July 2014 – Oct 2014 Class Notes
The following are UW-Green Bay Alumni class notes submitted July 2014 through October 2014. Submit your class note via the Alumni update form.
1970s | 1980s | 1990s | 2000s
1970s
Bernie Fatla ’71 modernization processes, is gaining national attention for his Madison-area business, Le Dame Footwear, through his board service and partnership with Walk a Mile in Her Shoes. The local marches that encourage men to don high heels to raise funds and awareness to fight gender violence. Le Dame (motto: “High Fashion, Large Sizes”) markets feminine footwear for larger, more masculine feet to fit the needs of cross-dressing, transgender, drag queen and female consumers as well as stage and film companies. Fatla launched his Verona-area company after reading a New York Times story in 2006 headlined, “If the Shoe Fits, You’re Lucky.”
Robert Laux-Bachand ’71 humanism and cultural change, is a copy editor at The Westerly Sun, covering six towns in Rhode Island and Connecticut. The first editor of the UW-Green Bay student newspaper, he went on to be copy desk chief for The Day in New London, Conn., and a staff editor for the New York Times News Service, from which he retired in 2010. Last year he won a first-place award for editorial writing from the Rhode Island Press Association.
Dick Kendall ’73 business administration, is the duly elected chairman of the town of Doty in Oconto County. He also continues as executive director of the Pulp and Paper Manufacturing Association.
Margaret Maes ’73 humanism and cultural change, is an executive director for the Legal Information Preservation Alliance in Bloomington, Ind.
Roxanne Nys ’74 English and secondary education, was honored with the Leadership in Literacy Technology Award at the 2014 convention of the Wisconsin State Reading Association. Nys is the former director of interactive learning services for the CESA 7 school cooperative in Northeast Wisconsin.
Kate Joncas ’76 urban analysis, has been appointed deputy mayor of operations for the city of Seattle. Commented Mayor Ed Murray, “From transit and economic development to human services and the development of our central waterfront, she has been a well-respected, deeply involved and highly influential voice in this city.” Joncas was president and CEO of the Downtown Seattle Association. She joined that organization in 1994 after working for the National Main Street Center in Washington, D.C., and as director of the Astor Neighborhood Association
in Green Bay.
1980s
Dan Flannery ’80 communication, formerly a Wisconsin regional executive for Gannett and executive editor of the Post-Crescent of Appleton, is vice president of community relations for Goodwill Industries of North Central Wisconsin.
Bill Lindmark ’81 business administration, retired this year as head coach after two decades with the Phoenix men’s golf program.
Rob Cera ’84 accounting, is 2014-15 chair of the Wisconsin Bankers Association, the state’s largest financial industry trade association. He is president and CEO of Baylake Bank.
Marianna DeMyer ’84 communication, made the finals of the 2014 Governor’s Business Plan Contest. DeMyer developed a lightweight (under 20 lbs), inexpensive wilderness water purification system, Roving Blue.
Amy Wergin ’85 nursing, was appointed head of the Manitowoc County Health Department in May. She has spent more than 25 years with the department as a public health nurse.
Jacob Winzenz ’85 public administration, is the new finance director for the city of Eau Claire. He was previously director of administrative services for the city of Janesville.
Karen (Bauer) Iken ’86 and ’04 communication and the arts and master’s in applied leadership for teaching and learning, is a music teacher for the Green Bay Area Public School District. A book for which she contributed a personal essay, Teaching Music in the Urban Classroom, still finds use among education professionals nearly a decade after its publication.
Paul Clifford ’87 social change and development, was last year named president and general manager of the Canada Division for Sherwin-Williams Paint. He lives in the Toronto suburb of Oakville. He was previously based in Ohio as the company’s vice president for U.S. sales.
Lisa DeLeeuw ’88 and ’94 business administration and master’s in administrative science, was promoted to manager of mail print services for Schneider National in Green Bay.
Andrew Hilliard ’88 business administration, spends time in both Green Bay and South Africa, where it is now springtime in the vineyards of the Stellenbosch Region. Hilliard is managing director for Beau Joubert Vineyards & Winery.
Kathryn McDonald ’89 master’s in environmental science and policy, of Bloomfield Hills, Mich., was honored this summer with selection to the Woodrow Wilson Michigan Teaching Fellows program. She formerly worked as a naturalist and as a regulatory and wetlands biologist with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.
1990s
Karn Gregoire ’90 business administration, is executive director of the Martha-Ellen Tye Foundation of Marshalltown, Iowa, which administers more than $1 million annually in community grants in central Iowa.
Denis Semaan ’90 human biology, is an administrator with St. Francois Medical Centre in Abuja, Nigeria.
Anthony Treml ’91 English, is a senior account executive for WS Packaging Group, Inc. in Minnetrista, Minn.
