Sandra Lopez Follows Her Passion for Opera

Some people are born knowing their life's passion. This knowledge came almost that early for opera singer Sandra Lopez (B.M. '96, A.D. '98).

"By the age of five, people were telling me I was going to sing opera," she recalls. "Then, at the age of nine, I saw my first opera in Mexico City. The experience was so moving that I cried, and I knew that was something I wanted to do."

While she was growing up, Lopez's family lived all over the world, giving her an appreciation of many cultures and a knowledge of many languages. This served as an excellent background for her to learn about opera.

"But before I came to the University of Miami, although I knew I loved opera, I didn't know much about it-including the history and the musical traditions," she says. "The University gave me all that. I entered college as a kid who loved to sing; I came out a professional artist. That whole change is due to the professors I came in contact with, from history to music interpretation."

At the age of 23, just six months after receiving her Advanced Diploma in Vocal Performance, Lopez has been cast as the lead in a major opera production in Texas. She is also performing regularly in New York City, as a "freelance soprano," purposely taking on short-term projects.

"I am very young to have reached this level, so I want to take things slowly, to make sure I maintain my perspective," she explains. "So, I'm doing lots of competitions and lots of auditions, and choosing my options carefully."

Her efforts have met with much success. Recently, Lopez was the national winner of the Metropolitan Opera National Council Auditions, and prior to that, she won the Palm Beach Opera's renowned Voice Competition. She has performed leading or major roles with the Palm Beach Opera, Ohio Light Opera, Miami Choral Society, and Opera Vizcaya.

How does Lopez find the energy to pursue these far-flung opportunities? The answer lies in her long-standing passion for her music. "Singing is my hobby, my profession, my everything," she says.

Michelle Newman's Wearable Art Imitates Life

In all she sees, she sees art. In the strong turns of a wrought iron gate. In a delicate ginkgo leaf. In the Art Deco architecture of her native Miami Beach. In a bustling souk in Cairo. Or a lush rain forest in Costa Rica.

Michelle Newman (B.Ed. '72) is a rising star in the world of textile design and "wearable art." Her work is available through the American Craft Museum, the Textile Museum, the University of Miami's Lowe Art Museum, and noted galleries. It's also worn by the socially prominent. Recently, Mary McFadden chose Newman's black-and-gold-screened pewter silk taffeta for an evening gown, which was featured on the cover of McFadden's fall/winter couture catalogue. Underway are a collaboration with Vera Wang and exclusives with Neiman-Marcus and Barney's.

Newman's favored media are silk and velvet, and her techniques go by such names as wax resist, block printing, or shibori (a Japanese fold-and-dye technique). The extraordinary results range from ethereal white-on-white designs, to elegant metallic-on-black creations.

Newman's life wasn't always on the path to design fame, even though as a child she yearned to be a fashion designer. "When I was in elementary school, I designed my own clothes," she recalls. "On Saturdays, I would hang out in Burdines' designer department. In junior high, I read Women's Wear Daily."

Instead, Newman was encouraged to pursue a more conventional life. "I got a teaching degree and married a doctor," Newman says matter-of-factly. Years later, after a divorce and surgery, she turned back to art. "While I was recuperating, a friend brought me books on Fortuny, Chanel, and other designers. For weeks I looked at the pictures and told myself, 'I can do this!'"

What began as a hobby soon turned into a business. "Artist friends admired my work and wanted it for themselves," Newman says.

Newman focused on establishing her name in design. "I made a commitment that I would be in the top galleries nationally and work with the best designers," she says.

Now that Newman's dream is becoming reality, what's next? "Mass-merchandising!" she exclaims. And if the past is any predictor of her success, our tables, beds, and walls soon will be covered in Michelle Newman designs.

For Dean Gates, Work is Pure Fantasy

When actor Dick Durock emerges from the woods as a slimy, green creature dripping with leaves and vines in the movie The Return of Swamp Thing, you're seeing the work of Dean Gates (B.A. '80). And when Dennis Hopper takes a bullet between the eyes in Blue Velvet and a bayonet through the gut in Red Rock West, you're looking at the blood and gore created by Gate's imagination.

