Class Notes – Winter 2020

1960s

Paulette S. Goll, BA ’69 and MEd ‘74, was awarded a patent for Method for Facilitating Contextual Vocabulary Acquisition Through Association. SMART Vocabulary (SAT/ACT) and GRE UPGRADE Vocabulary iPad apps offer audio/visual/kinesthetic stimuli to learn and retain standardized test vocabulary using this patented method. She is the president of Global Vocabulary LLC.

1970s

Jim Teresi, BBA ’70, retired after a 50-year career — 33 years as executive director of the Central Purchasing Office, Diocese of Cleveland and 17 years in production control at Republic/LTV Steel Corp. 

Richard Koloda, BA ’73, BMus ’79, MMus ’96 and JD ’98, retired from CSU’s Michael Schwartz Library in 2011 and lives in Wayland, Ohio. He had an acting role in a music video, contributor credits in a movie for Swedish television and in several books, and wrote a biography of jazz artist Albert Ayler.

Kenneth Cooper, BA ’74, is the author of The Challenge, an autobiography that explores the differences between Jews and Christians. He lives in Westlake.

Joseph Salem, BBA ’74 and BA ’98, was named dean of University Libraries at Michigan State University. He joined MSU Libraries in August 2018 as director and librarian.

Vernon Higaki, BSEE ’76, and his wife, Gwen, are in their eighth year of operating BrightStart Learning, a nonprofit organization to help children in Cambodia receive an education. They currently serve 700 students with 26 teachers at 10 study centers. They also run a scholarship home for girls and a women’s wellness center. They live in Macedonia.

Jerry Cox, BBA ’77, is the president of Brainier Learning Management System, based in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area.

Lee Zapis, BA ’78, is the author of Change is in the Air – How WZAK Became #1 in Cleveland. The book chronicles the evolution of WZAK-FM from an ethnic radio station in the 1960s to one of the most popular urban radio stations in the 1980s. Zapis’ parents, Xen and Lula, were the original owners of WZAK.

Joseph Maslowski, BBA ’79, joined the board of directors of Biosynthetic Technologies. He is the chief operating and chief financial officer at Roetzel and Andress in Akron.

Gary A. Zwick, JD ’79, co-authored Tax and Financial Planning for the Closely Held Family Business. Originally published in 1999 and updated through 2006, the book has now been updated through 2019. The 600-page book is an all-inclusive guide for family business owners/operators and successors. Zwick is a partner at Walter Haverfield LLP.

1980s  

Robert McGee, JD ’80, won six gold medals and one silver medal at the 2019 Taekwondo World Championship. In his martial arts career, he has won a total of 273 gold, 130 silver and 88 bronze medals. 

Cindy Kustis Kintop, BS ’81, is the broker/owner of Forestwood Realty in Valley City, Ohio. The Brunswick resident recently earned designation as a certified probate real estate specialist. She also received the 2019 Distinguished Service Award from the Medina County Board of Realtors. 

Glenn Morrical, MBA ’82, was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2020. He is a corporate law lawyer with Tucker Ellis LLP. 

Linda Lehmann Masek, MA ’83, had her 14th book published. A Return to the Land of Kitty Tails, a sequel to her fifth book Kitty Tails and Horses Hooves, includes her own illustrations.

Robert Hanna, MBA ’83 and JD ’86, was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2020. He is a commercial litigation lawyer with Tucker Ellis LLP. 

Jean Jensen, BA ’83 and MEd ’92, is an artist who retired after 30 years with Clearview High School in Lorain.

Catherine Lynch, BA ’84, is retired after 30 years of teaching art in Holmes County. She continues to teach art to youngsters at the Holmes Center for the Arts. 

Carter Strang, JD ’84, is president-elect of the Cleveland Metropolitan Bar Association. The partner at Tucker Ellis LLP is a Leader-in-Residence at C|M|LAW, a 2019 inductee into the C|M|LAW Hall of Fame and new member of the Shaker Schools Foundation Board of Trustees.

