1950s
Alan Jones ’58, ’60 MS Eng (Acacia) received the annual MarathonFoto/Road Race Management Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2024 Road Race Management Race Directors’ Meeting in Hollywood, Fla., on Dec. 14. The award is made for contributions to the sport of long-distance road running over the course of a lifetime. Jones was a member of the Penn State track team his freshman year and on the varsity cross-country team all four years. In 1970, he timed what was probably the first race scored in real time by a computer. In 1981, he wrote the RunScore program, the first commercially available computer scoring program for race directors, which was sold to Race Roster in 2019 as a way for that company to broaden its reach from serving as an online registration program to providing both registration and race timing services in a single package. Jones lives in Rancho Mission Viejo, Calif.
1960s
Marvin Mashner ’67, ’69 MBA Bus, a 2007 Alumni Fellow Award recipient, and his wife, Marilyn Mashner ’67 Edu, celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary last September with family, friends, and many Penn Staters. They met in the dining hall in their freshman year of college. They live in Blue Ball, Pa.
Jonathan Yaakov Stern ’68 Eng wrote From Smoke Jumper to Chasidic Engineer, a memoir spanning life experiences that include jumping out of airplanes in the Pacific Northwest to putting out forest fires. He lives in Brooklyn, N.Y.
1970s
Claire Martin Gesalman ’73 Sci, ’77 MS Agr has served as gallery director for the Craft Gallery of Artisans United in Annandale, Va., since October 2019. She retired from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in August 2017. She lives in Annandale.
Robert Shansky ’74 Edu earned his 700th coaching win in high school volleyball. He is currently in his 50th year as a head volleyball coach, and was recently selected into the East Liverpool, Ohio, Hall of Fame and placed in the Ohio High School Coaches Association Hall of Fame. He lives in East Liverpool.
Steve Halvonik ’77 Com published his first children’s picture book, The Cupcake Bandit, a family story that teaches important lessons about healthy eating and sharing, with illustrations by his sister, Amy Halvonik. Halvonik teamed up with John Cappelletti ’74 H&HD for Cappelletti: Penn State’s Iron Horse, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the All-American’s Heisman Trophy season in 1973. He lives in Canonsburg, Pa.
Glenn Rabney ’77 Com, a film and television writer, published his first graphic novel, The Sacred Band of Thebes, a fictionalized account of a valiant army once considered the fiercest fighting force on Earth until their annihilation at the hands of Alexander the Great. He lives in Tarzana, Calif.
Eileen Keeney Baust ’78 ScI, ’81 MEng Eng earned her doctorate in engineering management from George Washington University last August. She lives in Marana, Ariz.
Walter G. Meyer ’78 Com won the Best First-Time Filmmaker award at the Berlin Short Film Awards for his film, Welcome to Mayport. In March, Meyer won the Best Local Filmmaker award at the San Diego Short Film Festival, where Mayport was also nominated for two other awards. He lives in San Diego.
1980s
Peter Clark Adams ’83 MA Lib has joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as an adjunct research staff member in the joint advanced warfighting division of IDA’s systems and analyses center. He lives in Arlington, Va.
Katy Koontz ’81 Com, editor-in-chief of Spirituality & Health: A Unity Publication, accepted the trophy for Print Magazine of the Year at the 2025 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards in New York City last October. The publication is a hybrid of Unity Magazine and Spirituality & Health, created in January 2024 when Unity purchased S&H. Koontz served as editor-in-chief of Unity Magazine, which consistently won Folio honors for both editorial and design. In 2019, Koontz was named to the Folio: 100. She lives in Knoxville, Tenn.
Steve Glickstein ’82 Eng was recognized as a member of the Class of 2025 Columbus Jewish News 18 “Difference Makers” for his work as CEO of We Are Just Talking, which brings different communities together to foster understanding, reduce prejudices, and combat hate in all its forms. He lives in New Albany, Ohio.
Joel I. Fishbein ’86 Bus (BSB) has joined Hall Booth Smith, P.C., as of counsel in the aging services practice. Fishbein brings more than three decades of litigation and risk management experience to the firm, representing long-term care providers, hospitals, physicians, and businesses in complex disputes. He also has significant appellate experience and has successfully argued cases in the appellate courts of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, setting important health care arbitration law precedent. Before joining Hall Booth Smith, Fishbein served as senior vice president and director of litigation and risk at Complete Care Management, where he developed patient safety strategies designed to reduce claim frequency. He lives in Elkins Park, Pa.
1990s
Bryan E. Cummins ’90 Com retired as a sergeant with the Millersville University Police Department last August, after a 31-year career in campus law enforcement. He was previously employed by Penn State Police Services as a student auxiliary officer at the University Park and Hazleton campuses. He lives in Millersville, Pa.
Andrew M. Schmidt ’90 Agr joined Knox McLaughlin Gornall & Sennett, P.C.’s governmental practice and litigation groups. His legal career includes experience in a variety of practice areas, including serving as solicitor to several municipalities and authorities throughout several counties in northwestern and southwestern Pennsylvania. Schmidt has also practiced in front of the Superior Court of Pennsylvania, the Commonwealth Court of Pennsylvania, and the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania. He lives in Erie, Pa.
