Miami magazine: Class Notes


Profiles

Katrina Campins	Anthony Atala	Richard Lyons

Stephen Althouse	Roselee Roberts	Printing Press

Class Notes

1950s	1960s	1970s

1980s	1990s	2000s

1950s
Julian Haber, A.B. ’56, M.D. ’61, received the Texas Gold Key Award from the Learning Abilities Association of Texas for more than 30 years of service to the organization and to learning-disabled children. His new book, ADHD: The Great Misdiagnosis, Revised Edition, was released nationwide by Taylor Publications.
Boris Kozolchyk, J.D. ’59, president of the National Law Center for Inter-American Free Trade, has received the Leonard J. Theberge Award for Private International Law from the American Bar Association.

1960s
Joseph W. Askren, A.B. ’62, is semi-retired after 32 years of service at Scripps Treasure Coast Newspapers. He now is a telemarketer for the home office of Senior Life Insurance Services in Vero Beach, Florida.
Carole Dawn Reinhart, A.B. ’63, has received the Pioneer Award for “perseverance, professionalism, and outstanding achievements in performance and musicianship” from the International Women’s Brass Conference. She also has received the Austrian Cross of Honor for Science and Art, presented by the president of Austria.
Bruce “Murph” Shapiro, B.Ed. ’63, has been promoted to professor of athletics at Monroe Community College in Rochester, New York. He joined the college in 1969 and served as athletic director for more than a decade, leading the college’s 14 athletic teams to regional and national titles.
Jamie S. Barkin, B.B.A. ’65, M.D. ’70, is professor of medicine and chief of the Division of Gastroenterology at Mount Sinai Medical Center in Miami. He delivered the keynote lecture, “Capsule Endoscopy in Perspective: Evolution from 2001 to 2004,” at the Given Imaging Company’s third annual International Conference on Capsule Endoscopy.
Melvin Barry Greenberg, B.S.E.E. ’66, M.S. ’68, was awarded the NASA Public Service Medal, one of the highest honors a nongovernmental employee can receive from the agency. An expert in computer and electrical safety in human space flight, Greenberg received the award for his work on space shuttle and International Space Station systems, which helps improve onboard safety.
Howard J. King III, B.S. ’69, was appointed director of fisheries service at the Maryland Department of Natural Resources. He is responsible for a staff of 160 professionals and an annual budget of $17 million.

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Katrina Campins Is No Apprentice in Business

ntrepreneurs, listen up. Katrina Campins has an insider’s tip: You don’t have to conform to the mold to get ahead, especially if you’re female. The 24-year-old über-realtor from Coral Gables knows what she’s talking about. This spring, Campins, B.B.A. ’01, was a contestant on NBC’s The Apprentice, a reality show by Survivor creator Mark Burnett, where each week participants faced a series of daunting business challenges, risking a “firing” by Donald Trump if they lost.

Campins made it to the final six of 16 contestants, leading, in one episode, a team of seven women to victory against a team of five men, hawking drinks to patrons of Manhattan’s Hard Rock Café. While her team received a warning from Trump for using their gender to win, Campins agrees that some women may feel pressured to act unsuitably in a “man’s” world. But, she emphasizes, “Most women don’t realize they have a distinct advantage over men if they are able to strike the delicate balance between femininity and respect.”

In real life, it’s Campins’s passion for her profession that brought her success so quickly. A licensed Florida real estate agent at 18, she now ranks in the top 3 percent of all realtors nationwide, handling multimillion-dollar deals for business execs, sports figures, diplomats, and celebrities. A Miami native, she planned to attend college in New York, then work on Wall Street. After she caught the real estate bug, she opted to stay in Miami, one of the best real estate markets in the country, she says.

UM business professor Larry Fauver, who taught international finance to Campins and purchased a home through her, recalls her preparedness and polished demeanor. “She pays attention,” Fauver says. “She asks questions. She’s very attentive to what the customer wants.”

Campins says the education she gained from The Apprentice was priceless, even though initially she was hesitant to participate. As for Trump, she adds, “He’s phenomenal. He has an unforeseen sense of humor.”