Corine Corpora, BBA ’88, was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2020. She is an employee benefits lawyer with Tucker Ellis LLP. 

Larry Enterline, MBA ’88, was appointed to the board of directors of Compass Group Diversified Holdings LLC. He is the retired chief executive officer of FOX Factory Holding Corp.

Edward Debevec, MAcct ’89, was promoted to senior vice president and chief financial officer of Andover Bank. The Grand River, Ohio resident has been with the bank since 2012 and has 37 years of banking experience.

Rusty Rogers, MEd ’89, was named head women’s basketball coach at Arizona Christian University. He is a two-time NAIA National Coach of the Year and lives in Scottsdale.

1990s   

Kuno Bell, BBA ’90, was named managing partner of Pease & Associates, CPAs. He began working for the company as an intern while attending CSU.

Tim Zimmer, BEd ’90, received the Sister Rita Mackert Teacher of the Year award from the Strongsville Council of the Knights of Columbus. He has taught multiple grades at the elementary level during his 18 years with the Strongsville schools.

Peter Nelson, BA ’91, was named Business Person of the Year by the Lakewood Chamber of Commerce. The lifelong Lakewood resident is vice president of retail banking at Dollar Bank.

Patty Starr, BBA ’91, was promoted to president and chief executive officer of Health Action Council. She joined the nonprofit in 2013 as executive director. The Lyndhurst resident was named a Notable Woman in Healthcare by Crain’s Cleveland Business in 2018. 

Endre Szentkiralyi, BA ’91, has taught English and German at Nordonia High School for 21 years. His third book, Being Hungarian in Cleveland: Maintaining Language, Culture and Identity, was recently published. He lives in Bedford. 

Deborah Enty, BBA ’91 and MBA ’01, was named chief financial officer of United Way of Greater Cleveland. She most recently was CFO, controller and chief operating officer administrator at Eliza Bryant Village.

Teresa Metcalf Beasley, JD ’92, was named Alumna of the Year by the Cleveland-Marshall College of Law Alumni Association. She is a member and chair of the Public Law Practice Group at McDonald Hopkins LLC and law director for the city of Warrensville Heights. In 2018, she was inducted into the C|M|LAW Hall of Fame and was recognized among Savoy magazine’s Most Influential Black Leaders. 

Attorney Brian Macala, JD ’92, was inducted into the Campbell Memorial High School Alumni Association. He graduated from the Campbell, Ohio school in 1985 and is a lifelong resident of that city.

Diane Tanner Fox, BBA ’93 and MPA ’95, was named senior vice president of CMHWarnick, a hotel asset manager and business advisor to the hospitality investment community. 

Terry Allcorn, MA ’94, was named president of Kentucky Christian University. He graduated from KCU in 1985 with a bachelor’s degree in Christian ministry.

Michael Cotton, MBA ’94, was named to the newly formed advisory board for Discovery Health Partners. He is the chief executive officer of Providence Health Plan. 

Barbara Greenburg, JD ’94, is a magistrate for Bedford Municipal Court’s Small Claims Division and Cuyahoga County Juvenile Court. 

Clara Jean Mosley Hallhas, Ph.D. ’94, is an associate professor in the Department of American Sign Language/Deaf Interpretive Services at Cuyahoga Community College. She wrote the recently published Paris in America: A Deaf Nanticoke Shoemaker and His Daughter.

Kelly Washington, MEd ’94 and Ph.D. ’03, is director of state and federal programs for the Ashtabula Area City Schools.

James Gartner, MB ’96, is executive vice president of clinical strategy at AssureCare, a provider of healthcare management software and solutions.

Toi Comer, BA ’96 and MPA ’99, was named to Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 2019 Women of Note list. She is the vice president and executive director of City Year Cleveland.

Andres Gonzalez, BS ’96 and MEd ’04, was elected a trustee of Milwaukee Repertory Theater. He is vice president and chief diversity officer at Froedtert & The Medical College of Wisconsin.

