SPRING 2018
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Pace students gather for UNV 101, a first-year course designed to help them adjust to college life. Clearly they’re adjusting well.
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For Your Reference Did you know that Pace’s Birnbaum, Mortola, and Law School libraries are home to 570,000 books? Pictured to the right, a student studying at Birnbaum Library in NYC, whose walk-in traffic last year was 600,000.
Cover and TOC photos: Drew Levin Cover lettering: Mary Kate McDevitt
Contents PACE UNIVERSITY
| SPRING 2018
PACE Magazine Vo lu me XXX III No . 2 Sp r in g 2 01 8 PRESIDENT Marvin Krislov INTERIM VICE PRESIDENT, UNIVERSITY RELATIONS Leila Franchi CREATIVE DIRECTOR Maria Taffera Lewis DIRECTOR, CONTENT Tiffany Lopes DIRECTOR, MARKETING/ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT Wendy Metzger ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, PRODUCTION Maria De La Cruz ASSISTANT DIRECTOR, SOCIAL MEDIA AND EDITORIAL Alyssa Cressotti ’08, ’18 WRITERS Jillian Gorry ’11 Lance Pauker CONTRIBUTORS Antonia Gentile Robert Schurz ’18 ASSOCIATE DIRECTOR, BUDGET/ADMIN OPERATIONS Ivy Riddick
Pace Magazine is a publication of the Department of Marketing and Communications, Office of University Relations, published twice a year, and distributed free to alumni and friends of Pace University. The views expressed in this publication do not necessarily represent those of its staff or of Pace University. Copyright © 2018 Pace University
SEND ADDRESS CHANGES TO: Office of Alumni Relations Pace University One Pace Plaza New York, NY 10038 Phone: (212) 346-1489 Email: pacealum@pace.edu Pace University is an equal opportunity, affirmative action university.
15 Pace University’s 30 Under 30 24 Outpacing Harvard: The Pace Fed Team 28 Global Impact
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Letter from the President Pace News Research Class Notes Big Numbers Flashback
Stay Connected with Us New job? New email? New address? Let us know! Updating your information helps Pace University give you meaningful and valuable alumni experiences. We’ll let you know about networking opportunities in your area, alumni receptions, University events, and other ways for you to get the most out of our vast alumni network. Contact us at 1 (877) 825-8664 or visit www.alumni.pace.edu/info-updates.
Letter from the President
Pace Students Succeed Jonathan Lockwood Smith
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e know that. We create leaders here, giving striving young people the opportunity to build successful careers. But what this exciting, first-ever “30 Under 30” issue of Pace Magazine shows is that our alumni are succeeding from the very start of their careers—sometimes with ideas they started working on while still students. Our young alumni include breakout movie stars and an innovative video game designer, an immigration attorney and an aspiring teacher bringing education into hospitals, a fashion designer to the stars and an author inspiring young women of color to pursue STEM careers. Many things contributed to these 20-somethings’ success. They have talent, drive, and ambition. They benefited from Pace’s tradition of teaching students by doing, preparing them to achieve their dreams. And they benefited from the Pace students who came before them—whether through mentorship, connections, or simply by demonstrating what Pace alumni can achieve. But let’s not forget that current Pace students achieve a lot, too. The College Fed Challenge is a major competition to study and analyze economic policy. This year, the Pace team won, for the third time in four years. (Harvard came in second this year; Princeton got an honorable mention.) In “Outpacing Harvard,” the magazine shares the secrets of Pace’s success—and highlights the Pace students who end up working at the Fed. And in “Global Impact,” we look at the many ways our students are gaining international experience, through study abroad, field study
courses, and overseas clinical rotations. This year, students will travel to Europe, Asia, Africa, and South America to study business, healthcare, education, and so much more. I’m as proud of these students as I am of the alumni. I had the chance to bring some of them together at the recent 27th Annual President’s Scholarship and Benefactor Dinner, when the alumni and donors who help fund scholarships meet the inspiring students who benefit from them. We’ll do it again at our annual Spirit of Pace Awards at the American Museum of Natural History. I hope I’ll see many of you at the museum for that gala. Or that I’ll see you at one of the upcoming “Marvin on the Move” events. But wherever it is, I hope I’ll see you soon—and I hope I help reconnect you with your Pace family.
“We create leaders here, giving striving young people the opportunity to build successful careers.”
Marvin Krislov President
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Marvin on the Move Pace University’s new president, Marvin Krislov, wants to hear from you! He’s hitting the road to meet some of the 145,000 Pace alumni living around the globe.
Join us to learn about exciting developments at Pace and network with your fellow alumni. You are an integral part of what makes our community great—and we want to meet you! Visit us online to find the event closest to you and register: alumni.pace.edu/MarvinOnTheMove
News
PACE UNIVERSITY
A Look Back at
| SPRING 2018
On October 29, 2017, Pace University formally installed Marvin Krislov as our eighth president. Leading up to the ceremony, Pace hosted a series of events including performing arts, faculty innovation and research, and student initiative showcases, and a tree dedication ceremony. As a University, we were able to look back on Pace’s unique history and how it led us to this pivotal moment in time and to the future under the inspired and visionary leadership of our new president.
INAUGURATION Photograph: Jonathan Lockwood Smith
“ This hidden gem should no longer be hidden.” — President Krislov on Pace University
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total number of delegates sent from colleges and universities
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News Joe Peoples
NEW PROVOST APPOINTED
Medical Milestones
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anya Quiñones, PhD, a neurobiologist and biopsychologist who serves as Associate Provost for Student Success and Retention at CUNY’s Hunter College, has been named Provost of Pace, effective July 1, 2018. “Pace University routinely demonstrates how higher education can change lives,” said Quiñones. “I have dedicated my career to improving minority representation in STEM and the arts, and Pace is the perfect place for me to build on that work. I’m honored to have been selected as provost and will work tirelessly to help faculty and students maximize their potential.” n
Pace welcomes three new members—all Pace alumni —to the Board of Trustees. Joseph R. Ficalora ’78, ’79 joined New York Community FICALORA SANDS SMITH Bancorp as a teller at the age of 18 and has been with the bank boards in the Rochester area and is an ever since. In 1993, he was named President officer of the Sands Family Foundation. and CEO. Ficalora is a Vietnam veteran, having served for two years in the 1960s. Shaun E. Smith, JD, ’96, ’02 Robert S. Sands, JD, ’84 is the President is the Senior Vice President and Chief and Chief Executive Officer of Constellation Human Resources Officer for NewYorkBrands, Inc., a wine, beer, and spirits Presbyterian. He holds a BBA and a JD producer and marketer which was founded from Pace University. Prior to NYP, by his father in 1945. He has been with Smith worked at CVPH Medical Center Constellation Brands for almost his entire and for 10 years at Memorial Sloancareer. Sands has served on several nonprofit Kettering Hospital. n
Michele Melcher
IN TRUST
University Health Care celebrates 40 years of first-rate, affordable care. Walk-in and urgent care centers have seen rapid growth in recent years, but at Pace, University Health Care has spent 40 years providing low-cost, high-quality health care to the Pace Community without leaving campus. Audrey Hoover, director of the Pace University Health Care (UHC) in New York City and Pleasantville, notes that UHC was one of the first nurse-run and nurse-managed university health care centers in the nation when it opened its doors in the 1970s. “The University acted with foresight and innovation when it supported the establishment of UHC—it was a unique venture at the time. Other universities have since adopted our model as their own,” she said. This year, UHC’s NYC location moved to a 3,000 square-foot facility with six patient exam rooms, a procedure room, conference room, and two labs on the sixth floor in Maria’s Tower residence hall. n
EXECUTIVE IN RESIDENCE CFO of leading global investment firm KKR William Janetschek ’93 (pictured at left), and Fran Hauser ’90, angel investor, women’s advocate, former President of Digital at Time Inc., and author of The Myth of the Nice Girl, shared wisdom and guidance with Pace students as part of Lubin’s Executive in Residence program which for the last 30 years has brought business leaders from the boardroom to the classroom. n 8
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News
C O M M E N C E M E N T 2018
This May, thousands of Pace University students will celebrate their accomplishments with a turn of the tassel and wave of the diploma at Commencement 2018. The Class of 2018—who will go on to exciting careers as actors and accountants, educators and entrepreneurs, lawyers and leaders, and so much more—will hear from notable speakers. Monday, May 14
Wednesday, May 16
Tuesday, May 22
Tuesday, May 22
ELISABETH HAUB SCHOOL OF LAW
WESTCHESTER UNDERGRADUATE
NEW YORK CITY UNDERGRADUATE
GRADUATE (NYC AND WESTCHESTER COMBINED)
Law School Campus
Goldstein Fitness Center
Radio City Music Hall
Radio City Music Hall
Honorary Degree Recipients: Honorable Robert G. M. Keating // Senior Advisor to the President, Pace University
Honorary Degree Recipients: James McBride // Bestselling author, musician, and screenwriter
Honorary Degree Recipients Carmen Farina ’88 // Former Chancellor of the NYC Department of Education
Honorary Degree Recipient: Irene Sankoff // Actor, writer, lyricist, composer
Widely-respected for his dedication to the field of law, Keating has served as Administrative Judge of the New York City Criminal Court, head of the New York State Judicial Institute, Chief District Attorney in Brooklyn, among others.
Best known for his 1995 memoir The Color of Water, which spent two years on The New York Times bestseller list, McBride is the recipient of the 2013 National Book Award for Fiction for his novel The Good Lord Bird and was awarded the National Humanities Medal by President Obama in 2015.
As NYC Schools Chancellor, Fariña oversaw the education of more than one million students in the nation’s largest school district and among other accomplishments, the expansion of pre-kindergarten to four-year-olds. A Pace alumna, she dedicated her life to education, serving in various roles over the past 50 years, including teacher, principal, district superintendent, and deputy chancellor.
u Eric Gonzalez // Kings County District Attorney Gonzalez made history in November 2017 when he became the first Latino elected to serve as District Attorney in New York State. Prior to that, he was appointed by Governor Andrew Cuomo to finish the term of Brooklyn District Attorney Ken Thompson, who passed away in October 2016.
CALLING ALL GOLDEN
GRADUATES
u David Swope // Chairman and Founder, Club Fit A prominent Westchester environmentalist, philanthropist, community leader, and business owner, Swope passed away earlier this year and will receive a posthumous honorary doctorate.
An alumna of The Actors Studio Drama School, Sankoff and her husband David Hein wrote the book, music, and lyrics of the one of Broadway’s best new musicals, Come From Away, which was nominated for seven Tony Awards, and won the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Musical in 2017.
u Marilyn Simons, PhD // CoFounder, Simons Foundation Simons is president of the Simons Foundation, one of the country’s leading private funders of basic scientific research.
Celebrate your 50th Pace University reunion by participating in Commencement 2018 and welcoming Pace’s newest graduates to the alumni community! Following the ceremony, enjoy a complimentary luncheon in recognition of this milestone. Contact pacealum@pace.edu or (877) 825-8664 for more info. W WW.PACE .E DU
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News
WHO LET THE DOGS IN? Pace’s College of Health Professions, that’s who! This year, CHP launched the first college curriculum on service and therapy dogs in health care at Pace’s Pleasantville Campus. Inspired by the advocacy work of Iraq War veteran and author Luis Carlos Montalván along with his service dog, Tuesday, Pace faculty members Joanne K. Singleton, PhD, and Lucille Ferrara, EdD, joined forces with them and Lu Picard, co-founder and director of programs for Educated Canines Assisting with Disabilities (ECAD) to develop the curriculum, the first and only in the country to educate future health care professionals, including
nurses, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, about the care of patients with disabilities who are teamed with or may benefit from being teamed with a service dog, or who may benefit from participation in the range of animal assisted therapies. “The importance and impact of this curriculum, extends beyond Pace, as access to service dogs and animal assisted therapies for individuals with disabilities are paramount to health and must be within the scope of practice of health care providers,” said CHP Dean Harriet Feldman, PhD. “We are grateful for funding from the Hugoton Foundation to make this curriculum a reality for our students.” n
THE JONAS SCHOLARS Sherrie Lee Murray, Susan Hopper, Michele Flynch, Ella Archibald, and Fernea Moyo, five doctoral students in the College of Health Professions’ Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) and PhD in Nursing programs, were selected as Jonas Scholars for the 2017–2018 year. As a recipient
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of the Jonas Center grant, Pace is part of a national effort to increase the number of doctoralprepared faculty available to teach in nursing schools, as well as the number of advanced practice nurses providing direct patient care and addressing the country’s most urgent health challenges. Through the Jonas Veterans Healthcare Program, Murray and Hopper, both US veterans, will be specifically trained to care for the unique needs of our veteran population. Flynch, Archibald, and Moyo are part of the Jonas Nurse Leaders Program’s goal to increase the number of doctoralprepared faculty available to teach in nursing schools nationwide, as well as the number of advanced practice nurses providing direct patient care. n
SUPER MODEL SETTERS
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ace’s award-winning Model UN team had an impressive showing at the 2017 National Model United Nations Conference in Washington, DC (NMUN DC), where the team received Distinguished Delegation and Honorable Mention Delegation awards, as well as six Outstanding Position Paper awards for their work representing Kenya, Namibia, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. Pace students’ eight awards placed them 4th out of 67 participating universities and higher education institutions from around the country and the world, in terms of total awards received. “Not only did it give me a deeper knowledge of world politics today, NMUN DC also made me better understand the crucial role that the United Nations plays in the international community,” said Sandra Grondahl ’18. n
News
OPPORTUNITY LIVES HERE
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n our continuing effort to attract the best and brightest minds, Pace is proud to announce the Opportunity Scholarship, which will support new students in the Pforzheimer Honors College with $5,000 awarded to those who qualify. To be eligible for this grant, students need to be enrolled in the Honors College in their freshman year, reside in New York State, and have a family adjusted gross income of $125,000 or less. “This new scholarship helps keep the doors of opportunity open for students of all backgrounds,” said President Krislov. “We are so grateful that our friends and donors are making these dreams a reality for these driven and deserving students who will add vibrancy and tenacity to the classroom.” n
ASDS Rep(resent)
PACE DELIVERS Thanks to the Center for Student Enterprise (CSE), which creates and operates student-run businesses on the Pleasantville Campus, students are gaining a wealth of experiential learning. Their latest launch, Pace Delivers, was developed by students in Creating Entrepreneurial Opportunities (CEO) and the Lubin Business Association. Pace Delivers is a late-night delivery service allowing the Pace Community to order online from local restaurants and have their food delivered to them on campus. For fall 2018, CSE plans to roll out Pace Keeping, an on-campus cleaning service for students living in residence halls. n
The Actors Studio Drama School at Pace University presents its annual repertory season, seven weeks of theater designed to introduce graduating students to the professional world and the public in fully-professional productions of the work they have created during their three years of study. The Actors Studio Drama School is the only MFA theater program officially sanctioned by the Actors Studio. The 2018 repertory season runs March 21–May 5. W WW.PACE .E DU
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W HAT DO YOU WANT TO SEE CHANGE IN WOMEN’S SPORTS TODAY?