— Laurel Kalser

1970s
Amelia Toural, B.B.A. ’70, has been promoted to chief accounting officer for the Assurant Group, a division of the Fortis Company. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, and Miami, Florida, Assurant Group provides targeted insurance products to a variety of clients.
Skip Tripoli, A.B. ’70, has been named partner at Mackenzie Hughes LLP, a leading business law firm in New York State.
Philip A. Holtsberg, A.B. ’73, M.B.A. ’74, J.D. ’77, a litigation research consultant for Magnus Research Consultants, Inc., is a member of the Florida Bar Association and a research psychologist. He returns to South Florida from the University of Georgia, where he served as interim director of the Housing and Demographics Research Center and assistant director of the Gerontology Center.
Bonnie F. Singer, B.F.A. ’73, is chair of the Florida chapter of Friends of Israel Disabled Veterans. She and husband Carlos, associate professor of neurology at the University of Miami, have two sons at the University, Ian and Jeffrey.
H. T. Smith, J.D. ’73, received the Lawyers in Leadership Award from the University of Miami School of Law Center for Ethics and Public Service. A trial lawyer and a Vietnam veteran, Smith is the founding president of the Black Lawyers Association of Miami–Dade County and past president of the National Bar Association. He also is a new member of the University of Miami Board of Trustees.
Barry M. Cohen, J.D. ’74, a Palm Beach County judge, received the 2003 Thurgood Marshall Award from the Malcolm Cunningham Bar Association. The award honors individuals who have made long-term contributions to the advancement of civil rights, civil liberties, and human rights in the United States.
Thomas R. Ungleich, M.A. ’74, J.D. ’81, is the international law attorney at Headquarters U.S. Air Forces Korea, Osan Air Base, South Korea. He is responsible for negotiating, drafting, and monitoring compliance of various agreements involving the U.S. Air Force and Korean government agencies. He also was promoted to the rank of lieutenant colonel in the Air Force Reserves.
Drew B. Vella, B.S. ’75, M.A. ’77, M.B.A. ’77, is a part-time faculty member in the Information Technology program at the University of Phoenix, Las Vegas campus. Previously he lived in Hong Kong for 16 years, where he worked for Caterpillar Tractor Company before launching his own business. He now lives in Henderson, Nevada, with wife Minerva and his red 2003 Corvette.
A. Wayne Carter, A.B. ’76, a working screenwriter in Hollywood for nearly 15 years, has published his adventures in a trade paperback titled Hollywoodaholic: Confessions of a Screenwriter. He lives in Orlando, Florida, with his wife Danette and son Justin.
Robert C. Hickey, B.S. ’77, a physics teacher at Wayland High School in Massachusetts, was awarded a ten-month Albert Einstein Distinguished Educator Fellowship, which he is serving in the Washington, D.C. office of U.S. Senator Joseph Lieberman. The fellowship, administered by the U.S. Department of Energy in cooperation with other federal offices and the Triangle Coalition for Science and Technology Education, offers elementary and secondary mathematics and science teachers who have demonstrated excellence an opportunity to serve in the public sector.
Janet Lund Leininger, A.B. ’77, is assistant vice president of Compass Bank in Plano, Texas. She recently married Len Leininger.
Danny Marmorstein, M.A. ’77, is a cantor at Congregation Bet Breira in Miami. He has produced and recorded a CD of the temple’s choir called Choral Rocks.
Kirk Paul Lafler, B.S. ’78, M.S. ’82, has written the book Power AOL: A Survival Guide. Published by Apress and distributed by Springer Verlag, the book provides step-by-step instructions and visual aides on the numerous services and features offered by America Online.
Mireya Mayor, M.S.N. ’79, is a resident natural history correspondent for National Geographic’s Ultimate Explorer series, which airs on Sundays on MSNBC.

Anthony Atala Is Pioneering Organic Growth

y first responsibility is to my patients,” says Anthony Atala, A.B. ’82, M.D., an accomplished surgeon and director of the Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering Institute and chair of urology at Wake Forest University in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.

“It’s funny how serendipity works,” says Atala, who didn’t envision that his medical career would include research. “But during my training, I saw the potential for using my research to help patients.” His decision might very well save millions of lives. Atala has engineered a process for generating fully functional organs in a laboratory setting. His work has focused primarily on bladders, which he has successfully implanted into dogs, and he expects to have similar success with human patients.