Steven Schneider ’90 Sci (AEP) published The Partnership Playbook: Build Trust, Ditch Drama, and Get Aligned for Growth. Written by two seasoned entrepreneurs—Schneider and his business partner of over 25 years—who survived numerous crises together, the book shows budding entrepreneurs how to build relationships that improve their lives. Schneider lives in Morristown, N.J.
Daniel Robinson ’92 Lib was appointed to Sen. John Fetterman’s Service Academy interview panel (Central and Philadelphia), where he will help choose the future candidates for the armed services. He lives in Harrisburg, Pa.
Lori Benner ’95 Agr is the founder and CEO of Nittany Grantworks, a grant development services firm that has helped clients secure more than $100 million in grant funding to support community development projects. She lives in Livingston, Mont.
Daniel S. Morrison ’96 Sci (Thon) was promoted to professor of emergency medicine at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. He lives in Belle Mead, N.J.
J.J. Hensley ’97 Lib has joined CBRE, the world’s largest commercial real estate firm, as a learning and development manager. Hensley previously held multiple federal government positions, including serving as a special agent with the U.S. Secret Service, and he has also written novels. He currently lives with his wife and daughter in Richmond Hill, Ga.
Timothy K. Moore ’97 Eng retired from service with the U.S. Air Force. He served active duty in the Air Force for 26 years and then spent 11 years as a federal civilian employee, most recently working as the Air Force product support manager for the CV-22 joint program office at Naval Air Station Patuxent in Maryland. He lives in Leonardtown, Md.
2000s
Leah Blinn ’01 Eng completed her term as president of the Air & Waste Management Association, an international nonprofit, nonpartisan environmental professional organization. She is a vice president of Civil & Environmental Consultants Inc. and lives with her husband, Ryan Blinn ’01 Eng, in Pittsburgh.
Melissa A. Kuehnle Gonzalez ’02 A&A earned her Doctor of Education degree last August. She is currently the director of institutional communications at South Florida State College. She lives in Winter Haven, Fla.
Jessica Spazok ’02 Bus was promoted to global senior real estate manager for Edible Arrangements and Rōti: Fast-Casual Mediterranean Restaurant. She lives in Pittsburgh.
A certified meditation instructor, Laura Amoriello ’04 MMus A&A chairs the piano department at the Opus Ithaca School of Music and is the founder of The Liberated Musician, an Ithaca, N.Y.–based studio that teaches musicians how to incorporate mindfulness into their playing and practice. Read the full profile.
Charles S. Yordy III ’05 Lib was named 2024 Employee of the Year for the U.S. Department of Education’s office of finance and operations. He was also delegated as the alternate designated agency ethics official for the department. He lives in Springfield, Va.
Judith Cassel ’86 Com, ’08 JD Law is the founder of Cannabis Law Solutions in Harrisburg and a recipient of the 2023 Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Medical Marijuana and Hemp Advocate Award. Read the full profile.
Sean Meloy ’09 Edu has been elected Chair of the Democratic National Party’s LGBTQ Caucus. A longtime advocate and strategist for LGBTQ representation, Meloy brings more than a decade of political leadership to the role, serving most recently as vice president of political programs at the LGBTQ+ Victory Fund, where he built candidate pipelines and advised hundreds of LGBTQ candidates across the country. Meloy, currently the chair of the Pennsylvania Democratic Party’s LGBTQ Caucus and a member of Gov. Josh Shapiro’s Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, also ran for Congress in Pennsylvania in 2022. He lives in Pittsburgh.
2010s
Michael Bohnert ’14 ME Eng, an engineer and senior defense analyst for RAND, applies engineering modeling and simulation to find cost-effective solutions for the U.S. military, including procuring new or upgrading old aircraft and submarines. Read the full profile.
Julia G. Mitrano ’19 Lib (Thon) joined Hinckley Allen’s Construction & Public Contracts practice as an associate in Boston. She attended Suffolk University Law School and served as an SJC Certified Student Attorney in the school’s Innocence Clinic. She lives in Wayland, Mass.
2020s
Jessica Masi ’20 Lib Joined Gibbons P.C. as a new associate, bringing wide-ranging experience and talent to support the legal services Gibbons provides to its clients. Masi served as a law clerk to the Hon. Lisa M. Adubato, a Chancery Judge sitting in Essex County, N.J. During her clerkship, she covered disputes regarding business operations, property matters, estates, and guardianships. She also interned at two law firms, where she prepared motions, pre-trial memoranda, and pleadings across various areas of law including employment, personal injury, and real estate. She lives in Hoboken, N.J.
Brianna Clemente ’22 Lib (SSS) is the founder of Lucky Star Dance Company in State College, which was voted best dance studio in Centre County for the second year in a row. Earlier this year, dancers from Clemente’s studio competed on the show Dance Moms in Philadelphia—and beat the actual “Dance Moms” team for first place. She lives in State College.
Brooklyn Thomas ’22 Bus joined Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti LLP at the firm’s Pittsburgh office as an associate in the firm’s product liability practice group. She previously served as a law clerk at Pietragallo, gaining experience in complex product liability matters. She earned her J.D. from the Thomas R. Kline School of Law of Duquesne University and lives in Latrobe, Pa.
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