Class Notes: May / June 2025

Catch up with your classmates' weddings, new jobs, publications, awards, and more.

 

1960s

Guion S. Bluford Jr. ’64 Eng was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame on Nov. 8, 2024. He lives in Westlake, Ohio.

 

1970s

Pete W. Prutzman ’77 Agr, president emeritus of Kingwood Forestry Services Inc., was a 2024 inductee into the Arkansas Foresters’ Hall of Fame. He and his wife, Linda Camise Prutzman ’77 A&A, live in Arkadelphia, Ark.

Dave Blazek ’79 Com has released a new book, Amusing Thingies. This is the latest collection of single-panel cartoons from his syndicated cartoon “Loose Parts,” which appears daily in close to 120 newspapers in the U.S., Canada, and beyond. Blazek is a three-time winner of the National Cartoonists Society Reuben Award for best newspaper panel. Amusing Thingies is Blazek’s ninth book. He lives in Phoenixville, Pa.

 

1980s

Tom Burnheimer ’81 Edu has been appointed to a four-year term on Shippensburg University’s alumni association board of directors. He lives in Etters, Pa.

Heather Sheehan ’85 Bus Hon received the Distinguished Service Award from the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and was inducted into the Supply Chain Hall of Fame for her career- long contributions to the development of the logistics and supply chain disciplines. She lives in Irvington, Va. Her husband: Philip Robinson ’17 MA A&A.

Michael W. Carrell ’87 Bus (ΚΣ) was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame on Nov. 8, 2024. He lives in Pickerington, Ohio.

Bryan Stevenson ’87a Lib (Blue Band) retired in July 2024 after serving the Franklin County, Pa., Department of Emergency Services for 38 years, first as a telecommunicator for 10 years and then as a 911 and communications coordinator for 28 years. He and his wife, Mary Jo, live in Waynesboro, Pa.

Amy Smith Varano ’87 Lib (Blue Band, Parmi Nous) was appointed a trustee on the executive board of the Bergen County Cooperative Library System. She is also a member of the board of trustees of the Montvale, N.J., public library. Smith Varano is an estate paralegal at Hackensack, N.J.–based Harwood Lloyd LLP, and she lives in Montvale.

 

1990s

Catherine A. Brooks ’90, ’92 MS Agr wrote Sirens: Unpacking Painful Past Experience to Lead to Better Relationships, Communication, and Healing. The book was published in December 2024. She lives in Fairbanks, Alaska.

Thomas J. Grignol ’91 Bus retired as a senior staff accountant from the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission after 26 years with the agency and more than 33 years of U.S government service. He lives in Annandale, Va.

 

Doyle being sworn in as an officer, courtesy

 

In 2023, Patricia Doyle '93 Lib was promoted to lieutenant of criminal investigations and traffic units for the East Whiteland Township, Pa., Police Department—the the first woman to achieve that rank in the department. Read the full profile.

Matt Curtin ’98 Bus (ΠΚΦ) was appointed president of NFL Players Inc., the group licensing arm of the NFL Players Association. He lives with his three children in Yardley, Pa.

 

2000s

Shannon Dalton ’01 H&HD, ’01 Lib has purchased Quinn Fiduciary Services, a Santa Barbara–based fiduciary firm. Dalton became a licensed professional fiduciary in 2020. She previously ran her own insurance company while working as a licensed health and life insurance agent for Aflac. She lives in Solvang, Calif.

Stacey Mears ’03 H&HD ran the 2024 Chicago Marathon as a time qualifier and the 2024 New York City Marathon as a Michelob ULTRA contest winner. She lives in Drums, Pa.

 

cover of a sense of arrival by kevin adonis browne, courtesyIn his latest book, A Sense of Arrival, Kevin Adonis Browne ’05 MA, ’09 PhD Lib, associate professor of rhetoric at Syracuse, blends literary, visual, and material forms to present a narrative of Caribbean Blackness. The 160 color images include Browne’s own photography and portraiture. 

 

Christina L. Green ’06 Bus was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of management in the Richard J. Bolte Sr. School of Business at Mount St. Mary’s University. She live in Waynesboro, Pa.

Ryan H. Miller ’06 Bus and his wife, Ashley, welcomed their third child, Camden Reece Miller, on April 19, 2024. They live in Owings, Md.

Melissa Finocchi ’08 H&HD and Matthew Green ’08 Bus welcomed a daughter, Devin Michelle, on Oct. 16, 2024. Devin joins older brother Leo Finn. They live in Randolph, N.J.

C.J. Fisher ’08 Bus (ΔΧ), co-chair of law firm Fox Rothschild’s gaming department, was named a dealmaker of the year finalist as part of New Jersey Law Journal’s 2024 New Jersey Legal Awards Program. Fisher has been at the forefront of the expansion of legalized and regulated sports betting, iGaming, and lottery courier services, regularly representing and advising industry stakeholders in jurisdictions across the country. He lives in Margate City, N.J.

 

2010s

Brian Sell ’15 MAS Sci has completed his doctorate in statistics. He lives in St. Paul, Minn.

Leah Mothersbaugh Rattie ’16 Hbg welcomed twins Arlo and Levon—born on June 9, 2024. She works at Penn State as a proposal and award generalist. She lives in State College. Her mother: Lori Quinn ’88 Bus.

 

Garrigan-Evans wedding group photo, courtesy
 BIG BLUE AND WHITE TURNOUT: Dozens of Penn Staters gathered in Doylestown, Pa., on Aug. 31, 2024, to celebrate the wedding of Samantha Evans ’18 Bus and Jeffrey Garrigan ’18 Lib. Courtesy.

 

Crystal Yu ’18 Lib was appointed as a first-year associate in law firm Rogers Joseph O’Donnell’s San Francisco office. She joins the firm’s labor, labor and employment, and retail trade practice groups. Yu is a 2023 Rogers Joseph O’Donnell summer associate and a previous legal extern for the San Francisco City attorney’s office. She was also a judicial extern for the Hon. Samuel K. Feng of the Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco. Before attending law school, Yu was a field representative and staff assistant for Congresswoman Anna G. Eshoo. She lives in Cupertino, Calif.

 

Benally at the Navajo Nation Washington office, courtesy

 

Tim Benally ’21 Lib, ’24 MS H&HD, a government and legislative affairs associate for the Diné Nation in D.C., serves as a bridge between the Nation and its representatives—senators and state reps—in the capital on matters related to agriculture, infrastructure, and economic development. Read the full profile.

 

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Wedding, birth, promotion, anniversary, retirement, or award? Let us know about your major life events! Send items to pennstater@psu.edu.