Fall/Winter 2023 Class Notes

Go to In Memoriam section

1950s

Dan P. Dougherty (SAS ’51) and his wife, Norma Specht Dougherty (SAS ’52), of Fairfield, California, attended the observance of the 78th anniversary of the liberation of the Dachau concentration camp in Germany. Dougherty’s U.S. Army platoon was part of Dachau’s liberation in 1945.

James Willis (LAW ’52) received a Lifetime Achievement Award from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL), which aims to address inequities in the criminal legal system. The Cleveland attorney was honored for his career-long dedication to social justice and key role in cases such as the landmark U.S. Supreme Court case Beck v. Ohio (1964), in which he represented the petitioner and which set a national precedent for citizens’ rights to privacy and due process under the law. Willis also was the first Black president of the NACDL from 1974 to 1975.

1960s

Millie Korman Selinger (FSM ’60) authored Hidden in the Open (Outskirts Press), which tells the true story of her mother’s elaborate ruse to escape the Holocaust by keeping the family’s Jewish ancestry a secret from Nazi authorities—and even Selinger herself. Selinger lives in Shaker Heights, Ohio.

Robert J. Baumann (MED ’65) received a Lifetime Achievement Award from Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear and the state’s secretary for health and family services in May. Baumann was key in establishing the Office for Children with Special Health Care Needs’ network of regional medical clinics in Eastern Kentucky and continues to treat children at neurology clinics in the network. Baumann has been chief of pediatric neurology at University of Kentucky HealthCare since 1979.

1970s

Jeff Ponsky (MED ’71, MGT ’90), of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, received the Medallion for Advancement of Surgical Care from the American Surgical Association. Now retired, Ponsky is professor emeritus of surgery at Case Western Reserve’s School of Medicine.

Jane Pringle (MED ’71) is a member of the Maine House of Representatives, and serves on its Health Coverage, Insurance and Financial Services Committee. Pringle, who lives in Windham, Maine, was also a representative from 2012 to 2014.

Virginia Deeanne Banks (MED ’74), a specialist with Northeast Ohio Infectious Disease Associates in Youngstown, Ohio, received the 2023 ATHENA Award, for her efforts to inform and advise the public regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. The award was presented by the Youngstown/Warren Regional Chamber and The Vindicator regional newspaper.

Eugene A. Lucci (WRC ’76) is serving a six-year term as a judge on Ohio’s 11th District Court of Appeals. He was previously on the Lake County Common Pleas Court, General Division, having been elected for four consecutive terms since 2001.

Sharon A. Roloff (NUR ’77, ’96), of Ravenna, Ohio, coauthored and published Dysautonomia Diary: Essays and Tips for Enjoying Life Despite Chronic Illness with Laura Seil Ruszczyk. The book tells personal stories of the co-authors’ struggles with dysautonomia, a disorder affecting autonomic nervous system function.

Doug Charnas (LAW ’78) was listed in the Chambers USA 2023 Guide, an annual ranking of the nation’s lawyers and law firms by Chambers and Partners, a rankings publisher. Charnas is a corporate and tax attorney in the Washington, D.C., office of McGlinchey Stafford.

Gerard Hannibal (NUR ’78) is retired from nursing and studying American Old Time fiddle music at The Music Settlement in Cleveland, where he received a merit scholarship.

Kevin Joyce (WRC ’79) chairs the Board of Supervisors for the Lucas Soil and Water Conservation District in Toledo, Ohio. Joyce has worked in conservation for nearly two decades and practices employment law.

1980s

Shravan Kotha (GRS ’80, operations research; MGT ’86) is on the global editorial board for Chief Data Officer Magazine. He works for the Ohio Attorney General in Columbus, Ohio, as chief data and analytics officer for information technology services.