WOMEN’S TEAM COACHES
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WOMEN’S LACROSSE
VOLLEYBALL
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
FIELD HOCKEY
SOFTBALL
Tricia Molfetta
Karrin Moore
Carrie Seymour
Kayte Kinsley
Claudia Stabile
“When I was a studentathlete, there was very little use of social media as a branding tool. If there were interviews or media days, it was only posted on the athletics website. I think it’s great that young female players can follow their idols on social media and have that access to them on a daily basis, but I want to see women’s sports nationally broadcast more often. Yes, the platform is much larger than it used to be, but there is an audience and a market for women’s sports to be televised on a more regular basis.”
“I feel that there are many more opportunities for women to play a sport in college than when I was there. More schools are adding teams every year! I would like to see continual growth in opportunities for women so that they can play college sports. I believe it is a huge advantage to be part of a team, and an opportunity all young women should have.”
“The number of participation opportunities for girls and women have increased tremendously since I was in college (1983). This increase is at all levels: from youth programs, AAU, travel team, high school, and the college level. When I was growing up, you had to compete with the boys because there were no ‘organized’ youth sports for girls. Our first opportunity to play on an organized team was at the high school level. We need to continue to grow our sport, reach out to our communities, and build support for our game.”
“I am happy to see that field hockey is growing in popularity and more and more colleges are adding it to their women’s programs. I hope the sport keeps gaining momentum because it provides more opportunities for future studentathletes. In my opinion, women’s sports need to be covered more consistently in media. Although it is getting better, women do not have the same access to role models like male athletes do. Field hockey is the perfect example; a young athlete could go their entire collegiate career without seeing one televised field hockey game.”
“The impact Title IX had on women’s athletics cannot be overstated. Athletic scholarships opened the door for women to have educational opportunities that may not have been realized without this support. Despite these huge gains over the last 35 years, there is still a lot that needs to be done. According to an article published by the National Women’s Law Center, more than 80 percent of female business executives played sports. That is an outstanding acknowledgement, but we need to have more women stay involved in athletics after graduation. They could help mentor our future studentathletes.”
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News
16 strikeouts
Pace Baseball pitcher Dan Wirchansky pitched a nine-inning perfect game during the team’s season opener
The Pace University Athletics Department hosts its second annual LGBTQ Pride Hoops Night on January 31, 2018, in celebration of the University’s diverse and inclusive community. Last year, Pace became the first Northeast-10 Conference institution and second NCAA Division II school to be awarded “Gold Medallion” status and prestigious Founders Club membership from LGBT SportSafe.
ATHLETICS TEAM PACE STUDENT ATHLETES WOMEN’S LACROSSE MEN’S LACROSSE FIELD HOCKEY WOMEN’S SOCCER BASEBALL SWIMMING AND DIVING SOFTBALL CROSS COUNTRY BASKETBALL FOOTBALL WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL
SCOREBOARD
TEAM STAT 261 Pace student athletes named to the NE-10 Commissioner’s Honor Roll for fall 2017 #14 ranking in the Intercollegiate Women’s Lacrosse Coaches Association (IWLCA) national poll* #3 ranking in US Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association (USILA) national poll* 15–4 in just the third season in program history, earning its first NE10 Championship Tournament appearance 20 years of Women’s Soccer celebrated in fall 2017 #7 in National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association (NCBWA) East Region poll* 18 medals at the 2018 NE-10 Conference Championships 4 consecutive appearances in the NE-10 Conference Championship Tournament 3 weekly NE-10 Honor Roll appearances by Mariah Jno-Charles ’19 9 consecutive years participating in the Play4Kay breast cancer fundraiser 50 years of Pace Football celebrated in fall 2017 2 consecutive NE-10 Conference Championship Tournament appearances *as of March 2018 W WW.PACE .E DU
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A BILLION OYSTERS, IMMEASURABLE IMPACT
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ew York City public school students from underrepresented communities will benefit from enhanced STEM education thanks to a $2 million National Science Foundation grant that has been awarded to a team of educators at Pace
University. The grant will expand the Billion Oyster Project (BOP) of the New York Harbor School to include K–12 science programs. With $7.4 million in NSF support over the past four years, Pace and a consortium of organizations and educators
LIGHTS, CAMERA, ACCOLADES Ridge to Ranch to River to Reef: Florida’s Conservation Connections, a documentary shot and produced by Pace students and Dyson Maria Luskay, EdD, took home an award for best short documentary at the 2017 Accolade Global Film Competition. Created and led by Luskay, the Producing the Documentary course allows students to see environmental issues through a different lens and gain the filmmaking and production experience they need to succeed after graduation. This year’s class spent a week in Puerto Rico documenting the aftermath of Hurricane Maria. Their film Surviving Maria, will premiere at the Jacob Burns Film Center on May 1. n 14
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have implemented a city-wide initiative to enable schools and teachers to incorporate STEM education, including waterfront field research and environmental restoration, in NYC’s lowest-income and most under-resourced public schools. Student participation includes growing new oysters on oyster shells collected from top NYC restaurants and wading in New York Harbor waters with educators and scientists to collect data on water quality and conditions. “This project will bring exciting new STEM learning opportunities to low-income students, and it will also help improve the quality of New York’s harbors and waterways,” said US Senator Kirsten Gillibrand. n
“ This $2 million National Science Foundation investment will help expand Pace University’s innovative Billion Oyster Project work, an effort to restore our harbor’s oncethriving oyster ecosystem, which has massive clean water benefits because oysters are extraordinarily efficient natural filters. Congratulations to Pace University on being awarded this grant and thank you to all of the schools and organizations involved in this consortium’s effort to create a cleaner New York harbor.” —Chuck Schumer US Senate Minority Leader
PACE UNIVERSITY’S
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ntrepreneurs
who
are
making
an impact on technology-based health care, food delivery, stock trading. Scientists in the fields of evolutionary biology, technology,
and wildlife ecology. Immigration and criminal defense
attorneys.
Nurses
and
teachers
making an impact in the most high-need areas. Performers in the billion-dollar blockbuster Black Panther, the Tony Award-winning sensation Hamilton, and the world-famous Radio City Rockettes. // And you thought they were just Millennials. // These 30 individuals—scientists, innovators, entrepreneurs, performers, activists, and difference makers—are just getting started.
Illustation by Mary Kate McDevitt
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THE ARTIST
MARIAH KITNER ’15 Making art accessible has always been important to artist and curator Mariah Kitner. Her thesis-turned-awardwinning blog, “If Paintings Could Text,” which superimposes hilarious texts on classic works of art, was featured in the Huffington Post, NYLON, Buzzfeed, and Elite Daily, and attracted more than 350,000 visitors. Currently, she is an art consultant at Pop International Galleries.
THE FASHIONABLE BOOKWORM
YAHDON ISRAEL ’13
Like many fascinating things, Literary Swag started on the subway, when Yahdon Israel spotted a stylish teen captivated by To Kill a Mockingbird. He snapped a photo, posted it to Instagram, and #LiterarySwag was born. // The intersection between fashion and literature, Literary Swag has gone from one moment to a movement, gaining thousands of followers and evolving into a series of interviews with authors, a book club, and a web series called LIT. His goal? To make reading cool. // Israel, who’s also editor-in-chief of Brooklyn Magazine, recalls asking 200 high school students if they talk to their friends about books. They all raised their hands. When he asked about books, he saw maybe one hand. A book is not where a lot of people find community, he says, but often where they lose it. “So I thought ‘how do you use a book as a gateway to community?’ That’s what Literary Swag really is.”
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THE FASHION DESIGNER
ASHER LEVINE ’10 At the intersection of fashion, technology, and material innovation, you’ll find Asher Levine and his progressive menswear label. A sought-after fashion designer, Levine’s designs can be seen anywhere from music videos to the MoMA, New York Fashion Week runways to red carpets, and more. He’s created pieces for Lady Gaga, Will.i.am, Demi Lovato, Bruno Mars, Nicki Minaj, Taylor Swift, and Beyoncé, to name a few. This year, he won a Fashion Group International Rising Stars Award and will launch his first commercial ready-to-wear collection this fall.
THE COMPOSTER
ALIREZA VAZIRI ’12 Did you know that up to 40% of food in the US is wasted? RoHo Compost, co-founded by Alireza Vaziri, is educating and demonstrating to the public that a zero-food waste NYC is possible. Partnering with restaurants and businesses in NYC, RoHo is diverting food waste from landfills and transporting it to compost facilities. In 2017, RoHo composted 1.1 million pounds of organic waste and donated 6,670 pounds of food to local food banks and shelters.
THE VIDEO GAME DESIGNER
NINA FREEMAN ’12 Video games don’t need to be about battlegrounds and violence. They can be character-driven, storyinvolved games like how do you Do It? and Cibele, two of the 15+ games designed by indie video game designer Nina Freeman. A level designer at Fullbright, Freeman most recently worked on the awardwinning Tacoma. She was also named an influential video game industry figure by Forbes.
THE DATA SCIENTIST
THE FAIT FELLOW
BRIANA VECCHIONE ’16
SHAKI KAR ’19
There may not be as many women in STEM, but don’t doubt their impact. “Women have actually shaped the computing industry,” says Briana Vecchione, who notes Hidden Figures, three African-American women at NASA, where Vecchione is a Datanaut. Her work has been supported by the NSF and ACM, and most recently she was a Civic Tech Fellow at Microsoft. Now, she’s working on a different program: a PhD at Cornell, where she’ll study artificial intelligence.
Shaki Kar is one of four students in the nation to be awarded the 2017 Foreign Affairs IT (FAIT) Fellowship, a US Department of State program that prepares students for careers in the Foreign Service. “I look forward to serving my country by enhancing computer and communications systems security, and ensuring transparent, interconnected diplomacy, while incorporating new technologies for the advancement of US foreign policy,” said Kar.
THE WILDLIFE ECOLOGIST
ANNA KUSLER ’18
Anna Kusler is giving a fierce new meaning to the phrase “cat lady.” A recipient of the National Science Foundation’s Graduate Research Fellowship, Kusler is examining the use of competition refugia—or safe spaces—by mountain lions in the Southern Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. // Where a lot of research focuses on hunting/eating habits, Kusler’s research, a collaborative effort between Panthera’s Teton Cougar Project and Pace, examines the species’ bed sites, crucial to helping scientists understand the kinds of habitats and landscapes mountain lions and other subordinate predators may need in order to make informed conservation and management decisions. // Kusler’s research projects have taken her around the world— Botswana, Switzerland, Panama, Zambia, Patagonia—and now to a PhD program, to study the connectivity and conservation of cheetahs.
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THE ARMY SCIENTIST
JOHN VINCENT “VINNIE” MONACO ’12, ’13, ’15 The US Army’s brain-like computers are one key closer to cracking codes, thanks to the work of US Army Research Laboratory computer scientist Vinnie Monaco, PhD, who recently discovered a way to leverage emerging brain-like computer architectures for a theoretic problem known as integer factorization. Monaco has presented at international conferences, published journal articles, and won various awards, including a Best Paper Award at the 50th IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems.
THE BRAINIAC
MICHAEL BOYLE ’13 What makes the human brain function? As an evolutionary biologist working on his PhD at the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in Leipzig, Germany, Michael Boyle ’13 is using ancient DNA to better understand the evolution of the human brain. Boyle was hired in 2015 by Svante Pääbo, renowned for sequencing the Neanderthal genome.
THE DREAM MAKER
MIRIAM LACROIX ’11, ’14 The daughter of a Haitian immigrant, Miriam Lacroix’s commitment to helping immigrants stems from her father’s experience with the US immigration system. While she was a student attorney at the Immigration Justice Clinic, she represented a range of clients including girls from Senegal seeking to avoid genital mutilation and forced marriage. After graduation, she and Pace alumna Stephanie Lynn Ramos, Esq. ’14 founded Lacroix Ramos, LLP, which provides legal services to immigrants including naturalization, familybased petitions, and removal defense. THE PHILOSOPHER
QADRY HARRIS ’14 Qadry Harris was looking for a graduate program where he could study Christian theology more deeply and in depth. He applied to only one—Yale Divinity School—which offered him a full academic scholarship. At Yale, Harris has focused his coursework on the areas of black religions and the African Diaspora theology and ethics, and will receive his Master of Divinity this May, after which he plans to pursue a PhD, working to bridge the gap between church and academic spaces. 18
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THE RIGHT-HAND WOMAN
OPAL VADHAN ’15
No matter who you voted for, Election Day 2016 was an unforgettable one. But for Opal Vadhan, a member of Hillary Clinton’s national advance team, there was still work to be done. After the election, Vadhan accepted a position as Clinton’s executive assistant. “I felt like I had so much more to serve, to give, to learn,” she said. “I always knew I wanted to help people and I get to help people through her.” // For Vadhan, Election Day reminds her of the reason she’s here. “Right before she’s getting in the car to give her concession speech, she turned around and said ‘Opal, how was your high school reunion? I know you were really excited about it.’”
