Spring/Summer 2024 Class Notes

Go to In Memoriam section

1960s

John Fazio (ADL ’61, LAW ’65), of Fairlawn, Ohio, authored The Assassination of Abraham Lincoln: Four Smoking Guns (Pen and Sword Books). This nonfiction book seeks to lay to rest various theories about the assassination, arguing that Confederate leaders—not John Wilkes Booth—led the plot to kill the 16th president.

Terese Cybulski (SAS ’63) was recognized for her 60 years in mental healthcare when the Geneva Community Counseling Center Office in Edgewood, Ohio, was renamed the Terese M. Cybulski Center.

Paul Mantsch (CIT ’63) was listed in Marquis Who’s Who, a nationally distributed multidisciplinary directory of professional biographies, for his more than 40 years of work in particle physics. He primarily worked at the Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory. Mantsch lives in Champaign, Illinois.

W. Blair Geho (GRS ’64, pharmacology; MED ’66), of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is cofounder and chief scientific officer of Diasome Pharmaceuticals, a clinical-stage biopharmaceutical company that develops therapies for diabetes, obesity and other metabolic disorders through the company’s Hepatocyte Directed Vesicles Cell Targeting System. Hepatocytes are the major functional cells of the liver. Diasome closed on a round of financing that had participation from Eli Lilly and Co. Robert Geho (MGT ’94) is cofounder and CEO.

Norman Nagel (DEN ’65, ’67; GRS ’73, orthodontics), of Simi Valley, California, received the Arthur A. Dugoni Lifetime Achievement Award from the Pacific Coast Society of Orthodontists in November 2023. He received the honor for his military service, more than 48 years of practicing orthodontics and his leadership roles in orthodontics organizations.

Lee Branst (CIT ’69, MGT ’72), Jeff Bloom (CIT ’70), Michael Kaplan (CIT ’70; GRS ’73, ’75, systems control and engineering), Les Bloom (CIT ’71), John Bogo (ADL ’71) and David Featheringham (CIT ’73) were members of a band, The Same As Last Week, founded on the CWRU campus in 1968. The band played an eclectic mix of music, and its self-titled album was digitally released last fall—54 years after it was originally recorded.

1970s

Helen Torok (FSM ’70) is cofounder of HH Science, a family-owned skincare company. A dermatologist in Medina, Ohio, Torok secured a patent for Clear Skin Vitamins, a dietary supplement for people struggling with acne.

John Vanek (ADL ’70) authored Epiphany (Coffeetown Press), the fifth book in his mystery series, whose main character is Father Jake Austin. Vanek is a retired physician living in St. Petersburg, Florida.

Anne O’Brien Carelli (FSM ’72) authored I’ll Remember Poppy (Annie’s Books), a story about dementia from a child’s perspective. Book sales benefit the Alzheimer’s Association. She and her husband of 50 years, Frank Carelli (ADL ’70), live in Delmar, New York.

Bradley Kronstat (WRC ’73), of Guilford, Connecticut, received the 2023 Jack Brooks Leadership Award at the annual meeting of the Connecticut Society of Certified Public Accountants (CTCPA). Kronstat was honored for advancing the accounting profession, his service as a CTCPA officer—including his work as president—and as a committee member. He provides a range of consulting services through his business, Kron Consulting.

John Sharp (WRC ’73, SAS ’80), of Cleveland coauthored Making a Difference: Careers in Health Informatics (Productivity Press). The book in part describes jobs in the field and qualifications that are needed.

Christine Hudak (CWR ’74) is the 2024-2025 president of the Northern Ohio Chapter of Healthcare Information and Management Systems Society, a nonprofit that aims to improve access to healthcare worldwide through technology. She also is a healthcare information technology consultant.

Richard Geiger (WRC ’75), a retired appellate division judge of the New Jersey Supreme Court, is a court-appointed special master judge, conducting hearings and making recommendations regarding the scientific reliability of a breathalyzer device in determining guilt or innocence in cases involving alcohol. Geiger lives in Millville, New Jersey.

