Class notes
Daniel P. Quinn ‘74 published a tribute to the various musicians and artists who have most inspired him, entitled Organized Behavior: Collected Poems. The compilation reflects Daniel’s dedication to the performing arts. His artwork was also displayed at the “Tu-be Blue” group exhibition at Trapezio CafÈ & Gallery in Nutley.
Marriages and Unions Danielle Klau ‘97 to John Cochran Eric Melniczek ‘97 to Amanda Dye Corinna Tafoya ‘97 to Brent Mills Andrew Comunale ‘98 to Kimberly Falzarano Annie Davaris ‘98 to Greg Hazley Erica Niclas ’98 to Pavel Svitak Erin Baumgardner ‘99 to Neil O’Halloran Heather Mintz ‘99 to Matthew Frederick Mark Polizzi ‘99 to Cara FitzPatrick Michael P. Scaplen ‘99 to Karen Novak Melissa Machovic ‘00 to Drew Bradicich ‘00 Deonia Olivo-Lewis ‘00 to Richard Neveu Chris Ramaglia ‘00 to Christina Uhlmann Eric Fernandes ‘01 to Heather Elizabeth Parks Steven Kraemer ‘01 to Carolina Marchiori Jeff Matvienko ‘01 to Teressa Esposito ‘02 Marissa Putten Vink ‘01 to Brook Blahnik Tracy Cappelluti ‘02 to Jeffery Katz Jaclyn Madden ‘02 to Issa Kanawati Jeffrey Colford ‘03 to Sandra Isik Robyn Philburn ‘03 to Joseph Carson Liza Marie Porcelli ‘03 to Alex Fonti Bill Venezia ‘03 to Erica Schweikert ‘03 Theresa Malek ‘04 to Luke Lesniowski Leslie Young ‘04 to Jason Mildenberg Katie Bovino ‘05 to Andrew Chudy ToniAnne Graziano ‘05 to Anthony Cusmano ‘05 Dennis Mortensen ’05 to Laura Rose Sadlo Breanne Elise DeGasperis ‘06 to Wallace A. Zosche
22
Ramapo magazine
Dean M. Shapiro ‘74 is a freelance writer living in the New Orleans area. He is a survivor of Hurricane Katrina and is working with the New Orleans Tourism Marketing Corporation to help the city recover its tourism base. He is also writing true crime stories for Court TV’s online Crime Library, is a ghostwriter for fitness guru Mackie Shilstone, and is working on getting his fourth and fifth books published. He teaches noncredit writing and public relations classes at the University of New Orleans. Jean Coe, Ph.D. ‘75 was named coordinator of West Bergen Mental Healthcare’s Substance Abuse Treatment Program. In her new position, Jean expands substance abuse services by offering more group therapy targeted towards the specific needs of the individuals.
Beverly J. Ververs ‘75 is the associate director of Career Development and Co-op Internships at Montclair State University. She received an award recognizing her dedication and outstanding service to the field of counseling, given by the Counseling Department of the Montclair State University College of Education and Human Services at their Annual Awards Ceremony on May 3, 2007.
Steve Wagner ‘75 lives across the street from the College campus on the other side of the Ramapo River. He is married to his high school sweetheart who also graduated from Ramapo in 1975. Owner of a local construction company, he has recently attended a number of fundraising events at Ramapo and has had the privilege of dining with President Mercer and his wife. Steve’s company, CCI Construction, donated labor and materials to renovate the old Mahwah library and turn it into the Mahwah Historical Museum.
Donald M. Weekes, Jr. ‘75 lives in Ottawa, Ontario. He is an environmental and occupational health and safety consultant. He recently remarried Lan Chi Nguyen and they share custody of her son, Justin. Donald has been awarded a Fellow Membership to the American Industrial Hygiene Professionals. Sandra Benedetto ‘76, director of product management and sales engineering for the industrial business division at Pioneer Electronics USA, works with her team to-
ward the development of Blu-Ray technology, a disc that is set to become an integral part of HDTV.
