communigator - Fall 2002

Fall 2002

Inside:

Editor’s Note: In late July the communigator invited 1,240 alumni of the College of Journalism and Communications living in Alachua County to report what they were doing. About 250 responded to the survey. On this page, you’ll see what they told us. Unless otherwise noted, locations are in Gainesville.

Alumni are listed by major and by last degree earned. Married couples are listed together, usually with first person to earn a degree.

advertising

Robert L. Barnes, ADV 1960, is retired from the School Board of Alachua County and also was an agent for Northwestern Mutual Life for 17 years.

Dr. Hank Silverman, ADV 1969, is a pediatric dentist in private practice.

John P. Miller, ADV 1970, is a senior account executive with Cox CableRep Advertising, now in his 11th year. He and his wife, Cheryl, have five children and 10 grandchildren. Their son, John Jr., ADV 1987, is an alumnus.

Joe and Jayne Thurmond Grant, ADV 1972, have two children—Ashley, 21, and Daniel, 19, who are both UF students. Joe is a retired public school art teacher who runs an advertising, marketing and graphics firm and dabbles in custom sportswear design. Jayne has taught graphic design technology at Santa Fe Community College for 22 years, earned a master’s in education and written two textbooks. She’s currently on medical leave after spine surgery.

Carolyn Catlin Barrett, ADV 1973, is president of the broadcast division of Diversified Communications and general manager of its ABC affiliate in Gainesville, WCJB-TV.

Corinne Connors Willits, ADV 1973, is associate director of admissions at UF, where she has worked for 26 years. She earned a master’s in educational leadership in 1995.

Linda Gibson White, ADV 1974, is public information bureau chief for the Alachua County Sheriff’s Office. She also coordinates the non-profit National Sheriff’s Association Gift of Life Foundation.

Raymond M. “Ray” Davis Jr., ADV 1976, is store manager for the Gainesville office of Baker’s Communications. He also operates a business dealing in photography, short stories and bookkeeping services. He is retired from the Gainesville Police Department and the U.S. Army Reserve and said he’s “been known to preach, pass collection plates and sell fly swatters.”

John David McFarlin, ADV 1977, is a rehabilitation counselor with CRC certification for Goodwill, which is a partner in a privatization project with the Florida Institute for Workforce Innovation to administer the Vocational Rehabilitation program in Alachua and Bradford Counties. He earned a master’s in curriculum and development (English language arts) in 1989 and returned to school in 2000 to earn a master’s of health science in rehab counseling.

George R. Burns, ADV 1978, heads his own general contracting firm in Gainesville, St. Augustine and Crystal River. One of his recent UF projects was the new fountain behind Tigert Hall.

Fernando Fernandez, ADV 1980, owns Windowman, a firm specializing in installing and repairing windows. He’s really glad he lives in Gainesville. Shortly after graduation, he was offered a position with Colgate Palmolive in Guayaquil, Ecuador. He declined. Two weeks later, an earthquake leveled the city.

Karen Woolfstead, ADV 1980, is program/marketing director of WCJB-TV, the ABC affiliate.

Laurel Puckett “Laurie” Brown, ADV 1981, is program coordinator for Executive Education at UF. She has four children and one grandchild.

David Graham, ADV 1982, is production manager for the University Press of Florida, a position he has held for four years. Earlier he worked in production for Florida Atlantic University.

Will Earnest, ADV 1985, is vice president for physician services and development at North Florida Regional Medical Center.

Dave Hendryx, ADV 1988, is senior sales consultant at StorterChilds Printing, where he handles the communigator account. He and his wife, Meg, director of development for the College of Nursing, have two daughters—Erin, 9, and Caroline, 5.

Keri DeCarlis Leslie, ADV 1988, is an independent consultant for Southern Living at HOME, sponsored by Southern Living Magazine. She specializes in decorating/home décor. She spent 10 years in sales at Cox Communications before staying at home with her two daughters and managing rental properties.

Chet Honeycutt, ADV 1988, is president of Noble Guard, a Website hosting, design and e-commerce strategy business.

Meryl Klein Hostetler, ADV 1989, is director of outreach for Earth’s 911, the public and private sector partnership for the environment. She telecommutes with her office in Phoenix. Her husband, Mark, is a UF faculty member in wildlife and they have a son, Jamm, 21/2.