A 17-year veteran of the motion picture and television industry, Gates has done make-up and special effects for 35 films and three television series since graduating from the University's motion picture production program in 1980. An Emmy Award-winner for his work on the Star Trek spin-off Deep Space Nine, Gates recently completed his first gig as a solo director, for Oliver Twisted, a horror film featuring Karen Black and Eric Estrada. His directing debut brought him back to his earliest film-making aspirations.

"In junior high, I began shooting movies with my dad's Super 8 camera, trying to make my friends look like monsters and re-creating scenes from classic horror shows," Gates says. "Now I get paid to do what I wanted to do as a kid-make monsters, blow stuff up, and do car chases."

Gates enrolled at the University of Miami after spending two years as an engineering major at Ferrum College in Virginia. Internships through the University eventually led to production assistant and special effects jobs before Gates left Miami to work full-time on feature films. He spent seven years in California, the last two creating Klingons, Cardassians, and other space creatures for Star Trek.

In 1995, Gates returned to his home state of Virginia to pursue a dream of launching his own feature film production company. His goal? To create a regional film industry in Virginia to produce locally financed feature films. Under the aegis of Cedar Valley Film Corporation, he has written two scripts, directed and edited a movie, and is halfway funded to produce the kind of film he enjoys.

"My goal is to make genre films that take you into the world of the fantastic, whether it's horror or action adventure, and do it with one foot firmly planted on the ground," he says.

Gates is currently producing a movie entitled Rite of Passage.

Hal Rosenbluth Offers Savvy Business Advice in New Book

So many executives have asked Hal Rosenbluth (B.A. '74) to reveal his secrets to success in business that the CEO of Rosenbluth International, a Philadelphia-based global travel firm, finally decided to jot his thoughts down on paper-a whopping 205 pages' worth.

The result is Good Company: Caring as Fiercely as You Compete, a book he co-authored with Diane McFerrin Peters, a leading business consultant and former Rosenbluth employee. The bestseller covers many of the savvy business practices that have led to the success of Rosenbluth International by providing readers with a step-by-step approach to running a company that not only attracts but retains leading clients and top employees.

"The book focuses on what I believe are companies' most precious assets-their people," says Rosenbluth, who went straight into the family's travel business after majoring in criminology at the University. "At the end of the day, the only truly sustainable competitive advantage a company has is the people that it employs, since everything stems from those people."

The book offers its readers a common-sensical approach to running a successful company. Pointers include how to create a friendly working environment, promote leadership skills in employees, or provide on-the-job training and learning seminars for those workers who wish to expand their knowledge as they work.

Rosenbluth also includes many management lessons in the book including the effects of corporate downsizing and globalization on his business-changes he incorporated five years ago. The company not only stayed afloat, but managed to triple sales to nearly $4 billion while retaining its employee-centered culture.

Rosenbluth has even put his ranching experience, a cherished pastime, to good use, structuring his company to parallel the relationship between a family farm and neighboring farms in a town.

Lastly, friendly employee cooperation is a must, he says. "We are a company that is built on friendship, and when you have 4,600 friends (employees) like I do, we will do anything for each other. That has been a big part of our success."

Virginia Deegan Sharpe, B.Ed. '52, works as an educational consultant in Florida and serves as a professor of education research and senior practicum advisor in the graduate education program at Nova Southeastern University. She is establishing and directing Volusia County's first charter school in Orange City, Florida.

Clotilda Westcott, B.Ed. '52, a Forest Hills Elementary School teacher and veteran of the United States Navy, was honored by the St. Michael Legion Auxiliary for her military service and accomplishments as an educator. She received the Who's Who in Education award and is a member of Sigma Kappa sorority. She resides in St. Michael, Pennsylvania.

Leona Dryer Reeder, A.B. '53, of Burnt Cabins, Pennsylvania, recently retired from Central Tulton School District and holds the Who's Who Among American High School Teachers award.

Beverly Cooper Stapleton, B.B.A. '54, retired from Lockheed Martin Corporation, where she was a contracts manager for the Hubble Space Telescope and other governmental programs. She was profiled in the 1998 edition of Who's Who in the West. She lives in San Jose, California.

