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York State championships, 10 sectional championships and 17 league championships. Donnelly has been employed by National Grid for 31 years in IT and commercial and industrial energy efficiency. He and his wife, Laureen, reside in Camillus, NY. Jim Serach ’80 received a M.S. in biology from the University of New Mexico. He has been a high school science teacher for 27 years and presently holds an endowed chair, the Aldo Leopold Chair for Distinguished Teaching of Environmental Science and Ethics, at the Lawrenceville School. Claudia Tower Andres ’81 was chosen as the recipient of the 2013 Youngstown Citizen of the Year Award. She is a choral instructor at Wilson High School, where she has taught for the past eight years. She and her husband, Jerome, have six children and two grandchildren. Jeffrey ’81 and Martha Hulslander Dixon ’80 enjoyed the Double Axel reunion at Turning Stone Resort & Casino. They have one grandson and welcomed their first granddaughter in August. They are hoping to spend time with the new baby in Okinawa, Japan. Their youngest child, Alissa, keeps them busy at home. Mezzo-soprano Metropolitan Opera superstar Renée Fleming ’81 was selected as a 2013 fellow by the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Diane Moonan Taverni ’81 and Sara Jones Moran ’81 sang in a 200-member community chorus with the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra at the Eastman Theater in Rochester, NY, in May to commemorate the RPO’s 90th anniversary season. Diane’s husband, Ed, sang as well. Diane is an elementary vocal music teacher in the Oswego City School District, and Sara is an elementary instrumental music teacher in the Wayne Central School District.
AIRmedia’s Executive Director Sue Schardt ’81 marked 2012 with the launch of Localore, an ambitious, producerled national initiative designed to take public media beyond its core audience to more Americans. She also serves as director on the Distribution and Interconnection Committee of the National Public Radio board, sits on the advisory board of Native Voice One and is the artistic advisor to NPR’s “From the Top.” Jeffrey Arnold ’82 received the 2013 Telly Award for the musical score for the film ‘“A” Means Amazing,” which he also directed. “There were nearly 11,000 entries from all 50 states and numerous countries, so this is truly an honor.” John Murray ’82 recently sang the tenor solo in Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 in Brooklyn, NY. He has also sung with the Metropolitan Opera in Germany and Sweden. In November 2012, Ron Isaacson ’83 conducted the Potomac Theatre Co. production of “My Fair Lady,” which received many accolades. He currently serves as choir director at Gunston Middle School, in Arlington, VA, and at Congregation Or Chadash in Damascus, MD. He has a tutoring firm, teaching trombone, euphonium, tuba and Hebrew. Peter Nelson ’83 was promoted to director of product development at Informz in Saratoga Springs, NY, where he has been employed since 2006. Peter also recently served as an interim organist for his church in Saratoga Springs. His wife, Judith Boyd Nelson ’84, received her nursing degree from SUNY Adirondack in 2011 and has joined Saratoga Cardiology Associates in the position of clinical research coordinator.
Captain David Schnell ’83 retired from the U.S. Navy in September 2012. During his 28-year career, Schnell flew helicopters, commanded the Navy’s fourthlargest base and a helicopter squadron, worked in the Pentagon and on Capitol Hill and lived in Italy and Guam. He and his wife, Gina, and their sons, Eric and Evan, have relocated to Coronado, CA, where he is pursuing his “next” career. One of the first blind students in New York to complete a K-12 education in public school, Mike Tyo ’83 began TYO Productions in 1985, where he created musical compositions for radio, TV and other custom venues for businesses seeking to enhance advertising. Currently, Tyo serves as co-chairman on the Community Council on Vision Impairment Issues, and is on the board for the Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired of Jefferson County. He resides in Adams, NY, with his two children. Maureen Medakovich ’84 has changed careers, and is now a professional math and science tutor. Ben Rudnick ’84 released his tenth recording, entitled “Love is a Superpower,” for which he received his seventh Parents’ Choice Award. Laurie Williams ’84 is performing with Serendipity, an English country dance band in the Rochester, NY, area. She has partaken in a dance ball at Hobart & William Smith Colleges and the Jane Austen Ball in Rochester. She toured Boston and Vermont this summer. Just as they became empty nesters, Karen Regan Satterlee ’84 started with a new firm in January 2012, and in September 2012, Lee Satterlee ’83 moved to Mont Pleasant Middle School in the Schenectady
Kevin Caraccioli ’86 and his son, Matthew, were cast in the Oswego Players’ production of “It’s a Wonderful Life.” Kevin played the lead role of George Bailey, and his son, age nine, portrayed a younger George Bailey. Outside of acting, Caraccioli runs a successful law practice and does non-profit organizational work. (Photo Credit: Tobie McIntosh) district, after Oneida Middle School closed. Donald F. Schmidt ’84 completed his Master of Publishing Science degree online from Pace University. In summer 2011, he was invited to lecture at the Denver Publishing Institute. Schmidt has been a member of the Publishers Association of the West Board of Directors since 2009. He is the production/ manufacturing manager for ABC-CLIO, a niche history and social sciences publisher in Broomfield, CO. Bryan Jenner ’85 received his Master of Education degree in curriculum studies from Monmouth University, and has begun his Ph.D. in higher education at Walden University. Jenner completed 27 years as a music educator and is currently the elementary music teacher at South Amboy Elementary School in South Amboy, NJ, as well as the director of the pep band and instrumental ensembles at Monmouth University. Frank Calvelli ’86 was appointed principal deputy director of the National Reconnaissance Office in July 2012. He provides overall day-to-day management of the NRO,
with decision responsibility as delegated by the office’s director. Calvelli has held a variety of senior positions, including satellite and ground system acquisition, systems engineering and mission operations. After earning his bachelor’s degree in computer science at SUNY Potsdam, he went on to earn his MBA from Loyola College. Lisa Passonno Franklin ’87 has toured in Germany with many orchestras in both concert and opera settings. She has been on the faculty of the New York State Theatre Institute, where she taught voice classes, and now teaches voice at the Academy of the Holy Names in Albany, NY. Allison Armstrong Keef ’87 of Hermon, ME, is a member of the board of Bangor Theological Seminary, a seminary in the UCC tradition, which in July became the BTS Center, headquartered in Southern Maine. Grandchildren, gardening and her husband, who enjoys Atlantic salmon fishing, occupy her days. “As a mature/non-traditional student, I benefitted from Potsdam’s willingness to grant credits for life experience.”
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