1950s
Constance Fried
BS 1953 — Women’s Physical Education
Constance is still working as a CASA (court appointed special advocate).
Charles Gee
BS 1959 — Natural Science
Charles went on to earn an MS in biology (1964) from Oklahoma State and a PhD in science education (1967) from Michigan State. He was a faculty member at Milligan College Johnson City, Tennessee, from 1967 to 1998. Charles retired in 1998 and moved to Thomasville, Georgia.
1960s
Larry Lichte
MS 1961 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
After going on to receive his JD from the UW Law School in 1964, Larry practiced law and has operated Empire Realty Company the past 50 years. He had the first licensed Real Estate School approved by the State of Wisconsin and taught thousands of students getting their license and continuing education. Larry’s hobbies are working on and driving old cars.
Sandra Rosen Holubow
BSE 1963 — Art and Art Education
Besides making sure neighbors have access to vaccinations, Sandra reports she has had a productive year. She won first prize in a Chicago’s Alliance of Visual Artists exhibit and created 10 new works. Sandra says she also read lots of books and science articles — and gained 10 pounds!
Maxine Sheets-Johnstone
MS 1954 — Dance
PhD 1963 — Philosophy and Dance
Maxine reports several publications in the past six months: “Performing Phenomenological Methodology” in The Routledge Companion to Performance Philosophy; “The Body Subject: Being True to the Truths of Experience,” Journal of Speculative Philosophy; “Review of Civilization in Transition by Carl Jung and The Descent of Man and Selection in Relation to Sex by Charles Darwin,” special issue of Psychotherapy and Politics International; “Exploring the Aesthetic Uniqueness of the Art of Dance,” special issue of The New Yearbook for Phenomenology and Phenomenological Philosophy; and “The Work of Dr. Moshe Feldenkrais: A New Applied Kinesiology and a Radical Questioning of Training and Technique” in The Feldenkrais Method in Creative Practice.
John Goff Jones
PhD 1966 — Counseling Psychology
John is still teaching and practicing psychology.
Jerold Apps
BS 1955 — Agricultural and Life Sciences
MS 1957 — Agricultural and Life Sciences
PhD 1967 — Curriculum and Instruction
Jerry has two new novels being published in spring 2021. The books are “Settlers Valley” (UW Press) and “The Wild Oak,” (Three Towers Press) a young adult novel.
Sherry Smith Bell
MS 1964 — Art
MFA 1967 — Art
Sherry is a curator of, “Go Figure,” at the San Juan Islands Museum of Art, Friday Harbor, Washington.
Anita Hansen Comfort
BS 1968 — English
At age 75, Anita still enjoys teaching English (part-time) at a private school in western Maryland. Because of her age, Anita reports that her administrator invited her to teach from home during this year of COVID-19, although the rest of the school has been meeting in person since August. Anita feels truly valued and says her UW education has served her well.
Carl Anderson
MS 1969 — Curriculum and Instruction
Volunteering for his local hospice continues to be important. Carl’s role in this service is to interview patients who wish to share their life story, record and edit it, and then provide the patients and family with a digital copy.
Steve Burns
BS 1969 — Graphic Design
After many years in San Francisco working as a designer, filmmaker, and photographer, Steve moved to Durango, Colorado. He is currently creating large-scale fine art photography for architectural applications. See http://www.steveburnsdurango.com for more information.
1970s
Rosemary Aten
PhD 1970 — Physical Education (now Kinesiology)
Rosemary is retired from Western Illinois University and lives on the Macomb Country Club golf course. Rosemary is a strong supporter of the School of Education and Athletic Department. She loves receiving printed material and email messages from UW. Go Badgers.
Susan Allen
MA 1971 — Communication Arts/Technical Theatre
Susan continues to work with her husband Ray Allen (UW 1970, MFA) as a professional studio potter in their Popcorn Studio Pottery business in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. They have made a living from their functional stoneware pottery since 1979. During the pandemic, many of their wholesale and retail opportunities were impacted, which has given them more time to work on their web store.
Emanuele Corso
MA 1967 — Art
PhD 1972 — Educational Policy Studies
Emanuele released “Schools and Society: In Defense of Public Education” (Llano Press, 2020). The book focuses on public education’s vital role in the United States and on the threats posed by recent efforts to privatize and undermine this cornerstone of democracy in the guise of school “reform.”
Richard Nelson
PhD 1972 — Educational Administration
Richard spent his career at the University of Rhode Island teaching educational psychology and training teachers of English. He happily retired to Englewood, Florida, with his wife Irene and enjoys visits from children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren. Life has been good, says Richard.
Arie Cohen
PhD 1973 —Counseling and Educational Psychology
Arie recently celebrated his 80th birthday. He retired from teaching at Bar-Ilan University a few years ago, but still supervises three PhD students and teaches part-time at a college. Arie also serves as a reviewer for several journals, and currently he edits the last version of a paper on the QTI.
Ed Epping
MFA 1973 — Art
Ed’s ongoing work on mass incarceration and overcriminalization, The Corrections Project, was honored this January by an exhibit and online lecture at the Santa Fe Historical Foundation Gallery. The Santa Fe, New Mexican, weekly arts magazine, Pasatiempo, profiled his work in its Jan. 15 issue. Ed is quite honored to have joined the board of directors of the Prison Policy Initiative, a social justice organization for which he has great respect.
Susan Weiser Wegner
BA 1969 — English
MS 1973 — Curriculum and Instruction
Following a 30-year career teaching elementary school, Susan worked at Highland Community College as the coordinator of the Continuing Education Department. Susan is now fully retired, and enjoying her three grandchildren in the Madison area.
