JWU Magazine Fall 2022

JWU’s Commitment to Sustainability

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JWU MAGAZINE FALL 2022

8 DEEP BLUE GREENS

If kelp is the new kale and dulse is the new bacon, JWU is on the cutting edge of an industry dedicated to a healthier planet and populace.

FOLLOWS FUNCTION

Sustainability is integral to a product design program that solves real-world problems by using art to understand the world and science to explain it.

HERO’S JOURNEY

Superlatives

do

maverick life and inspirational teaching of Adventure and Sustainable Tourism professor Tiffany Rhodes.

cover: Travis Bettinson ’10

Photo by Justin Huguet

From The Chancellor’s

Desk

A“TO LEAVE THE WORLD A BIT BETTER, whether by a healthy child, a garden patch, or a redeemed social condition...” Ralph Waldo Emerson’s words from the 1800s ring true today, especially for this generation of college students who are concerned about the future of our planet. It is an enormous issue with a simple message: We can all play a role in creating a more sustainable earth.

Johnson & Wales University is deeply committed to sustainability and stewardship. As we celebrate 50 years of our world-renowned culinary education, our College of Food Innovation & Technology is on the cutting edge of the exploding sea vegetable industry. This zero-input crop is grown underwater, so there is no carbon footprint beyond distribution. It also helps to deacidify water systems — a necessity for ocean ecosystems. JWU’s influence and environmental impact is evident as our culinary labs incorporate sea veggies and students explore kelp farming while alumni build aquaculture farms and showcase sea veggies in their fine cuisine.

As we conclude another 50-year milestone with the anniversary of the College of Hospitality Management, we spotlight Adventure and Sustainable Tourism professor Tiffany Rhodes, who is dedicated to tourism as a means to change the world. From green transport to protecting cultural assets, faculty are educating the next generation of leaders who embrace tourism as a means to sustain local communities.

The pandemic has increased awareness of consumerism’s impact, and the university’s College of Engineering & Design has responded. Ethical design is embedded into every facet of the college’s product design program. Our magazine feature highlights their collaboration with our Occupational Therapy (OT) students as they invent products to ease the daily repetitive tasks for someone with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis.

All of these topics — our sustainable food systems work with health and wellness-based concepts, our hospitality courses that feature 21st century business models and the impact of pairing our OT program with our design students — foster creative thinking and interprofessional partnerships. This collaborative spirit is what allows faculty and students to be powered by purpose in and outside of the classroom.

Forever JWU.

Mim L. Runey, LP.D. Chancellor

JWU

Vice President of Communications

LISA PELOSI

Editor

DENISE DOWLING

Designer

BRIAN MURPHY

Contributors

SCOTT BOWERS

JENNIFER BROUILLARD

MIKE COHEA

LYNZI DELUCCIA

MAUREEN DUMAS

ANDREA FELDMAN

ELIZABETH GEHRMAN

LIZA GENTILE ’18 MBA

PETER GOLDBERG

JUSTIN HUGUET

CAITLIN ISLES ’18

BILL KOCH

PEGGY LO

NICOLE MARANHAS

MAUREEN MACLURE

DAN MORRELL

CASEY NILSSON

RACHEL NUNES

STEVE SCHAEFER

CLARA SCHWAGER

STEVE SHIPLEY

KATELYN SILVA

JWU Magazine is published twice a year.

Photos (black and white or color prints), high-resolution digital images and news can be sent to JWU Magazine, 8 Abbott Park Place, Providence, RI, 02903 or emailed to jwumagazine@jwu.edu.

Selection and publication of entries are at the editor’s discretion. JWU Magazine is produced by Strategic Communications in cooperation with the department of Advancement & University Relations.

Chancellor

MIM L. RUNEY, LP.D.

Campus President

MARIE BERNARDO-SOUSA, LP.D., ’92, PROVIDENCE

JWUVIEWS

PROVIDENCE

HIGHER GROUND

EARLIER THIS YEAR, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Higher Education Challenge (HEC) grant program awarded Johnson & Wales University and the University of Rhode Island (URI) more than $270,000 in funding to support food systems research initiatives. The grant will create a Food Systems Faculty Research Fellowship program to strengthen multidisciplinary research experiences for faculty and undergraduate students at both institutions. In addition, the research teams will develop food systems curriculum modules to help spur innovation and scholarship within higher education, industry and communities.

“The funding from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and an innovative partnership with URI will facilitate multi-institu-

tion research efforts that fruit real solutions to the problems that plague our regional food system,” says Jason Evans, Ph.D., dean of the College of Food Innovation &Technology (CFIT).

“From the social sciences to agro-ecology, aquaculture, culinary science and food entrepreneurship, new ideas from all disciplines will be required to create a food system that is more resilient and more beneficial to our communities,” he adds.

Food, agriculture and related industries are key economic drivers, representing a more than $1.055 trillion contribution to the U.S. gross domestic product in 2020. As the demand for food innovation grows, so too does the need for academic research and in-depth exploration of the global food system.

PROVIDENCE CHARLOTTE

SUPPLY AND DEMAND

ONE OF the most pressing problems in Rhode Island is how to fill the substitute teacher shortage. Johnson & Wales has raised its hand and offered an answer. Earlier this year, JWU and Central Falls formalized a partnership for Master of Arts in Teaching (MAT) students to jump in as substitutes and earn valuable experience.

It’s a win-win. JWU’s MAT program is designed for aspiring teachers who didn’t major in education as undergraduates. Sometimes that means students start straight out of undergrad, and sometimes it’s a career change. Time in the classroom is key. Plus, “It leads to initial certification as a teacher in Rhode Island,” says School of Education Director and Department Chair Karen Swoboda. “Students are assigned to a building and sub for teachers who may be out. It could be moving from class to class or covering in professional development or meetings, and if there’s no need for a sub, they do some tutoring or be a second set of hands.”

The partnership provides direct teaching experience, plus students can earn substantial money as substitutes, which helps pay for their education while receiving it.

“We want to support our candidates’ growth and development as teachers,” says Swoboda. “But we also want to support local education authorities who run the schools, so this kind of partnership supports the teacher pipeline in Rhode Island.”

— Lynzi DeLuccia

Embracing epic journeys

AS JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY returned to more traditional Commencement exercises this May, there were a number of reasons to celebrate: The Providence Campus awarded 1,752 undergraduate and 613 graduate degrees while the Charlotte Campus conferred 407 undergraduate degrees.

During her undergraduate Commencement address, Providence Campus Hotel & Lodging Management major America Mason ’22 spoke to the unique challenges faced by the Class of 2022. “Perseverance is a conscious choice … You aren’t just enduring the hardship, you’re actively looking it in the face and saying, ‘Bring it on!’ “College of Food Innovation & Technology (CFIT) speaker Esmeralda Bencosme ’22 echoed that sentiment: “In the years we have spent as Wildcats, we have watched the world change before our eyes. Nevertheless, together, in the face of so much hate and negativity, our generation has used this pandemic to find our voice. We use our voice to spread kindness, not hate. We stand up for what is right.”

G Adventures founder Bruce Poon Tip ’22 Hon. referred to 2022 graduates as the innovation generation. “The world that you are inheriting is not the same as the one that a lot of us in my generation grew up in,” he noted. “It’s your generation that will have to be the phoenix that rises from the ashes and does everything different … You can only see solutions and embrace change.”

Graduate Studies Commencement marked a welcome return to an in-person event and marked another historic milestone: The university granted first degrees to two new doctoral cohorts, the Doctor of Business Administration and Doctor of Occupational Therapy. RobertDouglas Founding Principal and Managing Director Robert Bruce Stiles ’80 ’22 Hon. encouraged graduates to embrace risk: “Life today has more opportunities than ever — and the pandemic has proven just how fluid, geographically flexible and entrepreneurial we can be … More opportunities come when you keep an open mind and are willing to take a chance on something that isn’t always the safe bet.”

During Commencement exercises for the Charlotte Campus, Haley Chaykowski-Jewett ’22 framed this time as making her classmates stronger: “Today, we celebrate our drive, power and dedication that helped us overcome the barriers we faced during what were supposed to be the ‘best years of our lives ’… The next time we feel like we’re never going to get through something, we need to remember all that we’ve fought through and all that we have fought for … We are a part of a generation that is changing the world.”

— Andrea Feldman

MAKING MAGIC WITH DISNEY ASPIRE

JOHNSON & WALES UNIVERSITY has teamed up with Disney Aspire, the Walt Disney Company’s education investment and career development program that offers 100 percent tuition paid upfront. JWU is the only accredited U.S. institution offering 100% online culinary programming through a unique multimedia environment, and now it’s the first in-network offering to join Disney Aspire with a sole focus on culinary arts.

“As we celebrate 50 years of culinary excellence at Johnson & Wales, we honor our foundation in tradition while looking ahead to constantly evolve to meet today’s changing world,” says Jason Evans,

Ph.D., dean of the College of Food Innovation & Technology. “Our world-class chefs create their curriculum with our fast-paced industry in mind, truly setting our students up for success in the real world.”

In partnership with Guild, Disney Aspire enables more than 82,000 hourly part-time and full-time employees and cast members across the United States to return to school as working adults, with more than 13,000 employees currently enrolled. The program offers extensive postgraduate support to help employees’ career aspirations come true, whether at Disney or beyond.

Cybersecurity leader

Dean Frank Tweedie

Johnson & Wales University has been named a National Center of Academic Excellence by the National Security Agency (NSA), designating it a leader in cybersecurity education. The five-year appointment will allow students direct access to scholarships, grants and internship opportunities. According to the NSA, the university’s ability to meet the criteria “will serve the nation well in contributing to the protection of national information infrastructure.” “This designation shows the wider community what we already know to be true: Johnson & Wales provides a world-class education in cybersecurity and defense,” says College of Engineering & Design Dean Frank Tweedie.

LEGAL EAGLES

JWU’s boosted 3+3 Law Program equals more opportunity. Previously, students could receive their bachelor’s degree and juris doctorate in just six years, a year ahead of schedule, by applying during their third year for Roger Williams University’s Juris Doctor (J.D.) program. Now, students can also apply to the University of Massachusetts School of Law, which is open to a wider array of majors. Also, UMass Law focuses on widening access to legal education and services — both of which align well with the needs and interests of JWU students.

An unforgettable experience

Join JWU’s Epicurean Scholarship Society for exclusive access to:

• Dinners with renowned chefs such as Tyler Florence

• An annual lunch in the university dining room

• Invitations to events such as the FIT Symposium and special guest lectures

• Customized corporate cooking courses (Chef’s Choice)

• A portion of your membership is tax-deductible (the full membership is deductible if you opt-out of events)

Your membership matters

Funds support JWU philanthropically, helping to promote the communal spirit of fine cuisine and lifelong learning.

Join us: jwu.edu/epicurean

Dean Jason Evans

ATHLETICS

The Big Leagues

Wildcats honor the 50th anniversary of Title IX with three GNAC Championships

HER MOTHER would have been a college athlete.

Nancy Somera believes it to this day. She was among the first generation of women to benefit from federal Title IX legislation. Those who came before them weren’t afforded the same opportunities.

Four years of playing volleyball at the University of South Carolina in the late 1980s extended to a successful coaching career. Since 2014, Somera has coached JWU’s volleyball team, one of its marquee programs, and now serves as assistant athletic director. Her Wildcats captured a sixth consecutive Great Northeast Athletic Conference (GNAC) championship last fall, and they didn’t celebrate alone.

Women’s soccer made it back-to-back crowns and field hockey broke through for its first championship in 2021 too. All of this success corresponded with the 50-year anniversary of a civil rights law passed to ensure women and men could participate in

equitable fashion. Five decades isn’t a long time when considering recorded history. Cell phones, personal computers and home video games were all still in the future in 1972, when the legislation was passed. What came before was an era where men’s sports like football and basketball dominated the college landscape.

Somera was raised in a suburb north of Los Angeles and significant changes were underway by the time she reached high school. Those groundbreaking years were far different than what her daughter Maile experienced on the way to her own college volleyball career at Yale University. What was once a question had transformed into a definite by the dawn of the 2020s.

“It never really crossed my daughter’s mind that there was a time when women didn’t have the athletic opportunities that they do today,” Somera says. “In that regard, there has been a lot of progress. Hopefully there will continue to be more and more opportunities.”

The U.S. Women’s National Soccer Team is among the most notable entities to capture the spotlight. Hosting the 1999 Women’s World Cup and defeating China in dramatic fashion created a generation of heroes. Little girls took to the field hoping to emulate the likes of Mia Hamm, Julie Foudy and Kristine Lilly. “They just assume they can do whatever the guys can do,” says JWU Women’s Soccer Coach Chris Flint. “Youth sports have afforded them with those opportunities from a young age.”

Stars such as Abby Wambach, Alex Morgan, Carli Lloyd and Megan Rapinoe followed in the footsteps of the soccer program’s founders. But their journey came with a reminder of more work still to be done. February brought the long-awaited settlement of a class action lawsuit against the U.S. Soccer Federation seeking equal pay and a new collective bargaining agreement.

“It’s great to see that they now have equal pay — it’s something they deserve,” says soccer standout Jordan Restivo ’22.

Restivo was the GNAC Offensive Player of the Year last fall, a forward who totaled 15 goals and 12 assists for a team that compiled a 17-4-2 record.

Jill Miele ’22 took home the same GNAC honor for the field hockey team, racking up 24 goals and 16 assists. She was named an All-American and set a new program record at JWU for career points.

“They had this burning desire to change the program,” says Field Hockey Coach Lisa Lopes. “They trusted the process. Day in and day out, they wanted to get better.”  Miele also played ice hockey in the youth ranks, frequently matching up against boys her age prior to attending her Massachusetts high school. She couldn’t help but notice the makeup of the top travel teams in her league after annual tryouts — no girls on the roster. That experience made Miele more aware of what her fellow women were accomplishing by the time she reached JWU.

What sort of progress might the next 50 years bring? Restivo and Miele are in agreement: Women’s sports lack exposure through broadcast and internet streaming outlets. Women role models can’t be limited to select proven commercial successes like soccer, basketball and tennis.

Restive says, “My guy friends are like, ‘Yeah, I’m not going to watch that. It’s boring. It’s women’s sports.’ It’s different — everything is different. But it’s still just as interesting.”

In April, Forbes magazine assessed the current women’s sports market. The last women’s basketball Final Four was the most-watched version in 10 years and up 21 percent from last season. WNBA viewership was up 51 percent from the 2021 season and the softball Women’s College World Series drew 450,000 more viewers per game than the men’s baseball event. The title match in the National Women’s Soccer League was watched by 525,000 viewers, a 216 percent jump from the 2019 contest.