Steven Kaufman (LAW ’75), a lawyer with UB Greensfelder LLP, was honored as a member of the 2023 Class of 18 Difference Makers by Cleveland Jewish News for his work as a trial attorney and service as a member of the Shaker Heights Schools Board of Education. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

David Kurtz (WRC ’76, LAW ’79) is vice chair and chief strategic officer of Hilco Global, a finance firm in Northbrook, Illinois, that provides valuation, monetization, advisory and capital services. Kurtz was previously with Lazard, a global investment banking and asset management firm.

Patrick McLaughlin (LAW ’76) published his debut novel, Cheerful Obedience, about an infantry platoon in Vietnam in 1967. McLaughlin lives in Gates Mills, Ohio.

Warren Selman (MED ’77) is chief medical executive of the Marcus Neuroscience Institute at Boca Raton Regional Hospital.

Kathy Mandusic Finley (GRS ’78, history), of Indianapolis, authored My Three-Legged, One-Eyed Therapist: How My Cat Clio Saved Me (Purdue University Press), which explores the emotional connection between humans and animals.

Mark Termini (WRC ’78), a sports agent and attorney, authored Words to Negotiate By (MTA Publishing), which translates his business knowledge into guidelines for life. He has negotiated $2 billion in professional sports contracts and represented LeBron James when he returned to the Cleveland Cavaliers from the Miami Heat. Termini lives in Brecksville, Ohio.

Craig Marvinney (WRC ’79, LAW ’82), of Sagamore Hills, Ohio, is president of the Federation of Defense & Corporate Counsel, which promotes community among members and commitment to people in need of legal defense in civil cases. He is an attorney at the Cleveland law firm Bricker Graydon.

1980s

Robert Koenig (WRC ’80), of Maumee, Ohio, is director of the Toledo School for the Arts.

Bonnie Jacobson (WRC ’81), of Beachwood, Ohio, wrote The Mystery of Food and Thought: 100 Sonnets, a finalist in the 2023 poetry contest hosted by Passager Books, an independent publisher with an emphasis on writers over age 50.

Gregory Johnson (GRS ’81, organizational development and analysis) has opened a chapter of the United Nations Association of the USA in Greater Cleveland. The nonprofit promotes support for the United Nations among the American public.

Bill Jacobson (LAW ’83), of Shaker Heights, Ohio, gave a lecture on expert witness cross-examination at a convention in November sponsored by the American Association for Justice and the Birth Trauma Litigation Group. He is a partner with Nurenberg Paris Injury Lawyers in Cleveland, where he has worked for more than four decades.

Mary Jane Keyse (LAW ’83), of East Aurora, New York, was inducted into the New York State Land Title Association Hall of Fame for her commitment to title holders’ ownership rights and service to the association. She is the state regulatory counsel and senior agency counsel for Fidelity National Title Group.

Kerry Robson (DEN ’83), of Oldsmar, Florida, has volunteered for a decade with the Peter Emily Family Foundation, which provides dental care to animals in zoos across the country. Robson treats large exotic cats including tigers, lions, leopards and cheetahs.

Clint Vogus (GRS ’83, organizational development and analysis) authored The Right Recipe for Entrepreneurial Success (Kendall Hunt Publishing). Vogus is a management instructor at the Neil Griffin College of Business at Arkansas State University and lives in Jonesboro, Arkansas.

Erich Spangenberg (LAW ’85) is chair of the board of directors’ executive committee of Spectral AI, an artificial intelligence-driven medical diagnostics company based in Dallas. Spangenberg also founded and is managing director of Sauvegarder Investment Management.

Karen Skarupski (LAW ’86) is senior vice president, human resources at Erie Insurance in Erie, Pennsylvania. She has been with the company for 33 years.

Jay Short (GRS ’87, biochemistry), of Jackson, Wyoming, received the 2023 Lowell Thomas Award from the Explorers Club for his contributions to biomedical technology innovation. The club is an international scientific exploration society. Short is chair, CEO and cofounder of BioAtla Inc., a tumor therapeutics company.