Alonzo Moody ‘76 has been awarded the John A. Girgenti Civic League’s Volunteer of the Year Award for his service to the community. He is currently the deputy mayor of the City of Paterson. Alonzo is also the executive director of the City of Paterson’s Youth Services Bureau, and has served as a board commissioner for the Paterson Public Schools for more than fifteen years.
Dennis Bonagura ‘77 is the president and chief operating officer of EXTOL International, a worldwide computer software company.
Nancy Johnson ‘77 lives in Hillsborough, NC. She works for the North Carolina Association of County Commissioners as a group benefits underwriter.
Randall Kirkpatrick ‘77 was appointed director of development at Court Appointed Special Advocates of Mercer County.
Evan Weiner ‘77 was appointed sports journalist for MCNSports, a company that produces and streams live and video-on-demand sports content via the Internet. Charles Lana ‘78 joined New England Motor Freight as an account executive. He works at the Elizabeth, NJ terminal. Charles received the President’s Circle Award for outstanding performance in sales from Consolidated Freightways, located in northern New Jersey.
Carol Sommerfield ‘78, formerly known as Carol Perron, received her Ph.D. in organizational systems from Fielding Graduate University.
Roger Muller ‘79 is a licensed insurance producer, a real estate salesman, and a travel agent. He also is a member of the Hoboken Board of Directors of the City’s Chamber of Commerce. Roger resides in Secaucus and Hoboken. Julie Shaw ‘79, a licensed addictions counselor, works for an intensive outpatient treatment program in West Milford. In addition, Julie began a teaching assignment for the New Jersey Prevention Network as a certified instructor of counseling and addictions, advising coursework for students working toward state certification.
Paul Andrus ‘80 teaches as a full time professor of art at the University of Advanced Technologies in Tempe, AZ. Paul was honored with an invitation to participate in the 2007 Biennial of Contemporary Art in Florence, Italy. An
event held every two years, the biennial is a major exhibition of world class artists. Paul’s works are represented in nine countries in Europe, New Zealand, Australia, and Hong Kong.
Robert Vandenbergh ‘80 was promoted to senior executive vice president of Lakeland Bank. He will continue his position as chief lending officer and will also work on special projects with the CEO of Lakeland Bank. Robert is also chairman of Sussex County Community College and a Karen Ann Quinlan Foundation trustee. He resides in Andover with his wife, Barbara.
Laurence C. Egerton ‘81, at the age of 56 was hired by the North Carolina Police Department in Wilmington. He has been a social worker, and most recently owned an auto mechanic business. He passed all the physical tests and graduated from the academy as the oldest in a class of 13. He was quoted in an Associated Press article on June 8, 2007: Older officers bring "overall maturity and life experience, I tend to get a lot of cooperation just because of my age. Whether I'm arresting someone or getting people to divulge information, I think people assume that I've been out there for a long time."
Donna Yeung ‘81 lives in Orlando, FL with her husband Jonathan, her son Sean, three retired greyhounds and two cats.
Mariann Izzo Cheney, BFA ‘81 was promoted to director of Human Resources for the New England division of C & S Wholesale Grocers, Inc., Keene, NH. Mariann’s great grandparents, Abigail and Ingram Estabrook, came to America from Sackville, Canada in the mid 1800s and worked for HO Havemeyer and later ran the farm for Stephen Birch on the estate which was to become Ramapo College. On February 24, 2007, Rocco DiPaola ‘82, Michael Kennelly ‘81, John LaVacca ‘82, Steve Jones ‘83, Jeff Kristol ‘82, and Thomas D’Agostino ‘82 celebrated John LaVacca’s return to the U.S. from Australia. It was also their 25th anniversary from Ramapo College. They all met as freshmen in the fall of 1978.