Peter Harvey, A.B. '55, had his work on the Balanchine ballets exhibited in New York last spring. The exhibit included original designs for scenery and costumes, photographs of productions, sketch books, notes, programs, and other significant ballet memorabilia enhancing his published journals.

James H. Nance, LL.B./J.D. '56, and Sheldon Schlesinger, B.A. '51, LL.B./J.D. '54, were members of the legal team that produced the landmark $11.3 billion settlement between the State of Florida and the tobacco industry.

Sonia Pressman Fuentes, J.D. '57, retired as an attorney with the federal government in 1993. She is a writer and lecturer and has completed her memoirs, which have had excerpts published in magazines and journals nationally and internationally. She resides in Potomac, Maryland and Sarasota, Florida.

Eugene A. Shinn, B.S. '57, was a commencement speaker at the University of South Florida. He is a researcher with the U.S. Geological Survey in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is an internationally renowned specialist on the Florida environment and coral reefs. In 1997 he was awarded a lifetime honorary membership to the Society for Sedimentary Geology and an Honorary Doctor of Earth and Environmental Sciences.

John A. Robinson, B.A. '60, was appointed executive director of Dayton, Ohio's Habitat for Humanity, after a long career in the performing arts.

Clement DiFillippo, B.S.A.E. '61, served as the architect and engineer for the 25-story Majestic Tower building in Bal Harbour, Florida. He has been in private practice for 20 years.

John Granrose, A.B. '61, has been appointed director of studies at the Coral Gables Jung Institute of Zurich, Switzerland.

Rebel (Levin) Cook, B.B.A. '63, was elected president of the Economic Forum of Palm Beach County and is president of Rebel Cook Real Estate.

Allen P. Hershowitz, B.S.E.E. '63, of Reston, Virginia, is CEO of Global Integrity Corporation and was elected to its Board of Directors.

Lawrence B. Robbins, M.D. '63, is president of The American Society for Aesthetic Plastic Surgery and is a clinical associate professor of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the University of Miami.

Ronnie Degenstein Wainwright, B.A. '61, M.A. '64, is deputy general counsel at the Office of Inspector General, U.S. Postal Service.

Thomas F. Segalla, B.B.A. '65, is a consultant for the revision of the legal treatise couch on insurance and is chairman of the Insurance Law Committee of the Defense Research Institute. He is a partner and litigation manager at Saperston & Day, P.C. He lives in Eggertsville, New York.

Paul H. Thomaszeck, B.S. '65, created and is president of URPA Precision Equipment Company. He resides in Hacienda Heights, California.

Karl Sooder, B.A. '67, is a visiting instructor in marketing at the University of Central Florida in Winter Park, Florida, and is the executive director of Pastors Affirmed, a national advocacy for the mental health of clergy.

C. Osborn Keagy, B.A. '68, after three years as fishing editor of the Fort Lauderdale News, worked as a fishing guide in the Florida Keys for 15 years. He now owns a cutlery sales business in Miami.

Richard L. Sherman, B.S. '69, of Pembroke Pines, Florida, is president of the East Coast District Dental Society and of the local branch of the American Dental Association.

Patricia DeSalvo Young, B.A. '70, of DeLand, Florida, is the director of learning resources at Seminole Community College and is in charge of its library's Distance Learning and Instructional Technology. She was elected president of the Florida Library Association.

Suzette S. Pope, B.B.A. '69, M.B.A. '71, is president of the Community College Coalition for Women's History. She led domestic violence workshops at the South West Pacific Soroptimist Federation Convention. She also works in real estate management and resides in Miami.

Coleman Knott, B.S.' 73 in civil engineering, joined the Charlotte County office of Johnson Engineering, Inc. He is a member of the National Society of Professional Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Florida Engineering Society.

Paul Levine, J.D. '73, has written his eigth novel entitled 9 Scorpions, a tale of the Supreme Court. He lives in Coconut Grove, Florida.

David F. Witkowski, B.A. '73, retired from the United States Air Force in 1997 and started working at the American Management Association-International as a program specialist. He resides in Plattsburgh, New York.

