Alumni Notes

1970s

Fred Bultman ’72 is retired. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and his Certificate in Government Management from the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia. He also attended the United States Army Command and General Staff College.

Joel Kamerman ’74 is the retired founder and president of LaCie, an American-French computer hardware company. Per the company’s Wikipedia page, Kamerman founded the company on three principles: profit was more important than revenue; product differentiation would create profit; and vertical integration was key to La Cie’s long-term viability.

He earned his Bachelor’s and Master’s Degree in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

1980s

Teresa Bakken-Knox ’81 is a software engineer at Trimble. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Computer Science from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse.

Michelle Harn ’81 recently moved to Tennessee. She was previously employed as an Orthopedist with University of Wisconsin Health in Pediatric Ophthalmology and Adult Strabismus in Madison. She earned her Bachelor of Science from the University of Wisconsin-River Falls. She also earned her Master of Science from the University of Florida. Peter Pavalko ’83 is a Property Risk Consultant at Northwestern Mutual. He earned his Bachelor of Science Degree in Environmental Science from St. Norbert College and his Master of Science in Biology from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Janice Martin ’85 starred as Kat in the Skylight Music Theatre’s recent run of Ernest Shackleton Loves Me. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel called the show “a buoyant musical romance on ice.” Per her bio in the show program, “[Martin] tours the country with her award-winning A Janice Martin Cirque Show, showcasing her multi-talents as violinist, pianist, singer and acrobatic aerialist. She performs as a symphony orchestra soloist with classical repertoire, as well as her pops shows, An Evening with Janice Martin, Dear Mr. Gershwin and Paganini Mania.”

Dr. Stephen Schmidt ’85 has been Professor of Economics at Union College in Schenectady, New York, since 1994. He earned his Ph.D. from Stanford University. He is currently the chair of the Faculty Executive Committee, and has served as chair of the Economics Department, the Social Sciences Division, and the Student Affairs Council, and as the college’s Director of Assessment.

1990s

Michael Stohler, Ph.D., ’92, became Chief Investment Officer of the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association in September 2021. Prior to this role, he was a managing director of investments at Washington University (St. Louis) Investment Management Company (WUIMC). Stohler received his Ph.D. in Physics from Purdue University (2002), MBA from New York University’s Stern School of Business (2006), and BA from St. Olaf College (1996). He and his wife, Rachel, along with their three children, are excited to be back in Wisconsin.

Jacob Ansari ’96 serves on the Executive Leadership team at Schellman, a worldwide leader in IT attestation and compliance services. Following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, he was quoted in the March 21st Forbes story “Biden Reiterates Importance for Companies To Immediately Protect Themselves Against Potential Russian Cyberattacks.”

Said Ansari, “All of the recommendations made by the White House are good, even if none are revolutionary. Security professionals have been advocating for these sorts of practices as key business priorities for decades and consistently play catch up against things like reducing cost or improving time to market. Further, other compliance, governance, or guidance efforts have recommended or required these practices for years.”

Neil Bergquist ’97 is a qualitative market research consultant for Ipsos North America. He earned a joint Bachelor’s Degree (Geography and French) from Middlebury College.

2000s

Angeline Gragasian ’03 is busy. The writer and filmmaker is a professor at The Parsons School of Design, The New School in New York City. She is also the founder and director of Happy Family Night Market, a celebration of Asian food, education, and art.

The nonprofit organization is sponsored by the New York Foundation for the Arts. Per the website, “Happy Family celebrates

the Asian diaspora and deepens cross-cultural exchange through food, art, and education. We plan to grow into an arts & cultural cooperative (a co-op) that challenges colonial notions of Asia, and supports emerging Asian and Pacific Islander artists, educators, chefs and social entrepreneurs.”

Since Happy Family’s founding in 2018, the organization has hosted 300+ artists, 80 speakers and educators, and 30 chefs and restaurateurs. In 2020 they launched Happy Family Radio, a monthly mixtape series showcasing music of the diaspora.

Gragasian earned a Bachelor of Arts in Interdisciplinary Studies from the University of Chicago and her Master of Fine Arts in Screenwriting from the Feirstein Graduate School of Cinema at Brooklyn CollegeCUNY.

To learn more about Happy Family, visit www.happyfamilymkt.com.

Care, a short film by Erin Ann MacDonald ’04, was named an official selection at the First Glance Film Festival Los Angeles, Malibu International Film Festival, the Austin After Dark Film Festival, and the Idyllwild International Festival of Cinema.

The film follows the fictional story of an ICU nurse falsely accused of manslaughter due to negligence in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Erin both played the female lead (Victoria Lutz) and served as an Executive Producer on the film.

Logan Ketterer ’05 has signed to play with CF Montréal of the MLS. A fourth-round selection of the Columbus Crew in the 2017 MLS Super Draft, he made three appearances – with two shutouts – last year for the Portland Timbers under the MLS Extreme Hardship waiver in a short-term loan from USL Champion El Paso Locomotive.

