School of Education & Social Policy

Alumni News


Please send all address changes, news updates and e-mail addresses to sespalums@northwestern.edu

30s
Virginia Lewis (BS37, MS42) of St. Petersburg, Fla., is 100 years old and still teaching, through the Academy of Senior Professionals at Eckerd College. Lewis, who earned her doctorate from Harvard University, was the third African American to become a school principal in Chicago.

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60s
James Friedman (MA64) of Palatine, Ill., an attorney, psychologist and educator, was profiled in a recent American Syringomyelia Alliance Project newsletter. Diagnosed with syringomyelia in 1998, he spends time with his fiancé, family, friends, computer, games and books.
Art Ellison (MA66) of Concord, N.H., testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Education and Workforce Committee's Subcommittee on 21st-Century Competitiveness. He was representing the National Council of State Directors of Adult Education on the issue of making English the official language of the United States. Ellison is state director of adult education in New Hampshire.
Nancy W. Sindelar (BS66) of Chicago, an author and consultant, wrote a book entitled Using Test Data for Student Achievement. For six years she served on the Northwestern SESP alumni board and was president for four years.

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70s
Shinae Chun (MA71) of Silver Spring, Md., received the Korean Broadcasting System's 14th Overseas Korean Compatriot Award. The award is based on her work for the political and economic empowerment of women and Asian Americans.
Kent Rice (MA/MS72) of Denver was named CEO of Starz Animation, which develops and produces animated feature-length movies.
Joseph Verzino (MA/MS75) of Fayetteville, N.Y., is president of Liftech Equipment Companies Inc., a privately held construction equipment business based in Syracuse that opened a new branch in Bloomfield, Conn.
Mark H. Larson (BS79) of Lake Zurich, Ill., and Robert S. Boone (PhD75) of Glencoe, Ill., have co-written a creative writing text entitled Moe's Café. They presented their method of fiction writing at the 2006 National Council of Teachers of English convention.

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90s
Mark D. Loretta (BS93) of Rancho Santa Fe, Calif., second baseman for the Houston Astros, received the 2006 Hutch Award, given to the major league baseball player who best reflects the spirit and desire of baseball great Fred Hutchinson.
William Bennett (BS96) of Glendale, Ariz., and his wife, Asinna Puryear Bennett, a 1997 School of Communications graduate, own an online store for health, nutrition and beauty supplies.
Christine Conroy Levy (MA98) of Chicago is vice president of design and development at Kaleidoscope Learning, which designs e-learning for corporate and nonprofit clients. .
Isabel Villegas (BS98) of Chicago was hired as creative director for Jack Morton Latino business segment, a global experiential marketing firm. Previously she worked in Los Angeles as director of marketing and broadcasting for Major League Soccer's Chivas USA and the Mexican National Team Isabel Villegas (BS98) of Chicago was hired as creative director for Jack Morton Latino business segment, a global experiential marketing firm. Previously she worked in Los Angeles as director of marketing and broadcasting for Major League Soccer's Chivas USA and the Mexican National Team.
Bryan Dwyer (MS99) of San Salvador is program manager for municipal development with the Peace Corps in El Salvador Bryan Dwyer (MS99) of San Salvador is program manager for municipal development with the Peace Corps in El Salvador. He provides his e-mail address, bryan_dwyer@yahoo.com, for students or alumni interested in the Peace Corps or a career in international development.

