Summer/Fall 2006
News For and From FDU Alumni
1952
Sal Falciglia, BS (R), is chief executive officer of Slingo, Inc., which with Kayak Interactive, Inc., has released the country’s first multi-player, Web-to-wireless community games, Slingo-2-Go and 5-Card Slingo-2-Go for the cellular phone.
1956
Four years after being discharged from the U.S. Army Air Corps, Frank Allia, BS (R), enrolled at FDU. He attended evening classes and was inducted into two honor societies. Allia graduated summa cum laude, and taught evening classes in engineering on FDU’s Teaneck, Madison and Rutherford campuses.
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1960
Armand Kamp, BS (T), MS’64 (T), is professor emeritus at the State University of New York. He got his start teaching at FDU and was an assistant professor and assistant dean of science. He also was an assistant to President Peter Sammartino and director of the student labor force.
After retiring from teaching, Jeanne Baffino McLaughlin, BS (T), teaches part-time in a gifted/talented program. Her son, Carl, is building a house in Hawaii, and she writes that she cannot wait to visit.
Robert Murphy, BS (R), is retired and living in Las Vegas, Nev.
1961
Regine [Rubel] Dubono, BS (R), has published Youth Hostels, How To Travel With a Group on a Shoestring Budget online with www.lulu.com.
1962
Since he retired from his dental practice in 1997, Hugh Hunsinger, DMD (T), has spent his time sailing the East Coast and painting. His oil paintings have been exhibited in art galleries, and he also has been commissioned to do some pieces. Hunsinger is married to the former Mary Lee Meneely, AA’59 (T). They have three children and eight grandchildren.
1963
Mark Silberfarb, BA (T), was elected chairman and chief executive officer of Global Financial Institute, LLC. He also is president and chief executive officer of Advisors Resource Group, Inc. Silberfarb and his wife of 35 years, Susan, have two sons: Andrew, a physicist at the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, Calif.; and Michael, an attorney with Jones Day, LLC, N.Y.C. Former classmates may contact Silberfarb at msilberfarb@globalfinancialinst.org.
1964
Edward Behrman, MBA (T), retired as chief financial officer of Heisler Machine & Tool Co., Fairfield, N.J., in 1991. He and his wife live in Florida.1965
After retiring from the Vermont Department of Education, Bruce Parks, BS (M), is an adjunct instructor at the Community College of Vermont. He also is a science education consultant for grades K–12.1968
Sandra Burke MS (R), director of cardiovascular systems research at Abbott Laboratories, Abbott Park, Ill.,was inducted into the Women in Technology International Hall of Fame for her research into a cardiovascular device for the treatment of the renarrowing of the arteries.
Guidebook to Planning: A Common Sense Approach, a book by Robert Donnelly, MBA (T), is being reprinted by Xlibris Corporation. The book is available from Barnes & Noble, Borders, Amazon and Xlibrius.
Mark Meyer, BA (T), is an adjunct professor of law at St. John’s University School of Law, Jamaica, N.Y. He also is a member of the Wall Street-law firm of Herzfeld & Rubin, P.C.
1969
After nine years in the Gibbs Montclair School, Eileen Nad Castaldi, BA (M), was promoted to director of admissions-high school division of the Katharine Gibbs School, N.Y.C. She has a son, Nathan, and a daughter, Leah.
Bruce Rubin, BS (R), established BHR Global Associates, Inc., a professional services organization that helps companies bring products to market through global sourcing, supply-chain management and sales/marketing support.
Pete Wall, BS (T), announces that his son and daughter-in-law graduated with MBAs from Montclair State University and Rutgers University-Newark, respectively. They have both been accepted into Columbia University’s Teachers College doctoral program.
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1970
Irynej Danylchuk, MBA (M), is a retired district manager of AT&T.
Seminar Information Service, Inc., Irving, Calif., a company that Mona Piontkowski, BA (M), started and co-owns, celebrated its 25th anniversary last May. She is executive vice president of the company.
1971
Barbara Emmeluth Brooks, BS (T), retired after 20 years as a regional hospital nursing services administrator. She regulated hospital long-term care facilities throughout New York State, was director of nursing in long-term care and has taught in nursing programs. She writes that she is enjoying retirement and does volunteer work in high schools.