“We were looking for another goalkeeper and Logan has the profile we were looking for with experience in MLS and USL,” CF Montréal sporting director Olivier Renard said following the acquisition.

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Sarah Nelson Potter ’08 is a postdoctoral researcher at MIND Institute at University of California-Davis, where she also completed her doctorate degree. As stated on MIND’s website, “The UC Davis MIND Institute is a collaborative international research center, committed to the awareness, understanding, prevention, and treatment of the challenges associated with neurodevelopmental disabilities.”

Learn more at www.health.ucdavis.edu.

Anne (MacDonald) Azmani ’09 and her husband Youssef opened Anne’s Acres in May. The neighborhood greenhouse resides in the city of Greenfield. Per the company’s website:

“It started as a dream. Back when we got married, we had a goal of starting our own business. After five years of marriage and nearly a decade of growing experience, Anne’s Acres came to life. We spent years learning, saving, searching for the right location, and in 2021 we were welcomed by the City of Greenfield.

We are a husband and wife team committed to growing flowers of the highest quality. It’s our pleasure to be your neighborhood greenhouse.”

To learn more, visit www.annesacresgreenhouse.com.

Ashley Woelbing ’09 is a Research and Design Project Manager at Carma Laboratories in Franklin, Wisconsin. She most recently earned her Masters of Business Management with a focus in Organizational Leadership and Development from Alverno College.

2010s

Dr. Terah Hennick ’10 is a resident in Orthopedic Surgery at the UWHospital in Madison. After earning her Bachelor of Science Degree from UW, she attended the University of Central Florida College of Medicine where she earned her Doctor of Medicine before returning to Madison. Lauren Rabidoux ’11 is a Senior Recruiter for the Danaher Corporation. She earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Corporate Communication and Sociology from Marquette University.

Kyra Schiele ’11 lives in Chandler, Arizona, and works as a Senior Regional REI Planning Manager for Amazon Logistics. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Operations and Supply Chain Management from Marquette University.

Paige Steed ’11 is a Project Specialist at Plunkett Raysich Architects in Milwaukee. She earned her Bachelor of Science in Architecture from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.

Madeline Henderson ’12 will graduate with her Master of Business Administration from the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth in June. She was selected as a Consortium Fellow and a Forte Fellow and received a full-tuition scholarship for her studies. Post-MBA, Madeline will start as a Senior Brand Manager for Proctor & Gamble on the Gillette brand in Boston, Massachusetts.

Prior to Dartmouth, she attended Abilene Christian University where she earned her Bachelor Degree in Business Administration, Accounting (2015) and a Master of Accountancy (2016).

In April, Zane Navratil ’14 became the No. 1 ranked pickleball player in the world. “It’s a nice milestone along the way, but the goal is to become the best pickleball player that I can,” he told the Racine Journal Times. “If I don’t continue to get better, I’m not going to keep this No. 1 ranking. So I’m still on my path to becoming the best pickleball player I can be.” Navratil is currently ranked No. 1 among the 182 ranked players by the Pro Pickleball Association. [C]

On March 15th, Mia Pinero ’12 released her debut album Growing Up on all major streaming platforms. The album is the latest accomplishment in a career that has already seen her perform on Broadway (West Side Story, 2020), appear in an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and serve as a guest on The Today Show. Her career was profiled by the Racine Journal Times in the March 27th story, “A ‘voice from the gods:’ Racine-area native releases album, stars on Broadway.”

For more information about Mia, visit www.mia-pinero.com. [A]

Megan Wolf ’14 will graduate from UVA’s Darden School of Business this May. In January, she was profiled by Darden’s Career Center Blog for a story on how she used the Batten Venture Internship Program to figure out what she’s going to do next. [B]

Per the blog, “With the help of Darden’s Batten Venture Internship Program, Megan found a summer experience that did exactly that. She pitched, designed, and ultimately excelled in a brand strategy internship with [solidcore], the boutique fitness company with over 70 studios and expanding across the United States.”

Trista Deuster ’16 works for the Milwaukee Bucks in Live Programming and Entertainment.

Sammie Woodward ’16 returned to Prairie this fall as Assistant Coach for the Boys’ Varsity Basketball team. Her appointment was profiled in the January 31st Racine Journal Times story, “Sammie Woodward takes on the challenge of coaching boys.”

She also served Prairie’s Admission Office as an Admission Associate this school year, and this spring was hired as a fulltime Middle School physical education teacher for 2022-23.

2020s

Joe Orlowski ’21 graduated from basic military training with the United States Air Force in March. Up next is technical school as a crew chief aboard F35 fighter jets.

As is customary here on campus, Prairie honored its teachers during National Teacher Appreciation Week during the first week of May. From extra coffee to frosting-covered treats to notes of gratitude from grateful parents, it was a week of saying “Thank You” to our faculty, very simply the best educators in the business.

Did one of Prairie’s teachers impact you in a meaningful way? Let them know today.

Visit prairieschool.com/thank to send a note of gratitude or make an honorarium gift.

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