John R. Hall, B.S.C.E '74, of Miami, received the Florida Engineering Society's 1998 award for "Outstanding Service to the Engineering Profession." In previous years he earned the state's "Young Engineer of the Year" and "Engineer of the Year" awards.

Joel Schackne, M.B.A. '74, was selected by the Florida Humanities Council to represent Florida at the National Staff Development Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. He also was accepted by the Educational Testing Service to be a reader for Advanced Placement Statistics Exams.

Gayle S. Cubberley, B.M. '74, M.M. '75, is the band director at West Miami Middle School. His symphonic band has achieved five consecutive years of superior ratings at the Annual Florida Bandmaster's Association evaluation.

Eona M. Horowitz, M.A. '76, owns Book Balancers Ink and has had poetry published in several anthologies including Colors of Thought. She was profiled in Who's Who of American Women in 1997. She resides in Tavernier, Florida.

Leo L. Suarez, B.S.E.E. '75, M.S.E.E. '76, is the director of product marketing at IBM and defined the company's line of ThinkPad Mobile Computers. He lives in Cary, North Carolina.

Mark V. Zinda, B.A. '76, purchased Hottman Edwards Advertising, one of Baltimore's oldest and largest advertising agencies.

Sharon A. May, M.S.N. '77, of Lynn Haven, Florida, is an associate professor at Gulf Coast Community College. She is certified as a clinical specialist in gerontological nursing.

Carmine A. Priore, B.S. '61, M.B.A. '77, was elected mayor of Wellington, Florida.

Michael Richard Meyer, B.A. '78, was named vice chairman of the Board of Trustees of Monroe County Community College and was appointed to the Michigan Public School Employee's Retirement Board.

Billie Davis, Ed.D. '79, is a professor emeritus of Evangel College and the University of Miami. He was director of the HEP Program and received the Migrant Educator Award.

Herbert H. Westphalen III, B.F.A. '79, formed Westphalen Design in 1989 and has acquired Sony, Marriot, NYAMA-EFFIE's, EMCOR, House Beautiful, Marchon Eyewear, First Boston, and Redken International as clients. He resides in New York, New York.

Paul Novack, B.B.A. '80, serves on the Intergovernmental Relations Committee of the Florida League of Cities. He is a full-time attorney with a private practice in Miami-Dade County.

Bruce A. Blitman, J.D. '81, an attorney and mediator in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, was recently elected president of the Florida Academy of Professional Mediators, Inc. He also received "The President's Award" for his outstanding service to the academy.

Maria A. Fernandez, B.B.A. '80, M.P.A. '81, concentrates her legal practice in the areas of estate planning, probate and administration, Medicaid and disability planning, and corporate and individual taxation. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky.

Barry D. Rothenberg, B.B.A.'81, was promoted to senior vice president of Morgan Stanley in Morristown, New Jersey.

Daryl Trawick, B.B.A. '81, was sworn in as a judge by Third District Court of Appeal Judge Rodolfo Sorondo. He had been a lawyer for the U.S. Air Force and worked for the U.S. Attorney's Office. Recently, he was chief of special prosecutions trying high-profile cases.

Douglas Baumwall, B.A. '82, purchased Collins & Collins Investments in 1994 and relocated to Miami's Brickell financial district in 1996.

Eric Buermann, M.B.A. '75, J.D. '82, was elected to the Board of Overseers of The Kampong in Coconut Grove, Florida, which is part of the National Tropical Botanical Garden.

Deborah Wilker, B.S. '82, longtime South Florida journalist, formed Entertainment News Corporation in 1996. She has expanded the company to provide national news coverage for newspapers and television and is seen regularly on the Fox News Channel reporting on entertainment, business, social issues, and trends.

Kurt G. Anderson, B.B.A. '83, of Hudsonville, Michigan, is the title production manager of Metropolitan Title.

Benjamin P. Baum, B.S.I.E. '78, M.B.A. '81, M.S.I.E. '83, was promoted to senior vice president of investments at Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Miami.

John G. Dean, B.S.C.E. '83, specializes in multi-state commercial litigation and serves as elected Democratic committeeman in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania.