Alison Hall (GRS ’88, neurosciences) is senior associate dean for research at the George Washington University School of Medicine and Health Sciences in Washington, D.C.

Kevin Connor (MGT ’89), of Westlake, Ohio, is senior vice president for revenue management and business analytics at TriMark USA, a food-service supply company.

1990s

Jim Dudukovich (CWR ’90), of Atlanta, is a partner at Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner, an international law firm and co-leader of its marketing and advertising practice group.

Imad Fakhoury (CWR ’90; GRS ’90, clinical engineering) is regional director for South Asia for International Financial Corp., which is part of the World Bank Group. It invests in the private sector to make humanitarian advances in the developing world. He lives in Amman, Jordan.

Ray Armat (GRS ’91, macromolecular science), of Mendenhall, Pennsylvania, authored Masks, Crutches, and Daggers (Applied Analytic Research Inc.), an examination of the mind-body connection.

James Gardner (LAW ’91) wrote and published A Chance to Breathe: Stories from a 1918 Road Trip, a nonfiction account that follows inventor Thomas Edison, industrialists Henry Ford and Harvey Firestone and naturalist John Burroughs on a journey through the heartland. Gardner lives in Cuyahoga Falls, Ohio.

Mike Hess (CWR ’91), of Minneapolis, is editor-in-chief of IEEE Pulse, the publication of the Engineering Medicine and Biology Society of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. Hess is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Minnesota.

Laura Peskin (CWR ’91) is the author of three volumes of Deep Cover Cleveland (independently published). She also writes for local historical societies and regularly speaks on Cleveland history. In addition, Peskin plays keyboards with local bands and has recorded music for three albums—one for her solo music and others released by the bands Elements of Synergy and Sept le Charme.

Robert Rutkowski (LAW ’91), of Waynesville, Ohio, is on the Supervisors Regulator Board of the National Association of State Credit Unions. The board aims to facilitate collaboration between regulators and credit unions through the advancement of legislation and supervision. He is the deputy superintendent for credit unions at the Ohio Department of Commerce Division of Financial Institutions.

Matt Alderman (CWR ’93, GRS ’96, computer engineering), of Larkspur, Colorado, is chief product officer of CyberSaint, a cyber risk management company.

Peter Bullen (MGT ’93), of Novelty, Ohio, is group head of Key Equipment Finance, KeyBank’s division for commercial and bank equipment leasing and finance. Bullen has been with KeyBank since 1996.

Said Ibrahim (MED ’93) is the first black dean at Thomas Jefferson University’s Sidney Kimmel Medical College in Philadelphia. He previously was senior vice president of Northwell Health’s Medical Service Line and chair of the Department of Medicine at Long Island Jewish Medical Center. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine for his racial disparities research.

Katherine Kerestman (GRS ’93, English), of Perry, Ohio, authored Lethal (PsychoToxin Press), a dystopian tale of a disappearing sun and a widespread disease.

Julie Jacono (CWR ’94, MGT ’98) is CEO of JumpStart Inc., a venture development organization in Cleveland.

Yuri Fesko (CWR ’95, MED ’99) is senior vice president and chief medical officer of Quest Diagnostics, a clinical laboratory and provider of health testing services. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Neena Imam (GRS ’95, electrical engineering and applied physics) is the first Peter O’Donnell Jr. Director of the O’Donnell Data Science and Research Computing Institute at Southern Methodist University in Dallas.

Rebecca Ramirez (SAS ’95) is chief physician executive of University of Toledo Health in Toledo, Ohio.

Michael Rosenberg (CWR ’95) is chief learning officer for the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board, a national nonprofit that registers public accounting firms, establishes standards, inspects firms’ audits and systems, and investigates violations of standards. He lives in West Orange, New Jersey.

David Sylvan (MGT ’95) is chief strategy and innovation officer of University Hospitals in Cleveland.

David D’Urso (LAW ’96) is a partner at the law firm Sidley Austin LLP in New York City.