Nelson Neal
MS 1974 — Dance
Dr. Neal is the new head coach of girls golf at Lakeridge High School in Lake Oswego, Oregon, for the 2021 season. He was an assistant coach of track and field at La Jolla Country Day School in California during the 2019 and 2020 seasons. Prior to that he was the head coach of boys golf at Lakeridge High School. Dr. Neal is a retired professor of dance.
Tom Cottington
BS 1975 — Fine Art
Tom is going for a second degree in landscape architecture/horticulture. He had a double major in 1975.
Reni Gower
BS 1975 — Art
Reni is a professor emerita at Virginia Commonwealth University. Under the management of Wylie Contemporary, Inc., the first showing of Reni’s curatorial project, “The Garden,” opened at the Piedmont Museum of Art in Martinsville, Virginia in August 2020. Other exhibitions that will resume traveling in early 2021 include: “Pulped Under Pressure: the Art of Handmade Paper” at the Bellevue (Washington) Museum; “Geometric Aljamia: a Cultural Transliteration,” at Las Cruces (New Mexico) Museum of Art; and “Flashpoints, Material / Intent / Fused,” at California State University – Chico. Two of her papercuts also appeared in “Paperworks VII” at The Foundry Centre, St. Charles, Missouri.
Judith Schmidt
BS 1976 — Occupational Therapy
After her retirement, Judith co-founded Kaleidoscope, a community art initiative that provides free art workshops to children and some adults living in local shelters, as well as children in her county’s foster care program. Kaleidoscope has been unable to conduct its workshops due to the pandemic, so they have adapted by providing individual children with back packs of art supplies, and recently started Kaleidoscope Curbside, art kits delivered to a shelter for residents to express themselves.
Jan Anders Nelson
MA 1977 — Art
Artwork from Jan is headed to the moon. “Miner Death Mask” was part of an exhibit, “Chronicles of a Future Foretold,” that was shown at the Zhou B. Art Center in Chicago in 2018. The physical work is a serigraph. This work is part of “Manifest 9” curated by Emmy award winning author and physicist, Dr. Samuel Peralta, as a part of the Artists on the Moon (AOTM). The time capsule is joining NASA’s own payloads on Astrobotic’s Peregrine Mission One, launching in July 2021, on a United Launch Alliance rocket to Lacus Mortis, on the moon. Payload “Manifest 9” represents creative artists from all over the globe.
Ellen Garvens
BS 1979 — Art
Ellen received an appointment as an Artist in Residence at I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Spring Semester 2021. Ellen is the the Floyd and Delores Jones Endowed Professor of Art at the University of Washington, Seattle.
Marilyn Artis Shaw
MS 1979 — Educational Administration
Retirement is grand and it provides the blessing of being available for grandchildren’s activities, says Marilyn. She stays connected to adult education through engaging as a consulting editor for educational magazines and reviewer for requests for proposals (RFP). She also enjoys a wide range of volunteer opportunities, from food distribution to conference planning at San Antonio Cornerstone Church.
1980s
John Artis
PhD 1980 — Educational Leadership
After spending 40 years in public education, John retired in 2008. Since 2003, he has served as an adjunct professor in the College of Education, Human Resources and Public Health, at the University of Michigan, Dearborn. His continued focus is on educational leadership. John works closely with master’s level students and those students who are pursuing their educational doctorate.
Judy Blomquist Brey
BS 1980 — Communicative Disorders
Judy is retiring after 40 years as a public school speech/language pathologist. She also earned her MS in communicative disorders at UW-Eau Claire in 1981. Her daughter is also a practicing public school speech/language pathologist. Judy reports that both are proud UW-Madison School of Education alumni.
Michael L. Jiroch
MA 1980 — Art
Michael is living and working in Santa Fe, New Mexico. He is still active in painting and photography. For more information see https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCYf3AQwo6gUG2j2mlbEBZlg and https://www.saatchiart.com/jiroch
Brandy Larson
MFA 1980— Art
Brandy is still working in her small business of 25 years. She was previously in the art classroom for 25 years and taught in Istanbul, Cairo, and Jamaica back in the day. She is still doing some mixed art. Check her out on Facebook.
Lori Schmidt Lutze
BSE 1982 — Communication Arts and English
Lori enjoys being an executive coach for Advocate Aurora Healthcare and LAK Group in Milwaukee and Chicago. She is a lifelong teacher thanks to Bucky!
Laura Robinson
BS 1982 — Occupational Therapy
In her third year as a semi-retired OT, Laura works in an inpatient mental health facility where she has worked for the majority of her career. She loves the diversity that her job offers and draws from her experience as she helps to fill in the blanks that have been made by vacancies and changes in personnel. She says “working two days (sometimes three) a week isn’t terrible!”
Amy Unger
BS 1982 — Studio Art
Amy’s most recent project was to design multiple posters promoting safe space for the LGBTQIA community. A member of her family shared their gender transition plans. Amy’s response was to create posters, frame them, and donate them to shelters that accommodate transgender youth.
Michael Harwell
PhD 1983 — Educational Psychology/Statistics
Michael is retiring from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities after 21 years in the Department of Educational Psychology. Prior to that he spent 14 years in the Department of Psychology in Education at the University of Pittsburgh, and two years in the Department of Counseling, Educational Psychology, and Special Education at Michigan State University.
Mary Lou Krase
BS 1983 — Art and Art Education
Mary Lou’s recycled art has been accepted at the Fly Right Galaxy Gift and Studio in New Orleans. Repurposed hub caps, slate roof tiles, and shutters transformed into wall pieces are being exhibited and she will be presenting some hands-on workshops in summer and fall.
Barbara (Natzke) Gruener
BSE 1984 — Education/English Major
Barbara’s new picture book, “Mr. Quigley’s Keys,” is set to release with EduMatch in June. Writes Barbara: What a delight it will be to put this story of an unsung hero, the school’s handyman, into the hands and hearts of children of all ages!”
