Fall 2011
Connections

Class Notes

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.

1960s

  • Richard E. Cristol (B.B.A. '69) was recently inducted as the president of Association Management Company (AMC) Institute, which represents association management companies around the world. Cristol is president of the Kellen Company, which provides association management solutions and consulting services to associations, foundations, charities and corporations.
  • State Representative Hank Huckaby (B.A. '65, M.B.A. '68), R-Watkinsville, was appointed chancellor of the University System of Georgia by the state Board of Regents on July 1.

1970s

  • Jim Arp (B.B.A. '70) has been named marketing manager for Right at Home of Northwest Georgia. Arp will be responsible for marketing the organization to medical providers who refer patients that require home care as well as marketing directly to patients who require assistance at home.
  • Sandra Coffey Hofmann (B.Ed. '74) is president and board director of Women in Technology, a networking, career-building and leadership development organization for women in the technology field, and CIO-in-Residence at the Advanced Technology Development Center, a nationally recognized science and technology incubator housed at the Georgia Institute of Technology that helps Georgia entrepreneurs launch and build successful companies.
  • Frank P. Jozsa Jr. (Ph.D. ’77) recently published, “A Hoosier's Journey,” a book about his experiences, priorities and values as an athlete, student, teacher and author from the 1940s to 2010, with Dog Ear Publishing.
  • Robert Lee (B.B.A. '79), chief financial officer with PRGX Global Inc., has been named the winner in the Public Company/Medium category for Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2011 CFO of the Year Awards. Headquartered in Atlanta, PRGX Global Inc. is a leading provider of recovery audit services.
  • Richard H. Lenny (B.B.A. '74), the former chief executive and chairman of Hershey, has joined the private equity firm Friedman Fleischer & Lowe in San Francisco as an operating partner. Lenny was the chief executive of Hershey for six years. Before that, he was the president of the Nabisco Biscuit Company and president of Pillsbury North America.
  • Joy L. Rogers (M.B.A. '72) recently returned to Atlanta after completing a 15 month assignment in Istanbul, Turkey as Business Development Executive for IBM Outsourcing Services. 
  • McRae F. "Mac" Williams (B.B.A. '70, M.B.A. '72) received the U.S. Senator John G. Tower Distinguished Alumni Award from Kappa Sigma. The award, considered one of the highest honors alumni can receive within the national fraternity, honors "Kappa Sigma Brothers who have shown a commitment to their business, family, church, philanthropy and community activities," according to the fraternity.

1980s

  • The Boulevard Group, led by CEO James Brooks (B.A. '81), has been named to the top 100 list of the fastest-growing inner city companies in the U.S. by the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City and Fortune magazine. The Boulevard Group is a planning and real estate development firm that specializes in developing and managing urban revitalization projects across the U.S.
  • Robert T. Davis (M.B.A. '89) has been named senior vice president of Mazda North American Operations' newly created U.S. Operations Group. Formerly senior vice president of research and development, customer service operations and quality, Davis will oversee all U.S. sales operations and training, marketing, customer service and parts, owner loyalty, dealer development, public relations and dealer affairs.
  • Brad Douglas (M.B.A. '88) has recently accepted a senior executive role with SunTrust Bank as Senior Vice President, Strategic Sourcing. Douglas previously served in Governor Sonny Perdue's administration as Commissioner of Georgia's Department of Administrative Services where he transformed various back office functions for the State of Georgia.
  • Joan Cohen Jones (M.A.T. '88, Ph.D., '95) is the author of the newly published textbook, "Visualizing Elementary and Middle School Mathematics Methods". The text is part of the Wiley Visualizing Series.  It offers prospective teachers the opportunity to learn about the teaching of mathematics with powerful visuals, real-life examples, and multicultural perspectives.
  • Yusuf Saleeby (B.S. '87) has been named regional medical director for AstroGene Telehealth, a premier online telemedicine health care delivery system.
  • Alan Wind (M.Ed. '88), a teacher at Chattahoochee High School in Alpharetta, Ga., will present "Performing Readings of Diverse U.S. History Poems and Songs" for the Georgia Council of Social Studies on Oct. 20 at the Classic Center in Athens, Ga.
  • Jimmy Zoll (M.Ed. '89) was recently named principal at Autrey Mill Middle School in Johns Creek, Ga. Zoll had served as principal at Wilson Creek Elementary School since 2004.