Richard Gerhardt II, JD ’97, was named to the Circleville High School Hall of Fame. The Upper Arlington, Ohio resident graduated from the school in 1989 and is an attorney, entrepreneur and businessman.

Aaron O’Brien, JD ’97, was reappointed to Florida’s Judicial Nominating Commissions, the panels that recommend lawyers for judgeships. The Fort Myers resident is principal of the O’Brien Law Firm. 

Shannon Ketvertes, BA ’98, was named director of communications for Lorain-Medina Rural Electric and North Central Electric.

Gretchen Schuler, MA ’98, is vice president for insurance risk management at Invacare. She lives in North Olmsted.

Christopher Viland, BA ’99 and JD ’04, stepped down as chief of police in Solon to become the city of Cleveland’s first police inspector general.

2000s 

Carrie Walsh-Hilf, BA ’00 and MEd ’18, lives and works as a middle school teacher in Euclid. She is the artistic director of UpStage Players, a children’s theater company celebrating its 25th year.

Lauren Steiner, JD ’01, was named to Crain’s Cleveland Business’ Notable Women in Entrepreneurship list. She is the president of Grants Plus.

Dora Bechtel, BEd ’01 and MEd ’03, was named principal of the Olmsted Falls Early Childhood Center. The Berea resident most recently was principal of James A. Garfield School in Cleveland.

Janis Bowdler, MSUS ’02, was named president of the JPMorgan Chase Foundation. 

Andrew Pegman, MA ’02, won a second place award in the fishing category in the Outdoor Writers Association of America annual Excellence in Craft contest. He took home the prize for “A Tale of Two Trips,” published in American Angler. The Chagrin Falls resident is an associate professor of English at Cuyahoga Community College.

David Phillips, MBA/JD ’02, was promoted to senior vice president and general counsel at Goodyear Tire & Rubber Company in Akron. He was associate general counsel for Americas for the past three years.

S. Sethu Reddy, MBA ’02, was elected treasurer of the American Association of Endocrinologists after serving as secretary for one year. Dr. Reddy is the chair of Medical Disciplines in the College of Medicine at Central Michigan University.

Tracy Wheeler, MEd ’02, was named superintendent of Berea City Schools. The Brunswick resident most recently was assistant superintendent of Brunswick schools.

Maria Scalish, BA ’02, and Frank Scalish, BBA ’04, are the owners of Lakewood-based Scalish Construction, which specializes in preservation and restoration projects. She is chief executive officer; he is president.

Vanessa Tey Iosue, MBA ’03, is the 2019 campaign chair for United Way of Lake County. She is president of Burges & Burges Strategists.

Ann Weinzimmer, JD ’03, was named vice president, general counsel and secretary for Jo-Ann Stores. Most recently, she was vice president and general counsel at More Than Gourmet.

Christina Bauer, MEd ’03 and EdSp ’08, was named coordinator of technology for Cleveland Heights-University Heights schools. She has worked for the district for two decades.

John Ehrbar, MEd ’04, was named president and chief executive officer of the YMCA of Buffalo-Niagara after serving as CEO of the YMCA of the Inland Northwest in Spokane. He began his YMCA career more than 20 years ago in Lake County. 

Anthony Coleman, BA ’04 and MEd ’12, is a franchise owner of CarePatrol, a senior care placement organization. The North Ridgeville resident was a Viking wrestler as a student.

Laura Balliett, BEd ’05, spent the summer studying Borneo’s primate denizens, including the orangutan, as a graduate student in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions program. The STEM teacher at Harding Middle School lives in Lakewood.

Travis Jeric, JD ’05, was named director of Cincinnati Bell Connector after serving as interim director of streetcar services.

Renee Semik, MEd ’05, is the new superintendent of Forestville Union Schools in California. 