Dennis McKinley
BM 1967 — Music Education
MS 1984 — Education and Music
Dennis has been selected as a recipient of the 2021 Marvin Rabin Youth Arts Award in the category of Artistic Achievement by an Individual. The Rabin Youth Arts Awards, named in honor of the Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestras’ founder Marvin Rabin, recognizes individuals and organizations that have contributed significantly to the enrichment of youth through the arts. The award will be presented in the fall of 2021.
Bruce Walters
MFA 1984 — Art
Bruce has an exhibition of drawings in the University Art Gallery at Western Illinois University that he created over the 37 years he taught as a professor of art. The largest drawing is 32 feet in length. Bruce retired in May.
Thompson Brandt
PhD 1985 — Curriculum and Instruction-Music Education
Thompson earned a master’s degree from the University of Arizona Law School in the summer of 2021. His future plan is to conduct scholarly research on the intersection of music education and the law. In addition, Thompson has completed nearly a dozen works for a variety of instrumental music ensembles since COVID-19 restrictions were enacted. These have been published by TAB Publications, his own publishing firm.
John Elliott
BSE 1981 — English
MA 1985 — Library Science
During his student teaching attempt John says his classes “sounded like the Parrot House at the Bronx Zoo. “Not for me,” he says. However, John became a librarian, with his first job at the H.W. Wilson Co. in the South Bronx. John ended up at Edgewood College, where he has worked for the last 22 years. He retires in May. He reports: “Thank you, UW-Madison. It really has been a wonderful life.”
Mary Endres
BS 1985 — Art
Mary and her husband work for a non-profit that does business as a summer wilderness camp for boys in northern Minnesota. The camp has been operating since 1935 and has been open every summer except 1943, when staff were hard to find during the war. Due to the pandemic, Camp Chippewa for Boys was closed in 2020. For the last year, they have been learning everything they can about the virus and adjusting the camp program in order to open and have a successful summer in 2021.
Kevin Gasser
BS 1985 — Physical Education
Kevin is currently the dual credit coordinator at Missouri Valley College in Marshall, Missouri. He is an academic adviser for freshman and sophomore students interested in education, as well as exercise science, and is an adjunct instructor in the Education Department teaching lifespan motor development.
Melanie Kuzmanovic
BS 1985 — Education
Melanie recently retired from high school counseling after a 30-year career. She also completed seven years as a school board member in the Greendale School District. Melanie is now on to learning new things.
Mary McCutcheon
MS 1985 — Education/Exercise Physiology
Mary is retired from occupational therapy in the Oshkosh Area School District. She teaches a Feldenkrais class weekly at the local YMCA in Fond du Lac, where she lives. Mary is on three non-profit boards and volunteers for others in the Madison area. She works on Troy community gardens and continues to be a high school soccer official. Mary reports having four lovely grandchildren ages 15, 9, 7 and 5 that take up the rest of her time when not playing Pickleball. Life is good, she says.
Elizabeth M Flannery
PhD 1986 — Counseling Psychology
Elizabeth is a clinical psychologist in private practice in Portland, Maine.
Beth Blue Swadener
PhD 1986 — Curriculum and Instruction
Beth is a professor of justice and social inquiry, and social and cultural pedagogy at Arizona State University’s School of Social Transformation. She co-founded RECE (Reconceptualizing Early Childhood Education) with Marianne (Mimi) Bloch, professor emerita, Curriculum and Instruction, Shirley Kessler, and other former doctoral students at UW-Madison. The program is now recognizing its 30th anniversary, holding its first conference in 1991. The group is going strong today. For more information visit https://receinternational.org/
Anne Raskopf
BFA 1987 — Art
Anne began her career as a graphic designer. Following that time in the corporate world, she has turned her attention to fine art. She has been fortunate to exhibit her work across the state in museums and galleries, and last year received the prestigious Sacagawea Artist Award from Professional Dimensions in Milwaukee (https://vimeo.com/394457190). For the past eight years Anne has participated in a “Painting a Day” challenge, focusing on a theme for the month of January. Madison was her theme for 2018. Many of you may have seen two of Anne’s pieces from the “Bucky On Parade” fundraiser. For more information visit http://www.anneraskopf.com
Carl Clingman
BS 1989 — Art
Carl is a medical illustrator for Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota. He illustrated eight different scenarios of COVID-19 patients in critical care suites of both patient position and therapeutic equipment required for their individual stages of care. These were widely published and distributed to educate critical care facilities nationally and internationally. They represent the most up-to-date hospital emergent care for beginning through advanced cases of COVID-19.
Anne Monty Zhang
BS 1989 — Secondary Education/ Spanish
Anne has been teaching high school Spanish and English (and ESL) for 25 years: seven in Wisconsin and the rest Morgan Hill, California. She is currently a mentor-teacher in the Morgan Hill Unified School District.
1990s
Helen Klebesadel
MFA 1990 — Art
Helen’s pandemic pivot has been to create a Facebook group called the Cabin Fever Creative Community (now 7,500 members) to encourage the creation and sharing of art related information during coronavirus related shutdowns. She also has made all her art workshops and classes virtual so people could focus on advancing their art.
Sandi Jacobsohn
BSE 1994 — Elementary Education
In March of 2021, Sandi published her first children’s book, “Annie and Me.” It is available on Amazon and Barnes and Noble online.
Andrea Peterson
BS 1994 — Kinesiology/Exercise Physiology
Andrea graduated from Des Moines University, College of Osteopathic Medicine, in 1999 and then completed an internship at Michigan State University, followed by residency in physical medicine and rehabilitation at Indiana University. Andrea has been working as a physician in the Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Department at the Marshfield Clinic since 2003. She lives with her husband and three children in Marshfield, Wisconsin.
