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Jeffrey J. Genkos, B.A. 1990, has been appointed Savannah (GA) assistant district director for wage and hour by the U.S. Labor Department. In his new position, he will direct wage and hour division activities for southern Georgia.

Bernadette Hoppe, M.A. 1990 & B.A. 1987, regional outreach and education coordinator for the Buffalo Prenatal/Perinatal Task Force, received a 1999 “Forty under Forty” award from Business First of Buffalo, NY. In her position with the task force, she organizes promotional efforts to inform low-income women about health services.

Katherine S. McConnell, B.A. 1990, has been promoted to the position of manager of Blasland, Bouck & Lee, a multidisciplinary firm of consulting engineers and scientists in Syracuse, NY. She has nearly seven years’ experience as a technical and marketing communications specialist, along with more than three years’ experience specific to the environmental engineering industry.

Michael H. Ackerman, D.N.S. 1991 & M.S. 1985, has been appointed director of the Center for Clinical Trials and Medical Device Evaluation at the University of Rochester’s School of Nursing. The center provides industry-sponsored studies for pharmaceutical investigations and evaluates patient-care devices with an emphasis on critical care, nutritional support and pediatrics. He is also associate professor of clinical nursing at the University of Rochester, having joined its School of Nursing faculty in 1993. Recently, he received a grant to conduct a study on the incidence of bacteria resistant to certain antibiotics.

Salvatore C. Durante, M.B.A. 1991, M.S. 1985, M.A. 1985 & B.A. 1983, has been named chief administrative officer for Child and Family Services, a not-for-profit family service agency in Buffalo, NY. He previously served as chief operating officer and chief financial officer for Highgate Medical, also in Buffalo. In addition, he held key strategic planning and management positions with Sisters Healthcare.

David M. Ford, B.S. 1991, an assistant professor of chemical engineering at Texas A&M University in College Station, TX, is one of five recipients nationwide to be honored with a 1999 Office of Defense Programs’ Early Career Scientist and Engineer Award from the Department of Energy. He was recognized for his efforts to predict and solve the problem of aging materials in the nation’s enduring nuclear stockpile. Established in 1996, the award recognizes scientists and engineers for outstanding research that contributes to national security.

David Jakubowski, B.S. 1991, has joined the Buffalo, NY, accounting firm of Lumsden & McCormick as a staff accountant.

David C. Mammano, B.A. 1991, recently launched a magazine for high school students, The Next Step Magazine, to help young readers with college planning, career exploration and life skills. The magazine has a circulation of more than 70,000 juniors and seniors in New York State. The printed magazine is complemented by an electronic edition, nextSTEPmagazine.com, which is updated monthly.

Cecile Mathis-Dorliae, J.D. 1991 & B.A. 1988, a practicing attorney with the law firm of Pratcher and Associates in Buffalo, NY, has been named chair of the board for HOME (Housing Opportunities Made Equal).

Sandra L. Cross, B.A. 1992, is currently employed as a manager of marketing services by the Professional Golf Association of America in Palm Beach Gardens, FL.

Mary A. DelPriore, M.L.S. 1992, was recently part of a three-member team of volunteers who spent three weeks teaching conversational English in rural villages outside the Eastern Polish city of Siedlce. She spent most of her time instructing unemployed young adults. Her service program was coordinated by Global Volunteers, a nonprofit, nonsectarian international development organization based in St. Paul, MN, that offers short-term volunteer opportunities in 20 countries throughout the year.

Laurence M. Gess, B.S. 1992, is currently running his own business, North- American Institute, in Montpellier, France. The company organizes two-week French programs for foreign students. Housing is provided by host families.

Suzanne Taylor, J.D. 1992, an attorney in private practice, has received a 1999 “Forty under Forty” award from Business First of Buffalo, NY.

Mary E. Dunn, P.M.C.R.T. 1993 & D.D.S. 1990, has been awarded a 1999 “Forty under Forty” award from Business First of Buffalo, NY. She has been in a private dental practice since 1993, and is also a clinical instructor at UB’s School of Dental Medicine and an attending pediatric dentist at Children’s Hospital. She won the American Dental Association’s 1998 Golden Apple award, given annually to one young dentist in the U.S. in recognition of outstanding leadership.

Vastye W. Gillespie, J.D. 1993, has been awarded a 1999 “Forty under Forty” award from Business First of Buffalo, NY. An attorney for UAW-GM Legal Service Plan, she provides legal services for local members of the United Autoworkers, specializing in adoptions, insurance law and consumer issues.

Myron L. Glick, M.D. 1993, has been awarded a 1999 “Forty under Forty” award from Business First of Buffalo, NY. Clinical assistant professor of family medicine at UB, he has a solo medical practice on Buffalo’s West Side, serving 1,500 patients.

Michael A. Liotta, B.A. 1993, has been appointed manager of Nickelodeon Contract Management with MTV Networks, a division of Viacom Inc. In this position, he will be responsible for drafting and negotiating domestic licensing agreements. Previously a corporate administrator within Viacom’s corporate law department, he resides in New York, NY, with his wife, Melina.