Margaret Vasquez Purvis, ADV 1989, is sales manager for Communication Systems Inc., specializing in designing business telephone and voice messaging systems. Her husband, Glenn, works for Shands Hospital construction facilities department.

Rich Ropp, ADV 1991, and Michelle Lippincott Ropp, ADV 1992, met in the Student Lounge waiting for their lab in Writing for Mass Communication. They were engaged in July 1991 and married in September 1992 in Miami, just three weeks after Hurricane Andrew. “The wedding went off without a hitch,” said Michelle, “Even though there were no street signs to be seen or available hotel rooms for anyone.” Today, Rich is a senior pharmaceutical sales representative for Novo Nordisk Pharmaceuticals Inc. and Michelle stays at home to raise their two sons—Trenton, 5½, and Tanner, 3½.

Amy Welch Walker, ADV 1991, is a stay-at-home mom. She and her husband, Dan, a UF Physical Plant engineer, have two sons—ages 7 and 4.

Colleen L. Molohon Croft, ADV 1992, and her husband own a Matco Tools franchise. She is also studying for a master’s degree in elementary education.

Julia Vargas O’Keeffe, ADV 1992, is a licensed realtor with Vargas Realty.

Margaret Yoham, ADV 1992, is marketing and promotions director for Entercom Gainesville/Ocala, which operates two radio stations, 98.5 WKTK-FM and News/Talk 97.3, WSKY-FM, The Sky.

Adrienne Pozzetta, ADV 1993, is a staff assistant for operations and facilities at the UF Athletic Association.

Heather Garrison Steingraber, ADV 1993, is a research associate and project director (Title XXI Research Projects) at the Institute for Child Health Policy. She was joint winner of the 2001 Davis Productivity Award for Florida KidCare/Subsidized Child Care Automated Application Link for the Department of Health.

Louis Garcia, ADV 1994, is a residence life coordinator for the Tolbert Area and for the Keys Complex at UF. He completed a master’s in education at UF in 1997. He worked as a residence director at Arizona State University until January 2001, before a six-month trip through the West.

Cathy McGoey, ADV 1995, is branch manager for STA Travel.

Valerie Incantalupo Ostrow, ADV 1995, is a senior communications specialist at Info Tech Inc. and the new president of the Gainesville chapter of the Florida Public Relations Association.

Anna Alonso Olcese, ADV 1996, is CEO of Olcese Enterprises (“That’s my house. I’m a full-time mother, wife and family manager!).

Janalyn Peppel, ADV 1998, is marketing and promotions manager for Powder Coating of Gainesville.

Michael J. King, ADV 2000, earned a master’s degree in educational leadership, policy and foundations at UF in August.

journalism

Hugh A. Stump Jr., JM 1950, is retired.

John S. “Jack” Detweiler, JM 1952, is retired professor and chair of the Department of Public Relations at UF. He joined the College faculty in 1965 and retired in 1993.

Clif Cormier, JM 1962, retired from The Gainesville Sun about 12 years ago. He was an education writer and associate editor for 22 years. He is the author of a new book that will be out this fall. It is titled A Postcard from Joseph (Vantage Press) and is a memoir that covers his wartime experiences in the Marine Corps and his years in journalism.

R. Franklin Ritch, JM 1963, has practiced law since 1972. He now specializes in mortgage foreclosures after 29 years as an insurance defense attorney (often defending UF lawsuits). He served on the Friends of Five board for 10 years.

H. Thomas Lane Jr., JM 1971, is founder and CEO of Virtual Business Network Ltd., developer of software for the life insurance industry.

Mary Ann Frazer, JM 1972, is a realtor with the Coldwell Banker/MM Parrish firm.

Choppy Hodes, JM 1972, is special projects coordinator for AFLAC supplemental insurance.

Adrian Dovell, JM 1973, works for the U.S. Postal Service. He and his wife Patricia were on the winning team in the Grand National Teams Flight A bridge tournament in Washington, D.C.

Elise Henry Gresham, JM 1974, is president and owner of SunSurgical.

Julian Alton Hall, JM 1974, is a geriatric services consultant who lives on Lake Winnot in Putnam County, but as he said, “One mile from the Alachua County line is close enough for government work.” He is also a part-time minister, First Reform Church of Chiappini’s, and caregiver for his mother.

