{"id":362,"date":"2024-01-11T14:21:11","date_gmt":"2024-01-11T14:21:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/?page_id=362"},"modified":"2024-02-02T18:20:59","modified_gmt":"2024-02-02T18:20:59","slug":"class-notes","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/winter-2024\/class-notes\/","title":{"rendered":"Class Notes"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Alumni

Class Notes<\/h1><\/div><\/div>\n
\n

1950s<\/h2>\n

Leon Zimmerman \u201959<\/strong>, a former national awardwinning journalist, spoke at Rowan University\u2019s commemoration of the historic USA-Soviet Summit Conference, which he covered 56 years ago.<\/p>\n

1970s<\/h2>\n

Margaret \u201cMidge\u201d Guerrera \u201971, \u201978 MA<\/strong> wrote Cars, Castles, Cows and Chaos, which was published by Read Furiously. She describes it as a Jersey girl\u2019s humorous romp through Italy.<\/p>\n

Kathleen Stein-Smith \u201972<\/strong> was named an Officier dans l’Ordre des Palmes acad\u00e9miques, a national order bestowed by the French Republic on distinguished academics and teachers and for valuable service to universities, education and science. She is the chair of the American Academy of Teachers of French Commission on Advocacy.<\/p>\n

Anna Calluori Holcombe \u201974<\/strong>, a professor emeritus of ceramics at University of Florida, was awarded the Excellence in Teaching award from the National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts.<\/p>\n

Sheryl Needle Cohn \u201975 MA<\/strong> announces her historical fiction Holocaust screenplay The Baker of Quaregnon was a semifinalist in an Israeli film festival in December 2022.<\/p>\n

Douglas Rallo \u201975, Esq.<\/strong>, a personal injury attorney in Libertyville, Ill., and owner of Law Offices of Douglas Rallo, P.C., was named to the 2023 Best Lawyers<\/em> list.<\/p>\n

Andrew Jannetti \u201976<\/strong>, a dancer, choreographer, producer, administrator and educator, was presented with the Outstanding Leadership (PK-12) award from the New York State Dance Education Association this year and received their Lifetime Achievement award in 2022.<\/p>\n

Joe Cosentino \u201977<\/strong> wrote and released Drama Prince<\/em>, Drama Merry<\/em>, Drama Daddy<\/em> and Drama King<\/em>, books number 15 through 18 in his Nicky and Noah mystery novel series.<\/p>\n

1980s<\/h2>\n

Barbara Pinelli \u201982<\/strong>, an eighth grade history teacher in South Plainfield, received a National Education Association Envision Equity Grant to help students learn about the election process and the importance of voting.<\/p>\n

Janine K. Iannarelli \u201983<\/strong> was elected chair of the European Business Aviation Association\u2019s Associate Member Advisory Council in May.<\/p>\n

Barbara Bell \u201986<\/strong> was awarded first prize for her artwork \u201cSuccess in the Future\u201d at a juried show organized by NAWA (National Association of Women Artists) in Highland Park, N.J., in December.<\/p>\n

Matthew Blank \u201986<\/strong> became a sword carrier with the New Mexico Men\u2019s Wellness men\u2019s community at ceremonies in Denver, Colo., and at Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu, N.M. He is a senior investigator with Adult Protective Services in Boulder County, Colo.<\/p>\n

Claire Katz \u201987 MAT<\/strong>, department head and professor of Teaching, Learning & Culture at Texas A&M University, is a 2024 finalist for the Robert Foster Cherry Award at Baylor University.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n

1990s<\/h2>\n

Daniel Gerard \u201993<\/strong>, president of the International Association of EMS Chiefs, was appointed in May to serve as the EMS Educators Sector Representative on the department\u2019s National Emergency Services Advisory Council.<\/p>\n

William \u201cBill\u201d Mesce \u201993 MA<\/strong> had his collection of three one-act plays, A Jersey Cantata<\/em>, staged at Burgdorff Cultural Center in Maplewood in August. He also released an essay collection: Reel Change Take Two: More Movies, the People Behind (and In) Them, and the Business of Making Them<\/em> in January. His novel Lucidity<\/em> was published under the pen name Aja Holland in 2022.<\/p>\n

Laura Shovan \u201994 MAT<\/strong> wrote Welcome to Monsterville<\/em> published by Apprentice House Press in April.<\/p>\n

Michael Fanizzi \u201996 MA<\/strong> retired after a 30-year career in education. Throughout his career, he served as a high school director of athletics, teacher, coach and held administrative positions. He was inducted into the Director of Athletics Association of New Jersey\u2019s Hall of Fame, Class of 2023.<\/p>\n

Jorge A. Castro \u201998<\/strong> published Manage Your Money Manager<\/em> in October 2022, which guides the individual investor on how to set up an online tool that has been used by market analysts on and off Wall Street for decades.<\/p>\n

2000s<\/h2>\n

Dierdre Letson-Christofalo \u201900 MA<\/strong>, EdD was named associate provost and dean of the School of Professional Studies and Innovation at Moravian University in September.<\/p>\n

Carrie Brown \u201901<\/strong>, a business development manager for Hillman Consulting LLC, was honored at the annual Women of Valor Tea Awards hosted by St. Francis Food Pantries and Shelters for her professional success and commitment to philanthropy.<\/p>\n