Paul Rux
PhD 1994 — Administration of Higher Education and Policy Analysis
Paul has retired from standard classroom and online teaching. His focus now is writing and publishing books through outlets like Amazon. Here are some Amazon examples: “How to Master Your Future with Forecasting Concepts and Techniques”; “Mentors: Priceless Advisors (25 Examples)”; “Fresh Food for Future Thought”; “Hidden People: Priceless Lessons”; “Benchmarking Canada for Creative Comparisons”; “Canadian Futurist: Thomas D’Arcy McGee and the Idea of National Education”; “Time- and Field-Tested Asian Mentoring Wisdom for Survival and Success.” Paul is researching a book on the coming reset of American focus from urban to rural living because of the power of Internet computing to enable us to work from home more and more and avoid commuting, high rents and housing costs, and crime. Its title is: “Reset Walden Pond.” Paul says he looks forward to being a guest speaker onsite and online for his book and research topics.
Mary Herrmann
PhD 1995 — Sociology, Counseling Psychology, Educational Leadership
Mary wrote a new book in 2020, “Learn to Lead, Lead to Learn: Leadership as a Work in Progress.”
Kevin Hoth
BS 1995 — Art
Kevin’s series “Immortal Chromatic” was recently featured on Lenscratch. Additionally, two of his instant film mosaic works were recently purchased by New Collection. Kevin has an image in the installation “Shame Radiant” as part of Month of Photography up now at Redline Gallery in Denver. Kevin’s image “Orng Shadow Cutter” was also part of the “Reimaging Hope” projections on the Daniels and Fisher Clocktower in downtown Denver. Kevin’s image “Raven” was also chosen for the New Topo exhibition on the Color Tag Magazine website.
Beth Lewis Samuelson
MS 1996 — Curriculum and Instruction
Beth is associate chair of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at Indiana University, Bloomington. She also directs a university student organization call the IU Books and Beyond Project.
Janpanit Surasin
PhD 1996 — Continuing and Vocational Education
Janpanit has been teaching her native language, Thai, at the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures, UW-Madison, after retirement from her teaching position in Thailand since 2018.
Susan Freiss
MS 1997 — Curriculum and Instruction
Susan is the current president of the Jane Addams Peace Association. The Peace Association is the sponsor of the Jane Addams Children’s Book Award, which since 1953 has honored children’s literature that effectively engages children in thinking about peace, social justice, global community, and equity for all people. In 2020, for the first time, 26 Finalists were announced followed by the usual Winning and Honor titles, making for a larger body of beautiful and powerful social justice titles for children ages 5 through 14.
Thomas Hoh
BSE 1997 — Broad Field Social Studies
After 20-plus years in public education as a teacher and administrator, Thomas finished his doctoral studies and recently made the switch to working at UW–Oshkosh. He teaches and supervises pre-service teachers in elementary and secondary education as well as graduate and doctoral students! He says, “This has been a wonderful transition in his career!”
Brian Reeves
MFA 1997 — Art, Graphics, Printmaking
Brian developed the Print Power intercollegiate persuasive poster exchange, the EZGaze Omphalos portable navelgazing system, and the What You Want To Hear loneliness abatement appliance. He is now working on realizing the “Thumb Opposes Forefinger World Heritage Monument,” among other projects. Brian has been teaching art and design at Boston College since 2015.
Jane Worley
MS 1997— Therapeutic Science/Kinesiology
Jane has been the director of the Physical Therapist Assistant program at Lake Superior College in Duluth, Minnesota, since 1997. She also continues part-time practice as a physical therapist.
Kary Briner
BS 1998 — Kinesiology/Exercise Science
Kary is the coordinator of the Traumatic Brain Injury Center at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis. In this role she combines skills obtained while earning her undergraduate degree in kinesiology at UW, with a graduate social work degree to strive to improve the way they provide healthcare for patients who sustain traumatic brain injury.
Frances Vavrus
PhD 1998 — Curriculum and Instruction
Frances has published a new book: “Schooling as Uncertainty: An Ethnographic Memoir in Comparative Education” (Bloomsbury, 2021). The first half of the book focuses on Frances’ years in Madison as a doctoral student and the research for his dissertation in Tanzania.
Diana Hoover
1999 MFA — Art
Diana is the graphic design area coordinator in the new School of Design and Communication at UW-Stevens Point.
2000s
Mary Jane Curry
PhD 2000 — Education
Mary Jane has just co-authored the book “An A to W of Academic Literacy: Key Concepts and Practices for Graduate Students,” with six graduate students at the University of Rochester as her co-authors (University of Michigan Press, 2021). She is an associate professor in the Warner Graduate School of Education and Human Development at the UR.
Amanda Browder
MFA 2001 — Art and Art History
This year Amanda will be traveling to Brugge, Belgium, to participate in the Triennale Brugge, 2021. Traditionally, she creates large-scale fabric installations that are draped on the facades of buildings and are made with the generous support of people from the community. All the fabric is donated from people in the city, and they host public sewing days to encourage people to connect in any way with the production of the piece. Stories are cataloged, friends are made, and the final piece is a colorful celebration of the city and the people who live there. Due to the pandemic, Amanda has had virtual visits with people in the city as well as student classes. They discuss the importance of their own fabric pieces and the connected personal histories. The fabrics were digitally photographed and included in a massive digital print that will drape the facade of the University of Europe-Verversdijk and the neighboring canal. When she arrives in Belgium (during the lockdown) Amanda will be working on three real fabric pieces that will drape on three different structures in the city, one being at the Lace Center and Museum in Brugge. This is an outdoor public art/architecture Triennale and is perfect for brightening a dark moment during the extended pandemic.