Jay Wiedemann ’91 chemistry and biology, died this past summer in Smithers, W.Va., where he was a professor of physical sciences at the West Virginia University Institute of Technology. He was 47.
Tammy (Wolff) Spencer ’92 human biology, is a surveillance investigator for the Stratosphere Casino, Hotel and Tower in Las Vegas.
Amy Wildgrube-Atkins ’92 English, is the vice president of training and organizational development for Suddenlink, the nation’s seventh largest cable operator, headquartered in St. Louis, Mo.
Peter Olson ’93 history, is the vice president of Webster Bank in Darien, Conn. He serves on the board of directors for the Tiny Miracles Foundation and also for the Darien Chamber of Commerce.
Julie (Rabehl) Timm ’93 public administration, is the vice president of marketing and communication at Bethesda Lutheran Communities, a Watertown-based provider of services for people with developmental disabilities.
Brian Blohowiak ’94 geology, is a validation specialist for Nature’s Way, a national brand of dietary supplements, based in Green Bay.
Randolph Knaflic ’95 music, vice president of people for Jawbone — a wearable technology company in San Francisco — has produced and released a recording on his jazz label, Reade Street Records, collaborating with 81-year-old sax legend Charles Davis.
Sharon (Atwood) Koenig ’96 bachelor of general studies, is the owner of Buy the Numbers, Inc., a bookkeeping and business services firm in Sturgeon Bay.
Brian Lund ’97 human biology, is the director of compliance audit and monitoring at McKesson Medical-Surgical in Golden Valley, Minn. He holds an MBA from UW-River Falls and the Certified Information Privacy Professional designation.
Mark Nadolski ’97 accounting, is the assistant director of project/portfolio governance at Northwestern Mutual in Milwaukee. He was elected to the Menomonee Falls School Board in April 2014.
Jason Simons ’98 environmental science, is a senior project scientist for Golder Associates in Green Bay.
Jennifer (Haase) Thiele ’98 human development, is the director for Marinette County Libraries. She was selected to participate in the 2014 edition of the Summer Doctoral Programme hosted in England by the Oxford Internet Institute at the University of Oxford.
Mark Doering ’99 business administration, is an account executive for New Horizons/ Riley Technologies in Appleton.
Brenda Kopetsky ’99 business administration, is a registered nurse with Ministry St. Mary’s Hospital in Rhinelander.
Peres Owino ’99 theatre, claimed an award at the 40th annual Seattle Film Festival for her documentary “Bound: Africans versus African Americans.” A native of Kenya, the Los Angeles-based actress, filmmaker and occasional stand-up comic used testimonials to expose historical tensions and the seldom-discussed ways that Africans and African Americans view each other. She also appeared in the independent film Default, directed by Simon Brand, about the hijacking of an American news crew’s plane on a runway in Africa.
2000s
Nathan Barnes ’00 urban and regional studies, is a professional coach operator for Indigo Transportation in Indianapolis. He published his first book, Have Faith in God and the Power within You, in September.
Panh Vang ’01 human development, is a house supervisor for New Community Shelter in Green Bay.
Stacy (Blavat) Golden ’02 communication processes, is the director of recruiting for Gold’s Gym in Dallas.
Lisa Reed ’02 communication processes, is a staff writer and page designer for the Eagle Herald in Marinette.
Kelly (Svetz) Szesterniak ’02 education, is entering her second year as principal of Hoover Elementary School in the Mt. Lebanon School District near Pittsburgh, Pa.
Paula Molina-Shaver ’03 nursing, is a clinical assistant professor for Boise State University. She completed her master’s in nursing education in 2010. Molina-Shaver is also owner and operator of Shaver Enterprisesa retail internet business.
Joshua Rees ’03 history, is the new assistant attorney general for the Tohono O’odham Nation in Sells, Ariz. He worked previously for the Ho-Chunk and Menominee tribes in Wisconsin.
Michelle Wagner ’03 communication processes, is the director of strategic events and outreach for Leidos, a technology company in Beavercreek, Ohio.
Matthew Bramschreiber ’04 urban studies, is a front-shop foreman for Industrial Stainless Inc. in Green Bay.
Justin Connaher ’04 communication, is a former Fourth Estate and Gannett photojournalist who is now winning numerous photography honors for his civilian service to the U.S. Air Force. We’ll have more on Connaher and his work in our next issue.
Rebecca Lamb ’04 English, is an e-commerce supply chain executive for Kohl’s Department Stores in Menomonee Falls.She received her MBA in International Business from UW-Oshkosh in May 2014.
Melissa (Zahorik) Moody ’04 business administration, has been promoted to vice president/commercial quality assurance manager at Associated Bank in Green Bay.
Sameer Rana ’04 environmental policy and planning, is a product integrity testing specialist for Kohl’s Corporation in Menomonee Falls.