1990s

  • Brent Adams (B.B.A. '92) has been appointed to the City of Atlanta Board of Ethics. He was nominated by the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce and will serve a three-year term of office. Adams, who is executive vice president and senior banking officer of Private Bank of Buckhead, also currently serves on the advisory board of Atlanta Crime Stoppers and the board for the Buckhead Business Association Leadership Institute.
  • Eugene Burns (B.A. '93) is a senior financial/business analyst at Valiant Systems, LLC, in Atlanta.
  • Verlee Fowler (B.S.'90, M.P.A. '93) owns and manages WeKare Placement Services, Inc., and WeKare Adult Day Service in Decatur, Ga.
  • Russ Lipari (M.P.A. '99) is president of Validus Group, LLC, an Atlanta-based governmental affairs, business development and strategic advisory firm. In 2008 the Atlanta Business Chronicle selected Lipari as one of Atlanta's "40 under 40" emerging business leaders.
  • Salvador Lopez (Ph.D. '96) is a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics at the University of West Georgia.
  • Cary Martin (M.B.A. '92) has been named chief executive officer of Houston Healthcare. Martin had been acting as Houston Healthcare's interim CEO since May 2010. Previously, Martin was chief operating officer of the organization. Houston Healthcare serves the medical needs of residents in Warner Robins, Centerville, Perry and Houston County, Georgia.
  • Sabrina Nizam (B.A. ’99) has joined the firm of Davis, Matthews & Quigley, P.C. as an associate in the domestic relations and family law group. She represents clients in all aspects of family law and related domestic issues.
  • Stuart D. Noel (M.A. '96, Ph.D. '03) was named Interim Dean of Humanities and Fine Arts at Georgia Perimeter College in Atlanta. He is an Associate Professor of English, and he has served as Humanities Department Chair since 2006.
  • Winsome Packer (M.P.A.'90), who has served as a congressional staffer and an international policy specialist for the Helsinki Commission, among other posts, has written a political novel titled "A Personal Agenda" with CreateSpace.
  • Linette Singleton (B.B.A. '95) former manager, strategic communications planning at the American Cancer Society, now owns Singleton Consulting Group, a provider of communications, marketing and public relations services to small nonprofits.
  • Kelly Wingo Warner (B.A. '92) has joined the Women's and Children's Services department at Floyd Medical Center as a childbirth educator. In this role Warner will teach childbirth education classes for expectant parents.

2000s

  • Elizabeth "Betsy" Higgins (M.B.A. '03), a senior executive with Oglethorpe Power Corp., is the winner in the Private Company/Large category for Atlanta Business Chronicle's 2011 CFO of the Year Awards. Oglethorpe is the nation's largest power supply cooperative and provides electricity to more than 4 million Georgians.
  • Kamilah Jones (M.P.A. '10) is development coordinator for the Georgia Center for Nonprofits in Atlanta.
  • Tamrat "Tim" Kassa Jr. (M.P.A. '04) is a planning branch chief at the Georgia Department of Transportation.
  • Ricky McGee (B.S. '00) is a manager of technical services at Georgia EMC, where he has worked since 1983. In this position he provides industrial development planning assistance and prospect site planning to Georgia communities.
  • Jannine Miller (B.S. '96, M.P.A. '02) is the executive director of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority, which partners with transportation agencies to find strategies to improve mobility in the state so Georgians can reliably commute to work.
  • Christine Moloi (Ph.D. '06) has been appointed by the Central Bank of Botswana as an advisor at the International Monetary Fund.
  • Mandy Van Deven (B.I.S. '02), along with Joanne Smith and Meghan Huppuch, has published a book titled, "Hey Shorty! A Guide to Combatting Sexual Harassment and Violence in Schools and on the Streets" with the Feminist Press at the City University of New York.
  • Jennifer Zuiff (B.Mu. '09) is the winner of the 2010-2011 Pro-Mozart Society of Atlanta scholarship. The scholarship, awarded through an annual competition, allows the recipient to attend the Summer Academy of the Mozarteum Institute in Salzburg, Austria.

2010s

  • Juan Luis Gomez Reino (Ph.D. '10), a research associate with GSU's International Studies Program, has accepted a position as senior public sector management specialist with the Asian Development Bank in Manila, Philippines. He will be leading work on fiscal decentralization reforms in Southeast Asia.