1990s

Donna Bozzo, BA’90,will be a host for a one-hour local lifestyle and entertainment show, Great Day KC, at WDAF-TV Fox 4. (September 2021)

Eric Deggans, BA’90,is a 2021 recipient of the IU Distinguished Alumni Service Award — the highest award bestowed on IU alumni by the university. Deggans is NPR’s first full-time TV critic. He served as a TV and media critic at the Tampa Bay Times for almost 20 years. He has worked at the Asbury Park Press in New Jersey and both the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and Pittsburgh Press newspapers in Pennsylvania. Deggans has been recognized by the Society for Features Journalism, American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors, the Society of Professional Journalists, the National Association of Black Journalists, The Florida Press Club and the Florida Society of News Editors. His writing has appeared in The New York Times, Salon magazine, CNN.com, The Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune, the Detroit Free Press, the Chicago Sun-Times, The Seattle Times, Rolling Stone and other publications across the country. (May 2021)

Doug Haddix, MA’90, has been named executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors, a nonprofit organization dedicated to improving the quality of investigative reporting. Haddix, director of the Kiplinger Program in Public Affairs Journalism at Ohio State University, previously was a training director for the organization. In his new position, he will oversee all of IRE’s programs. (December 2016)

Lisa Long, BA’90, has been named editor of the Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly. She first joined the Fort Wayne News-Sentinel as a metro and general assignments reporter in 1990 and went on to be editor of the metro and business beats. (January 2019)

Connie Lou Stambush, BA’90, recently published a travel memoir, “Untethered: A Woman’s Search for Self on the Edge of India.” Stambush is a journalist, writer and editor who has lived, worked and traveled in more than 20 countries. Her work has appeared in the Chicago Tribune, Cosmopolitan, Far Eastern Economic Review and Travelers’ Tales, as well as national and international newspapers. (December 2021)

Mike Tadych, BA'90, is a founding partner of Stevens Martin Vaughn & Tadych, PLLC in Raleigh, North Carolina, a firm well known for its Media, First Amendment and Communications Law practice. He assists journalists and their organizations with access to public information and courts issues, newsgathering advice and consultation and libel and defamation defense. He is also part of the ownership group of the Rockingham Speedway and Entertainment Complex, the venerable NASCAR track better known as The Rock where he serves as its general counsel. (June 2022)

Kara Winton, BA’90, MS’13, is a full-time professor at Florida Gulf Coast University teaching public relations in the Department of Communication & Philosophy. Previously, she was an adjunct professor. (July 2019)

Michelle Medlock Adams, BAJ’91, is a journalist and author. She has co-authored four new books in 2022: "Springtime For Your Spirit," "I Love You to the Sun & Beyond," "Fly High" and  "Our God is Bigger Than That!" She has authored more than 100 books, and she recently launched Wren and Bear Books, a specialty children's book imprint in partnership with End Game Press. (February 2022)

Mary (Biersdorfer) Armstrong, BA’91, is an instructional designer at Aveda Corp. in Minnesota. She completed a graduate certificate in instructional design and technology at Florida State University in 2021. She also volunteers as a communications consultant for the Minority Business Growth Alliance, an economic empowerment nonprofit in the Twin Cities. Previously, Armstrong was a staff editor at media outlets including The New York Times, Minnesota Public Radio, the St. Paul Pioneer Press and Gannett Suburban Newspapers in White Plains, New York. (February 2022)

Lori Bergen, PhD’91, was appointed to the Poynter Institute’s board of trustees. Bergen is the founding dean of the University of Colorado Boulder’s College of Media, Communication and Information. She has previously served as dean of the J. William and Mary Diederich College of Communication at Marquette University, associate director of the A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Kansas State University and director of the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Texas State University. (December 2017)

Kimberly Christmom, BA’91, is vice president of learning and development at STAR Bank. She was previously a learning and development consultant with Wells Fargo. (April 2022)

Melissa Greene-Blye, BA’91, is a recipient of the American Journalism Historians Association’s Joseph McKerns Research Grant.

