Class Notes
College/Arts, Sciences & Engineering
1964
Judith Lehman Ruderman ’66W (MA) has published a book, Race and Identity in D. H. Lawrence: Indians, Gypsies, and Jews (Palgrave Macmillan). Judith is a visiting professor of English at Duke University.
1969
Michael Imber ’73W (Mas) (see Warner School ’73).
1970
Nancy Heller Cohen ’70N has published her first work of nonfiction, Writing the Cozy Mystery (Orange Grove Press). “This book evolved from the numerous requests I’ve had for guidance on writing a traditional mystery,” she writes. Nancy has written multiple mysteries as part of two series she’s created, the Bad Hair Day mystery series and the Drift Lords paranormal series. . . . Mark Kalin is a nationally recognized expert on architectural specifications. President of Kalin Associates, which he founded in 1984, Mark was selected to direct the 2014 MED-Ed Facilities Boston conference, a gathering of professionals in health care and educational facilities design and construction in the New England region.
1973
William Savino has been named to the SUNY-Buffalo law school dean’s advisory council, where he’ll offer guidance on curriculum, development, alumni relations, and other matters pertaining to the future of the school. William is a partner at the Buffalo firm Damon Morey, and an instructor of commercial litigation and business law at SUNY–Buffalo, where he earned his JD in 1975.
1974
Jonathan Samel has been named a 2013 “Awesome Attorney” by the Philadelphia region’s Suburban Life magazine. Jonathan chairs the business/tax, estates and trusts, and elder law departments at the Eastern Pennsylvania law firm of Hamburg, Rubin, Mullin, Maxwell & Lupin.
1975
Jim Kennedy has been named chief communications officer at the global media company News Corp. Jim has worked for Sony Pictures and the White House staff of President Bill Clinton. He’s based in New York City.
1980
Kathy Waller ’83S (MBA), a University trustee, has been named chief financial officer at the Coca-Cola Co. Previously Kathy was the company’s controller.
1981
Veronique Hakim has been named executive director of New Jersey Transit. She was appointed by New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie following the resignation of the previous director. Veronique has been executive director of the New Jersey Turnpike Authority since 2010, and previously served as special counsel at New York City Transit. She’ll oversee the operation of New Jersey’s train, bus, and light rail networks. . . . Alan Sheriff has been named to the board of directors of Delaware Valley College. Alan is founder and co-executive officer of Solebury Capital Group, and founder and executive director of Teach2Serve, a nonprofit that trains select high school students for careers in public policy and nonprofits. He lives in Bucks County, Pa.
1982
David Broder was named vice speaker of the House of Delegates of the American Osteopathic Association. An internist in the Long Island, N.Y., town of Melville, David also serves as president and CEO of the New York Colleges of Osteopathic Medicine Educational Consortium. . . . John Murphy is the director of the newly established office of cyber and infrastructure analysis at the Department of Homeland Security. He writes: “My team leads the federal government’s effort to understand the consequences of disruptions to the nation’s critical infrastructure via detailed analysis, modeling, and simulation. I joined the Department of Homeland Security after retiring from the Navy in 2011.” . . . Mark Quinlan ’85S (MBA), an information technology specialist, has been named executive vice president and chief information officer at FirstMerit Corp., a financial services company. Mark serves on the advisory board of Rochester’s Simon Business School.
1984
Robert Friedberg has been named head of Vassar Brothers Medical Center in Poughkeepsie, N.Y.
1985
Brian Carso ’90 (MA) writes: “This past fall, John Puziss and I flew to Seattle to join Mark Vossler ’89M (MD) on a backpacking trip along a section of the Pacific Crest Trail in the North Cascade mountains of Washington state. John and I were barely off the plane when Mark distributed U of R T-shirts and declared them the official uniform of the trek (photo, page 52). John is director of technology licensing at Yale University, Mark is a cardiologist and chairman of the department of medicine at Evergreen Hospital in Seattle, and I’m associate professor of history and government at Misericordia University in Pennsylvania.”
1986
Emily Swartz Silva has been named a director at the Philadelphia-area firm of Cipperman Compliance Services. Emily specializes in regulatory compliance in mutual fund and financial advisor marketing.
1987
Bruce Gartner ’88 (MS) has been named executive secretary of the Maryland Transportation Authority, an independent state agency that owns and operates all of Maryland’s toll roads, bridges, and tunnels. . . . Sanjay Mehta ’92 (PhD), an electrical engineer at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center in Newport, R.I., has been named an Asian American Engineer of the Year by the Chinese Institute of Engineers. Sanjay is an expert in sonar signal processing and has been credited for his work on the Navy’s successful Torpedo Warning System Sea Test, which was completed last year.