“I feel like a lot of people assume the country doesn’t want to watch women’s sports,” Miele says. “How can you assume that if you’re not airing them on TV or live streaming platforms? Any other men’s collegiate sport is very advertised — what time of day and where they’re playing. ESPN could be showing women’s sports the same day, but they don’t advertise it. It’s almost as if they want the men’s sports to be watched more.”

That’s certainly not the case with the Wildcats. Victory with their respective teams and conscientious perspectives outside the field or court have created something of a golden era for the women at JWU. It seems only fitting — gold is the precious metal most commonly associated with any 50-year anniversary.

“You get chills thinking about how this is all new,” Miele says. “One or two generations above us — our mothers and grandmothers — may not have had the opportunity to do the sports that we are privileged to play. It feels good to be part of the change and still push toward more women and girls playing in college and high school.”

By Bill Koch

[1] Title IX: Runner, Swimmer, Soccer Player, Gymnast Copyright 2022 United States Postal Service® [2] The women’s volleyball team holds their 2022 GNAC banner with pride. [3] The women’s soccer team after their 2022 GNAC win. [4] The field hockey team celebrates their 2022 GNAC championship.

DEEP BLUE GREENS

JWU faculty and alumni on the opportunity — and necessity — behind the rise of the sea vegetable industry

Travis Bettinson’s ocean farming epiphany came in early 2019.

He was listening to an episode of the Gastropod podcast, which featured a conversation with Bren Smith, cofounder of Greenwave, a nonprofit dedicated to teaching regenerative ocean farming to fishermen around the world. Bettinson ’10, who lived in Seattle at the time, had heard a little about the kelp industry from random mentions in national news outlets over the years, but this conversation was different: Smith offered a deep knowledge of ocean farming, discussing the environmental value of cultivating seaweed and how well, for instance, seaweed co-cultured with shellfish — a food source that Washington led the nation in producing.

“Man, there have got to be farmers doing this,” thought Bettinson, who was running a catering service and working as a private chef at the time. “But the problem is that Americans don’t eat kelp at enough scale that the farmers can be supported.”

So Bettinson committed to change that dynamic. “I said right then that I’m going to do the research and development (R&D) and develop food products that can have a large impact.” As Bettinson dug into the challenges of the industry, he found that sea farmers

Photos by Mike Cohea and Justin Huguet

often had to sell their products for compost or bioplastic research — “which is pennies on the pound.” For sea farming to flourish, someone would need to devise something that could actually entice American shoppers. The more he considered the opportunity, the more sense it made. “It was this wonderful marriage of culinarily beautiful ingredi-

By Dan Morrell

ents that have wonderful flavor, that are nutritionally dense, but also provides farmers — who are performing a wonderful environmental service — a market.”

In November 2020, after a year of R&D that surfaced everything from fermented seaweed hot sauces to sea vegetable soups, Bettinson launched Blue Dot Kitchen, where he currently serves as CEO and director of research development. In early 2022, the company launched its first product, Seacharrones, a crispy, crunchy kelp-infused snack, now available in more than 45 stores in the Pacific Northwest.

Bettinson’s passion for the promise of sea vegetables is not isolated. The commercial sea vegetable market is expected to grow to $37.8

hosted the country’s first-ever “International Seaweed Conference USA.”

“Right now my mailbox is blowing up with seaweed,” says Associate Professor Branden

“It’s health and nutrition, it’s people and planet, and it’s an economic opportunity that hasn’t really been fully exploited out here in the West.”

billion by 2028, at a rate of about 10 percent per year, according to Grand View Research. Buzzy startups Akua and Umaro Foods have raised millions of dollars in startup funding with the promise of offering sea vegetable-based meat substitutes. For the past four years, Portland, Maine has been hosting “Seaweed Week,” an “annual food and drink festival celebrating the kelp harvest in Maine”; this year, the city also

Lewis, Ed.D., ’04, ’06 MBA, a specialist in international cuisines and sustainable food systems. There’s someone looking to partner up to develop sea vegetable products and another company looking to get their sea vegetable products into the Johnson & Wales dining halls. “And my students buy it to use for their chef tables, because when they’re in my Culinary Sustainability

classes, they research seaweed and they see why it’s sustainable.”

Those reasons are myriad. For one, it’s a zero-input crop that is grown underwater, so there’s no carbon footprint outside of distribution. “It also sequesters carbon dioxide at a much faster rate than land agriculture,” says Bettinson. “Additionally, as it’s growing, it’s constantly shedding bits of itself into the ocean. And 20 percent of the total growth of sea vegetables — and kelp in particular — gets left in the ocean for long-term carbon sequestration.” That absorption of C02, Bettinson notes, is doubly useful, as it helps to locally deacidify water systems — a necessity for the health of coral reefs, shellfish and many other elements of the ocean ecosystems.

“It’s health and nutrition, it’s people and planet, and it’s an economic opportunity that hasn’t really been fully exploited out here in the West,” says Bettinson, who notes that places like Norway, Finland and Japan are well ahead of the rest of the global markets.

But the rise of the sea vegetable industry is also a frontier borne of necessity, says Lewis. “The reason it’s drawing so much attention is because we’re really reaching Earth’s carrying capacity,” he notes. “As we do that — and as we’re seeing more and more land at risk for commercialization and not enough agriculture and too many people to feed, and we start

With rich flavors, dense nutrition and environmental sustainability, sea veggies such as kelp may well prove to be the superfoods of the 21st century.

James Griffin, above, speaks at the Island Institute in Maine. Above and right: Some of his sea-veggie based creations include a sugar kelp, rock shrimp, haddock and ricotta lasagna with mozzarella gratinee and oyster cream, and the sugar-kelp infused Martini.

Tlooking at alternative sources of nutrition — then sea vegetables in the ocean are a big touch point when we talk about sustainability in academics.”

his constant chase of marine resources is part of New England’s economic origin story, says James Griffin, Ed.D., ’88, ’92 M.S., an associate professor in the Food & Beverage Industry Management department. Consider the giant wooden codfish hanging in the House of Representatives chamber of Boston’s Massachusetts State House. “That’s because the economy of Massachusetts started because Gloucester was a commercial fishing port,” Griffin notes. “The first folks who came to Gloucester were from Gloucestershire, England — and the only thing they could do was fish.” An abundance of varying cod species supported the industry for generations until the 1980s, Griffin says, when the industry collapsed due to overfishing. Subsequent regulations forced consideration of alternatives, which led to the expansion, for instance, of the lobster industry. “It was a constant question of ‘What other species, what other fisheries can we look

at?’” says Griffin. “Long story short, the current view on sustainability and exploring new ocean resources is born of that spirit — a spirit of having to look constantly at this wild resource and say, ‘Hey, if there was economic benefit or nutritional value from this, and it’s now in decline, what else is there?’”

Today, that mindset has led to an unexpected resource. “I’ll tell you this: The last thing on earth we ever thought we’d be looking at is seaweed,” says Griffin.

And he has taken a very thorough look. In 2018, he worked with the Island Institute, a nonprofit focused on addressing the environmental and socioeconomic challenges of Maine’s island and coastal communities,

support the College of Food Innovation & Technology visit

Above: Branden Lewis with Culinary Sustainability students preparing a menu starring sea veggies and their beautifully-plated creations.

to research how the state could increase the economic viability of sea vegetable products so that lobster producers could cultivate them in the shoulder seasons. “It’s not a lot of money; I call it gas money,” says Griffin. “But if we could develop this fishery, this seaweed production, and cultivate and grow it, lobstermen might be able to generate enough money in the shoulder season to the opening of lobster season to perhaps pay for their fuel for the season.”

The resulting report was built on two fundamental questions: What innovative products could be developed that have commercial viability? And what do consumers really think of this stuff? The research team developed 10 different products, everything from simple salads to sea cup ice cream to baked goods, and then hosted a tasting panel to get feedback. “In the end, the sea vegetables we used were easily integrated into a range of products,” says

For Branden Lewis, talk of sea vegetables isn’t just dominating his inbox, but his classroom too. His Plant-Based Cuisine course, part of a Culinary Sustainability minor within the Sustainable Food Systems major, explores all plant cuisines. Courses include Cooking from the Farmstand, Growing for the Menu, and Sustainability in the Culinary Kitchen. Health & The Harvest is a senior capstone lab where students marry culinary skill to sustainability and health advocacy. Plant-based cuisine explores the preparation and marketing of plant-based foods in cuisine concepts around the world. The Sustainable Food System program features courses that incorporate locally-grown and-harvested ingredients. Given Rhode Island’s geography, sea vegetables are local stars.

There’s a sunomono seaweed salad, a popular Japanese dish. There’s kombu, an edible kelp

“People are looking for more wholesome foods, and sea vegetables seem to fit that category in a lot of ways.”

Griffin. “And consumer acceptance was universally positive. In other words, people were really willing to eat this stuff.”

The results not only provided the Island Institute with valuable insight into the opportunity for sea vegetable cultivation that it could share with its communities of lobstermen, but were so convincing that his fellow researcher, Briana Warner, left her job at the Institute to head up Atlantic Sea Farms, a seaweed company in Maine. “It’s now one of the fastest-growing seaweed growers in the state,” says Griffin. “And the industry has grown around 10 to 12 times since we did the report. So it’s really blossoming now.”

which Lewis uses to make a vegetarian fish sauce, and lots of dashis, which are soup stocks. He’s also a big fan of furikake, a rice seasoning featuring seaweed. Toasting nori, the iconic sushi wrap, over a burner results in an aromatic crunchy and salty flavor. There’s agaragar, a gelatin made of refined seaweed, used to make things like mousse or panna cotta. “If you want to have a panna cotta that’s vegetarian, the only way to do that is to use something like agar-agar.”

There’s also an abundance of different extracts that can be made from various seaweed species, says Lewis. “Carrageenan”—an extract from red seaweed — “has three different parts of the seaweed that you can extract to get iota, kappa and lambda carrageenan — all with different properties.”

All of these iterations can create an expansive menu, says Lewis. “It’s not something the West has really dived into yet — and it’s an opportunity.”

But some American culinary stars have taken notice. Chicago-based Karen Urie Shields ’00 and her husband John Shields — finalists for “Best Chef” in this year’s James Beard Awards — have won praise for their sea veg-

etable creations, including sea lettuce cookie amuse-bouche. Chef David Kinch ’81, ’14 Hon., owner of three Michelin stars for his California restaurant, Manresa, created an iconic dish called the “Tidal Pool,” which inspired a New York Times writer to refer to Kinch as “the savior sent to bring California cuisine into the 21st century.”

The incorporation of sea vegetables into the dishes of marquee chefs is critical to the growth of the industry, says Griffin. “When we look at product expansion, going from trend to ubiquity, the beginning of that process comes with thought leaders and innovation. And for me, at least in the communities I watch, it’s often a very thoughtful, influential chef who is driving that.”

He describes this impact to students as a pebble hitting the water. “As that ripple expands, it has to become more approachable, easier to

Wet Lab

What does an ocean farm look like?

Working out of a five-acre site in one of the Puget Sound’s main basins, Blue Dot Kitchen employs the prevailing method of sea farming: 3D, vertically integrated farming. “Essentially, you anchor two buoys into a subtidal zone of water, separated by 500 yards,” says Bettinson. Between the buoys, they string a line that has been soaking in a bath of nutrients that attracts and feeds kelp spores, letting the plants latch and grow; sugar kelp can grow up to seven inches a day. “At harvest time you just have to pick up the line to hand harvest it.”

Getting from seaweed to Seacharrones requires trucking to a dehydration facility. “We want to make it shelf stable,” he says. “Seaweed can spoil relatively quickly if it’s not stored well, and lose a lot of its quality.” For the Seacharrones, the kelp is then powderized, later mixed with rice and sorghum, and popped into their kelp puffs. “And then from there we toss it with different topical flavors,” says Bettinson. “And we can adapt that as needed to what our customers want.”

Travis Bettinson ’10 with his Blue Dot Kitchen creations

lift and understandable. And usually, the pebble hitting the water is occurring in an urban area where there’s a lot of food interest and a concentrated number of people who can get into that.” Let’s say a trend starts in New York City, with its population of 8.5 million. “Then maybe there’s 50,000 people who become food obsessed with this weird seaweed thing — which is a tiny percentage of New York, but it’s 50,000 people.”

That kind of pickup builds momentum, says Griffin, and the ripple then spreads. From New York City, it heads to smaller urban areas like Boston. Then it makes its way to places like Hartford and Providence. And just as important as making it to menus, he notes, is making it to store shelves. “Supermarkets are watching these thought leaders, and they’re acting quickly to get their suppliers to come up with ideas and options that they can roll out, too.”

And, of course, that consumer shopping at the supermarket has to be motivated not just by curiosity, but by an environmental consciousness. “As we intensify our growing practices, we are using GMO products and monocropping,” says Lewis. “And people are rejecting that. As they’re rejecting that, they’re looking for more wholesome foods, and sea vegetables seem to fit that category in a lot of ways.”

That is the endgame Bettinson envisions. “We’ve always wanted our products to be the spearhead for people who knew that seaweed was healthy,” he says. “People who understood maybe the environmental impacts of it, but had never really adapted to the flavors of seaweed.”

Mainstreaming those flavors could have its own ripple effect. “We really want to be the brand that brings more U.S. consumers into eating seaweed so that, down the line, when all these other producers are putting out products and all these chefs are making dishes, it’s no longer an exotic thing,” he adds. “It’s an ingredient that’s included in the food. And it’s just what people like.”

JWU

Delicous dishes incorporating sea veggies, as imagined and prepared by Branden Lewis and his Culinary Sustainability students.

To support the College of Food Innovation & Technology visit giving.jwu.edu/cfit50

FORM FOLLOWS

FOLLOWS FUNCTION

The Product Design program teaches students to find ingenious and sustainable solutions to real-world problems.

At left: An early universal prototype applied to a multi-channel pipette with a student-created handle.

In JWU’s Product Design program, students use art to understand the world and science to explain it

By Elizabeth Gehrman

Photographs by

Mike Cohea

AFOOT-PEDAL SYSTEM for using laboratory pipettes. A lamp made out of the roots of mushrooms. A house that moves on dozens of little legs, like a giant rectangular centipede.

What do these disparate and perhaps outlandishseeming ideas have in common? They all come from the creative minds of Johnson & Wales students in the Product Design program, and they’re all, in one way or another, sustainable.

