alumni profiles

alumni notes

Editor’s Note: The more than 100 alumni whose names follow are persons who returned coupons from the Spring 2001 issue and others with whom faculty have had communications. Alumni are identified by major (degree) and year of graduation. Unless a major metropolitan area or otherwise noted, the cities are in Florida.

advertising

Steven DiManni, ADV 1977, has been promoted to senior vice president/creative director, from vice president/creative director at Hakuhodo Advertising in New York City. He is responsible for all of the agency’s creative in North America.

Gerald C. Loper, ADV 1977, is a southeast sales executive for COLLEGIS, a full-service technology provider to higher education based in Maitland. For the past 20 years he has worked in sales in the information technology and electronic banking industry.

Stacy Joel Safion, ADV 1977, has relocated his law practice to Laguna Niguel, Calif., where he specializes in personal injury and business litigation.

Basil “Buddy” Gray Jr., ADV 1978, is advertising and marketing director for Orthodontic Centers of America Inc., an international firm that manages orthodontic practices in 120 markets in the U.S., Japan, Mexico and Spain. His advertising budget exceeds $15 million.

Michael Cohen, ADV 1981, is senior production manager for Draft Worldwide agency in New York City, handling print production and direct mail for the Compaq account. He also plays bass and writes and produces music.

Jeff Shapiro, ADV 1981, is executive director of promotions at Sony Pictures’ home video division (Columbia Tristar Home Entertainment) in Los Angeles. He spent 11 years in marketing with The Walt Disney Co. He and his wife, Kathy, also a Gator, have two sons—Jonathan, 9, and Jacob, 3.

Karl Strauch, ADV 1983, is president of Coastal Marketing Group, specialists in marketing planning, advertising and interactive design in Savannah.

Matthew Boxer, ADV 1984, is national sales manager for WTLV-TV Univision 23 in Miami.

Olmayra Mosher-Van Putten, ADV 1984, is president of MVP(Most Valuable Print) Advertising, Inc. in Miami Lakes.

Irene Giminez Munoz, ADV 1985, is marketing director of Miami-Dade Community College, the largest multi-campus community college in the U.S., overseeing all publications and advertising for the six campuses.

Linda King Vendl, ADV 1986, is a principal in MarketInk, a marketing/advertising firm in Lakeland.

Annamarie Fortner Phalen, ADV 1987, is coordinator of continuing dental education for the University of Buffalo’s School of Dental Medicine.

Ira Heller, ADV 1988, is advertising sales account executive for Time Warner Communications in Maitland.

Rita Rush Hickey, ADV 1988, is a homemaker in Oviedo.

Noel Decker, ADV 1989, is a public relations specialist for the Covington & Burling law firm in Washington, D.C.

Lourdes Cano Fernandez, ADV 1989, is director of print production for Cooper & Hayes Advertising in Coral Gables. She works on the Carnival Cruise Line and Florida Lottery accounts as well as the Governor’s Mentoring Program.

Lori Weiss Solomon, ADV 1990, is senior pharmaceutical sales representative for GlaxoSmithKline in Boca Raton. She and Ira Solomon, owner of Teen Tours of America, were married in September 2001.

Megan Holcombe Burns, ADV 1991, is professional programs administrator for the Graduate School of Business at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va. She and her husband, Michael, vp for advertising at The Daily Press in Newport News, Va., have an 18-month-old daughter, Madeline.

Chris Diller, ADV 1991, is assistant vice president of retail marketing and online services for Startec Global Communications in Potomac, Md.

Holly Durkis, ADV 1991, is a financial services manager for The Coca-Cola Co. in Atlanta. She received her MBA in finance from Georgia State in 1995. She has a daughter, Parker, who is 2.

Christine Holaday Schriock, ADV 1991, is classified director for Colorado Mountain News Media in Glenwood Springs, Col. The firm publishes six weekly newspapers and one shopper.