1990
Ed Blumenthal, a financial advisor at the Philadelphia firm of Janney Montgomery Scott, has been named to Barron’s “Top Advisors” list for the second year in a row. In 2013, he was also named a top advisor by the Financial Times and a top financial advisor in Greater Philadelphia by the Philadelphia Business Journal. . . . David Greenberg has been appointed the first executive director of Columbia University’s new Mortimer B. Zuckerman Mind Brain Behavior Institute. Previously David was the vice president and chief administrative officer of finance and administration for Columbia’s facilities.
1992
Linda Cozzarin Andreano was elected a commissioner of the North Greece Fire District, outside Rochester. . . . Paul Greene has been elected partner at the Rochester law firm of Harter Secrest & Emery. He specializes in complex civil litigation. Before becoming an attorney, Paul earned a doctorate in Germanic languages and literature at New York University.
1994
Conductor Hideaki Hirai made his Carnegie Hall debut last December as part of the USA-Japan Goodwill Concert to benefit victims of the typhoon Haiyan, which struck the Philippines last fall. He conducted the New York Festival Orchestra and the Beethoven Memorial Chorus in Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony. In January, the New York Festival Orchestra appointed him music director. Hideaki writes: “With this appointment, I’m starting to plan regular concerts for next season and to develop an audience and network of supporters in the New York City area.”
2000
Molly Bashaw ’00E has published her first collection of poetry, The Whole Field Still Moving Inside It (Word Works). Molly was the 2013 winner, out of more than 300 entries, of the Washington Prize, a national poetry competition held annually since 1981.
2004
Andrew (Buck) and Kara Williams Pederzolli ’05 welcomed their first child, Andrew Robert, in December 2013. Kara adds: “Buck and I were married in October 2009 at the River Campus Interfaith Chapel by Father Brian Cool. We now live in Columbus, Ohio.”
2005
Kara Williams Pederzolli (see ’04).
2007
Neethi Venkateswaran writes that she and Ryan Clements were married in June 2013. Pictured are: (front row, left to right) Latha Srinivasan ’95, Ilana Elson, Pamela Singh ’11N, Pooja Shastri, Christine Ling, Neethi, Ryan, Sharon Barney ’08, Theodore Chelis ’08; (back row, left to right) Lara Abramowitz Wilson, John Wilson ’08 (MS), Katelin Erickson, Jessica Fydenkevez, Josef Hanson ’04E (MA), Hilario Coimbra ’08, and Matthew Majarian ’08.
2008
Eric Konicki writes: “My wife, Elizabeth, and I welcomed our first son, Lucas William Konicki, in November. Lucas weighed 6 lbs., 13 oz., at birth and is enjoying his time with us in Endwell, N.Y.” . . . Dan Richman married Samantha Blau at the Corradetti Glass Studio in Baltimore last November. Dan is a doctoral candidate in biophysics at Johns Hopkins and Samantha is an educator at the Maryland Science Center. . . . Brittany Vena writes that she and Doug Morhac Jr. were married at the River Campus Interfaith Chapel in September 2013. “Our wedding had lots of U of R touches as we met, got engaged, and were married all on campus.” Pictured from left to right are John Park, Eric Konicki, Ben Hewson, Sarah Shores-Hewson, Mike Brown, Max Benz, Laura Wong Cressman, Aniela Glinski, Katie Bova, and Nadia Byrnes ’09.
2009
Emily Zbesko Zarefsky writes that she and her husband, Marc, welcomed their first child, Isabella (Ella) Louise, in November.
2010
Allison McComb and Shane DePutron were married last September in Baldwinsville, N.Y. Pictured from left to right are Greg Waldman, Katie Medford ’09, Jaclyn Lerea ’11, Michael Collins, Heather Graham (bridesmaid), Shane, Allison, Rachel Twardowski (bridesmaid), Brennan Mulcahey ’11S (MBA), Hilary Haefner, Rachel Given, Nate Stein ’11S (MS), Megan O’Connor ’11, Jacob Gardner ’11 (groomsman), and Lisa Cole. . . . Kevin McDonald ’10E has earned a spot in the United States Navy Band. He’ll be a drummer for the Navy Band Commodores, the Navy’s jazz ensemble. The Commodores, along with other Navy Band ensembles, perform public concerts around the nation. . . . Victoria Yam is a German teacher at Mattacheese Middle School in the Cape Cod, Mass., town of Yarmouth. Victoria earned a master’s degree in German studies at the University of Massachusetts–Amherst.
2012
Adam Horowitz ’09E (see ’11 Eastman). . . . Nicole Suchy is the program coordinator at the Rochester community fitness organization Rochester Parkour.