Ted Bartlett, BBA ’05, BBA ’08 and MBA ’12, was appointed corporate controller for Trax Technologies, Inc. of Scottsdale, AZ. He lives in Phoenix. At CSU, he was president of Tau Kappa Epsilon fraternity.

T.J. Ebert, MEd ’06, was named principal of Independence Primary School in that city after serving as principal of Redwood Elementary School in Avon Lake for eight years. In 2018 he was named National Distinguished Principal by the National Association of Elementary School Principals.

Omega Tandy, BA ’06, was named head women’s basketball coach at Garden City Community College in Kansas.

Ryan Aroney, BA ’07, moved from marketing and engagement director to president and chief executive officer of United Way of Greater Lorain County. He lives in Lakewood.

Sam El-Dalati, MBA ’07, joined Beacon Health System in South Bend as chief clinical officer. The board-certified cardiothoracic surgeon previously served as chief clinical officer and chief network integration officer for Cincinnati-based Bon Secours Mercy Health’s Lorain, Ohio region.

Phil Trem, JD ’07, was named president of financial advisory with MarshBerry. He has been with the firm for a decade.

Erin Eurenius, BBA ’08 and JD/MBA ’13, is part of the Cleveland Leadership Center’s Bridge Builders program for 2019 and recently received a Mover and Shaker award from the Cleveland Professional 20/30 Club. Her Middleburg Heights law office specializes in elder law, estate planning, and special needs planning. 

Alexander Pesch, MSME ’08 and DrME ’14, was recognized as Teacher of the Year at Hofstra University in New York. He teaches mechanical engineering.

Mike Brickner, MS ’09, is the Ohio state director for All Voting is Local. For the past 14 years, he was senior policy director at the American Civil Liberties Union of Ohio.

Harry D. Cornett, Jr., BA ’09, was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2020. He is a criminal defense lawyer with Tucker Ellis LLP. 

Mamta Roy, MA ’09 and Ph.D. ’15, joined the College of Education of Guru Kashi University in India as dean. 

2010s 

Stefanie Baker Wehagen, JD ’10, was appointed national ombudsman and assistant administrator for regulatory enforcement fairness by the U.S. Small Business Administration.

Benjamin Szweda, BA ’12, opened Szweda Consulting, LLC, a bookkeeping and accounting firm in Cleveland. 

Keith Ari Benjamin, MA ’13, received the Stonewall Democrats Freedom Award for his work advocating equal rights for members of the LGBTQ community. He is the community services director in South Euclid.

Laura Englehart, JD/MPA ’13, was named economic development director of Shaker Heights. She had been a partner at Kohrman Jackson & Krantz LLP.

Kristen Mott, BA ’13, was named communications and marketing coordinator at Villa Angela/St. Joseph High School in Cleveland.

Scott Ruebensaal, BA ’13 and JD ’16, was named to Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 20 in Their 20s list. He is a real estate associate at Jones Day. 

Brad Stuver, BS ’14, is a goalkeeper with the New York City FC, a professional soccer team.

Ian Ward, BA ’14 and MA ’15, joined Continental Products as purchasing and materials manager.

Nora Conway, BSW ’14 and MSW ’16, received the 25 Under 35 Award from Saint Joseph Academy. She graduated from the high school in 2009 and is a licensed social worker for Providence House.

Katelyn Evans, JD ’15, was named to Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 20 in Their 20s list. She is an associate attorney at Taft Stettinius & Hollister LLP.

Alyssa Phillips, MA ’15, is a speech-language pathologist for the Cleveland Metropolitan Schools.

Joseph Wiencek, Ph.D. ’15, was named to the American Society for Clinical Pathology’s 40 Under Forty list. He is an assistant professor of pathology at the University of Virginia Medical School and received his Ph.D. in bioanalytical-clinical chemistry.

Caroline Beatty, BS ’16, spent the summer in Thailand, studying emerging models in conservation and education as well as spiritual connections to nature, as a graduate student in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions program. She lives in Lakewood.

