Class Notes for September 2020

Find out which of our alums is celebrating a promotion, a new career, or their start-up business in Class Notes. See who is making news, and take a moment to remember those who have passed on.

Don’t forget to share your own news with us by emailing Irene Kim at kimi@strose.edu.

2020s

Jacqueline Bove G’20 is a behavioral health consultant at Community Care Physicians, P.C. in Albany, New York.

Breanna Sisson ’20 has become a recruiter at SM Gallivan LLC in Westerlo, New York.

Morgan Burchhardt ’20, G’20 was named the Grand Collegiate Capital District Sports Woman of the Year.

2010s

Matt Parrella ’19 has become a senior Salesforce developer at 7Summit.

Dedeou Diarra ’18 has started as a Fellow at The Institute for Racial Justice Research & Advocacy.

Jessica Steinbach, CT ’17 is a counseling Intern at Phoenix Rising Behavioral Healthcare in Canton, Ohio.

Josh Terry ’16 interviewed a graphic-novel author (and fellow Marine veteran) for the New York Times Magazine.

Ojwanna Wilson ’17 is a designer working for the Biden presidential campaign in Atlanta, Georgia.

Francesca Mills ’15 was promoted to onboarding coach at Fidelity Investments.

Emerly Martinez G’14, G’15 bested more than 60 candidates and earned his position as the new principal of White Plains High School. He was formerly principal of Cornwall Central High School in Orange County.

Daniel A. Cobbins ’13 has become president of Xceptional Family Services in Charlotte, North Carolina.

Diana Akhmedjanova G’12 is a digital learning coordinator at Westminster International University in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.

Katie Hammon ’11 was in the news for her efforts to revitalize Troy’s entertainment scene with the Troy business improvement district.

Jessica (Williams) Bresett G’10 has become OSS program coordinator for the Center for Internet Security in Clifton Park, New York.

Schuyler Bull ’10, G’10 shared the story of his local small business, Fort Orange General Store, in Business Insider.

Cassandra Clark ’10 has been practicing her artistic talents in many different media, including oils, watercolors, jewelry, and inks in Key Largo, Florida, where she recently joined South of Heaven Tattoo.

Kathy Donovan G’10 had a virtual exhibition at 4 Elements Studio of visual pieces she produced during the pandemic.

2000s

Katelyn “Kate” (Corey) Buzzard ’09, promotion manager at NewsChannel 13 in Albany, New York, was nominated for a New York state Emmy for her weather campaign.

Shylah (Ross) Addante ’07 published her first young adult fiction novel on September 15, through Month9Books. “Garden of Thorns and Light is a re-imagining of the fairy mythos, following Amethyst Faye’s journey of self-discovery as she sprouts thorns, falls in love, and uncovers family secrets,” she says.

Karen Codd ’03 has become Community Wellness Coordinator at Jamaica Hospital (Jamaica, New York).

1990s

Megan-Claire Chase ’99 has started as marketing and communications specialist at Centene Corporation in Atlanta, Georgia. We profiled Chase in a recent Saint Rose Newsletter.

Lisa LaVigne ’99 is manager of medical education at Hologic, Inc. in San Diego, California.

Andrew Negus ’98 has become director of sales for SecureSuite at the Center for Internet Security.

William Crankshaw G’95 has become superintendent of the Greater Johnstown School District (Johnstown, New York).

Bridget (Heffernan) Mendel G’92 ran for the school board of Manatee County, Florida. Although she did not win against the incumbent, she received 41% of the vote in a strongly Republican area. “That means 29,187 people voted for me. I definitely had a strong message of justice and free and appropriate public education (FAPE) for our black and brown children. My Aunt Clara and the Sisters of St. Joseph would have been proud. Tess (Wysolmerski) was able to hear of my win, and she was such a strong supporter. In the meantime, I am going to continue doing special education advocacy and work on Democratic campaigns to try and get more of us elected here. I am sending my son up to Hudson Valley for the fall, and he will live with my sister in Albany. Who knows, maybe he will end up at Saint Rose in two years! Anything is possible! Two other Saint Rose Democrats that supported me here and helped me on my campaign are Marybeth Sottile and Maureen Bitley. They were invaluable to my campaign and both donated their time and effort to help me.”

1980s

Suzanne (Iacabucci) Prezio ’89 is a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker at Coldwell Banker Prime Properties in the Albany, New York, metropolitan area.

Patty (Smith) Milkins ’87 is a sales distribution manager at DSM Engineering Materials and her husband Dave Milkins ’87 has his own business buying and selling golf clubs. They reside on Lake Norman in North Carolina.

1970s

Sr. Joan Lescinski, CSJ ’70, G’74 announced that she will retire as president of St. Ambrose University in Davenport, Iowa, in August 2021.

In memoriam

Uriella Anea Perkins- Graham ’08, G’11, G’12
Sarah “Sallie” Marhafer Constantino ‘97
Margaret Hurley ‘67
Sarah Richards ‘64
Joyce (Tutein) Internicola ‘60
Sister Agnes Mary Joy, M.M. ‘53
Carmela M. LoGiudice Couser ‘52

Sister Catherine T McNamee, CSJ, ’53, trustee 1970-71 and 1996-2000

Sister Catherine T McNamee, CSJ, ’53 passed away on August 30 at age 89.

Sister Catherine earned her B.A. in Spanish from Saint Rose in 1953, and her graduate degree from Boston College in 1968. She was a member of the College Spanish faculty, and Undergraduate Dean for eight years. She was named as President of the College of St. Catherine and served in that role from 1979 until 1984.

She was a nationally known educator having earned grants from the Spanish government, the Organization of American States, and the Fulbright Program. She was a member of the Inter-American Confederation of Catholic Education, the International Organization of Catholic Education, International Federation of Catholic Universities, Delta Epsilon Sigma, and the National Catholic Educational Association of which she served as President. She was also a member of the Congregation Leadership Team of the Sisters of St. Joseph of Carondelet.

Sister Catherine was presented with the Saint Rose Distinguished Alumni Award in 2006, an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters at the College’s 1975 May Commencement, and was awarded the College’s highest honor, the Carondelet Medal in May 1991. She also held honorary degrees from Stonehill College, St. Joseph College (Maine), Marymount Manhattan College, Neumann University, Manhattan College, Anna Maria College, and the University of Scranton.