THE ACTORVIST
THE PUBLIC DEFENDER
THE YOUTH LEADER
CHRISTOPHER SMITH ’17
ANASTHASIA AGYEMANG ’16
SAMANTHA ELISOFON ’14
For Christopher Smith, his childhood dream of becoming a criminal defense attorney was personal. “My grandfather was homeless as a child, so my life experiences and family history have taught me to love equality and fight oppression,” says Smith, who has committed his life to pursuing justice and works in the criminal defense practice at the Bronx Defenders, an organization committed to redefining public defense and providing holistic legal representation for low-income people in the Bronx.
How do college students in Ghana use social media for political participation? That question led Anasthasia Agyemang to conduct research in Ghana as part of a Boren Fellowship, the first for Pace. A Peace Corps volunteer in the Republic of Georgia, she now works in a government youth house, mentoring youth on issues such as reproductive health, hygiene, and civic education, and doing capacity building—all while working on a PhD in International Development.
Authenticity isn’t the first word that comes to mind when you think of acting, but Samantha Elisofon is redefining the face of film in Keep the Change, a rom-com written for and starring people on the autism spectrum, which won best US narrative at last year’s Tribeca Film Festival and earned her a nomination for best actress. A graduate of Pace’s OASIS program for students with autism and other learning differences, Elisofon is also a member of EPIC Players inclusion company and stars in a production of The Tempest this spring.
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THE STEM QUEEN
SASHA ALSTON ’19
Sasha Alston is literally changing the face of women in STEM. As author of the children’s book, Sasha Savvy Loves to Code, Alston is empowering girls—especially girls of color—to pursue educational and career opportunities in STEM // From the state of Arkansas, where the governor bought copies for 900 public school libraries across the state, to Japan, where it will be translated and published by a major publisher, Sasha Savvy is making its way across the globe. And Alston is continuing to write her own story. Whether it’s traveling across the country for speaking engagements, being featured in the Huffington Post and Black Enterprise, appearing on Good Morning America for Disney’s “Dream Big, Princess” campaign, being named a 2018 Young Futurist, or interning at companies like Microsoft, EverFi, Infor, and Department of Commerce, there’s no question that she’s the STEM Queen.
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THE HEALER
THE CAREGIVER
THE MIRACLE
SUSAN LE ’17
ROBERT “BO” JONES ’19
PAIGE GARGIULO ’16
Palliative care, medical care that provides comfort and relief to people with life-limiting illnesses, is standard practice in the United States, but physician assistant Susan Le learned about the scarce access and health care challenges in South Africa during a Pace-led international rotation. Inspired by her work at Victoria Hospital, Le and her former Pace classmates are raising awareness and funds for Abundant Life, a primarily donations-funded palliative care program that has helped more than 2,000 patients.
Since its inception, Make-A-Wish has granted nearly 450,000 wishes—from Disney trips to celebrity meet-and-greets. But Bo Jones, who was diagnosed with brain cancer at 10-years-old, wished for something that would help him get to where he is today—a gym membership and strength and conditioning training at Pace. “I went through a lot of obstacles in education and regaining my abilities,” says Jones, now 12+ years cancer-free, and dedicating his career to teaching kids who are in hospital beds like he once was.
The number one cause of disability in this country is a stroke. A neurosurgery clinical nurse at NewYork-Presbyterian/ Columbia University Medical Center, Paige Gargiulo is currently working with the specialized epilepsy/neurosurgery monitoring unit and stroke/ICU. As a student, Gargiulo conducted research on poverty and empathy among students and traveled to Costa Rica, where she gained valuable insight into the country’s health care system, prenatal nutrition and pregnancy practices, and sustainability issues.
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THE GLOBAL CITIZEN
KYLA KORVNE ’15 Peacekeeping and diplomacy in Kosovo. Post-genocide restoration in Rwanda. Women’s empowerment in India. This is a glimpse of the work Kyla Korvne has been doing around the world. Currently the global learning manager at buildOn, Korvne travels more than half the year to Nepal, Nicaragua, Haiti, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Malawi, evaluating the learning needs in each country and building the program from the ground up. But Senegal is her home, she says, and has been since a study abroad trip and Senegalese Committee for Human Rights internship. After graduation, she won a Fulbright award which took her back to Senegal to explore the pathways to political empowerment for women in villages.
THE STAND UP TEACHER
DANTE PLUSH ’16 When Dante Plush was growing up, he had trouble finding a teacher he could relate to, one who understood his difficult journey. Inspired to be that educator, he works as a social studies teacher at a DOE priority school in the Bronx, where a number of his students are homeless or live in shelters, something Plush has personal experience with and one of the many ways he’s connecting to his students. Another? Comedy. As a standup comedian, Plush infuses comedy into his classroom, and has seen an increase in student engagement.
THE TELEHEALTH PROVIDER
CHRIS GAUR ’12
Expand access. Increase quality. Reduce cost. Those were the priorities Chris Gaur and his brother Dave were looking to address when they cofounded Vital Care Services, a comprehensive remote monitoring telehealth company that’s changing the way we deliver health care. Through userfriendly technology, clinicians and health care providers connect remotely with patients to monitor vital signs, communicate health data, and improve long-term health management. // The exclusive health care delivery provider for Westchester County’s Telehealth Intervention Programs for Seniors (TIPS), Vital Care is helping empower the most vulnerable population—the elderly—to manage their health. // Gaur co-founded his first business, the Pace Perk Café, as a student. “I’m forever indebted to Pace,” he says. W WW.PACE .E DU
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THE YOGI
NICOLE CARDOZA ’13
THE INVESTOR
“We always tell students to pay attention, but we never teach them how,” says Nicole Cardoza, who saw the impact yoga had when she was volunteering as a yoga instructor in schools. As founder and executive director of Yoga Foster, a nonprofit that empowers teachers with yoga resources for the classroom, Cardoza is providing the training, curriculum, and yoga mats needed to make a meaningful impact in classrooms. To date, Yoga Foster has trained 1,400 educators across 512 schools in 48 states.
KUMESH AROOMOOGAN ’16
We’ve all heard the phrase “every minute counts,” but for institutional investors, it could mean the difference between millions of dollars in losses…or in gains. Previously an equity researcher at a Wall Street bank, Kumesh Aroomoogan was familiar with the relentless monitoring of several news feeds at once, looking for actionable information without blinking. As co-founder and CEO of Accern, a data design startup that uses artificial intelligence to design predictive analytics solutions from more than one billion websites and premium financial news data feeds, Aroomoogan is able to provide users with quick delivery of actionable stories before they are exposed to the mass media. // Accern currently powers some of the world’s largest quantitative hedge fund strategies and Fortune 500 companies applications with predictive news analytics. Just last year, the company raised more than $3 million in funding.
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THE DELIVERY GUY
MOHAMED MERZOUK ’16 You probably thought ordering food couldn’t get easier, but what if it could get cheaper? As a busy graduate student, Mohamed Merzouk ’16 was often ordering meals at non-peak hours but paying peak prices. That’s why he co-founded Gebni, a food delivery app that works like “the stock market for restaurant takeout” and offers demandadjusted prices for your favorite foods, leading to increased sales which also helps eliminates food waste. Who knew takeout could be so good?
THE REVOLUTIONARY
ZELIG WILLIAMS Trying to get tickets to Hamilton is nearly impossible. What’s harder—landing a role in the show. Zelig Williams first auditioned for the show during his first year at Pace when he was a teenager. By junior year, the dancer was cast in the ensemble and the rest as they say is history. Currently, Williams is taking a break from the show to finish his degree, but plans to return and catch up with fellow alumnus Sean Green Jr. #HamFam THE POWERHOUSE
NABIYAH BE
The last year has been an incredible one for singer-songwriter and actress Nabiyah Be, who made her movie debut in the biggest film of year, Marvel’s Black Panther; starred in the off-Broadway production of School Girls; Or, The African Mean Girls Play, for which she earned praise; and reprised the role she originated for the live cast album of the highly-acclaimed show Hadestown. Now she’s back in the studio working on her own album. “It feels great to celebrate each step of the way,” says Be. “There is still much work to be done, skill to be learned, and intuition to be heard.” Well, we can’t wait to see what’s next. THE TRIPLE THREAT
SEAN GREEN JR. Finding a job after college isn’t easy especially for performers, but it wasn’t even six months before singer, dancer, and actor Sean Green Jr. joined the revolution—Broadway’s Hamilton. As part of the ensemble, Green spends most of the show on stage wowing eight sold-out audiences per week and also understudies and has performed the roles of George Washington, Aaron Burr, and Hercules Mulligan. And yes, he got his parents tickets. His mom’s first-ever Broadway show was one in which her son was on the stage.
THE RADIO CITY ROCKETTE
KATHLEEN LAITURI If you saw the Radio City Christmas Spectacular this year, one of those eye-high leg kickers was Kathleen Laituri. Like many dancers, she began at the age of three. But it wasn’t until her first jazz class with Pace Professor and former Rockette Lauren Gaul that her dream of being a Rockette was born. A few years later, as the curtains rose on her first show, Laituri flashed back to that class, “To realize I got there through the training that I got at school was the most special moment ever.”
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Outpacing Harvard
By Alyssa Cressotti ’08, ’18, and Antonia Gentile ’98, ’07
These Pace students are proving that hard work, dedication, and perseverance pay off in a competition of economic proportions.
“N
obody understands our passion and commitment to the Fed Team but us, and having that common goal and burning desire to win really links us,” explains Klejdja Qosja ’18, a co-captain on this year’s Federal Reserve Challenge Team, a sentiment that is strongly echoed by her teammates and faculty advisors. This past December, Pace’s Federal Reserve Challenge Team won first place at the 14th annual national College Federal Reserve Challenge, an intense and highly-competitive event that tests college students on their understanding of the US economy, monetary policymaking, and the role of the Federal Reserve system. The Pace team, once again, beat out competition from prestigious institutions including Harvard and Princeton. While the win at nationals this year was exciting, it was hardly an upset. This was the team’s third win in four years, having advanced to the Washington, DC, competition after winning at New York regionals one month prior. The team comprises Dyson College of Arts and Sciences economics majors, all dedicated to the study
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of economic theory and practice. Co-captains Qosja, Marina Testani ’18, and Salil Ahuja ’19 worked closely with presenters Carly Aznavorian ’19 and Scarlett Bekus ’20, and their alternates Alexandra Bruno ’20 and Argenys Morban ’19, to oversee the hundreds of hours of research and presentation preparation. On their journey to nationals, the team was mentored by faculty advisors Associate Professor Greg Colman, PhD, and Clinical Assistant Professor Mark Weinstock, and received support from Professor and Chair of Economics Joseph Morreale, PhD, and Assistant Chair Anna Shostya, PhD. Making a Win
“There has to be a certain sense of internal tension,” says Professor Weinstock of the team. He uses the metaphor of a team of horses harnessed together and running towards a common destination—all of the horses run fast because the horse next to them is running fast. “The students have to balance that tension—their desire to be the star, and the importance of being hitched, so to speak, to the rest of the team.” “We’re naturally competitive,” says Morban of the team’s
Photography: Anna Shostya, PhD
Feature — Building an Oasis
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Gendered Economics At competitions, the Pace team is typically one of the only teams that is predominantly female, a surprising fact because across the US, only 30 percent of students studying economics are women. At Pace, economics isn’t a boys’ club, in fact, our population of economics majors is pretty evenly split between men and women.
perseverance and commitment to winning. “We always motivate one another to develop a deeper understanding of the themes we cover in our presentation and gain a new perspective on something we perhaps weren’t aware of before. Our natural competitiveness increases the overall competence of the team and allows us to improve together.” Bruno shares this sentiment with Morban and is able to joke about the friendly competition amongst teammates. “That’s 100% true! I would say we definitely have a perfect balance of being competitive and teamwork,” she says. “We are constantly trying to push each other to learn more while also trying to one-up each other.” Tryouts to be part of the Pace Fed Team happen in April and after that, the team works together from June through hopefully December when finals are held in Washington, so hard work is the foundation for success.
“Our team does not merely include female students, it comprises mainly female students, and is captained by female students, and has been for years,” wrote Colman in his letter to the editor of The Financial Times, a response to journalist Gillian Tett’s column on why economics is still a man’s world.
Students who want to be successful on the team need to be invigorated and energized by constant intellectual curiosity. Being ready to review and study research that’s been done by other economics experts is part of the gig, but what really makes a winning team is the desire to know more—to work hard and dig deep. For Professor Colman, one of the most rewarding parts of working with the team is that they are all eager to learn. “They want to win, and they know they have to put in a lot of time to make that happen,” he says. Colman goes on to explain that the challenge gives students time to really live with the ideas and concepts until they invariably own them. “I was excited when I heard about the intensity involved in the training—every day, nonstop,” says Ahuja. “I knew I had to take on something big to define me and my career in college, and I saw that potential in the Fed Team.”
am very proud to tell people about our “ Iaward-winning team and how we bested Ivy League schools including Harvard, Princeton, and Columbia.
