Class Notes


Profiles

Alan Bell	Cohen and Nolfi	Rita Bornstein

Jane Daly	Alan Knitowski	Printing Press

Class Notes

1950s	1960s	1970s

1980s	1990s	2000s

1950s
Frederick J. Beyerle, B.S. ’50, is retired from his career as a supervisory chemist for NASA. His work there contributed to the development of Teflon. He served aboard the battleship USS Nevada as an aviation radioman during World War II. He lives in Port Charlotte, Florida, where he has been active in many volunteer organizations, including Meals on Wheels and Habitat for Humanity. He also was a volunteer teacher, giving talks about the space program to five different elementary schools in Port Charlotte and Punta Gorda.

George E. Balbi, A.B. ’51, was honored by the AARP New York State Office as an AARP Rx Watchdog volunteer at its annual Volunteer Recognition Awards ceremony and luncheon. As a lead Watchdog volunteer for Queens, New York, Balbi coordinated a team of volunteers to report on retail drug prices at nearly 20 pharmacies a month.

Ray Fisher, A.B. ’53, was installed in the Hall of Fame by Miami Beach Senior High School. He also recently donated 11 of his black-and-white portraits of famous people, including Eleanor Roosevelt, Muhammad Ali, Luciano Pavarotti, John F. Kennedy, and George Batchelor, to the University of Miami Department of Urology.

Helen Valentine, B.S.N. ’54, was the first pediatric nursing faculty member at the University of Miami. She received her M.S.N. from the Medical College of Georgia in 1974 and became board certified by the ANCC in adult psychiatric and mental health nursing. She recently retired as an A.P.N. in a practice with six internists, where she assessed and treated patients with mental health problems. Her career covered teaching, clinical, and administrative positions.

Robert Milie, B.Ed. ’55, an M Club member, coached football at Carnegie Tech for ten seasons after graduating from the University of Miami. He then worked for the Pittsburgh Steelers as a trainer for 15 seasons, including the wins at Super Bowls IX, X, XIII, and XIV. He is now retired and is serving as secretary for the retired players in the Pittsburgh Chapter of the National Football League. Walt Kichefski was the best man at his wedding 48 years ago.

Kenneth Leichman, B.B.A. ’59, has been recognized by the Consumers’ Research Council in its Guide to America’s Best Financial Planners. Leichman has more than 30 years of experience in the brokerage and financial planning industry and ten years’ experience as a corporate accountant. He is presently senior vice president of investments for Janney Montgomery Scott, a full-service investment firm headquartered in Philadelphia.

1960s
Frank Baumeister, M.D. ’61, a physician specializing in gastroenterology, has been appointed to the Citizens’ Health Care Working Group, which holds hearings and health care community meetings throughout the United States to answer questions about what the American public wants from the health care system. The group submits its findings to the U.S. Congress and president. Baumeister is in private practice with the Northwest Gastroenterology Clinic in Portland, Oregon, and is a clinical professor at Oregon Health Sciences University.

Daniel T. Scheuerer, A.B. ’64, retired as deputy superintendent of Brevard County Schools in Florida and returned to the classroom, teaching history at Bayside High School in Palm Bay, Florida. He was selected by Daughters of American Revolution as the Florida 2005 American History Teacher of the Year.

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For Alan Bell, Toxins Take a Toll

erfume, deodorant, polyester, and plastic—all items of comfort in our synthetic world—can be far from benign. “Genetics are the gun, the environment is the trigger,” explains Alan Bell, B.B.A ’76, J.D. ’79, whose exposure to toxic chemicals in the building materials of his Broward law office triggered seizures, blurry vision, severe pain, dramatic weight loss, and disorientation. Tests showed liver, immune, and brain abnormalities, but doctors didn’t know why.

From 1991 to 1997 Bell lived in a virtual bubble, a house in the Arizona desert that was free of any material besides glass, metal, and brick. Hooked up to an oxygen tank and sitting in a wheelchair, Bell arranged an Environmental Health Summit at Biosphere 2. Twenty-six top scientists, including UM chronic fatigue syndrome expert Nancy Klimas, M.D., attended the 1995 event, which was sponsored by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, the U.S. Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry, and the University of Arizona Health Sciences Center. It was a pinnacle event for the Environmental Health Foundation, a nonprofit organization Bell cofounded with his brother.

