Class Notes

1960s

Congressman Hal Rog-

ers ’64 LAW was recently inducted into the Somerset Community College Foundation Hall of Honors.

1980s

Terry Crowley ’81 BE was named the interim executive director of the Economic Development Partnership Board of Directors in Danville, Kentucky. Crowley ended his 28-year career with Sellers Engineering in 2009 and completed his career in the steam industry with Spirax Sarco in 2021. He is a 33-year volunteer with the Danville Brass Band Festival.

Suzanne Firstenberg ’81

BE created the art installation “In America: Remember” on the National Mall in Washington, D.C. It featured white flags symbolizing each American life lost during the COVID-19 pandemic. The installation received media attention and Firstenberg was named one of the “10 Washingtonians of the Year” in 2021 by Washingtonian magazine.

Gregory N. Stepp ’83 FA,

‘92 ED relinquished the 202nd Army Band command in September. Stepp has served the commonwealth of Kentucky in a variety of roles for over 30 years. He has been a band director at LaRue County High School, Western Hills High School and Glasgow High School, all while balancing his responsibilities in the Kentucky National Guard.

Teresa Trimble Hail ’85 AS

was recently inducted into the Somerset Community College Foundation Hall of Honors. Hail is president and co-owner of D.C. Trimble, Inc. She is past vice chair of the SCC Foundation Board.

Jennifer Mooney ’88 ’99

AS has been named district director of the Northern Kentucky Health Department. Mooney served as assistant health commissioner since 2019. She held leadership roles with the Cincinnati Health Department from 2011-2019. She spent 10 years teaching and conducting research at UK prior to that.

1990s

Paul Daruwala ’92 PHA

has become the president and CEO at Cellics Therapeutics Inc., a biotechnology company. Daruwala has more than 30 years of experience in biotech drug development. He was most recently chief operating officer at Cidara Therapeutics.

Brian Mallory ’92 EN was named the 2022 Volunteer of the Year by Louisville Business First. Mallory volunteers at the residential

Two women playing in the snow in the 1940s.

homes of Bellewood and Brooklawn, operated by the nonprofit Seven Counties Services. He first visited the homes for vulnerable children and their families in 2015. Mallory is executive director, supplier quality at GE Appliances, a Haier company.

Mike Feldman ’94 ’97 BE

is a new board member at Kentucky Capital Development Corporation. Feldman, senior vice president at Traditional Bank, was appointed to the seat. He has been working in the banking field for more than two decades.

Marc Nyarko ’95 HS has joined the senior leadership team at WellCare Kentucky, a provider of government sponsored health plans. Nyarko has more than 20 years of experience implementing operational solutions and strategic expansions. He was vice president of Medicaid operations at Highmark where he served as executive sponsor of the Medicaid Service Operations Transformation Initiative.

Kimberly Baird ’96 LAW

was appointed by Gov. Andy Beshear as Commonwealth’s Attorney for the 22nd Judicial Circuit of Kentucky. Baird has served as assistant commonwealth’s attorney since 1996. Baird is a Lexington native and is the first Black woman to serve as a Commonwealth’s Attorney in Kentucky.

Pete November ’96 LAW

has become CEO at Ochsner Health. He joined Ochsner in 2021 and has held senior leadership positions ranging from operations and finance to partnership development and digital health. He led the devel-

opment of Ochsner LSU Health System in North Louisiana, a $200 million investment.

Brad Shelby ’96 NUR

received the Janice Drake CRNA Humanitarian Award during the American Association of Nurse Anesthesiology Foundation annual congress. Shelby was nominated for his work with the non-profit Surgery on Sunday which provides elective surgeries to those who are not financially able to pay for healthcare costs. Shelby is the chief anesthetist at Frankfort Regional Medical Center in Frankfort, Kentucky. company’s national drinking water leader. Corwin was a faculty member at the University of Colorado Boulder.

Melanie Goan ’97 ’00 AS

spoke at the sixth annual Sid Easley Lecture at Murray State University. Her lecture, “A Simple Justice: Kentucky Women Fight for the Vote” was based on her book by the same title. Goan teaches at the University of Kentucky and specializes in 20th Century United States history with a specific interest in gender, Appalachia, Kentucky and medical history.