“The rejection risk is eliminated because you are creating new tissue from the patient’s own tissue,” Atala explains, noting that kidneys and other organs are eventual candidates for this technology, which should cost less than current alternatives.

“If you have a patient with end-stage organ disease of any type, you would take a small biopsy of tissue, piece it apart, then grow the individual cell types separately. You grow them in large quantities in an incubator, then you create a three-dimensional scaffold or mold onto which you can seat cells. It’s very much like baking a layer cake.”

So when will Atala—winner of numerous prestigious awards, including the $100,000 Christopher Columbus Fellowship Foundation Award and a spot last year among Scientific American’s top 50 technology leaders—implant the first artificially grown organ into a human patient? “We’re just awaiting governmental approval at this point.” Until then, he devotes 80 hours a week to advancing each step of the process while balancing the joys and responsibilities of also being a husband and father.

“Some people point to eureka moments, either with discovery or accomplishments,” he notes, “but the fact is that everything we do is long and laborious before we actually get results. Of course, every time you get good results you feel good because you’re one step closer to helping a patient. And that’s always rewarding.”

-Leonard Nash

1980s
Frank J. Austan (Acosta), A.B. ’80, has been profiled in the 58th edition of Who’s Who in America. He is director of respiratory care and sleep medicine at Temple University Hospital in Philadelphia.
Duba Leibell, M.F.A. ’80, is vice president of Miami film company Big Fish/Tall Tales. She recently won a Sunlight Production Fund Award for excellence in screenwriting for her script, Johnny Girl, cowritten with Ken Ross from Cyclone Pictures in New York, New York. Her short film, Sky Above, Heaven Below, received awards from the Fort Lauderdale Film Festival and Palm Springs Festival and is distributed on a Best Short Film Collection from Warner Brothers.
Inés R. Triay, B.S. ’80, Ph.D. ’86, received the Dixy Lee Ray Award from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers for outstanding scientific, engineering, and managerial contributions to nuclear waste management. She is manager of the Carlsbad Field Office of the United States Department of Energy in New Mexico.
Ramón Manuel Barrera, B.S. ’81, is an examiner for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in Arlington, Virginia.
Ileana Blanco, A.B. ’81, trial partner in the Houston office of Bracewell & Patterson, LLP, was named one of this year’s ten Women on the Move by Texas Executive Women and the Houston Chronicle. The award recognizes outstanding professional accomplishments and community activities of women in the Houston area.
Arnold Newman, D.F.A. ’81, joined the likes of Robert Redford and Meryl Streep, receiving the medal of Commander in the Order of Arts and Letters from the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in New York City for his work as a photographer. The Order of Arts and Letters was established in 1957 to recognize notable artists and writers and those who have helped further the arts in France and throughout the world.
Hunting F. Deutsch, M.B.A. ’82, was promoted to executive vice president of private client and institutional services for AmSouth Bank in Birmingham, Alabama. He is immediate past president of the University of Miami Alumni Association.
Robert Tary Kettle, M.B.A. ’82, and Dorothy Sara Long, A.B. ’87, MB.A. ’92, married last year, announce the birth of their son, Augustus John Kettle. They reside in Naples, Florida, and at their Green Plains farm in Mathews County, Virginia. Tary is founder and president of MasterLink Club Services, a golf and private club management firm, and Dorothy is president of Adonis Ventures, Inc., a company that breeds, races, and provides for the adoption of thoroughbred horses.
Meryl S. (Drescher) Starr, B.S.Ed. ’82, a personal organizer and motivation coach, runs a New York-based company called Let’s Get Organized. She travels throughout the country helping clients organize their lives. She is the author of a new book, The Home Organizing Workbook, a step-by-step guide for reducing household clutter.
David Berlind, B.B.A. ’84, is executive editor of ZDNet, a leading editorial resource that helps information technology professionals gain an edge in business. ZDNet is a property of CNET Networks, a global media company informing and connecting buyers, users, and sellers of technology, consumer electronics, and gaming products. He also is the author of the “Reality Check” column, in which he advocates the use of standards-based technologies. His work has earned him the President’s Award for Journalism, one of the 2003 Leadership and Service Awards from the American National Standards Institute.
Deborah Kowall-Wajsblat, A.B. ’84, ran a talent agency for 15 years, then became a casting director for film, television, and print. She resides in Whitestone, New York, and recently was a producer for a film and television pilot.
Gerald J. Noe, Jr., B.Arch. ’84, has moved into private practice. His Cincinnati architectural firm specializes in commercial and industrial facilities and consulting for clients in the automotive, steel processing, heavy manufacturing, and paper industries.
Michael Throne, B.S.A.E ’84, B.S.C.E. ’84, was appointed city engineer for the City of Benicia, California.
Marilyn Glassberg Csete, M.D. ’85, assistant professor of medicine in the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care, was selected as a Local Legends award winner for her contribution to the positive image of women in medicine. Nominated by Florida’s U.S. Senator Bob Graham and Representative Lincoln Diaz-Balart, she is the only Florida recipient of the national honor this year.
Michael Robin, A.B. ’85, is the executive producer of The D.A., a new one-hour drama television series that debuts this season on the ABC Television Network. Robin has won Emmy Awards for his work as producer of the hit television shows L.A. Law and NYPD Blue. He received a Golden Globe nomination this year for Nip/Tuck, which airs on F/X Networks.
Corinna Sager, B.F.A. ’85, and Katja (Kuemmerle) Esson, B.S.C. ’90, produced a short documentary film called Ferry Tales, which was nominated for an Academy Award.
Pete McGuinness, B.M. ’86, is a freelance trombonist in New York City. He co-leads the big band The New Yorkestra, which is launching its debut CD Urban Soundscapes. He also is an adjunct professor in jazz studies for New Jersey City University.
Stephen S. Schaefer, M.B.A. ’86, has earned financial planner certification as well as the title of financial planning specialist.
Lisa A. Lee, B.B.A. ’87, displayed four original photographs in an exhibit at New York City’s Photo District Gallery.
Phil Langley, B.B.A. ’88, has become co-president and general partner of E’lite Eyewear, Inc., of Carrollton, Texas. The company is a leading provider of magnetic eyewear and polarized sun clips and is the exclusive distributor of Polaroid brand eyewear in North America.
Joseph W. Rusinowski, Jr., M.B.A. ’88, a former faculty member in the Division of Physical Therapy at the University of Miami School of Medicine, has opened Therapeutic Resources, Inc., an independent physical therapy practice in Coconut Creek, Florida.
Mario Yanez, B.B.A. ’88, M.B.A. ’89, has received a two-year fellowship from the Environmental Leadership Program to develop and implement effective environmental practices. He is director of programs at Citizens for a Better South Florida.
Brenda Yester, B.B.A. ’89, vice president of revenue management for Miami-based Carnival Cruise Lines, has been named to the board of directors for the Make-A-Wish Foundation of Southern Florida, an organization dedicated to enriching the lives of children with life-threatening diseases.