Greene-Blye’s grant will fund travel to the Sequoyah National Research Center, home to the world’s largest collection of American Indian, Alaska Native and First Nations newspapers, periodicals and other publications. The center’s newspaper collection houses nearly three thousand publications of tribal communities and governments, and Native organizations. She plans to use her research for a paper to present at the 2023 AJHA conference. (August 2022)

Jennifer Gong-Gershowitz, BAJ’91, won the Democratic primary for the Illinois 17th District state representative seat. Gong-Gershowitz will face Republican Peter Lee, who ran unopposed, in the 2018 general election in November.

Gong-Gershowitz is the director of immigration law practice at Highwood Legal Aid Clinic in Highland Park, Illinois. She holds a J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law and an L.L.M. in international human rights law from the Northwestern University Pritzker School of Law. (April 2018)

Jerald Harkness, Cert’91, has been awarded the inaugural Spotlight Award from the Indianapolis Black Documentary Film Festival. This award recognizes filmmakers for “excellence and dedication to their craft” and for telling “unseen stories about the African American experience.” Harkness received the award for his documentary “The Glories of Our Journey: A Community Story.” Harkness is the CEO of Studio Auteur. (August 2022)

Nick Hollkamp, BA’91, was part of a team at The Courier Journal that won the Pulitzer Prize in Breaking News Reporting for 2020. The CJ won for its rapid-fire analysis of pardons issued by Kentucky Gov. Matt Bevin in his last days in office. Hollkamp is the breaking news editor at Louisville newspaper. He has held various editing roles in his 23 years there, including metro editor, Indiana editor and politics editor. He started as a copy editor. (November 2020)

Elizabeth Irwin, BA’91, will lead Duke Energy’s South Central Indiana district covering Brown, Lawrence, Monroe and Orange Counties. Irwin most recently was director of corporate communications and external affairs for Smithville Communications. (August 2022)

Lynne Klyde-Silverstein, BA’91, is an associate professor of journalism in the University of Northern Colorado’s Journalism and Mass Communications program. She has worked as a reporter and editor for the Connecticut Post in Bridgeport and the Herald-Sun in Durham, North Carolina. She has a master’s in journalism and mass communication from University of North Carolina and a Ph.D. in journalism from Ohio University. (March 2016)

Derek Mobley, BA’91, is a broadcast director for ESPN. (January 2022)

Raju Narisetti, MA’91, will join the Columbia Journalism School’s faculty as professor of professional practice and the new director of the Knight-Bagehot Fellowship in Economics and Business Journalism. In 2016, he was named CEO of Gizmodo Media Group. Narisetti previously served as senior vice president of strategy at News Corp., managing editor of The Wall Street Journal’s Digital Network and managing editor of The Washington Post. (June 2018)

Bob Pockrass, BA'91, contributes breaking news, analysis and inside information across linear and digital platforms as a NASCAR insider for FOX Sports. He previously served as a writer for ESPN.com. Pockrass has twice been awarded Writer of the Year by the National Motorsports Press Association and earned a spot on SI.com’s “Twitter 100” list of 100 must-follow sports personalities in 2011 and 2012. (January 2019)

Susan Rains, BA’91, is a Broker to the Downtown Raleigh Office as a member of the Ensemble Team at DeRonja Real Estate. (June 2022)

Laysha Ward, BA’91, is executive vice president and chief external engagement officer for Target, where she has worked for 28 years. She also served as a board chair for President Barack Obama and as a board member for the Corporation of National and Community Service under President George W. Bush.

Ward currently volunteers as a graduation coach for Minnesota high school students through Achieve Minneapolis. In May 2019, she was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Minnesota for public service. (May 2019)

John Barr, MA’92, is a reporter for ESPN’s Enterprise Unit, covering breaking news, investigative and human interest stories for ESPN.com, “Outside the Lines” and “E60.” He also works with ESPN’s bureau group on stories for “SportsCenter” and other ESPN platforms. (April 2021)

Traci Schubert Barrett, BA'92, published a book (January 24, 2023) called "What If There's More? Finding Significance Beyond Success." It tells her story as one of the founders of HGTV and helping build that company from an idea to billion dollar media empire. After 20 years in television, she pivoted to answer the big questions that arise at mid-career crossroads. The book provides a framework for rediscovering who you are and what you want for your future.