Christine Scozzafava, ADV 1994, is an account supervisor with MRA (brand zealots) in Atlanta. She will be married this fall.

Nicole Contegni, ADV 1995, is media supervisor for Cooper and Hayes Advertising in Miami.

Amy Nesz, ADV 1996, is print producer at TBWA/Chiat/Day/Los Angeles.

Brad Verkaik, ADV 1997, is a partner and creative director at Green Machine, a full-service production company in Mount Dora, offering film, video, audio and post production as well as interactive design. He spent two years at MARC USA-Chicago.

Beth Butler Josephs, ADV 1998, is a graphic design specialist in graphic communications for Union Central Life Insurance Co. in Cincinnati.

Carlos E. Farha Jr., ADV 1999, is account coordinator for Carnival Cruise Line at Cooper and Hayes Advertising in Coral Gables. cfarha@cooperandhayes.com

Claire E. Turner, ADV 1999, JM 1999, is a program assistant for strategy and planning at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation in New York City. While working at the White House on Millennium Special Events, she assisted with the text for Hillary Clinton’s book, An Invitation to the White House. She wrote, “If you happen to flip through the ‘lavishly illustrated’ pages, you also will see some of the events in 1998, 1999 and 2000 that kept me off the streets, out of the bars and replacing shoes so often that the Payless clerks in DC know me by name. You also might stumble upon the recipe for the lavishly spiked eggnog that kept all of us, um, relaxed. Mellow. Sane.”

Monica Werle, ADV 1999, is an assistant media buyer for the WestWayne Inc. advertising agency in Tampa. She buys time for Publix Supermarkets, Toyota Distributors and SunTrust Banks.

Hilary Quirk Van Winkle, ADV 1999, is the recruiting manager for advertising sales account executives at Naylor Publications Inc. in Gainesville. She was married in March.

Brook Patterson, ADV 2000, is an advertising sales representative for Naylor Publications Inc. in Gainesville.

Tiffany Sammons, ADV 2000, is a benefits coordinator at Turner Broadcasting in Atlanta.

journalism

Michael J. Vann, JM 1969, is national account sales manager for Storck USA, a German confections company (Werther’s Original, Riesen Chocolates) in Atlanta.

Edward Hamilton, JM 1976, is corporate vice president for Florida and Texas operations of A. Duda & Sons Inc. He and his wife, Christine, also a UF grad, have two sons, one a junior at UF.

Carla Hotvedt, JM 1978, is president of the Silver Image Photo Agency in Gainesville.

Jay Johnson, JM 1978, is senior director for corporate communication for Quintiles Transnational Corp., an international pharmaceutical services company based in Durham, N.C. He earned a master’s degree in intercultural communication and communication technology from North Carolina State last year. He and his wife, Melissa, who is on the faculty at at NC State, have two sons—Ryan, 14 and Rhett, 9.

Mark Landreth, JM 1980, is director of legislative development for the Florida Credit Union League in Tallahassee.

Kathy Hensky Trumbull, JM 1980, is director of strategic areas & South Broward general manager for the South Florida Sun-Sentinel in Boca Raton.

Rick Crotts, JM 1981, is news art manager for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Terry Godbey, JM 1983, former chief wire editor at The Orlando Sentinel, is now a part-time copy editor so she can devote more time to parenting. She and her husband, Barry Glenn, arts and entertainment editor at the Sentinel, have a six year old son. She has published several poems in literary magazines.

Barry Finkelstein, JM 1987, has been named director of public relations for Erwin-Penland, a full-service marketing communications firm in Atlanta. He previously worked for The MRA Group, Manning Selvage & Lee and Fleishman-Hillard in Atlanta.

Sheri Durrance Olson, JM 1987, is community relations manager for South Lake Hospital in Clermont.

