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Milestones & In Memoriam
Share your milestones (job, marriage, birth announcements, etc.) in the next issue of the King’s Herald by emailing your news to alumni@kings.uwo.ca or by completing the online form kings.uwo.ca/alumni/address-update. Photos are welcome, space permitting.
Stephen Bottaro ’77 retired as Director with Hamilton Police Service. He earned is Master of Social Work from the University of Toronto in 1978.
Ian Scott ’82 relocated from Ontario to New Brunswick for a new job.
Nahid Mazaheri ’89 is happily retired in British Columbia.
Michael Lacy ’92 launched a new Law Firm, Lacy Naster LLP, on December 1, 2023.
Douglas Fry ’98 was named President of North America with Subway® Restaurants, effective September 5, 2023. He has over 20 years of experience in restaurant and consumer packaged goods, previously holding senior leadership roles at Subway Canada, McDonald’s, Recipe Brands and Kraft Heinz.
Phyllis Fidler ’04, Manager of General Accounting & Financial Information Systems, retired from King’s in December 2023 after 30 years of service that spanned numerous departments and roles.
Michelle (Bakos) Eaton ’05 joined the OLG’s Executive Leadership Team as Senior Vice President, Corporate Affairs. She has two decades of experience shaping communications and public affairs strategies across the public, private, and nonprofit sectors.
Evan Krofchick ’05 received the Petro-Canada Coaching Excellence Award from the Coaching Association of Canada in November 2023. This award was given in recognition of Evan’s coaching his athletes in medal-winning swimming performances at the 2023 Special Olympics World Summer Games in Berlin, Germany.
Maija (Chalut) Wilson ’08, ’23 was the recipient of the King’s Culture Award, which recognizes an individual who exemplifies honesty, integrity, compassion and collaboration and demonstrates an ongoing commitment to the welfare of the King’s community. She has worked at King’s since 2010 in the role of Campus Minister - Youth with King’s Campus Ministry.
Moses Latigo Odida ’09 wrote and directed an eight-part web series that tells stories of Black caregivers in Canada, bringing up important conversations in the Black community about mental illness and disability. Down debuted on the Stories For Caregivers YouTube channel on January 22.
Chanelle Robinson ’15 successfully defended her doctoral dissertation at Boston College, one of the preeminent Catholic theological schools in North America. Her dissertation was entitled “Entangled Poetics: Decolonial and Womanist Expansions of the Imago Dei [Image of God].”
Ciara Boyd ’18 and Dr. Jordan Fairbairn, King’s program coordinator/associate professor of sociology, authored a chapter published in “The Routledge International Handbook on Femicide and Feminicide,” which features over 120 contributors from more than 30 countries.
Brandon Vecchiola ’21 was appointed Business Development Manager for the CMHA Thames Valley Addiction & Mental Health Services, effective January 2024.
Justin Mulder ’22 presented his thesis work at The 3rd Annual Canadian Children, Youth and Communities (CCYC) Equity Conference at the University of Toronto on October 21, 2023. Justin and Professor Cathy Chovaz, psychology, presented a workshop called “Prevalence of Mental Health Disorders in Deaf and Hard of Hearing Children in Canada.” Justin is a graduate student at the University of Ottawa.
Yawen Zhou ’22 graduated with an MSc in Business Analytics from University College London (UCL) School of Management and works in EY consulting.
Ibrahem Saadi, student, is the first Western Mustang drafted by the Canadian Premier League. He was selected in the second round, 14th overall, by the B.C.-based Pacific FC. Ibrahem plays centre-back for the Western Mustangs men’s soccer team and started in 11 matches for the Mustangs in 2023. He was recognized as the Ontario University Athletics (OUA) West Rookie of the Year and was named to the OUA West All-Star First Team.
In Memoriam
We extend our condolences to the family and friends of:
John Kennedy ’65, who passed away on December 27, 2023.
Frederick Mielko ’67, who passed away on November 11, 2023.
James (Jamie) Howe ’71, who passed away on April 26, 2024.
Gerard “Ged” Tillmann ’71, who passed away on April 27, 2024.
Patrick Kenney ’75, who passed away on December 4, 2023.
James “Jim” Overboe ’91, who passed away on January 7, 2024.
Omar Barzak ’21, who passed away on April 26, 2024.
John Campbell, professor emeritus, who passed away on February 12, 2024. Dr. Campbell worked as a professor and registrar at King’s from 19691994. Throughout his lifetime, he volunteered his time and energy to numerous organizations, including London’s Co-op Housing and the London InterCommunity Health Centre.
Judith Dunlop, professor emerita, who passed away on December 28, 2023. Dr. Dunlop was committed to social justice. She was engaged in research that brought different disciplines together to respond to community challenges and focused on the use of technology to support social work practice.
