Class Notes
1970s
- Hon. Steven Fuller (B.A. ’71, J.D. ’74) has completed a stunning accomplishment by visiting all 193 countries.
- Patrick Geschwind (M.P.A. ’73) recently served as interim chief administrator for the city of Leawood, Kansas.
- Jawole Willa Jo Zollar (B.A. ’75) received the Award of Merit for Achievement in the Performing Arts from the Association of Performing Arts Professionals and the Dorothy and Lillian Gish Prize - one of the most prestigious awards in American Arts. She is a Lawton Distinguished Professor in the College of Fine Arts at Florida State University and the founder of the New York-based dance company Urban Bush Women.
- Steve Edwards (B.S.E.E. ’78) retired from Black & Veatch in 2022 after 44 years with the firm. He held the position of CEO upon his retirement.
1980s
- Tim Dollar (J.D. ’84) was recognized by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as an Influential Lawyer. (pictured below)
- Howard Rodenberg (B.A. ’86, M.D. ’86) spent a year at the South Pole as the Over-Winter Physician at the U.S. Antarctic Program/National Science Foundation Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station. (pictured above)
- Nancy Lanphear (B.A. ’86, M.D. ’87) completed the Contemplative Medicine Fellowship in July 2022 through the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, its first year in program existence.
- Robin Christie (B.M.E. ’88) was named the Kansas Music Educators Association Teacher of the Year for 2022. She is the choral director at Shawnee Mission-Bishop Miege.
- Allison Murdock (B.A. ’83, J.D. ’88) was recognized by Missouri Lawyers Weekly as a Law Firm Leader (pictured below)
- Kimiko Black Gilmore (B.A. ’89) was named director of convention and entertainment facilities for Kansas City, Missouri. She will retain her deputy city manager position.
1990s
- Nancy Tillmon (B.B.A. ’90) has retired after 38 years with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, where she last served as senior consumer affairs specialist for the group's Consumer Response Unit.
- Paul Lamble (M.A. ’91) has published his novel One-Match Fire. The novel follows the lives of two fathers and two sons as they navigate the perilous waters of their love for each other.
- Robert Flores (B.B.A. ’91) recently retired as chairman of HPLA Charities, but remains active through community service, offering free home repairs to low-income residents in Kansas City, Kansas.
- Sri Hosakote (M.S. ’93) launched a new business in 2022, Nile Secure, that has quickly become an industry leader in Network as a Service (NaaS).
- Kem Krueger (Pharm.D. ’93) recently received the University of Wyoming’s Laramigo Award for Community Engagement.
- Jessica Meeske (D.D.S. ’96) was selected by the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry (AAPD) as the 2023 Pediatric Dentist of the Year. This annual award honors a pediatric dentist who has made significant contributions to the dental profession and the specialty of pediatric dentistry through clinical practice, academics, or policy development over the past year. (pictured above left)
- K. Gay Purcell (B.A. ’95, M.D. ’96) recently obtained her second board certification in lifestyle medicine and created a wellness practice, Enhanced Health & Wellness, in Independence, MO.
- Jacqueliyn Eidson (B.S. ’97) was recently awarded the prestigious three-year tenure on the Fulbright Specialist roster by the U.S. Department of State's Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and World Learning. The Fulbright Specialist program sends professionals and faculty abroad to collaborate with international colleagues on special projects while fostering meaningful relationships.
- Cameron Lindsey (Pharm.D. ’98) was honored at this year’s American Pharmacists Association conference with the Linwood F. Tice Friend of APhA-ASP Award, which recognizes an individual whose long-term services and contributions have benefited the APhA–ASP and student pharmacists in general.
2000s
- Brett Hedberg (B.S. ’00, M.P.A. ’02) recently accepted a promotion to director of Practice Lead – Risk and Controls at MarksNelson LLC in Overland Park, Kansas.
- Amanda Stone (B.L.A. ’03) has been named community engagement coordinator for the Joplin School District and coordinator of Bright Futures Joplin in Missouri.