“All sustainability means is fulfilling an objective over a long period of time,” says Walter Zesk, a computational designer and associate professor who, along with Associate Professor Jonathan Harris, teaches almost all the classes in the new major. “So that objective might be producing healthy food. It might be helping people enjoy personal freedoms or preserve their jobs or their mental health. It might be about making cities happier places by planting more trees, because studies correlate violence with a lack of green space. Well-being, happiness and health are all goals that should be sustained.”

me it has nothing to do with loving trees or loving whales or being green for its own sake, and everything to do with designing products that will make life better for people.”

Whales are lovable, Zesk concedes, but he says that often the implication is that helping the environment comes at the expense of helping people, when in reality, “sustainability is fundamentally selfish. If we trash the world, the world’s not going to disappear. Animals and trees will still be here. It’s just us that will be gone. I think people are finally starting to realize that.”

But wait, isn’t sustainability all about protecting the environment? “That’s part of it,” Zesk says. “But to

It’s not just attitudes that have changed in the past quarter century. In the late ’90s, JWU started offering a two-year degree in Computer Aided Drafting (CAD) software, later adding project management and some other skills to create the CAD-based four-year Engineering Design and Configuration Management major. But a decade and a half into the 21st century, the program was starting to look tired. Most architects and engineers no longer hand their ideas over to CAD operators who develop diagrams, blueprints and technical drawings digitally, says Harris. “Rather than CAD operators,” he says, “we now need thinkers who can use CAD. As a university we

had to start teaching students to understand products, culture, human factors and human needs, and to use technology to serve people instead of technology being the end goal.”

So a few years ago, Harris, Zesk and Design Department Chair Deana Marzocchi, with the help of a former Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) dean and a private-sector CEO, revamped the existing program. It still includes some technical skills, like learning the 3D CADbased software Rhino, but it has a much broader mandate, more in the STEAM — science, technology engineering, arts, and math — category than STEM.

“What we do is bordering technology and art,” Harris says, noting that both he and Zesk come from humanities backgrounds.

“I have a master’s in industrial design from RISD, but also a bachelor’s degree in comparative literature from the University of Wisconsin. Walter’s got a bunch of degrees, including one in art and philosophy from Wesleyan. You need art to understand the world; science just helps you explain it.”

Even though you won’t find the word “sustainability” in the course catalog, it is an integral part of the program. “We don’t teach sustainability per se because it can’t be separated from product design,” says Harris. “It is embedded in every concept we create. Also, the issues we cover are largely studentdriven. We may present them with a problem and ask them to solve it, but they often have an opportunity to develop their own ideas and find problems out in the world that need solving. We have students write their own mission statements when they start, and they all end up choosing issues that are sustainably based.”

DROP IN TO JONATHAN HARRIS’S User-Centered Design course and you might find a study in controlled chaos, with students gathered around a table here, a workstation there, perhaps even the door to the classroom, testing prototypes of various objects made of cardboard, wire, wood blocks, plexiglass, tape and existing products pressed into service as components, and discussing the pros and cons of each.

“What if you could hold it, like, upside down?” one student asks the “client,” biotechnology research assistant Hannah Tremblay, as she tests various pipette mockups to ease the constant physical effort of her job, made worse by the juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (JRA) she was diagnosed with at 16 years old. “So you’d have this motion and could still have your hand neutral?”

Even though you won’t find the word “sustainability” in the course catalog, it is an integral part of the program.

“Yeah, that way you’re not working against gravity,” says another.

“Would an inflatable donut help so you can slide your elbow back and forth more easily?” asks a third.

“There’s just a lot more awareness about it nowadays,” says Marzocchi. “There’s so much more waste now. When I was younger, if we went to Faneuil Hall and found a special doll , we would cherish it. Now there’s just all this junk — dollar stores, plastic shopping bags. I think the overload is starting to get to people.” The pandemic, she says, seems to have increased the awareness of consumerism, climate change and related topics even more. “People saw smog clearing up when there were no cars on the road, and working from home made a lot of people realize they could cut back and survive without rushing around and leaving paper coffee cups behind everywhere they went.”

Harris’s students have broken up into teams to work on three challenges: pipetting measured liquids from point A to point B at work, reading a book and turning the pages with one hand, and opening doors with keys — tasks most people never give a second thought, until JRA or old age or injury causes mechanical impediments or painful inflammation and makes them exponentially harder. Early in the semester, JWU’s occupational therapy (OT) doctoral candidates met with Harris’s class about collaborating on solutions for challenges faced by their clients. After a no-wrong-answers brainstorming session where students sketched their ideas — including over-the-shoulder bookrests, magnetic and adhesive page-flatteners, and hiring a butler (why not!) — on dozens of sticky notes, and field trips that took the future product designers to Tremblay’s lab and the OT department to try out wheelchairs, arm splints and other medical

Above and at right: A design solution to ease using keys.

devices that limited their movement, they jury-rigged their primitive prototypes to present for feedback.

“We have one more design, which is my favorite,” Harris chimes in. “Instead of pressing the plunger with your thumb, you control the pipette with a foot pedal attached to a throttle cable hanging over the desk from the floor.” Their drawings are met with enthusiasm from Tremblay and the OT group.

“That would be so cool,” Tremblay says. “I never use my feet all day, and it would obviously be a lot easier than having to keep my grip up all the time.”

“Sustainability absolutely matters to this sort of thing,” says OT student Kelsey Gately ’23. “Not only in terms of the client being able to work in her desired field, but because if we make products better from the beginning, we won’t have to put more stuff out into the world down the road in terms of modifications. Universal design makes products that can be used by everyone, no matter what size they are

Top: In the development process students first explore open-ended ideas in a brainstorming session, research human factors that will affect the designs and develop prototypes before finalizing their products.

Above and left: Students present their designs for an adjustable book holder. {

or if they have different capabilities.” Tremblay’s JRA makes her job more difficult, but pipetter’s thumb is a repetitive-strain condition many scientists develop. The foot-pedal design turned out to be so popular and ingenious it was entered into this year’s Sharkfest, a universitywide competition modeled on the TV show “Shark Tank,” and it won second place. The award granted its creators, Michael Dattolo ’24 and Mathew Hartung ’26, a $2,500 prize and made them eligible for coaching, mentoring and assistance with business plans should they decide to go forward in marketing the device.

To support the College of Engineering & Design visit giving.jwu.edu/ engineering-design

MOST OF THE PRODUCTS designed in Harris and Zesk’s classes will never make it to market, but many are born of wildly imaginative solutions to sometimes theoretical, sometimes experiential problems. The moving house, for example, was junior Henry Drapeau’s suggestion for an assignment in Zesk’s Computational Design class, in which students were asked

to create a shelter for a particular kind of environment of their own choosing. The house, powered by the kinetic energy of its residents walking around inside, would keep grassy plains from being destroyed by development. Other ideas for that class included junior Zak Vallee’s pod-style home that could be used on the surface of Mars; junior Brian Bleakney’s “waterworld” shelters, to be used if climate change floods all the land; and junior Jonah McGowan’s individual shelter for displaced persons in desert regions, which would collect water created by its user’s breath at night but is light enough to be carried like a backpack.

The mycelium lamp was for a course Zesk taught during the pandemic, when studio classes were a challenge since everything was remote, but mycelium kits were available online. For a materials class taught by adjunct Karen Labont, Keely Doyle ’24 suggested using algae in place of plastics. But such products are always only part of a bigger picture that has to be considered.

“The systems part of product design is understanding where in the system you can affect something,” says Harris. “What decisions can a designer make to change the amount of plastic we use? We can talk to friends about it, burn down the plastics factory or create a new system where if consumers buy something that’s plastic they can bring it back to you to refill it after they use up the product itself.”

Systems mean products aren’t used in a vacuum, Zesk points out, and more and more products are being designed that are incorporated into systems that include software interfaces. “If I redesigned a book,” says Chris Dimovski ’24 by way of explanation, “the growth factor is not really there. It can’t be made significantly different from how it is. But robotics and other technologies are going to blow up and keep getting bigger and bigger.”

Zesk, Harris and Marzocchi would like to see their program get bigger too, maxing out at about 15 students per class, or three times the class size that’s typical now. “The quality goes up if you go from four to 12 students, for example, because you have more perspectives,” says Zesk. “But more than that and you can’t give everyone the time they need. We would like to eventually start adding classes and faculty, though.”

Client Hannah Tremblay tests the new pipette design. The unique product makes it easier for someone with juvenile rheumatoid arthritis to pipette liquids.

Right: The pipette design turned out to be so popular it won second place in this year’s universitywide Sharkfest competition.

Marzocchi agrees and says she’s considering emphasizing sustainability more in marketing materials and course requirements. “Students have a mindset for it, for sure,” she says. “It should be something explicit in our outcomes. Ethics are in our outcomes, and when you think about ethical considerations, sustainability needs to be enveloped in that.”

Plus, she maintains, having a strong background in the issue can’t hurt when the students go out into the “real” world. “Unfortunately, there are still a lot of companies out there that don’t care and

“We don’t teach sustainability per se because it can’t be separated from product design. It’s embedded in every concept we create.”

are merely concerned with making a lot of stuff as cheaply as possible,” says Drapeau. “But luckily, it’s becoming required more and more for companies to be interested in sustainability, or at least look like they are, because it helps them make sales. So regardless of the reason, I think it’s at the forefront these days.” He says he’ll be looking for employers who consider it part of their mandate.

But the big question is, will employers be looking for students who consider sustainability an imperative? “I definitely hope so!” says McGowan. JWU

By Nicole Maranhas

The Hero’s Journey

Inspiring students is one of Tiffany Rhodes many superpowers

AT THREE YEARS OLD, Tiffany Rhodes had no time for training wheels on her brand-new bike. “I told my grandfather I wanted them off by the time I got home from preschool,” she says. Her mother saw that she meant business, and her grandfather had the bike ready when she returned that afternoon. It was love instantly. “I took off on this tiny little bike, and that was it,” says Rhodes.

As an associate professor of Adventure and Sustainable Tourism in the College of Hospitality Management since 2016, Rhodes approaches her work in the same spirit, whether leading a classroom discussion on ecotourism policy or biking with students down Cotopaxi volcano in Ecuador. Drawing on an eclectic background in biology, humanitarian aid and extreme sports, she is driven by her love of travel and nature, but even more so by the potential for education and tourism to

create social, economic and environmental change. “Tourism can be an incredible tool to confront many of our global problems, from wealth inequality to wildlife preservation,” says Rhodes. “Along with education, it’s one of the most powerful tools for making a difference in the world.”

Growing up in Pennsylvania, Rhodes dreamed of following in the footsteps of conservation heroes Jane Goodall or Dian Fossey. During her senior year as a biology major, she traveled to Africa as part of a research expedition to study elephant and rhinoceros populations in Kenya and Uganda, an experience that was life-changing in a way she hadn’t anticipated.

Far from home, she encountered communities where people contended with food scarcity and a lack of clean water. “I had seen poverty on television, but I had never seen abject poverty face to face,” she says. “It changed my humanity, and it changed my direction in life.”

Upon returning home, she pursued her doctorate in cross-cultural studies with a goal to work in humanitarian aid, traveling to war-torn regions and paying for school in part by spending summers as an adventure tour guide and environmental educator, eventually taking a job as a high school science teacher. “I thought I would do it for one year to pay off my loans, but I fell in love with education and being a teacher,” says Rhodes. Much like jumping on a bike for the first time, she was all in.

THE College of Hospitality Management is celebrating its 50th anniversary, a meaningful milestone as the industry reflects and reinvents itself amid the pandemic. For many in the travel and tourism field, shutdowns highlighted the need for a more sustainable future — values that International Travel and Tourism Studies Chair Michael Sabitoni ’82, ’92 M.S. and department faculty like Rhodes have held since long before the pandemic hit.

Tiffany Rhodes

Photos by Scott Bowers and Peggy Lo

Far left: Professor Rhodes and students during a familiarization tour in Morocco. Below: With students in Egypt. Next pages: FAM tours in Morocco and Ecuador.

From green transport to protecting cultural assets, students in the program are dedicated to travel and tourism as a means to support and sustain communities. “We’ve seen the ugly side of tourism, where people overuse a place without respect for it,” he

‘life-changing’,” says Sabitoni. “Every time, you can see that they are speaking from the heart.”

He credits faculty members such as Rhodes, who led a FAM Tour to Costa Rica this past spring, for creating such impactful student experiences. “Tiffany is so passionate about the industry, and the students appreciate that,” Sabitoni says. “They can see that she lives what she teaches and they want to live that too.”

says. “We want to educate students in tourism that is about responsible stewardship.”

Sabitoni, who also chairs Food & Beverage Industry Management, cites experiential learning as one of the college’s signature strengths. Immersive FAM Tours are a stand-out example: familiarization trips where students in the Tour Management Operations course research a destination, plan daily itineraries and lead each other on a weeklong tour.

“Over the past decade, we’ve moved away from over-touristed destinations and embraced small group travel in places like Ecuador and Peru,” says Sabitoni. Partnering with like-minded companies such as G Adventures, founded by CEO Bruce Poon Tip ’22 Hon., Sabitoni cites FAM Tours not only as a vital effort toward responsible tourism and education, but also as a defining moment in students’ futures. “When the students are interviewed about their FAM Tour experience, they use the term

has so much integrity and kindness. I learned from her that no matter where you are in the world, the way you treat people is a global language.”

BEFORE THE Costa Rica FAM Tour, Claire Lisbo ’22 never considered herself a thrill-seeker, but she discovered her adventurous streak at some point between wobbling across a hanging bridge and plunging into an eight-foot canyon. (“I didn’t tell anyone, but I did not know how to swim before this trip,” she says.) Amid white-faced capuchin monkey encounters and local gallo pinto breakfasts, she and classmates traded ghost stories in candlelit hot springs and rode horses into the sunset at a rescue farm. Reflecting on the trip’s many highlights, Lisbo counts a simple chat with Rhodes, sitting at a restaurant in the beach town of Quebos, among her meaningful moments. “She will bring you out of your comfort zone and be there to support you,” says Lisbo. “When she talks about the things she has done and the life she’s lived, it makes you think that you can do that too.”

She isn’t the only one of Rhodes’s students who can’t help but feel inspired by her infectious spirit. After a thoughtful lesson about “thick” description in a graduate seminar, Rhodes reveals during a short break that she has taught herself to play ACDC’s “Back in Black” on the drums, and the students offer instruments they could play alongside her (tambourine, cello, cowbell) in a theoretical jam session.

“She makes you think about the kind of person you want to be in the world,” says Katie Horrigan ’19, a master’s student who has known Rhodes for seven years. “She

Rhodes is a natural mentor outside of the classroom as well. As a longtime adventure tourism guide, she regularly leads trips for women, something she felt inspired to do after watching a fellow mountain biker hit a black-diamond trail, leaving his novice-rider girlfriend in his wake. “I realized that maybe girls need to teach girls,” Rhodes says with a laugh. “I love working with women so we can go back to our work spaces and families and rise to certain challenges that give us pause.”