Eddith Dashiell, PhD’92, was named director of the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism at Ohio University, becoming both the first woman and the first African American to hold the position. She joined the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism faculty in 1992, and has worked as associate director of undergraduate programs, the college’s associate dean for graduate programs and assistant dean for undergraduate programs, as the University’s assistant provost for multicultural graduate affairs in the office of graduate studies. (March 2020)

Tim Dawson, BA '92, spent 28 years in radio and radio training at STAR 88.3 in Fort Wayne and HCJB Global in Ecuador. He moved with his family to the Barcelona area in 2020 to do missions work and continues to do voice overs, contributing to projects for companies including Nike, Capital One, 7-Eleven and Shortform.com. (February 2022)

Lara Funaro-Cook, BA'92, is a virtual and live events manager. (August 2023)

Dave Furst, BA’92, is IndyCar’s vice president of communications. (September 2020)

Angela Huffman, BA’92, owns and operates her quilting studio, training center and APQS dealership. She learned to quilt when her triplets were born and enjoys stitching with them. She is a blue ribbon quilter and is the co-host of the Fons & Porter’s Love of Quilting, a national PBS television program. Her instructional videos and online classes can be found at quiltingdaily.com, APQS.com and on her website, QuiltedJoy.com.

She has been featured in a variety of magazines including Love of Quilting, QuiltMaker, Quilter’s Newsletter, Machine Quilting Unlimited, and On Track. (April 2022)

Brent Hunsberger, BA’92, is a certified financial planner and investment adviser representative with Silver Oak Advisory Group. He was formerly The Oregonian’s personal finance columnist. He compiles its annual Medicare open-enrollment section. (October 2021)

Cathy Kightlinger, BA’92, is a writer/producer for Well Done Marketing in Indianapolis. Previously, she was the first-ever lifestyle communication manager for the IndyCar Series. Prior to that, she served as a news reporter and columnist with The Indianapolis Star and The Chronicle-Tribune in Marion, Ind. (November 2019)

Barry Mordis, BA’92, journalism, is a senior vice president and leads the Mordis Group at Merrill, the wealth management division of Bank of America. He has 27 years of experience advising families, the last 22 years at Merrill. Mordis holds the prestigious Certified Financial Planner designation, and this year, he was again named to Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors.” (September 2019)

James Portolese, BA’92, produced the Russell Crowe road-rage film “Unhinged” and the action-thriller “Hypnotic,” starring Ben Affleck and directed by Robert Rodriguez. Portolese has produced more than 45 films in the U.S. and Europe during his 25 years in L.A. (Aug. 2022)

Andrea Sherwin, BA'92, serves as the president and CEO of Mental Health America (MHA) of Northwest Indiana, providing services and support to those in need. (July 2021)

Troy Schneider, BA’92, is editor-in-chief of business technology publications FCW and GCN, members of 1105 Media. Previously, he was director of media and technology for the New America Foundation and managing editor for electronic publishing at Atlantic Media Company. Schneider has written for many publications, including The New York Times, The Washington Post and Slate. (February 2018)

Sheila Schroeder, MA’92, PhD’99, completed a 14-part web series titled, "Breaking the Turfgrass Ceiling" about an elite group of female turf professionals volunteering to help prepare Pine Needles golf course for the 2022 U.S. Women's Open. The series can be watched in its entirety on YouTube.

Working through her Project DU F.I.L.M. (film initiative linking mentors) initiative, she worked with three of her students to edit material shot during the week of the open by her and a recent alum from the University of Denver where she has taught for the last 25 years. Recognizing industrywide and cultural inequities, the goal of Project DU F.I.L.M. is to change the face of filmmaking both in front of and behind the camera by creating intentionally diverse stories and recruiting a variety of alumni and students to participate in making short films together. We place special emphasis on populating our cast and crews with people from traditionally underrepresented groups in an effort to level the playing field and provide meaningful career stepping stones. (August 2023)

Brad Wolverton, BAJ’92, is head of content at the business and tech newsletter The Hustle. (October 2020)

Lenka Wright, BA’92, is the chief communications officer for the City of Mountain View. She previously worked as a reporter, TV anchor and public relations officer. (December 2020)

Mike Barz, BA’93, returned to Indianapolis in March 2018 to anchor the evening news at WISH-TV. He was previously a news anchor at KDVR-TV/KWGN-TV in Denver. Barz is an Emmy award-winning anchor and reporter and has more than 24 years of experience in the television business. (February 2018)