Valerie Woodard, JM 1974, spent six years as a reporter for the WDVH News before a number of years in psychiatric nursing at Charter Springs Hospital in Ocala. Family responsibilities occupy her time these days.

Janet K. Kearney, JM 1975, is the administrator for the Department of Neurology in the College of Medicine at UF. She is also a member of the Hogtown Hotties, a Red Hat Society chapter (“women greeting middle age with verve, humor and élan”).

Sharon Alford, JM 1978, is a freelance writer and recently received the 2002 Golden Gator Award for her copywriting on the winning brochure for the UF Performing Arts Center.

Barbara J. Graham, JM 1978, is an editor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering (and a green activist photojournalist who covers protests).

Carla Hotvedt, JM 1978, is president/director of the Silver Image Photo Agency, a business which licenses photographers’ images to editorial markets throughout the world. She has sons in the 4th and 8th grades.

Hank Reidelberger, JM 1978, is support services coordinator for students who are deaf or hard of hearing at UF. He works as UF’s sign language interpreter. His passions are antique and vintage motorcycles and “running the St. Francis House for neighborhood cats—Felis Gainesvillus.”

Steve Kalishman, JM 1979, is an attorney who has promoted a “long standing friendship and association” of Gainesville with the Russian city of Novorossiisk. Steve worked as a cook on a merchant ship carrying grain to the Soviet Union—and met and married his wife, Natalia, at the Black Sea city. At the 20th anniversary of the Gainesville/Novorossiisk Sister City Program, more than 200 other Russian/American relationships have been established using the model he established. In 1998 he turned his attention to the Middle East inviting Israeli and Palestinian cities to join Gainesville in a three-way relationship. Unrest in the area has delayed implementation at this time.

Philip T. Pharr, JM 1981, is director of development for Gators Boosters Inc. at UF.

Dana Proctor Clayton, JM 1982, is general manager of Burdines at the Oaks Mall.

Sunny Ramayya, JM 1986, is a teacher’s aide with the Alachua County School Board.

Paul Ramey, JM 1988, is director of marketing and public relations for the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Jim Burns, JM 1991, owns Creative Communications, a graphic design, writing, web site development and public relations firm.

Kim Rose, JM 1991, is assistant director of marketing & public relations for Shands HealthCare at UF. She oversees corporate communications and is senior producer for the “Health in a Heartbeat” radio series that airs on more than 60 NPR stations nationwide.

Hollie S. Allender, JM 1992, is a freelance copy editor, writer and graphic designer.

Florida Bridgewater-Alford, JM 1993, is community relations coordinator for UF, a post she assumed in October 2001 after serving as online producer for The Gainesville Sun. She is responsible for improving the relationship of the university with its host city and county. She and her husband, Roy Alford Jr., a businessman, are expecting a child in February.

Christina L. Hughes Freeman, JM 1993, is a librarian at Martha Manson Lower School and a master’s student in library science. She has a 15-month-old daughter, Elie.

Jennifer Brackeen, JM 1996, is an assistant editor at the UF Cancer Center.

Iris Schubert Wolfe, JM 1997, is associate Web editor at Atlantic.Net Internet Services.

Jeremy and Alisson Clark, JM 1998, met in a magazine management class and got married a year later. Just out of school the Dean’s Cup and Weimer Award winner was a feature writer for The Gainesville Sun and won the New York Times Chairman’s award for undercover reporting on Gainesville’s rave scene. She’s now a stay-at-home mom for Owen, now 2. Jeremy, a graphic designer, is a senior information specialist with the UF Division of Housing and has won two Golden Gator Awards for his work.

Coleen J. Petruzzi, JM 1998, is a purchasing agent at EduTek Education Solutions Inc.

Kathy Lackey Richardson, JM 1998, is a staff writer covering education and writing features for the Chiefland Citizen in Levy County.

Natasha Butler, JM 1999, works as a research analyst for the UF Foundation’s research department.

Jill Kirk Andreu, JM 2001, is a paralegal with the Avera & Avera law firm. She and Robbie Andreu, PR 1977, were married last year.

Tamieka Grizzle, JM 2001, is a record-holding 800-meter track athlete who competed in the 2000 Olympic trials and was fifth runner-up at the U.S. Nationals last year. She hopes to compete in the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece.