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Richard Lyons Enjoys the Fruits of His Labor

f you turn on the radio in South Florida and hear your real estate attorney offering expert advice on the cultivation of rare flowering plants and trees, you’re probably listening to Richard W. Lyons, J.D. ’60. For about five years, Lyons has been an occasional host of WIOD’s The Garden Show on Sunday mornings. “I guess I’ve become somewhat of a personality in the garden culture,” he says.

Since his childhood in Chicago, Lyons, a trustee and former chairman of the Attorneys’ Title Insurance Fund, has enjoyed “planting things.” In 1991 his interest in bamboos, palms, fruit trees such as litchi, jackfruit, and carambola, and all things horticultural became a second business. During five trips to Japan for intensive study of Japanese, he developed a passion for the art of bonsai. When he ran out of space at home, he purchased and cleared ten overgrown acres in the Redland area of Florida and founded the Richard Lyons Nursery (www.rarefloweringtrees.com). Acknowledging that few customers will pay for a “true bonsai,” Lyons changed his focus to rare flowering trees and plants. “What you see in the stores, those are just little plants in a pot. A true bonsai requires hundreds of hours and years to perfect. The people who will pay for that are too few and far between.”

A member of the Rare Flowering Tree Society, the Rare Fruit Council, the Native Plant Society, and the Palm Society, Lyons has traveled to Borneo, Indonesia, Malaysia, and Costa Rica to learn about exotic species. On his future travel agenda are tours of Australia, New Zealand, Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand.