Antiseizure medication, limited exposure to synthetic materials, and a strict regimen of organic diet and exercise have enabled Bell to move out of the bubble and into a more comfortable California home with his wife and daughter.

“I asked the scientists how we could make the biggest impact, and they said, ‘Most human disease is environmentally triggered and preventable through public awareness,’” says Bell, who is working with a Harvard neurotoxicologist on a book about his life. He says that Hollywood also has interest in his story.

Now back at work as an attorney specializing in toxic tort litigation, Bell takes on tough mold cases passed to him by Masry and Vititoe, the firm that employs Erin Brokovich.

“It’s hard to turn your back on them when you look in their eyes and see yourself.”

— Meredith Danton

1970s
James G. Alexander, B.B.A. ’70, was hired as the chief financial officer for Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers, a nonprofit organization in Durham, North Carolina.

Patrick Halloran, M.S.Ed. ’70, is president of The Orpheum Theatre. This year he celebrated his 25th year with the Memphis Development Foundation, a nonprofit organization that restored and now operates the theatre. He also was selected to receive his second Tony Award as a producer for Spamalot, which was voted Best Musical in 2005. Halloran received his first Tony in 2002 as part of the production team for Thoroughly Modern Millie.

Paul F. Principino, B.B.A. ’71, is a school counselor at Brighton Central Schools in Rochester, New York. He has a doctoral degree in counseling and human development and also is a high school varsity golf coach.

Glenn C. Lewis, A.B. ’73, was voted president-elect of The Virginia Bar Association. He served as the 2005 chair of the VBA Board of Governors and is chairman and founder of The Lewis Law Firm, P.C., based in Washington, D.C. Lewis also serves as chief legal analyst and commentator for BBC World TV and is the executive producer and host for Law Weekly, a national award-winning cable television talk show on law-related matters.

J. Richard Duke, LL.M.T. ’74, was listed in the December issue of Robb Report, Worth magazine as one of the nation’s 100 Top Attorneys. He specializes in international and domestic asset protection planning, estate planning, and tax planning. He resides and practices law in Birmingham, Alabama.

Enid S. Shomer, M.A. ’74, is a writer with five books of poetry and fiction in print. She has a two-book contract with Random House, which also will release her collection of short stories, Tourist Season and Other Stories, in 2007. Since 2000 she has been editor of the Poetry Series at the University of Arkansas Press.

Donald A. Haagensen, M.S. ’75, J.D. ’77, a partner at Cable Huston Benedict Haagensen & Lloyd LLP, was reappointed by Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski to a four-year term on the governing board of the Oregon Department of Geology & Mineral Industries. The five-member board is the policy and rulemaking body for the department, responsible for developing a geologic understanding of natural hazards like earthquakes, tsunamis, and floods.

Barbara Magenheim, B.S.N. ’76, professor of nursing at Central Arizona College in Coolidge, Arizona, was one of the first recipients of a Certified Nurse Educator designation, administered by the National League for Nursing. She was among 174 U.S. nurse educators who passed the rigorous exam.

Nanette S. Avery, B.F.A. ’77, a teacher at Gordon Day School in Miami, Florida, has received two literary grants announcing publication of her young adult historical fiction, Sixty Jars in a Pioneer Town.

Betty (Seabrook) Burney, A.B. ’77, is a member of the Duval County School Board, representing District 5 in Jacksonville, Florida. She recently authored a book, If These Chains Could Talk, which features advice from juvenile inmates to teachers, parents, and students.

Philip Kellerman, B.S. ’77, is president of Harvest of Hope Foundation, a nonprofit organization based in Gainesville, Florida, that helps migrant farm workers and their families. Since its establishment in 1997, the foundation has distributed more than $349,000.

Alan R. Krusch, J.D. ’77, is a North Carolina certified specialist in family law and a certified superior court mediator. He has been practicing law in North Carolina for 29 years and is one of the attorneys in Mecklenburg County who practices collaborative family law.

John W. Thornton, J.D. ’77, recently began his terms as president-elect of The Florida Bar Foundation Board of Directors. Current president of the Dade County Bar Association, Thornton served for ten years on The Florida Bar Board of Governors.

Jonathan Green, B.B.A. ’78, was listed in the December 2005 issue of Robb Report, Worth magazine as one of the nation’s Top 100 Attorneys, recognized for his work in the field of trusts and estates.