Rob Manchester ’97 ’03

ED has started his second season as the athletic director and head football coach at Georgia Military College in Milledgeville, Georgia. Manchester played football at UK under Coach Bill Curry. He earned four letters mostly on special teams and at defensive back.

Paul Cherukuri ’98 AS has been named Rice University’s first vice president for innovation. Cherukuri was the executive director of the Institute of Biosciences and Bioengineering. He is a physicist, chemist and med-tech entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience in academia and the pharmaceutical industry.

Chris Corwin ’97 EN has joined environmental and construction services firm Brown and Caldwell as the

Ground (and snow) were broken by University of Kentucky and Kentucky Geological Survey representatives on the new $14 million Mining and Resource Building. The building was opened in 1988. Holding the shovels from left to right are Jim Rose, chairman, building trust fund committee; Donald Haney, state geologist and director, Kentucky Geological Survey; Wimberly Royster, dean, UK Graduate School; Phil Miles, chairman, Kentucky Geological Survey Advisory Board; Art Gallaher, chancellor, UK Lexington campus; Roy Bowen, dean, College of Engineering and Joe Leonard, chairman, Department of Mining Engineering.

Jennifer R. Olges ’98

AS, ’06 PH, ’09 MED has been named Governor of the Kentucky chapter of the American College of Physicians, the national organization of internists. She is a board-certified internist and an assistant professor of internal medicine at the University of Louisville.

Aslihan D. Spaulding

’99 BE, ’00 ’02 AFE has joined the Department of Economics as the interim chairperson at Illinois State University. Spaulding joined Illinois State in 2003 and has served in many roles in the Department of Agriculture, including his role as the graduate program coordinator and the study abroad coordinator.

2000s

James Detwiler ’00 AS is the Kentucky Air Guard’s newest chaplain. Detwiler is a native of Eminence, Kentucky. He has a master’s in divinity from Gold Gate Theological Seminary and a doctorate from Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Matthew Koch ’01 AFE

was chosen as the Ted Bates Farm Manager of the Year. The honor is given annually to a horse farm manager by the Kentucky Thoroughbred Farm Managers Club. Koch is the farm manager at Shawhan Place which breeds about 100 mares a year.

Osamah Rawashdeh ’01

’03 ’06 EN, chair of electrical and computer engineering at Oakland University, Rochester, Michigan, has led a team of OU engineering students to win a $1 million international award for designing the Loon Copter, a multi-rotor drone that can operate aerially and underwater.

Keith Bricking ’02 MED is serving as Premier Health’s chief clinical officer, a newly created position that will help coordinate care across the health system’s provider work force. Bricking has served as president of Atrium Medical Center in Middletown, Ohio.

Meagan Curtis ’02 AFE

has been appointed to the Del Norte County Fair Board in Crescent City, California. Curtis is a financial advisor at Edward Jones since 2014. She was an of-

Class Notes

fice manager at Alexandre Dairy and executive director at Crescent City and Del Norte County Chamber of Commerce.

Eric Jackson ’02 EN is part of a team that is planning to open an $30 million autonomous vehicle test track and research facility at the University of Connecticut. Jackson is a UConn engineering professor and director of the Connecticut Transportation Safety Research Center in Storrs, Connecticut.

Dr. Gina L. Bingham ’03

MED was recently inducted into the Somerset Community College Foundation Hall of Honors. She practices at London (Kentucky) Women’s Care.

Dustin Howard ’03 ’04 ED

has been named superintendent of Clark County Public Schools in Kentucky. Howard served as Clark County Public Schools assistant superintendent/chief academic officer and principal of Robert D. Campbell Middle School.

Dr. Charles F. Closson ’04

AFE, ’16 MED has joined the medical staff at Ephraim McDowell Health in Danville, Kentucky. Closson is board certified by the American Board of Internal Medicine and is board eligible in gastroenterology, hepatology and nutrition.

Guillaume Julien Jacq ’04

BE has been appointed chief financial officer for Northern Graphite Corporation. He brings 20 years of international financial experience to the team with more than 10 years in business and corporate financial roles.