Mary Q. Wydysh, J.D. 1993 & B.A. 1991, has been named a partner at the law firm of Bouvier, O’Connor in Buffalo, NY. She is a member of the litigation department, working as a trial attorney primarily in the areas of negligence and products liability.

Laura A. Zaepfel, M.A. 1993, has been elected vice president of communications for the New Millennium Group. The corporate relations manager for Uniland Development Company, she resides with her husband and their two children in Williamsville, NY.

JoAnn Armenia Balazs, J.D. 1994, an attorney and recently appointed English teacher for the Amherst, NY, Central School District, received the New York State Bar Association’s law-related Education Distinguished Service Award at a statewide conference in Bolton Landing, NY, in October. In the early 1990s, she was an advisor to the City of Tonawanda Youth Court and is currently educational director of the Amherst Youth Court.

Sheryl A. Waller, B.A. 1994, is currently a police officer for the city of Buffalo, NY.

James P. Bachert, B.S. 1995, has joined the Buffalo, NY, accounting firm of Lumsden & McCormick LLP, Certified Public Accountants, as a staff accountant. Cynthia A. Brickell, B.S. 1995, has been promoted to the position of manager of Lumsden & McCormick LLP, Certified Public Accountants, in Buffalo, NY. She is a member of the firm’s business services group serving commercial and closely held businesses and individuals. She has been with the firm since 1996.

Robert J. Drago, M.B.A. 1995, has been awarded a 1999 “Forty under Forty” award from Business First of Buffalo, NY. Vice president and general manager for Goya Foods–Great Lakes Division in Angola, NY, he oversees Goya’s manufacturing and distribution divisions and processes and markets Goya brand food products.

John J. Flynn, J.D. 1995, a Judge Advocate General, U.S. Navy, recently reported to the United States Naval Academy as the officer- in-charge of the office of Legal Counsel, which provides advice and representation to more than 5,000 midshipmen, active-duty faculty and staff. He also serves as an instructor at the academy.

Tracie M. Lewis, Ed.M. 1996 & Mus.B. 1991, has been appointed assistant principal at BEST Academy, School 6, in Buffalo, NY. Previously, she taught music for the Buffalo School District for nine years.

Nicholas G. Costalas, B.A. 1997, currently works in advertising sales at Westword Newspaper in Denver, CO. Joel N. Varland, M.F.A. 1997, has joined the faculty of Savannah College of Art and Design, a private, nonprofit, accredited institution in Savannah, GA, as a professor in the foundation studies department.

Brian Costello, B.A. 1998, received a 1999 “Forty under Forty” award from Business First of Buffalo, NY. He runs a fabrication and machine shop that employs 130 people. He also serves as president of the Kenan Center Board of Governors, is a board member of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Niagara, and is past president of the Lockport Exchange Club.

Anita A. Czapeczka, J.D. 1998, has joined the law firm of Jasen and Jasen in Buffalo, NY. She resides in Corfu, NY, with her husband and their three children.

Michael J. Halter, M.S. 1998 & B.A. 1987, has been named vice president and group leader of risk control strategies at the growing Linden Oaks office of Marsh Inc. in Rochester, NY, one of the world’s leading insurance brokerage and risk advisement companies. In his new role, he will be responsible for managing a staff of risk control consultants, as well as providing risk engineering services to Marsh’s clients. As group leader of the Western New York risk control consulting operation, he will specialize in ergonomics.

Whyee Nen Shao, B.A. 1998, has joined Wallenius Willhelmsen Lines Americas LLC. The firm imports and exports some of the major autogroups, such as BMW and Volvo. Shao serves as the tariff and contract analyst who deals with all trade agreements and services for the company’s customers.

Wendy M. Wirth, B.A. 1998, is currently studying French and international business at American University in Washington, DC. She is working as an accounting clerk for a finance/property management company in Washington.

Millicent T. Mathis, Ph.D. 1999 & B.A. 1974, has been named project director of the federally funded program “Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs” that will be headquartered at D’Youville College in Buffalo, NY. She will be responsible for the overall implementation and development of the program, along with serving as liaison for the project.

Donald Visco Jr., Ph.D. 1999, assistant professor of chemical engineering at Tennessee Technological University in Cookeville, TN, was honored with the 2000 Kinslow Engineering Research Award from his university for “Modeling the Monte Carlo Simulation of Associating Fluids,” a paper that appeared in the Journal of Chemical Physics. The Kinslow Award, named for Professor Emeritus Ray Kinslow, is given annually for the best paper written by a Tennessee Tech engineering faculty member and published in a refereed journal.

Christopher Wightman, J.D. 1999 & B.A. 1995, has become associated with the Buffalo, NY, law firm of Damon & Morey LLP, practicing in the corporate and business law department. He works with not-for-profit corporations and closely held businesses in the areas of corporate, LLC and partnership formations, mergers and acquisitions, and health-care joint ventures. He was previously a law clerk in the corporate legal departments of the United States Surgical Corporation in Norwalk, CN, and National Fuel Gas Distribution Corporation in Buffalo. Before entering law school, he was a newspaper journalist covering judicial, legislative and economic events.