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’67

ROBERT O’CONNOR published his 23rd book, a historical novel titled The Trial of Jefferson Davis in April. O’Connor, a nationally known Civil War author, has been named a finalist for National Book Awards four times. The Dixon, Illinois, native now lives in Charles Town, West Virginia.

’68

REV. GLORIA HOPEWELL retired in November 2021 after serving nearly 10 years as rector of Grace Episcopal Church in Galena, Illinois. After many years in the medical laboratory field, she received an M.Div. from Chicago Theological Seminary and then a D.Min. from Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary. She was ordained in the United Church of Christ in 1997 and served three churches in the Chicago Metropolitan area.

’75

DON DOXSIE was inducted into the Quad Cities Hall of Fame in May 2022.

’77

CHRIS PERKOVICH, M.S.Ed. ’96, created “Chris Perkovich: The First Seventy Years,” an art exhibit at the DeKalb Area Women’s Center, which opened in May.

’78

CARY GROTH, M.S.Ed. ’99, was inducted into the Mid-American Conference Hall of Fame as part of its 2022 class in March.

DANIEL HOEFLER, M.S.Ed., E.S. ’87, was selected as the Batavia Citizen of the Year in Batavia, Illinois, in January 2022.

DEHAVEN WOODCOCK, M.B.A. ’80, retired from McArthur Senior High School in August 2021. He has since accepted a special education/math teaching position at Huntsville Intermediate School in Huntsville, Texas. He also ran in the 50th Chevron/ Houston Marathon in January 2022, which was his 15th marathon.

’79

GINA BERNDT was named chief marketing officer for Perkins&Will in Chicago in December 2021.

’80

MARGARET KRISTAN was elected chair of the Wisconsin Governor’s Committee for People with Disabilities (GCPD) in February 2022.

KENT OOTS, M.A., Ph.D. ’84, retired as director of exam development at CFA Institute in May 2022.

’81

PETER DONNELLAN was appointed to the role of executive director, after sales, in the Customer Satisfaction and Training division at Genesis Motor America in March 2022.

’82

STEPHAN ACHS was appointed to the role of chief executive officer for Super Steel LLC in February 2022.

DEBBIE GRYMKOSKI retired from Pueblo Community College, where she taught biology and microbiology and served as the science lab coordinator, before moving to Molokai, Hawaii, where she continues to tutor students.

WILLIAM F. TATE IV, president of Louisiana State University, was among the world’s most accomplished scholars, scientists, writers, artists, civic, business and philanthropic leaders elected to the American Academy of Arts & Sciences in May 2022.

’83

DEBORAH COLLURA began a new role as vice president and general manager of CBS News and Stations’ local businesses in Sacramento in January 2022.

’84

BILL ABOLT was appointed to lead the U.S. energy practice at AECOM, the world’s trusted infrastructure consulting firm in February 2022.

’85

TOM DOHERTY was appointed as VP of lending services and products for Pitney Bowes in October 2021.

JEFF WHETZEL joined Ascendant National Title as chief financial officer in May 2022. In this new role, Whetzel will be responsible for supporting the company’s continued growth and performance objectives.

’86

BARRY BURMEISTER retired from his position as McHenry West High School athletic director in McHenry, Illinois, in May 2022.

CRAIG HANSON was appointed as the new chief of the Batavia Fire Department in May 2022.

TERRENCE “TERRY” HORAN was named president and CEO of Virginia Beach-based Stihl Inc., the largest subsidiary of Stihl Group that supplies the majority of its products for the U.S. market.

DR. MICHAEL ROBEY was selected as the next superintendent of The West Bonner County School District in Idaho in March 2022.

DAVID STRAHL, M.P.A., was named the new deputy county manager for the Jefferson County Commission in Jefferson County, Alabama, in May 2022.

’87

MARK MIDDENDORF was appointed to president of Ave Maria University in January 2022.

