The 26th annual Distinguished Alumni Awards honors 10 graduates

With the basketball court at Wolstein Center transformed into a sparkling ballroom, nearly 500 alumni and friends gathered to pay tribute to this year’s class of Distinguished Alumni who have used their education to better Northeast Ohio and the world. Congratulations, 2016 Distinguished Alumni Award recipients.

GEORGE B. DAVIS AWARD FOR SERVICE TO THE UNIVERSITY
Annette Garner Butler, JD ’70, has been Cleveland’s assistant director of law since 2014. She’s also been an Equal Opportunity Specialist for the U.S. Department of Health, Education and Welfare’s Office of Civil Rights; an associate attorney with the law firm Guren, Merritt, Sogg and Cohen; an assistant U.S. attorney for 24 years; and a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court judge. Butler was a member of the University’s Board of Trustees from 1982-1989, followed by 23 years as a member of the CSU Foundation Board of Directors. She remains active with the Foundation as an Emeritus Director.

College Awards
Monte Ahuja College of Business
David J. Fornari, BBA ’76 and MBA ’80, retired from Deloitte Consulting LLP after 31 years, including 22 years as an Energy Consulting Partner with 10 years as the Global or U.S. Energy and Resources Consulting Leader. As a Deloitte Eminence Fellow, he was a frequent speaker and author on energy and resources strategy and management.

College of Education and Human Services
Zachary G. Green, MEd ’83, is a professor of practice and leadership studies at the University of San Diego, and an executive coach with the World Bank Group. A clinical psychologist, he specializes in systems analysis and strategy, organizational transformation, leadership development, and crisis intervention.

Washkewicz College of Engineering
James D. Heckelman, BSEE ’62, is the founder of Dan-Mar Company, Inc. in Norwalk, Ohio. As president and chief executive officer for over 40 years, he led the firm in developing custom electronic products for the medical, automotive, military and mining industries. He holds nine patents.

College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences
Bonnie E. Raquet, MA ’73, served as Corporate Vice President, Corporate Affairs, at Cargill, Incorporated in Minneapolis from 2000 until her retirement in 2011. She led operations in 60-plus countries, including government relations, media, communications, brand management, marketing services and corporate responsibility. She joined Cargill in 1982.

School of Nursing
Susan L. Tullai-McGuinness, BSN ’86 and MPA ’90, retired from Case Western Reserve University in 2013 as an associate professor but continues to teach there and at Breen School of Nursing at Ursuline College. Her career includes working as a public health nurse, an administrator of the Visiting Nurse Association of Cleveland’s private duty program, and positions with University Hospitals’ Home Health Agency.

College of Sciences and Health Professions
Ann M. Frangos, MS ’77, retired from AT&T as Assistant Vice President – Credit and Collections, where she was responsible for accounts receivable management for commercial accounts worldwide. She oversaw operations in seven call centers across the United States and in international centers in the United Kingdom, Hong Kong and India.

Maxine Goodman Levin College of Urban Affairs
Grace Gallucci, MSUS ’04, has been the executive director of the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency since July 2012. Her career also includes 15 years with the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority, including five years as executive director, Office of Management and Budget.

Cleveland-Marshall College of Law
Kenneth C. Ricci, JD ’86, is a principal of Directional Aviation Capital. He was named one the most influential people in aviation by Aviation International News and in 2015, received the Aviation Week Laureate Award, recognizing his innovation in aircraft re-manufacturing.

Jack, Joseph and Morton Mandel Honors College
Krista G. Freeman, BS ’11, is studying for a Ph.D. in physics at Carnegie Mellon University. Her interdisciplinary research in physical virology has brought her to laboratories in Sweden and Switzerland and to the 2015 Lindau Nobel Laureate Meeting which brought together 70 Nobel Laureates with 672 young scientists from 88 countries.