Kristie Bunton, PhD’93, is dean of the Bob Schieffer College of Communication at Texas Christian University. She was featured in a 2017 book, Overload: Finding the Truth in Today’s Deluge of News. She authored a chapter on training reporters for the new era. (February 2018)

Deanna Csomo Ferrell, BA'93, teaches Principles of Science Communications at the University of Notre Dame for science majors and journalism minors. Her essay, "Total Eclipse," was honored with publication in the 2020 Best American Science and Nature Writing anthology. She earned her master's degree in science writing from Johns Hopkins University in 2018. She also works as senior assistant director of marketing communications for Notre Dame's College of Science. (August 2022)

George Hanlin, BA’93, MPA’01, is director of grants at Indiana Humanities. He previously edited award-winning books and periodicals at FlashPoint and the Indiana Historical Society. (August 2016)

Leslie Leasure, BA’93, MFA’04, was ordained by the United Church of Christ in October. Leasure is the program director for the Ignite Institute, which provides spiritually based training for leaders working in social transformation such as economic and racial justice. She also created the Into the Wilderness spiritual community and blogs for both organizations. She lives in Berkeley, California. (March 2016)

Chad Millman, BA’93, is head of media for the Action Network, a progressive online organization platform. Millman was previously editor-in-chief of ESPN.com and ESPN The Magazine. (December 2017)

Chris Parente, BA’93, is co-anchor on the new KWGN-Channel 2 “Daybreak” program in Denver, Colorado.

Previously, Parente hosted the network’s “Everyday” program. (June 2019)

Kaylene Riemen Rickett, BA'93, has accepted a role as the communications manager for Katz, Sapper & Miller in Indianapolis after a two-year stint as a freelance marketing communications consultant. She has held communications roles at Indy Homes Team, Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, Clarian Health (now Indiana University Health) and Rolls-Royce. After many moves, Riemen and her husband, Chris Rickett, BA’97, have returned to the Indianapolis area. (January 2019)

Kindra Strupp, BAJ’93, is vice president for marketing and communications at the University of Southern Indiana. She provides strategic leadership for university communications, marketing and advertising.

Strupp joined the university in 2013 as assistant vice president for marketing and communications and was promoted to associate vice president for marketing and communications in 2016. Prior to joining USI, Strupp worked for Eli Lilly in corporate and executive communications.

Previously, she was an on-air television reporter for WTVW and WEVV in Evansville. (April 2018)

David Zupko, BA’93, is associate dean in the office of international affairs at Tsinghua University in Beijing, China. He focuses on the university’s global strategy and making the campus more welcoming to international students.

Previously, Zupko spent two and a half decades in academe, working at Loyola University Chicago, the University of Chicago, and as deputy registrar at Yale University. (November 2019)

Richard Culp, BAJ’94, MEd’00, is an educational specialist in staff development and training for Fairfax County (Virginia) Public Schools. He has managed the Great Beginnings new teacher induction program for the school system for the last 10 years. The county hires more than 1,500 new teachers each year, and Culp works closely with 200 schools and centers, the Virginia Department of Education and business partners to make the new teachers’ transition smooth and positive. (April 2017)

Jill Strawder-Bubala, BAJ’94, was named upper school director at Sage Ridge School in Reno, Nevada. She joined the school, an independent school program for grades 4-12, in 2011, where she has worked as a teacher, sixth-grade team leader and website writer and editor. (July 2018)

Eric Quiñones, BAJ’94, is the co-author of the new book “Basementality,” the story of how entrepreneur Ben Weiss drove Bai Brands from a basement startup to a billion-dollar success. Bai quickly became the beverage industry’s fastest-growing brand by challenging the goliaths of the soda business, leading to its $1.7 billion acquisition by Dr Pepper Snapple Group in 2017. The book reveals details of how Weiss launched his “bevolution,” his decision to put Bai up for sale and his painful exit from his beloved brand. “Basementality” is available for sale on Amazon — more info at www.basementality.org. He currently serves as communications director at Crook & Marker, an organic alcohol brand founded by Weiss after his exit from Bai. (May 2021)

Nancy Winé, BAJ'94, is vice president of advertising sales for Kroger Precision Marketing at 84.51°. (June 2020)

Rebecca Pfettscher Bailey, BA'91, MA'95, was nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2021. The Junior League also named her among the Top 20 Women in Business for Indiana, Illinois, and Kentucky. (August 2022)

