Alumni notes
2002
Shauna Larson Baker, Pueblo, Colo., is an admissions counselor at Colorado State University-Pueblo.
Robb Buzzini, Burbank, Calif., is a page at NBC in Burbank, Calif. He also has a part-time assignment as a second assistant to Ted Harbert, president of NBC Studios.
Mary Creutz, Lincoln, is the advertising media planner at HobbyTown USA Corporate in Lincoln.
Jerod Dahlgren is an assistant sports information director at the University of South Dakota.
Dana Hatcliff, Gretna, is an administrative assistant at Grizzard Advertising, Lincoln.
Heidi Haynes, Chicago, is an account executive with 100.3-WNND FM in Chicago.
Emily Hurd, Lincoln, is an associate account manager with Swanson Russell Associates. She volunteers with Junior Achievement to advise a "company" of students.
Justin Kemerling, Lincoln, is a designer at Swanson Russell Associates in Lincoln. He had previously been an intern at Nebraska Wesleyan Univer-sity in the marketing and communication department.
Jami Larson, Woodlands Hills, Calif., is a sales coordinator and executive assistant in the affiliate relations/entertainment marketing department at Premiere Radio Networks, part of Clear Channel Radio, in Sherman Oaks, Calif.
Brian Manning is an assistant account executive in the Food/Agriculture Division in the Kansas City office of Fleishman-Hillard Inc. His responsibilities include supporting media relations and constituency relations programs for the agency's biotechnology and consumer goods clients. Fleishman-Hillard is a part of Omnicom Group Inc. (NYSE: OMC), a global marketing and corporate communications company.
Susanne Novak was named the Nebraska Stroke Foundation's 2002 Karyl Newman Volunteer of the Year. The award was presented in January. Originally from Blair, she graduated with a degree in advertising with a public relations emphasis and is now a student at NU's College of Law.
Sarah Ready, Asheville, N.C., is an associate producer/writer with WLOS-TV in Asheville. She previously worked for KLKN-TV in Lincoln, doing mainly production but also some editing and writing.
2001
Carol Bryant has been a grant development facilitator with the Grand Island Public Schools since January. She had previously worked at The Grand Island Independent for more than eight years.
Amanda Coleman, DeKalb, Ill., is a community relations and communications specialist for the Kishwaukee Community Hospital in DeKalb.
Scott Franzen, Chicago, is a marketing coordinator with Phillips Swager Associates in Chicago.
Megan Maddocks, Kansas City, is an advertising account executive with the Kansas City Business Journal.
Josh Nichols, Craig, Colo., a reporter at the Craig Daily Press, received several awards in the Colorado Press Association's annual Better Newspaper Contest. Nichols earned first place in feature writing and in best sustained coverage and third place in best public service. He also earned awards in the Colorado Associated Press contest: second place for an education story and third place for education writing.
Sasha Pine, Oconnor, Australia, is a marketing manager with Datatrax PTY Ltd.
Courtney Russell, Malden, Mass., is working for WGBH/The PBS Sponsorship Group, in Boston.
Kimberly Sweet, Overland Park, Kan., is a reporter/copy editor for The Kansas City Star.
Russ Willbanks, Egg Harbor City, N.J., is a technical editor for Battelle Memorial Institute, Atlantic City Operations, in Egg Harbor Township, N.J.
2000
Nikki Fox, Corbin, Ky., is a photojournalist at the Times-Tribune in Corbin.
Josh Funk, Wichita, Kan., is the education reporter at The Wichita Eagle.
Ericka Hascall, Bristol, Conn., is a production assistant for ESPN. She has worked on sports such as NCAA basketball, NCAA football, World Cup skiing and the X Games. She travels a lot as a graphics producer, producing features and show openings and prepping games. She has also produced a Classic X Games show and three ice skating shows.
Beth Lee was promoted in November 2002 to be Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel's press secretary.
Trisha Lott, Lincoln, is marketing director at the University Place Art Center in Lincoln.
Christopher Pratt, Lebanon, N.H., is an account executive and graphic designer for Rowing News in Hanover, N.H. He previously worked at the Valley News in New Hampshire as a graphic designer.
Rebecca Smith, Madison, Wis., is assistant director of alumni relations at the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Business. She is working on a master's degree in strategic communications at the UW-Madison School of Journalism.
Kerry Zappa Leece, Omaha, is a graphic designer with Lozier Corporation in Omaha.
1999
Julie Haverman, Woodbury, N.J., is entertainment editor for the Cherry Hill Courier-Post in Cherry Hill, N.J.
Sally Schutz Loisel, Houston, Texas, is a copywriter with Rives Calberg, an advertising firm in Houston.
Tanya Wright, Overland Park, Kan., is the communications coordinator for the National Soccer Coaches Association of America with headquarters in Overland Park.