Lyons, a recent grandfather, describes his law firm, Lyons and Smith, P.A., as “a small boutique firm that specializes in real estate, with an emphasis on personal attention.” He still enjoys practicing law some 44 years into his career, but he finds the nursery business more relaxing. “When you’re practicing law, you often have to take a very aggressive position, but you don’t have to do that at the nursery. It’s very peaceful out there.”

— Leonard Nash

1990s
Nancy DiStefano-Pulver, M.M. ’90, is the choral director at Palm Beach Lakes High School in West Palm Beach, Florida. She was married in February at the Florida Renaissance Festival.
George E. Hunkele, B.S. ’90, a science teacher at Harborside Middle School in Milford, Connecticut, has achieved National Board Certification in teaching.
Bertrand “Freddie” Stebbins, B.S.C. ’90, M.L.S. ’94, is a cohost on Get Packing, the Travel Channel’s new reality dating television series.
Tangela Y. Cooke, B.S. ’91, has published her first book, Tangible Times, a collection of poems written over a span of 19 years.
Sandra Garcia Jones, M.S.N. ’91, an assistant professor at the Florida International University School of Nursing, has become a Fellow of the American Academy of Nursing. She also has been designated a distinguished lecturer for 2003 to 2005 by the Association of Nurses in AIDS Care.
Manisha Singh, A.B. ’91, serves as internal trade counsel to the Republican staff of the United States Senate Committee on Foreign Relations. Working for committee chairman Senator Richard Lugar, she advises on international trade and economic policy.
Rebecca Hoffman, A.B. ’92, M.S.Ed. ’94, is director of development for the Institute of Design at the Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago. She recently married Dan Pikelny, director of health and productivity for Navistar.
Michelle (Bereznick-Yaffe) Hollister, B.B.A. ’92, was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush as executive director of the Statewide Public Guardianship Office. Housed within the Department of Elder Affairs, the office assigns local offices to provide guardian services to people who cannot afford a private guardian.
Craig Langley, B.S.C.E. ’92, has joined the law firm of Broad and Cassel. An associate in the Orlando office, he is a member of the Land Use and Environmental Practice Group.
Sharon Marie Sotiros, B.S.C. ’92, M.S.Ed. ’95, a teacher at the Kennedy School, was elected to the school committee in Burlington, Massachusetts.

The Objects of Stephen Althouse’s Expression

rarely bring a camera when I travel,” says Stephen Althouse, B.F.A. ’70, professor of photography at Barry University in Miami since 1977 and chairman of the Department of Fine Arts, effective September 2004. “An exception was when I went to Belgium, but I did all my photography inside my house,” he says, referring to his six-month tenure as artist-in-residence at the Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art in Liège, Belgium, courtesy of a Fulbright Research Grant. Althouse’s photographs are in museums worldwide, from Boston to Lima to Tokyo.

“I make assemblages of objects that have some sort of significance to my life, and then I photograph them with a large-format view camera.” Primitive swords and arrows and, more recently, gas masks and models of Stealth Bombers are the kinds of items he uses in his work. “I cover them up with cloth. It’s not like they’re an obvious representation of these things.”

Accomplished in darkroom techniques, Althouse now uses computers and archival inkjet printers to create his prints. And despite the meticulous effort involved in the photography, his original assemblages do not survive. “Sometimes I reuse the objects over and over again.”

The farms and industrial areas of Liège reminded Althouse of Eastern Pennsylvania, the stomping ground of his youth. “I collected objects that felt like Pennsylvania and Belgium combined—farm implements, old metal tools, axes, clamps, sheep shears, horse bridles, horse bits, and rakes, and I wrapped them with cloth I found in the house. You don’t actually see Belgium in the photographs, but I’m expressing my experiences and feelings nurtured in Belgium.” The Fulbright Commission has since donated his 24-image exhibition to the museum. Barry University recently showed a duplicate exhibit.

Althouse, who has accompanied his students to the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador, Madrid, London, and Paris, says his goal as a professor is to “encourage students to discover more about themselves, to allow them the freedom to search for something meaningful, and to help them find a truly satisfying form of creative visual expression.”

