Class notes by the Decade

Person to Person

1960s

Gordon Amidon, BS 1967, received an honorary doctorate from the Miguel Hernández University of Elche in Alicante, Spain, in recognition of his notable contributions to the field of pharmaceutical science. He lives in Ann Arbor, Mich.

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1970s

Michael Parker, BA 1970, was elected to Chapel Hill’s Town Council in November 2015. He resides in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Norine Spurling, MFA 1975, was honored with a major exhibition of her work in January 2016 at the Kenan Center Gallery. The show was a 40-year survey of her paintings and drawings. She lives in Amherst, N.Y.

Gary Jastrzab, MUP 1976 & BA 1976, is executive director of Philadelphia City Planning Commission, which was awarded the 2016 National Planning Excellence Award for a Planning Agency by the American Planning Association. Jastrzab is a member of the UB Alumni Association board of directors. He resides in Philadelphia, Pa.

Michael Jay, BS 1976, received the Distinguished Teaching Award from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He lives in Chapel Hill, N.C.

Thaddeus Kryczko, BA 1976, a retired producer for Walt Disney Records, has been credited on more than 1,000 Disney audio products and has also been honored with more than 70 gold and platinum records. Now president of Get Bizzy Entertainment, he resides in Burbank, Calif.

Bruce Kimelblatt, PharmD 1979, co-authored a study on metastatic breast cancer published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology. He lives in Belle Mead, N.J.

1980s

Andrew DiLuca, BS 1981, was promoted to director of pharmacy services at Kaleida Health. He resides in Getzville, N.Y.

Mario Rocci, PhD 1981 & BS 1976, was elected president of the board of directors of the American Society for Clinical Pharmacology and Therapeutics for the 2015-2016 term. He lives in Utica, N.Y.

Daniel Schaefer, MD 1981, received the Outstanding Contribution Award from the American Society of Ophthalmic Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery. He resides in Amherst, N.Y.

Rick Kennedy, JD 1982, was named president and CEO of Hodgson Russ LLP in February 2016. He lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

Michael Edbauer, BS 1984, was appointed president and CEO of Catholic Medical Partners. He is also the chief clinical officer at Catholic Health and resides in Hamburg, N.Y.

James Daly, MBA 1985 & BS 1984, was appointed executive chair of the commercial advisory committee at Coherus BioSciences. He lives in Raleigh, N.C.

Michael Blemel, BS 1987, was named chief accounting and administrative officer of North Forest Office Space. He resides in Williamsville, N.Y.

Timothy Gawenus, BS 1989, a civil engineer and senior project manager in RETTEW Associates’ natural sciences group, oversees numerous projects in the pipeline industry. He lives in Venetia, Pa.

1990s

Steven Weiss, JD 1991, MBA 1988 & BS 1987, is a partner of Cannon Heyman & Weiss LLP. He lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

Bonnie Flickinger, PhD 1994, MA 1986, MS 1968 & BS 1964, received the Friend of French award from the Western New York chapter of the American Association of Teachers of French. She resides in Buffalo, N.Y.

James Grande, BA 1994, was hired by Gateway Longview as director of its behavioral health clinic. He lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

Jennifer Berke, PhD 1996, was named an exceptional master leader by Exchange magazine, a bimonthly publication that focuses on the administration of programs for young children. She resides in Westfield, N.Y.

Sarah Spencer, BA 1996, was appointed head of U.S. external communications for GlaxoSmithKline, a global pharmaceutical company. She lives in Bryn Mawr, Pa.

Frank Strangio, MBA 1997 & BS 1995, was recognized as business person of the year by the Niagara USA Chamber at its annual Chamber Honors Gala. He resides in North Tonawanda, N.Y.

Jennifer Berger, JD 1998, a supervising attorney at AARP Legal Counsel for the Elderly, was the recipient of the DC Bar Foundation’s 2016 Jerrold Scoutt Prize, one of the highest honors for public interest lawyers in Washington, D.C. She lives in Silver Spring, Md.

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2000s

Jennifer Ditta, MSW 2000, joined the New York State Office for People with Developmental Disabilities as a licensed master social worker. She resides in East Aurora, N.Y.

Eric Eisenried, BS 2000, was named general manager of North Forest Office Space. He lives in East Aurora, N.Y.

Kevin Thurston, BA 2001, was hired as a marketing and public relations assistant at Just Buffalo Literary Center. He resides in Buffalo, N.Y.

Marc Kokosa, BA 2002, founded Kokosa Law Firm PC in October 2015. He lives in Troy, N.Y.