Joseph (Jay) McIsaac (WRC ’81), of Hartford, Connecticut, received directorship certification from the National Association of Corporate Directors. The certification exam evaluates skills involving strategy, risk management and leadership development. McIsaac, who has held positions on various boards, is chief of trauma anesthesia at Hartford Hospital in Hartford, and a clinical professor of anesthesiology at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine, among other appointments.

Mary Jane Trapp (LAW ’81), a judge on Ohio’s 11th District Court of Appeals, received the 2022 Legacy of Justice Award from the Legal Aid Society of Cleveland. The award recognizes Trapp’s four decades serving the society through board and pro bono work.

Mary (Schiller) Miller (WRC ’82), of Tucson, Arizona, authored the fictional series, Luckland Mysteries (Scarsdale Publishing), under the pen name MJ Miller. The five books are about a wealthy group of women who the author describes as living with “an eclectic sense of adventure.”

Shelley Costa (GRS ’83, English), of Cleveland, authored Evil Under the Tuscan Sun (Berkley) under the pen name Stephanie Cole. The third novel in her Tuscan Cooking School Mysteries series follows a chef whose culinary efforts are continually thwarted by conspiracy and murder.

Annette L. Sobel (MED ’83) is on the Texas Military Preparedness Commission. Her term expires in 2029. She also is an adjunct professor at Texas Tech University, teaching classes on medicine, nursing, biomedical sciences, and electrical and computer engineering.

Lea Stern (MED ’85) has been featured in news stories nationally for recreating a priceless garment for Krystyna Chiger, a Holocaust survivor. Chiger donated a green sweater— knitted by her grandmother who died in a concentration camp—to the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum. When Stern saw the exhibit, she was inspired to re-create the pattern. Stern gifted a replica of the sweater to Chiger, and the pattern is now for sale, with proceeds benefiting the museum. Stern is an anesthesiologist in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Linda Werthman (GRS ’85, social welfare policy and planning) received the 2023 Lifetime Achievement Award from the Catholic Health Association. The award recognizes Werthman’s 40-year career advancing community health for vulnerable populations in Detroit.

Franklin Lim (MGT ’89) is controller of Envirotech Vehicles, which manufactures zero-emission electric vehicles in Osceola, Arkansas.

Denielle Pemberton-Heard (LAW ’89) received the IDEA Award from the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants for her leadership in the areas of inclusion, diversity, equity and access. She also was named to the Diversity Woman Media’s Class of 2022 Elite 100 list of Black women leaders. Pemberton-Heard is managing director and chief legal officer of Diversified Search Group in Washington, D.C.

Lauri Wright (GRS ’89, nutrition) is serving a one-year term as president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. The term ends in June 2024. She is an associate professor and director of nutrition programs at University of South Florida College of Public Health.

Bernhardt (Bernie) Zeiher (MED ’89) is on the Scientific Advisory Board of the pharmaceutical company MMS Holdings, and the board of the biopharmaceutical company Entrada Therapeutics. Zeiher lives in Port Clinton, Ohio.

1990s

Stuart Shapiro (CWR ’90) is dean of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey.

Nancy Weber (MGT ’90) is on the Palliative Care Interdisciplinary Advisory Council under the Texas Health and Human Services Commission. Weber is an assistant professor in the Department of Emergency Medicine and vice chair for quality and patient experience with Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center El Paso, Texas.

Thomas Crampton (MGT ’91; GRS ’91, operations research) is a senior software developer at Cleveland Clinic.

Eric Skorge (CWR ’91, MGT ’96) is chief operating officer at Revive Home Brands, a manufacturer and distributor of building products in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

Matthew Donaher (LAW ’92) is a partner in the law firm of Finn Dixon & Herling and lives in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Nancy Rich-Drehs (GRS ’92, art education), a high school art teacher in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, received an Excellence in Teaching Award from Cleveland Institute of Art. In addition to a $500 prize, her name and those of other award recipients will be inscribed on a plaque on campus.