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00s
Dara Miller Freiberg (BS00, MS04) of Hamden, Conn., a graduate of the Higher Education Administration and Policy program, has been promoted to the position of deputy director of Yale College Annual Giving.
Gary Kosman (BS00) of Los Angeles recently co-authored a book called Bonding While Learning. He is the founder and CEO of America Learns, which creates reading tutoring strategies steeped in research and practice for volunteer tutors.
Soojin Chung (MA02) of Seoul, Korea, a graduate of the Master of Arts in Learning Sciences program, is executive director of licensing at Sony Pictures Television International in South Korea. Previously she headed Buena Vista International Television Asia Pacific's South Korean office.
Marceline B. (Mosio) Tempesta (BS02) of New York joined the law firm of Kaye Scholer LLP in March 2006 as an associate in the trusts and estates department. On May 27, she married Edward R. Tempesta.
Brad Deibel (BS03) of Glendale, Calif., who majored in learning and organizational change, works for the University of Southern California as a professional development consultant. He does facilitation as well as internal performance improvement consulting throughout the university.
Molly Gholson Carlson (MS04) of Madison, Wis., a graduate of the Higher Education Administration and Policy program, is pursuing a doctoral degree in higher education. She is assistant director of the School of Music at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Allison Cunningham (BS04) of San Diego is a first-year doctoral student in experimental psychology at the University of California, San Diego. She is specializing in applied behavior analysis and working in the UCSD Autism Research Program Allison Cunningham (BS04) of San Diego is a first-year doctoral student in experimental psychology at the University of California, San Diego. She is specializing in applied behavior analysis and working in the UCSD Autism Research Program.
Elena Kyza (PhD04) of Cyprus has accepted a position as a lecturer at the Cyprus University of Technology.
Amy Rosenband (BS04) of Chicago recently became the spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services Amy Rosenband (BS04) of Chicago recently became the spokeswoman for the Illinois Department of Healthcare and Family Services.
Sabrina Ehmke (BS05) of Chicago is teaching history at Evanston Township High School after spending a year teaching English at the Cornel Language School in Taiwan Sabrina Ehmke (BS05) of Chicago is teaching history at Evanston Township High School after spending a year teaching English at the Cornel Language School in Taiwan.
Sara Karbeling (MS05) of Polk City, Iowa, is teaching physics and mathematics at Des Moines Central Academy, a magnet program for gifted and talented students.
Lisa Dorner (PhD06) of St. Louis was chosen from more than 100 applicants as a research fellow for the American Education Research Association's division focusing on the social context of education.
Jeff Merrell (MS06) of Evanston, a graduate of the Master's in Learning and Organizational Change program, was selected to make a presentation at the Business as an Agent of World Benefit global forum at Case Western Reserve University in October Jeff Merrell (MS06) of Evanston, a graduate of the Master's in Learning and Organizational Change program, was selected to make a presentation at the Business as an Agent of World Benefit global forum at Case Western Reserve University in October. His presentation was "The Success Case of Northside Bank."

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Alum Establishes Graduate Fellowship

Mary Wege Nelson (BS67, right), shown here at the Northwestern Homecoming game with her college roommate Mary Siler Larson (BS67), established a new $100,000 fellowship together with her husband, Jim Mary Wege Nelson (BS67, right), shown here at the Northwestern Homecoming game with her college roommate Mary Siler Larson (BS67), established a new $100,000 fellowship together with her husband, Jim. The Kinship Environmental Education Fund is intended for graduate students at SESP studying environmental science education or environmental policy.

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Alumna Facilitates NU-TEACH Fellowship

The NU-TEACH alternative certification program, which prepares mid-career professionals for a career in teaching, has a new fellowship established with a $95,000 donation from the Oak Brook Bank Charitable Trust. Trustee Richard Rieser became acquainted with NU-TEACH through his wife, Susan (BS71), and the fellowship is named the Ruth J. Simmons Fellowship Fund in honor of the president of Brown University, who was born the 12th child of a family of sharecroppers.

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Class of 1961 Alumni Gather for Reunion

 Members of the Class of 1961 gathered with faculty and staff at Annenberg Hall during Reunion Weekend 2006. They are (seated, left to right) Ellen Smith Taft, doctoral student Spiro Maroulis, Judy Ford, Tom Ford, Ann Davis, Sally Hayward, (standing, left to right)
Associate Professor Miriam Sherin, Barbara Zubrick, Lee Gery, Susan Hoggins, Ellis Gery, Chuck Sansone, Dean Penelope Peterson, Director of Development Laurie Carlin Davidson and Julia Sansone.

Members of the Class of 1961 gathered with faculty and staff at Annenberg Hall during Reunion Weekend 2006

(PHOTO BY JIM ZIV)

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Higher Education Alumni Panel Shares Advice

Seven recent graduates of the Higher Education Administration and Policy program returned to share their career advice with current students at a panel discussion on December 7 Seven recent graduates of the Higher Education Administration and Policy program returned to share their career advice with current students at a panel discussion on December 7. Panelists were (from left) Nancy Dunham (MS05), an assistant dean at Loyola University Chicago; Shannon Kennedy (MS06), coordinator for academic affairs at Illinois Institute of Technology; Tedd Vanadilok (MS04), director of Asian/Asian-American Student Affairs at Northwestern; Kim Laczynski (MS06), assistant director for change management at University of Illinois at Chicago; Sean O'Neil (MS02), technical advisor at BP America; Susanna Calkins (MS05), senior program associate at Searle Center for Teaching Excellence, Northwestern; and Joan Trimuel (MS04), associate director of auditing operations at Northwestern.

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In Memorium

Dr. Lola May (BS50, PhD65), a renowned teacher and motivational speaker, died on March 13. A memorial service will be held on April 28 at the First Presbyterian Church in Evanston.

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