1998
Jennifer Childers, San Jose, Calif., is a marketing coordinator for CPqD Telecom and IT Solutions.
Jim Goodwin, Columbia, Mo., is a reporter for the Columbia Daily Tribune.
Daniel Lam, Playa del Rey, Calif., has been an account manager at Daily Variety, the entertainment trade publication, in Los Angeles for two years. Before that, he was an advertising sales representative with the Los Angeles Times for three years.
Michael Lehr, Merriam, Kan., has been a production supervisor at Atwood Publishing LLC in Overland Park, Kan., since 1999. Atwood is the nation's largest producer/publisher of trade show, convention and association materials, including convention daily papers, directories and magazines.
Andy Schadwinkel, Lincoln, is a marketing specialist with the UNL Admissions Office.
1997
Doug Kouma, Des Moines, Iowa, is a senior copy editor at Better Homes and Gardens SIPs, part of the Meredith Corporation.
Maury McCoy, Austin, Texas, runs his own marketing firm representing investment managers to the institutional community. After graduation, he started his own business, representing money managers to large institutional clients. Following that, he worked as an independent business consultant responsible for the complete overhaul of a 5,000-page Fortune 500 Web site. He also worked as a game producer, creating game titles for a variety of companies, including Hasbro, Warner Brothers and Disney. And he worked as a 3-D animator, creating animations for big screens at major sports stadiums, including UNL's.
Seth Schuchman, Newport Beach, Calif., is lead interviewing/operations manager for the Gallup Organization in Irvine, Calif.
Nurhayati Yusoff, Subang Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia, is executive director of Golden Palette in Subang Jaya. After graduation, she worked as an animator for a TV station in Malaysia. Two years later, she formed her own company with a partner who is now her husband. Her company deals with business in art and advertising and includes a gallery, photography studio and graphic design department.
1996
Scott Blair is out-of-home media supervisor on the Coors Brewing Company account with the Integer Group, Denver's largest advertising agency. He and his wife, Roxanne, have one daughter, Makayla, born in February 2002.
Melanie Brandert, Sioux Falls, S.D., has been a reporter at the Argus Leader in Sioux Falls since 2000. She covered a beat in southwest Minnesota and northwest Iowa until January when she started a new beat in McCook and Turner counties in South Dakota. Before joining the Argus Leader, she was a regional and agricultural reporter at The Grand Island Independent for four years.
Beth Narans Carstens, Columbus, worked in marketing and advertising for three years after graduation. She is now a full-time mother with two daughters, ages 3 and 1. She leads the publicity team of a mothers' group, writing and designing their newsletter, and she helps with press releases and copy editing for her husband's business.
Jennifer Watzke Simpson, Aiea, Hawaii, is a project coordinator for Island Heritage Publishing in Waipahu, Hawaii. She was married in 2002.
David Vincent, Phoenix, is working for Werner Enterprises. He completed an MBA in 1999.
1994
Annette McRoy, Lincoln, was reelected to a second term on the Lincoln City Council May 6. She is communications director of an Internet marketing firm and a veteran of the first Gulf War.
Todd Neeley, Lincoln, has been a city beat reporter for the Hastings Tribune since April. He had worked for the Milford Times as a reporter/news editor, winning more than 35 Nebraska Press Association awards for writing and reporting. He and his wife, Mary, have a 2-year-old daughter and a second child on the way.
Pamela Hess Simons, Littleton, Colo., is a marketing specialist with the American Water Works Association in Denver. She does all the promotion for the association's eight to 10 annual conferences and educational programs such as seminars, online training and Webcasts. The association has 56,000 members worldwide and has headquarters in Denver. She is married to Brad Simons, a UNL graduate. They have two daughters: Lindsey, 3, and Avery, 1.
Natalie Tysdal, Denver, Colo., hosts a morning program for KWGN-TV in Denver. She was previously an education reporter for KLTV, channel 7, in Tyler, Texas. She and the station itself were selected for a 2002-03 Silver Apple media award by the Texas Classroom Teachers Association. The association presents media awards annually in three categories to honor journalistic excellence in the reporting of public education news. The judges selected Tysdal and KLTV for the Silver Apple award in the broadcast category, based on stories prepared and presented by Tysdal. One story compared teacher salaries with those in other professions; another focused on a dyslexia program at Tyler Independent School District's Caldwell Elementary School. Two other stories examined how the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorism attacks have changed the way recent history is taught in public schools.
Jennifer Vogelsberg, Castle Rock, Colo., is the "Call 7 for Help" consumer producer for KMGH-TV in Denver. The station hired her in early 2001 to start a new consumer unit. Last year she won second place in the Headliner Awards for Public Service and was nominated for a regional Emmy in fall 2002.