Kristen Kinkopf (LAW ’94) was recognized with papal honors issued by the Vatican and conferred by the Archdiocese of Baltimore, for her 16 years of service to Catholic institutions in Baltimore. Kinkopf is executive director of the Richman Foundation, a community service organization.

Suzanne Elise Walsh (SAS ’94, LAW ’97, HON ’20) is part of Head and Heart Philanthropy’s inaugural presidential cohort—a two-year initiative to help make historically Black colleges and universities more financially sustainable. Walsh is president of Bennett College, a historically Black liberal arts college for women in Greensboro, North Carolina.

Michael Barreca (CWR ’95), of Warren, Ohio, is an enrollment manager for Brian Patten and Associates, a workplace benefits company.

James E. Dennis (GRS ’95, biology) authored and published The Need for a Little Dog. The novel tells the story of a man bitten by a weredog (a man who turns into a dog), and the university scientists who help him search for a cure. Dennis lives in Taylor Lake Village, Texas.

Alex DiNello (MGT ’95), of Columbus, Ohio, is on the board of the biotechnology company, FzioMed. He is president and CEO of Sollis Therapeutics, which develops targeted pain therapies.

David A. DeWitt (GRS ’96, neurosciences) is dean of the College of Arts and Sciences at Columbia International University in Columbia, South Carolina.

Kristin Pruitt (LAW ’96) is president of Warsaw, Indiana-based Lakeland Financial Corp. and its subsidiary, Lake City Bank.

Rob Davis (NUR ’97, ’05, ’08), of Gates Mills, Ohio, is a fellow of the Academy of Wilderness Medicine. Davis is an associate professor of nursing at the College of Nursing and Public Health at Chamberlain University.

James Merlino (MED ’97) is executive vice president and chief innovation officer of the Joint Commission Enterprise, a healthcare quality improvement and patient safety company outside Chicago.

Steve Park (MGT ’97), of Vienna, Virginia, is senior vice president of dealership operations for the National Automobile Dealers Association.

John C. Melaragno (LAW ’97) is a judge for the Erie Division of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Western District of Pennsylvania. He hears cases from Erie and Pittsburgh.

Eli Merritt (MED ’98) authored the book, Disunion Among Ourselves: The Perilous Politics of the American Revolution (University of Missouri Press). It describes political divisions within the 13 colonies during the American Revolutionary War. Merritt is a research assistant professor of political science at Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee.

Mosongo Moukwa (MGT ’98), of Chapel Hill, North Carolina, authored Be a Leader of Significance (Lioncrest Publishing). In the book, Moukwa explores how a focus on creativity and human connection can benefit an organization. Moukwa is president of Hathaway Advanced Materials, a specialty chemical manufacturer in Columbus, Ohio.

Sarah Winters (MGT ’99) is senior vice president and chief human resource officer of the Middlefield Banking Company in Middlefield, Ohio.

Amit Jain (GRS ’99, computer science) is chief operating officer of Bswift, a benefits administration company in Chicago.

Carrie Levine (NUR ’99) authored Whole Woman Health: A Guide to Creating Wellness for Any Age and Stage (Page Two Press). Levine is the founder of Whole Woman Health Clinic in Newcastle, Maine.

2000s

Thomas Jaworski (LAW ’00) is first assistant attorney in the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Tennessee in Nashville.

Carlos Garritano (CWR ’01) was listed in the Chambers USA 2023 Guide, an annual ranking of the nation’s lawyers and law firms by Chambers and Partners, a rankings publisher. Garritano is an intellectual property attorney at the Cleveland firm, Tucker Ellis.

Mary South (MED ’01) received the 2023 Women’s Choice Award, Best Doctors designation from the consumer research group WomenCertified, in the inaugural year for the category. South is a urogynecologist at Northeast Ohio Urogynecology in Akron, Ohio, and host of the podcast Girl Problems.