Neil Sandhu ’04 human biology, is a dermatologist and Mohs-technique surgeon for Gulf Coast Dermatology in Gulf Breeze, Fla. He attended the UW School of Medicine and Public Health and was chief resident at the UMDNJ-New Jersey Medical School.
Heather Bloch ’05 psychology, is a psychology scheduler for Catalpa Health in Green Bay.
Dana (Hartzheim) DeCair ’05 communication processes and political science, is the coordinator of conferences and special events at the University of Illinois.
Jarrod Schumacher ’05 information sciences, of Green Bay, is an application engineer for Thrivent Financial for Lutherans.
Justin Rebman ’06 business administration, is the owner of a financial services, estate planning and asset management firm headquartered in Tequesta, Fla.
David VanDeLoo ’06 business administration, is a mail carrier for USPS in Manitowoc.
Kara Counard ’07 English, is the owner of Bloom Photography by Kara in Green Bay. She has had two solo art shows at the ARTgarage focusing on women and community. Her projects led her to her Honoring Elders Project, where children are taught basic photography concepts and practice them in assisted living centers.
Heather (Workman) Goesch ’07 human biology, is the owner and nutrition and wellness coach for Heather Goesch Nutrition in Holly Ridge, N.C.
Joseph Hanrahan ’07 business administration, is a marketing specialist for Berners-Schober Associates in Green Bay.
Lori Nolan ’07 elementary education, is a lead teacher and director for Knowledge Universe in Buffalo Grove, Ill. She is attending National Louis University for her master’s in reading education.
Kathryn (Doncheck) Zavala ’07 human biology, is a resident physician at the University of Illinois College of Medicine at Peoria, Department of OB/GYN. She graduated from the UW School of Medicine and Public Health in May 2014 as a member of the Gold Humanism Honor Society.
Anna Brien ’08 business administration, is the client billing specialist team lead for IOD Incorporated in Green Bay.
Paul Gazdik ’08 social change and development, is emergency director for Brown County, where he has won recognition for leveraging social media to assist his efforts.
Jennifer Kuderski ’08 business administration, is a pricing process specialist at Georgia-Pacific in Green Bay. She also teaches dance to children at the YMCA.
Neil Montour ’08 theatre, is the head of automation for Atlanta Rigging Systems in Atlanta.
Renee (Dodge) Schulz ’08 social work, is a medical case manager for the Hepatitis Education Project in Seattle.
Ben Wolf ’08 elementary education, is an eighth-grade teacher for the Pulaski Community School District.
Gregory Grzesik ’09 human biology, is a resident physician for Northshore Hospital in Evanston, Ill. He received his Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine from Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine in June 2013.
Lindsey Mack ’09 business administration, is a recreation clerk for the city of Two Rivers. She recently won an award for her participation in the Two Rivers Fire Department’s Citizen Academy.
Katelyn (Broda) Strzok ’09 communication, is director of retail operations for Holland’s Family Cheese, LLC in Thorp, home of the 2013 Grand Champion of the U.S. Championship Cheese Contest and the 2014 Aged Gouda Champion.
Aaron VanDomelen ’09 environmental science, is a project manager at LaForce in Green Bay.
Katie Von Holzen ’09 psychology, earned her Ph.D. at Georg-August-Universität in Göttingen, Germany, where she studied bilingual and monolingual lexical and phonological development. An ‘alumna’ of UW-Green Bay’s Language Learning Lab, she works as a post-doctoral researcher at the Université Paris Descartes, studying childhood language acquisition.
Kimberly Vickman ’09 environmental science, is a department manager for Microbac Laboratories in Warrendale, Pa.
Neil Wender ’09 business administration, is a senior commercial analyst for Roehl Transport, Inc. in Green Bay.
Adam Austreng ’10 business administration, is a Wisconsin sales representative for Oakley in Milwaukee.
Benjamin Kvalo ’10 business administration, is the operations manager, core technology, for 2K games in Novato, Cal.
Kay (Sukowaty) Voss ’10 business administration, Plymouth, is the assistant director of career development at Lakeland College.
Sharon (Kitter) Day ’11 history, is the owner of Ginger and Waldo Designs, a line of body/care products made using natural ingredients in Green Bay marketed online and at Heritage Hill State Historical Park and Neville Public Museum.
John Hartman ’11 social change and development, is the assistant store manager for Adidas Group in West Chester, Ohio.
Jennifer (Parsley) Karczewski ’11 business administration, is the general manager for Ulta Beauty in Spencer, N.C.
Theresa (Danley) Shifflett ’11 communication, is a program and marketing assistant with the Lawrence Academy of Music, a community-music initiative of Lawrence University, Appleton.
Nicole M. Behnke ’12 human development, passed away Aug. 9 after a traffic accident. She had been working for Prevea Clinic as a neuropsychometrist.