Christine “Cris” Williams, JM 2001, is president of ckrockstarmusic, a musician and acting publications coordinator at the Levin College of Law.

public relations

Edwin D. Cox Sr., PR 1969, retired early due to health reasons. He lives in Hawthorne.

Tim Sterling, PR 1969, sells business cards and other printing supplies. He was featured in a July 14 story in The Gainesville Sun as a person whose life closely parallels the TV movie “Door to Door” starring William H. Macy. Sterling has a daughter, Rebecca, who is 6.

Tom Spain, PR 1970, owns Spain Construction Co. Inc., which is about to celebrate its 30th year and over 400 homes in Gainesville. For many years he has underwritten “This Old House” on WUFT-TV.

Rich Bennett, PR 1971, is electronic access services coordinator and Webmaster for the UF Library. He and his wife Denise, also a UF librarian, were married in 1992.

Richard Parker, PR 1972, is senior pastor at Creekside Community Church, an Evangelical Free congregation in Gainesville. He and his wife, Priscilla, have two sons.

Earl White, PR 1972, became a customer service representative/underwriter with a State Farm insurance agency in 2001 after 16 years as an Allstate agent. He is also active with the House of Hope of Alachua County Inc., a faith-based ministry providing jobs and spiritual encouragement to ex-offenders upon release from prison.

Roger P. Bryan, PR 1974, owns Trainmaster Inc., the home of #1 Lionel Collectors Series Newsletter and Lionel National Marketmakers.

Ruth Ann Bailey Klockowski, PR 1974, is coordinator of information and publication services (and a medical writer and editor) in the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology in the UF College of Medicine. Her husband, Dale Klockowski, ADV 1976, is creative director at Bob White Productions.

Sandy Crews Stephenson, PR 1974, is in her 27th year as a high school social studies teacher. She teaches in a drop-out prevention program at Lofton High School. Her students are young people who were not successful in traditional high schools. She was named Teacher of the Year last year. She earned a master’s in education in 1976. Her son, Joshua, is a UF telecommunication student.

Jeff Davis, PR 1975, and his wife, Donna Zimmerman Davis, PR 1981, “happily never escaped Hogtown.” Jeff is a Certified Financial Planner and owner of Falcon Financial Management, managing $50 million in investments. A former wrestler, Jeff now coaches his two sons—John, 19, now at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga, and Nick, who went to Bulgaria this summer on the U.S. Cadet Greco Roman team. Daughter Rachel is 14 and a soccer player. Donna is a new master’s student in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences and continues to teach as an adjunct in public relations.

John Paul Jones III, PR 1975, owns/operates a general freight trucking business on a lease with Terry Dicks Trucking (TDT) in Lake City. His wife, Linda, is a nurse.

Larry Lansford, PR 1975, has run his own strategic public relations and creative writing firm since 1997. Previously he spent 17 years in public and media relations for the UF Health Science Center. He and his wife, Jean, have one son, Ben, who is 15.

Laurie Fagan Jennings, PR 1976, is dental clinic coordinator for the Alachua County Organization of Rural Needs (ACORN).

Lee McGriff, PR 1976, is owner/partner of the McGriff-Williams Insurance agency.

Everett Stevens, PR 1976, is chief of the UF Police Department.

John S. Cowart, PR 1977, is assistant to the vice president for student affairs at Santa Fe Community College.

Carol Sanders DeViese, PR 1977, is branch manager for SunTrust Bank at Haile Plantation.

Horace N. Moore Sr., PR 1977, owns a law firm, specializing in personal injury, wrongful death and civil rights.

Brenda Irene Foster Klein, PR 1983, owns Cruise-n-Tour Travel agency in Alachua.

Dr. Jackie Page Casanova, PR 1984, is a veterinarian who owns Mobile Veterinary Care, a small-animal house-call practice.

Keith Kameg, PR 1984, became spokesperson for the Gainesville Police Department in 1999 after a long stint in investigations and administration. His wife, Sandi Huffman, PR 1985, is a veterinarian in Newberry.

Ludie Irvin Ehlers, PR 1985, is professional liaison for Hospice of North Central Florida.

Steve and Kristi Seefeldt Ganey, PR 1986, have three sons who love being Gators—and can’t wait to go to the University of Florida. Steve is territory sales manager for Brown & Williamson.

Jeffrey F. Sims, PR 1986, is president of Sims Music & Sound, specializing in retail musical instruments.

