Class Notes: November 2018

We’re proud of how our alumni continue to represent the Saint Rose community with their amazing and impressive accomplishments. If you have any personal or professional news to report, please send an update to kimi@strose.edu.

2010s

Emily Mitchell ’18 reports: “I’ve been very blessed to begin a career so quickly after my graduation from the Music Industry program at Saint Rose. I’m from the class of ’18, and am currently working for a music tech start up based in New York City called Songtrust [Billboard Top 10 startup] as a publishing operations and client success coordinator. We are the largest music publisher by volume, representing over 1,000,000 songs and over 150,000 songwriters globally!”

Marina Ferreri ’17 published “The Light in the Dark,” a novel about a 16-year-old girl and the foster family that adopts her. “I started writing ‘The Light in the Dark’ six years ago one afternoon in Hubbard Interfaith Sanctuary. I never thought it would come this far- to one of my biggest dreams coming true by getting it officially published!!”

Alex Pecha ’17 is working as a marketing coordinator for or RWS Life Sciences (A division of RWS) in Hartford, Connecticut.

Ojwanna Wilson ’17 was promoted to graphic designer from junior graphic designer at Adrenaline Agency in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hannah Bensink ’16 was promoted to transfer pricing senior associate at KPMG in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. She had been working as a transfer pricing associate for the past two and a half years.

James Henry G’16 has become associate principal at Robert Frost Middle School on Long Island, New York. He had previously been the curriculum associate for the Deer Park school district for two years, and had taught math at Deer Park High School for 12 years. Henry’s new position appeared on Patch.com.

Michella Weiss G’16 signed on as marketing coordinator with upstate New York organic provider Tierra Farm. According to the company, she is responsible for the development and execution of marketing plans and will be involved in media and public relations.

Courtney Carr ’15 has taken over as the social media manager for one of the top tour companies in Las Vegas, Nevada, Skyline Helicopter Tours. Carr has big plans for Skyline, including installing a selfie wall in the lobby and taking Facebook Live to the skies.” I am still getting my grad degree and working as a staff writer for ‘The Boot’ (country music news and videos).”

Jacob Mortensen ’15 recently earned his master’s in music and artist diploma in classical instrumental performance from New York University. “As a winner of the 2018 Concerto competition at NYU, I will be performing Franz Doppler’s ‘Concerto for Two Flutes’ with my colleague, Victoria Santospago, on the 25th of October,” he says. “I am also freelancing as a musician and currently playing for an off-Broadway production of ’A Chorus Line.’ Hope all is well at Saint Rose!”

“We are all so proud of how far he has gone with his flute performance degrees,” added his Saint Rose flute professor, Dr. Yvonne Hansbrough.

Caleb Eick ’15 started as assistant director of communications and development at The Sembrich in Cooperstown, New York.

Ryan Taylor ’15 was recently promoted to director of production services at Image Media Inc. in New York City, where he has worked since February 2016.

Drew Wingate ’15 is working for JP Morgan Chase & Co. in Edinburgh, Scotland, as an investment analyst.

Joseph A. DeCarlo ’14 began working as a gas-line construction inspector at Maser Consulting in Poughkeepsie, New York.

Dominykas Milka ’14 has begun playing professional basketball for La Charité 58 Basket at La Charité-sur-Loire, France. He continues to also play professionally for CEP Lorient in Brittany, where he moved from Estonia in August 2017.

Kaitlyn Rooney ’13 began as assistant director of student engagement and leadership at Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in Albany, New York.

Alexis (Miller) Wade ’11 is site lead at Thrive Affordable Vet Care in North Carolina.

Whitney L. Closson ’10 is working at Albany Medical Center in Albany, New York, as a HIV medical case manager. “My specific caseload serves MSM’s (men who have sex with men) aged 25 and under and high-risk women (this includes other medical diagnoses like cancer, sickle cell, etc., substance abuse, mental health concerns, and various other socioeconomic barriers). Our clinic strives to educate, test and treat the Capital Region and beyond. The governor’s goal is to end the Epidemic by 2020 by having no new positives in our area.

“I am currently involved with several nonprofits. I co-led the committee for the Albany Damien Center’s Walk to End AIDS and was their highest earner. I recently helped KaBoom! and Forester’s Financial build a playground for the Schenectady Boys & Girls Club. I most recently completed a Fundraising Mentoring program for young professionals under 30. I am connected to the American Counseling Association, and Chi Sigma Iota, the National Counselors Honor Society. My hobbies include cooking, yoga, and working on my side venture – creating Aromatherapy products using essential oils, which can be found on my website, creativecoping.net.”

Dana (Camacho) Godinho ’10 recently started working as recruiting manager at Pernod Ricard in Chicago, Illinois.

