alumnae Connection years. She and her husband have one daughter who is a Duke grad and is working on her doctorate at Emory. Moore breeds and shows Arabian horses and has won regional and national honors. She also breeds border collies and is currently working for the NC Department of Agriculture. Suzanne George Palmer retired in 2008 as an educator; she had been a NC Board Certified Teacher since 1999. Currently Palmer is one of five NCCSI Coordinators coordinating efforts to support teachers pursuing National Board Certification. Her daughter is a jewelry designer and son is a deputy sheriff and emergency coordinator in Chowan County. Carolyn Langhorne Pittman has been married for 40 years and works with her husband at Prudential York Simpson Underwood realtors. Their daughter, who lives in Raleigh, gave them their first grandchild this year. Their son also lives in Raleigh. Sharon Ray has just completed 40 years of teaching and plans to teach 20 more. She teaches at Oneness-Family School in Maryland. The school is a progressive, holistic, mind, body and spirit school with emphasis on the Montessori, Waldorf philosophies as well as cooperation, conflict-resolution, arts, academics, yoga and meditation. Jean Wolf Robb has been married for 37 years. She and her husband are parents of four children and are founding members of Westminster Reformed Presbyterian Church in Suffolk, Va. After teaching for eight years, Robb became a full time mother and caregiver for her family and her mother. Her hobbies are quilting, knitting and sewing. Cherie Gulley Rose does computer work for her husband in Nashville, N.C. They have three married daughters, three granddaughters and five grandsons. Emma Ruth Bartholomew Stewart continues to do bookkeeping for her husband’s dental office in Louisburg, N.C. This is her 18th year on the Louisburg Town Council. She has two grown sons and enjoys reading, walking and swimming. Anne Holloway Underwood took eight women, including classmates Jeannie Martin Lindsey and Sharon Ray, to a villa in Tuscany this past summer. Mary Turner Wannamaker has been retired for 17 years and has gotten used to a “real life of leisure on the ruh-va” in Charlotte where she golfs, grows vegetables and spoils three great nephews rotten. Ann Carroll Ward is teaching first grade in Gastonia, N.C. She loves to garden and is involved in her church as well as learning how to maneuver through Facebook. Eva Neel Wardrup spent almost 20 years as a social worker in N.C. and 20 years as a librarian in Georgia. She has been married for 41 years and is active in her church. Wardrup and her husband have two sons and a grandson and have taken many trips to Europe, Bermuda and Mexico.
MBA Alumna Named Vice President at McDonald’s USA By Melyssa Allen
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n alumna of Meredith’s MBA program is helping develop the menu strategy of the world’s largest fast food restaurant chain. Karen Wells, ’98, was promoted to vice president, U.S. nutrition and menu strategy, at McDonald’s USA in July 2010. In this new role, Wells is responsible for all aspects of U.S. menu innovation as well as nutrition strategy for McDonald’s 14,000 U.S. restaurants. Wells oversees a staff of registered dietitians, culinary, food and beverage scientists, and other menu experts responsible for designing McDonald’s menu. “My goal is to continue to support our brand mission to be our customers’ favorite place and way to eat and drink,” Wells said. “Now, with the addition of our nutrition team of registered dietitians, which complements our existing talented culinary experts, food scientists, and marketing and operations professionals, it will only further enhance our ability to evolve our menu to meet the changing nutritional needs of our customers.” Wells says her team shapes McDonald’s customer experiences and the food that feeds more than 27 million people a day. One example is the chain’s recent introduction of Real Fruit Smoothies. “We do not take this task lightly. We work Karen Wells, ’98 MBA closely with our customers to develop new food and beverage choices that meet their evolving needs as well as create restaurant innovation that delights them,” said Wells. “It is extremely rewarding for our entire team.” Serving as a mentor to her team members is also rewarding to Wells. “I consider my role as a leader and a coach as a unique opportunity to provide support for others’ personal and professional goals,” she said. “So many people have done and continue to do that for me, and I consider it an honor to help others in that same way.” Attending Meredith inspired Wells as a woman business leader. “The experience I gained working side by side with other women learning from each other, challenging each other and supporting each other catapulted my appreciation for women in business,” Wells said. “It began my continued commitment to help, advocate, support and learn from my women colleagues as we all pursue our professional and personal goals. As a result, I am a member of McDonald’s Women’s Leadership Network as well as the McDonald’s Global Women’s Network Core Team. Wells said she treasures the time she spent at Meredith pursuing an MBA. “That experience has certainly supported my career goals by providing a sound foundation for my continued pursuit of learning,” Wells said. “The principles and discipline I learned while there have assisted in helping me navigate successful transitions into various functions.”
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