Jean Flocks Brachhold, PR 1988, works in the family business, Sound Ideas, and manages the barn for a 50-horse farm that is home to the UF equestrian team.

John B. Spence, PR 1989, has spent the past nine years as an independent management consultant, corporate trainer and professional speaker—amassing two million miles in the air. His client list includes Merrill Lynch, Pepsi, AT&T, IBM,Verizon, Frito Lay and Tropicana. Just out of college, he was director of public relations for Winthrop Rockefeller’s Billfish Foundation, rising to CEO of that organization which had operations in 26 countries. He earned plaudits as one of Inc. Magazine’s Zinc Online up-and-coming young business leaders.

Nancy Haynes Walsh, PR 1991, is senior manager of marketing communications at Regeneration Technologies, a biotechnology company that processes orthopedic implants from human tissue.

Linda Homewood, PR 1993, spent nine years in technical writing/desktop publishing, marketing and public relations at Barr Systems. She is now working to become a certified tradeshow manager.

Jeremy Conner, PR 1994, is director of marketing for 3001: The Spatial Data Co. The company has over 100 employees and specializes in geographical information systems (GIS) from five offices throughout the U.S. Jeremy is about to receive his pilot’s certificate and spends his leisure time preparing for and hosting major tailgate parties during the Gator football season.

Jennifer Hess Mueller, PR 1997, is the Web communications specialist for Info Tech Inc., a software development company.

Gayle Echlov Shlafer, PR 1997, is a technical writer/editor for Info Tech Inc. She and her husband, David, have a son, 10 mos.

Will Smallwood, PR 1997, is a sales consultant for StorterChilds Printing and president of the Ocala Advertising Federation. His wife, Caroline, is an accountant.

Nickie Mitchell, PR 1998, is marketing director with home builder Emmer Development Corp., handling public relations, advertising, Internet relations, sales, research, budget development and special events.

Nathan Trenteseaux, PR 1999, is communications director for United Way of Alachua County.

Trae Walker, PR 1999, is advertising director for the Robb Report and Robb Report Collection Magazines.

Angel K. Rodriguez, PR 2001, is legal administrator for the Steven A. Bagen & Associates law firm, with responsibility for overall management, marketing and advertising.

Valerie Wright, PR 2002, is a master’s student in international business at UF.

telecommunication

Vic Hulslander, TEL 1969, has been in private law practice since 1977, after a stint in the Public Defender’s office. He claims the distinction of trying the first televised murder trial in Florida. His wife, Ellen, teaches nursing at Santa Fe Community College. He is a licensed captain and has done a considerable amount of offshore sailing, including the Daytona/Bermuda Race. “Our goal is to have a sailboat in Europe (England or Italy) and sail it in the summer when Hogtown is sizzling,” he said.

Bob Lightner, TEL 1972, is TV studio manager and head fencing coach at Santa Fe Community College. During the summer he teaches at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Ron Thomas, TEL 1974, is coordinator of distance education for IFAS Communication Services at UF.

H. Joel Laurila, TEL 1975, is a senior garageman for Hertz Rent-a-Car at Gainesville Airport and a still photographer.

Robin I. Snyder, TEL 1978, is coordinator of communications for the School Board of Alachua County. She hosts a TV show called “School Zone,” which appears on Cox Communications.

Jonathan N. Gilbert, TEL 1981, is president of Audio Outlet Inc., Gainesville’s oldest car stereo store. The firm has a new state-of-the-art facility.

Suzanne Elizabeth Fleming Pridgen, TEL 1981, is a registered nurse at Shands at UF Hospital.

Bill Abrams, TEL 1983, is a trial court staff attorney assigned to the Appellate and Civil Divisions of the 8th Judicial Court. He is also a freelance TV camera operator on sports programs so he said he “sees shooters and defense in and on more than one court.”

Chris Bass, TEL 1987, is a field services technician with Gainesville Regional Utilities and lives in Hawthorne.

Rosanna Passaniti, TEL 1987, works in publications for the Gainesville Chamber of Commerce.

Beth Younggren Glassman, TEL 1990, is weekend anchor and education team reporter for WCJB-TV, the ABC affiliate. She wrote, “I spent my final semester at UF covering the Gainesville student murders for News5 and dating a fellow undergrad. After five years reporting and anchoring television news in Macon and Savannah (Ga.), I brought an end to the long distance dating of that same undergrad-turned-law school student and returned to Hogtown to plant roots.” Now married, they have two children—Shanna, 3, and Benjamin, 9 mos.