She sees the role of a tour guide as akin to guiding a hero’s journey, encouraging and empowering others while paving the way — from monitoring weather and resolving conflicts, to managing risks and restaurant reservations — behind the scenes.

Despite her high-octane determination (in addition to her goal to read 40 books this year, she is pursuing a second Ph.D., in Parks, Recreation and Tourism Management), Rhodes takes leisure seriously. “The Greeks were major philosophers about what makes a good life,” she says. “It really is the most important question: How do you spend your time?”

Since moving to Rhode Island, she has picked up paddle-boarding, often accompanied by her two bulldogs, Tazo and Indie, riding along in life vests. (Indie, named partly in tribute to Indiana Jones, regularly can be spotted tucked into a carrier, goggles on, atop her bike on cruises along the East Bay.) Mountain-biking is her first love, but Rhodes loves rock climbing, snorkeling, snowboarding or even quiet strolls in the woods — anything that gets her into nature.

“Nature is so healing and important to our mental wellness,” she says. “I encourage students to find something they love to do outdoors. It doesn’t have to be hardcore.”

RHODES HASN’T kept count of how many countries she’s visited. She has watched a female

mountain gorilla snap a banana tree with one arm in Uganda, met genocide survivors in the Cambodian killing fields, camped under the stars in the Sahara desert, and flipped a whitewater raft in the Zambezi River in waters home to crocodiles. (“But they were young crocodiles,” she says.) She doesn’t always take pictures (“You don’t want to live behind the camera”), but memories are vivid, along with her dedication to the changes she believes are

possible through tourism — poverty alleviation, wildlife conservation and preservation of natural spaces are three closest to her heart — and the hope that her students will feel inspired to be part of those changes.

“Education opens our minds and expands our opportunities,” says Rhodes. “Travel does that too. I love when my students see that there is beauty in every culture.” Including her own. In the summers, she’s likely to be found in an RV,

exploring territories closer to home. Wherever she goes, this might be her greatest travel tip: “Be open and curious about a place, and put the locals before yourself.” All over the world, she lives what she teaches. JWU

To support the College of Hospitality Management visit giving.jwu.edu/ hospitality-management

GIVING IN ACTION

by Katelyn Silva

Fleet Maull P’14 honors son’s memory with culinary scholarship

EEVERY MORNING, Fleet Maull P’14 sits in his meditation room in Massachusetts, close to the site of his nonprofit, Prison Dharma Network, and is comforted by a photo of his son Robert Maull ’14. Robert, who graduated with a culinary degree from the Providence Campus, passed away unexpectedly in 2020, likely from complications related to a seizure disorder. Fleet has been working to process and honor his son’s passing since that devastating moment.

“There will always be a huge hole in my life, but Robert’s memory brings me more waves of joy than grief nowadays and I am grateful for that,” says Maull, whose nonprofit’s mission includes providing inmates, and those who work with them, with effective mindfulness-based interventions for healing and rehabilitation.

Maull’s nonprofit work stems from his personal experience. He served 14 years in prison on drug-related charges and has since spent three decades helping others with similar experiences. Maull’s time in prison began when Robert was just nine years old and the path to healing took time. “Growing up without a father massively impacted Robert’s life and it took time to build a strong relationship, which we fortunately did,” explains Maull, who encouraged Robert to come to

Providence (near his home at the time) to attend JWU as a culinary student.

This spring, in honor of Robert, Maull committed to endowing a $50,000 scholarship for a student in the culinary arts. “Robert’s life was being a chef,” says Maull. “He loved the restaurant and culinary world, and he was deeply appreciative of his time at Johnson & Wales and the education he received there. He was very proud of that degree, as were we (his parents).” The Robert C.W. Maull ’14 Memorial Scholarship will also support, whenever possible, a particularly meaningful population for Maull and his son: ex-convicts or children of an ex-convict.

Maull says, “A scholarship dedicated to someone who’s been incarcerated or whose parents have been incarcerated is a great way to honor Robert and to create a legacy for him. He would appreciate the logic behind setting up the scholarship in this way.”

Rhuby Cayasso ’16, ’18 MBA, creates bespoke size-inclusive fashion

IN 2014, Rhuby Cayasso ’16, ’18 MBA was a 31-year-old single mother with a big personality, a lot of drive and a dream to launch her own size-inclusive fashion line.

“Shopping is annoying as a plus-size woman. Either something is not available in my size, the design of the same garment in plus-size has changed, or most likely, the designs simply are not attractive,” she says. “I wanted to change the experience not only for plus-size women, but for all women.”

Cayasso had earned an associate degree in accounting at Miami-Dade College and learned about JWU’s Fashion Merchandising & Retailing program at a school fair. She says, “I thought Johnson & Wales was a culinary school. It was a pleasant surprise to see the breadth of other programs offered, and JWU stuck out to me because it offered a fashion program tied

Robert Maull ’14

The McIlhenny Company of TABASCO® fame supports CFIT

FOR MORE THAN 150 YEARS, The McIlhenny Company of Avery Island, Louisiana has made TABASCO® Sauce with the same three simple ingredients beloved by so many, and for more than 20 years, the company has supported Johnson & Wales University with scholarship support and gifts-in-kind.

Michelle Becker, director of foodservice sales and marketing at McIlhenny Company, says it supports the university because “Johnson & Wales offers one of the most highly regarded culinary programs in the country. We’re proud to support an institution that values time in the classroom as well as experience in the field so students are prepared to succeed and to make an impact in the industry from day one of their careers.”

The McIlhenny Company’s tradition of providing the world with its signature sauce — said to be enjoyed by presidents, chefs across continents and even the Queen of England — is built upon the vision and determination of one American family. Edmund McIlhenny launched the beginnings of the company in the early 1860s when he grew his own tabasco peppers along the Louisiana Coast and began bottling them with only two additional ingredients: vinegar and salt. That winning combination has allowed the company to thrive to this day, still distributed and owned by the McIlhenny family. The company recently launched a line of BBQ sauces imbued with its signature spiciness.

with business. I had observed many people delve into fashion with zero knowledge of how to run and maintain a business, so it was important to me to learn the ins and outs.”

At times, the barriers to success felt high. Cayasso didn’t have the means to pay tuition, but she was not one to be deterred. She applied for scholarships, federal loans and grants. Cayasso’s aid included a grant from the Batchelor Foundation, a private foundation that has supported Johnson & Wales students from South Florida for many years.

While Cayasso was worried she’d be a fish out of water, she quickly felt embraced by the professors. “I was a single parent in my thirties going back to college, attending classes surrounded by fresh-out-of-high-school students,” she recalls. “Nevertheless, I had a great experience because the faculty and staff always made me feel comfortable and supported. They had an open-door policy. Anyone can succeed when they feel supported on all sides.”

Along with the faculty, staff and curriculum, Cayasso was transformed by her experience with experiential internships in the fashion

Becker explains, “We’re proud to offer a product that fans have come to know and love but we’re also dedicated to creating new products that meet the needs of our consumers and fit into the changing culinary landscape. This type of innovation is what drives and excites us and will help keep TABASCO® Brand products in kitchens for the next 150 years and beyond. Our products are widely loved by members of the culinary industry for their unique ability to enhance the flavors in food. It’s that loyalty and appreciation that has helped to make TABASCO® Sauce the global success it is today.”

In June 2021, the company made its second $50,000 pledge to the TABASCO® Brand/ McIlhenny Company Culinary Scholarship Fund, which supports incoming culinary students. The company has provided $188,800 in cumulative giving to JWU over the past two decades.

The McIlhenny Company says it is proud to assist the next generation of culinary talent, noting that the TABASCO® Brand/McIlhenny Company have a long-standing history with the culinary community. Becker says, “We believe in investing in the future of the industry and are proud to support these talented students whose contributions will shape the food world of tomorrow. With gratitude, we invest in and lift up the next generation of culinary talent who will continue to push the industry forward.”

industry and the opportunity to study fashion abroad in Italy.

Cayasso continued her education after completing her bachelor’s degree, earning an MBA at JWU. In 2022, Cayasso realized her dream and launched a bespoke e-commerce fashion line tailored to each customer’s unique measurements called Rhuby Alinda.

“There isn’t one person who is exactly the same as another,” she says. “I may have longer arms than you, which would require a longer sleeve. Your torso may be shorter than the person next to you, so the ability to tailor our

garments gives the wearer a sense of confidence. I want to make tailored garments accessible to everyone.”

Cayasso’s business is going well so far, but she always has a bigger dream on the horizon. She hopes to expand internationally and build a team of tailors in Italy, a country she fell in love with while studying aboard. She notes, “Creating a global brand is a big dream of mine, and I wouldn’t be on my current journey had it not been for the education I received at Johnson & Wales.”

Create Your Legacy

If you would like to support Johnson & Wales University, please make a gift at giving.jwu.edu. You may also call 401-598-2185 or gifts can be made by mailing a check or money order to: Johnson & Wales University ATTN: Advancement & University Relations 8 Abbott Park Place, Providence, RI 02903

Virtue restaurant owner and chef Erick Williams created a limited-edition stadium meal with The McIlhenny Company.

ALUMNI NEWS

by Katelyn Silva

The stars aligned when Aaron Lampkin ’13 toured JWU

Aaron Lampkin ’13 was supposed to play Division 1 college basketball, but a hernia prevented him from doing so. With his plans derailed, a friend asked Lampkin if wanted to go to Denver. It was a question that changed his life.

“I had never been to Denver,” he says. “So I threw everything into two gym bags and grabbed a basketball, backpack and a pillow.”

In Denver, Lampkin joined his friend on college tours, including the JWU campus. While there, he saw a sign of a Black man holding a basketball with the message: “98 percent of graduates are in the career field of their choice within a year of graduation.”

“I saw myself in the sign,” says Lampkin. “I realized my miniscule odds of playing professional basketball and that I needed to make some big decisions. JWU had a Sports, Entertainment and Event Management degree and if I couldn’t play basketball, I wanted to work in professional sports.”

Today, Lampkin is the senior director of strategy, ticketing and premium seating for the National Hockey League (NHL) in

New York City. He credits his JWU education for helping him attain a dream job overseeing 32 teams.

Lampkin couldn’t afford college without his basketball scholarship. Fortunately, right before the deadline, a JWU grant made his education possible. Throughout college, he hustled, taking every opportunity and internship he could find, including working in service at the Pepsi Center and using that exposure to “network, network, network.”

“JWU helped prepare me for my career through networking opportunities and the application of what we were learning in the classroom to the real world through internships and jobs,” he adds. “My adjunct professors were pivotal in helping me.”

At JWU, Lampkin played basketball, joined the Black Student Association, was the state champion for public speaking with Phi Beta Lambda, served as recruitment chair for the Student Alumni Association — and met his wife. He graduated second in his class from the Sports, Entertainment and Event Management program.

“If people hadn’t donated that grant, my

life would look completely different,” says Lampkin. “I try to pay it forward by staying involved with JWU.”

After graduation, Lampkin was offered an internship in membership services with the Colorado Rapids Soccer Club. That was the beginning of a meteoric rise through the ranks of Major League Soccer (MLS) and the NHL. Fueled by an unflagging work ethic and resolve, Lampkin would go on to become one of the youngest vice presidents ever for the MLS at the age of 32.

Today, Lamkin is living the dream as a sports executive in Manhattan. If he hadn’t seen that sign while touring colleges in Denver, Lampkin doubts he would have ended up at JWU — or the NHL:

“Sometimes, the stars just align.”

Thérèse Nelson ’04 elevates and inspires Black culinary contributions

Thérèse Nelson ’04 grew up watching the advent of food television with the launch of the Food Network and PBS shows like her personal favorite “Daisy Cooks!” with Chef Daisy Martinez. Even so, she never imagined herself as a chef. “That felt like otherworldly thinking to me at the time,” she says.

Instead, Nelson planned to become a computer engineer. She received early admissions to Rutgers University but quickly realized that while she “might be good at a STEM career, it wasn’t a passion.” Again, a career in food beckoned to Nelson through her television screen. She saw more

commercials advertising culinary programs, particularly in New England. The seeds planted earlier began to grow: Nelson started investigating culinary programs in earnest, including visiting JWU Providence with her mother. “I fell in love with the idyllic campus on the hill overlooking the water,” she says.

However, Nelson had to convince her mom that leaving computer science for a future in food made sense: “That JWU visit was the opportunity to show my mom the practical side of a culinary career, that this isn’t fluff; it’s a serious multi-trillion-dollar industry and if I pick the right school, I can have a successful career.”

At the time, JWU was distributing a marketing brochure that Nelson refers to as “the passport” that used hypothetical students, their career goals and the path to achieving them. “It showed how students could have control over their own mobility,” she says. “It mapped specific courses, internships and experiences to ‘stamp’ in the passport on the way to your destination. It was a clincher for me to choose JWU.”

After completing her first year in Culinary Arts and Food Service Management in Providence, Nelson transferred to the Charleston Campus. “I was meant to attend Charleston,” she says. “So much of the work I’m doing now is because of the language

Adams Hayne ’03 offers a taste of paradise at his St. Croix B&B

If you’re a fan of HGTV, you may have seen Adams Hayne ’03 and his wife Julie searching for a small bed-and- breakfast on St. Croix after selling everything and moving to the island.

The impetus for the life change came after 600 miles of walking.

“I had been in the restaurant industry for almost 20 years and decided to take a sabbatical with my wife to do the Camino de Santiago, which is a spiritual faith walk across Spain,” explains Hayne. “The experience helped us realize we needed to slow down — hence, our move to St. Croix and our B&B.”

Viewers can watch the couple playfully spar over what features to prioritize on “Caribbean Life” (Season 20, Episode 14).

Julie is looking for an ocean view, while Adams is primarily interested in a great kitchen. That makes sense since Adams Hayne is a chef and graduate of Johnson & Wales University’s Charleston Campus with a bachelor’s degree in Food Service Management and an associate degree in Culinary Arts.

I learned in Charleston and the immersive JWU education.

“The curriculum is designed to intensely engage you with all the tools you need to be successful,” she adds. “With every class and experience, I gained an important tool to add to my toolbox or a stamp in my passport.”

Nelson graduated summa cum laude and

Hayne likes to say that “food chose him.” While serving in the U.S. Marines, fellow cadets asked him to cook for the group on an evening off. He was quickly deemed their honorary cook. He says, “It became a hobby for me and after working many different kinds of jobs, I realized that cooking was what made me the happiest.”