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Fear Is Not a Factor for Cohen and Nolfi

ethered to a helicopter flying 400 feet above a California lake at 90 mph, Zachary Cohen, J.D. ’04, and Angela Nolfi, J.D. ’05, scaled a dangling cargo net from which they each snagged four team flags to reach round two in the December 6 season premiere of NBC’s Fear Factor. The two young attorneys then navigated an unlit ventilator shaft awash in sewage, rats, and tarantulas, twice pulling levers to extinguish fires blocking their escape. Says Cohen, “Your imagination runs really genuinely wild.” Finally, Cohen and Nolfi claimed $275,000 and a trip to Universal Studios Orlando by retrieving the most gold bricks and coins from a submerged armored car.

Cohen and Nolfi, who hope to return for a winners competition, have enjoyed numerous photo and autograph requests since their reality TV debut. Best friends since their undergraduate years, the duo competed in intramural softball, soccer, football, basketball, water polo, and floor hockey at the University of Miami. Off-camera, while Cohen swam laps in the hotel pool to boost his endurance for their surprise Fear Factor events, Nolfi, nicknamed “Mangela” for her athletic prowess, “prepared” by studying for the Pennsylvania Bar Exam. “It distracted me,” she says. “I put my headphones on and listened to music and kind of zoned out.”

An associate in the Law Offices of Steven M. Ziegler, P.A. in Hollywood, Florida, Cohen practices insurance defense litigation. A Big Brothers Big Sisters of Greater Miami volunteer, Cohen is setting aside a trust fund for his “little brother,” Frederick, to help with books and miscellaneous college expenses. Nolfi, an associate with the Pittsburgh firm of Meyer, Darragh, Buckler, Bebenek & Eck, P.L.L.C., practices general civil litigation. A long-time Habitat for Humanity volunteer, she plans to engage in pro bono homeless advocacy cases.

Cohen, who has pursued bungee jumping, scuba diving, and shark fishing—and plans to pursue skydiving—says, “The other teams tried to shed doubt on us, and even the host thought we were doomed because we were smaller and not as physically strong, but at the end of the day, our hearts and minds were a little above the competition.”

— Leonard Nash

1980s
Ira Bodenstein, J.D. ’80, was appointed eight years ago by Attorney General Janet Reno as United States Trustee for Region 11. He has resigned from that office to return to private practice in areas of bankruptcy and commercial litigation. He is a member of the Chicago law firm of Shaw, Gussis, Fishman, Glantz, Wolfson & Towbin.

Sandra Myles Whitmore, M.S.N. ’80, is the director of disaster and community services at the Transylvania County Chapter of the American Red Cross in Brevard, North Carolina. During the 2005 hurricane season she recruited, trained, mentored, and deployed more than 40 disaster volunteers to the Gulf Coast and Florida.

Daniel C. Adams, M.M. ’81, produced two musical compositions that were released on compact disc. His “Khromas Diabolus” for trombone solo and percussion ensemble was on a disc titled Greetings From…, produced and distributed by the National Association of Composers, USA. “Between Stillness and Motion” for piano solo was released on a disc titled Melange, distributed by Capstone Records.

Mauricio J. Bouroncle, B.S.E.E. ’81, was appointed director of sales for Aperto Networks, a leading manufacturer of wireless broadband technology. In this position, he is responsible for all sales activities in the Caribbean and Latin American region, including management of a sales office in Brazil.

Gregory Hiczewski, M.B.A. ’82, has been appointed to the board of directors of Buffalo Hearing & Speech Center. A licensed Certified Public Accountant, he is president of Magellan Advisory Services LLC, a Buffalo, New York-based financial and accounting management consulting company.

James M. Franklin, A.B. ’84, is a partner in Franklin Financial Group, located in Hunt Valley, Maryland. He announces the birth of his third child, Garrett Owen Lee Franklin. He also is a member of the Golf Digest course rating panel.

Joanne Harvest Koren, J.D. ’84, has been elected chair of the Miami-Dade County Community Relations Board, which consists of 30 voting members and serves as an advisor to the Board of County Commissioners, the mayor, and the county manager. She is director of the Academic Achievement Program at the University of Miami School of Law.

Sharon Meit Abrahams, B.B.A. ’84, M.S.Ed. ’87, director of professional development at McDermott Will & Emery in Miami, Florida, has authored the book 100 Plus Pointers for the New Lawyer on Adjusting to Your Job, published by the American Bar Association.