Nimesh Mehta (CWR ’96, MGT ’99) of Dallas is a member of the board of Surge Ventures, which is headquartered in Menlo Park, California. The company incubates software startups that manage data, privacy and compliance for financial services companies. Mehta is chief information officer of the insurance company National Life Group, where he leads a global technology team.

Marin Ritter (LAW ’96), of Cleveland, is director of the Case Western Reserve University Visa and Immigration Services and Advisors Office.

Andy Sand (MGT ’96) is vice president of operations, strategic partners at Bold Penguin, a commercial insurance software company. He lives in Chagrin Falls, Ohio.

Laura Kleinman (MGT ’97) is executive director of Senior Transportation Connection, which provides affordable transportation for older adults and adults with disabilities. She was named to Cleveland Jewish News’ 2023 Class of 18 Difference Makers for her work and her more than 15 years of service to University Circle Inc., a nonprofit for business development and community service in the University Circle neighborhood.

Javier Izquierdo (CWR ’98) coauthored the textbook Laboratory Exercises in Microbiology (McGraw Hill). He is an associate professor and associate chair in the Department of Biology at Hofstra University.

Florence Murray (MGT ’98) is board-certified as a truck accident law advocate by the National Board of Trial Advocacy. She is a lawyer with Murray & Murray and lives in Columbus, Ohio.

Charles Morris (MED ’99) is chief medical officer of Brigham and Women’s Hospital, Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital and Brigham and Women’s Physicians Organization in Boston. He has served in many roles at Brigham over more than two decades.

Eddie Taylor Jr. (MGT ’99) was a judge for the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Local list for Cleveland. He is president of the insurance brokerage firm Taylor Oswald. He also serves on the boards of several Greater Cleveland organizations, including University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center.

Jesse Torbert (CWR ’99; GRS ’04, anatomy; MED ’04) is an orthopedic trauma surgeon with University of Pittsburgh Medical Center Williamsport in Williamsport, Pennsylvania.

Brittany Grimes Zaehringer (LAW ’99, SAS ’99) is chief of staff for Mayor Shammas Malik of Akron, Ohio.

2000s

Monica Molina Austin (MGT ’00) is chief human resources officer at Community Servings, a nonprofit that provides meals and nutrition education for individuals with medical needs or experiencing food insecurity in Jamaica Plains, Massachusetts.

Asaf Batelman (CWR ’00), of Indianapolis, is a partner at Cantor Colburn LLP, a firm specializing in intellectual property law.

Brian Green (LAW ’00) received the 2023 Sam Williamson Mentor Award from the American Immigration Lawyers Association. He was honored for his work mentoring immigration attorneys. He lives in Highland Ranch, Colorado.

Cheryl Thompson (CWR ’00; GRS ’03, computer engineering; GRS ’07, computing and information science) is an associate director of the Social Science Research Institute at Pennsylvania State University. She previously was an assistant dean of educational initiatives at Case Western Reserve.

Stephanie Kemler (CWR ’01) authored Bloodmad (Curious Corvid Publishing), a sequel to her novel Bloodborn. The books are about a vampire born into a cult that is hundreds of years old. Kemler lives in Wyncote, Pennsylvania.

Nishad Prabhu (GRS ’01, material science and engineering) received a Career Achievement Award from the Society of Asian Scientists and Engineers for his more than 22 years of combined service to the Cessna Aircraft Co. and later its current parent company, Textron Aviation. Prabhu is a senior manager in advanced design manufacturing engineering. He has worked on programs including the Cessna Longitude, Cessna SkyCourier and Beechcraft Denali aircrafts. He lives in Wichita, Kansas.

Khary Hanible (LAW ’02), of Fenton, Michigan, is a judge for the 7th Judicial Circuit Court of Genesee County, Michigan.

Jessica Kopelwitz (MGT ’02), of Athens, Ohio, is associate director of TechGrowth Ohio, a program of Ohio University’s Voinovich School of Leadership and Public Service that fosters entrepreneurship across Southeast Ohio.

Stuart Till (MGT ’02) is chief financial officer of Levenger, a home office furniture company in Delray Beach, Florida.