Sandy Parker, MSN ’16, was selected as director of the Rape Crisis Center of Medina and Summit Counties. She has been a police officer, sexual assault nurse examiner and court investigator.

David Percy, MAcct ’16, was named to Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 20 in Their 20s list. He is a relationship manager, commercial banking, for Chemical Bank. 

Dakota Berg, BEd ’16 and MEd ’18, joined the Ashtabula City Schools as assistant principal of Lakeside High School.

Morgan Ashcraft, BS ’17, is a student at the University of Georgia, pursuing a Ph.D. in pharmaceutical and biomedical sciences in the College of Pharmacy. She recently was awarded a National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship.

Carlina DiRusso, MAcct ’17, is a doctoral student at Penn State’s Donald P. Bellisario College of Communications. This summer, she interned in New York City with public relations firm Ketchum.

William Donohue III, MAcct ’17, won the prestigious Elijah Watts Sells Award from the American Institute of CPAs for his performance on the CPA exam. He is employed by KeyBank.

Kirby Suntala, BAUS ’17, BA ’17 and MPA ’19, joined the Cleveland Foundation as program assistant for youth, health and human services. 

Dorcia Bolton, DBA ’18, is an assistant professor of marketing at Auburn University’s Montgomery campus.

Deshawn Garner, BA ’18, is a dancer on the Cleveland Cavaliers Scream Team.

Marsalis Hammons, BBA ’18, is a Cleveland Foundation Public Service Fellow, working with the Cleveland Metropolitan Schools on talent recruitment. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Leaders of Today, a nonprofit he established as a CSU student.

Diane Quimper, BS ’18, spent the summer studying Borneo’s primate denizens, including the orangutan, as a graduate student in Miami University’s Earth Expeditions program. She lives in Lakewood.

Alana Hodges, BS ’19, of Loma Rica, CA., was accepted into the Peace Corps and is  serving as an English literacy educator in Samoa.

MacJilton Lewis, BSUS ’19, is a social media assistant for Duke University athletics in North Carolina.