”
— Joseph Morreale, PhD Professor and Chair of the Economics Department
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As for the competitors from other schools, the Pace team’s intensive practice schedule spells trouble. “They never see us coming,” says Weinstock. “When they realize how prepared and well-trained our team is, it fills them with terror.” A Coach’s Role
For months prior to competition season, the team works late into the evening— researching, revising, developing their presentation, and rehearsing—and the faculty is working right alongside them. “Working with the team keeps us sharp,” says Weinstock. “We have to provide the students with the most current, the most state-of-the-art, knowledge we have, and we have to do it as if they’re colleagues and not just students.” “They have to feel that they know as much as we know, if not more than that,” Weinstock says. “If they feel that, then there’s no limit to where they feel they can end up. Why shouldn’t they be competing against Harvard? Why shouldn’t they work at J.P. Morgan? Why shouldn’t they work at the Federal Reserve Bank as an analyst? They should be! If we tell the students that there’s a limit on their capacity for excellence—that they will never know as much as us—then they’re already in second place.” “At times it can be frustrating when [the faculty] has criticism that takes us back to square one,” Testani says. “But, on the other hand, we know that they are doing the best thing for the team.” “As an educator, you want to see them succeed. You want to see them do better than you,” echoes Professor Shostya. Shostya, who co-advised the team for years prior, has moved into another important role—moral support. “I check on them, I bring them chocolate and pretzels, I take the photos and make photo books,” she says, “and I hold their hands when necessary. ”
Feature — Outpacing Harvard
Carrying a Legacy
In addition to the stress and strife that comes with gearing up for a national academic competition, the Fed Team also had to contend with the loss of one of their own. Cristian Figueroa, who had competed as part of the Pace team in the 2016 College Federal Reserve Challenge, passed away unexpectedly in June 2017. An international student from Venezuela, an economics major, and member of the Pforzheimer Honors College, he was highly respected and beloved by his professors and fellow students. After the team won the regional competition and prior to nationals, the Economics department held a special memorial to honor Figueroa, which his parents and younger brother attended. It was clear that their road to Washington would be marked by his legacy. When he passed, all three co-captains decided to dedicate this season of competition to him because of the impact he had on each of them. Ahuja, a very close friend of Figueroa, says, “I knew every action with the Fed Team had to be made to make him proud. We worked hard to win it for him, especially since we fell just short last year.” Qosja remembers Figueroa’s resolve for joining the team, even before he was selected, and how his determination for success and hard work ethic were contagious. She also recalls, before he left for Venezuela last summer, that he said, “this year’s team is going to make it all the way.” Going the Distance
The competitions—regionals at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York and nationals before the Board of Governors in Washington—aren’t just proving grounds for the country’s best minds in economics, they’re also an opportunity to get scouted for employment. Oftentimes, members of the Board of Governors approach the
competitors after a good showing and encourage them to apply for open positions within the Fed Reserve system. The opportunities don’t stop after the big win— they continue long after graduation. “I was so happy that I was on the Fed Team! At the last two job interviews I went on, the interviewers asked me about things that I did on the Fed Team every single day, so that really helped me to relax,” says Aznavorian. For the record, she was offered both jobs. “It feels great to brag about the win in interviews,” confesses Ahuja. And he’s right to brag because the work he and his teammates have put into winning define what it means to be an experiential learner, something that Pace prides itself on. “While hard work, discipline, and
perseverance are some of the best and most transferrable traits, they are also the hardest to instill,” Qosja says. “Those traits are what makes our team stand out more than any Ivy League school in competition, and what sets each of us apart when we apply to internships and jobs and start our careers.” “When I tell people that we beat Harvard, Princeton, Columbia, and NYU, their ears prick up,” says Bruno. “I feel like people don’t expect that from Pace kids. At the end of the day, the name of the school is absolutely meaningless; it really boils down to your work ethic.” “Students at these more prestigious schools are just like our students, except we work harder and we want it more,” says Weinstock.
Where Are They Now? For these Pace alumni, their experiences on the Fed Team helped propel them into professional success at the very place they began. In addition to having participated on the Fed Team, most alumni come back to campus to help the current team prepare for competition. Yuliya Palianok ’17 Rotational Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of New York In the summer following her big win as part of Pace’s Fed Team, Palianok worked as a summer analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. Since graduation, she’s moved into a full-time position as a rotational analyst. Katherine Craig ’16 Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of New York Following a two-year run as a presenter and co-captain on Pace’s winning Fed Team, Craig took a position as an analyst at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York shortly after graduating from Pace. Jordan Jhamb ’15 Financial Analyst, Federal Reserve Bank of New York While pursuing his degree at Pace, he co-authored several economic papers which were published in the International Journal of Health and Economic Development and other periodicals. Jhamb joined the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, first as a supervisory analyst and is currently as a financial analyst.
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Feature — Global Impact
GLOBAL IMPACT
by Jillian Gorry ’11
Students travel abroad and return home eager to share what they learned and committed to changing the world—one step at a time.
I
t’s the first day of a new semester, and Pace students are ready to move. They packed all the essentials: laptop, charger, textbooks, a few snacks, and of course, their passport. That’s because they’ll be meeting their professor at JFK airport in just a few hours. Wouldn’t want to be late to class in another country! Study abroad has always been a mainstay in higher education, but what about a more structured travel experience for students looking to take advantage of an education beyond the borders of a classroom? Enter: faculty-led courses. “We purposefully use the word ‘led’ in ‘facultyled’ because we’re not just going there as tourists,” explained Xiao-Lei Wang, PhD, acting dean for the School of Education. “We have to lead them [while] going to school or visiting museums. They are all led by professors who are the experts. We’re guiding students every step of the way.”
Faculty-led courses offer a unique opportunity for Pace students who are looking to fully immerse themselves in every aspect of a new culture. They are able to select from 27 programs based in countries all over the world, and they receive skillbuilding training from knowledgeable faculty that is specific to their interests. These courses are not just relevant to their major, but their future careers as well. Just last month, Dyson film students returned from filming a documentary in Puerto Rico to raise awareness in the wake of Hurricane Maria. “They [become] educated and aware of what’s going on outside of their little bubble,” said Professor Maria Luskay, EdD, the program director. It’s one of the longest running faculty-led courses at Pace, and she has seen firsthand how students transform when exposed to a new culture. They return home eager to share what they learned and committed to changing the world—one step at a time.
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Feature — Global Impact
Faculty-led courses offer a unique opportunity for Pace students who are looking to fully immerse themselves in every aspect of a new culture.
Barcelona, Spain Dyson College of Arts and Sciences
Professor Ion-Cosmin Chivu poses with students [above] in Spain’s sunny Park Güell, a UNESCO-declared World Heritage Site designed by renowned architect Antoni Gaudí.
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This isn’t your typical theater program. In fact, most schools struggle to offer study abroad classes to their performance majors. That’s what makes the Pace International Performance Ensemble such a unique program. Not only do students collaborate on an intensive year-long project they get to produce themselves, but they perform that work abroad—all under the careful guidance of distinguished faculty members. “They are directors, playwrights, actors, dancers, [and] dramaturgs who bring practical, realworld experience,” said Professor Ion-Cosmin Chivu, head of the program. “Our goal is to push young actors and directors to realize their potential by doing.” Most recently, students enjoyed a stroll through Park Güell, an enchanting public park replete with gardens and architectural wonders. Way to set the stage, huh?
Florence, Italy School of Education From crossing over the oldest bridge in Florence, to singing for a preschool class, to rolling pasta dough for a traditional Italian dish, young teachers-intraining are offered a hands-on approach to education (literally). It’s thanks to a partnership with the Istituto Lorenzo de’ Medici, which offers more than 400 courses to study abroad students from all over the world—including Pace. “The importance of this trip is that future teachers have the opportunity to have international, cultural, and school experiences that will help shape who they become as educators, which will have positive impacts on their own students,” Professor Brian Evans, EdD, told us. “In the School of Education, we would like our teachers to gain international experiences that affect them personally, academically, and professionally.”
Cape Town, South Africa College of Health Professions Studying abroad isn’t just about learning—it’s about applying those lessons in a socially conscious way. That’s why Susan Le ’17 and her clinical rotation class decided to start a fundraiser for a palliative care program at Victoria Hospital, where they studied last June. “We thought it would be a great way to repay them for welcoming us,” Le said. “It was amazing to see firsthand the impact it had on patients and their families!” For patients in the US, support for the terminally ill is widely available, but in South Africa, resources remain scarce. Le and her fellow physician assistants aim to change that—continuing with the next rotation of students, and the next, and the next.
Susan Le ’17 [above] stands tall and triumphant after a hike to the summit of Lion’s Head, a popular mountain in Cape Town that’s 2,195 feet above sea level.
Pace students get their hands doughy during a cooking lesson with a Lorenzo de’ Medici professor [left] before taking a sightseeing break not far from the Piazza San Marco in Venice [above].
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Travel Stats Close to
15%
of Pace students study abroad.
That’s 50 percent above the national average.
Choose from
56 countries —and counting! F rom far-flung cities
in India to nearby destinations in Costa Rica.
27 programs offered each year Twelve faculty-led courses were offered in the spring 2018 semester alone.
Scholarships
Each semester, students are awarded a variety of scholarship opportunities, including Fulbrights, Pell Grants, Pace Global Fellows, and many more.
London was the most popular travel destination last year.
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São Paulo, Brazil The Elisabeth Haub School of Law It should come as no surprise that Pace Law students have a passion for making a lasting impact upon the world, and the Environmental Law Colloquium offers them a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apply their studies through extensive field research in the heart of Brazil. It’s an all-new program that was established thanks to Pace’s partnership with BAILE, a nonprofit research, teaching, and policy center dedicated to environmental protection and sustainability. “BAILE grew out of an already deep relationship with Brazilian law students and lawyers, and it continues to grow and thrive in both countries,” Professor David Cassuto, director of the program, told us. “Pace’s environmental law program has been tremendously enriched by its relationship with Brazil.” Not only do students gain exposure for their research, but they also get to participate in real-world networking opportunities, panels, presentations, and much more.
A shot of the Octávio Frias de Oliveira [above], the only bridge in the world with two curved tracks supported by a single concrete mast. It stands at an impressive 453 feet, a modern marvel law students were able to enjoy up close.
Feature — Global Impact
Shanghai, China Lubin School of Business In an ever-changing and competitive market, all business professionals need an edge. It’s necessary for students to cultivate a broad understanding of markets in other countries, which is why Lubin sends their best and brightest overseas. “For most students, this is their first trip to China,” Professor Alan Eisner, PhD, told us. “They engage with a variety of Chinese and multinational firm leaders and experience Chinese culture by walks atop the Great Wall, through the Forbidden City, and along the Shanghai Bund. In 20 years of visits to China, the country has experienced significant changes, and there is always something new to learn.” Lubin also awards scholarships through the Figueroa Family Fund, a much-needed boon for students in need of financial assistance. And when you’re looking down from the rotating glass dome at the top of Dongfang Mingzhu? Anything seems possible.
Helsinki, Finland
Professor Alan Eisner, PhD, hangs out with students [left] in front of Dongfang Mingzhu, or the Oriental Pearl Tower, the world’s sixth tallest TV and radio tower with a height of 1,535 feet. Meanwhile, Ava Posner ’18 poses in front of street art [bottom] that encapsulates the thriving Helsinki spirit.
Seidenberg School of Computer Science and Information Systems One year. Over 150 participants. Twenty problems. Where in the world is this happening? It’s the Product Development Project hosted by Aalto University, and Pace students were on the ground floor last spring developing their own innovative answers to realworld problems—and they even got to present their ideas to leading companies like Nokia, Porsche, and Infinion. “This is truly one of the best educational experiences that I can imagine,” said Jonathan H. Hill, DPS, dean of Seidenberg. “The students work as a distributed team on very complex, but ultimately deeply satisfying projects with other top students from around the world. The experiences they have replicate what they will be asked to do as professional developers: ask questions, solve problems, create, get feedback, and learn.” Not too shabby for a classroom over 4,000 miles away. W WW.PACE .E DU
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Research
A G L I MP S E AT S O M E O F T H E FAS C IN ATIN G P ROJ ECTS IN P ROGRES S AT PACE
MAPPING OUT A GIS LAB
“GIS
is used everywhere,” says Seidenberg Information Systems Professor Dan Farkas, PhD. “It’s used when you take an Uber, or go into a Starbucks.” Noting the undeniable significance of GIS, a computer technology that captures, stores, analyzes, manages, and presents spatial and geographic data, Farkas and Seidenberg Information Technology Professor Namchul Shin, PhD, are in the process of launching a lab dedicated to studying and introducing GIS to Pace students and faculty, so that it
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can be more effectively used across disciplines and schools. “The main core of GIS is spatial digital data,” says Shin. “GIS is also a part of IT. It provides data visualization so that people can better understand the impact of location and make better decisions.” Farkas cites a number of practical applications of GIS, including the way GIS is used to deliver you your trusty morning coffee. “Starbucks doesn’t open a store without doing a spatial analysis,” he says. “You want to know rent costs, traffic patterns, median income,
whether there’s an available workforce. All of that can be analyzed to the block level.” GIS technology has also become indispensable in matters that can truly be life or death. “Think about a natural disaster. First responders go out in the field and as they’re walking through an area hit by a tornado, they can enter data into a GPS unit detailing what went wrong, and target the deployment of ambulances, firetrucks, and support personnel.” As the technology continues to evolve and becomes more indispensable both academically and practically, Shin and Farkas stress the importance of having a “hub” for GIS technology and research at Pace. Shin and Farkas hope to launch the lab within the next few months. Given the rapid incorporation of GIS in everything from articles in The New York Times to interpreting flow of traffic or spread of disease, they feel it is of the utmost importance to establish the center, and eventually grow it into an essential academic resource for the Pace Community.
