SEAN S. STEELE ’90 has created Bigger Kids, a follow-up compact disk to his original, Big Kids. The CD features all original songs written by Sean. DePauw friends Gregory A. Stearns ’91 and Mark J. Bransfield, who worked on the first CD, also contributed to the newest one. Sean wrote the songs for his children, now ages10 and 8. Song topics range from making it to the school bus on time, the benefits of sunscreen, silent letters and a kid finding out his grandma was a roller derby queen, to songs that deal with coping with loss, bullying and Jonah from the Bible. Sean is a high school social studies teacher.

1988

Mark D. Johnson joined Capital Results as a partner. He is leading the firm’s public relations division in Raleigh, N.C. Thomas R. Sells is a performance consultant for Merrill Edge for the central Florida area as well as a music director at a church in Jacksonville, Fla. Tom’s email address is tomsells@me.com.

1989

Diana Carson Chapman is author of The 15 Commitments of Conscious Leadership. (See Recent Words, page 14.) Michele Merrill Betsill is author of Transnational Climate Change Governance and Advances in International Environmental Politics. (See Recent Words, page 18.) Wallace J. Nichols, a marine biologist, was the keynote speaker at a reception honoring winners of the 2014 International Young Eco-Hero Awards on Oct. 18, 2014. David E. Taylor is senior loan officer for Ruoff Home Mortgage in the firm’s Greencastle, Ind., office. David also serves as treasurer of the Putnam County (Ind.) Public Library’s board of trustees.

Keira A. Amstutz ’91

Derek Y. Brandt ’92

Capote. She won a Tony Award for best actress in a musical for her performance in Next to Normal.

1987

Rebecca Ruehl Farley, Barbara Cote Harmon ’86 and Diane Sharp Strader have taken an annual mini-reunion weekend into northern Minnesota for 25 years. (See photo, page 45.) Lori Spoon Rafkin is senior vice president of customer and broker engagement at Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance. She was named in Insurance Business America magazine’s Hot 100 list for 2015.

1986

Troy B. Froderman was named a member of the American College of Coverage and Extracontractual Counsel.

46 DEPAUW MAGAZINE SPRING 2015

Steve R. Battreall is president and chief executive officer of GE Capital, Commercial Distribution Finance. Andrew Das is author of Galatians. Andrew is the Donald W. and Betty J. Buik chair of the department of religious studies at Elmhurst College. Brian L. Harmon was named Indiana District 7 Superintendent of the Year by the Indiana Association of Public School Superintendents. Brian is superintendent of North Gibson School Corporation. Edward T. Schultz has joined the Los Angeles office of the international law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP as a shareholder in the corporate and securities practice.

1990

Robert S. Johnson is recipient of a 2013-14 Chicago/Midwest Emmy Award in the Outstanding Achievement for News Gathering – Spot News category for his station’s coverage of a highway shutdown. He is the weeknight evening news anchor for Chicago CBS affiliate WBBM.

1991

Keira A. Amstutz was elected to the board of directors of The Federation of State Humanities Councils. Keira is the Indiana Humanities’ president and chief executive officer. She is an attorney and former chief counsel and director of policy for the city of Indianapolis. (See photo.) Dawn E.W. Drumtra and John C. Lubeski were married April 12, 2014, in Athens, Ga. Dawn is a faculty member of the University of North Georgia. John is operations manager of Student Business Services Co-Op of Athens.

D. Elizabeth Egen and Richard A. Richter were married June 28, 2014, in Wilmette, Ill. Elizabeth earned a master’s of teaching degree in elementary education and certificate of advanced study as a reading specialist from National Louis University. She is a primary grade reading specialist for kindergarten through second grade at Laura B. Sprague School in Lincolnshire, Ill. Richard received a M.B.A. degree from DePaul University and works as senior finance manager for Aetna Inc. They live in Glenview, Ill. Michael J. Fisher Jr., president and chief operating officer of the Ball Brothers Foundation, Muncie, Ind., was named The Star Press Person of the Year 2014. He was honored for commitment to his community and support for Muncie Community Schools’ efforts to merge its two high schools into one.

1992

Derek Y. Brandt, a member of Simmons Hanly Conroy litigation firm, was named to the Illinois Super Lawyers list for 2015 in the areas of class action/mass torts, business litigation and environmental litigation. (See photo.) Anne Derrickson Burnside is author of From Role to Soul: 15 Shifts on the Awakening Journey.

1993

Cynthia Callender Dungey is director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services. Matthew J. Fuller earned a doctoral degree in educational leadership, June 2014, from National Louis University. He is chief technology officer of Barrington (Ill.) Community Unit School District 220. Matt’s email address is mjfuller@mac.com.

1994

Cindy Koelsch Trenerry is a vice president with 1st Source Bank in South Bend, Ind. (See photo.) Amy Kossack Sorrells is author of Then Sings My Soul. (See Recent Words, page 16.)

1995

James C. Giesen, an associate professor of history at Mississippi State University, gave the DePauw History Department’s Horizon Lecture on Oct. 27, 2014.