ALUMKN IGHTS
IMAGE COURTESY OF GARY BOGDON/TAVISTOCK GROUP
The United States Tennis Association (USTA) is moving from New York to a new, 100-plus-court tennis center at Lake Nona. The Florida center will also be the home of UCF’s tennis teams when it opens in late 2016.
“This campus at Lake Nona has all of the ingredients for the beginnings of a world-class sports and human performance cluster with the USTA setting the bar.” — Rasesh Thakkar, ’84, senior managing director of Tavistock Group
Brian Watson, ’03, joined Burr & Forman in its Corporate & Tax and Banking & Real Estate groups.
Tim Sobczak, ’05, joined Dean, Mead, Egerton, Bloodworth, Capouano & Bozarth as an associate in the litigation department.
Craig Ballock, ’04, P.E., promoted to senior geotechnical engineer at Geotechnical and Environmental Consultants. Craig has worked on many community projects in Central Florida, including the Wekiva Parkway, SunRail and the Sanford-Burnham Institute.
Laura (Greer) Askelson, ’06, awarded 2014 “Teacher of the Year.” She represents Lakeside Elementary School in the school district of Clay County, Fla.
Sean Koutsakis, ’04, is vice president market leader of wealth management at Bank of the West. Robert Luke, ’04, joined Witt/Kieffer, a leading executive search firm, as a New England-based associate. Amanda (Forbes) Mestdagh, ’04, APR, joined Uproar PR, a full-service public relations and social media firm, as an account manager. David Buckalew, ’05, named “Meeting Planner of the Year 2013” by Plannernet, a network of more than 1,000 meeting planners across the country. Patricia (Padilla) Sheppard, ’05, works at The Walt Disney Co. in Burbank, Calif., where she oversees the corporate division’s video and Web strategy.
40 | SUMMER 2014
Mindy Bess, ’06, started the James Bess Foundation, a nonprofit organization that grants wishes to adults who are struggling with lifethreatening illnesses. The foundation is named after her dad, who died of brain cancer at age 42. Brittany Bowman, ’06, CPA, was promoted to senior accountant at James Moore. Stephanie (Butler), ’06, and her husband, Zachary Cleland, ’06, were commissioned into the U.S. Army where Stephanie served as a nurse at Fort Bragg. Zachary is a field artillery captain and will be completing his fourth deployment this year. Johanna Pedersen, ’06, CPA for James Moore, was installed as the 2014 chair for the Associated Builders and Contractors Emerging Leaders, North Florida Chapter. Jennifer (Fostoff) Somers, ’07, is a designer for Kenneth Cole Productions in New York.
Shelby Campbell, ’08, received her doctorate in audiology from Nova Southeastern College. Teresa Epps, ’08, graduated from Florida State University with an M.S. in corporate and public communication, and was promoted to communications specialist at BAE Systems. Carol Galbicsek, ’08, accepted a marketing specialist position with AVT Simulation based in Orlando. Megan Licata, ’08, APR, appointed communications manager at The Ritz-Carlton, Grand Cayman. Eleni Roussos, ’08, is the audio-visual coordinator for Marvel in Burbank, Calif. Tifany (Christensen) Alexander, ’09, is a partner with Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate. Gia Castellino, ’09, promoted to tax manager at Moore, Ellrich & Neal. Nicholas Chiricosta, ’09, CFP, works for Pro Management Resources, a financial planning firm for professional athletes. He’s married to Justine (Albarano), ’08, a CPA for ABB Optical in South Florida.