Research at Pace
SYSTEMS AND SHAKESPEARE
F
rom media, to technology, to entertainment, the traditional boundaries between industries have rapidly blurred in the 21st century. School of Education Assistant Professor Tom Liam Lynch, EdD, and Dyson Assistant Professor Kelley Kreitz, PhD, understand this trend well. Through Babble Lab, they have created an enterprise that focuses on the digital humanities—which blurs traditional academic lines by teaching the humanities through a computational lens, aiming to equip students with a more interdisciplinary toolkit. In other words: Babble Lab isn’t trying to cultivate your typical English class. “We see the digital humanities as a means of bringing together traditional humanities methods—such as close reading and contextual analysis—with skills more typically associated with the STEM fields, in order to enable students to become the best possible innovators, creative thinkers, and problem solvers,” says Kreitz. What might a Babble Labendorsed exercise look like? Consider BardBots, a project in which students are introduced to major ideas in computational thinking through the combination of robots and Shakespeare. In classic group project style, this project
requires students to read a passage from a Shakespeare play, plot stage direction, program robots to “perform” the scene, and conclude by completing a Babble Log, reflecting critically upon how human and computational languages worked in concert. Another recent Babble Lab project centers around the origins of Latinx writing and intellectual culture in the United States, specifically in New York City. Through drawing upon mapping, visualization, and other digital computing methods, students have retraced the history of New York City’s 19th-century Latinx press, which was largely centered around the neighborhood that Pace’s NYC Campus resides in today. “In these workshops, the idea is to create critical, engaging
experiences for teachers and students so they can start to get a sense of what software is, what the world of computer science is in a way that isn’t intimidating, or isn’t enchanting,” says Lynch. As for the future of Babble Lab? Kreitz and Lynch feel that the key is to put the pedagogy into practice, and build a group of enthusiastic teachers across all grade levels who are interested in drawing upon digital humanities to better engage their students, and introduce them to skills that they’ll be able to continuously improve upon and use critically. Says Lynch, “the more that we blur these lines and look for creative and critical ways to engage with digital humanities, the more we are going to be able to expose folks to these computational worlds, and the better off we will all be.”
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Research at Pace
GOING FOR GOLD
L
ubin Adjunct Associate Professor Francisco Quevedo is no stranger to fundraising—he’s been immersed in the field for several decades, and his resume boasts over $4,000,000 raised in revenues from sponsors like Coca-Cola and Liberty Mutual Insurance. Recently, Quevedo thought it would be valuable to apply this expertise to the nonprofit sector—specifically Olympic sports fundraising. In addition to teaching, Quevedo is the instructor of Pace’s karate club and mentor to his daughter, Andrea Quevedo-Prince ’20, a shotokan karate-do champion who won over a dozen national and international medals in 2017. Sensing an opportunity, Quevedo sought to merge his skill set and passion by embarking on a scientific research investigation of nonprofit fundraising. “What we set out to do was build a predictive model for the nonprofit in general,” says Quevedo. “In other words, what makes nonprofit revenues go up or down?” With a grant from the Office of Student Success, Quevedo was able to enlist Quevedo-Prince, a dean’s list health science major in the College of Health Professions, as a co-researcher and collaborator. They became the first known father-daughter research duo in Pace history, and began to tackle the question at hand. For both researchers, the topic is personal. The duo has set their sights on Tokyo 2020, where karate-do will
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make its debut as an Olympic sport. As training ramps up, both noticed a major disconnect between potential donors in the US and fundraising needs of Olympic sports. “People donate to education because they have a connection to a school or college. People may donate to health because of a sick relative. Olympics don’t seem to be quoteunquote a need,” says Quevedo. “How can we help people understand that health, sports, and healthy habits go hand in hand?” Ultimately, the pair hopes that their research can serve as a guide for any nonprofit looking to better understand the factors of the market—be it an established university, an animal preservation fund, or another sport, looking to fund athletes to compete on an international level.
Professor Quevedo and daughter Andrea Quevedo-Prince ’20 after winning her first, world medal.
“Michael Phelps doesn’t need the money. The competitors behind him, they do need to money,” says Quevedo. “We really need to understand these things to pinpoint how to approach the donors—not for the Olympians, but for the people behind them, for the millions of people and young children who got inspired by a guy like Phelps.” As for the research, it appears the Quevedo and Quevedo-Prince are formulating a strategy that is certainly gold medal-worthy.
Research at Pace
FACULTY SUCCESS
Prestigious grants for innovative research, distinguished scholarships, and most notably, a Nobel Peace Prize! These are just a few of our latest faculty accomplishments.
Crucial Conservation
Dyson Assistant Professor and Director of Environmental Studies and Science Matthew AielloLammens, PhD, with colleagues from CUNY and Yale, has been awarded a $593,000 National Science Foundation Advances in Biological Informatics grant to develop software tools for studying species distributions. “My work on the grant focuses on using our software to make more active ecology lessons for the classroom and to facilitate getting vital species range information to conservation organizations,” says Aiello-Lammens. “Those organizations, in turn, use that information to make decisions on how best to conserve species that might be at risk, such as those on the endangered species list.”
The Bees Knees Seidenberg Assistant Professor of Computer Science Juan Shan, PhD, received a grant from the National Science Foundation for $208,107. Shan and her colleagues will be exploring a novel 3D image model to predict accurate change of knee cartilage, to facilitate early detection and treatment for osteoarthritis, a degenerative joint disease that affects approximately 27 million Americans.
NOBLE CAUSE, NOBEL PEACE PRIZE Dyson Associate Professor of Political Science Matthew Bolton, PhD, and Assistant Professor of Women’s and Gender Studies Emily Welty, PhD, along with more than a dozen Pace students, worked tirelessly on a nuclear weapons ban treaty with the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for 2017. As part of the effort, Welty participated in a high-profile Vatican conference on nuclear disarmament, and met Pope Francis. Says Welty, “This is a potentially historic moment for faith-based engagement in nuclear disarmament,” as Pope Francis strengthened his condemnation of nuclear weapons as a result of the conference.
PASSWORD PROTECTED Seidenberg Assistant Professor of Information Technology Yegin Genc, PhD, along with co-investigators Juan Shan, PhD, and Professor and Chair of Information Technology Li-Chiou Chen, PhD, received $188,520 from the National Security Agency to establish a data analytics lab focusing on cybersecurityrelated data. The lab will facilitate the collection and analysis of information
pertaining to cybersecurity, and help create hands-on learning modules to improve students’ understanding of data analytics. “We are excited to be awarded this grant as it confirms the quality of our programs both in data analytics and cybersecurity,” said Genc. “This grant provides us with the opportunity to produce welleducated cybersecurity professionals who can help protect the nation from cyberattacks by transforming data to useful information.”
Art Across Hemispheres Dyson Distinguished Professor of Art History Janetta Rebold Benton, PhD, was awarded a Fulbright Scholarship. She will be a visiting professor in spring 2018 at the China Academy of Art in Hangzhou, China, where she will be teaching graduate students about American art.
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Bookshelf
Books by some of our alumni authors
XX v XY: The Final World War By Christina Cigala ’10
IT’S THE ULTIMATE BATTLE of the sexes in Actors Studio Drama School alumna Christina Cigala’s first book, XX v XY (Simon & Schuster), a sci-fi dystopian novel that centers on a world that is divided by gender allegiance, and the struggle for power and identity that ensues.
Just Like Jackie
By Lindsey Stoddard ’08 “THIS EMOTIONALLY HONEST, sensitively written novel confronts a range of difficult topics and offers an inclusive view of what family can look like,” writes Publishers Weekly in a review of Lindsey Stoddard’s debut novel Just Like Jackie (HarperCollins) about the necessity of family in all of its shapes and forms.
Hard Labor: The Battle That Birthed the Billion-Dollar NBA By Sam Smith ’70
HOOPS, HE DID IT AGAIN! Sam Smith, author of The New York Times bestseller The Jordan Rules and Bulls.com writer, is back in the book game with Hard Labor (Triumph Books), which tells the incredible story behind the decades-long push for players’ rights that eventually led to massive contracts for today’s NBA stars and role players. The book has been deemed “an essential read for both NBA and sports fans alike.”
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Tilting: A Memoir
By Nicole Harkin, JD ’05 “WHILE NICOLE MANAGES to find the comedy in her family melodrama, she also writes with so much love for the people she’s remembering, who are flawed and human as we all are,” says writer Malena Watrous about Nicole Harkin’s Tilting: A Memoir (Black Rose Writing).
Meet the Pops
By Belinda Barbieri ’95 IMPORTANT LIFE (and vocabulary!) lessons are learned in Belinda Barbieri’s Meet the Pops (Archway Publishing), which introduces us to the adorable Pops family— Cherry, Lolly, Coco, and Soda— and life on their farm.
Class Notes DRIVER’S ED Career businessman, author, and philanthropist WALTER SCHERR ’49 joined fellow alumna and co-founder of Wrap for a Cause LAURA SAGGESE ’82 to raise awareness and funds for veteran education programs at Pace on Veteran’s Day through a unique mobile marketing campaign. Wrap for a Cause is a nonprofit fundraising and awareness program that “wraps” vehicles to support charitable organizations and causes. Fueled by a donation from the Vera and Walter
1970s SHAUN HIGGINS ’72 was
appointed to the board of directors of Loop Industries, Inc., an environmentally responsible manufacturer of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) in Quebec, Canada.
improving the lives of people with disabilities through education, service, and research. JOHN N. SHOFI ’84 was
Scherr and Family Foundation, the bus traveled between the NYC and Pleasantville campuses for the remainder of the year. “University veteran programs and scholarships like the ones offered at Pace help ease the transition from military to civilian life. These programs and scholarships provide veteran students with a sense of community support, while pursuing educational goals,” said Saggese.
Journal article about her transition from an executive coach to a clinical psychologist. VINCENT MAROLDA ’79 is a
recipient of a 2017 Spirit of Achievement Award, presented by the Italian Cultural Foundation of South Jersey, a nonprofit that provides education regarding the history and culture of Italy.
KEITH SWABY ’75 was elected
to the board of directors of Wood River Health Services, a private, nonprofit Community Health Center that provides high-quality affordable medical, dental, and social services to communities in Rhode Island and Connecticut. RANDY SIMON, MBA ’79, PHD,
was featured in a Wall Street
Helping you stay connected to your Pace classmates
1980s RUTH TREZEVANT CYRUS ’81 was promoted to
executive vice president of acquisition integration at Oasis Outsourcing, the nation’s largest privately held Professional Employer Organization (PEO).
MICHAEL DEMARCO ’81,
CEO of Mack-Cali, celebrated the grand opening of Lutze Biergarten, Jersey City, NJ’s first open-air, waterfront biergarten. DON P. FEWER ’84 was
appointed as a member of the board of directors of Nukkleus Inc., a Jersey City based financial technology company that focuses on providing software and technology solutions for the retail foreign exchange trading industry worldwide. ANNE C. GILMARTIN, JD ’84,
was appointed to the board of directors of the Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) in Valhalla, NY. WIHD is one of 67 university-affiliated centers in the nation dedicated to
made a managing director at Guidepost Solutions in Washington, DC, which offers global investigations, compliance, monitoring, and security and technology consulting solutions for clients in a variety of industries. PATRICIA DWYER ’85 was
the recipient of the 2017 Chamber Appreciation Award in recognition of her contributions to the village of Pleasantville, NY. DAVID L. TEPPER ’85 has
joined Tiger Group as business development officer for the Western US in their Los Angeles office. Tiger Group’s mission is to provide creative solutions to business problems in times of growth, transition, or distress. CAROLYN D’ANGELO ’86 was
named president of home division by Sequential Brands Group in New York, NY. Sequential Brands Group owns, manages, and licenses a large-scale and diversified portfolio of consumer brands across multiple industries. ALOK TEWARI ’89 was cast
in the acclaimed Broadway musical The Band’s Visit. He
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Class Notes
also appeared in The Strangest, an immersive murder mystery show inspired by Albert Camus’ celebrated novel, The Stranger.
Children’s Cancer Hospital as the Administrative Director, Pediatric Clinical Services.
LYNN WEINIG, JD ’89, joined
named the new CEO of Qlik, a Radnor, PA-based business analytics firm.
Windels Marx as special counsel to the firm’s real estate and public finance practices in the New York, NY office.
1990s JAY LEFKOWITZ ’90 was
MICHAEL CAPONE ’93 was
MARC EHRLICH, JD ’94, has
joined TiVo Corporation—a global leader in entertainment technology and audience insights—as senior vice president of patent strategy.
appointed by XL Catlin in New York, NY to president of its Global Risk Management business in North America.
JOSEPH MECANE ’94 was
JOSEPH KESSELMARK ’91 was
DR. WOLFGANG BAIKER ’96
inducted into the Dutchess County Baseball Hall of Fame in November 2017 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Kesselmark was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1986 and played five years of professional baseball in the Dodgers and Cleveland Indians systems, reaching the Class AAA level. JOAN O’HANLON CURRY ’92
joined the University of Texas
elected to the board of directors of Nasdaq’s U.S. Exchanges.
was named US President and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim, the largest US subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation, one of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies. GERALD CASEY ’96 was named
managing director of capital markets at LoanScorecard, a leading provider of automated underwriting and loan pricing
services and nursing at NYU Langone Health–Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY.
LE T US HEAR FROM YOU! SHARE YOUR NEWS AND JOIN THE CONVERSATION at www.pace.edu/ alumnicommunity. On our website you’ll find a set of free and secure services that allow Pace alumni from around the world to reconnect, exchange ideas, and network. solutions headquartered in Irvine, CA. HUMAIR GHAURI ’96 was
named chief product officer of CareerBuilder, a global human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire, and manage the talent they require. CATHERINE MANLEY-CULLEN ’96 is currently serving as
interim VP of patient care
HELPING ASTRONAUTS FLY TO THE MOON Nelson A. Merritt ’83, ’86, passed away on October 21, 2017, at the age of 97. He lived an extraordinary life, one that will be remembered by his family, friends, and people around the world. As a young chief engineer in the US Navy, Merritt led several hundred engineers in the design of postwar submarines, including the first nuclear submarine, the USSN Nautilus. He then joined the nation’s space program as technological director for the Apollo Mission Simulator, where he created a comprehensive astronaut training system for moon landings and played an integral role in helping Neil Armstrong get to the moon. Merritt’s name is on the Wall of Fame at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
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ROBERT MEEHAN, DPS ’97,
was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles. DANIELLE GRANDECOSENTINO ’98, a Merrill
Lynch wealth manager in White Plains, NY, was named to Working Mother magazine’s 2017 “Top Wealth Advisor Moms” list, a first-of-its kind ranking of successful working mothers in the financial advice field. RICHARD LOUNSBURY ’98
joined RapidScale, a leader in managed cloud services, as partner experience manager for the mid-Atlantic region. He is based in Raleigh, NC. LORI O’DONNELL ’98 became
the chief operating officer for Greenwich Public Schools, in Greenwich, CT. KERRI L. ALESSI ’99 was
named counsel at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, a law firm that has frequently been included on The American Lawyer’s “A-List” of the 20 leading law firms in the US.