Carolyn Spies ‘83 was appointed associate dean for faculty and program development at Bloomfield College. She has also served as interim dean of academic affairs, chair on the Division of Social and Behavioral Sciences, director of the honors program, and coordinator for the Psychology Department. Carolyn has been teaching at Bloomfield College since 1993.
Dr. Teresa Karcnik ‘84 lives with her husband and two daughters in the mid Hudson Valley Region of NY State. She is a practicing radiologist and partner of Radiology Associates of Poughkeepsie, NY, PLLC.
Sam Blom ‘85, formerly of Midland Park, retired from PSE&G after 36 years. He lives in Cottonwood, Arizona. He is an assistant coach for the high school boys varsity soccer team, substitute teacher and has performed in two plays for the local community theater group that raises money for non-profits.
Janet Dengel ‘87 serves as editor for two publications owned by North Jersey Media Group, Englewood and Pascack Valley. The quarterly magazines cover businesses and personalities in the Bergen County area.
Daniel Kellogg ‘87 was recently promoted to sergeant after serving thirteen years on the Wyckoff Police Department. Daniel also serves as a DARE officer, juvenile officer, bicycle patrol, safety officer, crime prevention officer, and field training officer. Barbara Napolitano-Gibbons ‘87 and Geoffrey Gibbons proudly announce the arrival of their son, Anthony Edward Gibbons, born July 13, 2005.
Peter Goetz ‘89 has been hired by Ross University as vice president for Marketing and Enrollment. Peter’s responsibilities include enrollment management, marketing, applicant services, and alumni.
Jerry G. Ianni ‘89 received his M.S. in mathematics at Stevens Institute of Technology and his Ph.D. in mathematics from CUNY Graduate Center. He is an associate professor of Mathematics at LaGuardia Community College and an adjunct faculty member at City College of New York. Since 2003, Dr. Ianni has devoted his research to mathematical music theory, and in April he revisited Ramapo to present Algebraic Structures in Music Theory.
Clifford S. Bernstein ‘90 has been appointed to the faculty of the School of Medicine at the State University of New York at Stony Brook as clinical assistant professor of Radiology. Dr. Bernstein is a specialist in breast imaging, with particular interest in breast MRI and breast biopsy.
Allan Pearlstein ‘90 and Annmarie Rosco ‘90 married in the Ramapo College Mansion in 1992. Their daughter Rachel was born in 1999 and is now in second grade. Allan works as a Social Security claims representative in the Mesa, AZ SSA office. He has been with SSA for 14 years and has had the most rewarding career.
Glenn Schneider ‘91 worked with Mick Jagger in New York on ten 12-minute press interviews. Glenn serves as a freelancer working in video production for clients including Pepsi, BMW, and Quest Diagnostics. Ian Anderson ‘92 was named chief operating officer for Smart + Strong, a Manhattan-based publisher of health-related magazines and Web sites.
Luis Linares ‘92 was appointed to the position of director of the Bloomfield Republican County Committee. He will manage the committee’s day-to-day activities until the November election is held. Luis is also the chairman of the Republican National Assembly of New Jersey.
Sammy Olusala ‘92 received a master’s degree in Political Science from William Patterson University in 1995. He also received a master’s degree in 1997 in Education from Iona College, and in 2000, a diploma in Education from St. John’s University. Sammy plans to travel back to his native country Kenya and to run for Parliament. Stacy B. Greene ‘93 and Andrew Greenhut will be married on November 11, 2007. They will travel to Hawaii for their honeymoon. Stacy is the major gifts officer at the New Jersey Performing Arts Center (NJPAC) in Newark. The couple resides in Whippany.
Erik Hunter ‘93 serves as the national public policy training manager for the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Erik is responsible for training on the NAACP’s six public policy content areas. James J. Sexton, Esq. ‘94 is a trial lawyer and founding partner of a growing matrimonial law firm with offices in Rockland, Manhattan,
and Bergen County. He has taught at a variety of colleges and universities including Ramapo and NYU. In his limited free time he enjoys long distance running and has run several marathons. He has two sons, Noah and Billy, and lives in Rockland County, New York.