Jigar Parikh \u201902<\/strong> was named vice president of financial planning and analysis at Instant Teams, a talent marketplace that uses innovative technology, career development and skills-based hiring.<\/p>\n

Nicole Tocci \u201902<\/strong> launched a business called One Vintage Button and creates necklaces out of high-end designer branded buttons. Her business was featured in the New York Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Raza Ashfaq \u201904<\/strong>, a certified public accountant, was named partner at CohnReznick, a leading advisory, assurance and tax firm.<\/p>\n

Mary Burns \u201904 Cert., \u201905 MAT<\/strong>, the author of Saving Eric: A Mother\u2019s Journey Through Her Son\u2019s Addiction<\/em>, was recently honored in Speak Up Talk Radio\u2019s 2023 Firebird Book Awards in the Addiction and Recovery category.<\/p>\n

Victoria Obenchain \u201907 MA<\/strong> is a K-8 educator selected for the 2021 Grosvenor Teacher Fellowship with Lindblad Expeditions and the National Geographic Society. Although travel was on hold during the pandemic, this year, she was finally able to take an educational voyage by sea to Antarctica alongside marine biologists and geologists.<\/p>\n

Stacy Albanese Fagioli \u201908, \u201917 MA<\/strong> and Andrew Fagioli \u201911<\/strong> welcomed their second child, Noel Nicole Fagioli, on January 29, 2023. Noel joins a proud family of Red Hawks alongside big brother, Carson Andrew.<\/p>\n

Victor Stolberg \u201908<\/strong>, an associate professor\/counselor at Essex County College in Newark, is the author of seven articles, including \u201cGlobalization\u201d and \u201cTobacco,\u201d in the recently (2023) published Wellness Around the World: An International Encyclopedia of Health Indicators, Practices, and Issues<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Charles Kontos \u201908<\/strong> (deceased, 2010) was a wildlife biology PhD candidate at Rutgers University. His parents published a book On Nature’s Trail With Charlie<\/em> last September. Rutgers also presents a Charlie Kontos Environmental Activist Award each year.<\/p>\n<\/div>

\n

2010s<\/h2>\n

Diane Lebo \u201910<\/strong> received a PhD in cell and molecular biology from Boston University and joined the firm Lathrop GPM as a technical specialist in its Intellectual Property Group in April.<\/p>\n

Jack Blaszkiewicz \u201910<\/strong>, assistant professor of Music History at Wayne State University in Michigan, released his first book, Fanfare for a City: Music and the Urban Imagination in Haussmann\u2019s Paris<\/em>, through University of California Press in December.<\/p>\n

Ross Fox \u201911<\/strong>, a business litigation attorney at Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., was recognized in Super Lawyers\u2019 2023 New Jersey Rising Stars.<\/p>\n

Allison Strong \u201912<\/strong>, actress and singer, opened for Grammy-winner LeAnn Rimes at bergenPAC in November and played \u201cMrs. Salinas\u201d in the animated musical feature Leo<\/em> with Adam Sandler and Bill Burr.<\/p>\n

Edward Velky \u201912<\/strong>, a business and commercial litigation attorney at Bressler, Amery & Ross, P.C., was named to the Super Lawyers\u2019 New Jersey Rising Stars list.<\/p>\n

Irina Kuzmich \u201913<\/strong> received a PhD in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the City University of New York.<\/p>\n

Graham Preston \u201913<\/strong> is an artist whose work was featured as part of the Audubon Mural Project at West 149 Street in New York.<\/p>\n

Steve Way \u201913<\/strong>, an actor on Hulu\u2019s Ramy<\/em>, performed his first-ever stand-up comedy special \u201cMake Another Wish\u201d in July.<\/p>\n

John Weinstein \u201913 MA<\/strong>, provost and vice president of Bard Academy and Bard College at Simon\u2019s Rock, is the founding leader of the Bard Queer Leadership Project, which focuses on creating safe educational spaces for LGBTQIA+ students.<\/p>\n

Chelsea Clarke \u201914, \u201917 MEd, \u201919 Cert.<\/strong>, a teacher of gifted and talented students at Lester C. Noecker School in Roseland, N.J., received the New Jersey Association for Gifted Children 2023 Teacher of the Year award.<\/p>\n

Brian Engel \u201914<\/strong> and Brittany Ur \u201914<\/strong> were married last year at The English Manor in Ocean Township, N.J.<\/p>\n

Sophie Heinlein \u201914<\/strong> was appointed associate attorney at Krauss Shaknes Tallentire & Messeri in September.<\/p>\n

Vincent King \u201914 MBA<\/strong> and his wife, Christina, welcomed their second son, Connor Joseph King on June 5, 2023.<\/p>\n

Ashley Matarama \u201914<\/strong> serves as the Sergeant at Arms of Nichibei Toastmasters, a bilingual Japanese and English public speaking club which is part of Toastmasters International.<\/p>\n

Diana Weisman \u201914<\/strong> is the creative director of branded content at BDG Media. Her creative direction for an interactive online game was sponsored by Macy\u2019s and nominated for \u201cBest Interactive Content Piece\u201d and \u201cMost Innovative Use of Content\u201d in Digiday<\/em>\u2019s 2023 Content Marketing Awards in May.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"","protected":false},"author":273,"featured_media":0,"parent":65,"menu_order":1,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"advanced-page.php","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-362","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/273"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=362"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":503,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/362\/revisions\/503"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/65"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/magazine\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=362"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}