With help from the GI bill, Hayne enrolled in JWU and says his education helped him “kick doors open” in the culinary world. Even today, his cooking is heavily inflenced by mentors from Charleston. “I like to blend that Southern influence with a little Italian and, of course, the Caribbean influence, which is a huge melting pot of flavors.”

At the close of the HGTV episode, the Haynes choose their Coral’s Edge B&B that now has three guest rooms decorated in brilliant blues and yellows. Stays include a gourmet breakfast with a specialty mimosa prepared by Hayne. The menu changes daily using local fresh ingredients infused with Caribbean flavors. By special order, Hayne will also prepare a private chef culinary experience for guests as well as fellow St

began a thriving career as a chef at luxury hotels, while also contributing recipes to cookbooks and cooking for global brands like Black Enterprise, Carol’s Daughter, BET, MTV, WEEN, Verizon and RocNation. She eventually transitioned to working as a private chef while writing for food publications and consulting for restaurants and catering businesses.

At every step of her journey, Nelson encountered other JWU graduates, whom she’d recognize immediately.

“I can always pick out a JWU student,” she explains. “There is a particular focus and language. We think not just like chefs, but as business minds — accounting, food costs, management, all of it. It’s a full view of the culinary world and its careers. JWU conditions you to think like a working chef and I’m not sure many other programs are able to do that. The graduates are joyful, but they also don’t play around.”

Croix residents and island visitors.

The B&B is doing so well that the Haynes are planning an expansion. They’re building an outdoor pavilion with a bar and kitchen, and launching a dinner cruise around the island.

When asked if he’s happy with his decision to sell everything and open a B&B in St. Croix, Hayne says definitively, “Oh yeah, it’s never a bummer day here.”

In 2008, Nelson founded Black Culinary History, a website meant to “connect Black chefs, preserve Black heritage throughout the African diaspora, promote the work of Black food and beverage professionals, and maintain the legacy being constructed by Black chefs for the next generation.”

While still working diligently on her site and writing for myriad outlets, Nelson is also organizing this fall’s Worlds of Flavor Conference focused on the African diaspora, and she recently contributed to Bryant Terry’s book “Black Food,” which was nominated for a James Beard Media Award.

Reflecting on her thriving career, Nelson says, “All of the ways I had wanted to make room for myself in the world of food studies and food culture are possible now. That JWU passport has been so powerful in my life.”

ALUMNI NEWS

Reunited

and it feels so good

After three long years apart, the JWU community was thrilled to celebrate Reunion 2022 together and in-person in Providence. The event theme was appropriately “reunited and it feels so good” and featured 15 fun-filled educational experiences showcasing JWU’s past, present and future.

Highlights included tours, discussions on the future of food and cannabis entrepreneurship, the Taste of JWU, Shakin’ It Up: Craft Cocktails and Chocolate: Spice Up Your Life. JWU also celebrated the 50th anniversary of the College of Hospitality Management with programming throughout the weekend and a special reception leading into the Bayside Bash, a waterside dance party.

During Taste of JWU, attendees enjoyed wines from around the country and delicacies prepared by alumni chefs such as Champe Speidel ’01, ’16 Hon., of Persimmon Restaurant in Providence; Aarthi Sampath ’14, a consultant chef based in New York City; and Christopher Viaud ’12, chef and owner of Greenleaf and Ansanm in Milford, New Hampshire. Andrew Greenleaf ’17, ’18 MBA, the Rhode Island and Connecticut market manager for Bully Boys Distillers; JWU Professor Jim Griffin, Ed.D. ’88, ’92 M.S.; and Portland, Maine’s Black Cow Bar Manger Liz Smith ’15 shared the latest trends, from sustainability to cocktails fortified with healthy infusions during Shakin’ It Up: Craft Cocktails, sponsored by Bully Boy Distillers.

Aura Fajardo Quintero ’17, chocolatier and owner of Aura’s Chocolate Bar, led an interactive tasting during Chocolate: Spice Up Your Life. Attendees enjoyed a flavor journey of chocolates made with Latin American beans from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic and Ecuador.

Three outstanding alumni were honored during the Distinguished Alumni Award ceremony. Jasmine Turner ’16, brand manager at Procter & Gamble, was honored with the G.O.L.D. (Graduate of the Last Decade) Award. Elána Frazier ’13, project manager at Thomas P. Miller & Associates, received the Alumni Service Award. Clay Snyder ’93, ’15 Hon., senior director of business development at Hilton Supply Management, was presented with the Outstanding Achievement Award.

JWU exceeded its Reunion 2022 giving goal of $8,000. A special thanks to our Reunion Challenge donors: Scott Somerville ’93, John Kelley III ’10 and Marshall Freeman ’06. All Reunion gifts will benefit current students.

Photos by Peter Goldberg and Scott Bowers

CLASS NOTES

1976

GARY COMELLA PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Gary is the executive chef at The University Club in Providence.

1977

CHERYL MOORE PVD

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Cheryl owns Fred’s Fashions & Designs LLC in Charleston.

1980

ANNA COLE PVD

CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Anna is a financial advisor with New York Life & Securities in Bridgewater.

SCOTT DAVIS PVD

RIDGEFIELD, CONNECTICUT

Scott received The International Foodservice Manufacturers Association 2021Silver Plate Award in the Business & Industry/ Foodservice Management category. He was nominated by PepsiCo and Singer M. Tucker.

1982

JOSEPH WEEMS PVD

NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

Joseph is the executive chef at New York Presbyterian Hospital Weill Cornell Medical Center.

1985

MICHAEL DUVAL PVD

IPSWICH, MASSACHUSETTS

Michael is the general manager of Air Culinaire in Revere.

JUDI LIVERNOIS PVD

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

Judi is the senior manager, research and development, information

North Miami

Vail

technology and data at Kite Pharmaceuticals in Santa Monica, California.

1986

DANIEL AGABITI PVD

CUMBERLAND, RHODE ISLAND

Daniel is the food service director at Compass Group in Providence.

MARC ALEXANDER PVD

JAMESTOWN, RHODE ISLAND

Marc is the co-owner and chef at Our Table LLC in Jamestown.

STACEY DENICOLA PVD

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Stacey is a managing partner at ValueShield Protect in Atlanta.

DAVID GARY RYAN PVD

PORT SAINT LUCIE, FLORIDA

David is an executive chef for Aramark in Port Saint Lucie.

1987

JAMES BOWIE PVD

SAGAMORE BEACH, MASSACHUSETTS

Jim is a sales coordinator for Sysco in Plympton.

ANDREW LISS PVD

FALL RIVER, MASSACHUSETTS

Andy is a financial advisor with Gorra Financial Group in Cranston, Rhode Island.

1988

THOMAS HEALY PVD

NORTH PALM BEACH, FLORIDA

Tom is the COO of DiamondRock Hospitality in Bethesda, Maryland.

GARY JAMES PVD

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

Gary is a culinary arts instructor with the New Castle County Vocational Technical School District in Wilmington.

DANIEL KROTINE CHS

NORTH RIDGEVILLE, OHIO

Daniel is a virtualization engineer for University Hospitals Cleveland.

JAMES O’GRADY PVD

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI

Patrick is SVP for Las Vegas restaurants and Chicago operations at First Class Workforce Solutions in St. Louis.

DAVID SALCFAS PVD

SPRINGFIELD, NEW JERSEY

David is the general manager of the Sheraton Boston Hotel in Boston.

1989

DARRYL CHEEK CHS

COLONIAL HEIGHTS, VIRGINIA

Darryl owns The Award & Frame Shop in Colonial Heights.

DIANE FANTONE PVD

ANNAPOLIS, MARYLAND

Diane owns Grateful Spreads in Annapolis.

TANYA JACKSON PVD

ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Tanya is the manager of leadership development and safety for the Boys & Girls Clubs of America in Atlanta.

THOMAS WILSON MILLER PVD

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Wilson is a food broker for Becky Yahia and Associates in Raleigh.

1990

JOHN JOHNSEN PVD

CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND

John handles sales at Thurston Foods in Wallingford, Connecticut.

JENIFER LANGLEY PVD

LEBANON, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Jenifer is a retail administration analyst for Mascoma Bank in Lebanon.

KAREN NERI PVD

CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND

Karen is the president of Foodsteps Consulting & Sales LLC in Cranston.

JOSEPH ROWLAND PVD

CONCORD, NORTH CAROLINA

Joey handles business development for Nextbite, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.

TIMOTHY SNYDER PVD

BLANDON, PENNSYLVANIA

Timothy is the president and CEO of Fleetwood Bank in Fleetwood.

1992

DAVID CAMPBELL PVD

SCHENECTADY, NEW YORK

David is a professor at the State University of New York at Cobleskill.

MARSEAH DELATTE PVD

NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA

Marseah is a managing member at New Orleans Restoration Properties.

AMY HILLMAN PVD

WESTFIELD, INDIANA

Amy handles national sales for Drury Hotels, headquartered in St. Louis, Missouri.

MARTIN KAHLER PVD

ELIOT, MAINE

Martin owns Kahler Creations d/b/a Chef’s Cove in Eliot.

DAVID LADEMANN PVD

JENKINTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

David is an executive chef for Morrison Healthcare in Willingboro, New Jersey.

JASON SMITH CHS

RED LION, PENNSYLVANIA

Jason is an administrative officer for the Bureau of Budget and Fiscal Support, Office of Children, Youth and Families at the Department of Human Services in Harrisburg.

HENRY TESSMAN PVD

AUBURN, MASSACHUSETTS

Henry is the general manager at Great Wolf Lodge in Fitchburg.

STEPHANIE YARBOROUGH CHS

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Stephanie is a UX designer in Raleigh.

1993

DIANE CAINE PVD

CHEPACHET, RHODE ISLAND

Diane is the president of LinkRI in Lincoln.

AMY CONGER PVD

FORT MYERS, FLORIDA

Amy is the executive chef at Captiva Island Yacht Club in Captiva.

GINA CONSYLMAN PVD

CHARLESTOWN, MASSACHUSETTS

Gina is CFO of the severe genetic disease division of bluebird bio inc. in Cambridge.

JANE FONTAINE ’95 MS. PVD

ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS

Jane is senior VP, human resources learning and organizational development, at Digital Federal Credit Union in Marlborough.

JULIA HURWITZ PVD

DUNWOODY, GEORGIA

Julia is the director of sales and catering at District Events & Catering in Atlanta.

GREGORY IGLESIAS CHS

RIVERDALE, GEORGIA

Greg is the HR director at Gusto! Wood Fire Grill in Atlanta.

JEFFREY INGBER PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Jeff owns Bubbies Market in Providence.

KAREN VARIEUR PVD

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Karen is a district manager for Aramark in Philadelphia.

1994

CHRISTOPHER CULP PVD

CUMMING, GEORGIA

Christopher is a design manager for food and beverage at the Intercontinental Hotel Group in Atlanta.

CHRISTOPHER DICK PVD

TEWKSBURY, MASSACHUSETTS

Chris is the director of business development and marketing for Trinity Emergency Medical Services in Lowell.

ADAM GEWANTER PVD

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Adam is the senior VP for Las Vegas restaurants and Chicago operations at Tao Group, based in Las Vegas, Nevada.

AARON HANSZ PVD

SPRING, TEXAS

Aaaron owns Doulos Advisory LLC in Spring.

MONICA MUEHL ’01 MBA PVD

HOLLYWOOD, FLORIDA

Monica is the senior manager of benefits projects for Marriott International.

MICHAEL RUDOWITZ PVD

SAINT JOHNS, FLORIDA

Michael is a realtor with ERA Davis & Linn in Jacksonville.

JASON WALDMAN CHS

EMMAUS, PENNSYLVANIA

Jason is a resident district manager for Sodexo in Malvern.

CHRISTOPHER WISE CHS

HOUSTON, TEXAS

Christopher is an importer at Eur Mid Inc. in Houston.

1995

RENEE CORY RIVENBURG PVD

HUDSON, NEW YORK

Renee is the food and beverage director at Emerson Resort in Mount Tremper.

JENNIFER HUTCHINSON PVD

DOVER, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Jennifer is the director of treasury at Colwen Hotels in Portsmouth.

BENJAMIN LOCKETT PVD

WINTER GARDEN, FLORIDA

Ben is executive steward for Loews Hotels in Orlando.

MICHAEL MIXSON CHS

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

Shane owns Shane Mixson Travel in Greensboro.

1996

SUZANNE BAGNERA ’98 MBA PVD

VERO BEACH, FLORIDA

Suzanne is director of the Hospitality Institute at Indian River State College in Vero Beach.

MICHAEL DUBOSE CHS

SENOIA, GEORGIA

Michael is a culinary specialist with the Georgia Department of Education in Atlanta.

AN EXCLUSIVE

ALUMNI OFFER

Hestan founder Stanley Cheng ’22 Hon. and Johnson & Wales University have teamed up to bring exclusive Hestan Vineyards and Hestan Cookware offers to JWU alumni. Enjoy a hand-selected four-bottle assortment of wines, presented in Hestan Vineyards’ signature wooden box. Whether you’re looking to stock your restaurant or home kitchen, Hestan’s Cookware has curated the perfect collection for your culinary needs.

Visit alumni.jwu.edu to obtain a special promotional code for JWU alums.

STELLA GUSTAFSSON ’99 MBA PVD

ORMOND BEACH, FLORIDA

Stella is the founder and president of Spa Academia Inc. in Ormond Beach.

RAHMAN HARPER NOR WOODBRIDGE, VIRGINIA

Rock is the chef and owner of the Queen Mother’s Restaurant in Arlington.

MOLLY LEWANDOWSKI ’98 MBA PVD

REHOBOTH, MASSACHUSETTS

Molly owns Recolor Paints in Hanover.

CHRISTOPHER LOVISAPVD

DUMONT, NEW JERSEY

Chris is a general manager at Sodexo.

1997

FRANK BROOKS PVD

DETROIT, MICHIGAN

Frankie is the CEO of Culinary Associates Inc. in Harper Woods.

PATRICIA CASEY PVD

NASHUA, NEW HAMPSHIRE

Patricia is the senior assistant VP of operations at Merrimack College in North Andover, Massachusetts.

RICHARD JONES ’17 MBA CHS

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Chris is a financial advisor with Merrill Lynch in Mount Pleasant.

JOETTA KNUEVEN

DEFRANCESCO ’03 MAT CHS

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA

Joetta is an environmental manager, quality assurance and training, at the Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services in Tallahassee.

JUNIOR THOMAS PVD

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Junior is a senior campus operator for Downing Street Property Management in Orlando.

CLASS NOTES

1998

GRETCHEN BRUNELLI PVD

PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND

Gretchen is a client executive for IBM in the Boston area.

