1960s
Joseph M. Zoffer ’60 Bus (ΑΕΠ) received a Certificate of Meritorious Service from The Bar of Allegheny County, Pittsburgh, in recognition of 60 years of distinguished service as a member of the bar. He lives in Pittsburgh.
Bob Osterhoudt ’66, ’69 MS H&HD, professor emeritus of liberal arts and sciences at Arizona State University, published a video on YouTube titled “Sport as a Form of Human Expression,” about sport’s fundamental nature and purpose. The video is based on an essay, “Sport as Such: A Concise Philosophical Essay,” and on Osterhoudt’s two-volume book, Sport as a Form of Human Fulfillment: An Organic Philosophy of Sport History. He lives in Sun Lakes, Ariz.
Gary Eberle ’67 Edu (ΔΥ) received the 2024 Roblan of the Year award from the Paso Robles and Templeton Chamber of Commerce. He owns the award-winning Eberle Winery in Paso Robles, Calif. He lives in Paso Robles.
1970s
Scott Buchheit ’73 Lib received Cornell University’s School of Industrial and Labor Relations’ Groat Award. He has spent his entire professional career working as a neutral in dispute resolution, beginning as a mediator in community disputes with the American Arbitration Association, focusing on a land dispute between the Six Nations Iroquois Confederacy and New York state. He currently arbitrates cases for the National Football League and for Major League Baseball. He lives in Lumberton, N.J.
Rob Elias ’74 MA, ’81 PhD Lib has published a book, Dangerous Danny Gardella: Baseball’s Neglected Trailblazer for Today’s Millionaire Athletes. He lives in Mill Valley, Calif.
Dale Cake ’75 Bus was awarded tenure and promoted to associate professor of marketing at Savannah State University. He was previously an instructor at Penn State Harrisburg and president of Marketing Strategists in Hershey, Pa. He lives in Hilton Head, S.C.
Robert Hooper ’79 H&HD was elected member of the Vermont General Assembly for the fourth time. Hooper is chair of the Burlington City Retirement System and a board member of the Vermont Veterans Home. He lives in Burlington, Vt.
Dennis Whitaker ’79 H&HD, ’88 JD Dickinson received the James S. Bowman Award from the Pennsylvania Bar Association’s Administrative Law Section. The award honors a lawyer making a significant impact on the practice of administrative law and demonstrating leadership in mentoring administrative law practitioners. Whitaker lives in Harrisburg, Pa.
1980s
Lawrence S. Fies ’80 H&HD, a retired United States Air Force senior master sergeant, received a Quilt of Honor for his distinguished military service. He has been previously honored with a Bronze Star and Meritorious Service medals. He lives in State College.
Robin Bronk ’82 Lib was inducted into The Manhattan Jewish Historical Initiative. Bronk is CEO of The Creative Coalition, a nonprofit advocacy group comprising members of the entertainment industry that harnesses the power and efficacy of the arts to elevate critical social welfare issues. Under her leadership, The Creative Coalition has launched impactful national campaigns advocating for increased public funding for the arts, mental health equity, anti-censorship protections, and greater support for family caregivers, demonstrating how artistic expression can be a catalyst for lasting public policy change. Bronk is also the author of Art & Soul and The Art of Discovery. She lives in Beverly Hills, Calif.
Philip Ricciardi ’82 Eng is operations manager for St. Stanislaus Parish in Lansdale, Pa. He and his wife, Debbie, live in North Wales, Pa.
Miranda Vand ’85 Lib recently retired from a 29-year career as an aircraft technician with Boeing. She lives in Federal Way, Wash.
Matthew Cheran ’87 Edu retired from a 20-year teaching career at Peters Township School District in Washington County, Pa., and has relocated to Haiku, Hawaii, where he is teaching at Seabury Hall, a private Episcopal school.
1990s
Kellie A. Provost-Brown ’90 Lib joined Penn State Lehigh Valley as the career strategist in the career strategy and advising department. She lives with her husband, Jim Brown ’89 Bus, in Easton, Pa.
Brian S. Weis ’91 Sci (ZBT), earned his Master of Divinity in Interreligious Chaplaincy from United Theological Seminary of the Twin Cities in August 2024, and he has completed one unit of Clinical Pastoral Education. He serves as an on-call chaplain at Grand View Hospital in Sellersville, Pa. He lives in Sellersville.
Ron Gourley ’92 Bus has been named vice president and CFO of UCC Homes, which provides retirement living to residents of six Pennsylvania counties. He lives in Hershey, Pa.