Scott E. Rixford, A.B. ’84, was appointed assistant superintendent for the Paterson Public Schools. With 28,000 students in this heavily urban district, Paterson is the third-largest school district in New Jersey.

Michael J. Higer, J.D. ’85, has been named outstanding member of the year of the Business Law Section of The Florida Bar in recognition of exceptional contributions of time and talent. He concentrates his Miami practice on commercial litigation, including creditors’ rights, intellectual property matters, and insurance disputes.

Stephen S. Schaefer, M.B.A. ’86, earned the designation of advisor, private wealth management at Smith Barney in Coral Gables, Florida.

Betty Gonzalez, B.B.A. ’87, from the Keyes Company Realtors, has been awarded the Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) designation by the CCIM Institute. Only 6 percent of the estimated 125,000 commercial real estate practitioners nationwide hold the designation, awarded upon completion of a graduate-level curriculum and attainment of a level of qualifying experience.

Christopher H. Scherer, B.M. ’87, was elected president of the Society of Broadcast Engineers, a professional organization of more than 5,000 members and 100 local chapters that is devoted to the advancement of all levels and types of broadcast engineering. Since 1997 he has been editor of Radio magazine, a Prism Business Media publication based in Overland Park, Kansas.

Brian Staffin Edkin, A.B. ’87, was named director of adult reconstructive orthopaedics at Mercy Medical Center in Redding, California.

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Rita Bornstein Continues Academic Advocacy

t was a bit of a challenge to become accepted in the community and the institution,” says Rita Bornstein, Ph.D. ’75, the first woman and first Jewish president of Rollins College, located in Winter Park, Florida, “but within several years, I was simply the president and no longer the first anything.” Regarding her decision to step down in 2004 after 14 years of service, Bornstein says, “When I finished my book [Legitimacy in the Academic Presidency: From Entrance to Exit], I turned to my husband and said, ‘It says right here that presidents should not stay too long. They should do what they’ve come to accomplish and then move on and let someone else take over.’”

Now president emerita and the George D. and Harriet W. Cornell Professor of Philanthropy and Leadership Development, Bornstein funded two new permanent enhancements to the Rollins campus, Rita’s Fountain, and a gazebo, Harland’s Haven, in honor of her now-late husband, University of Miami education professor Harland G. Bloland.

Bornstein, who launched her teaching and administrative career at North Miami Beach Senior High, began her tenure in higher education at UM, where she ultimately became vice president for development and a research professor of education. From 1985 to 1990, Bornstein, former President Edward T. Foote II, and the late James McLamore, cofounder of Burger King, ran one of the nation’s largest-ever academic fundraising campaigns, netting more than $517 million for the University on a goal of $400 million, despite a major economic recession.

Among other board and commission posts, the extensively published Bornstein is now chair of the board of trustees of the Council for Advancement and Support of Education; a member of the Tupperware Corporation’s board of directors; and a member of the Association of Governing Boards’ Task Force on the State of the Presidency in American Higher Education, whose mission is to strengthen the academic presidency.

“The surprise of my life is how interesting the post-presidency is,” Bornstein says. “Because I have a reputation in the state and nationally, I’ve been called upon to do many things, and I’m enjoying it very much.”

— Leonard Nash

1990s
Tangela Yvette Cooke, B.S.C. ’91, has published her second book, Cookie’s Corner, which she describes as “girl talk in its rawest poetic form.”

Wayne H. Schwartz, J.D. ’91, has joined Lee & Amtzis P.L., in Boca Raton, Florida, as of counsel, specializing in civil, business, and securities law.

Cynthia (Schnoes) Gonzalez, M.S.P.T. ’92, is a senior physical therapist at Orthopedic Rehabilitation Specialists in Miami, Florida. She received her doctorate in physical therapy from the University of St. Augustine in 2005. She lives in Coral Gables with her husband and 5-year-old twin daughters.

Lian Xie, Ph.D. ’92, a professor in marine, earth, and atmospheric sciences at North Carolina State University, was named executive director of the North Carolina China Center, which promotes collaboration between North Carolina and Greater China.