2000s JOHN SCROOPE, JD ’00,
was hired by Risk Strategies Company, a privately held, rapidly growing national insurance brokerage and risk management firm, to manage its New England regional operations and lead the
Class Notes
[ IN MEMORIAM ] company’s corporate headquarters office in Boston, MA. BRIAN S. SMITH ’00 has joined
Fieldpoint Private in Palm Beach, FL, as managing director and senior advisor. Fieldpoint Private is a fast-growing wealth advisory and private banking firm serving ultra-high-networth families and institutions. TRICIA HARVEY-JONES ’02
joins the urgent care team as a physician’s assistant at Orange Regional Medical Group in Middletown, NY. GEORGE LONGWORTH, JD ’02,
retired as police commissioner of Westchester County after a 35-year law enforcement career during which he headed two police departments. He has resumed practicing law at his firm Grant & Longworth in Dobbs Ferry, NY. FRANK RECINE, JD ’02, was
hired as executive managing director of JLL, a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management, in Parsippany, NJ. ALEXANDER KOTLYAREVSKY ’03 joined MAXX in Harrison,
NY, as vice president of finance, responsible for financial planning and analysis, investor relations, and support for capital formation activities. ANISA ABID PETERS ’03 wrote
and produced a documentary series for Smithsonian Earth. The series, Sea Turtle Rescue, follows a team dedicated to rehabilitating the world’s most endangered sea turtle species. DAVID D. HOLAHAN, JD ’04,
was made a partner in Tannenbaum Helpern’s
Pace University honors its alumni and members of the community who have recently passed away. Joseph M. Abrams ’61 David R. Alderese ’75 Elizabeth A. Avery ’63 Emily Keyes Barksdale ’53 Christopher E. Bergin ’81 Andrew A. Bertalli ’59 Annette Boehlje, Esq. ’97 John A. Brennan ’64 Leona Butler ’77 F. Don Chapin ’48 Lawrence A. Cohen ’72 John A. Colucci ’72 Jean Frances Coppola, PhD ’90 Marie J. Cossart ’86 Helena Darragh ’42 Fedora C. DeLucia ’03 Sr. Madeline DeSel ’46 Joseph J. Didio ’74 James H. Donnelly Jr. ’63 Catherine DuPlessis ’93 Rachel C. Dwyer ’60 Thomas J. Edwards ’75 Earle A. Elliott ’50 Stephen T. Faughnan Sr. William J. Ferguson ’87
Cynthia Rose Coloma Filipinas ’09 Nathan Goldberg ’47 Edmond Gosda ’81 Janet S. Halsted ’74 Alice M. Hamilton ’36 George R. Hillje Jr. ’81 Veronica B. Hurley ’86 Paige Husted Arthur H. Jensen ’56 Eileen V. Johnsmeyer ’79 William J. Kane ’90 Robert J. Kenny ’56 Donald P. Koeppel ’54 Carolyn Kohler ’76 John C. Landsiedel ’73 Patrick LeGoff ’81 Joseph W. Levy ’58 Regis L. Magyar ’94 Francis Maloney ’83 Lorraine Marshall, Esq. ’80 Jane Marie McMahon ’48 Dr. Maguid R. Megalli ’88 William A. Menger ’68 Anne Merritt ’47 Nelson A. Merritt ’83
Maria V. Morano ’88 Laura Nabetani ’91 John G. Nevius, Esq. ’96 Dean R. O’Hare ’69 Mary E. O’Shea ’85 Greg M. Pasqua ’86 Michael O. Pedersen ’77 Edmond C. Pelkey ’86 Stephen J. Perfit ’69 Frank O. Ramsay Jr. ’68 Theodore A. Riecker ’64 Jesse R. Robinson ’67 Daniel Romanello ’88 Peter F. Rooney ’52 Yvonne Rosario-Wright ’80 Eileen Lekow Schlag ’76 Martha W. Shaw Estelle K. Silberstein ’73 George Edward Tait ’68 Elizabeth A. Turillon, PhD ’88, ’91 Robert H. Wadsworth ’71 John W. Wallace ’75 Linda Wojtowicz ’92 Barbara J. Zimmer ’76
REMEMBERING JEAN COPPOLA On October 29, 2017, Pace University mourned the loss of much-loved Professor of Information Technology Jean Coppola, PhD. Coppola spent more than 30 years at Pace and leaves an incredible legacy behind: the creation and management of the WestchesterSMART Mobile App Development Bowl, her outstanding work in her life’s passion of gerontechnology, as a founding member of the Pace University Gerontechnology Program, through the mobile app contest, the classes she taught, and the passion she instilled in her students. A powerhouse in the field of technology, Coppola was a sought-after expert in media and was recognized by the Westchester County Association twice with a Women in Tech Award. “Jean was an integral part of our community—and will remain so for many years to come. Her influence on students, colleagues, and the work she was most passionate about continues to blossom, and it is evident that she had a meaningful impact on many people,” says Seidenberg Dean Jonathan Hill, DPS.
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Class Notes
DONOR
PROFILE
BARRY GOSIN ’71 By Robert Schurz ’18
B
arry M. Gosin has served as Chief Executive Officer of Newmark Group, Inc., one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms, since 1979. He guides the firm’s national and global expansion initiatives and oversees all facets of its day-today operations. In the last five years, he has led the firm to a 38 percent growth rate and steered the acquisition of 35 companies. A major property owner in the New York area, his commercial holdings total more than 10 million square feet. A Pace University Trustee, Gosin is an active and committed donor to the University and recently made a major commitment to the New York City Master Plan, Pace’s multiyear capital campaign to revitalize the downtown campus. Creating opportunity and cementing students’ ties to leaders in New York’s business and civic community is at the heart of Gosin’s philanthropy to Pace University.“I am a big believer in Pace’s commitment to first-generation Americans and first-generation college students,” Gosin shared. “I believe that higher education needs to be focused on providing a foundation for people to excel in the workplace in whatever field they choose. I prioritize investing in specific, work-related educational programs that prepare people to be effective on the job on day one.” As a Trustee, Gosin sees his role as positioning Pace to capitalize on the boundless opportunities that come from its location. “Pace does such a great job of leveraging the
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financial and human resources of New York. Just being here and having such immediate access to leading figures in the worlds of finance, accounting, performing arts, law, and so much else is a priceless opportunity that very few other schools have. We should never forget it or take it for granted.” Gosin sees his most recent investment in the New York City Master Plan as a springboard for continued student success. “By funding a new student space on campus with state-of-the-art learning technology, I know that I’m making a direct investment in the day-to-day experience of Pace students, one that will enhance the quality of their education, making them more technologically-savvy and ready to take on the challenges of a competitive job market. Beyond that, the Master Plan is important because it establishes a strong brand and an edge for Pace. In New York, you need to always be relevant and fresh.”
Illustration by Bruce Morser
Class Notes
litigation and dispute resolution practice in New York, NY.
2010s
ROBERT SANCHEZ ’04 was
JESSICA KALIL ’10, ’12 was
named the new president and CEO of Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., an electric and gas service provider for six counties in New York and northern New Jersey.
named 2017 Fine Artistry of Cosmetic Elites (FACE) Awards Vlogger of the Year at the sixth annual NYX FACE Awards in Los Angeles, CA.
PETER CAPOTOSTO, ’05,
joined Tony Award winner and Hamilton star Daveed Diggs in the television comedy The Mayor about an outspoken, idealistic rapper who runs for office as a publicity stunt and actually gets elected.
joined LM Capital Group in San Diego, CA, as vice president of business development. SUMANTHA R. SEDOR, JD ’05, was promoted to partner
at Norton Rose Fulbright in New York, NY, a global law firm strong across all of the key industry sectors, operating with their global business principles of quality, unity, and integrity. MICHAEL VITOLO ’05, a 10-
year veteran of the Danbury Fire Department, was recognized by the Danbury Exchange Club as 2017 Firefighter of the Year at Anthony’s Lake Club. PATRICK STANLEY ’06, a
former professional baseball player, was interviewed by the Daily Voice about Complete Game, his training facility for all things baseball and softball in Allendale, NJ. DIANA M. CARLINO, JD ’09,
was named a partner at Rosenblum Newfield, a civil litigation, administrative, and health care law firm in Stamford, CT. SHANNON FIERRO ’09
became the new principal of Millennium High School in Piedmont, CA.
CAILAN ROSE (SEAVEY) ’12
HANNAH TALL ’12 was
featured in a video for the US Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship entitled “I am a Gilman Scholar.” A recipient of the award in 2010, Tall traveled to Lima, Peru, an experience she calls “life-changing.”
BRITTANY SHIELDS ’12 was
inducted by Haldane High School in Cold Spring, NY, into its newly created Athletic Hall of Fame. KEITH FORLENZA ’13 has been
promoted to director of the physician assistant residency program in surgical critical care at NYU Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, NY. MARIE-CARMEL GARCON, DNP ’13, received the Nurse
Practitioner of the Year award at the 2017 Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State annual conference. LAUREN GIUFFRE ’14, a
physician assistant (PA) working in OB/GYN, was awarded both the Lenox Hill PA of the Year award and the Lenox Hill PA Educator of the Year award by Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY. This is the first time the
same PA won both prestigious departmental awards. ROBERT RIZZITELLI ’15 was
sworn in as an officer in the New Canaan, CT, Police Department. J. JUSTIN WOODS ’15,
alumnus and adjunct professor of Pace’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, was officially sworn in as County Administrator for Cayuga County, NY, on December 1, 2017. MICHAEL BLATT ’16 directed
the musical Iolanthe produced by Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company in Ridgewood, NJ. CHRISTINA CARMINUCCI ’16
starred in On That Note at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York, NY. SPENCER CLARK ’16 joined
the ensemble cast of Frozen on
THE HISTORY OF THE TRAVELING SWEATER When Rafael Lemos ’85 and his wife were expecting their first child, they purchased a Pace sweater in the bookstore. Little did they know that sweater would make its way through the family. Their son Daniel Lemos was the first to wear the sweater and follow in his father’s footsteps, graduating from Pace in 2009. Next up was Christopher Lemos, who would also attend Pace and graduate in 2014. The sweater has continued to be passed down to their children. Pictured here is Camila Ashton Lemos, born on November 16, 2017, to Nathalie Lemos and Christopher Lemos ’14, and a potential member of the Pace University Class of 2039.
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Class Notes
What’s rotating on our iTunes playlists right now is four incredible female musicians, who just so happen to be Pace alumnae. Who run the world…
APRIL ROSE GABRIELLI ’15
KATHRINA FEIGH ’16
MEECAH LOCKHART ’18
Bouchard is making waves with her solo venture Luxtides. Formerly part of the folk-pop duo Oh Honey, she saw early success—touring with James Blunt, the Fray, and Ingrid Michaelson; playing at SXSW and the TODAY show; hitting #25 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 charts for their song “Be Okay.” Today, as Luxtides, she’s penning deeply personal tracks like “Shadow,” “Flickered,” and “Fragile,” which bravely tackle topics like mental health. Download it: www.pace.edu/ danni-bouchard
Gabrielli is a powerhouse rocker and her alt-rock band The Rose Monarch is just what music needs—a female-fronted rockband with an eccentric and dark modern-rock sound. They recently returned from an Eastern-US tour in support of their debut EP Echoes From the End, which deals with mortality, death, and loss on an intimate level. Download it: www.pace.edu/ rose-monarch
Judges on NBC’s The Voice don’t turn their chairs around for just anyone. Feigh brought down the house with her rendition of “Big White Room,” landing a spot on Jennifer Hudson’s team, before being stolen by Blake Shelton in the battle rounds. Though Feigh was eliminated in the knockout rounds, she earned praise from all four judges and passionate fans deemed Feighries. After The Voice, Feigh hit the studio to record her debut EP, including her first single “GOLD.” Download it: www.pace.edu/ kathrina-feigh
The first time we heard actress, singer, and songwriter Meecah was when she sang the national anthem for incoming Pace students at Convocation, bringing tears to our eyes and pride to our hearts. Recently, she’s performed for Hillary Clinton and at venues including Pianos and the West End. Her debut EP New Moon Rising is powerful—both in sound and message—with songs like “Higher” which tackles the difficult topic of domestic violence. Download it: www.pace.edu/ meecah
Broadway, which premiered in February 2018. REBECCA G. SMITH ’16
coauthored “A bird without wings: A conversational approach toward heritage preservation among Tibetan New Yorkers,” a paper on Tibetan New Yorkers with Pace History Professor Joseph TseHei Lee, PhD. JOHN KUKURA ’17, a former
Pace baseball player, signed
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a professional contract with the Evansville Otters based in Evansville, IN. LUIS LEON ’17 began a fellow-
ship at the Westchester Hispanic Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to the economic and social development of the Latino community, in White Plains, NY. RONALD MATTEN ’17 accepted
the position of executive director of facilities at Hunter College in New York, NY.
BRENDA (BRENNIE) TELLU ’17
played Maya in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings directed by Malika Oyetimein in Seattle, WA. POLINA IONINA ’14, AMBER JAUNAI ’17, KEITH BORATKO ’16, SCOTT F. DAVIS ’16 (director), YAMILA CHIAPPE ’17, and senior AVERY STRAY ’18 (assistant
director) reconstructed Richard Foreman’s avant-garde play In the depths of LAVA at the Exponential Festival in New York, NY.