C. Blake Fontenay, JM 1990, is a reporter for The Commercial Appeal in Memphis and president of the Gator club there.

Lucy Chabot Reed, JM 1990, is editor of Women’s Business, a monthly magazine published in South Florida, and copy editor for the South Florida Business Journal in Fort Lauderdale. She was married to David Reed on Nov. 26, 2000.

Genene Hirschhorn, JM 1993, is the copy editor for City Link magazine, Fort Lauderdale, a weekly news, arts and entertainment publication of the Sun-Sentinel/Tribune for Palm Beach and Broward counties.

David A. Milliron, JM 1993, is senior editor for computer-assisted reporting and analysis for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

Jack Rejtman, JM 1993, is an MBA student at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. He spent several years as a reporter, working for The Miami Herald, Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times.

B.J. Agnew Terhune, JM 1993, is a new part-time copy editor with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. She and Chad, JM 1993, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal, have a daughter, Natalie, 17 months.

Scott Pignone, JM 1998, received his law degree from Loyola University in New Orleans in May 2001. He is a prosecutor with the State Attorney, Ninth Judicial Circuit, in Orlando.

Jennifer Rubenstein, JM 1998, works in public relations for World ORT in London, England.

Adrienne Scarfone Herndon, JM 2000, is a contractor service representative at Landstar Ranger in Jacksonville. She and her husband, Craig, have a son, Grayson Dean, born May 31, 2000.

public relations

Joanne Suweyn McGowan, PR 1976, is a CPA, personal financial specialist and certified financial planner in Kingwood, Texas.

Dr. Judith Lynn Kelly Johnson, PR 1979, is a licensed clinical psychologist and licensed marriage and family therapist with Eden Counseling Center in Norfolk, Va.

Mike McCarthy, PR 1979, is senior client manager for Continental Motorcars (Mercedes, Jaguar) in Melbourne.

Sheila Hendricks Buchert, PR 1980, is national director for media & corporate strategies for the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, but works from St. Petersburg. Earlier she worked for the Discovery Health Channel and the Florida Department of Citrus.

Kimberly Fox DeMeza, PR 1980, is a principal in Fox Marketing Services, a marketing and communications consulting firm in the Atlanta area.

Lydia Stenson Gibson, PR 1980, is customer relations coordinator for the U.S. Postal Service in Greenville, S.C.

Jeffrey R. Bunkin, PR 1983, is an account executive with Naylor Publications Inc. in Gainesville. He and his wife, Claire, have two daughters—Hannah, 7, and Tess, 2.

Rosanne Biafora Brandeburg, PR 1984, is executive director of institutional advancement and foundation at Lake-Sumter Community College in Leesburg.

Jo Ann McDowell Winn, PR 1985, is publications coordinator for WUFT-TV/FM.

Stella Anderson Prather, PR 1990, lives in Mabelvale, Ark.

Ann Fahey-Widman, PR 1991, is manager of media relations for Abbott Laboratories in Abbott Park, Ill.

Kimberly Gillam Odom, PR 1991, is director of sales and catering for Holiday Inn in Decatur, Ga.

Laura B. Lazarus, PR 1992, is senior promotion manager for more magazine in New York City. She was at Travel & Leisure magazine until December 2000 when she joined more.

Jami Goldfarb Shapiro, PR 1992, is sales manager for the Jacksonville office of Green Solutions, specialists in design, packaging CD/DVD replication and video/audio duplication.

Keith Bowermaster, PR 1993, is university web editor at the University of Miami. He is responsible for the integration of public relations, editorial, design and administrative concerns for principal web pages. He earned the APR accreditation last fall. He and his wife, Patti, have a son, Michael, who is 2.

Alison L. Roberts, PR 1994, was recently named an account executive at van Zandt Marketing Services Inc. in Bradenton. Earlier she was a public relations officer for South Florida Museum, Bishop Planetarium and Parker Manatee Aquarium in Bradenton.

Diana Meyer, PR 1996, is senior account manager for The Lightship Group in Orlando.