Marko W. Marcinko, B.M. ’93, has been touring and recording with renowned jazz saxophonist Dave Liebman. In 2005 the Dave Liebman Big Band received a nomination for a Grammy Award in the category of Best Arrangement. Marcinko, an adjunct professor at Penn State University, also has been touring with Mack Ave. recording artist Ilona Knopfler and American Idol pop sensation Constantine Maroulis.

Brian H. Bieber, J.D. ’94, of Hirshhorn & Bieber in Coral Gables, Florida, was named by the Daily Business Review as one of South Florida’s most effective criminal defense attorneys for 2005. He has been practicing criminal law for 11 years.

Michael S. Grad, B.S. ’94, M.D. ’98, practices interventional cardiology in Austin, Texas. He was recently appointed medical director of cardiology at Round Rock Medical Center.

Albert Bordas, M.B.A. ’95, M.S.I.E. ’96, has opened Albert Bordas, P.A., a law firm that handles patent, trademark, and copyright matters. Bordas is an engineer and is registered as a patent attorney before the United States Patent and Trademark Office.

Bernardo E. Navarro, B.B.A ’95, is manager of a Miami branch of Countrywide Home Loans, Inc. Countrywide acquired HomeMortgage, a Florida corporation of which Navarro was president.

Christopher M. Powell, M.M. ’95, has been named music administrator of the Pittsburgh Opera, where he has served for five seasons as artist coordinator and opera center administrator. During the summer, he also serves as the orchestra personnel manager for the prestigious Tanglewood Music Center in Lenox, Massachusetts, affiliated with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. Active as an adjudicator for the United States Scholastic Band Association, Powell also works as an independent review panelist for the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts residency program. In addition to many other arts-related affiliations, he is presently chair of the Art of Living Campaign for Pittsburgh’s Art for AIDS Benefit.

Melanie Emmons Damian, J.D. ’96, is a partner with the Miami law firm Damian & Valori LLP, where she specializes in business law, including officer and director liability and litigation in the areas of corporate governance, securities, professional negligence, and employment. She was selected by the Business Law Section of the American Bar Association to lecture at the association’s “Hot Topics in Business Law for Young Lawyers” forum this spring.

Andria Lynn Hanley, M.A.L.S. ’96, is 2005-2006 president of the board of directors for the Junior League of Miami, an educational and charitable organization of women dedicated to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women, and improving communities.

Jonathan E. Kanov, J.D. ’96, has joined the Fort Lauderdale law office of Marshall, Dennehey, Warner, Coleman & Goggin, where he will practice in the firm’s Professional Liability group. He is engaged to marry Alissa Pernikoff of Satellite Beach, Florida.

John B. Pascarella, Ph.D. ’96, associate professor of biology at Valdosta State University in Georgia, was awarded a Science and Technology Policy Fellowship for 2005-2006 from the American Association for the Advancement of Science. He works on policy issues related to broadening participation by minorities in the Directorate for Biological Sciences at the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Virginia. His South Florida activities include collaboration with Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden on rare plant conservation in coastal areas.

Yvette Soler, B.M. ’96, is the founder and owner of Infinite Connections, a Seattle, Washington firm specializing in artist management, event production, and promotions. Her roster includes electronic music producers, DJs, and visual artists. She also is the North American booking agent for Danish record label Iboga Records, the marketing and promotions director for the Oracle Gatherings, and the house manager for Columbia City Theatre. She also maintains an acting career and can be seen in various commercials and independent films.

Robert Bindeman, M.B.A. ’97, has married Betsy Mand in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Fellow Hurricane Ted Townsend, M.B.A. ’97, was best man. Bindeman is president of The Landmark Companies, a family-owned Washington, D.C., real estate and sports marketing firm. He also is a finance executive with Bank of America in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Terrence Cheng, M.F.A. ’97, has received a $20,000 literature fellowship from the National Endowment for the Arts to work on his third novel. His first novel, Sons of Heaven, which retells the events in and around the Tiananmen Square uprising, received an honorable mention in Barnes & Noble’s 2002 Discover Awards. Cheng is assistant professor of English and creative writing at Lehman College, part of the City University of New York. He is working on his second novel, Deep in the Mountains, due from Watson-Guptill in 2007. He lives in New York City with his wife.

Michele Dunn, B.S.N. ’97, has rejoined the Austin Diagnostic Clinic in Austin, Texas, as an EMR application analyst.