Marc Kornblatt
BSE 2001 — Curriculum and Instruction
Marc is now living in Tel Avi (since August, 2019). He divides his time between writing for young readers and filmmaking. Zoom has enabled him to keep contact with Wisconsin, as evidenced by his web series “Blue and Red — Respectful Encounters of the Political Kind.” The project celebrates civil discourse, while drawing heavily upon his teaching and journalism background.
Amanda Rossell
BSE 2001 — Elementary Education (PK-3)
Amanda earned a master’s degree in teacher leadership in 2005 (included reading teacher license), and achieved National Board Certification in 2011, and achieved recertification in 2020.
Niyazi Gulnar
MS 2002 — Science Education/Curriculum and Instruction
Niyazi currently teaches physics and mathematics at an international school in Thailand. It has been long time since he was in the U.S. but he still vividly remembers the collaborative works, critical analyses, and multicultural approach the School of Education utilized. He says it is really an honor to be a UW-Madison alum.
Dean Pribbenow
PhD 2002 — Educational Administration/ELPA
Dean recently celebrated his one-year anniversary as vice president for academic affairs and dean of the faculty at Elmhurst University in Illinois. Also, he was recognized by the Council of Independent Colleges for his service on the Chief Academic Officers Task Force.
Roscoe Wilson
MFA 2002 — Art
After serving for five years as chair of the Department of Humanities and Creative Art at Miami University, Roscoe is excited to step back into a faculty role and teach fulltime. He still lives in Hamilton, Ohio, with his wife, Cassie, and his kids, Finley (10) and Zoe (7).
Judi Luciani
BS 2003 — Elementary Education
Judi will retire in June 2021 after 17 years with the Madison Metropolitan School District. She taught one year of second grade, three years of K/1, and the remainder at first grade. She plans on spending more time in the Northwoods with her husband and their dogs.
Karen Searles
BFA 2003 — Dance and BS Dance Education K-12 Cert
Karen, who was the 2017 Texas Dance Educator of the Year, made a rather large career move in her district this year to become an instructional technology specialist. In that role she was selected as Deerpark Middle School Teacher of the Year. She has been blessed to remain closely tied to the arts as she was selected to be part of the first cohort of the ARTSLead leadership development program in Round Rock ISD, Texas.
Matt Ledvina
BS 2004 — Art
As the founder of FAH-Q Enterprises, a graphic design and marketing firm in Montpelier, Wisconsin, Matt has been a leader in providing signage and online marketing to local small business celebrating re-opening free of charge.
Alison Rootberg
BFA and BS 2004 — Dance Inter-Arts and Technology
Alison founded Wellness4Every1 in 2016, providing quality arts education to Chicago Public School students, as well as a space for physical and emotional well-being, through dance and yoga classes. Despite the challenges of shifting to virtual programming, 2020 was a successful year. Wellness4Every1 became a certified Women’s Business Enterprise, continued to host monthly events and virtual residencies, and published their first book, “Yoga4Every1,” in both English and Spanish, and available on Amazon. In 2021, Wellness4Every1 plans to publish their second book, “Dance4Every1,” as an additional resource for students learning at home featuring themes of diversity and inclusion, encouraging conversations about how dance is for everyone. Today, Wellness4Every1 has provided programming to 90 schools, reaching over 10,000 students.
Emily Ruedinger
BS 2004 — Elementary Education
Although Emily’s career looks a lot different than what she envisioned (MD in 2008 from UW–Madison; Med in 2017 from the University of Cincinnati) when she started in the elementary education program, her degree has proven invaluable as a pediatrician and medical educator. She is one of the associate program directors for her pediatric residency program and centers her non-clinical work around curriculum development, particularly related to provider bias and social justice. Emily’s team has been able to disseminate their curricular work locally and nationally to other residency training programs looking to incorporate more social justice education. While education of providers is just one small element of the sweeping changes needed, she reports that her degree in education from UW has “shaped her small role in moving our society toward a more just and equitable future.”
Erin Narloch
BS 2005 — Art
Erin has been selected as the Human Rights Commitment lead for Reebok. She’s led the relaunch of their Human Rights Award Program in partnership with the ACLU and Alabama State University, as well as an advisory board including experts, activists, and athletes. In 2021, the program received 100 nominations from 11 counties. The program is awarding three $100,000 grants in late June, for individuals under the age of 30 working to change the world by standing up for the rights of others. The 2021 focus is dismantling systemic racism.
Sean Robinson
PhD 2005 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
This fall Sean was awarded promotion to full professor, and also became graduate program director for the Higher Education and Student Affairs MA and PhD programs in the School of Education at Morgan State University in Baltimore. In addition, starting in fall of 2021, he will be overseeing the first PhD-MBA dual degree at Morgan State combining educational leadership with business management.
Ruttanatip Chonwerawong
PhD 2006 — Education Leadership and Policy Analysis
Ruttanatip is associate vice president for student success at California State University, Dominguez Hills.
Kevin Reitman
BSE 2007 — Secondary Education (Science)
Kevin began a new position in March of 2020 as the coordinator of instructional technology for the Whitefish Bay (Wisconsin) School District.
Susan Borden
PhD 2009 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
Dr. Borden has been serving as the superintendent of an international private school in Qatar for the past five years. She has also recently accepted a volunteer position with FIFAs World Cup 2022 to be held in Qatar as well as continuing her work with international dog rescues.
Sol Grosskopf
BSE 2009 — Education
Sol is currently working as a U.S. Air Force chaplain stationed in Germany.