Casey Calhoun ’12 psychology, is a student services coordinator with the UW-Milwaukee financial aid office. She earned her master’s in educational psychology with an emphasis in community counseling at UW-Milwaukee.
Matthew Christianson ’12 political science and ’14 sustainable management, became the first recipient of the new Master of Science Degree in Sustainable Management. Christianson’s master’s thesis involved best practices in professional sports sustainability, from game-day recycling to front-office and franchise-wide techniques for going green.
Rachel Coughlin ’12 human development and psychology, is a graduate research assistant in “healthy aging” with the Texas A&M Health Science Center. She is in her final year of a public health master’s and is also seeking a certificate in nonprofit management from A&M’s Bush School of Government and Public Service.
Adyson (Martin) DeJardin ’12 human development, is the employment manager for JBS Packerland, Inc., in Green Bay. She earned her master’s in industrial and organizational psychology.
Timothy Jones ’12 environmental policy and planning and public administration, was deployed to Afghanistan with the U.S. Navy, scheduled to return this fall.
Pakou Lee ’12 communication, is a social media advocate/health adviser for United Healthcare in Green Bay. She won Rookie of the Year from the local American Red Cross chapter for her help in promoting blood drives and various campaigns.
Brandon Novack ’12 business administration, is a supply chain/ data analyst for Harley-Davidson Motor Company in Belgium. A cancer survivor, he is a very active volunteer with the MACC Fund (shown here with Packers star Aaron Rodgers), and he also helps out as a high school football coach with the Cedar Grove-Belgium Rockets.
Mick Scheuer ’12 business administration, is the director of social fundraising for Kingdom Workers in Wauwatosa.
Jennifer Schlei ’12 interdisciplinary studies and psychology, is a training program coordinator for Forward Service in Green Bay.
Carly Smith ’12 business administration, is the front-of-house restaurant manager at Oneida Golf and Country Club in Green Bay.
Daniel Bayless ’13 communication, works in sales and internet marketing support for Orion Group LLC in Milwaukee.
Benjamin Chester ’13 business administration, reports that he is a pro scout for the Oakland Raiders, based in De Pere.
Jillian DeRidder ’13 political science, is a financial representative for Northwestern Mutual in Green Bay.
Sarah Eichler ’13 education, has joined the University of Hartford women’s basketball program as an assistant coach to former UConn star Jennifer Rizzotti. Eichler played professionally in Copenhagen last year.
Jeff Huebner ’13 political science and public administration, is a LiveScore operator for SportsData, LLC in St. Louis Park, Minn.
Kayla Johnson ’13 psychology, is an activity specialist with Paragon Community Services, De Pere, serving individuals with developmental and physical disabilities.
William Lester ’13 environmental policy and planning, is the land and water resource technician for Forest County Land and Water Resources in Crandon.
Emily Makowski ’13 communication, is a communications coordinator for the city of Oshkosh. She planned and held the 2014 Oshkosh State of the City, organized multiple ribbon cuttings and ground breakings throughout the city, and hosted the 2013 Holiday Parade and 2014 Memorial Day Procession. Emily also manages local government TV stations such as CATV 2 and CitiCable 10.
Chelsie Vezina ’13 communication, is the executive director for Waushara Area Chamber of Commerce in Wautoma.
Sarah Bosquez ’14 psychology, is a line therapist for Wisconsin Early Autism Project in De Pere.
Jayson Giese ’14 urban and regional studies, works for American Pride Industrial Equipment and Services in New Franken.
Edward Gurney ’14 economics, is a “guerilla marketing specialist” for Jimmy John’s in Brookfield.
Katelyn Mroczenski ’14 human biology, is a nursing assistant at Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee.
Ashley Ramer ’14 psychology, is a line therapist for Wisconsin Early Autism Project in Green Bay.
Jennifer (DeCamp) Randall ’14 interdisciplinary studies, is a legal services advocate in Menominee, Mich.
Mark Salmon ’14 interdisciplinary studies, is a quality assurance analyst for Ameriprise Auto & Home Insurance, Green Bay.
Ali Schuchart ’14 human development and psychology, is a military program coordinator for Schneider National in Green Bay.
Elizabeth Smeaton ’14 communication, is a human resource assistant at GMR Marketing, Waukesha.
Nick Steffes ’14 environmental science, is a district engineer for Nalco Chemical in Glenbeulah, Wis.
Travis Tilque ’14 accounting and business administration, is an accountant with Schenck S.C.in Green Bay.
Amanda Vonckx ’14 design arts, is a graphic design and camp ministry intern at Lake Lundgren Bible Camp in Pembine.
Teresa Wroblewski ’14 business administration and public administration, is on the market development team for Bellin Health in Milwaukee.