Brooke Barnett, MA’95, PhD’01, will be the new dean of Butler University’s College of Communication starting June 1, 2019. She has taught at Elon University’s School of Communications since 2001. During her time at IU, she was a news director, reporter and host on WTIU. She is a board member of The Media School’s Alumni Association. (November 2018) 

Ray Boomhower, BA’82, MA’95, was on the shortlist for the Eugene and Marilyn Glick Indiana Authors Award in the Nonfiction category for “Richard Tregaskis: Reporting Under Fire from Gualdalcanal to Vietnam.” Boomhower has published more than a dozen books in his career. (August 2022)

Julie DiCaro, BAJ’95, won the Life Span "Fight for Justice Award" for her work in writing about sexual assault and domestic violence in sports in her book "Sidelined: Sports, Culture, and Being a Woman in America," released by Dutton in paperback in March 2022. DiCaro is a sports journalist and editor at Deadspin and former attorney. She received a Peabody Award, a 2017 Gracie Award for Women in Media and a Clio Sports Grand for the viral video #MoreThanMean created with ESPN’s Sarah Spain in 2016, as well as a 2019 Gracie Award for her work in Chicago sports talk radio. (October 2022)

Eric Franke, BA’95, is a news anchor for WISC-TV Madison. (January 2020)

Lori Keekley, BAJ’95, is the 2016 Dow Jones News Fund National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year. She will receive recognition at the JEA/NSPA Fall National High School Journalism Convention this fall. Keekley is an English and journalism teacher at St. Louis Park High School in Minnesota. She was editor of the 1994 Arbutus and copy chief of the Indiana Daily Student in her time at IU. (September 2016)

Sharon Tubbs, BAJ’95, is director of HealthVisions Midwest of Fort Wayne. Previously, she was the community liaison for the St. Joseph Community Health Foundation, and she was recognized by the NAACP in 2019 for her efforts to improve health in Fort Wayne’s black community. Before that, she worked as a newspaper reporter and manager for almost 20 years in the greater Philadelphia area and in Florida. (May 2020)

Jon Gorman, BAJ’96, MS’02, was named executive director of the Network of Vertafore Users in November 2019. Previously he was senior vice president at Cornerstone Credit Union League, the nation’s largest regional credit union trade association. Prior to that, he was director of alumni communications at Ball State University and director of member communications for the National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies. (November 2019)

Megan Fernandez, BAJ’96, is director of editorial operations at Indianapolis Monthly. She began writing for the publication in 1995, and joined the staff in 2005 to edit Indianapolis Monthly’s ancillary publications. In 2011, she became a senior editor responsible for the Circle City section as well as coverage of shopping, homes, and design-related topics. (March 2020)

Erika Josephson-Heise, BAJ’96, is a senior producer for MSNBC’s “Andrea Mitchell Reports.” She lives in New York City with her husband and daughter.

Jamie Luke, BAJ’96, is content director for Meredith Corporation. (October 2020)

Anne Mamaghani, BAJ’96, worked in several positions in web usability in Boston and Silicon Valley after earning a master’s of science degree in human factors in information design from Bentley University. She is currently the senior manager for user experience research and human factors at eBay Inc. She has served as a customer insights researcher for Yahoo. While at IU, Mamaghani studied journalism and women’s studies. (December 2015)

Christina Perozzi, BAJ'96, operates her company 44 Larkmoor Creative, a digital marketing agency. She was previously the director of e-commerce for Goose Island Beer Company. She was inducted into the Edwardsville Athletic Hall of Fame as part of the second re-charter class at Sunset Hills Country Club in Chicago. (July 2023)

Tracy Rucinski, BAJ’96, is an aviation correspondent for Reuters. (March 2021)

Katia Walsh, MA’96, was elected to the Securian Financial board of directors. She is chief strategy and artificial intelligence officer for Levi Strauss & Co. (March 2021)

Ken Bikoff, BAJ’97, is a communications specialist at the IU School of Informatics and Computing, as well as media director at peegs.com. Bikoff also hosts a post-game call-in show for IU football and provides news and analysis about IU athletics. (April 2017)

Alan Burchardt, BAJ '97, is celebrating 10 years in corporate marketing at Burns & McDonnell, a leading global engineering and construction firm. He is a senior writer/editor specializing in the power sector, with experience ranging from advertising and event communications to magazine articles, blogs and white papers. He previously spent 15 years in editing and design for newspapers, most of it for The Kansas City Star's award-winning Sports Daily section. He is based in west suburban Chicago. (August 2022)