Larina K. Organ, PR 1996, is sales manager for Naylor Publications Inc. in Gainesville.

Tony Wickman, PR 1996, is a commissioned second lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force serving as deputy chief of community relations at the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base in California. Earlier he served at Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma, Osan Air Base in South Korea and Araxos Air Base in Greece. He earned a master in human relations degree at the University of Oklahoma.

Shelley Caracciolo, PR 1998, is the media and public relations coordinator for Seminole Community College in Orlando.

Shawna Seldon, PR 1998, is an account executive with The Rosen Group in New York City. She managed People magazine’s local market tour for the “100 Most Eligible Bachelors” issue and a ten-city media tour for Cooking Light’s Trends for 2000. Earlier she worked for Porter Novelli.

Sylvan McElroy, PR 1999, was recently promoted from reporter to sports editor for his hometown newspaper, The Observer, in New Smyrna Beach.

Jackie Nesler, PR 1999, is an assistant account executive with the Quixote Group in Winston-Salem, N.C.

Justin H. Gottlieb, PR 2000, is the mid-Atlantic regional sales manager for the American Bicycle Group, representing the Litespeed, Merlin, Quintana Roo and Tomac brands in Delaware.

Shannon Broderick, PR 2001, is programs coordinator for CPAmerica in Alachua.

telecommunication

Roger Girson, TEL 1962, is information systems project leader for News Channel 8, WFLA-TV in Tampa. But he is most proud of his work with Habitat for Humanity of Hillsborough County, where he is chairman of the board of directors. The group was recently host to President George W. Bush and will build its 100th home next spring.

Paul Sirmons, TEL 1976, is a producer of Florida City, a feature film starring Zen Gesner, Jeannetta Arnette and James Bates, TEL 1997. He also directed and produced the feature The First of May, starring Julie Harris, Mickey Rooney and featuring baseball legend Joe DiMaggio.

Craig Schwed, TEL 1977, will mark his 20th year in Washington, D.C. this January. He is projects editor for Gannett News Service.

Frank Volpicella, TEL 1978, is news director for KVUE-TV in Austin, Texas.

Dr. Olivia A. Jackson, TEL 1980, is chairperson of the Division of Extension & Continuing Education at Florida Memorial College and assistant professor of international studies and public administration for Florida International University in Miami.

Jon Kent Walker, TEL 1980, handles media projects, including an e-mail newsletter Pastors.com for Rick Warren Ministry Toolbox in California.

Randy Cassimus, TEL 1982, is director of operations at KWTV-TV, the CBS affiliate in Oklahoma City (by day) and leader of an up-and-coming pop/rock band, the Hi-Def Howlers (by night). The band’s website is www.howlers.homestead.com.

Karen Patelski Rose, TEL 1982, joined WXFL-TV 42 in Boynton Beach as master control operator in January 2000. She and her husband have two daughters—Jenna, 9, and Erica, 7.

Jacqueline Whitmore, TEL 1986, an etiquette expert, will appear on Travel Channel’s Secrets of Palm Beach this fall teaching newly minted millionaires the art of social graces. She promises that “For a mere $295 a day, the nouveau riche will learn the difference between crude and crudités.” Whitmore is the founder and director of The Protocol School of Palm Beach and presents seminars on business etiquette, international protocol and customer service strategies.

Paul Grove, TEL 1987, is director of national productions for WEDU-TV in Tampa.

Rossana Passaniti, TEL 1987, is communications manager for The Alliance for Economic Development in Gainesville.

Ed Scott, TEL 1987, is the first-ever ambassador for the St. Petersburg Times web site, sptimes.com. Ed teaches beginner and advanced Internet classes in a five-county area. He and his wife, Teri-Jo, live in the Tampa Bay area.

Kenn Tomasch, TEL 1987, is creative services coordinator for Americast Television Advertising in Naperville, Ill., where he has created some award-winning TV commercials. He has two children—Zachary, 8, and Samanta, 7.