Shawn A. Kachmar ’94 Hbg was named a 2025 Super Lawyer by HunterMaclean Attorneys. He lives in Savannah, Ga.
Gina Kertulis-Tartar ’98 Agr was named provost and vice president for academic affairs at Dalton State College in Georgia. Kertulis-Tartar joined Dalton State’s biology department in 2005 and has since served in progressively responsible roles, including chair of the Department of Natural Sciences, Dean of the School of Health Professions, and, most recently, interim provost, responsible for the strategic and operational oversight of the college’s schools and academic support units. She lives in Ringgold, Ga.
Annie Qu ’98 PhD Sci was awarded the IMS Carver Medal by The Institute of Mathematical Statistics. Qu is the Chancellor’s Professor at the University of California, Irvine. The IMS created the Carver Medal in 2002 to honor Harry C. Carver, founding editor of the Annals of Mathematical Statistics. She lives in Irvine, Calif.
INSPIRING READ: In his book The Leader’s Soul: 52 Reflections for Unlocking Your Inner Leader, James Shin ’98 PhD Eng reflects on the many meaningful experiences, setbacks, and encounters that shaped his life and career.
2000s
Katie Collins '00 H&HD and a friend have launched Abigail Collins, a line of collegiate, branded clothing specifically designed to give women more fashionable Penn State apparel choices. Read the full profile.
Shannon Dalton ’01 H&HD, ’01 Lib has purchased Quinn Fiduciary Services, a Santa Barbara, Calif.-based fiduciary firm. Dalton, who became a licensed professional fiduciary in 2020, previously ran her own insurance company while working as a licensed health and life insurance agent for Aflac. She lives in Solvang, Calif.
Jason Wolf ’02 Com, a sports enterprise and investigative reporter, won the 2025 National Headliner Award for sports news writing for his work at The Arizona Republic. Wolf’s portfolio covered professional, college, and youth sports, as well as investigations into human smuggling, NFL players’ charities, and Little League bullying. He lives in Phoenix, Ariz.
Ben Gilberti ’03 Eng has been named an assistant vice president at Herbert, Rowland & Grubic Inc. (HRG). He will oversee all operations and local engagement in Western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Gilberti joined HRG in 2002 as an intern and most recently served as manager of the firm’s municipal and water resources group in Pittsburgh. He is actively involved with the Town of McCandless Industrial Development Authority, the Pennsylvania State Association of Township Supervisors (PSATS), and the Allegheny County League of Municipalities (ALOM). He lives in Pittsburgh.
Mike Castellano ’09 Agr won an award from Iowa State University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences for his contributions to The Iowa Nitrogen Initiative, a private-public partnership with a vision to provide Iowans with the best nitrogen science in the world. He lives in Ames, Iowa.
Patricia Grabarek ’09 MS, ’11 PhD Lib co-wrote Leading for Wellness. The book challenges traditional corporate well-being initiatives and provides leaders with science-backed strategies to create healthier, more productive teams. Sawyer is also the co-founder of Workr Beeing, a platform dedicated to workplace well-being, and co-host of the podcast Thriving at Work. She lives in Simi Valley, Calif.
Katina Sawyer ’09 MS, ’12 PhD Lib co-wrote Leading for Wellness. The book challenges traditional corporate well-being initiatives, and provides leaders with science-backed strategies to create healthier, more productive teams. Sawyer is also the co-founder of Workr Beeing, a platform dedicated to workplace well-being and co-host of the podcast Thriving at Work. She lives in Tucson, Ariz.
2010s
Nick Rotondi ’10 Com, after being part of the Philadelphia Eagles' production team for nearly a decade, has recently transitioned to a freelance role with NFL Films, where he is in charge of the robotic cameras that capture behind-the-scenes footage of teams for the company's Hard Knocks documentary TV series. Read the full profile.
Ashlie Crosson ’15 MEd Edu was named the National Teacher of the Year for 2025. An English teacher at Mifflin County High School in Lewistown, Pa.—where she attended high school—Crosson was a first-generation college student. She lives in Lewistown, Pa.
2020s
Abbie Rich ’23 Com joined PRworks, a full-service branding, marketing, and public relations firm. She previously worked as a digital communications coordinator for Select Medical, a provider of critical illness recovery hospitals, inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, and outpatient rehabilitation centers, where she managed SEO, blog, and website content, and digital campaigns for 13 outpatient brands under the Select Medical family of brands. She lives in Tampa, Fla.