AUBREY COFFEE CHS

CLEMSON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Aubrey owns C-Squared Productions in Clemson.

JAIME FIORELLO PVD

SUMMERVILLE, SOUTH CAROLINA

Jaime is the director of business development for cash products at InComm Payments in Atlanta, Georgia.

CORINTHIAN HAMILTON NOR NEW HAVEN, CONNECTICUT

Corinthian handles food service at Yale New Haven Hospital.

DAVID LANTERMAN CHS

JACKSONVILLE BEACH, FLORIDA

David is chief operating officer at White Lodging, headquartered in Merrillville, Indiana.

DREW MADDEN PVD

MUNDELEIN, ILLINOIS

Drew is a project manager with Edward Don & Co. in Woodridge.

1999

JOSEPH APONTE PVD

DELTONA, FLORIDA

Joseph is the manager of Ocean Deck Restaurant in Daytona Beach.

JACK BIRREN ’01 MAT PVD

OCONOMOWOC, WISCONSIN

Jack is an instructor at Waukesha County Technical College in Pewaukee.

STEPHAN DURAND NMI

TAMARAC, FLORIDA

Stephan is director of culinary operations at Creole Garden Restaurants in Tamarac.

KEVIN EMLINGER PVD NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS

Kevin is a bookkeeper and administrative assistant with the New England State Police Information Network in Franklin.

[1] SAM GIANOPOULOS CHS

WINSTON-SALEM, NORTH CAROLINA

Sammy won the IFMA 2022 Silver Plate Award for Independent Restaurant/Multi-Concept category. He is co-owner and executive chef of Crisp Hospitality Group in Winston-Salem.

SHERRI JACKSON COLEMAN CHS

ANTIOCH, TENNESSEE

Sherri owns The Honeycomb Hideout in Antioch.

THOMAS O’GARA PVD

GERMANTOWN, MARYLAND

Thomas is vice president of culinary at Tessemae’s in Essex.

JONATHAN PELLETIER PVD

PORTSMOUTH, RHODE ISLAND

Jonathan is the director of food & beverage at Gurney’s Newport Resort & Marina in Newport.

SIMON STEVENSON PVD

CHICOPEE, MASSACHUSETTS

Simon is the senior training arts compliance manager at UMass Dining and Bakeshop.

2000

[2] STEVEN RECHTORIK PVD

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA

Steven is the executive chef at Seven Springs Mountain Resort in Champion.

JASON SAUNDERS PVD

GREENSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

Jason is a general manager for Compass Group in Winston-Salem.

2001

SERENA BAILEY PVD

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

Serena owns BeautyBuckets Gift Boutique in Virginia Beach.

MARC BONANNO PVD

BRAINTREE, MASSACHUSETTS

Marc is a corporate executive chef at Tavolo Restaurants & Ashmont Grill in Dorchester.

BETHANNE BOUSQUET PVD

NEW BEDFORD, MASSACHUSETTS

Beth is a transportation security officer with TSA Homeland Security in Boston.

ANTHONY KRZYWICKI PVD

ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA

Anthony serves seniors in Erie for Sodexo.

DANIELLE MAREE CHS

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Danielle owns Sweet Tea & Cornbread in Baltimore.

JILL RUEHLE PVD

CHANTILLY, VIRGINIA

Jill is the VP of team finance for the Washington (District of Columbia) Capitals.

MICHAEL WILLIAMS PVD

YONKERS, NEW YORK

Michael is the VP of health and wellness at Cura Hospitality, headquartered in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania.

CHRISTY ZAWATSKI ’17 MBA CHS

BROWNVILLE, NEW YORK

Christy is general manager of the IHG Army Hotel in Fort Drum.

2002

PAUL BELLO NMI

MIAMI GARDENS, FLORIDA

Paul is the CEO of Greenfield PetroGas LLC in Pembroke Pines.

JENNIFER CHAMPLIN PVD

CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND

Jennifer is the human resource generalist and recruiter at University Orthopedics in East Providence.

LIN OLD CHS

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

Lin owns The Tailored Chef in Norfolk.

GIANA SIROTA CHS

BOCA RATON, FLORIDA

Giana is an executive assistant at Springbig in Boca Raton.

TRACI SMITH ZEHLER ’02

MBA PVD

COMMERCE CITY, COLORADO

Traci runs the Smith Zehler Insurance Agency for Farmers Insurance in Westminster.

2003

ANGELA BERBERICH CHS

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Angie is total quality and food safety manager for Red Lobster in Orlando.

TRIDONNA BULLOCK PVD

BALTIMORE, MARYLAND

Tridonna is an office administrator for the Baltimore County Government.

COLEEN CARDOZA PVD

EAST PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Coleen wrote the book “Breathe, Nourish Life Thoughtfully.”

RACHAEL LAPORTE PVD

PAWCATUCK, CONNECTICUT

Rachael is an executive chef and co-founder of Azuluna Foods in Windham.

MARUJA OSWALD HARRIS PVD

SKILLMAN, NEW JERSEY

Maruja is a culinary leader, North America, for Ingredion in Bridgewater.

2004

KEVIN BELMONT PVD

BURLINGTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Kevin is VP of operations at RK Centers in Needham.

SARAH DECATALDO PVD

CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND

Sarah is the founder and CEO of Charis LLC in Cranston.

WARREN FONDU PVD

DECATUR, GEORGIA

Warren is a sales manager for US Foods in Atlanta.

[3] JAY JEANNERET DEN

DENVER, COLORADO

Jay is the facilities manager at Sodexo in Denver.

LACY LANGE DEN

FORT WORTH, TEXAS

Lacy is the director of convention services and events at Visit Fort Worth.

DANIELLE MAY PVD

ASPEN, COLORADO

2005

RICHARD DUBOIS ’05 MBA PVD

WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND

Richard is the president of Dubois Import Export in Woonsocket.

PAUL MONTOUR ’05 MBA PVD

BARRINGTON, RHODE ISLAND

Paul is the senior manager of sales operations at Dassault Systèmes Simulia in Johnston.

KELLY MOONEY PVD

BURRILLVILLE, RHODE ISLAND

Kelly is the clinical nutrition manager at CharterCare in Providence.

NICOLE NEWSOME NOR

PORTSMOUTH, VIRGINIA

Nicole is a teacher with Portsmouth Public Schools.

THOMAS TALBERT PVD

DARIEN, ILLINOIS

Thomas is the VP of culinary marketing for CSSI Marketing + Culinary in Chicago.

MICHAEL WHIDDON DEN SILT, COLORADO

Michael is the accounting manager at Holy Cross Energy in Glenwood Springs.

JULIE KING CHS

FLOWERY BRANCH, GEORGIA

Julie is an executive meeting manager at Lanier Islands Resort in Buford.

JAMEY MALOOF PVD

GROTON, CONNECTICUT

Jamey is the sous chef at Sift Bake Shop in Mystic.

RAMEE OPPERUDE DEN

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Ramee is a public affairs officer with the U.S. Army Reserve.

TOVA SCHERZER DEN

AURORA, COLORADO

Tova is the global director, customer success, for Gin7 in Denver.

BRITTNY STEPHENSON OHR PVD

DOUGLASVILLE, GEORGIA

Brittny is the director of product development at Sugar Foods Corporation in Douglasville.

2007

[4] MICHAEL AZEVEDO PVD

BROCKTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Michael is a tax fraud investigator at the Massachusetts Department of Revenue in Boston.

BIRTHS 2009

ANNA (GILL) PEREIRA ’12

MBA PVD and Kyle Pereira

Kathleen Marie

2013

[5] EMILY BRODEUR PVD and Paul Kuzdeba

Cayden James 4 5 3

Danielle is a human resources manager at The Little Nell in Aspen.

MARK STITES CHS

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Mark is a seafood team leader at Whole Foods Market in Mount Pleasant.

JENNIFER WEBSTER CHS

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Jennifer is director of sales and marketing with Athena Hospitality Group representing the new Cambria Hotel & Avid Hotel Nashville Airport in Nashville, Tennessee.

TRACY WILCZEK PVD

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Tracy is a regional wellness director for FLIK Hospitality.

IKIMI WOODSON PVD

MERIDEN, CONNECTICUT

Ikimi is the executive director and CEO of The Roots Fund in Berlin.

2006

DANIELLE ABBOTT DEN

AURORA, COLORADO

Danielle is in charge of leadership development at American Family Insurance in Englewood.

MALCOLM FERGUSON CHS

GOOSE CREEK, SOUTH CAROLINA

Malcolm is a district manager for Waffle House in Goose Creek.

TORIA GRIDDLE CLT

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Toria is a teacher at the West Philadelphia Achievement Charter Elementary School.

THEODORE HADJIS PVD

LAKE FOREST, ILLINOIS

Theodore is executive vice president and global marketing manager for Publicis Groupe, headquartered in Paris, France.

JEROME DICECCO PVD

RIVERHEAD, NEW YORK

Jerry is the owner and chef of Jerry and the Mermaid in Riverhead.

IVANIA GARCIA PVD

WEST WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND

Ivania is a program specialist at General Dynamics Electric Boat in Groton, Connecticut.

MARTA HERNANDEZ NMI

ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA

Marta is vice president of health and human services in Dripping Springs, Texas.

MELLISSA HONEYWOOD PVD

WEST ROXBURY, MASSACHUSETTS

Mellissa is director of food and nutrition at Cambridge Public Schools.

ASHLEY LEHTO PVD

BEL AIR, MARYLAND

Ashley is an area retail manager for Wegmans Food Markets in Abingdon.

MONICA LYNOTT CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Monica is a regional director of internal controls for Marriott International, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland.

[6] CHRISTOPHER PHILLIPS CLT

CONWAY, ARKANSAS

Chris is the senior vice president of finance and administration and CFO at the Little Rock Convention and Visitors Bureau in Little Rock.

SHELITA PRIOLEAU NMI

MONCKS CORNER, SOUTH CAROLINA

Shelita handles talent aquistion for the SC Federal Credit Union, headquartered in North Charleston.

RREYAÑA RADCLIFF CLT

PINEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Reyaña owns Your Braisen Chef LLC in Charlotte.

2008

CATHLYN BERNING DEN

SARASOTA, FLORIDA

Cathlyn is in charge of nutrition sciences at Encompass Health Rehabilitation Hospital in Sarasota.

AMANDA BROKAW PVD

SEVIERVILLE, TENNESSEE

Amanda is a project manager with Morrison Healthcare in Knoxville.

SHEENA DUCKWORTH PVD

ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS

Sheena is the senior biller at Truesource in Lincoln.

SUN YOUNG KIM PVD

GWACHENG-SI, SOUTH KOREA

Sun Young is a financial analyst with Cummins Filtration Ltd. in Suwon.

JESSICA LEMKE CLT

CORNELIUS, NORTH CAROLINA

Jessica is the director of cultural events for BAYADA Home Health Care in Pennsauken, New Jersey.

GREGORY LENTSCH ’10 MBA PVD

LYNNWOOD, WASHINGTON

Gregory is vice president of operations at Kizuki Ramen & Izakaya, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois.

MEGAN RISK PVD

ORLANDO, FLORIDA

Megan is the enterprise restaurant services manager at OpenTable in Orlando.

ALLISON SOBY DEN

SAN RAFAEL, CALIFORNIA

Allison is an HR information system and compensation analyst for Clif Bar & Company in Emeryville.

LAUREN TAFT PVD

BELLOWS FALLS, VERMONT

Lauren is a retail operations business client specialist at the Savings Bank of Walpole.

COLE TAUSTIN PVD

BERLIN, MARYLAND

Cole is the CEO of the Taustin Group in Ocean City.

JONATHAN TOLAND PVD

BEACON, NEW YORK

Jonathan is the vice president of Yieldmo in New York City.

2009

VINCENT EGAN PVD

JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY

Vince is a financial advisor with Northwestern Mutual in New York City.

SINEM ERTUGRUL DEN

ISTANBUL, TURKEY

Sinem is an IT project manager with Zoetis in Istanbul.

JEFFREY GEMIGNANI CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Jeff is an account manager for the Simplot Food Group headquartered in Boise, Idaho.

DEBORAH JACKSON DEN

AURORA, COLORADO

Deborah is the student data and records manager at the Anschutz Medical Campus of the University of Colorado in Aurora.

TONY JI PVD

ABSECON, NEW JERSEY

Tony is the director of operations at Marriott Fairway Villas Resort in Galloway.

JENNA MARKL PVD

NEW MILFORD, CONNECTICUT

Jenna owns Jenna Knows Food in New Milford.

LORNA MARTINEZ NMI

LAS VEGAS, NEVADA

Lorna is a pastry and culinary instructor at The Culinary Academy of Las Vegas.

KEVIN MCCORT PVD

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

Kevin is revenue manager for KemperSports in Northbrook.

[7] JENNIFER PACIOTTI CLT

STATESVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Jenn is director of operations at the Daniel Island Club in South Carolina.

HEATHER HEAD CLT

FAYETTEVILLE, GEORGIA

Heather is an internal communications leader with Ernst & Young in Atlanta.

JOHN KELLEY PVD

DENVER, COLORADO

John is the VP at Newmark Valuation & Advisory in Denver.

JOHANNETTE KOLLER PVD

HUMMELSTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA

Johannette is the culinary supervisor at Hershey Resorts & Entertainment in Pennsylvania.

LAUREN SCHARFING PVD

BRIARWOOD, NEW YORK

Lauren is director of conference services for FLIK at Capital One in New York City.

MEGAN SCHIMMING CLT

UTICA, NEW YORK

Megan is a marketing manager for Ferraro Foods in Utica.

[8] KISHA TAPANGAN PVD

8 7

AUSTIN, TEXAS

Kisha is the VP and social media manager at Citizens Financial Group in Austin.

NICOLETTE POKU NMI

HOMESTEAD, FLORIDA

Nicolette owns Swift Cleaning Services LLC in Miami.

ERIN RUSH PVD

BRICK, NEW JERSEY

Erin is a financial consultant with MetLife in Bridgewater.

2010

MITCHELL COHEN PVD

SOUTHAMPTON, PENNSYLVANIA

Mitch is vice president of bid sales for the Atlantic International Food Group in Edison, New Jersey.

ELIZABETH WEISBERG NMI

PORTLAND, MAINE

Elizabeth is a case manager and mental health and rehabilitation technician at Gateway Community Services in Portland.

2011

EHRON BANKS CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Ehron is a business support specialist with Pillar4 Media in Charlotte.

SAMUEL CONKLIN PVD

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Samuel is a technical project manager for the Spectrum Audio Design Group in New York City.

JENNIFER COTOIA PVD

NORTH DARTMOUTH, MASSACHUSETTS

Jennifer is a communications coordinator at Wheaton College in Norton.