Natalie Nichols Gillespie, TEL 1988, is the music editor for Christian Retailing magazine and is a regular contributor to several other magazines. She and her husband and their six children live in Clearwater.

Angelia Bingham-Love, TEL 1988, is program manager for corporate communications at Dell Computer in Round Rock, Texas.

James M. Bilbrey Jr., TEL 1992, is a videographer and Media-100 editor for NASA-TV at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Ala.

Christi Robbins Bowen, TEL 1992, is a production coordinator for Film House Inc., which has a contract with the military to produce commercials for their overseas bases. Earlier she worked on the movie Galaxy Quest. She works with her husband, a producer. They were married in May 2000 and live in Nashville.

Jennifer S. Kiesewetter, TEL 1992, is an associate attorney in a Memphis law firm specializing in employee benefits. She has two children—Megan, 5, and Brandon, 3.

Christy Stratton, TEL 1992, is a staff writer for NBC’s Three Sisters in Burbank, Calif.

Amy Fegebank, TEL 1993, is marketing manager for Principle Logic in Atlanta.

Maria Garcia-Kalb, TEL 1994, is the morning show co-host on WBLI Radio in West Babylon, N.Y. (Long Island).

Janine D’Adamo, TEL 1995, is a meteorologist with her AMS seal working for CBS in New York City as a morning weather person.

Jennifer Basa, TEL 1998, is segment producer for the nationally syndicated TV show, Extra, with Leeza Gibbons. She lives in North Bergen, N.J.

Shawn Keith Gueimunde, TEL 1998, is hardlines 2 team leader for Target in Gainesville.

Carin Campbell Smith, TEL 1999, and Bryan S. Smith, TEL 1999, live in Panama City Beach. She is weekend anchor and he is a photographer/live truck operator, both for WJHG-TV, the NBC affiliate.

Ted Lazier, TEL 2001, is a rep for Petry Television in Beverly Hills, Calif.

master’s

Ann Cravens Coleman, MA 1975, reports that she is “the Ann Landers of The Motley Fool, a dot.com that hasn’t bombed.” She writes a humorous financial advice column and lives in Reston, Va. Her column can be seen at http://www.fool.com/foolu/askfoolu/2001/askfoolu010418.htm

Dr. Augie Grant, TEL 1977, MA 1981, has returned to Columbia, S.C., where he is an independent research an entertainment consultant for companies delivering broadband data and entertainment service to the home.

Al Pefley, MA 1983, is a general assignment news reporter for WPEC-TV, the CBS affiliate in West Palm Beach. He has covered Elian Gonzalez, hurricanes and the 2000 election “butterfly ballot” stories.

Roger Addleman, MA 1986, is director of development communications at The Ohio State University and professor of public relations at Ohio Dominican College in Columbus.

Thomas Levy, JM 1984, MA 1987, is content production supervisor for Global eBusiness/ eMarketing at Franklin Templeton Investments in San Mateo, Calif.

Felicity Hill, MA 1994, is assistant editor of Shaker magazine in Shaker Heights, Ohio. She is married with two sons, ages 9 and 6.

Andy Windham, ADV 1993, MA 1995, is vice president of marketing & development for Memphis ad agency, Walker & Associates Inc.

ph.d.

Xuejun "Jim" Yu, PhD 1996, and his wife, Fei, are parents of a new son, Tyler, born Feb. 19. They have a daughter, Lani, who is 8. Jim is assistant general manager of the Splendid China theme park in Orlando.

Jim (PhD 1998) and Alison Knott Karrh, MA 1997, are the parents of a son, Miller Hamilton, born July 25. Jim is assistant professor in the College of Business Administration at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. He writes a column, “Jim Karrh on Marketing,” for Arkansas Business and is president-elect of the Central Arkansas chapter of the American Marketing Association.