Myra Monroe, TEL 1990, and her husband, Rob Carr, TEL 1996, met while working for WUFT-FM. She was chief reporter, and he was assistant chief engineer. Later they both worked for WCJB-TV. Rob is now director of engineering at WUFT-TV, and says she “specializes in domestic relations” (their son is 2).

Julie Rawls Tapia-Ruano, TEL 1990, and her husband, a pharmacist, have four children—ages 10, 7, 3 and 1.

Arthur Shifrin, TEL 1991, is commercial division manager for Barrister Realty Inc., licensed real estate broker. He also fsreelances as a spotter for coverage of Gator football on the Sunshine Sports Network.

Renae Smirlis Simonds, TEL 1993, and her husband and daughter moved back to Gainesville after 18 months in Wisconsin (“We missed Gainesville so much we came back,” she wrote.) Earlier she was an account executive with Cox Communications.

Wayne Eury, TEL 1994, is in his sixth year teaching TV production, film studies and journalism at Gainesville High School. He earned his master’s in education in 1996. His students were winners in the Universal Studios High School Video Competition for three years running.

Mark Joseph Gaignard, TEL 1996, is the lead vocalist for the traveling rock band, Big Sky.

James Bates, TEL 1997, and Tina Hinton Bates, TEL 1996, are good sports. She is a pharmaceutical representative for Takeda and handles swimming color commentary for the Sunshine Network. He is host of a cable sports show, “In the House,” and an actor whose credits include “The Waterboy” and “The Animal.” They have two children.

Jennifer Ridge Elmore, TEL 1997, is a producer with Video Communications Southeast. She and her husband Tyson have a daughter, Marleigh Grace, born Aug. 5.

Angie Foister Hingson, TEL 1998, works in the UF Office of Admissions, coordinating admissions for student athletes. Her husband, Todd, also a UF grad, is an assistant state attorney.

Robert J. Rieders, TEL 1998, is the office manager for attorney Jill Carolyn White and is a master’s student in library science through FSU’s distance education program.

Joe Rojo, TEL 1998, is director of student services in the Warrington College of Business at UF.

master's

Margaret C. Eppes, MA 1951, is a realtor with Bosshardt Realty and an English and public speaking instructor at City College.

Harold B. “Hal” Henderly, JM 1937, MA 1957, retired from the U.S. Army in 1963, having earned several decorations, including the Silver Star, French Croix de Guerre, Army Commendation Ribbon and two Purple Hearts. He was a founding member of the faculty at Santa Fe Community College, from which he also retired in 1979. He and his wife, Betty, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this fall.

Donald W. Poucher, TEL 1964, MA 1965, is assistant vice president for external relations IFAS at UF. He is also public information officer for the College of Agriculture.

Charles T. Woods, ADV 1963, MA 1965, is an associate professor in IFAS at UF, where he manages the print and broadcast news program.

Frankie A. Hammond, PR 1973, MA 1976, retired from the UF public relations faculty in 2000. She and her husband, Al, live on a farm near Alachua and travel extensively.

Joyce J. Dolbier, MA 1977, is an editor and lead editor for the Journal of Applied Communications at IFAS at UF.

Ed Blue, PR 1977, MA 1981, is executive director of the Florida 4-H Foundation Inc, raising funds to promote the 4-H Youth Development program throughout Florida. The program reaches 286,000 youth.

Mary Lutgen Chance, MA 1983, is executive director of the Alachua County Public Schools Foundation Inc., which provides about $250,000 annually for students and staff development scholarships and administers Take Stock in Children incentive scholarship and mentoring program for at-risk students, school grants and financial assistance for public school-based after-school and early intervention programs.

Peggy Gruseck Prichard, JM 1982, MA 1988, is director of communications for AvMed Health Plan. She “landed her dream job” with Santa Fe HealthCare (AvMed’s forerunner) while writing her master’s thesis.

Agnes Ngoma Leslie, MA 1992, is outreach director for the Center for African Studies at UF. She develops teaching materials and promotes the teaching of Africa in schools, colleges, universities, communities and businesses in the Southeastern U.S. She is also a Ph.D. student in political science, with a dissertation on “Social Movements and Democracy in Africa: The Impact of Women’s Struggle for Equal Rights in Botswana.” She and her husband, Michael, have two sons—Daliso, 15, and Taonga, 9.