Roger L. Fritze, M.B.A. '83, is director of investigations with the Florida governor's office.

Caryl Sukolsky Hackett, B.A. '83, has joined the Florida Regional Office of Jewish Theological Seminary-Development and was previously executive director of Rebekah's House, a shelter for women, in Palm Beach, Florida.

Edith Osman, J.D. '83, was elected president of the Florida Bar Association. She is also a member of the American Bar Association, the Academy of Florida Trial Lawyers, the Association of Trial Lawyers of America, the Dade County Bar Association, the Dade County Trial Lawyers Association, Florida Association for Women Lawyers, the American Bar Foundation, the National Association of Women Lawyers, the Florida Council of Bar Association Presidents, and Phi Alpha Delta Law Fraternity.

Mary Ruden, B.F.A. '83, is a botanical artist and tour guide for Garden Specialty Tours Worldwide. She resides in Miami.

Seth Weinroth, B.B.A. '83, was reelected chairman of the board of trustees at Framingham State College in Boston for a second term. He is CEO of Gardener Resources Consulting.

Mark M. Altschul, J.D. '84, was reelected to a third term as Democratic district leader for the 63rd Assembly District on the East-Side of Manhattan, New York.

Steve Boyer, B.A. '84, is an adjunct professor at the University of Miami teaching TV news reporting and production classes. He is also the news assignment manager of WPLG-Channel 10.

Maria Cruz, B.B.A. '84, was elected president of the Miami-Dade County Chapter of the Florida Institute of Certified Public Accountants. She is a senior tax manager with BDO Seidman, L.L.P.

Richard S. Epter, M.D. '84, has accepted a position at the Chattanooga Center for Pain Medicine in Tennessee. He is a diplomate of the American Board of Pain Medicine, the American Academy of Pain Management, and the American Board of Anesthesiology.

George P. Scanlon, M.B.A. '84, was promoted to senior vice president of planning and controller of Ryder System in Miami.

Michael Throne, B.S.A.E., B.S.C.E. '84, was recently appointed assistant city engineer for Benicia, California.

Robert Curbelo, B.S.C.E., B.S.A.E. '85, is vice president of Dacia Construction, Inc. in Miami.

Mark Anthony DiBello, B.A. '85, recently appeared on The Price Is Right and started a web site on "How to Win on a TV Gameshow." He is also filming Lots of Promise, about the University of Miami football program.

Douglas Landau, J.D. '85, of Oak Hill, Virginia, taught personal injury law at the Virginia State Bar's First Day in Practice Seminar and was the moderator for an insurance seminar.

Ronald S. Lowy, B.A. '85, is listed in the National Martindale-Hubble Book of Preeminent Attorneys in the field of commercial litigation. He is one of seven Miami-Dade County lawyers chosen for this honor.

Ajay K. Prasad, M.S.M.E. '85, received the Excellence in Teaching Award. He teaches courses in fluid mechanics, fluid mechanics measurement, and connective transfer, and supervises a class for senior design projects at University of Delaware in Newark. He is also the faculty advisor of the student chapter of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers.

Paul W. Thompson, M.M. '85, sang with the Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra on the 1997 Grammy Awards, where he won Best Opera Recording. He resides in Chicago.

Hagai Gringarten, B.B.A. '84, M.B.A. '86, was elected president of The American Marketing Association's Greater Miami Chapter and is president of South Beach Coffee Company.

Arthur Hernandez, B.S. '86, was elected to the Young Lawyers' Division of the Board of Governors of the Florida Bar and became a board certified civil trial lawyer in 1998. He resides in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mary Lowe-Evans, Ph.D. '87, published Crimes Against Fecundity: Joyce and Population Control, "Frankenstein: Mary Shelley's Wedding Guest, and Critical Essays on Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley. She resides in Pensacola, Florida.

Carlos Guanche, M.D. '87, is director of clinical research at the Minneapolis Sports Medicine Center.

Patricia I. Hayhurst, M.B.A. '87, of Miami, was one of three finalists for the Entrepreneur of the Year award in the finance and banking category. She chairs the board of the Jose Martí International Branch, YMCA.