Jonathan Gordon, BA (T), MA’73 (T), a licensed psychologist and attorney, opened an office in Teaneck, N.J., which specializes in divorce and family law. He and his wife, Monica, a nursing student in Holy Name Hospital, live in Teaneck. They have seven children and four grandchildren.
Indianapolis, Ind., Mayor Bart Peterson declared January 30, 2006, Alec Miller Day, in honor of Alexander “Alec” Miller, BS (M), who lives in Indianapolis and celebrated his 50th year as a sales representative for Geiger Co., Lewiston, Maine.
1972
David Arechiga, BA (T), retired as an administrator from Columbia University, N.Y.C.
Robert Konigsberg, BA (T), MA’74 (T), retired after 20 years in the obstetrics/gynecology field. He also used to teach at the University of Colorado. Konigsberg and his wife, Pat, are building a home in the Dominican Republic.
1973
Joe D’Elia, BA (M), director of the Kodiak Public Library in Alaska, was elected president of the Alaska Library Association. His son, Gregory, 13, won a National Geographic essay contest and will join 14 other winners on a trip to the Galapagos Islands.
Cynthia Gordon, BA (R), is a Eucharistic minister of the altar at St. Peter’s Catholic Church, Wellsboro, Pa., and a member of St. Peter’s Parish Council. She is co-author of Park Hill Manor News and co-founder and a volunteer for Park Hill’s Goodies for the Troops.
Jane Evans Snyder, BA (M), and her husband, Ray, relocated to Ocean City, N.J. A broker/salesperson with Prudential Fox and Roach Realtors, she specializes in sales and rentals, investment properties, second homes and 1031 exchanges. The couple’s two sons, Jim and Bob, graduated from the University of South Carolina, Columbia.
Frank Valenzano, BS (R), is the 2006 president of the New Jersey Football Officials Association, North Jersey Chapter. He also serves as membership chairman, instructor of new officials and state examiner.
1974
Donald Freedland, BS (T), is public works director and emergency management coordinator in Port St. Lucie, Fla., which he writes is the fastest-growing city in the United States.
Robert Vogel, BS (M), MBA’78 (T), was elected to the board of directors of The Children’s Inn of the National Institute of Health (NIH), Bethesda, Md. The Children’s Inn is a nonprofit organization that provides housing free of charge for children who are being treated at NIH for life-threatening and chronic conditions and their families. In 2000, Vogel; his wife, Grace; and their son, Josh, stayed at the Inn while his younger son, Scott, was undergoing treatment for a rare and life-threatening disorder called chronic granulomatous disease. Scott’s health has since stabilized, but Vogel continues to support The Children’s Inn. To mark his 50th birthday in 2002, Vogel organized a 50-kilometer “Ultra Run” to benefit the organization. His efforts raised $25,000.
1975
Bill Murtha, BA (T), is chief executive officer of Roberts Communications, Inc., in Rochester, N.Y.1976
Thomas Hill, BS(M), MBA’78 (M), was appointed vice president and bank secrecy officer at Interchange Bank in Saddle Brook, N.J. He earned a professional certification in 2003 from the Association of Certified Anti-Money Laundering Specialists (ACAMS) and manages the bank’s compliance with the USA Patriot Act. He and his wife, Barbara, have five children and live in Pompton Plains, N.J.
Michael “Mike” Pitcher, BS (R), was appointed regional sales manager for the Dex-O-Tex Division of Crossfield Products, Rancho Dominguez, Calif., which manufactures above-grade deck coatings, industrial flooring and cementitious products.
James Thalmann, MA (T), has a son who is attending FDU’s College at Florham. Thalmann was happy to note that some of his professors are still teaching.
1977
Michael Eisenstein, BS (T), a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army, was activated in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Bonnie Rosenbaum Kole, BA (R), was named chair of the language arts department at New Brunswick (N.J.) High School. Bonnie and her husband, David, have two children: William, sophomore at the College at Florham who is a Col. Fairleigh S. Dickinson scholar and a student in the University Honors Program, and Michele.