Christopher Peters (MED ’03) was the Tribute to Courage Honoree at the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute Spirit of Hope Celebration in November. He received the honor for his work in radiation and oncology medicine and research. Peters is the medical director and director of clinical research at Northeast Radiation Oncology Centers and a partner at Radiation Medicine Associates in Scranton, Pennsylvania.

Beth Spencer (CWR ’03) is dean of experiential education at the Athenian School, a private school for grades six through 12 in the San Francisco Bay area.

Dean Frate (MED ’04) is the new chief medical officer of Summa Health in Akron, Ohio.

Amol Sharma (CWR ’04; GRS ’04, biomedical engineering) was awarded a three-year, $958,000 grant from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases for a randomized trial of a treatment for diabetic gastroparesis. The trial was recently featured in JAGWire, a publication of Augusta University, where Sharma is an associate professor at the Medical College of Georgia.

Ian Charnas (CWR ’05), one of the engineering innovators behind CWRU’s Larry Sears and Sally Zlotnick Sears think[box] makerspace, joined CrunchLabs. It is the managing company of science communicator Mark Rober’s STEM education YouTube channel. In his senior engineering role, Charnas aims to inspire enthusiasm for STEM among youth.

Rachel Malone (CWR ’05) was appointed by Vermont Gov. Phil Scott to be a judge for the Vermont Superior Court. She previously was a judicial master in two counties. She started her career as a public defender in criminal and juvenile court.

Andrea Aaby (CWR ’07) is director of development and compliance at the Laketran transit agency, overseeing grants, planning and building projects. She was named an Under Forty Rising Star by the Ohio Public Transportation Association at the organization’s annual conference in September. She lives in Mentor, Ohio.

Jennifer Johnson (SAS ’07) is executive director of Cleveland’s Canopy Child Advocacy Center, which provides evaluation and court resources to ensure speedy investigations of maltreated children in Cuyahoga County.

Jennifer Orr (LAW ’07) is a shareholder in the Cleveland office of Littler, an employment and labor law firm. She provides pay-equity expertise and analysis.

Theresa Bembnister (GRS ’09, art history and museum studies) is curator of the Contemporary Arts Center, a museum in Cincinnati. She was previously curator of the Arkansas Museum of Fine Arts.

2010s

Eva Chan-Scheurich (CWR ’10), of Forest Hills, New York, is senior vice president, business development at UM Worldwide, a global media agency with clients including Johnson & Johnson, American Express, CVS and Spotify.

Iris Dunkle (CWR ’10), of Sebastopol, California, was a featured poet in the literary magazine Volt.

Blake Rosacker (DEN ’10) is a dental extraction specialist with both PearlFection Dentistry, and Maryland Sedation Dentistry and Surgical Center in Frederick, Maryland.

Maureen Sweeney (CWR ’10, NUR ’12) was honored in the cleveland.com Top Nurses Awards for her work as director of clinical strategy at FrontLine Service. She is an advance practice provider of women’s behavioral health at Cleveland Clinic.

Aaronde Seckou Creighton (MGT ’11) is a Woodland Ellroy Hall Fellow at North Carolina Agricultural and Technical State University. The fellowship provides tuition, fees and insurance to graduate students in research. Creighton’s research focuses on comprehensive burnout and workplace wellness among Black professionals on executive advancement tracks. He is also chief diversity officer of the Leadership Circle, a professional leadership consulting company.

Michael Semidey (DEN ’11) is an oral and maxillofacial surgeon at Oral Facial Surgery of Orange Park in Florida.

Alexa Fiffick (CWR ’12) founded the women’s primary care practice Concierge Medicine in Westlake, Ohio.

Ray Horton (GRS ’12, ’17, English) was named 2023 College English Teacher of the Year by the Kentucky Council of Teachers of English/Language Arts. He is a tenured associate professor of English at Murray State University in Murray, Kentucky.

Jenny Komos Hartmann (SAS ’12) has earned a PhD in social work from Columbia University in New York City.