Kristen Murphy Luttrell

’04 ED has received the 2022 Outstanding Clinical Educator Award from the American Physical Therapy Association Kentucky Chapter. Luttrell is assistant rehabilitation manager at Masonic Homes Kentucky. She is a certified exercise expert for the aging adult and a geriatric clinical specialist.

John Miller ’04 MED has joined the Surgical Health Arts Center in Fort Myers, Florida. He was most recently a general and bariatric surgeon in Kentucky where he was one of a few in the region to offer sleeve gastrectomy with the da Vinci Robotic surgical system.

Brad Wilder ’05 EN is the new director of the Association for Materials Protection and Performance Standards Program. Wilder has more than a decade of experience working in project and general management for an industrial painting contractor where he focused on bridge preservation and protective coatings. Lindsay Miller ’07 AS has joined Lit Communities as president of consulting for the fiber optic broadband consulting, construction and design firm based in Birmingham, Alabama. She has been partner and vice chair of the Government Law Group in the Columbus, Ohio, office of Ice Miller LLP.

Betty Sivis ’08 AS has become the new pastor at Perry Christian Church in Canton, Ohio. She has served congregations in Indiana and Kentucky and has served as a regional board member in both regions. She is the third consecutive generation of her family to serve as a Disciples of Christ minister.

Brittney Lavens Saitta

’09 DES has joined DP3 Architects as the hospitality studio interior designer. She brings more than 15 years of design experience to her new job having worked in a variety of commercial settings including hospitality, healthcare, higher education and corporate interiors. She holds a National Council for Interior Design Qualification certification.

Austin Tarkington ’09

BE has been named the director of advancement at Madisonville Community College in Madisonville, Kentucky. He was employed by 5/3 Bank in Madisonville as the financial center manager and personal banker.

Kayla Williams ’09 FA, ’10

AS, ’19 MED has joined Harris Medical Associates providing primary care services to those in Sylva, North Carolina. Williams has participated in quality improvement projects to address discharge processes and patient education among VA hospital systems.

2010s

R.Cameron Henzman ’11

MED has joined the medical staff as an interventional radiologist at Ephraim McDowell Health in Danville, Kentucky. A native of Lexington, his practice includes diagnosing and treating disease using medical imaging and minimally invasive techniques.

D’Arcy Robb ’11 GS has been named the executive director of the Georgia Council on Developmental Disabilities. She served as public policy director for GCDD for almost two years. Prior to that she was the public policy coordinator the Commonwealth Council on Developmental Disabilities in Kentucky.

Chase Hieneman ’12 AS,

’12 BE was chair of the Taste of the South charitable event in Washington, D.C., this summer. The event started 40 years ago and was founded by Charlie Grizzle ’73 AS and was known as Evening of Old Kentucky Hospitality. Both men are Greenup County

natives. Close to $1 million was raised.

Brian Shlonsky ’12 CI has joined the public relations team at PriceWeber in Louisville, Kentucky. Shlonsky was a WAVE anchor/reporter since 2019, is a five-time Emmy Award-winning journalist and a recipient of the Edward R. Murrow Award.

Kyle Bellone ’14 AS was selected to attend officer training school at Vandenberg Space Force Base, California, to become a missileer officer. Bellone’s previous units included the 690th Cyberspace Control Squadron as a crew commander and the 693rd Intelligence Support Squadron at Ramstein Air Force Base where he served as a cybersecurity supervisor.

Aaron Petty ’14 BE is expanding his business, Mitivate, an Atlanta-based software-as-a-service company. Mitivate offers a platform that aims to streamline health care data management for hospitals and health plan providers.

Tiffany Monroe ’17 AFE

is a fifth-generation farmer, co-owner of Monroe Farms in Junction City, Oregon, and one of a handful of young Black farmers in the state. She is also president of Lane County Farm Bureau, president of Lane Families for Farm and Forests, cochair of the Environmental Equity Committee on Gov. Kate Brown’s Racial Justice Council and a member of the Black Food Fund.

Cole Steber ’17 MED is part of University Cancer and Blood Center Radiation Oncology Clinic in Athens, Georgia. He completed his residency at the Wake Forest School of Medicine where he served as chief resident from 2020-2021.