Tom Lafen, BS (M), is about to complete his 25th year with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Although he was already established in restaurant management, Lafen decided to change fields and work as an air traffic controller in 1981. He has worked at several New York air traffic facilities including the New York Center on Long Island, Rochester Tower, Ithaca Tower and Binghamton Tower. He also worked at FAA headquarters in Washington, D.C., and developed staffing standards for all air traffic facilities. Lafen is currently operations manager of Providence Tower in Rhode Island. He is married with three children, ages 15, 13 and 11.
Marcella “Marcy” LoCastro, MBA (R), joined SolomonEdwardsGroup, LLC (SEG) as managing director of the accounting and finance company’s new office in Roseland, N.J.
1979
Michael Byrnes, MBA (T), retired in October 2005 from Hewlett-Packard, where he was sales incentive design manager, personal systems group. He established Pinecliff Compensation Group in Methuen, Mass., which specializes in sales incentive design and implementation.
Deborah Cenci, BA (T), was nominated to serve a second term as executive director of the Medical Device International Industry Council. Her e-mail address is debbiec@meddevicecouncil.org.
Claudia Howe Christie, BA (M), received a master’s degree in education administration with honors from Seton Hall University, South Orange, N.J. She is pursuing a certification in special education at Rutgers University.
Bryan Laiks, BS (T), has been involved in financial planning at Morgan Stanley for two years and is now responsible for supervising the advisory desk. He writes that he is enjoying his new role.
Jill Rednor Tannenbaum, BA (M), is a certified hypnotherapist who deals with weight loss, focus, smoking cessation, performance enhancement, fears and phobias and stress management.
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1980
Judy Martin Hughes, BS (R), lives in East Rutherford, N.J., with her son, Derek, 21, who is in college. Although she currently works in accounting, she is studying to become a pastry chef at the Institute of Culinary Education in Manhattan, N.Y.C. Hughes writes that she would love to hear from former classmates.
After 25 years in the banking industry, Eileen Lesko-Eckert, BS (R), MBA’86 (R), changed careers and is now teaching career education and computer literacy in East Orange, N.J.
Ira Shapiro, BS (M), a chiropractor, received a proclamation for sports chiropractic excellence from the state of New Jersey and the township of Old Bridge, N.J. Shapiro served on the medical staff of the U.S. 2006 Olympic Team in Torino, Italy, where he cared for more than 200 American athletes. Shapiro is director at the Plaza Chiropractic Center in Old Bridge.
1981
Gil Cohen, BS (R), general manager of the Regency Lodge in Omaha, Neb., was elected to one-year terms on the Omaha Symphony governing board and the Omaha Chamber of Commerce board of directors. He also was elected to the Rotary board of directors for a three-year term. Cohen writes that he misses his FDU friends.
Donna Garbowski Hewa, BS (R), an insurance and benefits manager for Fedway Associates, Inc., writes that she recently celebrated her second year as a cancer survivor and looks forward to many more!
Lon Mitchell, BS (T), is Long Island/New York district sales manager for Celebrity Cruises, which was named Top Premium Cruise Line in 2005 by Condé Nast Traveler.
Frederick “Rick” Mueller II, BS (R), was promoted to senior vice president, client management, at Evergreen Investments.
Betty Ann Huey Olson, EdD (T), was named second vice president of the Western Fairfax (Va.) Republican Women’s Club. She has a private tutoring business and is an adjunct faculty member at George Mason University, Fairfax.
1982
Michael Altschuler, BS (T), MBA’84 (T), is branch manager and senior financial adviser at Wachovia Securities, Colts Neck, N.J. He previously worked at Morgan Stanley for 20 years.
Janet Bozewicz Hayden, BS (R), is an IV chemotherapy infusion float nurse at Virginia Oncology Associates, Norfolk, which is part of US Oncology. She and her husband, Mike, are foster parents of three dogs from Hope for Life, Inc. — a poodle, terrier and cocker spaniel.
Joseph Riccie, BS (R), joined SolomonEdwardsGroup, LLC as principal of the business consultants and accountants team. A certified public accountant, he is a member of the New Jersey State Society of CPAs and the American Institute of CPAs.
Allison Saget, BA (T), is the author of The Event Marketing Handbook: Beyond Logistics and Planning, which is available at neighborhood and online retailers. The book features Saget’s EventBLT™ approach, which integrates brand recognition, lead generation and thought leadership to shorten the sales cycle. She may be reached at www.eventblt.com.