2000s

Brittany Edwards ’09 owns and runs Brittany’s Diner in Fort Plain, New York, with her father and two brothers. The diner and general store, just south of the Adirondacks, recently celebrated its 11th anniversary. Back in 2007, Edwards decided to open the diner in a building owned by her father, where many other businesses had tried and failed. More than a decade later, as head cook and owner, she serves up homemade meals to locals and travelers 364 days per year. The article “Brittany’s Diner turns eleven” ran in The Leader-Herald.

Mary Catherine Culella-Sun ’08 is the new director of pupil personnel services for the Seaford School District in Long Island, New York, in which she supervises special education staff, guidance counselors, nurses, psychologists, and social workers. She was the assistant director for special education in the Island Trees School District for the past five years, and was also a special education teacher in Valley Stream District 13 and New York City. In addition to her master’s degree from Saint Rose, Culella-Sun holds a bachelor’s degree in criminology from John Jay College, a master’s degree in inclusive education from Adelphi College, and a master’s degree in special education from Queens College. She is presently pursuing her doctorate in educational leadership at Concordia University.

Randy Hernandez ’07 has been working as a producer for CBS News in New York City for nearly one year.

Erin Contrady G’04 became principal at Sacred Heart School in New Windsor, New York.

Bethany Everest ’04 has become clinical director at UNC Health Care in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, since June 2018. She previously served as director of quality management at Select Medical.

Jaimie Dimmer-Proscia ’03, who lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two sons, recently joined a New York City fin-tech trading firm as the head of human resources. Previously, she had spent the last 10 years leading Human Resources for a health and wellness advertising agency, The Bloc, in lower Manhattan. She continues to pursue side photography projects and prides herself on injecting creativity into her job to inspire and engage people.

Andrew D. Gregory ’01 was recently honored by City & State New York as one of Albany’s 40 Under 40 Rising Stars. The article spotlighted his effective campaign to protect four Rensselaer firefighter positions that had been earmarked for elimination. As multimedia director at Corning Place Communications, he developed a creative outreach program to the community that involved traditional media outlets as well as social messaging.
 
In addition, he was appointed to serve as the Co-President of AIGA Upstate New York, the association for professional design. “In this capacity, I help lead a team of volunteers from across upstate New York to advance design as a professional craft, strategic advantage, and vital cultural force.” 

Maria Pidgeon ’00 was interviewed by the Albany Business Review about Innovate 518 and Start-Up New York, incubator programs for local businesses. Pidgeon works with these programs as associate director for Innovation Hot Spot at the University at Albany, and she talked about the companies in the portfolio, their stages of development, exit strategies, the region’s entrepreneurial community, and the importance of supporting startups as they grow.

1990s

Matthew Whalen ’92 has been inducted into the Lottery Industry Hall of Fame. Whalen, who is senior vice president of operations, North America Lottery, for International Game Technology PLC (Providence, Rhode Island), was honored at the annual conference of the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries in Cleveland, Ohio, on September 26. “I’m proud to have been a part of some truly significant technological achievements in this business, and I believe we are only scratching the surface of what we will ultimately be able to achieve,” he said.

1980s

Julie Bramley ’86 began working as a clinical audiologist in Slocum Dicksom Medical Group in New Hartford, New York.

Camille Gibeau ’80 announced that her business, Silver Fox Salvage, would close down after selling off its remaining inventory to settle the estate of the business’s founder. For decades, the store has supplied upscale salvage décor to area businesses and residents. The news was reported in the Albany Business Review, All Over Albany, the Times Union.

1970s

Jeffrey Beale ’77, a former Saint Rose Trustee, received the Fund Industry Lifetime Achievement Award from the NICSA, a not-for-profit asset management trade association that connects global asset management industry participants to develop, share, and advance leading practices. The NICSA NOVA awards are bestowed for excellence in innovation and leadership in asset management, and were presented at the association’s annual conference in Boston, Massachusetts, in October.

IN MEMORIAM

Morris Massry H’04, friend and supporter of Saint Rose
Cora Alphonso-Butler ‘11
Sandra Carroll ‘88
Cesidio DiMascio ‘82
Timothy Fitzpatrick ‘82
Thomas P. Knapp G’77
Mary McLeer ‘76
Caroline Wales ‘72
Nancy Williams G’69
Ann McCusker Flaws ’68, G’72
Sister Mary Jacinta Flanagan, CSJ ‘66 
Sister Anne Gaffigan, CSJ, ’65, G’72
Helen Conway Galea ‘47
Rosemary Clarke Newell ‘47
Rose Abernethy Irvine ’46, Ph.D.
Joyce Elie Epping ‘55
Edna Mullarkey ‘37
Charlie Crisafulli, friend of Saint Rose