Rob Rothschild, MA 1993, is director of marketing for Sabine Inc., a leading manufacturer of professional audio equipment in Alachua. His wife is Cathy DeWitt, ADV 1978. Last year he moonlighted as a designer and producer of a 56-page book for VSA Arts of Florida called “Piece by Piece: Creating Successful Arts in Healthcare Programs.”

Shannon Sands Sanchez, PR 1986, MA 1995, is on leave as an adjunct instructor of Public Relations Writing. She and her husband, Ignacio, an information systems director for the State Attorney’s office, have six-year-old twins—Olivia and Benjamin.

Leah Schindel Lytle, PR 1993, MA 1996, earned an M.B.A. degree at UF in June and has launched a new enterprise—an art and furniture gallery, Paddiwhack, in High Springs. She is also a marketing consultant with her husband’s firm, Physician Advisory Group.

Jeffrey Stevens, MA 1998, is the Webmaster for the UF Student Financial Affairs office and a freelance graphic and Web designer with Union Design and Photo.

Susan Stidham Floyd, MA 1999, is director of information/publications service at the Bureau of Economic and Business Research at UF.

Mark Gajda, JM 1996, MA 1999, and Christine Janowsky Gajda, PR 1997, MA 1999, “met and fell in love in Weimer Hall as graduate students in 1998.” The spent two years in Orlando and then “found we missed Gainesville too much and had to return.” Mark is student ticket office supervisor for the UF Athletic Association, and Christine is director of external affairs for Planned Parenthood of North Central Florida. They wrote: “Our lives have come full circle because we started out as students in the College (Christine even wrote for the communigator) and now our work is often the topic of a Reporting class tip sheet, a public relations campaign project or the Alligator’s headlines.”

Allyson Beutke, TEL 1995, MA 2000, is editor of CLASnotes (monthly magazine) and Alumni CLASnotes (biannual alumni magazine) of the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences. She also contributed to the College’s web site. She is also engaged to a Ph.D. student in engineering.

Elizabeth DeBarba, MA 2000, is a first-year student at the Levin College of Law, where she expects to specialize in communications law.

Brian Parker, MA 2000, is a Ph.D. student and teaching assistant in advertising at UF.

Diana Karol Nagy, MA 2001, is an adjunct lecturer (and Preview faculty adviser) at the Dial Center for Written and Oral Communication at UF.

Tracy Brown, PR 1999, MA 2002, is coordinator of public relations and communications for the UF College of Nursing.

Emily S. Sperling, MA 2002, is director of student recruitment and retention for the College of Agricultural and Life Sciences at UF. She worked in public relations for the cranberry industry in Massachusetts before returning to UF in 1997.

in the college

Advertising—Dr. Debbie Treise, ADV 1974, professor; Dr. Michael F. Weigold, MA 1985, associate professor.

Journalism—Dr. Laurence B. Alexander, MA 1983, associate professor; Professor Jean Carver Chance, JM 1960, MA 1969, professor; Dr. Sandra Ferguson Chance, PR 1975, MA 1985, associate professor and director, Brechner Center for Freedom of Information.

Public Relations—Dr. Linda Childers Hon, MA 1986, associate professor and editor, Journal of Public Relations Research; Dr. Linda M. Perry, PR 1987, MA 1989, PhD 1993, assistant professor.

Telecommunication—Dr. Joseph Glover, PhD 2000, assistant professor; Dr. H. Sidney Pactor, TEL 1967, MA 1971, associate professor; Dr. Julian Williams, MA 1987, assistant professor; Dr. F. Leslie Smith, TEL 1961, professor.

Knight Center for Scholarships, Career Services and Multicultural Affairs—C.J. Harris, ADV 1978, director; Pat Dunn-White, PR 1986, assistant director.

Neuharth Library—Patrick Reakes, PR 1985, librarian.

WUFT—Sue Wagner, JM 1981, director of communications.

WRUF—Harry Guscott, TEL 1973, program director; Joe Mazzaferro, ADV 2001, promotions director; Lauren M. Dukes, PR 1996, account executive; Brian Walker, TEL 1993, account executive; Steve Feigum (Russell), TEL 1996, sports director.