WEDDINGS ROBERT JOHN MENNA, JD ’09,
and Dr. Rosanna Christina Perretta were married on December 31, 2017, at the Church of the Resurrection in Rye, NY. ANTHONY JAMES DEPALMA ’12 and Emily Veronica
Wyckoff were married on August 5, 2017, at St. Joseph’s . church in Newport, RI
Class Notes
Calendar UPCOMING EVENTS
There’s No Place Like Homecoming October 27 A pep rally and parade. Bonfire and BBQ. Football and old friends. Step and stroll and so much more. Make this the year you come back home. More details about Homecoming 2018 at www.pace.edu/homecoming.
April 26
May 5
Pace Athletics Hall of Fame
Lonesome Traveler: The Concert with special guest Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary
April 27–28
Pace School of Performing Arts presents Dance Out Loud
May 16
Golden Graduates at Commencement in Pleasantville
May 1
Dyson Science Day
May 19
May 4
Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan
The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra presents The Struggle to Forgive: Confronting Gun Violence in America
May 22
Golden Graduates at Commencement in New York City
June 13
Spirit of Pace Awards
July 31
Pace Day at Yankee Stadium
October 5–6
Pleasantville Family Weekend
October 19–20
New York City Family Weekend
October 27
Pleasantville Homecoming
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Class Notes
HOLIDAY PARTY
ALUMNI REUNION
INAUGURATION EVE RECEPTION
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SCHOLARSHIP DINNER
Big Numbers
PACE UNIVERSITY RANKINGS #1
best undergraduate theatre program in New York State for 2018 —OnStage
#1
PRIVATE UNIVERSITY IN THE NATION FOR THE UPWARD ECONOMIC MOBILITY OF STUDENTS —The Chronicle of Higher Education
#3
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW PROGRAM
Top 50
Top 50
undergraduate accounting program
best online bachelor’s program
—Public Accounting Report
—U.S. News & World Report
—U.S. News & World Report
Top 11% of best schools for undergraduate business majors based on salary potential —PayScale.com
Top
15%
US colleges
of that provide the
best return on
tuition investment —PayScale.com
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Bookshelf
Books by some of our alumni authors
XX v XY: The Final World War By Christina Cigala ’10
IT’S THE ULTIMATE BATTLE of the sexes in Actors Studio Drama School alumna Christina Cigala’s first book, XX v XY (Simon & Schuster), a sci-fi dystopian novel that centers on a world that is divided by gender allegiance, and the struggle for power and identity that ensues.
Just Like Jackie
By Lindsey Stoddard ’08 “THIS EMOTIONALLY HONEST, sensitively written novel confronts a range of difficult topics and offers an inclusive view of what family can look like,” writes Publishers Weekly in a review of Lindsey Stoddard’s debut novel Just Like Jackie (HarperCollins) about the necessity of family in all of its shapes and forms.
Hard Labor: The Battle That Birthed the Billion-Dollar NBA By Sam Smith ’70
HOOPS, HE DID IT AGAIN! Sam Smith, author of The New York Times bestseller The Jordan Rules and Bulls.com writer, is back in the book game with Hard Labor (Triumph Books), which tells the incredible story behind the decades-long push for players’ rights that eventually led to massive contracts for today’s NBA stars and role players. The book has been deemed “an essential read for both NBA and sports fans alike.”
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Tilting: A Memoir
By Nicole Harkin, JD ’05 “WHILE NICOLE MANAGES to find the comedy in her family melodrama, she also writes with so much love for the people she’s remembering, who are flawed and human as we all are,” says writer Malena Watrous about Nicole Harkin’s Tilting: A Memoir (Black Rose Writing).
Meet the Pops
By Belinda Barbieri ’95 IMPORTANT LIFE (and vocabulary!) lessons are learned in Belinda Barbieri’s Meet the Pops (Archway Publishing), which introduces us to the adorable Pops family— Cherry, Lolly, Coco, and Soda— and life on their farm.
Class Notes DRIVER’S ED Career businessman, author, and philanthropist WALTER SCHERR ’49 joined fellow alumna and co-founder of Wrap for a Cause LAURA SAGGESE ’82 to raise awareness and funds for veteran education programs at Pace on Veteran’s Day through a unique mobile marketing campaign. Wrap for a Cause is a nonprofit fundraising and awareness program that “wraps” vehicles to support charitable organizations and causes. Fueled by a donation from the Vera and Walter
1970s SHAUN HIGGINS ’72 was
appointed to the board of directors of Loop Industries, Inc., an environmentally responsible manufacturer of purified terephthalic acid (PTA) and monoethylene glycol (MEG) in Quebec, Canada.
improving the lives of people with disabilities through education, service, and research. JOHN N. SHOFI ’84 was
Scherr and Family Foundation, the bus traveled between the NYC and Pleasantville campuses for the remainder of the year. “University veteran programs and scholarships like the ones offered at Pace help ease the transition from military to civilian life. These programs and scholarships provide veteran students with a sense of community support, while pursuing educational goals,” said Saggese.
Journal article about her transition from an executive coach to a clinical psychologist. VINCENT MAROLDA ’79 is a
recipient of a 2017 Spirit of Achievement Award, presented by the Italian Cultural Foundation of South Jersey, a nonprofit that provides education regarding the history and culture of Italy.
KEITH SWABY ’75 was elected
to the board of directors of Wood River Health Services, a private, nonprofit Community Health Center that provides high-quality affordable medical, dental, and social services to communities in Rhode Island and Connecticut. RANDY SIMON, MBA ’79, PHD,
was featured in a Wall Street
Helping you stay connected to your Pace classmates
1980s RUTH TREZEVANT CYRUS ’81 was promoted to
executive vice president of acquisition integration at Oasis Outsourcing, the nation’s largest privately held Professional Employer Organization (PEO).
MICHAEL DEMARCO ’81,
CEO of Mack-Cali, celebrated the grand opening of Lutze Biergarten, Jersey City, NJ’s first open-air, waterfront biergarten. DON P. FEWER ’84 was
appointed as a member of the board of directors of Nukkleus Inc., a Jersey City based financial technology company that focuses on providing software and technology solutions for the retail foreign exchange trading industry worldwide. ANNE C. GILMARTIN, JD ’84,
was appointed to the board of directors of the Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) in Valhalla, NY. WIHD is one of 67 university-affiliated centers in the nation dedicated to
made a managing director at Guidepost Solutions in Washington, DC, which offers global investigations, compliance, monitoring, and security and technology consulting solutions for clients in a variety of industries. PATRICIA DWYER ’85 was
the recipient of the 2017 Chamber Appreciation Award in recognition of her contributions to the village of Pleasantville, NY. DAVID L. TEPPER ’85 has
joined Tiger Group as business development officer for the Western US in their Los Angeles office. Tiger Group’s mission is to provide creative solutions to business problems in times of growth, transition, or distress. CAROLYN D’ANGELO ’86 was
named president of home division by Sequential Brands Group in New York, NY. Sequential Brands Group owns, manages, and licenses a large-scale and diversified portfolio of consumer brands across multiple industries. ALOK TEWARI ’89 was cast
in the acclaimed Broadway musical The Band’s Visit. He
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Class Notes
also appeared in The Strangest, an immersive murder mystery show inspired by Albert Camus’ celebrated novel, The Stranger.
Children’s Cancer Hospital as the Administrative Director, Pediatric Clinical Services.
LYNN WEINIG, JD ’89, joined
named the new CEO of Qlik, a Radnor, PA-based business analytics firm.
Windels Marx as special counsel to the firm’s real estate and public finance practices in the New York, NY office.
1990s JAY LEFKOWITZ ’90 was
MICHAEL CAPONE ’93 was
MARC EHRLICH, JD ’94, has
joined TiVo Corporation—a global leader in entertainment technology and audience insights—as senior vice president of patent strategy.
appointed by XL Catlin in New York, NY to president of its Global Risk Management business in North America.
JOSEPH MECANE ’94 was
JOSEPH KESSELMARK ’91 was
DR. WOLFGANG BAIKER ’96
inducted into the Dutchess County Baseball Hall of Fame in November 2017 in Poughkeepsie, NY. Kesselmark was drafted by the Los Angeles Dodgers in 1986 and played five years of professional baseball in the Dodgers and Cleveland Indians systems, reaching the Class AAA level. JOAN O’HANLON CURRY ’92
joined the University of Texas
elected to the board of directors of Nasdaq’s U.S. Exchanges.
was named US President and CEO of Boehringer Ingelheim, the largest US subsidiary of Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation, one of the world’s top 20 pharmaceutical companies. GERALD CASEY ’96 was named
managing director of capital markets at LoanScorecard, a leading provider of automated underwriting and loan pricing
services and nursing at NYU Langone Health–Brooklyn in Brooklyn, NY.
LE T US HEAR FROM YOU! SHARE YOUR NEWS AND JOIN THE CONVERSATION at www.pace.edu/ alumnicommunity. On our website you’ll find a set of free and secure services that allow Pace alumni from around the world to reconnect, exchange ideas, and network. solutions headquartered in Irvine, CA. HUMAIR GHAURI ’96 was
named chief product officer of CareerBuilder, a global human capital solutions company focused on helping employers find, hire, and manage the talent they require. CATHERINE MANLEY-CULLEN ’96 is currently serving as
interim VP of patient care
HELPING ASTRONAUTS FLY TO THE MOON Nelson A. Merritt ’83, ’86, passed away on October 21, 2017, at the age of 97. He lived an extraordinary life, one that will be remembered by his family, friends, and people around the world. As a young chief engineer in the US Navy, Merritt led several hundred engineers in the design of postwar submarines, including the first nuclear submarine, the USSN Nautilus. He then joined the nation’s space program as technological director for the Apollo Mission Simulator, where he created a comprehensive astronaut training system for moon landings and played an integral role in helping Neil Armstrong get to the moon. Merritt’s name is on the Wall of Fame at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC.
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ROBERT MEEHAN, DPS ’97,
was awarded the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Who’s Who, the world’s premier publisher of biographical profiles. DANIELLE GRANDECOSENTINO ’98, a Merrill
Lynch wealth manager in White Plains, NY, was named to Working Mother magazine’s 2017 “Top Wealth Advisor Moms” list, a first-of-its kind ranking of successful working mothers in the financial advice field. RICHARD LOUNSBURY ’98
joined RapidScale, a leader in managed cloud services, as partner experience manager for the mid-Atlantic region. He is based in Raleigh, NC. LORI O’DONNELL ’98 became
the chief operating officer for Greenwich Public Schools, in Greenwich, CT. KERRI L. ALESSI ’99 was
named counsel at Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler LLP, a law firm that has frequently been included on The American Lawyer’s “A-List” of the 20 leading law firms in the US.
2000s JOHN SCROOPE, JD ’00,
was hired by Risk Strategies Company, a privately held, rapidly growing national insurance brokerage and risk management firm, to manage its New England regional operations and lead the
Class Notes
[ IN MEMORIAM ] company’s corporate headquarters office in Boston, MA. BRIAN S. SMITH ’00 has joined
Fieldpoint Private in Palm Beach, FL, as managing director and senior advisor. Fieldpoint Private is a fast-growing wealth advisory and private banking firm serving ultra-high-networth families and institutions. TRICIA HARVEY-JONES ’02
joins the urgent care team as a physician’s assistant at Orange Regional Medical Group in Middletown, NY. GEORGE LONGWORTH, JD ’02,
retired as police commissioner of Westchester County after a 35-year law enforcement career during which he headed two police departments. He has resumed practicing law at his firm Grant & Longworth in Dobbs Ferry, NY. FRANK RECINE, JD ’02, was
hired as executive managing director of JLL, a leading professional services firm that specializes in real estate and investment management, in Parsippany, NJ. ALEXANDER KOTLYAREVSKY ’03 joined MAXX in Harrison,
NY, as vice president of finance, responsible for financial planning and analysis, investor relations, and support for capital formation activities. ANISA ABID PETERS ’03 wrote
and produced a documentary series for Smithsonian Earth. The series, Sea Turtle Rescue, follows a team dedicated to rehabilitating the world’s most endangered sea turtle species. DAVID D. HOLAHAN, JD ’04,
was made a partner in Tannenbaum Helpern’s
Pace University honors its alumni and members of the community who have recently passed away. Joseph M. Abrams ’61 David R. Alderese ’75 Elizabeth A. Avery ’63 Emily Keyes Barksdale ’53 Christopher E. Bergin ’81 Andrew A. Bertalli ’59 Annette Boehlje, Esq. ’97 John A. Brennan ’64 Leona Butler ’77 F. Don Chapin ’48 Lawrence A. Cohen ’72 John A. Colucci ’72 Jean Frances Coppola, PhD ’90 Marie J. Cossart ’86 Helena Darragh ’42 Fedora C. DeLucia ’03 Sr. Madeline DeSel ’46 Joseph J. Didio ’74 James H. Donnelly Jr. ’63 Catherine DuPlessis ’93 Rachel C. Dwyer ’60 Thomas J. Edwards ’75 Earle A. Elliott ’50 Stephen T. Faughnan Sr. William J. Ferguson ’87
Cynthia Rose Coloma Filipinas ’09 Nathan Goldberg ’47 Edmond Gosda ’81 Janet S. Halsted ’74 Alice M. Hamilton ’36 George R. Hillje Jr. ’81 Veronica B. Hurley ’86 Paige Husted Arthur H. Jensen ’56 Eileen V. Johnsmeyer ’79 William J. Kane ’90 Robert J. Kenny ’56 Donald P. Koeppel ’54 Carolyn Kohler ’76 John C. Landsiedel ’73 Patrick LeGoff ’81 Joseph W. Levy ’58 Regis L. Magyar ’94 Francis Maloney ’83 Lorraine Marshall, Esq. ’80 Jane Marie McMahon ’48 Dr. Maguid R. Megalli ’88 William A. Menger ’68 Anne Merritt ’47 Nelson A. Merritt ’83
Maria V. Morano ’88 Laura Nabetani ’91 John G. Nevius, Esq. ’96 Dean R. O’Hare ’69 Mary E. O’Shea ’85 Greg M. Pasqua ’86 Michael O. Pedersen ’77 Edmond C. Pelkey ’86 Stephen J. Perfit ’69 Frank O. Ramsay Jr. ’68 Theodore A. Riecker ’64 Jesse R. Robinson ’67 Daniel Romanello ’88 Peter F. Rooney ’52 Yvonne Rosario-Wright ’80 Eileen Lekow Schlag ’76 Martha W. Shaw Estelle K. Silberstein ’73 George Edward Tait ’68 Elizabeth A. Turillon, PhD ’88, ’91 Robert H. Wadsworth ’71 John W. Wallace ’75 Linda Wojtowicz ’92 Barbara J. Zimmer ’76
REMEMBERING JEAN COPPOLA On October 29, 2017, Pace University mourned the loss of much-loved Professor of Information Technology Jean Coppola, PhD. Coppola spent more than 30 years at Pace and leaves an incredible legacy behind: the creation and management of the WestchesterSMART Mobile App Development Bowl, her outstanding work in her life’s passion of gerontechnology, as a founding member of the Pace University Gerontechnology Program, through the mobile app contest, the classes she taught, and the passion she instilled in her students. A powerhouse in the field of technology, Coppola was a sought-after expert in media and was recognized by the Westchester County Association twice with a Women in Tech Award. “Jean was an integral part of our community—and will remain so for many years to come. Her influence on students, colleagues, and the work she was most passionate about continues to blossom, and it is evident that she had a meaningful impact on many people,” says Seidenberg Dean Jonathan Hill, DPS.
