Fall 2010 Table of Contents
Connections

Class Notes

Share |

Class notes are the perfect way to share your news with friends and classmates. Read about your classmates in this issue of GSU Magazine, then share your own news, achievements, accomplishments and photos. Mail your class notes to GSU Magazine, P.O. Box 3983, Atlanta, GA 30302-3983 or e-mail them to winman@gsu.edu.

1970s

  • Ping-Tung Chang (Ph.D. '77), professor of math at Mat-Su College in Palmer, Alaska, was named one of the 2009 U.S. Professors of the Year by the Council for Advancement and Support of Education and the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching.
  • Tim Holladay (B.A.'73) has been elected presi- dent of the National Association of Insurance and Financial Advisors of Florida for 2010-11.  
  • Bob Hubbs (M.B.A. '70) retired from J&J Industries as vice president of customer satisfaction in October after 25 years.
  • John M. Johnson (B.B.A. '72) was recently elected a trustee for Kiwanis International at the International Convention in Las Vegas.
  • Paul B. Kelman (M.P.A. '77) retired last month as executive vice president of Central Atlanta Progress and the Atlanta Downtown Improvement District, after 22 years.

1980s

  • Kay Davis (B.B.A. '86) has been promoted to executive vice president of the Tenant Advisory Group in the Atlanta office of Grubb & Ellis Equity Advisors.
  • Stephanie A. Marino (B.B.A. '89) has been named executive vice president by Ravello Solutions, a leading provider of insurance technology solutions.
  • A. Lois Sealy (Ed.S. '80) was appointed by Gov. Sonny Perdue to represent the 8th Congressional District on Georgia's Nonpublic Postsecondary Education Commission.

1990s

  • David Adelman  (M.P.A. '95), U.S. ambassador to Singapore, was the University of Georgia commencement speaker this past fall. Prior to his confirmation as ambassador in March, Adelman served as a state senator in the Georgia General Assembly (2002-10) and as an assistant attorney general.
  • Erin E. Asher (M.S. '95) has been appointed vice president for human resources for Omnicare Inc., a leading provider of pharmaceutical care for the elderly.
  • Charles H. "Chuck" Bowling (B.B.A. '92) was promoted by MGM Resorts International to president and chief operating officer of Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino.
  • David Castleberry (B.B.A. '91), CEO of Upson Regional Medical Center in Thomaston, Ga., was recently elected to the Georgia Hospital Association's Center for Rural Health board of trustees, a two-year term serving the interests of 19 small rural hospitals.
  • Marge Dussich (M.S. '92) has developed a new course for seniors at Georgia Tech, GT4801 Career Planning, which she will teach beginning fall semester 2010.
  • Bucky Folami (M.P.A. '93, Ph.D.'99), associate professor of accounting at Bryant University in Smithfield, R.I., has received the school's Outstanding Service Award.
  • Dylan Fusillo (B.Mu.'95) and Jeremy Wilms (B.Mu. '95) are both musicians in the new hit Broadway musical "Fela!"
  • Chris Morris (B.A.'92), director of DeKalb County Community Development, was awarded an Outstanding Citizen award from Common Cause, a nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organization that helps ensure citizens' voices are heard in the political process.
  • Beth Newman (B.S. '99) is a transportation planner with the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
  • Jimmy Parson (B.S.'99, M.P.A. '02) has been named a senior business consultant with the American Cancer Society in Atlanta, where he's been since 2005.
  • John Pecore (M.Ed. '99, Ph.D. '09) has received the American Association of Teaching and Curriculum (AATC) Dissertation Award.
  • Michael Tuller (M.S. '94) is community development director for the city of Dunwoody, Ga.
  • Scott Wheeler (M.B.A. '97) has joined Atlanta-based Purchasing Power as chief operating officer. Wheeler recently served as vice president and general manager of LexisNexis's Insurance Marketing Solutions.

2000s

  • Kwaw Andam (M.A. '06; Ph.D. '08), was selected to join the World Bank's prestigious Young Professionals Program. The program is highly selective, choosing only 30 to 40 people annually from an applicant pool of more than 12,000.
  • Rhonda Belser-Davis (B.S. '00, M.P.A. '08) has been named a Presidential Management Fellow with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta, where she has worked for the past two years.
  • Jessica E. Blinkhorn (M.F.A. '10) recently performed at Eyedrum after a screening of "Grounded by Reality," a short documentary about her daily life as an artist, whose work is often informed and shaped by a degenerative genetic disease that caused her to lose her ability to walk at a young age.
  • James Burns (Ph.D.'10) has been selected as the new executive director of the Desert Caballeros Western Museum in Wickenburg, Ariz.
  • Janelle Cambron-Mellott (B.A. '01) recently left her postdoctoral position at the University of Alabama from 2009-2010 to become senior study director with Synovate, a major market research firm in Washington, D.C.
  • Blake Dettwiler (B.S. '05) recently was named community development director for Sandy Springs, Ga. Previously, Dettwiler served as the city's assistant director of land development.
  • Stephanie Dixon (B.S.W. '03) recently founded S. Dixon Law Offices and practices family law, elder law, and wealth and estate planning.
  • Candice Duggan (B.S. '10) has been named a development officer at Habitat for Humanity's headquarters in Atlanta.
  • Ashley Lounds-Brooks (B.B.A. '07) was picked as "Champion of the Week" by the Champion Free Press in July. Lounds-Brooks is president of CLASSIC, a nonprofit organization that helps young women, including single mothers and students. Last year during Christmas, the group provided toys for more than 300 children.
  • Michael Halicki (M.P.A. '09) recently joined Southface Energy Institute and is the Atlanta nonprofit's first chief operating officer. Halicki previously worked as a senior associate with an Atlanta public affairs firm and in several environmental organizations.
  • Terence Lewis (B.A.'04) was named president and CEO of Trust One Bank, Synovus Financial Corporation's community bank in Memphis, Tenn.
  • Joe Winter (B.S. '06) is co-founder of C4 Atlanta, a nonprofit arts service organization whose mission is to build a foundation of research, technology and education for a sustainable, creative economy.
  • Demishia Wright (B.B.A. '03) was named EIT T-Mobile USA Employee of the Year. She was also recently promoted to application support analyst III within the company.
  • Guo Wu (M.A. '02) recently had his dissertation-based monograph, "Zheng Guanying, Merchant Reformer of Late Qing China and his Influence on Economics, Politics, and Society," published by Cambria Press. Wu is assistant professor of history at Allegheny College.