Kristen Desmond LeFevre, BAJ’97, is editor-in-chief of two of Palm Beach Media Group's fastest-growing monthly lifestyle magazine titles: Fort Lauderdale Illustrated and Aventura Magazine. In addition to her new role, she serves as senior features editor for the company's flagship title, Palm Beach Illustrated and two of the company's annual titles: The Palm Beach Charity Register and The Palm Beach 100. (January 2022)

Nanci Healy, BAJ’97, is the assistant director of student affairs at New York University. Before taking this position in 2015, Healy was the business manager for the university. (March 2016)

Jamie Izaks, BAJ’97, is president of All Points Public Relations.

He has previously worked as an anchor, reporter and producer at various NBC, ABC, FOX and FOX SportsNet affiliates. (July 2019)

Lisanne (Carothers) Jensen, BAJ’97, is a coordinator of faith formation and youth ministry at The Church of St. Joseph in Stottville, New York, and coordinator of secondary faith formation and youth ministry at St. James Parish in Catham, New York. She also writes for Catechist Magazine, a national publication that serves catechists and catechetical leaders in parish religious education and formation programs and religion teachers in Catholic schools. (July 2018)

Shannon Quinn, BA’97, is VP, media director at EchoPoint Media in Indianapolis. (July 2019)

Christopher Rickett, BA’97, is a copy editor at The Washington Post. Previously, he worked for Gannett, where he co-managed a production staff that worked with digital and print content for newspapers in Illinois, Indiana and Kentucky. He has also been a copy or content editor at the Indianapolis Star, Denver Post, Chicago Tribune and Baltimore Sun. He is married to Kaylene (Riemen) Rickett, BA’93. (August 2021)

Madelyn Ritrosky, PhD’97,served as screenwriter and producer of the short film "Stardust & Moonbeams." She is also coauthor of the novel on which the film is based. The film explores themes of art and gender in the 1920s and is currently playing festivals around the country. Ritrosky filmed the project with a mostly female crew at the Farmer House Museum in Bloomington. (January 2018)

Norman Thoeming, BA’97, is the author of thriller novel ‘Come and Get Me,’ under pen name August Norman. The novel, set in Bloomington, is expected to be the first in a series.

Prior to a career as a novelist, Thoeming worked as an actor, screenwriter, comedian and musician in California. (May 2019)

Rebecca M. Townsend, MA’97, is a professor and chair of the Department of Communications and Humanities at Manchester Community College in Longmeadow, Massachusetts. In 2012, she was awarded a $77,000 Federal Transit Administration Grant to conduct research into culturally sensitive deliberation during transit planning as part of the Public Transportation Participation Pilot Program. (December 2015)

Ron Whitworth, BAJ’97, is chief privacy officer of SunTrust in Atlanta. He previously served in the same role at EverBank in Jacksonville, Florida. In addition to his duties as CPO, Whitworth manages SunTrust’s compliance teams for human resources, marketing and information security. (February 2017)

Jaime Burkhart, BAJ’98, MSEd’01, MSEd’04, MLS’11,is a positive behavior support assistant at Arlington Heights Elementary School in Bloomington, Indiana. She has also taught at Summit Elementary and Batchelor Middle Schools. (August 2021)

Amanda Carroll, BAJ’98, is a nationally syndicated host with Salem as well as the host of mornings on The Fish Sacramento and middays on Salem’s Today’s Christian Music Network, which includes The Fish Nashville. Carroll is a recipient of the Associated Press Award for Best Reporter in Illinois, has sat on the board of directors for The Life of a Single Mom and currently serves as a board member for Rocklin Little League. She founded www.GetYourBraveOn.info and the Get Your Brave On podcast seven years ago. (August 2022)

Ben French, BAJ’98, is vice president, consumer product, for ‘The New Yorker.’ He is charged with executing the magazine’s digital-growth strategy, and will focus on enhancing editorial experience. Previously, he spent eight years at The New York Times in product-management and strategy capabilities, working as senior vice president, discovery and senior vice president, reader experience. (March 2020)

Paul Hoover, BA’98, is a banking recruiter for MSI International in Atlanta, Georgia. Before taking this position, Hoover was the assistant director of admissions at the Art Institute of Atlanta. (December 2015)

Matt McClain, BAJ’98,is a photographer at The Washington Post. He was named 2020 Photojournalist of the Year by the National Press Photographers Association. (March 2020)

Robert Morris, BA’98, has served as a State Representative in the Indiana House of Representatives since 2010. (June 2022)

Josh Newell, BAJ’98, was appointed executive director of Jesus Film Project, an evangelical organization founded in 1981 to distribute religious-based films in English and a variety of other major world languages. (June 2018).