— Leonard Nash

Clay Stafford, M.F.A. ’92, was listed in 2,000 Outstanding Intellectuals of the 21st Century by the International Biographical Centre in Cambridge, England. He is president and CEO of American Blackguard, Inc., a Tennessee-based company that offers development and production support for film and television products.
Amy Troiano, B.S.C. ’92, is vice president of on-air promotion at the NBC-owned cable channel Bravo in Los Angeles.
O. Oliver Wragg, J.D. ’92, was appointed to serve on the Dade County Bar Association Board of Directors. In private practice specializing in personal injury and wrongful death, he also is the executive editor of The Bulletin, the monthly publication of the Dade County Bar Association.
Gregg D. Brown, B.B.A. ’93, celebrated the world premiere of his documentary film, Words, which shows hidden connections of groups of people, at the 2004 Florida Film Festival.
Alfredo Rodriguez de Villa, B.S.C. ’93, received the Best Latino Director award from the Directors Guild of America for his two short films, Joe’s Egg and Neto’s Run. His first feature film, Washington Heights, debuted last year and has received numerous awards from national and international film festivals. He is now preparing a documentary on groundbreaking Cuban filmmakers of the 1960s and 1970s. He lives in South Florida.
Adam J. Ball, B.S. ’94, M.D. ’99, and Cristina Ramirez-Ball, B.F. A.B. ’95, M.S.Ed. ’97, announce the birth of daughter Caroline Sofia. Adam is chief resident of urology at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Hospital.
Andrew H. Chesnick, M.B.A. ’95, was appointed senior vice president of the Residential Division at the O’Neill Properties Group, L.P., a private real estate development company headquartered in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. He is responsible for the development of the company’s residential portfolio.
Jason Laeser, A.B. ’95, J.D. ’98, a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, resides in Northern Virginia with wife Alyssa. They announce the recent birth of their son Joshua Samuel.
Ryan Madanick, B.S. ’95, M.D. ’98, was a contestant on the game show Wheel of Fortune. His overall winnings in cash and prizes totaled more than $61,000.
Jason A. Sheets, A.B. ’95, M.B.A. ’98, has been promoted to director of cruises for Travelocity, the second-largest individual cruise seller in North America.
Sylvia Torres, A.B. ’95, has completed an internal medicine residency program at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey. She has received a rheumatology fellowship at Louisiana State University and is engaged to be married.
Geronda V. Carter, J.D. ’96, an attorney practicing in Atlanta, recently published a collection of poems and inspirational writings titled Released, A Poetic Discovery of Spirit, Love, Freedom, and Humanity. She also has a newborn daughter, Jania Ella.
Sheila Chamberlain, J.D. ’96, a Senate legislative assistant, was awarded the Tuskegee Airmen Blades award for her personal contributions to the field of aviation during her military career. The U.S. Army’s first African-American woman combat intelligence pilot, Chamberlain served on active duty during the Grenada/Panama Invasion and the Persian Gulf War, with three tours in The Republic of Korea and Latin America. She is the founder, president, and CEO of the Florida Keys Gazette newspaper and station manager of LPTV, Inc., in Key West, Florida.
Patience Ciufo, A.B. ’96, is an Advanced Placement English teacher and chair of the English Department at the Martin County School Board in Stuart, Florida. She has received national board certification in English and was honored with a listing in the Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers in 2000 and 2002.
Robert M. Jamieson, Sr., B.S.I.E. ’96, was awarded a United Nations certificate of registration, making him a U.N. mercenary agent at the rank of captain. His service record includes 31 pages of professional résumé.
Mark Siegel, B.B.A. ’96, is a member of the Computer Services Group at Wabash College in Crawfordsville, Indiana. After marrying Kristel VanBuskirk in 1999, he spent a year living and working in southern France.
Emily (Tims) Jones, B.S.I.E. ’97, is an operations research analyst for AT&T Government Solutions, headquartered in Vienna, Virginia. She recently married Captain S. Kyle Jones.
Jonathan D. Louis, J.D. ’97, specializes in corporate law at the law offices of Stephen G. Melcer in Boca Raton, Florida.
Ruben Perczek, M.S. ’97, Ph.D. ’99, director of the Perczek Performance Institute in Key Biscayne, Florida, uses his experience as a professional athlete and sports psychologist to train individuals and organizations in the area of peak performance. He has released The Zen of Peak Performance, a six-CD album to help people increase focus and develop confidence.
Rodrigo Garza, M.A. ’98, was sworn in as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Diplomatic Corps. He has been assigned to the U.S. Consulate in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam.
Eduardo R. Arista, J.D. ’99, is president of AristaLaw.com and was appointed to the Board of Directors of Legal Services of Greater Miami, Inc.
Peter G. Bielagus, B.S.C. ’99, has written Getting Loaded, a personal finance guide for students and young professionals published by Penguin Putnam NAL.
John C. Clough, J.D. ’99, has joined the Naples, Florida, law firm of Quarles & Brady LLP as an associate. He specializes in the areas of commercial litigation and business law.
Jamie Heffner, A.B. ’99, married Justin Spooner B.S. ’99, M.S.P.T. ’01, in Port St. Lucie Florida, where Justin is a physical therapist and Jamie is a seventh-grade language arts teacher.
Ligia M. Houben, A.B. ’99, received a master’s degree in religious studies from Florida International University and is pursuing graduate certificates in gerontology and thanatology at St.Thomas University.
Lina Utrera, B.S.N. ’99, was promoted to director of medical surgical services at Kendall Regional Medical Center in Miami, Florida.