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Class Notes
DONOR
PROFILE
BARRY GOSIN ’71 By Robert Schurz ’18
B
arry M. Gosin has served as Chief Executive Officer of Newmark Group, Inc., one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms, since 1979. He guides the firm’s national and global expansion initiatives and oversees all facets of its day-today operations. In the last five years, he has led the firm to a 38 percent growth rate and steered the acquisition of 35 companies. A major property owner in the New York area, his commercial holdings total more than 10 million square feet. A Pace University Trustee, Gosin is an active and committed donor to the University and recently made a major commitment to the New York City Master Plan, Pace’s multiyear capital campaign to revitalize the downtown campus. Creating opportunity and cementing students’ ties to leaders in New York’s business and civic community is at the heart of Gosin’s philanthropy to Pace University.“I am a big believer in Pace’s commitment to first-generation Americans and first-generation college students,” Gosin shared. “I believe that higher education needs to be focused on providing a foundation for people to excel in the workplace in whatever field they choose. I prioritize investing in specific, work-related educational programs that prepare people to be effective on the job on day one.” As a Trustee, Gosin sees his role as positioning Pace to capitalize on the boundless opportunities that come from its location. “Pace does such a great job of leveraging the
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financial and human resources of New York. Just being here and having such immediate access to leading figures in the worlds of finance, accounting, performing arts, law, and so much else is a priceless opportunity that very few other schools have. We should never forget it or take it for granted.” Gosin sees his most recent investment in the New York City Master Plan as a springboard for continued student success. “By funding a new student space on campus with state-of-the-art learning technology, I know that I’m making a direct investment in the day-to-day experience of Pace students, one that will enhance the quality of their education, making them more technologically-savvy and ready to take on the challenges of a competitive job market. Beyond that, the Master Plan is important because it establishes a strong brand and an edge for Pace. In New York, you need to always be relevant and fresh.”
Illustration by Bruce Morser
Class Notes
litigation and dispute resolution practice in New York, NY.
2010s
ROBERT SANCHEZ ’04 was
JESSICA KALIL ’10, ’12 was
named the new president and CEO of Orange and Rockland Utilities, Inc., an electric and gas service provider for six counties in New York and northern New Jersey.
named 2017 Fine Artistry of Cosmetic Elites (FACE) Awards Vlogger of the Year at the sixth annual NYX FACE Awards in Los Angeles, CA.
PETER CAPOTOSTO, ’05,
joined Tony Award winner and Hamilton star Daveed Diggs in the television comedy The Mayor about an outspoken, idealistic rapper who runs for office as a publicity stunt and actually gets elected.
joined LM Capital Group in San Diego, CA, as vice president of business development. SUMANTHA R. SEDOR, JD ’05, was promoted to partner
at Norton Rose Fulbright in New York, NY, a global law firm strong across all of the key industry sectors, operating with their global business principles of quality, unity, and integrity. MICHAEL VITOLO ’05, a 10-
year veteran of the Danbury Fire Department, was recognized by the Danbury Exchange Club as 2017 Firefighter of the Year at Anthony’s Lake Club. PATRICK STANLEY ’06, a
former professional baseball player, was interviewed by the Daily Voice about Complete Game, his training facility for all things baseball and softball in Allendale, NJ. DIANA M. CARLINO, JD ’09,
was named a partner at Rosenblum Newfield, a civil litigation, administrative, and health care law firm in Stamford, CT. SHANNON FIERRO ’09
became the new principal of Millennium High School in Piedmont, CA.
CAILAN ROSE (SEAVEY) ’12
HANNAH TALL ’12 was
featured in a video for the US Department of State’s Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship entitled “I am a Gilman Scholar.” A recipient of the award in 2010, Tall traveled to Lima, Peru, an experience she calls “life-changing.”
BRITTANY SHIELDS ’12 was
inducted by Haldane High School in Cold Spring, NY, into its newly created Athletic Hall of Fame. KEITH FORLENZA ’13 has been
promoted to director of the physician assistant residency program in surgical critical care at NYU Winthrop University Hospital in Mineola, NY. MARIE-CARMEL GARCON, DNP ’13, received the Nurse
Practitioner of the Year award at the 2017 Nurse Practitioner Association of New York State annual conference. LAUREN GIUFFRE ’14, a
physician assistant (PA) working in OB/GYN, was awarded both the Lenox Hill PA of the Year award and the Lenox Hill PA Educator of the Year award by Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, NY. This is the first time the
same PA won both prestigious departmental awards. ROBERT RIZZITELLI ’15 was
sworn in as an officer in the New Canaan, CT, Police Department. J. JUSTIN WOODS ’15,
alumnus and adjunct professor of Pace’s Master of Public Administration (MPA) program, was officially sworn in as County Administrator for Cayuga County, NY, on December 1, 2017. MICHAEL BLATT ’16 directed
the musical Iolanthe produced by Ridgewood Gilbert & Sullivan Opera Company in Ridgewood, NJ. CHRISTINA CARMINUCCI ’16
starred in On That Note at Feinstein’s/54 Below in New York, NY. SPENCER CLARK ’16 joined
the ensemble cast of Frozen on
THE HISTORY OF THE TRAVELING SWEATER When Rafael Lemos ’85 and his wife were expecting their first child, they purchased a Pace sweater in the bookstore. Little did they know that sweater would make its way through the family. Their son Daniel Lemos was the first to wear the sweater and follow in his father’s footsteps, graduating from Pace in 2009. Next up was Christopher Lemos, who would also attend Pace and graduate in 2014. The sweater has continued to be passed down to their children. Pictured here is Camila Ashton Lemos, born on November 16, 2017, to Nathalie Lemos and Christopher Lemos ’14, and a potential member of the Pace University Class of 2039.
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Class Notes
What’s rotating on our iTunes playlists right now is four incredible female musicians, who just so happen to be Pace alumnae. Who run the world…
APRIL ROSE GABRIELLI ’15
KATHRINA FEIGH ’16
MEECAH LOCKHART ’18
Bouchard is making waves with her solo venture Luxtides. Formerly part of the folk-pop duo Oh Honey, she saw early success—touring with James Blunt, the Fray, and Ingrid Michaelson; playing at SXSW and the TODAY show; hitting #25 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 charts for their song “Be Okay.” Today, as Luxtides, she’s penning deeply personal tracks like “Shadow,” “Flickered,” and “Fragile,” which bravely tackle topics like mental health. Download it: www.pace.edu/ danni-bouchard
Gabrielli is a powerhouse rocker and her alt-rock band The Rose Monarch is just what music needs—a female-fronted rockband with an eccentric and dark modern-rock sound. They recently returned from an Eastern-US tour in support of their debut EP Echoes From the End, which deals with mortality, death, and loss on an intimate level. Download it: www.pace.edu/ rose-monarch
Judges on NBC’s The Voice don’t turn their chairs around for just anyone. Feigh brought down the house with her rendition of “Big White Room,” landing a spot on Jennifer Hudson’s team, before being stolen by Blake Shelton in the battle rounds. Though Feigh was eliminated in the knockout rounds, she earned praise from all four judges and passionate fans deemed Feighries. After The Voice, Feigh hit the studio to record her debut EP, including her first single “GOLD.” Download it: www.pace.edu/ kathrina-feigh
The first time we heard actress, singer, and songwriter Meecah was when she sang the national anthem for incoming Pace students at Convocation, bringing tears to our eyes and pride to our hearts. Recently, she’s performed for Hillary Clinton and at venues including Pianos and the West End. Her debut EP New Moon Rising is powerful—both in sound and message—with songs like “Higher” which tackles the difficult topic of domestic violence. Download it: www.pace.edu/ meecah
Broadway, which premiered in February 2018. REBECCA G. SMITH ’16
coauthored “A bird without wings: A conversational approach toward heritage preservation among Tibetan New Yorkers,” a paper on Tibetan New Yorkers with Pace History Professor Joseph TseHei Lee, PhD. JOHN KUKURA ’17, a former
Pace baseball player, signed
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a professional contract with the Evansville Otters based in Evansville, IN. LUIS LEON ’17 began a fellow-
ship at the Westchester Hispanic Coalition, a nonprofit dedicated to the economic and social development of the Latino community, in White Plains, NY. RONALD MATTEN ’17 accepted
the position of executive director of facilities at Hunter College in New York, NY.
BRENDA (BRENNIE) TELLU ’17
played Maya in I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings directed by Malika Oyetimein in Seattle, WA. POLINA IONINA ’14, AMBER JAUNAI ’17, KEITH BORATKO ’16, SCOTT F. DAVIS ’16 (director), YAMILA CHIAPPE ’17, and senior AVERY STRAY ’18 (assistant
director) reconstructed Richard Foreman’s avant-garde play In the depths of LAVA at the Exponential Festival in New York, NY.
WEDDINGS ROBERT JOHN MENNA, JD ’09,
and Dr. Rosanna Christina Perretta were married on December 31, 2017, at the Church of the Resurrection in Rye, NY. ANTHONY JAMES DEPALMA ’12 and Emily Veronica
Wyckoff were married on August 5, 2017, at St. Joseph’s . church in Newport, RI
Class Notes
Calendar UPCOMING EVENTS
There’s No Place Like Homecoming October 27 A pep rally and parade. Bonfire and BBQ. Football and old friends. Step and stroll and so much more. Make this the year you come back home. More details about Homecoming 2018 at www.pace.edu/homecoming.
April 26
May 5
Pace Athletics Hall of Fame
Lonesome Traveler: The Concert with special guest Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul, and Mary
April 27–28
Pace School of Performing Arts presents Dance Out Loud
May 16
Golden Graduates at Commencement in Pleasantville
May 1
Dyson Science Day
May 19
May 4
Kayhan Kalhor and Erdal Erzincan
The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra presents The Struggle to Forgive: Confronting Gun Violence in America
May 22
Golden Graduates at Commencement in New York City
June 13
Spirit of Pace Awards
July 31
Pace Day at Yankee Stadium
October 5–6
Pleasantville Family Weekend
October 19–20
New York City Family Weekend
October 27
Pleasantville Homecoming
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Class Notes
HOLIDAY PARTY
ALUMNI REUNION
INAUGURATION EVE RECEPTION
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SCHOLARSHIP DINNER
Flashback Where the Action Is M
ore than 50 years ago, Pace University broke ground on its Civic Center Building. Pace University President Edward J. Mortola, PhD, was joined by US Vice President Hubert H. Humphrey and NYC Major John V. Lindsay (pictured here) for a gala ground-breaking ceremony, during which Vice President Humphrey said that Pace was “where it ought to be—where the action is.” On October 8, 1968, nearly two years before the completion of the project, what had been known as Printing House Square, was renamed Pace Plaza.
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We Want You! Pace alumni are creative leaders and entrepreneurial innovators. You strengthen the Pace Community by sharing valuable insights, advancing diverse perspectives, and helping our talented students achieve success.
Pace invites you to explore thought-provoking University events and programming, such as deans’ roundtables and lecture series, our alumni speaker bureau, networking receptions, panel discussions, and mentorship programs. We welcome Pace graduates back to campus to share their experiences as professionals and coach current students on their post-graduation success.
To learn more about these opportunities, please contact us at (877) 825-8664 or pacealum@pace.edu.
NONPROFIT ORG. U. S. P O S T A G E
PA I D PA C E U N I V E R S I T Y
Pace Magazine Marketing and Communications One Pace Plaza New York, NY 10038
www.pace.edu
www.pace.edu/pacemagazine
SPIRIT OF PACE AWA R D S D I N N E R
Wedne sday
JUNE 13
2018 RECEPTION 6:00 P.M.
AMERICAN
MUSEUM OF NATURAL
HISTORY
CENTRAL PARK WEST AT 79TH STREET BLACK TIE OPTIONAL
HONORING:
FRANK
SCIAME
SCIAME CONSTRUCTION
KELVIN
JOSEPH ’01
STEINER SPORTS MARKETING, INC.
To learn more about the event, please visit www.pace.edu/SpiritAwards