Lymor Wasserman ‘94 has returned to Fair Lawn, NJ, after 10 years of building her family and career in Chicago, IL. She teaches courses for underprivileged adults looking for work, and has joined Ajilon Finance as an executive recruiter in Paramus. James Jencarelli ‘95 was unanimously voted head of the Carlstadt-East Rutherford Regional School District by the Board of Education. He was previously the principal of Becton Regional High School and was chosen after consideration of five other candidates. Bill Paquin ‘95 was appointed CEO of SpineUniverse, an educational resource for spine health.
Kyle Copeland ‘96 joined King Real Estate Agency as the vice president of marketing. Kyle will assist the King Real Estate team with pre foreclosures counseling, mature adult moves, down sizing, first time buyers, renters, and any other real estate questions. Felicia Lichter ‘96 graduated with honors from Rutgers University with a master’s degree in Library and Information Science. Felicia, who also earned a law degree from Seton Hall University School of Law, works as a legal project editor for Lexis Nexis.
Dr. Glenn Micalizio ‘96 is an assistant professor of Chemistry at Yale University. In May he was recently awarded the Boehringer Ingelheim New Investigator Award, for 2007.
Gwen Plut ‘96 married Tom, on May 31, 2003. Their first child, Abigail, was born on February 22, 2005, and their second child, Ethan, was born May 23, 2007.
Daniela Bianchinotti ‘97 lives in Tappan, NY with her husband, Glen. After a successful career as vice president at one of New Jersey’s top public relations firms, she is now a freelance public relations consultant. She is a work-at-home mom of five children ranging from two to 18 years old.
Loft in New York City. John is a research editor for the New York Times. The couple honeymooned in Paris and The Seychelle Islands before settling down in Brooklyn.
Eric Melniczek ‘97 and Amanda Dye were married on June 24, 2006 at the Selu Conservancy in Radford, Virginia. Eric works as the assistant director of the Radford University Experiential Learning and Career Development. The newlyweds spent their honeymoon in Seattle, Washington and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Peggy Stewart ‘97 was honored by Princeton University for outstanding New Jersey secondary school education. She was among the four winners chosen out of 73 candidates and was recognized at the university’s 2007 Commencement. Peggy teaches social studies at Vernon Township High School and has involved her students in interactions with people and cultures outside the United States through travel and exchange programs. Peggy was also awarded the New Jersey State Teacher of the Year award for 2004-05. Corinna Tafoya ‘97 married Brent Mills on February 17, 2006. Corinna has worked as a caseworker in Child Welfare and Adult Protective services for the last two and a half years. She will soon begin working for a non -profit organization as an advocate manager. Andrew Comunale ‘98 and Kimberly Falzarano were wed on December 31, 2006. Andrew is currently the regional sales director with GI Pathology. Annie Davaris ‘98 married Gregory Hazley on July 28, 2006 at St. Gabriel the Archangel Church in Saddle River. The couple honeymooned in Paris. Annie is an eighth-grade teacher in Paterson. Gregory also attended Ramapo College; he is currently the senior editor for O’Dwyer Publications.
Patty Hemphill ‘98, a licensed clinical social worker, is currently a partner of Elder Care Options (ECO), LLC, a Franklin Lakes geriatric care management company. Erica Niclas ‘98, married Pavel Svitak on October 29, 2006. Erica is currently completing her teaching certification at Felician College. Both Erica and Pavel are employed at Hackensack University Medical Center.
Aaron and Jennifer Greenberg ‘97 announced the birth of their son, Zev Sachar, born September 21, 2006.
Danielle Klau ‘97 married John Cochran on October 14, 2006 in New York City. Danielle works as a designer for Ann Taylor
John George Casianos.
Arleen Bochette ‘99 is married to George Casianos. She is a social studies teacher in the Chesapeake Public Schools in Chesapeake, VA. They have a son,
Ramapo magazine
23