Class notes by the Decade

Person to Person

1950s

Vincent “Jim” Cipollaro, BA 1953, a retired dermatologist, was honored by the International League of Dermatology Societies. Cipollaro, who still has his 1949 freshman beanie, lives in Manhattan, N.Y.

1970s

David Klein, BA 1971, received the Excellence in Medicine Award from the American Medical Association and the Harold Strasser, MD, Good Samaritan Award from the Florida Medical Association. An ophthalmologist for more than three decades, Klein founded a community clinic in Port Charlotte, Fla., to provide free medical, pharmacy and wellness services to underserved patients. He lives in Punta Gorda, Fla.

Sister Roberta Brunner, MS 1972, has retired after working in various nursing jobs for nearly 40 years, including nursing home administrator, nurse supervisor and geriatric nurse clinician. She resides in Tampa, Fla.

Alberto Cappas, BA 1973, has published “To Think Is to Grow,” a book of quotations encouraging young minorities to use their creativity to liberate themselves from stereotypes. A native of Puerto Rico, Cappas grew up in New York, N.Y., and helped create El Festival del Libro, an annual book fair in East Harlem. He resides in Buffalo, N.Y.

Neil Woodworth, BS 1974, is now a certified guardian ad litem for the State of Florida, 5th Circuit. He lives in The Villages, Fla.

Arlane Frederick, EDM 1975, retired from teaching at Buffalo State College and volunteers at The Teacher’s Desk in Buffalo, N.Y., a store that provides teachers with free school supplies. She lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Richard Homokay, BS 1977, a physical therapist, recently retired and started training for a half marathon. He resides in Monterey, Calif.

Lake Effect Ice Cream.

Keith Patchel, BFA 1979, composer-in-residence at the NYU Music Experience Design Lab (MusEDLab), received an Acker Award in the category of composer/producer. At UB, Patchel learned from guest lecturers John Cage and Aaron Copland, and reconnected with Cage in New York City after graduation. He later formed a rock/punk band and joined other bands, including Richard Lloyd’s. Patchel recently premiered his opera, “The Plain of Jars,” about the secret bombing campaign the U.S. waged on Laos during the Vietnam War. He lives in New York, N.Y.

1980s

Paul Barry, BA 1981, was named vice president of claims by PEMCO Insurance in Seattle, Wash. He lives in North Bend, Wash.

Doug Olsson, BS 1983, regional vice president for AIM Media Midwest and publisher of The Lima News, was named to the board of trustees of the Ohio News Media Association. Olsson resides in Lima, Ohio.

David Fillenwarth, BA 1984, is the new executive director of the Riviera Theatre in North Tonawanda, N.Y. Fillenwarth, who managed the Lancaster (N.Y.) Opera House until 2014, lives in Hamburg, N.Y.

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1990s

Donna Falcone, EDM 1990, is the illustrator of “A Is for Azure,” by L.L. Barkat, a children’s alphabet book of colors based on literacy and brain research. Falcone lives in Tifton, Ga.

Michelle Goldberg, BS 1996, was named an opinion columnist for The New York Times. A former columnist at Slate, Goldberg has written for The New Yorker, Rolling Stone, The New Republic and The Nation. Goldberg resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.

Jerome Scarcella, EDM 1997, BS 1986, longtime Williamsville North High School baseball coach and a member of the Western New York Baseball Hall of Fame, has retired. Scarcella, a health teacher for the school district for 22 years, lives in Lancaster, N.Y.

Joe Wandass III, MD 1997, PhD 1986 & BA 1982, has joined Saint Thomas Medical Partners at Lenox Village in Nashville, Tenn. Wandass, who was a clinical associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at UB, resides in Nolensville, Tenn.

2000s

Abdulkadir Sarac, PhD 2001, MS 1997, was named chief operating officer of Curbell Inc., the Orchard Park (N.Y.)-based parent company of Curbell Plastics and Curbell Medical Products. Sarac lives in Williamsville, N.Y.

Molly Eaton, MD 2004, a family medicine doctor, has joined the Murfreesboro Medical Clinic in Tennessee. A native of Lockport, N.Y., she practiced in Buffalo, N.Y., for 10 years. Eaton lives in Murfreesboro.

Gabriel Horowitz, BA 2004, was hired as a tenure-track assistant professor of Spanish in the Department of World Languages and Cultures at Arkansas State University, Jonesboro. He resides in Jonesboro, Ark.

Richard Taczkowski, MUP 2006, received a certificate of appreciation for his 15 years of service as a board member with the Selective Service System. Taczkowski, who founded the Friends of Schoolhouse #8 to preserve the 1857 one-room school in North Collins, N.Y., lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

Evan Reimondo, BS 2008, environmental stewardship coordinator at the National Outdoor Leadership School, was named one of the National Wildlife Federation EcoLeaders Top 50 Inspirations. Reimondo lives in Flagstaff, Ariz.

2010s

Adam Skonieczki, BA 2010, has been hired as Southern Vermont College’s head baseball coach. Currently living in Amherst, N.Y., Skonieczki plans to move to the Bennington, Vt., area next year.

Kailee Tkacz, BA 2011, was named policy adviser for the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food, Nutrition, and Consumer Services division. Tkacz lives in Washington, D.C.

Timothy Niver, MLS 2012, is the new library director at Victor Farmington Library, where he previously served as community services librarian. Niver resides in Clifton Springs, N.Y.

Zachary Persichini, BS 2014, is the new varsity soccer coach at Bishop Timon-St. Jude High School in Buffalo, N.Y. He lives in Buffalo.

Gianfranco Pietrantoni, MArch 2017, has been hired as an architectural designer at SWBR, a multidisciplinary design firm in Rochester, N.Y., where he began his career as an intern in 2015. Pietrantoni lives in Greece, N.Y.

Tori Speckman.

Photo: Paul Hokanson

Tori Speckman, BA 2014, was named pitching coach of the University at Buffalo softball team. Speckman, a two-time All-MAC pitcher, holds several UB single-season and career records. She lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

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