Roselee Roberts Has Found Her Mission in Space

hen you talk to people on Capitol Hill, you have to give both sides—your position as well as any downside,” says Roselee Roberts, A.B. ’64, director of legislative affairs for The Boeing Company. “Otherwise, you don’t have any credibility, and credibility is all you’ve got when you’re doing this.”

For 16 years, including ten years with McDonnell Douglas Corporation prior to its merger with Boeing, she has lobbied Congress on behalf of the company, which is NASA’s primary contractor for space shuttles, the International Space Station, Delta Launch Vehicles, and other aerospace technologies.

In the early 1990s Roberts helped establish Women in Aerospace to expand women’s opportunities for leadership in the field. Roberts, who was Southern Bell’s first female management trainee in 1964, is proud to have earned economics and mathematics degrees from the University of Miami and a master’s degree in economics from Virginia Tech when many colleges and universities still offered female students few opportunities beyond teaching and nursing. “If you think about the changes that occurred for women in just one generation, it’s pretty amazing,” she says. “In the ’60s, women kind of made a choice between having kids or having a career, but I wanted it all.”

A New Jersey native, Roberts enjoys gardening and playing tennis and has two adult daughters, an architect and a lawyer, with husband Art Roberts, B.B.A. ’64. A member of the University of Miami President’s Council and a regional director for the UMAA board, she recently returned to the Coral Gables campus as a distinguished Alumna in Residence to guest lecture in two political science classes at the School of Business Administration.

Lamenting NASA’s funding challenges—a 1 percent federal budget allocation compared with 4 percent in the 1960s—Roberts asserts that the rewards of space exploration are well worth the expense. “It is the right thing to do to keep our kids interested in studying hard subjects like math and science. It is the right thing to do to keep our great nation in the forefront of great nations, and it is the right thing to do to keep the people of our nation excited about their futures.”

— Leonard Nash

2000s
G. Douglas Harper, J.D. ’00, of Harper Meyer Perez & Ferrer LLP, has been named to the executive council of the Tropical Pioneers, known as “The Tropees,” the young professionals arm of the Historical Museum of South Florida. He is a member of the Florida Bar, Minnesota Bar, Northern District of Florida Bar, and District of Columbia Bar.
Chad A. Perlyn, M.D. ’00, a plastic surgery resident at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri, also is conducting a three-year Ph.D. fellowship at the University of Oxford in craniofacial development. He is engaged to Brooke Russ, a student in the School of Law Class of 2005.
Michelle (Fineman) Prosser, M.S.N. ’00, is a senior reproductive health advisor for the Futures Group International in Washington, D.C.
Teresa Clark Evans, J.D. ’01, has joined the law firm of McClure Duffee & Eitzen LLP, where she will continue to practice family law and civil litigation in the Dallas, Texas, area.
Salvatore Russo, Jr., M.B.A. ’01, is vice president of transaction management in the Capital Markets Group of Washington Mutual Bank in Seattle, Washington.
David Kidd, M.B.A. ’03, has joined Tropical Greens, a South Florida company that installs synthetic turf golf greens, tee lines, lawn grass, and sport surfaces.

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