- Angel Ballew (MBA ’03, Pharm.D. ’04) is senior vice president of Pharmacy Clinical Operations for Centene Corporation in Tampa, Florida. (pictured above)
- Corey Mertes (J.D. ’06) recently had his debut collection of short stories, titled Self-Defense, published by Cornerstone Press at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point as part of its Legacy Series. The book follows fictional characters working in, among other things, the casino and ballroom dance industries, of which Corey was a part prior to his becoming a lawyer. (pictured above)
- Destiny Bounds (B.B.A. ’06) recently opened her own law firm and consulting business, Bounds Law LLC. (pictured above)
2010s
- Kameron Saunders (B.F.A.) has appeared as one of the principal dancers in the movie “Spirited” starring Ryan Reynolds, Will Ferrell and Octavia Spencer, and the movie “The Color Purple,” danced with Lizzo at the BET awards and is currently on tour with Taylor Swift’s Eras Tour. He is also a 2023 Joffrey Ballet Winning Works choreographer.
- Sarah Maaks (B.L.A. ’09, MBA ’12) started a new position as regional channel manager for ABB Inc., an automation machinery manufacturer based in Zurich, Switzerland.
- Kerwin Young (M.M. ’15) was a 2022 Composer Fellow with the Chautauqua Opera Company. Composer Fellows are immersed in the company’s artistic, production, and administrative activities throughout the season.
- Tara Moreland (J.D. ’16) joined the City of Kansas City, MO as an assistant city attorney in the Corporate Legal Services division. She will be assisting City departments with Missouri Sunshine Law matters and advising the City’s Civil Rights and Equal Opportunity Department. (pictured above)
- LaDonna McCullough, (B.A. ’13, M.A. ’16) has been named Kansas City, Missouri’s first chief equity officer. This new position will provide City Hall with dedicated leadership to focus on equity, inclusion and diversity. She will lead efforts to review and revise policies that will promote equity and equality within Kansas City’s internal structure and throughout the city. (pictured above)
- Lisa Steurer (Ph.D. ’17) has started a new role as an evidence-based practice specialist for the Center for Nursing Excellence at UCLA Health. She is also a Jonas Nurse Scholar.
- Ghulam Nabi Kazi (M.P.A. ’17) was recently named editor-in-chief for the Public Health Action Journal of the International Union Against Tuberculosis and Lung Disease. Since returning to Pakistan in 2018, Kazi has also worked at the non-profit Dopasi Foundation as a senior adviser for research and development and serves as CEO of the foundation’s consultancy wing.
- Apurva Bhatt (B.L.A. ’15, M.D. ’17) received the prestigious American Association of Directors of Psychiatric Residency Training Peter Henderson MD Memorial award in March 2023 for the best-published paper in child and adolescent psychiatry for her paper titled “Association of Changes in Missouri Firearm Laws with Adolescent and Young Adult Suicides by Firearms.”
- Luis Víquez (D.M.A. ’17) has been appointed as the new director of orchestral studies and assistant professor of orchestral conducting at the University of Rhode Island. He was also selected as the national vice president of the College Orchestra Directors Association and has been selected as a national finalist for the 2023 American Prize in Opera Conducting
- Ezgi Karakus (D.M.A. ’18) along with her partners in “Ensemble Iberica,” Beau Bledsoe (M.M. ’96), and John Curry (M.M. ’93), recently made their sold-out debut at Carnegie Hall in New York City.
- Cameron Roark (J.D. ’19) has left private practice to become an officer in the United States Navy Judge Advocate General's Corps. He will be spending the next two years rotating as a first-tour JAG. (pictured above)
2020s
- Raj Patel (B.A. ’18, MBA ’20, J.D. ’20) has joined Liberty Hotel Group as general counsel. His practice includes mergers and acquisitions, real estate financing, and various litigation matters for a property management company with over 30 properties under management across Missouri, Kansas and the United States.
- Yizhang Liu (M.M. ’20) won second prize in the 2022 Golden Key Piano Composition with Tempestuous Flow. He was a winner in the RMN Classical Call for Piano Works 2021 with the same work. He was invited to perform his music in Ehrbar Hall, Vienna.
- Paul Berlinsky (M.M. ’21) received the ASCAP Foundation's Morton Gould Young Composer Award in addition to its Leo Kaplan Award for his work The Inner Light.
- Sandra Parris (B.B.A. ’21) started a position as a business analyst at software developer, Digital Harbor, Inc. (pictured above)
- Eric L. Honea (J.D. ’22) has joined the Jackson County, Missouri Prosecutor’s Office as an assistant prosecuting attorney. (pictured above)
- Ryan Bailey (B.S.C.E. ’22) joined the Transportation Department of Klingner & Associates, P.C. as a transportation designer.
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