Douglas J. Leaffer, B.S. '87, manages her own public relations and marketing business and is an international sales engineer for Thermo Environmental Instruments. He resides in Andover, Massachusetts.

Larry Steen, B.M. '87, released his debut CD, First Move. The award-winning recording has been made available through North County Distributors and features several jazz luminaries. He lives in Los Angeles.

Sergio Fernandez, B.B.A. '88, is vice president and trust officer for First Union National Bank in Miami.

Laura A. Walsh, B.M. '88, was designated certified financial planner by the CFP Board of Standards and was elected president of the Southeast Florida Chapter of the International Association for Financial Planning. She resides in Weston, Florida.

Sheila D. Biehl, J.D. '89, was elected a shareholder of Gunster, Yoakley, Valdes-Fauli & Stewart, P.A. in Stuart, Florida. She is a member of the firm's litigation department and concentrates her practice in the area of commercial litigation. She is also a member of the firm's intellectual property, pharmaceutical, and land use/development practice groups.

Kirk Harootunian, B.M. '89, has completed a control and automation system for Busch Gardens, Tampa, Florida, and their "AKBAR's Adventure Tours" motion-based simulation attraction starring Martin Short.

Anna M. Hernandez, B.A. '89, was selected as the 1998 Miami-Dade County Teacher of the Year and the 1998 Florida Region V Teacher of the Year.

Robert J. Becerra, B.B.A. '86, J.D. '90, became a partner at Raskin & Raskin, P.A. in Miami.

Dean Furman, B.A. '90, began working as a federal prosecutor with the U.S. Attorney's Office in Louisville, Kentucky. His wife, Christian, graduated from the University in 1992.

Roxanne Greitz Miller, B.S. '90, was named Miami Dade-County Public Schools' Community Education Teacher of the Year in 1997.

Karen Sloane, B.A. '83, J.D. '87, LL.M. '90, joined Kelley Drye & Warren LLP in Miami. She practices estate and small business planning, probate administration and estate litigation.

Steven Strasberg, B.S. '90, a consultant for Towers Perrin, was named fellow of the Society of Actuaries, a primary educational, research and professional organization for individuals in the fields of life and health insurance, investment, pension, and employee benefits. He resides in Atlanta.

Paul J. Cohen, B.S. '88, M.D. '91, is an anesthesiologist at Lutheran Medical Center in Denver, Colorado.

Nicole Greggs, B.M. '91, is a curriculum writer for elementary general music for Broward County and is assistant director of Florida Singing Sons Boy Choir.

Kenneth Schwartz, J.D. '91, of New York, New York, addressed the Inter-American Bar Association in Washington on private equity in Latin America and recently advised TMG Capital Partners.

Margot Winick, B.S.C. '91, from the School of Communication, has joined the University of Miami as a media relations officer.

Kimberly L. Boldt, J.D. '92, was appointed co-vice-chair of the Appellate Court Committee, which focuses on issues that impact the practice of appellate advocacy in Miami-Dade County. She is a member of the Appellate Practice and Advocacy Section of the Florida Bar and Dade County Bar Association.

Jeffrey M. Bonilla, B.B.A. '92, has moved to Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in Manhattan, New York, after five years with Chase Manhattan Bank.

Gergory L. Mayback, J.D. '92, recently became registered as a patent attorney and is an associate at Zarco & Pardo in Miami.

Sylvia M. Rini, B.S. '92, is working at the corporate headquarters of Covenant House in New York City.

Heidi DeNeve Sandorf, B.M. '92, is a heavy construction mobilization and movement officer for U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. She resides in Ipswich, Massachusetts.

Ravi Sandrapaty, M.D. '92, is fulfilling a fellowship at Long Beach Memorial Center. He attained board certification by the American Board of Radiology in 1997.

Mary L. Binkowski, B.A. '93, is practicing insurance defense law in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

John Peter Lafferty IV, M.D. '93, is a member of the Board of Directors of the Medical Alumni Association at the University of Miami and was the principal investigator for research in the relief of chronic pain. He is now director of multidisciplinary pain medicine facilities in Louisiana and was tapped into Iron Arrow in 1997.