MICHAEL FAMIGLIETTI CLT

KING OF PRUSSIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Michael is an account manager with Actalent in Chesterbrook.

COREY FESCO PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Corey is the pastry chef at The University Club in Providence.

KASHONDA GEIGER CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Kashonda is the HR onboarding supervisor for the Mecklenburg County government.

ASHLEY GOBEIL PVD

NEWPORT, VERMONT

Ashley is the senior merchant at Talbots in Hingham, Massachusetts.

LINDSEY MACDOWELL PVD

OTIS, MASSACHUSETTS

Lindsey is the northeastern region manager of human resources for Plaskolite in Sheffield.

SAMANTHA MAHONEY PVD

HOPKINTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Samantha is the director of production at Digital Impulse in Watertown.

AMANDA MCCLEERY CLT

ROCK HILL, SOUTH CAROLINA

Amanda is the executive director at Whitehead Manor in Charlotte.

MARGUARITE NEWTON ’13

MBA PVD

NORTH SMITHFIELD, RHODE ISLAND

Maggie co-owns The Perfect Blend, a health food restaurant in Bellingham, Massachusetts.

[9] ALLISON NEWTON PVD

POOLER, GEORGIA

Allison owns Allison Event Design in Pooler.

KEVIN NG ’18 MBA PVD

WILLISTON PARK, NEW YORK

Kevin is an operations manager for food and nutrition at New York Presbyterian Hospital.

KEVIN POPLOSKI PVD

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Kevin is the area director of HR at Andaz Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

PETER THRASHER PVD

IRVING, TEXAS

Peter is associate director of business development for Valera Health, based in Brooklyn, New York.

DANIELLE WATSON NMI

DURHAM, NORTH CAROLINA

Danielle is an executive assistant at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

ERIC WILLS DEN

GILBERTSVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA

Eric is a production manager for Aramark, headquartered in Philadelphia.

TATIANA YAGECIC CLT

MOUNT PLEASANT, SOUTH

CAROLINA

Tatiana is a business broker and chief marketing officer at Best Business Brokers serving Charleston County.

DANIELA ZOGRAPHOS CLT

ANDERSON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Daniela owns Yumsies Cake Pops in Anderson.

2012

ALEXANDRA GIBBONS PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Alexandra is a UX designer at FM Global in Johnston.

THACHANA HERON PVD

CRAIG, COLORADO

Thachana is a personal banker with Mountain Valley Bank in Steamboat Springs.

WALTER JIMINSON NMI

CUTLER BAY, FLORIDA

Walter is an account representative for Universal Forest Product Industries in Miami.

HECTOR MANON NMI

HIALEAH, FLORIDA

Hector is the founder and executive director of the Association for Culinary Art Therapy in Hialeah.

DONTE MURPHY PVD

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE

Donte is the co-founder of 6NINETY9 Web Design in Wilmington.

[10] ARIEL ORTIZ PVD

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

Ariel owns Twisted Sisters Cupcakes in Virginia Beach.

SAVANNAH RAYMOND PVD

BENICIA, CALIFORNIA

Savannah is a manager with Wavemaker Sports & Live in San Francisco.

SUBMISSIONS

[11] LINDSAY SCHERER PVD

CATONSVILLE, MARYLAND

Lindsay is events manager, North America marketing, at T. Rowe Price in Baltimore.

2013

CHIARA ALKHATEEB PVD

LINDENHURST, NEW YORK

Chiara is an event planner and owner of CMMA Services LLC in Lindenhurst.

WESTLY BARTLETT CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Westly is the director of operations at the Renaissance Charlotte Southpark Hotel.

BRITTANY FITZGERALD CLT

VIRGINIA BEACH, VIRGINIA

Brittany is a resource coordinator with the Autism Society of Tidewater Virginia in Virginia Beach.

GREGORY HENKELMAN PVD

NORWOOD, MASSACHUSETTS

Gregory is the assistant manager of The Country Club in Brookline.

PAUL ORTEGA CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Paul is the replenishment operations manager at US Foods in Manassas, Virginia.

If there’s news in your life you’d like to share with fellow alumni, please send us photos and announcements about your career, recent weddings, unions and additions to your family.

Images: To submit images from your event, please provide high resolution digital files (minimum one megabyte [1 MB] in size, in jpeg format), or actual photographs can be emailed to alumni@jwu.edu. A form to submit class notes is available at: https://bit.ly/jwuclassnotes

CLASS NOTES

KEITH RATEL NMI

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Keith is a program coordinator at MIT’s Sloan School of Executive Education in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

2014

LYNLEY CONNOR PVD

SAN DIEGO, CALIFORNIA

Lynley is the COO and co-owner of Top N Catering in San Diego.

JACKSON DOELER CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Jackson is a recruiter at Compass Group in Charlotte.

MATTHEW LIEBMAN DEN

PORTLAND, OREGON

Matt is the director of sales development and enablement at Airship in Portland.

[12] REBECCA MCINTOSH PVD

BILLERICA, MASSACHUSETTS

Rebecca is the barn manager at Sage Farm in Dover.

NATALIE SANCHEZ ’15 MBA PVD

LAKE MARY, FLORIDA

Natalie is a project manager for Verizon in Lake Mary.

ALEXANDRA STRELZYK PVD

NORWALK, CONNECTICUT

Alexandra is the brand manager of NIVEA Skincare for Beiersdorf in Wilton.

DERRICK STROTHER NMI

WALPOLE, MASSACHUSETTS

Derrick is a business development manager with Seabourn Cruise Lines (Holland America) in Seattle.

2015

ALANNA ALLEN DEN

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO

Alanna is administrative coordinator for Visit Albuquerque.

ALLISON BAZEY PVD

ROCKVILLE, MARYLAND

Allison is the assistant director of Special Events at the Chevy Chase Club in Chevy Chase.

JAMES MORRISON PVD

ROSELLE, NEW JERSEY

James is the CEO at Sound Mind Clothing in Roselle.

MATTHEW ROSS PVD

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Matthew is a project manager for the Center of Innovation in Digital Health Care at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston.

KRISTINA BROWNING PVD

NORTH ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS

Kristina is the executive pastry chef at The Country Club in Brookline.

GEORGE FISHER PVD

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

George (Jack) is a corporate giving manager with the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia.

SARAH MERCIER PVD

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Sarah is a wellness manager for Brock & Company Inc. in Malvern.

KATHRYN OLIVER PVD

WORCESTER, MASSACHUSETTS

Katie is the event services manager for the Boston Red Sox.

[13] AMY PATEL PVD

BOONTON, NEW JERSEY

Amy is junior associate legal counsel at ReneSola Ltd in Boonton.

REBECCA PIASCIK PVD

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Rebecca is an executive assistant to the CEO of Power Home Remodeling Group, headquartered in Chester.

AJANAY SQUIRE PVD

STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT

Ajanay is the CEO of Melanated Faith in Stamford.

PRINCE THOMAS DEN

PHILADELPHIA, PENNSYLVANIA

Prince is the chef and owner of Right @ the Fork in Philadelphia.

ALAINA VAUGHN DEN

NEWPORT NEWS, VIRGINIA

Alaina is a meeting coordinator for Jefferson Lab in Newport News.

MILICA VUKADINOVIC CLT

BELGRADE, SERBIA

Milica is a food and beverage manager at Hotel Indigo in Belgrade.

2016

MADELIZE ADAMES ONL

NEWARK, NEW JERSEY

Madelize is an office manager at Lee & Associates in New York City.

JARED BANKS CLT

RANDALLSTOWN, MARYLAND

Jared is the chef, owner and sommelier at Comfort Caterers LLC in Randallstown.

STACYANN BLUNT PVD

CANTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Stacy owns Sensational Showers in Canton.

JULIE CARROLL PVD

BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS

Julie is senior procurement specialist at Education First (EF) Education Tours in Cambridge.

ROBERT FANCHER PVD

EAST GREENWICH, RHODE ISLAND

Rob is a clinical dietitian with Lifespan in Providence.

LARRY FOSTER PVD

STONE MOUNTAIN, GEORGIA

Larry owns Hoteliaison in Atlanta.

KEVIN KIM PVD

NYACK, NEW YORK

Kevin handles strategic partnerships for Google.

DARREN SHERBURNE PVD

WELLS RIVER, VERMONT

Darren is a sales associate with Four Seasons Sotheby’s International Realty in Fairlee.

JOSE SURIEL PVD

WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND

Jose is an assistant vice president and branch manager of Citizens Bank in Cumberland.

MORGAN YEARGAN CLT

PINEVILLE, NORTH CAROLINA

Morgan is a client solutions partner with WDHB Inc. in Denver, Colorado.

2017

CELESTE COLON PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Celeste is the banquet supervisor at The Hotel Viking in Newport.

CHRISTOPHER FERSINI PVD

BERNARDSVILLE, NEW JERSEY

Christopher is a sales professional at Trinet in New York City.

KAITLYN KRONWITT PVD

RALEIGH, NORTH CAROLINA

Kaitlyn is a marketing associate for Oransi LLC in Raleigh.

NABIN LIMBU ’17 MBA PVD

DAYTON, OHIO

Nabin is a software analyst for Caresource in Dayton.

TAYLA MANSON PVD

CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA

Tayla is an event sales manager for Cannon Green in Charleston.

KIMBERLEY MASTERSON

MBA ONL YORK, PENNSYLVANIA

Kim is the catering sales manager at the Sheraton Harrisburg Hershey Hotel.

DAVON MOODY CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Davon is a senior community manager for Greystar in Charlotte.

GENOA PIERON PVD

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Genoa is an executive sous chef at Lazy Bear in San Francisco.

JAIMIE PUCKETT PVD

ATTLEBORO, MASSACHUSETTS

Jaimie is the sommelier at The University Club in Providence, Rhode Island.

CATHERINE RODGER PVD

MAHOPAC, NEW YORK

Catherine is the assistant director of dining services at Compass Group in Manhattan.

BOBBY ROSS ’18 MBA PVD

WOONSOCKET, RHODE ISLAND

Bobby is the director of operations at Chick-Fil-A Delivery in Providence.

RANISH THAPA MBA PVD

CHESAPEAKE, VIRGINIA

Ranish is a business systems analyst for Thrivent Financial in Appleton, Wisconsin.

ALEXANDRA WIEDEKE PVD

PARSIPPANY, NEW JERSEY

Sasha is a food scientist at Wonder in the World Trade Center, New York City.

2018

NANCY ANDERSON NMI

DECATUR, GEORGIA

Nancy is the executive chef at Amorous Tacos in Atlanta.

KALANIE AYALA ’20 MBA PVD

BRONX, NEW YORK

Kalanie is the dining room manager at the Ardsley Country Club at Dobbs Ferry.

JILLIAN CRAIG ’20 MBA PVD

WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND

Jillian is the regional recruitment brand ambassador at Ocean State Job Lot in North Kingstown.

CLAUDIO EVANGELISTA PVD

LOCUST VALLEY, NEW YORK

Claudio is the COO of Wizard Electrical Construction in Locust Valley.

ASHTEN GARRETT NMI

CLEVELAND, OHIO

Ashten is a chef de partie at the Ritz-Carlton in Cleveland.

SAMANTHA GUNKEL PVD

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA

Samantha is a pastry chef consultant in Los Angeles.

ANGELA KIMBROUGH CLT

CORNELIUS, NORTH CAROLINA

Angela is a human resources generalist at the Ritz-Carlton Charlotte.

JOHN MICHOS PVD

MIAMI, FLORIDA

John is an account executive in group sales for the Miami Dolphins and Hard Rock Stadium.

DANIEL RAMIREZ PVD

PAWTUCKET, RHODE ISLAND

Daniel is an event planner for Capital One in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

AAMEL SEGAL ’18 MBA PVD

DEDHAM, MASSACHUSETTS

Aamel is the president and co-founder of Marala Resort in Esterillos, Costa Rica.

JACOB SMITH DEN

DENVER, COLORADO

Jacob is director of community giving for Youth on Record in Denver.

JOEL TULLOS DEN

LAKEWOOD, COLORADO

Joel is the owner of The Gaykery in Lakewood.

WEDDINGS

2006

[14] GREGORY MULENGA PVD

CHICAGO, ILLINOIS and Mwenya Mulenga October 21, 2021

2012

AMY FISH ’14 MAT PVD and Matthew Baransky ’13 PVD May 9, 2021

15

2013

[15] REBECCA (KRAUS) CUTE PVD and James Cute ’12 PVD September 11, 2021

2013

[17] YELBA GUTIERREZ SOSA NMI and Gabriel Sosa ’14 NMI January 28, 2022

2014

[16] NIA (GIBSON) THOMAS PVD and Chris Thomas August 15, 2021

2018

16 18 17

[18] KELLY DUNN ED.D. PVD and Jeff Hancock October 23, 2021

L–R: Peg Boyd, Ed.D.’18; Janet Ray MBA ’05, Ed.D.’18; Kelly Dunn; Meghan Kenney ’18 Ed.D; Sarah Mosier Fillion ’18 Ed.D.

CLASS NOTES IN MEMORIAM

DANUYELLE WEBB CLT

KANSAS CITY, MISSOURI

Danuyelle is an instructor at the Fort Osage R-1 School District in Independence.

2019

CASSANDRA ALDRICH PVD

CRANSTON, RHODE ISLAND

Cassandra is the bakery manager at Plant City in Providence.

ERICA DAVIS PVD

GAY, GEORGIA

Erica is a pastry cook at the Harbor View Hotel in Edgartown, Massachusetts.

HANNAH FARR PVD

NEW YORK, NEW YORK

Hannah is a go-to-market security consultant with CHEQ in New York City.

CASSANDRA JOHNS ’19 MED PVD

WARWICK, RHODE ISLAND

Cassandra is the director of education & career pathways at Senedia in Middletown.

MADISON LANE PVD

CORTLANDT MANOR, NEW YORK

Madison is the manager of corporate relations for The Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park.

NOAH ROSEN PVD

LAGUNA BEACH, CALIFORNIA

Noah is the CEO of Forge to Table in Laguna Hills.

MELISSA SMITH ’19 MBA ONL

ALPHARETTA, GEORGIA

Melissa is the chief human resources officer for Floor & Decor in Atlanta.

MEAGHAN SMITH ’19 MBA ONL

COVENTRY, RHODE ISLAND

Meaghan is a business officer and financial analyst for the State of Rhode Island.

ANTHONY SMITH ’19 M.S. ONL

LONGVIEW, TEXAS

Anthony is a business teacher at the Ector County Independent School District in Odessa.

ALBERT WESTON CLT

CHARLOTTE, NORTH CAROLINA

Albert is a chef and co-owner of The Chefs LLC in Charlotte.