’88

DILIP DAS, M.S.Ed., was selected as the University of Toledo’s vice president for diversity, equity and inclusion in March 2022.

JIM WOZNIAK, serves as director of communications and marketing at Tusculum University in Greeneville, Tennessee. He has been married since 1993 to Emily, and they have a son, David.

’91

Edgar County State’s Attorney MARK ISAF, J.D., was appointed as a resident circuit judge for that county in the Fifth Judicial Circuit in April 2022.

’92

DANA LAWNZAK has assumed the position of director of food chain outreach and international development at the American Egg Board.

JIM PADILLA was named a founding dean to shape the new School of Business and Economics at Carthage College in April 2022.

JEANNE RICHEAL, M.S. ’94, was appointed as a member of the Illinois Forensic Science Commission in March 2022.

’94

ANDY BINDER joined Healthwise, a leader in evidence-based health education, technology, and services, as the company’s chief operating officer in February 2022.

CARMEN WASSERMAN, J.D., was appointed to chief legal officer at Le-Vel, a leading innovator in nutrition and skincare, in April 2022.

’95

TRACY L. WILLIAMS was appointed as president of the YWCA Southeast Wisconsin in March 2022.

’96

BILL HANNAH, M.P.A., was named the director of finance for the City of St. Charles, Illinois.

AMAAL TOKARS, M.S., Ed.D. ’04, was named interim director of the Illinois Department of Public Health in March 2022. She has previously worked as the agency’s assistant director.

’97

BONNIEJEAN ALFORD, M.A. ’09, was named 2022 National Council of Higher Education/National Education Association Higher Education of the Year. She also launched a publishing company, Parking Lot Press, with the inaugural author’s book, which is about growing up with Williams Syndrome, scheduled to launch in November 2022.

JULIA JASKEN, M.A., was inaugurated as president of McDaniel College in Westminster, Maryland, in April 2022.

’98

MELANIE WELCH, M.S., was named the director of the American Library Association’s Public Programs Office in October 2021.

’99

College of DuPage President BRIAN CAPUTO, M.P.A. Ph.D. ’15, was named president-elect of the Three Fires Council and Representative to the National Council of the Boy Scouts of America in May 2022.

LARRY VAUPEL, M.P.A., Ph.D. ’15, was appointed to the role of economic development director for Vista, Florida, in April 2022.

’00

LUCRETZIA JAMISON was named executive director of the Youth Job Center, a leading youth workforce agency in Evanston, Illinois, in May 2022.

JIMSI KUBORN was named economic development director for the city of Janesville, Wisconsin, in April 2022.

’01

JOHN REINICHE, M.S.Ed., was approved as the assistant superintendent for administrative services at the Valley View School District in February 2022.

ABBEY ZINK, Ph.D., became provost of Slippery Rock University in March 2022.

’02

MELANIE D. HETZELRIGGIN, M.A., Ph.D. ’05, was appointed director of the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Penn State Behrend, where she has taught since 2013, in May 2022.

JODI MEGERLE, M.S.Ed., Ed.D. ’20, was chosen as the district superintendent of The River Trails Elementary District 26 in Mount Prospect, Illinois, in May 2022.

’03

GAY MAGNUS was named the director of the Alpha School of Music in Kingston, Jamaica.

JENNIFER RICHARDS, C.P.A., was promoted to partner in audit services at Crowe LLP, a public accounting, consulting, and technology firm, in July 2021. She has been with the firm for over 17 years.

’04

NOELLE FAHEY, M.S.Ed. ’10, was promoted to principal of Prairie Point Elementary School in Oswego, Illinois, in May 2022.

’05

CORY BURKE, M.S.Ed. ’10, was named as the new Hinsdale Middle School principal in Hinsdale, Illinois.

KATHERINE A. OKESSON was hired as the new director of Suzuki strings and orchestral studies for the Sedona Charter School, in Sedona, Arizona.