Corey Rybka, BA ’19, is a human relations coordinator with Destination Cleveland

In Memoriam ALUMNI

1940s • Melvin Eisel, BS ’37, in August 2019 • 1950s • Adrian Keefe, BSME ’51, in July 2019 • William Hilgendorff Jr., BBA ’53, in August 2019 • Joseph Paryzek, BSCE ’53, in July 2019 • Richard Anderson, BS ’54, in July 2019 • Stanley Emerling, JD ’55, in June 2019 • Donald Bruening, BSME ’56, in April 2019 • John Kolenich, BBA ’56, in April 2019 • Glenn Altschuld, BA ’57, in September 2019 • 1960s • Joanne Granger, BA ’60, in July 2019 • Donald Yontz, BBA ’60, in May 2019 • Francis Ebenger, JD ’61, in April 2019 • Richard Skillen Jr., JD ’61, in August 2019 • Paul Tepley, BA ’62, in July 2019 • Adelbert Seiple, JD ’63, in August 2019 • Adelbert Tepley, JD ’64, in August 2019 • John Schuller, BBA ’65, in July 2019 • Kenneth Rothgery, BA ’65 and JD ’69, in March 2018 • Robert Obrin, BS ‘66, in May 2019 • Leo Zaslov, BBA ’66, in August 2018 • Ronald Anuskiewicz, BS ’69, in November 2018 • William Gargiulo, JD ’69, in September 2019 • David Grzybowski, BBA ’69, in August 2019 • Joseph Ross, BBA ’69, in April 2019 • 1970s • Harry Burrington, BS ’70, in July 2019 • Mary Siovits Chaitoff, MA ’70, in June 2019 • John Palker, BA ’71, in July 2019 • Walter Hartory, BBA ’72, in May 2019 • Edward Milota, BBA ’72, in September 2019 • Lawrence Smith III, JD ’72, in June 2019 • William Zacharias, MS ’72, in August 2019 • Mary Hammond, MEd ’73, in May 2019 • John Hanratty, BA ’74, in May 2019 • Mary Lang, JD ’74, in May 2019 • Ronald Reuss, BA ’74, in June 2019 • John Tomazic, MS ’74, in April 2019 • George Coghill, JD ’75, in March 2019 • James Murfey, MBA ’75, in July 2019 • Jay Weisbarth, BBA ’75, in May 2019 • George Jackson Sr., MS ’75, Ph.D. ’79 and MBA ’81, in May 2019 • Donna Lee Pratt, BAUS ’76, in April 2019 • Max Hess, BBA ’77, in September 2018 • William Nelsch, JD ’77, in May 2019 • Melody Wilk, BS ’77, in March 2019 • Joan Donaldson, MA ’78, in May 2019 • Tim Hugh Jenkins, MA ’78, in September 2019 • William Smith, BS ’78, in March 2019 • Richard Walters, BSCE ’78, in April 2019 • Martha Merrick Shaw, BA ’79, in August 2018 • Richard Stuewe, MEd ’79, in April 2019 • 1980s • Steven Koblentz, JD ’80, in August 2019 • Bernard Gates, BA ’81, in February 2019 • Donald Pavlovich, BS ’81, in February 2019 • Christine Krawczyk Embry, BEd ’82, in June 2019 • Aileen Blair, MEd ’83, in June 2019 • Joan Kingerley Eklund, BA ’83, in September 2019 • Brian Fiorucci, BBA ’83, in August 2018 • Donald Svoboda, BS ’83, in July 2019 • Marilyn Brown, BS ’84 and MSCE ’91, in July 2019 • Isabelle Reymann-Glaser, MSUS ’85, in June 2019 • Dorothy Scott, BAUS ’85, in July 2018 • James Wood, BBA ’85, in August 2019 • Gary Grano, BS ’86, in September 2018 • Diane Mills, BA ’86, in November 2018 • Douglas Delong, BEd ’87, in May 2019 • Joanne Leisinger, BBA ‘87, in May 2018 • Cynthia Mills, MEd ’87, in June 2019 • Thomas Kirsch, BBA ’88 and MBA ’92, in May 2019 • Mark Adams, JD ’89, in August 2019 • Kristin Ann Frew, BA ’89, in May 2019 • Dale Kahn, MBA ’89, in November 2018 • Charles Miller, BS ’89, in September 2018 • Cheryl Mandak Stipt, BBA ’89, in January 2019 • 1990s • Victor Asante, BBA ’90, in July 2018 • Wayne Lobue, MEd ’90, in August 2018 • Bradley Schreiber, BA ’90, in June 2019 • Carl Effinger, BBA ’91, in August 2019 • Loretta Fogle, BA ’91, in February 2018 • Pankaj Thakkar, BSECE ’91, in July 2019 • Anne Deissler Rising, BMus ’92, in July 2019 • Robert Storey, JD ’92, in July 2019 • Hong Xiao Yao, MS ’93 and MBA ’96, in June 2018 • Kellie Hill, BSW ’94, in September 2018 • Michele Mager, BBA ’94, in August 2019 • Melissa Ann Rychlik, BBA ’98, in July 2018 • Judith Joseph, BEd ’98 and MEd ’01, in January 2018 • Janice Ann Gerber, BEd ’99, in April 2019 • Ah Yin (Joni) Wong, BBA ’99 and MAcct ’01, in May 2019 • 2000s • Julie Ann Rand, BSN ’01, in April 2019 • Ruby Stallworth, BSW ’02, in October 2018 • Eric Dittmar, BSME ’03, in August 2019 • Misty Redding, BEd ’03 and MPA ’12, in April  2018 • James Lucas, JD ’04, in May 2019 • Drucilla Walker, BBA ’05, in April 2019 • Nathan Jozwiak, BA ’11, in September 2019 • Nancy Ann Johnson Moczulski, BA ’18, in October 2018