Raj Gala (MED ’13) is a spinal surgeon with University of Massachusetts Memorial Medical Center in Worcester, Massachusetts. He was included in Worcester Business Journal’s 2023 Movers & Shakers list.

Marianne Harris (GRS ’13, nursing) is chief clinical officer of Outer Cape Health Services, which operates community health centers along Cape Cod in Massachusetts.

Soumya Nair (MGT ’13), of Cleveland, received the Insight250 award from ESOMAR (European Society for Opinion and Market Research) for her accomplishments with Kerry, a food and beverage company. The award honors those who advance data-driven marketing.

Kate Rose Allen (GRS ’16, English) is a regulatory affairs project manager with RQM+, a consulting firm specializing in medical technology compliance and quality in Monroeville, Pennsylvania.

Harrison Cash (MED ’16) joined the surgical team at Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center in Gilbert, Arizona. Cash specializes in cosmetic reconstruction for cancer patients.

Danielle Sabo (GRS ’16, ’22, sociology) of Chagrin Falls, Ohio, is a member of the Chagrin Falls Board of Education. Sabo has more than 13 years of teaching experience and is an instructor of criminology and sociology at Cleveland State University.

Winnie Wong (DEN ’16) received the N. Wayne Hiatt Rising Star Award from the Ohio Dental Association for volunteering with dental and community organizations, as well as her leadership of local and state dental groups. She is a co-owner of Barsan, Stefan and Wong Family Dental, a practice with locations in Cuyahoga Falls, Fairlawn and Canton, Ohio.

Thomas Franco (CWR ’17) is deputy director of intergovernmental and external affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Tyler Hamilton (CWR ’17), of Farmington, Michigan, is a senior product engineer at the auto parts manufacturer Magna Exteriors group. He specializes in active aerodynamic systems for the automotive industry.

Chelsea Laliberte Barnes (SAS ’18), of Palatine, Illinois, was named the 2023 Social Worker of the Year by the Illinois Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers. Along with her parents, Barnes founded Live4Lali to provide harm reduction and peer support to others after her brother’s unintentional overdose death. She is chief operating officer of Wolf Pack, a behavioral health organization.

Emily Stott Maraschky (MED ’18) is an assistant professor at University of Colorado School of Medicine. She practices both palliative medicine and family medicine for University of Colorado Health.

Joe Spidalieri (MGT ’18) is chief operating officer of Carnegie Investment Counsel, a registered investment adviser in Pepper Pike, Ohio.

Aaron George (CWR ’19) and Dan Lozada (CWR ’22) were named to the 2023 Forbes 30 Under 30 Local list for Cleveland for their work creating the SupplyNow app, which is meant to facilitate processes across the food-service supply chain for independent restaurants.

Kailey Leary (MGT ’19), of North Ridgeville, Ohio, is an associate at the Gallagher Sharp LLP law firm.

2020s

Brian Eckert (CWR ’20) wrote two poems, “Just Cancer” and “Spoopy Tejas,” which were published in the Spring 2023 issue of Confluence, a journal of the Association of Graduate Liberal Studies Programs. He lives in Boulder, Colorado.

Uriel Kim (GRS ’20, clinical translational science), a medical student at Case Western Reserve, was named to Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 20 in Their 20s list for his research on the effects of the Affordable Care Act and Medicaid expansion in Ohio on low- and middle-income residents.

Daniel Luttrull (GRS ’20, English) wrote the poem “Rime Ice,” which was published in the religion journal First Things. He lives in Bismarck, North Dakota.

Adam Maraschky (GRS ’20, chemical engineering) is lead scientist of the electrochemistry fundamentals team at Electra, a startup working to decarbonize the steel industry. It is based in Boulder, Colorado.

David Dimitrie (GRS ’21, biology) is director of conservation at the Detroit Zoological Society, working with stakeholders internationally on Amazon rainforest preservation as well as initiatives to prevent the extinction of partula snails.

Alec Buchenic (MGT ’22), of Scottsdale, Arizona, is an associate at Martin Wolf Securities, a mergers and acquisitions firm with a focus on middle-market tech companies.

 

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