Ricardo Martinez-Cid, A.B. ’97, was promoted to partner for the Miami law firm, Podhurst Orseck, handling personal injury, wrongful death, and commercial litigation. He graduated from Yale Law School in 2000.

Rafael Mevorach, M.M. ’97, was appointed professor of music at DIA University, Norwalk, California. He graduated last year from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln with a Doctor of Musical Arts in music composition and conducting.

Jeffrey S. Russel, M.S.B.E. ’97, is a third-year student at the University of Texas Medical School. He was recently married.

John W. Bolanovich, J.D. ’98, has made partner at the law firm of Bogin Munns & Munns, P.A. In this capacity, he will chair the firm’s labor and employment law practice and cochair the firm’s commercial litigation practice.

Kelly Kandler, B.M. ’98, M.B.A. ’99, was recently promoted to an event coordinator position at EMI Music Publishing. She is responsible for booking and organizing meet-and-greet events around the country with new and established EMI artists for the purpose of placing their music in television and advertising.

Ebby Paul, B.S. ’98, completed a master’s degree in finance and public policy at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and is presently working as the project manager of Trump Tower Tampa, a luxury condominium skyscraper located along the Hillsborough River in downtown Tampa, Florida.

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The ‘Bread and Butter’ Life Is Sweet for Jane Daly

t was the most dramatic event in my life,” says Jane Daly, B.F.A. ’72, about participating in the Miss Teenage America parade in Dallas—one week before President Kennedy was assassinated on the same route. “I had just been there. The whole thing gives me the shivers to this day,” says Daly, Miss Teenage Florida, 1963. An original “Ivory Girl,” Daly and her mother starred in a look-alike spot that ran nationally for three years and funded her University of Miami education. “Commercials kept me alive early on,” she says.

Daly, a confessed “bread and butter” actress, says her role as Tom Cruise’s mother-in-law in Mission Impossible III is back-story, but she’s happy her agent, Richard Lewis, convinced her to accept the part, emphasizing the chance to work with Cruise and director J.J. Abrams, director of television’s Lost, Alias, and Felicity (on which Daly appeared). She’s also had guest roles on Nip/Tuck, ER, Melrose Place, St. Elsewhere, Moonlighting, Family Ties, Star Trek: The Next Generation, and many others; recurring roles in JAG and Beverly Hills 90210; starring roles in Roomies and Capitol; and numerous film roles.

Married 24 years to actor/director Duncan Gamble, and mother of two grown sons, Daly has worked with dozens of Hollywood legends, from Jimmy Stewart to Bruce Willis. She credits much of her early success to the late UM theatre professor Robert “Buckets” Lowery, a “director, mentor, and friend.” A testament to the power of alumni connections, she also is grateful to director Bob Clark, who cast her in the cult classic Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things after contacting the theatre department seeking “young ingenues.”

Daly, a league tennis player, University of Southern California Student Health Center volunteer, and freelance audition coach, concedes that being in her mid-50s is challenging—too old for the typical “mom” role, and too young for the “grandmother” parts. “But give me another ten years and I’ll get to play the wild, wacky old lady.”

— Leonard Nash

2000s
J. Patrick Buckley, J.D. ’00, and Amanda K. (Burke) Buckley, J.D. ’00, announce the birth of their son, J. Patrick Buckley IV, in August.

Adrienne Denaro, B.S.C. ’00, is the communications manager for the Applied Research Center at Florida International University. She takes on this position after working at Clear Channel Broadcasting for the past three years. The center is designed to research real-world problems in the areas of defense support technologies, energy production, environmental cleanup, and nuclear waste management and remediation.

Kelly Jane Gauger, B.S. ’00, received her Ph.D. in molecular endocrinology at the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. She has accepted a postdoctoral research fellowship at the Baystate Health Inc. Biomedical Research Institute in Springfield, Massachusetts, working with the hospital’s Breast Cancer Research Group.

Joshua R. Karns, B.S.C. ’00, has joined Karns Law Group, a personal injury law firm in Middletown, Rhode Island. He works there with his father, Robert Karns, and sister, Sarah Karns, A.B. ’99, J.D. ’03.

Stewart B. Davis, B.S. ’00, M.D ’03, the medical director of a Miami biomedical device firm, married Jamie Segal, B.S. ’99. J.D. ’02, a family law practitioner at the Coral Gables firm of Orshan, Lithman, Seiden, Ramos, Hatton and Huesmann LLP. Stewart also recently published a book, Supercharged Tips to Boost Your SAT Score.