2010s
Jon Aleckson
BSE 1978 — TV, Radio, Film
MS 2007 — Educational Administration
PhD 2010 — Educational Leadership
Jon pursued a private practice in educational technology from 1978-2000. In 2000, he organized an online learning content development and platform business. Jon’s PhD studies help him launch an open source based learning platform for adult learning and to track continuing education credits. His niche has been providing a platform on a SaaS basis for national associations which allows them to offer CME and CE to membership. Today Web Courseworks employs over 50 people dedicated to professional lifelong learning for adults.
Dante Leone
BS 2010— Rehabilitation Psychology
Dante is a board certified orthopedic clinical specialist physical therapist. He and his family recently relocated to Virginia Beach, Virginia, where he is the clinical director for a local private practice.
Maggie Sasso
MFA 2010 — Fine art/3D area
Maggie’s piece, “Too Much Sea for Amateurs: Marooned,” was included in the international outdoor sculpture exhibition Sculpture Milwaukee. For more information visit https://www.sculpturemilwaukee.com/maggie-sasso
Alan Harris
PhD 2011 — Education Leadership and Policy Analysis
Alan is currently superintendent of Sierra Unified School District in Prather, California, and works as an adjunct professor with Fresno Pacific University in the Education Graduate program.
Carlyn Pitterle
BFA 2011 — Dance
In September of 2020 Carlyn founded the screen printing company Inkline Printing in Columbus, Ohio. They provide high quality apparel printing for local and national small businesses with a focus on eCommerce and order fulfillment.
Chelsea Roque
BS 2011 — Art
After finding an admin level job with an AEC consulting firm in Seattle, Chelsea began learning about urban planning. With the nationwide discussions in equity, diversity, and racism over the past year, Chelsea decided to pursue a future as an urban planner. In March she was accepted to the University of Washington’s Master of Urban Planning program for autumn 2021.
Katy Swalwell
PhD 2011— Curriculum and Instruction
Katy just launched a new podcast with co-host Mandy Griffin called “Our Dirty Laundry” (www.ourdirtylaundrypodcast.com). Katy and Mandy are two longtime white women friends who dive into the history of white women’s complicity with white supremacy. They laugh, they cry, they rage — but, most of all, they learn and invite others to join them. Within a few months of launching, they already have listeners across the country and the world. Their first season focused on the history of women’s suffrage with special guests including historian Sally Roesch Wagner, who is an expert in Haudenosaunee women’s influence on the suffrage movement, activists from the 929 Movement pushing to change the name of Catt Hall at Iowa State University, and bestselling author Kate Schatz, who teaches about the few white women who worked in solidarity with BIPOC women for voting rights.
Rob DeMeuse
PhD 2012 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
Rob also earned a PhD in 2020 that focused on political behavior in rural Wisconsin school district referenda. Upon graduation, he accepted a role as the research director and project manager at School Perceptions, a Wisconsin-based educational research firm that conducts student, staff, parent, and community surveys for schools across the country.
Ellen Visscher
BSE 2012 — Elementary Education
Ellen is working in Guatemala, where she has been working at the American School as a math specialist the last few years. After receiving her MA in education psychology, Ellen has been tasked with launching a gifted/talented program.
Aaliyah Baker
PhD 2013 — Curriculum and Instruction/Multicultural Education
Aaliyah was promoted to associate professor of education leadership and language and literacy at Cardinal Stritch University in Milwaukee.
Brett Hartman
BSE 2013 — English and Secondary Education
Brett has been teaching English at Oshkosh West High School since graduating in 2013. In that time, he has won two Community Foundation Teacher of the Year Awards.
Erin Van Oss
PhD 2013 — Educational Psychology/School Psychology
Dr. Van Oss opened Trinity Psychology, a school psychology private practice, to serve children in remote and underserved communities. She partners with local and nation-wide school districts to provide school-based, clinic-based, and teletherapy services to meet students’ mental health needs due to COVID-19.
Tyler Banh
BSE 2014 — Secondary Education – Mathematics
Tyler has been working at Bain and Company, a global management consulting company, for the past year as a senior specialist on the digital learning team. He is based at the Chicago office. The learning and development industry saw significantly increased demand for digital learning in 2020, accelerated by COVID-19. Tyler’s role primarily focuses on driving adoption for a new learning experience platform and usage of external learning content. When it comes to designing learning programs and measuring learning success, Tyler reports that he still employs the knowledge he gained from his teacher education courses.
Chantal Fuller
BSE 2014 — Special Education/History
Chantal has been working as a teacher in Washington, D.C., Public Schools for the past seven school years. She will be shifting away from classroom instruction to strategic communications and public relations within the next two years. Chantal is in the process of completing a master’s at Trinity Washington University.
Paul Lorenz
MFA 2014 — Art
Paul continued his education at the Yale School of Architecture, graduating with a master of architecture degree in 2017. He is working as an architect in Philadelphia.
Rod Salgado
MS 2014 — Rehabilitation Psychology and Special Education
Rod was immensely inspired by what he learned during his time with RPSE. After graduating with an MS in special education, he went on to complete a PhD in school psychology from the University of Oregon. Rod is currently a psychology postdoctoral fellow at the Kennedy Krieger Institute/Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. In both his clinical work and scholarship, Rod remains passionate about reducing racial health disparities and promoting equitable outcomes for individuals with disabilities and their families.
Kellie Tutkowski
BSE 2014 — Secondary English Education
Kellie and her co-leader have led a building an equity team to facilitate professional development opportunities for their staff in which they examine the intersections of the COVID-19 crisis with equity and the impact on their students. They have also continued involvement in their district’s equity non-negotiables work.
Hsun-Yu Chan
2016 MS — Educational psychology
Hsun-Yu Chan joined the Department of Industrial Education at National Taiwan Normal University in Taipei, Taiwan as a tenure-track assistant professor in spring 2021.