Daria M. Smith ’18 FA is the exhibitions analyst for the forthcoming Obama Presidential Center. Smith received a scholarship through the St. Louis American Foundation to earn her UK degree in digital media and design. She has a Master of Arts in museology/ museum studies from Johns Hopkins University Advanced Academic Programs.

Spencer Wright ’18 DEN

is expanding his dental practice in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Wright opened his practice two years ago but is moving the practice, Wright Dental Studio, to a building at 398 Lovers Lane. It is twice the size of his current location.

Brandon Bohac ’19 CI has been named marketing manager at Louisiana-based Oracle Lighting. The business has been designing innovative lighting products and technologies for the

Tis The Season For Giving

Looking for the Perfect Gift this Holiday Season? Why not give the gift of a Spindletop Hall Membership this Holiday Season. The Club at UK’s Spindletop Hall is offering a ONETIME OPPORTUNITY TO JOIN THE CLUB WITHOUT PAYING AN INITIATION FEE! (a $750.00 savings for a Family Resident Membership)

Spread the wonderful spirit of Spindletop Hall by letting your friends, family, coworkers and neighbors know about this very special offer. One year’s dues must be paid by December 31. Membership will begin Feb 1, 2023. Contact Crystal Bruder Membership/Marketing Manager at cbruder@spindletophall.org for an application or for more information. Or Give us a Call (859) 255-2777)

by Caroline Francis Career Corner Career Corner

IS A CAREER PIVOT IN YOUR FUTURE?

Bored or unhappy in your current career? Has the industry changed? Are there new interests or passions that you would like to explore further? There are plenty of valid reasons for people to switch careers. In fact, Americans will likely work in several different careers over their 40-60 year working lives.

Alumni Career Services helps scores of alumni each year make the pivot. First, we advise assessing if you simply need a job change or a career change. Sometimes utilizing your current skills but simply changing companies or working with a different leadership team or culture could result in increased happiness.

If a job change does not help, follow the steps below to begin your career transition.

• Assess your VIPS — values, interests, personality, skills.

Your Alumni Career Services team has a variety of assessments to help. • Identify your strengths and transferable skills. • Begin a brainstorming list of careers and industries you are curious or passionate about. • Explore and dabble. Take a class. Volunteer. Shadowing and informational interviews are also great ways to learn about new careers. • Strategically tailor your resume. Consider a functional/ skills-based resume. Again, Alumni Career Services can help. • Rebrand. Be sure your LinkedIn profile and social media are consistent with your target direction. Find ways to build your expertise such as writing articles and delivering presentations. • Let your network speak on your behalf and open the doors. This is especially important for switchers. • Prepare for future interviews. Can you convince a hiring committee and justify your switch?

There are few classic pitfalls of switchers to avoid. Many switchers fail to invest the time and energy in selfassessment. Others quit their jobs without a transition plan, overlook their network or fail to anticipate challenges or hurdles when it comes to breaking into a new field.

According to research in “The 100 Year Life: Living and Working in an Age of Longevity,” by Lynda Gratton and Andrew Scott, our first career will likely not be our last. A career will require lifelong learning and resilience.

UK alumna Gwyn Nelson Everly ’98 EN shifted from the engineering industry to education and she is now the owner of J. Render’s Southern Table and Bar in Lexington. She said, “The best advice I can give if you are faced with a career pivot is not to panic. I spent many sleepless nights after facing a layoff from Lexmark in 2009, but one thing my education from the University of Kentucky taught me is resilience. I had the tools to survive and remake myself in a completely different career. The education I received was the building blocks I needed to be successful in whatever career I chose.”

Caroline Francis is Director of UK Alumni Career Services. UK Alumni Association Life/Active Members are eligible for two complimentary appointments per year with a certified career counselor. Visit http:// www.ukalumni.net/career to learn more about changing careers, resume critiques, career assessments, interview preparation, Central Kentucky Job Club, encore careers and other Alumni Career Services. Alumni Career Services: Celebrating 20 years of helping UK alumni advance their careers.

Class Notes

automotive/12 volt, powersports, motorcycles and marine markets since 1999.