Melanie B. Trexler, J.D. '93, is associate general counsel for ContinuCare Corporation, a public healthcare company based in Miami.

Michael A. Fixler, B.B.A. '94, joined the Cleveland, Ohio, office of Benesch, Friedlander, Coplan & Aronoff, LLP as an associate in the corporate and securities department.

Mariah Hausman, B.F.A. '94, of Miami, is a freelance illustrator for St. Martin Press and a graphic artist for Norwegian Cruise Line.

Afi S. Johnson, B.B.A. '94, is serving as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force and is stationed at Peterson Air Force Base in Colorado.

Heidi McInnis, M.B.A. '94, received an award for Outstanding Service to Graduate Students from the University of Miami Graduate School, and was elected president of the Horse Protection Association of Florida. She resides in Miami.

Ivan Cepero, B.B.A. '95, is working as a financial analyst in Miami for American Express. He is in charge of preparing the corporate budget and forecast models for the South American headquarters.

Stuart M. Debowsky, B.Arch. '95, is an architectural associate at Peggy Nye & Lodin, Inc. in Miami.

Paul Lehman, B.S.N. '95, organized and coordinates the activities for the Miami/South Florida Chapter of the Nurse's Network for a National Health Program. The program's aim is to fight for a not-for-profit, national health insurance program that serves patients' needs.

Karen Lips, Ph.D. '95, is a biologist at St. Lawrence University in Canton, New York. She has been studying tree frogs in the Fortuna Forest Reserve in Panama for seven years and has discovered a peculiar parasite that is being studied worldwide.

Elisa Mallis, B.S. '95, is working at University Consultation Center for Mental Hygiene, dealing with mentally ill residents in New York, New York.

Daniel J. Mitan, B.S.C. '95, is a professor at Glendale Community College in Glendale, California.

Rita Ann Fitzpatrick Reik, M.D. '95, was appointed associate director of the Community Blood Center and Community Tissue Services in Dayton, Ohio. She is a fellow of the College of American Pathologists and a member of Alpha Omega Alpha Medical Honor Society.

Ellen Tift, M.M. '95, has come in third place in the Billboard Magazine's Song Contest in the Jazz category. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee.

Richard Toranzo, B.S. '95, of New York, New York, is an account executive for Ogilvy & Mather Advertising, in charge of the IBM account.

Christopher Clark, B.S.C. '96, is working on ESPN's NFL remote shows including the 1998 NFL Draft, Super Bowl XXXII and the Sunday Night NFL. He lives in Bristol, Connecticut.

C. Melanie Green, M.S. '96, was elected Miami-Dade County's Teacher of the Year for 1998-99. She works at Centennial Middle School in Miami, Florida.

Marco Rubio, J.D. '96, was elected commissioner of the City of West Miami and is currently working for Tew, Cardenas, Rebale, Kellog, Lehman, DeMaria & Tagic.

Laura J. Berlowe-Heinish, B.M. '88, J.D. '97, is currently an associate with the Law Office of Guillermo F. Mascaro in Miami.

Thomas Gary, LL.M. '84, M.B.A. '97, is president of the Coral Gables Bar Association and chairman of the Family Court Committee of the Miami-Dade County Bar Association.

Anthony L. Henry, B.B.A. '97, is a financial advisor with Morgan Stanley Dean Witter in New York, New York.

George C. Morton, M.B.A. '96, M.S. '97, has joined Virtual Resources in South Florida as a general manager.

Heather Tripp, B.B.A. '94, J.D. '97, was named an associate at Tripp, Scott, Conklin & Smith in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. She handles discrimination suits, harassment cases, employment contracts, corporate finance deals, condo issues, and lease transactions.

Darcy LaFountain Winters, B.B.A. '97, was selected as one of 50 Women Who Make a Difference by Women's News of the Mid South. She is senior vice president of communications and planning for MedShares in Memphis, Tennessee.

Gabriela Suarez, B.B.A. '98, has joined Republic National Bank in the Business Management and Organization Division. She resides in Miami.

Have You Made the Headlines Lately?

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