Jennifer Eggert
BSE 2015 — Special Education
Jennifer got married in October 2020 and is finishing her fifth year of being a special education teacher in the Muskego-Norway School District.
Saili Kulkarni
PhD 2015 — Special Education
Dr. Kulkarni, an assistant professor at San Jose State University, and Dr. Sunyoung Kim, an assistant professor at the University of Illinois-Chicago received the Spencer Foundation’s Racial Equity Special Grant Award for their project titled “Playing Together: Using Learning Labs to Reduce Exclusionary Disciplinary Practices for Young Children of Color with Disabilities.” The project will seek to bring together families, teachers, and administrative stakeholders to generate anti-racist and anti-ableist practices to reduce discipline disparities for young children of color with disabilities across two local school contexts.
Emma Osborn
BSE 2015 — Elementary Education
Emma reports that her degree from the UW opened her worldview immensely. After graduation, she decided to attempt to broaden her horizons even further and now teaches abroad. Emma lived in Thailand for three years and now is moving to Istanbul, Turkey. Emma reports that she has never been happier exploring the world around her and experiencing new things every day.
Breanne Litts
MS 2011 — Multicultural Education
PhD 2014 — Curriculum and Instruction
PhD 2015 — Digital Media
Breanne, of the Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Department in the Emma Eccles Jones College of Education and Human Services at Utah State University, received a National Science Foundation Faculty Early Career Development award for her work exploring how a community-driven and culture-centered approach engages American Indian youth and elders in science and technology. With the Northwestern Band of the Shoshone Nation maintaining sovereignty over the project, the team hopes to share and preserve important cultural and historical stories of the tribe and learn together how to conduct research that honors tribal sovereignty and self-determination.
Madisen Potratz
BS 2015 — Art
Madisen founded a pottery business, Good Art for Good, where she creates handmade, artisanal ceramics and donates 20 percent of profits to local charities in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.
Abigail Udell
BSE 2015 — Elementary Education
Abigail and her husband recently bought their first home in Thiensville, Wisconsin. After moving around (Abigail’s husband is a veteran), teaching in Racine and then in Raleigh, North Carolina, she is on her second year of teaching kindergarten at Milwaukee College Prep. Abigail’s students have shown incredible resilience during this pandemic and virtual learning. They are thriving and find joy in every moment of the school day. She is constantly reminded about how incredible children are by watching her students adapt and grow amidst a global pandemic. Many of Abigail’s kids came into the class not knowing letter sounds and are now going into first grade able to read complex math directions. She says that no words can describe how proud she is of her class.
Katherine Adams
BS 2016 — Elementary and Special Education
Katherine is a recipient of the 2021 Herb Kohl Teacher Fellowship. She is committed to fostering equitable and inclusive school experiences for all students. Katherine is also pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership at Carroll University in Waukesha, Wisconsin. She currently teaches third grade in the Pewaukee (Wisconsin) School District.
Sean Frazier
MS 2016 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
Sean was named as a 2021 Leader in Diversity and Inclusive Hiring by the Sports Business Journal’s. He has been a leading voice throughout his career, and currently is serving as the associate vice president and athletic director at Northern Illinois University.
Lucy Hodkiewicz
BFA 2016 — Fine Arts
In the spring following Lucy’s graduation from UW, she purchased a shop and opened a small screen printing business called the Lightbox in Ephraim, Wisconsin. Lucy’s interest in screen printing was fueled by great teachers and practicing professionals like John Hitchcock and Emily Arthur in the Art Department, and a great community of printmakers and businesses in Madison. Come visit Lucy’s eclectic little art shop in Door County — May through October. Take a workshop, or check out the original pieces she’s selling online at the-lightbox.square.site.
Dan Steward
PhD 2016 — Curriculum and Instruction, Music Education
Dan is a state finalist for the Herb Kohl Teaching Fellowship (2020).
Ananda Mirilli
MS 2016 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
Ananda was elected to the Madison School Board in 2019 and launched a collective cooperative of consultants on racial justice and transformative change in 2020.
Elizabeth Pier
PhD 2017 — Educational Psychology
Dr. Pier was recently promoted to the director of impact at Education Analytics, a Madison-based non-profit that uses data and analytics to improve outcomes for students and the education system. In her new role, Dr. Pier will ensure that the work Education Analytics does with and for its partners will impact the field of education, influence state and national education policy, and innovate in the education data and technology industry.
Julia Stathas
BS 2017 — Dance
Julia graduated in May with a doctorate in physical therapy from Mayo Clinic College of Medicine.
Maria Arvanitakis
MS 2018 — Rehabilitation Psychology
Maria transitioned from working as a case manager in an inpatient rehabilitation hospital to working in home health last year. She also writes continuing education units and leads support groups for a hospital in Kansas City. She is proud to represent UW in Kansas City and is always thankful to be a Badger.
Andrew Blair
MS 2018 — Secondary Education (Social Studies/ESL)
Andrew is in his third year as a high school ESL teacher at Como Park Senior High School in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Jodi Lipschitz
BS 2018 — Rehabilitation Psychology
In August, Jodi will be graduating with a doctorate in occupational therapy from the University of Southern California.
Samantha Moritz
MS 2018 — Secondary Education
Samantha is a seventh grade social studies teacher with Cherry Creek Schools.
Adriana Barrios
MFA 2019 — Art/Printmaking
Adriana is one of the two Women Artists Forward Fund prize recipients. The Forward Art Prize is an annual, unrestricted $10,000 award for two women visual artists living in Dane County who show exceptional creativity in their work and compelling prospects for the future. Selections are made through an open, competitive application process each summer. Barrios is a studio artist at the Arts + Literature Laboratory, a community-based contemporary arts center supporting the visual and literary arts, music and performance, and youth and adult arts education. Barrios has been selected to be an Innovation In Image resident artist at the Pilchuck Glass School, located in Stanwood, Washington, in summer 2021.
