett, ’06, (bus. admin.) is a business liaison for RJ Reynolds in Albany, N.Y., and a freelance writer.

Ryan Price, ’06; Steve Giammaria, ’06; and Sebastian Henshaw-Foley, ’08, (sound rec. technology) worked on the film, “Another Earth,” which won the Alfred P. Sloan Award and special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival, and was purchased by Fox Searchlight.

Stephanie Sadler, ’06, (English) launched an e-commerce business, Made in Mogotes, a platform for crafters in Columbia to help sell their work. While living in Columbia, she discovered the talents of women making crafts, but that they had no English language skills or the Internet access needed to sell their work beyond the borders of Columbia.

Nicole Szydlo, ’06, (interdisc. stds.) was appointed Marketing Manager for SellingHive, a social networking company in Dunkirk.

Alex Parker, ’07, (interdisc. stds./ sport mgmt.) was appointed Assistant Coach for the men’s soccer team at SUNY Potsdam.

Kevin Scully, ’07, (bus admin./ market.) was promoted to Associate Manager of Recruiting at A|X Armani Exchange corporate, a global retailer based in New York City. Kevin is also enrolled at the New York University School of Continuing and Professional Studies, focusing on Human Capital Management.

Jennifer (Sciurba) Arnold, ’08, (child. inclus. ed.) received her Master of Science in Education degree from Nazareth College of Rochester, N.Y. She is working in Culpeper, Va., as a middle school special education teacher.

Stacy Breindel, ’08, (child. ed.) was named Leasing/Marketing Manager for The Lofts at 136, a new downtown student housing facility in Buffalo, N.Y.

Bryan Darrow, ’08, (commun.) has taken a position with the Rochester Americans/Buffalo Sabres as a Video Editor in Rochester, N.Y.

Darren Lillie, ’08, (account.) was promoted to Senior Accountant at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner, an Amherst (N.Y.) accounting firm.

Amanda Lohr, ’08, (visual arts) was hired as a Marketing Coordinator at Bell & Spina, an architectural and planning consultants firm in Syracuse, N.Y.

Amanda Ornowski, ’08, (psych.) was promoted to Senior Accountant at Chiampou Travis Besaw & Kershner, an Amherst (N.Y.) accounting firm.

Benjamin Peters, ’08, (interdisc. stds./sport mgmt.) graduated from basic military training at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio, Texas.

Nelson Diaz, ’09, (English/adol. ed.) is a sixth grade English teacher at Nyack (N.Y.) Middle School and is enrolled full-time as a graduate student at Columbia University’s Teachers’ College.

April Diodato, ’09, (commun.) received third place in the New York State Associated Press Association’s 2010- 2011 competition for her feature story, “Ghost Stories,” in the Dunkirk, N.Y., daily newspaper, Observer.

Megan Erbacher, ’09, (commun./TV and digital film) was promoted from Assignment Editor to Producer at WKBW-TV in Buffalo, N.Y.

Kayla Germain, ’09, (commun./pub. rel.) was hired as a Social Media Coordinator at The College of Saint Rose in Albany, N.Y.

Julia (Hopson) Williamson, ’09, (visual arts/graphic design) has joined the cross country and track and field programs at SUNY Fredonia as an Assistant Coach.

2010s

Jessica Cantali, ’10, (bus. admin.) was honored as the 2010 Youth Mentor of the Year at Compeer Chautauqua’s annual Volunteer Recognition Luncheon.

Patrick Capella, ’10, (account.) was appointed to Staff Accountant in the tax department at Freed Maxick and Battaglia Certified Public Accountants.

Asha Glorioso, ’10, (commun./TV and digital film) is a full-time editor at TCT Television Network in Orchard Park, N.Y., editing two children’s shows (“Capt’n Chuckleberry” and the “Super Simple Science Show”). She is also doing freelance producing, filming and video editing, most recently for Krav Maga martial arts academy.

Jessica Gostomski, ’10, (interdisc. stds.) was named Environmental Technician at TVGA Consultants in Buffalo, N.Y.

Lester Harbin, ’10, (interdisc. stds.) was named the Head Women’s Basketball Coach at Salem International University in Salem, W. Va. He had been the Assistant Men’s Basketball Coach at SUNY Fredonia.

Robert Herrmann, ’10, (bus. admin.) recently participated in the Pecos League All Star team while in his rookie season with the Las Cruces Vaqueros professional baseball team.

Melissa Lawrence, ’10, (commun./pub. rel.) is the Sales Assistant and Event Planner for Vintage Brush Creek Senior Living in Santa Rosa, Calif.

Rocco Oliverio, ’10, (comp. sci.) graduated from U.S. Army basic combat training at Fort Jackson in Columbia, S.C.

Alex Brown, ’11, (comp. info. sys.) was hired by SellingHive, a social networking company in Dunkirk, as a Technology Project Coordinator.

Tara Escudero, ’11, (English) was part of the New England Climate Summer, an internship program run by the Better Future Project, a Massachusetts-based nonprofit supporting an end to the burning of fossil fuels. Traveling by bike in small teams, interns visited communities and worked with local groups supporting sustainability and energy solutions.

John Grabowski, ’11, (biology) is an Assistant Coach of men’s soccer at SUNY Fredonia.

Nicole Hutton, ’11, (visual arts) was hired as a designer for Crowley Webb, a Buffalo, N.Y., marketing communications agency.

Frank Jagoda III, ’11, (social work) was named Manager of the Allegany County Nitros of the New York Collegiate Baseball League.

Mike Kelley, ’11, (interdisc. stds/sport mgmt.) is a volunteer track and field coach at SUNY Fredonia.

Alex Morton, ’11, (sport mgmt.) and Jordan Oye, ’11, (bus. admin./finance) have signed with the Laredo Bucks of the Central Hockey League.

Steve Rizer, ’11, (bus. admin./market.) was named an Assistant Men’s Hockey Coach at Western New England University in Springfield, Mass.

Elizabeth Ruff, ’11, (mus. theatre) has been named a cast member in a national tour of Cats, produced by CATS-Eye, LLC, through June 2012. She has the role of Jellylorum, and is understudy for characters Grizabella and Jennyanydots. Elizabeth performed in the 2011 Commencement Eve Pops and recently was a cast member in the Westside Theatre Productions of Rochester, N.Y.’s production of Little Women.