Addie Meiners ’19 CI has joined the WLKY news team as a multimedia journalist. A Louisville native, Meiners worked as an announcer and host of football games and gymnastic meets at UK.

2020s

Ben Hanley ’20 AFE has joined WinStar Farms as a member of the stallion season sales team. He has a degree from the Irish National Stud course and has worked as assistant yearling manager for Airdrie Stud Farm and as stallion groom at Ashford Farm.

Dagan Montgomery ’20

AFE is the agriculture and natural resources extension educator for Sublette County, Wyoming. Montgomery recently completed his master’s degree in animal science from Oklahoma State University.

Ellen White ’20 DEN is opening a new dentist office in Liberty, Kentucky. White Smiles Family and Aesthetic Dentistry will open in 2023.

Cagney Coomer ’21 AS

has been selected as a 2022 Hanna G. Gray Fellow by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute. She is one of only 25 biomedical researchers chosen this year for the award. Coomer is a postdoctoral trainee in the Halpern Laboratory in Molecular and Systems Biology at Dartmouth’s Geisel School of Medicine.

Information in Class Notes is compiled from previously published items in newspapers and other media outlets, as well as items submitted by individual alumni.

Send us your class note by emailing ukalumni@uky.edu or submitting your information in the online community at www.ukalumni.net/class.

COLLEGE INDEX

AFE Agriculture, Food & Environment AS Arts & Sciences BE Gatton College of Business & Economics CI Communication & Information DE Dentistry DES Design ED Education EN Engineering FA Fine Arts GS The Graduate School HS Health Sciences HON Honorary Degree LAW Rosenberg College of Law MED Medicine NUR Nursing PHA Pharmacy PH Public Health SW Social Work

Concert dedicated to former band professor

By Mark Mozingo

The University of Kentucky Wind Symphony and UK Symphony Band presented a concert in September in memory of professor George R. Boulden III ’84 FA associate director of bands at the University of Kentucky and former director of the UK Wildcat Marching Band. Boulden died in August at age 61.

Boulden served as the director of the Wildcat Marching Band and Basketball Pep Band from 1995-2008. During that time, the UK Athletic Bands served as musical ambassadors through performances at the Outback Bowl, three Music City Bowl games, a Bands of America Regional Championship, and three NCAA Final Four Basketball Championship games.

Under Boulden’s direction, the UK Symphony Band was a featured ensemble at the 2003 and 2008 KMEA In-Service Conference, and the 2005 FMEA (Florida Music Educators Association)/MENC (National Association for Music Education) Southern Division Conference in Tampa, Fla. UK Symphony Band also presented a clinic performance at the 2010 KMEA In-Service Conference.

In addition, Boulden has served as an adjudicator, clinician and guest conductor throughout the United States and Canada. He served as editor of the KMEA state music education journal, the Bluegrass Music News.

The music selected for the concert was intended to celebrate the life of an exceptional man, husband, father, educator and musician. Many of the works performed were favorites of Boulden — works that he performed with his ensembles on many different occasions over the years. They included “Downey Overture,” Oscar Navarro; “Home,” James Daughters; “Sunrise at Angel’s Gate,” Philip Sparke and “Blessed Are They,” Johannes Brahms.

Boulden served as associate director of Bands at the University of Kentucky from 1995-2022. He was the conductor of Symphony Band from 1995-2022. He most recently enjoyed working with student teachers in the UK School of Music.

He taught for nine years in the South Carolina and Florida public school systems. Boulden was selected as the 2011 Kentucky Music Educators Association College/University Teacher of the Year Award recipient, received the 2014 Outstanding Bandmaster Award from the Psi Chapter of Phi Beta Mu and was twice named a Teacher Who Made a Difference by the UK College of Education.

He was most honored as an inductee into the Phi Beta Mu Hall of Fame. Boulden served as a clinician for the Conn-Selmer Music Education Support Network and served as an adjudicator for Music for All/Bands of America, Drum Corps International, and for many state and regional marching band championships throughout the United States. He was a frequent visitor, clinician and guest conductor for many bands throughout Kentucky and across the state and the nation.

Music education junior Juliana Boulden, George Boulden’s daughter and a member of the UK Wind Symphony, performed with the UK Wind Symphony on oboe and English horn. ■