Suzanne Vincze, BA (R), was appointed director of sales and marketing at New Jersey Surgical Solutions.
1984
The Wonder of Keys for Kids, a children’s book by George Cruz, MAT (T), has been published through Epic Press, Essence Publications. The book is based on keys to success for children.
Deborah Ajamian Fox, BS (M), MBA’91 (M), and her husband, Jim, announce the birth of their daughter, Mary Elizabeth, on August 25, 2005. She joins a brother, James Patrick (JP).
1986
George Hewitt, MBA (T), started his own business, Home Innovation Technology, in Wayne, N.J. The company specializes in home-technology services such as home theaters, whole-house audio/video, smart-home automation and home networks.Robert Homer, BS (R), MBA’87 (R), was appointed vice president, products, at Checkfree Corporation in Norcross, Ga., in November 2005.
William Bennett (Ben) Warfield, BS (T), won a $3,500 Visa debit card on the May 24 episode of “The Tony Danza Show” for giving the correct answer to a trivia question about “The Little Rascals.” Warfield, who lives in Southfield, Mich., has been working at OfficeMax for 15 years. He says “hi” to all his classmates.
1987
David Powers, BS (M), and his wife, Pattajit, announce the birth of their daughter, Annalina, on October 22, 2005. She joins sister, Kataleeya.
1988
Gayle Englert, MPA (R), director of human resources at Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman and Leonard, P.A., was elected vice president of the board of directors of the National Association for Law Placement.
Pamela Ebner Simard, BS (M), announces the birth of her third daughter, Brianna, in October 2005. She joins sisters, Erin, 4, and Emma, 3.
1989
Daryl De Nitto, MAT (T), a social studies and English as a second language teacher at North Bergen (N.J.) High School, was selected Teacher of the Year by his school district.
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1990
Grace Bombaci Nagel, MBA (M), was promoted to senior vice president of Community Business Bank, Calif. She oversees the operations of the bank’s branches and maintains the bank’s compliance program.
Jill Lazzaro Heinrich, BA (M), MA’96 (M), and her husband, Dean, announce the birth of their son, Daniel. He joins a sister, Sofia. Heinrich is manager of General Electric’s GE Volunteers, a worldwide organization.
Susan Day Schilp, BA (M), and her husband, Joseph, announce the birth of their son, John Nicholas, on February 22. He joins sisters Katie, 5, and Mary, 3. Schilp is a solo practitioner with a law office in Piscataway, N.J., where she specializes in real-estate law.
1991
Annamaria Cucciniello Lalevee, BA (M), MA’95 (M), and her husband, Gary, announce the birth of their son, Richard Luke, on November 16, 2005. Lalevee is the public relations director at Centenary College in Hackettstown, N.J., and is a board member of the New Jersey Chapter of the Public Relations Society of America. She is a gold winner for the 2005 MarCom Creative Awards for a Centenary television placement. The Lalevees live in Mansfield, N.J.
1992
The New Jersey Chapter of the International Association of Business Communicators presented Robert Currie, BS (M), MA’96 (M), with its Communicator of the Year award. Currie is vice president and chief communications and public affairs officer at J.M. Huber Corporation.
Thomas Estok, MBA (T), was appointed chief commercial officer of Conforma Therapeutics Corporation, San Diego, Calif.
1993
Rollins College, Winter Park, Fla., named Ilan Alon, BS (R), MBA’94 (T), as the first Jennifer J. Petters Professor of International Business and executive director of the Rollins China Center. Alon will assist in efforts to send Rollins College faculty, staff and students abroad for study opportunities, bring international scholars to teach at Rollins and assist in the creation of the Petters Group Worldwide Shanghai Living-Learning Center.
John Castellano, BS (T), was promoted to regional vice president of market research of Epocrates, a San Mateo, Calif.-based company. Castellano lives and works in the Princeton, N.J., area.
Don Ledgard, BA (T), and his wife, Kristen, are both practicing attorneys in California.
Carl Pflanzer, MBA (M), and Patricia Magee, announce the birth of their son, Michael Carl James, on November 3, 2005.