Benjamin Burns
PhD 2019 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
Benjamin and Chuks Ekwelum (ELPA PhD, 2019) have started an educational consulting business, Mirror Start Educational Consulting (www.mirrorstartconsulting.com). As current practitioners (principals) they hope to bring a unique lens to the world of educational consulting and staff development. Areas of focus will include school improvement, identity development, and leadership for equity.
James Gutsch
MS 2019 — Education
James participated in the first training through the Sharroky Hollie Institute of Cultural and Linguistic Responsiveness in the Sun Prairie School District. He has designed and led professional developments for other staff members to help spread awareness of the benefits of culturally and linguistically responsive teaching.
Kent MacLaughlin
MS 2019 — Kinesiology/Exercise Physiology
Kent became a dissertator in the physiology graduate program in 2018 and defended his PhD proposal in December 2019. His data collection was delayed due to SARS-CoV-2, with plans to finish data collection this summer and defend in the fall 2021 semester.
Sunita Nandihalli
MS 2019 — Counseling Psychology
Less than two years after getting her MS in counseling psychology, Sunita got promoted from being an outpatient psychotherapist to being a clinical supervisor. She reports that she is so humbled to be given this opportunity to provide clinical supervision to a team of outpatient psychotherapists and interns. Sunita has always loved the case consultation part of my work and helping other students and clinicians grow so this is an incredible opportunity to do just that.
Lee Rensimer
PhD 2019 — Educational Policy Studies
From the start of 2021, Lee joined the UCL Institute of Education (London, UK) in a three-year role as a postdoctoral research associate. As part of the Centre for Global Higher Education, he is working with a research team across three UK universities on policy developments transforming higher education globally.
Tori Seymour
MS 2019 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
Tori has recently taken on new responsibilities of planning the extended orientation program at the University of Minnesota Duluth (UMD). She will be fulfilling these duties in addition to advising fraternity and sorority life on UMD’s campus.
Nicholas A. Damiano
MS 2020 — Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis
Nicholas is now the assistant director of Fraternity & Sorority Life at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, and oversees a community of over 500 students.
Phoebe Jordan
PhD 2020 — Educational Psychology
Upon completion of her postdoctoral fellowship in pediatric psychology at the University of Nebraska Medical Center, Phoebe will be starting a position as a clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of Cincinnati (Cincinnati Children’s Hospital and Medical Center), specializing in integrated behavioral health.
Mary Cate Komoski
PhD 2020 — Educational Psychology
Mary is an assistant professor of developmental psychology at Texas A&M International University
Anne Mueller
MS 2020 — Occupational Therapy
Anne recently passed the NBCOT board exam and is now nationally certified as an occupational therapist. She is currently applying for jobs in and near Madison. Anne is really looking forward to providing OT services to people in local communities in the near future.
Ryan Mulrooney
MS 2020 — Curriculum and Instruction
Ryan is working as an English teacher to bring regular literacy assessments to Portage High School to develop interventions.
Kate Nosbusch
BSE 2020 — Elementary Education and Education Studies
Upon graduation, Kate decided that with everything going on in the world, as well as all she had learned during her student teaching experience, that she wanted to shift her career focus into the realm of school psychology. She began researching programs and preparing for the GRE. Kate also knew that everything she learned at UW prepared her to be a teacher, so she decided to teach for a year before beginning a program; this way she could not only be using the skills she had worked so hard to master, but could also learn what a teacher needs from a school psychologist from the viewpoint of a teacher. Teaching during a pandemic has only strengthened Kate’s drive to become a school psychologist as she can see they are more and more necessary, especially after this year. Kate is excited to say that she will be returning to UW to complete her EdS in school psychology this coming fall. Go Badgers and On Wisconsin!
Guzzo Pinc
MFA 2020 — Art Department MFA Painting Major
Since graduation, Guzzo’s artwork has really taken off. When school ended last year he had no interest from galleries and was stressing out about how he was going to make a living as an artist, post-graduation. During the summer, and with so much time to himself due to COVID-19, Guzzo’s art style changed and the changes really attracted the attention of the art world. Suddenly, Guzzo began to get offers from galleries via Instagram. Now, he currently has a solo show up at the prestigious Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee, a solo show coming up this fall at Devening Projects in Chicago, another solo show this fall at UW-Whitewater, and a group show at Gallerie DYS this fall in Brussels. Beyond that, Guzzo’s work is going to be featured in Real Simple magazine (also this fall).
Henry Rothenberg
MS 2020 — Curriculum and Instruction
After graduating from the secondary education program, Henry became a high school chemistry teacher for a brand new public high school in Tucson, Arizona. From August 2020 to March 2021, he was teaching remotely while forming positive relationships with his students. Now, Henry is teaching in a hybrid model where he gets to see half of his students in-person and half his students online. While Henry never imagined that his first year of teaching would be this unique, he has enjoyed refining his teaching practices and growing as an educator.
Allison Streckenbach
MS 2020 — Global Higher Education
Allison has started a position working as an admissions counselor for incoming freshmen at UW-Superior. She works with students from western Wisconsin and all out-of-state students (excluding Minnesota) and aids them from initial inquiry through to enrollment. She also serves as a member of the Global Awareness and Inclusivity Community of Practice, as a liaison with the Human Behavior, Justice, and Diversity Department, and as a liaison with Study Away programs. Allison is also working on a committee dedicated to summer bridge opportunities for underrepresented students, including the early move-in program Superior Jumpstart.