AL STRONG, M.M., band instructor at the Sallie B. Howard School of Arts and Science, was nominated twice in the best children’s music album category at the Grammy’s.

’06

CHRISTINA BETZ, M.PA., was promoted to Woodstock’s public works director in May 2022. Betz will also oversee additional departments and strategies within the city, including as executive director of operations.

’07

Illinois Army National Guard soldier JERAMY MILES, M.S.Ed., was promoted to lieutenant colonel in a ceremony in February 2022 in Fort Hood, Texas.

KIMBERLY RADOSTITS of Oregon High School in Oregon Community Unit School District 220 was named the 2022 Illinois Teacher of the Year by The Illinois State Board of Education in March.

’08

ALLISON ANDERSON was appointed as the new director for Will County’s Emergency Management Agency in March 2022.

ALAN CESAR has returned to the Midwest, after 11 years in Daytona Beach, Florida, to continue to pursue his love of aerospace and skill in science storytelling. He moved to Lafayette, Indiana, in May 2022, where he now works for Purdue University’s School of Aeronautics and Astronautics as its senior marketing and communications specialist.

ZACH JECKLIN was promoted to serve as chief information officer at Echo Global Logistics, Inc., a leading provider of technology-enabled transportation and supply chain management services.

STEPHANIE RAYMONDYOUNG was named a starting quarterback for the Chicago Blitz in April 2022.

’09

CHRIS WADELIN was appointed to the role of managing director of Equity Markets for ARCTRUST Properties, Inc. in March 2022.

’10

STEPHANIE GORECKI, M.B.A., was named to Crain’s Chicago Business “40 Under 40” list for her work as vice president of product development at Cresco Labs.

REBECCA PERRY received the Golden Apple Teaching Award for teaching 8thgrade science at Belvidere South Middle School in Belvidere, Illinois.

‘11

JAMES HORNE, M.S.Ed., was appointed as the new principal of Kaneland High School in Maple Park, Illinois, in March 2022.

’12

JOSHUA BARRON, Ed.D., was promoted to assistant superintendent for School District 218 in Illinois in January 2022.

KEVIN LEIGHTER, M.P.A. ’14, was hired to serve The Village of Oswego, Illinois, as its new economic development director in April 2022.

’13

ASHLEY VANSICKLE, M.S.Ed., was awarded the Golden Apple Award for teaching seventh and eighth-grade social studies at Harlem Middle School in Loves Park, Illinois.

’14

TOI HUTCHINSON, J.D., began her new role as president and CEO of the Marijuana Policy Project in February 2022.

’15

AMANDA J. BARON, J.D., was promoted to partner with the Sterling and Dixon, Illinois, law firm of Ward, Murray, Pace & Johnson, P.C.

ETHAN FRANKLIN took over the boys’ basketball program at Sycamore High School in April 2022.

’17

EVAN WEGEHAUPT joined Engineering Enterprises, Inc., as a project engineer in the Municipal and Construction Group in April 2022.

’18

MINDY BRADFORD was appointed the chief school business officer for the Libertyville School District 70 in March 2022.

AILYSH COOPER won the Meritorious Service Award for Early Career Educator from the Illinois State Board of Education in March 2022.

JEREMY GRESHAM, M.B.A., joined Levenfeld Pearlstein, LLC (LP) as its chief executive officer in February 2022.

NICOLAS LIRA LISLE joined the law firm of Flaherty & Hood, P.A. as an associate attorney in February 2022. He will focus his practice on representing and consulting public employers throughout Minnesota on labor and employment matters, including data practices and open meeting law issues.

’20

MICHAEL WOJTOWICZ, Ed.D., was appointed as the new superintendent for the 2022-23 school year at Lake Park High School, District 108, in Lake Park, Illinois.

’22

JEANINE MCMILLEN, Ed.D., was appointed to the role of assistant dean for business, technology and workforce education at Waubonsee Community College.