Arun Subramanian (CWR ’01) is the first South Asian judge to serve the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York. The court hears cases in Manhattan, White Plains and Poughkeepsie.

Rick Batson (LAW ’02) is the judge advocate general and chief counsel of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Kelly Lipinski (CWR ’03, LAW ’06) was listed in the Chambers USA 2023 Guide, an annual ranking of the nation’s lawyers and law firms by Chambers and Partners, a rankings publisher. Lipinski is an attorney and managing member of McGlinchey Stafford’s Cleveland office.

Kevin Murphy (LAW ’03) is managing partner of Walter Haverfield in Cleveland.

Karen Tang (GRS ’03, engineering practice), of Los Angeles, is chief customer officer of ATTOM, a curator of land, property and real estate data.

Angela (Barnes) Milosh (NUR ’03, ’07) is a fellow of the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology. Milosh is an instructor and director of the joint Nurse Anesthesia Program between Cleveland Clinic Foundation and Frances Payne Bolton School of Nursing at Case Western Reserve.

Margaret L. Drugovich (MGT ’04) is interim president of Marietta College in Marietta, Ohio.

Quinton Cotton (SAS ’06) is the 2022-24 Robert L. Kane Postdoctoral Fellow at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health. His research focuses on the design and testing of culturally tailored intervention for dementia caregivers.

Abigail Phillips (MGT ’08, LAW ’08) is vice president and chief risk officer of FirstEnergy in Akron, Ohio.

Harold Pretel (SAS ’08) is sheriff of Cuyahoga County. Pretel previously worked for the Cleveland Division of Police for nearly 30 years, most recently serving as deputy chief of Homeland Special Operations.

Aaron Viny (GRS ’09, pathology; MED ’09) is on Arima Genomics’ scientific advisory board. Viny is an assistant professor of medicine at Columbia University’s Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons, where he specializes in treating cancers of the blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes.

2010s

Eva Chan-Scheurich (CWR ’10), of New York City, is senior vice president of business development at UM Worldwide, a global media agency. Jamie

Jones Clay (MNO ’10) is the young leaders program director at Greenhouse Scholars, an education nonprofit in Boulder, Colorado. One year into the role, Clay received The Boone, an annual award for a staff member who provides positive, solution-oriented leadership.

Zachary T. Ruetz (CWR ’10) is an employment and labor associate at the law firm of Goldberg Segalla in Rochester, New York.

Sultan Ahmed (CWR ’11) opened Sultan, a small-plates South Asian restaurant in Madison, Wisconsin, with a no-tip business model. Instead, employees earn $20 per hour, plus a 5% share of profits.

Rosa Hand (CWR ’11; GRS ’13, nutrition; GRS ’18, clinical translational science), is serving a one-year term as chair of the Commission on Dietetic Registration, the national credentialing agency for registered dietitians. Hand is an associate professor in the Department of Nutrition at Case Western Reserve.

Sanjur Brooks (GRS ’13, bioethics) was featured in the 2023 “Top 40 under 40 list” in the Richmond, Virginia, publication, Style Weekly. Brooks was highlighted for her contributions to the protection of human research subjects. As director of human research protection at Virginia Commonwealth University, Brooks oversees a portfolio of approximately 1,500 studies and helps to preside over two institutional review board panels.

Trevor Hardy (LAW ’13) is an employment lawyer with Littler Law in Cleveland. His personal and professional lives recently crossed in working with Canine Companions for Independence, a nonprofit that trains assistance dogs. Hardy has progressive multiple sclerosis, which was causing him to fall several times a day until 2022, when he matched with service dog, Tristan, through Canine Companions.

Adam Stang (MGT ’13) and his wife, Kimberly, established a fundraising team to benefit Nationwide Children’s Hospital in honor of their son, Timothy Matthew Stang, who died shortly after birth. Contributions through “Timmy’s Kids” support the hospital’s Neonatology Fund, helping provide families with mental health resources and tools to capture the handprints, footprints and heartbeat of their child for mementos. Timmy’s Kids also held a 5K event in October in Columbus, Ohio, in recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Awareness Month.