1994
Edwin Arteaga, BS (T), has been working at ITT Industries in Clifton, N.J., for the past five years. He and his wife, Patricia, have two sons: Lehi, 7, and David, 4. Arteaga writes that he would love to hear from his classmates.
Sheila Massoni, MAT (T), is working on her dissertation for a doctorate in American literature and creative writing through Binghamton University, State University of New York. Massoni is completing the work from her Hackensack, N.J., home with, she writes, “assistance from her husband, her three spoiled cats and her daughter’s warm and loving memory.”
Agostino Racanati, BS (T), is a manager at Schering-Plough Corp., Madison, N.J. He and his wife, Jodi Weeks, BS’95 (T), have two children. The couple was married by Fr. Jack Baron, director, campus ministry, FDU’s Metropolitan Campus, in 1995.
Patricia Villano, MBA (T), is president of the New Jersey State Society of CPAs (NJSCPA), Bergen Chapter. A member since 1995, she is only the third woman in the chapter’s 53-year history to serve as president. Villano’s accounting practice is in Closter, N.J.
1996
Maria Hanzazi, MA (T), has been teaching EFL (English as a Foreign Language) at Al Akhawayn University in Ifrayne, Morocco, for the last five years. Partially funded by a Fulbright grant, she and her husband, Radouane, visited the United States in 2004 to complete a teaching-training program at San Diego State University in California. Hanzazi writes that she misses her American and international friends who graduated with her and would love to hear from them. Her e-mail is mhanzazi@yahoo.com.
Gina Sperduto Mirto, BA (M), and her husband, Jack, announce the birth of their daughter, Giana Angelina, on September 9, 2005.
1997
Jason McFall, AA’95 (T), BA (T), a physical education teacher at Woodlands High School in Hartsdale, N.Y., received the “Who’s Who Among America’s Teachers Award” for the 2005–2006 year. McFall is also director of the men’s and women’s cross-country at Concordia College, Bronxville, N.Y.
Frederick McGarril, BA (T), was promoted to captain-operations commander at the Bergenfield (N.J.) Police Department in May 2005.
1998
Lubertus (B.J.) Hartsuiker III, BS (M), completed his MBA in human resource management at FDU in May 2005. He was promoted to human resources recruiter at ALTANA Pharma US, Inc., Florham Park, N.J.
Elena Potoupa, MBA (T), will be a presenter in the 2006 Linkshare Golden Link Awards. She will be presenting the award for “Innovative Affiliate of the Year,” which she won in 2005.
1999
Mark Gray, MAT (T), is assistant principal at Central Middle School, Parsippany, N.J., the same school he attended and where he taught seventh- and eighth-grade English for 11 years.
James Kramer, MAT (M), was appointed vice principal at Mount Olive (N.J.) High School.
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2000
David Collins, MA (M), was named president of SeaSpace Corporation, Poway, Calif., manufacturer of TeraScan® hardware and software products, which provide customers with satellite-derived weather and environmental information.
Christina Jerome Gleason, BA/MA (M), announces the birth of her son, Thomas Ryan, Jr., on August 24, 2005.
Brianna Manning, BA (M), and Jack McKiernan were married on July 22, 2005. She is a speech-language therapist for the Manchester Board of Education, and her husband is associate athletic director at Kean University, Union, N.J.
2001
Alex Bhargava, MBA (T), is chief financial officer of Bankworld, Inc. in Washington, D.C., a management consultancy performing worldwide financial-sector modernization on behalf of the State Department.
2003
Nichole Miller Pace, BA (M), received her juris doctorate degree from Widener University School of Law, Wilmington, Del., in December 2005.
2004
Valerie Nordstrom, BA (T), is a certified New Jersey emergency medical technician and is currently pursuing certification as a New Jersey firefighter.
2005
Leigh-Ann Fitzgerald Borella, BS (M), and her husband, Wayne, announce the birth of their daughter, Sara Marie, on December 3, 2005.
Meridith Thompson, BS (M), graduated from FDU in February with a master’s degree in administrative science with certification in global security and terrorism studies.
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1968
Ann Milea Baran, BA (T), MA’71 (R)
1969
Ignatius Cioffi, DDS (T)
1973
Yola Alessandrini, BA (R), MBA’78 (R)
1985
Joshua Herman, BS (T)
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