Jamie Conviser, B.M. ’01, has been promoted to associate music director for the Walt Disney Creative Entertainment Music Department. She assists in producing music for live entertainment at Walt Disney World, Disney Cruise Lines, Tokyo Disneyland, and Hong Kong Disneyland.

Daniel W. Courtney, J.D. ’01, has joined Fuller & Associates, P.A., as an associate. He will concentrate his practice on nursing home abuse and medical malpractice cases.

Jounice Nealy-Brown, M.B.A. ’02, was promoted to the new position of circulation retention manager at the St. Petersburg Times newspaper. She is responsible for building a formal retention department, which will include a coordinator and 12 representatives. She began her career at the paper in 1997 as a staff writer and was promoted in 2002 to the position of staff communications manager in human resources.

Ramon Vega Dorticos, B.B.A. ’02, has joined the law firm of Fiddler, Gonzalez and Rodriguez, P.S.C., in San Juan, Puerto Rico, as an associate practicing in the labor and employment law division.

Angie Moncada, M.A. ’03, is director of communications at the Rhode Island chapter of the American Red Cross. During the 2005 hurricane season she served on three national disaster deployments, first in Houston, Texas, then in Taunton, Massachusetts, then in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina made landfall.

Matthew A. Slater, J.D. ’03, recently moved with his wife, Danielle, to Brookline, Massachusetts, where he is an associate at Smith & Brink, P.C.

Judith L. Mesler, Ph.D. ’04, was hired as a program professor in exceptional student education at the Fischler School of Education and Human Services at Nova Southeastern University in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Carolina O. Garcia, J.D. ’05, and Lara O’Neill, J.D. ’05, have founded LegalArt, a not-for-profit organization dedicated to providing artists with legal services in exchange for original art work or affordable payment plans. The intent is to foster a generation of artists armed with the skills to legally protect their creations.

Krystin M. Gaydosh, B.S.C.E. ’05, has joined Miller Legg, a multidisciplined consulting firm, as a project engineer in the firm’s Palm Beach, Florida, office. She is responsible for water distribution systems, sanitary sewer and stormwater design and modeling, site grading, and agency permitting for public sector projects.

Jacquelyn J. Schultes, B.S.C. ’05, has joined the Washington, D.C., bureau of Fox News, working on the assignment desk.

Alan Knitowski Has Found Success through Discipline

t was challenging, difficult, and painful in so many ways,” Alan Knitowski, B.S.I.E. ’91, says of Army Ranger training. He knew he could handle the challenge, but “It wasn’t really meaningful to me until I proved it in the field,” Knitowski recalls. Born in New Jersey and raised in Arizona, Knitowski credits his scholarship to the University of Miami’s Army ROTC program and his experiences in Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity as pivotal opportunities during which he excelled “socially, academically, and athletically.”

Knitowski, who holds a master’s degree in industrial engineering from Georgia Tech and an M.B.A. from UC Berkeley, served in the Army Corps of Engineers as an Airborne, Air Assault, and Ranger-qualified captain. In 1994, he was based in the South Korean demilitarized zone during the United Nations’ nuclear weapons inspections of North Korea.

Knitowski admits to being “a bit of a Hurricane freak,” so it’s not surprising that the publicly traded Caneum, Inc., for which he serves as chairman, derives its name from ’Cane and UM. Knitowski and his wife of ten years, Kelly, a California native whom he met in Hawaii, have three daughters, Kaylan, Skylar, and Sage, and an infant son named Kane—yes, as in ’Cane.

Based in Newport Beach, California, Caneum “helps people do the things they don’t do well with regard to managing information technologies that are critical to their businesses.” Knitowski’s other ventures include Trycera Financial, a public company that specializes in prepaid debit and catalog shopping cards; Trymetris Capital Management, a private investment manager fund; Windspring, which creates data miniaturization software for wireless, mapping, and navigation applications; and Edgewater Networks, which sells communications networking equipment. Previously, Knitowski cofounded and sold several companies in California’s Silicon Valley.“ If you work hard, no matter where you come from, in the United States anything is possible,” says the tireless Knitowski. “You can find a balance between being successful in business and with your family. At the end of the day, that’s all that really matters.”

— Leonard Nash

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