Bethany Studenic (SAS ’14) co-founded Enlightened Solutions, a research and advocacy firm. After a national livability index ranked Cleveland as the worst city in the U.S. for Black women, the firm surveyed 450 Black women in Northeast Ohio about discrimination in the workplace, healthcare and education. It released a report titled Project Noir and produced an accompanying podcast, Living for We, with Ideastream Public Media.

Matt Drezdzon (CWR ’15) received his MBA with distinction from Cornell University and is a manager of advanced analytics with L’Oreal in New York.

Tori Penso (MGT ’15) was the lead referee in the 2023 FIFA Women’s World Cup semifinals and finals in August in Sydney, Australia. All the referees were women in the final match between Spain and England, and it was the first time in history that U.S. officials oversaw a World Cup final for either women’s or men’s soccer. Penso previously directed digital strategy for a marketing agency, but in 2019 decided to pursue refereeing full-time—a passion she has nurtured since she was 14. She lives in Tampa, Florida, with her husband—also a soccer referee—and their three daughters, and is an adjunct faculty member teaching social media in sports at the University of South Florida’s Muma School of Business.

Adam Younger (CWR ’15) is an assistant district attorney with the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office in New York City.

Ashley Howen (DEN ’16) received a 2023 fellowship award from the Academy of General Dentistry for her commitment to continuing education and patient care. Howen is a dentist in Springfield, Massachusetts.

Ted Ladd (GRS ’16, designing sustainable business systems), of Jackson Hole, Wyoming, authored the book Innovating With Impact (Economist). He teaches entrepreneurship at Harvard University, Stanford University and at Hult International Business School.

Taylor O’Neil (CWR ’16) completed her family medicine residency at Scott Air Force Base in St. Clair County, Illinois.

Carolyn Dixon (SAS ’17) is a medical social worker at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center Emergency Department.

Raymond Adkins (CWR ’18; GRS ’18, physics) is a 2023 Schmidt Science Fellow at Yale University, a postdoctoral program providing participants with $100,000 research stipends. Adkins is pivoting his previous physics research to the field of neuroscience for insights into how the nervous system wires itself.

Miri Shlomi (MED ’18) is a family medicine hospitalist at the Beebe Healthcare network in Millsboro, Delaware, and associate program director of the network’s Family Medicine Residency at R. Randall Rollins Center for Medical Education.

Erin Przybylinski (LAW ’19) is a litigation attorney in the Phoenix office of Jennings Haug Keleher McLeod.

2020s

Cameron Brown (CWR ’20) is a defensive quality-control coach for the San Francisco 49ers. Brown was previously the outside linebackers coach at Case Western Reserve.

Nick Longo (CWR ’20) is in his second year with Chicago Union, a professional team in the Central Division of the American Ultimate Disc League. Longo also is an associate product manager for Life Fitness, an exercise equipment manufacturer.

Liz (Stark) McCrea (LAW ’20) is on the board of Rescue Village, a Northeast Ohio animal shelter. She is a corporate and real estate attorney with Meyers, Roman, Friedberg and Lewis in Cleveland.

Brandon M. Ball (LAW ’21) is an associate attorney with Harter Secrest and Emery in Rochester, New York. He also is on the board of Oak Orchard Health, a medical practice.

Jack Kincaid (CWR ’21; GRS ’21, nutrition) is part of the National Institutes of Health Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program, an accelerated doctoral training program in biomedical research.

Ryan W. Gillespie (LAW ’22) is an associate in the business litigation practice of the Ulmer & Berne law firm in Cleveland.

Mike Pierce (CWR ’22) opened The Geek Peek, a store selling board games, records, books, antique glassware and more, in Cleveland’s Old Brooklyn neighborhood.

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