Kate Waterman-Kulpa, MArch 2002 & BPS 2000, was hired by Foit-Albert Associates. She resides in Williamsville, N.Y.

Shawntera Hardy, MUP 2004, was appointed deputy chief of staff for the office of Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton. She lives in Saint Paul, Minn.

Alexis Mierzwa, DDS 2004, opened her own practice, Cedar Creek Dental. She resides in Winchester, Va.

Victoria Belniak, JD 2005, was named associate general counsel for corporate risk management at Kaleida Health. She lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

Christopher Corfield, BS 2005, was appointed vice president of Whelan & Curry Construction Services Inc. He resides in Camillus, N.Y.

Nagendra Raina, MBA 2005, was named president of Buffalo Games Inc., a leading party game and jigsaw puzzle manufacturer whose stated purpose is “to make life more fun and rewarding.” Before joining Buffalo Games in 2013 as general manager, Raina was director of strategy and finance at Fisher-Price. He lives in Clarence, N.Y.

Arlette Smith, PhD 2005, director of African American studies at St. John Fisher College and founder of the AKOMA African American Women’s Gospel Choir, organizes an annual gospel songfest to support scholarships for high school seniors. She resides in Fairport, N.Y.

Joseph Mure, MD 2006 & BA 2002, was appointed program director for Eastern Niagara Hospital’s recently established family medicine residency program. He lives in Tonawanda, N.Y.

Kaela Keluskar, PharmD 2008, joined the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center as a clinical pharmacist. She resides in Overland Park, Kan.

Wei Liu, MS 2008, founded the Silicon Valley startup DisplayTen, which helps users share and organize information effectively and eliminate time-consuming meeting setup. He lives in San Jose, Calif.

Erin Molisani, JD 2008, an associate with Cohen & Lombardo, has been appointed to the board of directors for the Defense Trial Lawyers Association of Western New York. She resides in Buffalo, N.Y.

Anas Saleh, BA 2008, joined Bousquet Holstein PLLC as of counsel in the business practice group. He lives in Cicero, N.Y.

Teresa Lawrence, PhD 2009, Cert 2003, EdM 1993 & BA 1991, superintendent of Grand Island Central School District, was selected to receive the 2016 University at Buffalo Graduate School of Education Distinguished Alumni Award. She resides in Clarence Center, N.Y.

2010s

Keeley Sheehan, BA 2010 & Cert 2010, joined B2 Communications as an account coordinator. She resides in Saint Petersburg, Fla.

Brian Wetzel, PharmD 2010, a clinical pharmacist at Kenmore Mercy Hospital, was recognized with the annual Medical Staff Associate of the Year Award for 2015. He lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

Colleen McCormack, MSW 2012, joined Beacon Health Options as a clinical case manager. She resides in Somerville, Mass.

Ariel Ruggeri, BS 2012, was promoted to account executive at Aigner/Prensky Marketing Group and named director of operations at Food Trucks 2 Go, a division of Food Truck Festivals of America. She lives in Stoneham, Mass.

Michelle Sahli, MS 2012, joined the University of Michigan–Flint as an assistant professor of public health and health sciences. She resides in Grand Blanc, Mich.

Sarah Balogh, JD 2014 & MSW 2013, joined Legal Services for the Elderly, Disabled or Disadvantaged of Western New York as a staff attorney. She will be working in the Kincare Legal Services Program. Balogh lives in Lockport, N.Y.

Nyrisha Beckman, MS 2014 & BA 2010, was promoted to mental health therapist with the Residential Intensive Care Comprehensive Program of Fairfax County. She resides in Alexandria, Va.

Sean Croft, EdD 2014, was promoted to superintendent of Starpoint Central School District. He lives in West Seneca, N.Y.

Alexander Schepart, MBA 2014 & PharmD 2014, is a global medical franchise fellow at Pfizer Consumer Healthcare. He resides in Madison, N.J.

Chidera Atuegbu, JD 2015, a staff attorney with the Urban Justice Center’s Safety Net Project, is also a fellow with Poverty Justice Solutions, where she represents tenants in New York City Housing Court. She lives in Springfield Gardens, N.Y.

Joseph Smith, JD 2015, joined Phillips Lytle LLP as an associate. Smith’s practice focuses on environmental law, environmental reviews and regulatory compliance. He resides in Hamburg, N.Y.

Benedict Wolfling, BS 2015, joined CORE Environmental Consultants as a junior engineer. He lives in Buffalo, N.Y.

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