2020

VALERIE ANGLIN ONL

CORNELIUS, NORTH CAROLINA

Valerie is the chef and owner of Butter and Herbs in Cornelius.

PATRICK BAKER PVD

ORLEANS, MASSACHUSETTS

Patrick is the sous chef at Hyannis Yacht Club in Hyannis.

DAYVON BLADEN PVD

COATESVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA

Dayvon is the head bread baker at Saint Peter’s Bakery in Elverson.

APOCALIPSIS DIAZ NMI

SEVERN, MARYLAND

Apocalipsis is a senior business operations specialist with Teksystems, headquartered in Hansen.

MICHAEL DOWELL ONL

SHARPSBURG, MARYLAND

Michael is a sous chef at Compass Group.

ANUJIN ENKHTAIVAN PVD

ULAANBAATAR, MONGOLIA

Anujin is on the tax staff of Ernst & Young in Ulaanbaatar.

SUZAN ERKESKIN PVD

NARRAGANSETT, RHODE ISLAND

Suzan is the program manager of Goldman Sachs 10000 Small Businesses at the Community College of Rhode Island in Warwick.

ANEDRIANA FRANCK ’21 MBA NMI

NORTH MIAMI, FLORIDA

Anedriana owns Sensani Care in Miami.

MARC LEVIN ’20 MBA ONL

WILLIAMSTOWN, NEW JERSEY

Marc is a specialty contractor provider for Aramsco in Paulsboro.

2021

ALEXANDER BROWN PVD

SMITHFIELD, RHODE ISLAND

Alex owns DJAB Entertainment Brands in Smithfield.

JAMES BURPO ONL

GLOUCESTER, VIRGINIA

James is senior regional manager for Equity Lifestyle Properties in Urbanna.

JAIME DESMAN MBA DEN MEDFORD LAKES, NEW JERSEY

Jaime is a sales representative for Group Management Services in Richfield, Ohio.

OLIVIYAH FARRIS MBA ONL BYRAM, MISSISSIPPI

Oliviyah is a commercial accounts manager with Fisher Brown Bottrell Insurance in Jackson.

JAMES FURST MBA ONL ATLANTA, GEORGIA

Jimmy is a product manager with Revel Systems in Atlanta.

NATALIE HORBATKO PVD

LAKEWOOD, COLORADO

Natalie is a project coordinator at Medtronic in Boulder.

JAYLENE QUEVEDO PVD

BROOKLYN, NEW YORK

Jaylene is the kitchen lead at Daily Provisions in New York City.

ANTHONY SCARCELLA PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Anthony is the CEO of Newport Marine Detailing in Newport.

TYLER SELBY ONL DAVENPORT, FLORIDA

Tyler is the assistant restaurant manager at Universal Studios City Walk in Orlando.

KELSEY VAN HOUSEN ’21 MSPAS PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Kelsey is a physician’s assistant with Brown Surgical Associates in Providence.

MICHAEL WALSH PVD

PROVIDENCE, RHODE ISLAND

Michael is a recruiter for Phaidon International in Boston.

ALUMNI

GEORGE R. ROY ’61

April 16, 2022

JOSEPH V. PISCIONE ’62

December 13, 2021

JUDITH FERRA ’68

March 29, 2022

ALAN RICHARDS ’69

October 27, 2021

JOHN M. GIVERS ’71

January 15, 2022

JAMES A. PAGEL ’71

January 10, 2022

CAROLYN M. (CACIOPPO) LISA ’74

January 22, 2022

ROYAL C. BOUDRIA ’76

January 24, 2022

ARMAND DUBOIS ’76

January 9, 2022

ROBERT L. FAY ’76

March 15, 2021

CARLO M. FERREIRA ’76

September 19, 2021

RAYMOND GOLDEN ’76

August 2, 2021

RICHARD E. HALL ’76

July 25, 2021

NORMAN HENRY ’76

December 11, 2021

RONALD B. JACKSON ’76

September 25, 2021

MICHAEL L. JAMES ’76

January 10, 2022

STEPHEN J. LYNCH ’76

February 5, 2022

ALFRED L. MASTROBUONO ’76

September 7, 2021

RONALD L. THOMAS ’76

March 5, 2022

GERALD B. GALLAGHER ’77

January 4, 2022

WILLIAM J. MCGOWAN ’77

April 13, 2022

MICHAEL AMES ’78

March 7, 2022

EDWARD DEXTER ’78

September 23, 2021

ALEX R. TOTINO ’78

January 16, 2022

KAREN M. (BIRD) WALSHE ’78

November 14, 2021

DAVID R. BARCHI ’79

April 13, 2022

STEPHEN D. CHAFFEE ’79

March 24, 2022

CLARA M. STANLEY ’79

March 11, 2022

EDWARD G. AVEDISIAN ’80

May 5, 2020

DAVID C. HEININGER ’80

December 18, 2021

LIONEL H. RENAUD ’80

January 4, 2022

MICHAEL N. TEFERIAN ’80

April 9, 2022

PAUL E. BOURASSA ’81

October 22, 2021

LORRY J. (DOUCET) BRAZEAU ’81

September 28, 2021

LESLIE M. GORUM ’81 September 4, 2021

KARL HOHLMAIER ’81

August 10, 2021

CARLTON V. VAUGHN ’81

October 2, 2021

JOHN J. DLUTOWSKI ’82

February 14, 2022

ARTHUR E. BEAZER ’84

August 2, 2021

HUBERT N. PROULX ’84

November 10, 2021

KENNETH L. SOUCY ’84

February 27, 2022

PATRICIA A. VIVERIOS ’84, ’89 M.S.

December 2, 2021

WILLIAM A. MILLER ’85, ’16

MBA

July 18, 2021

MARYANN K. WATSON ’86

April 16, 2022

MICHELE E. BROWN ’87

February 27, 2022

CARL R. GATHAGAN ’87

November 2, 2021

FRANCIS X. MCPHILLIPS ’87

January 2, 2022

MARY BETH DONEGAN ’88

April 16, 2022

THOMAS DUMONT ’88

August 20, 2021

STEVEN D. BENSCOTER ’89

September 13, 2021

ROBERT M. GORUN ’89

January 22, 2022

RONALD A. MORRISON ’89

April 17, 2022

AUDREY M. VELICKA ’89

August 5, 2021

CRAIG T. BELLIVEAU ’90

January 7, 2022

THOMAS J. CARBONE ’90

March 26, 2022

ZACHARY L. RHODES ’90

September 30, 2021

STEVEN B. BAKER ’91

December 13, 2020

HOWARD E. COOKE ’91

September 11, 2021

JULIE R. WALKER ’91

November 5, 2021

MARSHA A. (DESROSIERS)

FORD ’92

September 27, 2021

JASON KAPOLIS ’92

August 31, 2021

SCOTT WOLFE ’92

July 24, 2021

HELMUT MAROSITS ’93

September 17, 2021

CHARLES J. MILLER ’93, ’95

MED

August 10, 2021

ANDRES PEACOCK ’93

August 17, 2021

BRUCE M. CARKEEK ’94

October 1, 2021

STEPHEN J. CLARK ’94

September 3, 2021

JEFFREY M. KEITH ’94

April 23, 2022

CHRISTOPHER W. KELLMAN ’94

December 7, 2021

KEITH R. POST ’94

January 12, 2022

MELISSA G. ANTLEY ’95

September 19, 2021

DEREK KYES ’95

March 14, 2022

HB. LIMEHOUSE ’95 HON.

February 3, 2022

THOMAS M. TRENT ’95

October 28, 2021

EDWARD PRONOVOST ’96

July 14, 2021

DIANNE STEELE ’96

December 10, 2021

JASON N. WHETSEL ’96

March 18, 2022

ERIC M. SIEGEL ’97

November 6, 2021

ALVA R. SULLIVAN ’97 HON.

February 23, 2022

ROBERT L. STEPHENS SR. ’98

HON.

December 19, 2021

JONATHAN M. CHRISTENSON ’99

August 25, 2021

NANCY HURLEY ’99 ED.D.

November 26, 2021

MARY A. ROLANTI ’99

November 30, 2021

KEVIN SATTERFIELD ’99

February 20, 2022

BRANDON D. DICKEY ’00

January 11, 2022

SEAN M. MYERS ’00

January 11, 2022

MICHAEL REGISTER ’00

October 8, 2021

KAREN M. REYNOLDS ’00 August 4, 2021

BRYAN J. SULLIVAN ’00 August 5, 2021

ERIC ULLMAN ’90 January 5, 2022

THOMAS M. MCGOVERN ’01 ED.D

October 16, 2021

SHERRY A. MEDEIROS ’01 ED.D.

November 30, 2021

SARA L. PAULO ’01

January 9, 2022

MARISSA RIVERAL-CAUDLE ’01

March 4, 2022

BRYAN JONES ’02

April 13, 2022

JUSTIN ST PIERRE ’02

September 21, 2021

SHAWN C. COMISKEY ’03 August 4, 2021

MATTHEW S. CORBETT ’03

February 13, 2022

JESSICA L. DEAN ’03

March 11, 2022

MICHAEL W. LYLE ’03

September 16, 2021

JUSTIN K. SENKO

July 17, 2021

JULIET M. FOWLER ’05

January 29, 2022

MATTHEW G. MEINECKE ’05

February 10, 2022

PAUL RACICOT ’05 MBA

August 6, 2021

KURT M. VOLKRINGER ’05

November 17, 2021

JONATHAN J. VITALETT ’06

December 29, 2020

VINCENT L. CANGIANO ’07

September 5, 2021

WILLIAM E. WALMSLEY ’07

August 6, 2021

DAVID CARTE ’08

November 4, 2021

JAMES H. DEMERS ’08

September 12, 2021

CHADFORD D. LAIN ’09

March 26, 2022

MICHAEL R. LALIBERTE ’10

November 16, 2021

ERIC R. SATTLER ’10

September 15, 2021

DONNA C. SOULTANOGLOU ’10

February 3, 2022

BRIAN D. GOLDNER ’12 HON.

October 12, 2021

PETER MAININI ’12

May 11, 2020

ZACHARY J. RAGONESECOSKREN ’12

August 14, 2021

ERIN SHERWOOD ’13

January 4, 2022

ADIL DGHOUGHI ’14 MBA

October 11, 2021

BRIANA LAND ’14

July 16, 2021

CONNOR J. HARDING ’15

September 15, 2021

MICHAEL G. MONAHAN ’17

August 31, 2021

FACULTY, STAFF AND FRIENDS

PAMELA A. BADER

January 8, 2022

MARGARET A. BIANCO

August 9, 2021

SUSAN F. BUCKINGHAM

July 16, 2021

GAYLE R. GIAMMARCO

August 4, 2021

BARBARA E. HARVEY

July 16, 2021

LOUIS LONGO

February 20, 2022

FRANCIS MILLENARY

January 28, 2022

RAYMOND NEIRINCKX

August 22, 2021

JOHN P. PARDINI

January 18, 2022

LOUIS PICCIRILLI

April 9, 2022

MARY A. PIMENTEL

December 9, 2021

CATHERINE J. RABB

December 8, 2021

ANNA MARIE SAFI

November 30, 2021

BARBARA TAGLIAFERRI

November 10, 2021

CARL WINTERS

February 11, 2022

THINK GLOBAL

War and Peace

Khrystyna Voloshyn ’23, of Ukraine, came to Johnson & Wales in December 2020 to pursue a degree in data analytics. She earned her first degree in applied mathematics in Lviv but, after enjoying a role in information technology, she says, “To be good, I had to study. So here I am.” In her own words, she reflects on learning in America while her family lives under threat in Ukraine.

Iam from the west part of Ukraine — a small village close to Lviv, about ten minutes’ drive. Summers, we were mostly working in the fields helping to plant potatoes, cabbages. I know how to milk cow (laughs). They still live there, my parents and sister, who is a doctor and identifies bodies from the front line. This is work now. When Russia started moving the army closer to the border, I was here and I wanted to come back home. But my parents told me: “It will not start; it is the 21st century. No war, come on.” The night they invaded, it was horrible. I offered to move my family out. But they said no. And my fiancé, he works for Ukraine group and lives in upstate New York, his work started organizing and evacuating people from Ukraine. But my parents said, “We have the dog and two cats; we cannot leave.”

I understand that if I were there, I wouldn’t leave either, because I would be able to help. People from east and from central part of Ukraine started coming to our village because it was safer. My mom, she volunteered organizing shelter in both schools and helps with cooking or bringing some sweets for the kids. And my dad, he joined the local aid forces. So he was sitting at a checkpoint at all the entrances of our village. In the beginning, if my parents didn’t respond to me, I was so scared I couldn’t feel my fingers; my hands felt numb. The third day of war, I was admitted to hospital because I couldn’t eat or sleep. I felt if I fell asleep, something bad would happen. My gallbladder said, “See you.” I couldn’t tell my parents; I didn’t want them to worry. So I was in hospital on Friday. I had surgery to remove my gallbladder on Saturday and, on Monday, I asked to have class online. And that’s it (laughs). I kept up. Probably it was a protective reaction just to stay distracted. I am in internship this summer in a company called Patients Like Me, a platform for people with the same kind of health problems to share information. I’m in a data science team, and I am grateful for this chance to apply my knowledge and identify my gaps. It also helps me

Photo by Matthew Healey

As told to Casey Nilsson

so I don’t check news all day. When the Russians are posting pictures of what they do, it’s very hard. It’s genocide.

But our people are so brave, so strong, so organized. Some are getting used to it. I was monitoring an air raid near my village and I checked my parents, and my mom says, “I need to finish planting arugula; give me a few minutes.” They are more positive than I am because being far, it’s very hard. But I am okay. I cannot complain and cannot feel bad or show that, at least after seeing scenes from Mariupol or from Bucha. Now, I’m just trying to do all I can. I am volunteering a lot and buying needed things for our army, helping them from here to check price. I wrote a letter and asked Johnson & Wales students to connect with their senators to close the sky over Ukraine. And when I was in hospital and Russian trolls were spreading lies online about Ukraine, saying that it’s all a fake, we were working hard to block them. This is how I was busy at the hospital. I felt helpless. And I was trying to do at least something.

After the war, I will help to rebuild the country. I want to pay taxes. I graduate in two semesters, and if I do not work in Ukraine then I will spend what I take in on donating. I want to go to Ukraine for my parents’ birthdays this fall; I hope. They begged me not to come, but I am checking flights all the time. My plan is to fly to Poland and go to border where I could cross physically. I started buying small presents so the universe will hear me. We have a saying, all my friends: When we come back home, we will kiss the land. JWU

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