Robert F. Potter, PhD'98, was elected to the 2023 class of Fellows for the International Communication Association for his research using media psychology theory and research methods to understand how humans cognitively process audio messages. He currently serves as the Director of Graduate Studies for The Media School. (August 2023)

Chris Stolle, BAJ’98, has worked as a development editor with Alpha Books and DK Books, divisions of Penguin Random House, in Indianapolis since October 2015. He has started to explore the business of acquiring books. (April 2017)

Rachael Bosley, MA’99, is a freelance editor and writer in New Jersey. Her feature on AMC’s "Better Call Saul" will be published in American Cinematographer’s July 2017 issue. (April 2017)

Ryan Cole, BA'99, MA'07, has published “Light-Horse Harry Lee: The Rise and Fall of a Revolutionary Hero — The Tragic Life of Robert E. Lee's Father.”

Cole has previously served in communications roles for former Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and Sen. Todd Young, R-Ind. He has written about American history for several publications, including The Wall Street Journal, National Review, The New Criterion, Civil War Times, The American Interest and The Indianapolis Star. (January 2019)

Jennifer Emily, BAJ’99, is an award-winning reporter at The Dallas Morning News. She has covered the justice system from the street to the courtroom to the execution chamber. She has also written about child criminals, growing up in prison, wrongful convictions, police shootings and the flaws of eyewitness testimony. (October 2019) 

Jeff Fleischer, BAJ’99, is a Chicago-based author, journalist and editor. He will publish his fifth book in November. The book, "A Hot Mess: How the Climate Crisis is Changing Our World," explains the science and the variety of connected impacts to explain climate change to a young adult audience. In 2020, the same publisher, Lerner Books/Zest Books, released the second edition of "Votes of Confidence: A Young Person's Guide to American Elections," with updated material explaining the US system of government, ahead of the 2020 presidential election. (April 2021)

Eric Harvey, BA’99, MA’09, PhD’13, has made the shortlist for the 2022 Ralph J. Gleason Music Book Award. His book, “Who Got the Camera? A History of Rap and Reality,” is one of 15 books selected for consideration for the award by the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, New York University’s Clive Davis Institute of Recorded Music and The Pop Conference. (May 2022)

Vladimir Kozlov, MA’99, is a contemporary Russian/Belarusian writer and film director. His most recent film, "Three Comrades" (2019), is now available in North America through Amazon. (November 2020)

Sarah Nichols, BAJ’99, teaches journalism, photojournalism, mass media and publications at Whitney High School in Rocklin, California. This year, she was honored as the Journalism Education Association’s Carl Towley Award recipient at the Journalism Educators Association and National Scholastic Press Association’s fall national convention. This award is the JEA’s highest honor. Nichols developed an online journalism curriculum available to JEA members. (December 2015)

Eric Pankowski, BA’99, is executive producer and showrunner of Apple’s “Carpool Karoke: The Series.” He won an Emmy for Outstanding Short Form Variety Series in 2018. In addition to his work for shows including “It’s Not You, It’s Men” and “The Arsenio Hall Show,” he also served as CBS’s executive producer and senior vice president of programming and development. Pankowski is co-host of the “Hoosier Hysterics” podcast with fellow alumnus Ward Roberts, BA’00. (February 2019)

Sheila Schroeder, PhD’99, is an associate professor at the University of Denver. Schroeder started Project DU F.I.L.M., an initiative that pairs existing University of Denver Film Studies and Production students with professional alumni mentors. Schroeder led a team to complete the award-winning film "Happy F-ing Valentine’s Day." Maya Ferrario, BA’15, served on the team as on-set sound recordist. The short film, which Schroeder co-wrote and produced, has received two best narrative short film awards and two audience choice awards. (December 2016)