1993
John Bacon was awarded the 2002 James W. Leuschen Fellowship by the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) Nebraska Foundation in December 2002. The $500 award is available annually to a public relations practitioner who is working to earn an educational degree or seeking additional training or coursework in public relations and related fields. Bacon planned to complete an M.A. in communication from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in May. He is president and lead consultant for Next Level Marketing Inc., a strategic communication consulting business. Based in Blair, Next Level provides full-service consulting in brand management, integrated marketing communications and employee communications. Additionally, he is a member of PRSA Nebraska and serves on the organization's board of directors.
Shelley Biggs Diamond, Seattle, Wash., joined Knowledge Anywhere in May of 2001 as public relations manager. Previously, she worked for Amazon.com in the corporate headquarters where she handled a large variety of public relations functions special to Amazon.com and its operations. Prior to joining Amazon.com, she worked for Publicis Dialog (formerly EvansGroup), an international PR/advertising agency, where she was exposed to various public relations disciplines, strategies and approaches. After graduation, she completed a nine-month public relations certificate program at the University of Washington. She is a member is the Public Relations Society of America and volunteers as a victim advocate aide for the Seattle Police Department and a mentor for the Seattle Public Schools' Powerful Schools program.
1992
James Carey, Toledo, Ohio, is an anchor-reporter with WTVG-TV, the ABC affiliate in Toledo.
Tom Miller, St. Louis, Mo., is a senior outreach specialist with the Missouri Department of Transporta-tion in Chesterfield. He coordinates the public relations, Web page development and educational efforts for the Missouri Department of Transportation's Gateway Guide program. He began his career with MoDOT in 1996 in public information. He has worked on several public relations and communication projects, including the nationally recognized communication campaign for the 1998 Blanchette Bridge project, Route 115 bridge demolition in St. Charles and the KKK/Adopt-a-Highway issue. He is an active member of PRSA.
1991
Sheryl Strobel, Clarks, is president of DigitalFAB in Clarks. Digital FAB is a full-service digital video production company focusing on business/organizational communication needs. She had previously worked as manager of television and community programs for a Missouri PBS station.
1990
Jennifer Whyman, Omaha, is senior media planner/buyer for SKAR Advertising in Omaha.
1989
Mike Reilley, Lincoln, a former Los Angeles Times and Chicago Tribune reporter and editor, founded The Journalists' Toolbox, a Web site for journalists that focuses on using the Internet as a reporting tool, in 1996. He sold the site to the American Press Institute in February. He will continue to edit and update the Toolbox for API.
1987
John Coffey is direct sales manager of Time Warner Cable. He joined the Nebraska Division of the company in 1997. Before working with Time Warner, Coffey was an International Business Communications trainer, based in Paris.
1985
Brian Barks, Avondale, Ariz., is news director at KTAR Radio in Phoenix. He spent 11 years in radio news in Nebraska, first in North Platte and then in Omaha. He and his family moved to Phoenix in 1997 when he accepted a position as general assignment reporter at KTAR. He was promoted to news director in 1999 and also has been anchoring the mid-day news since 2001.
1980
Eric Warp, Sacramento, Calif., is in his third year as owner/principal for American Warp Drive in Fair Oaks, Calif. His firm specializes in design and production for television, video and print. He previously spent 13 years in television as design director at KUSA in Denver, KOVR in Sacramento, Calif., and at several other stations and five years in the high tech industry, designing product packaging and trade show exhibits. He and his wife, Peggy, have a daughter, Zoe, 8.
1975
Gary Shapiro, Westminster, Colo., is a news anchor with KUSA-TV in Denver.
1972
Jody Beck is the new director of the Scripps Howard Foundation's Semester in Washington Program. It brings one foreign and five U.S. students to Washington to work as reporters for a semester or summer session. She had previously taught at the University of Maryland.
Mary Kay Quinlan and Barbara Sommer, both of Lincoln, are authors of "The Oral History Manual," a guide designed to help anyone interested in doing oral history research "think like an oral historian." The book is published by AltaMira Press, a division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. Quinlan teaches journalism part-time at UNL. She and Sommer have conducted oral history training workshops for a variety of organizations.
1971
Pat di Natale, Lenexa, Kan., is a retired advertising agency creative director who currently works on a selected project basis with clients across the country. He is also a managing partner in the AMP Group, an experimental creative services group. He also serves as chief steward for the Sports Car Club of America's World Challenge racing series.
1967
Barbara Robertson, Mill Valley, Calif., is a columnist for Animation Magazine and Computer Graphics World and a freelance writer. One of her feature articles was a finalist for a Jesse H. Neal National Business Journalism award this year, marking the third time in four years one of her articles has been a finalist in the national competition. She won the award in 2001.
1959
Marilyn Coffey, Charlotte, N.C., is included in a biographical directory published by "Marquis Who's Who." She has been recognized for extensive publications of fiction, non-fiction and poetry as well as a teaching career that took her to Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N.Y., Boston University and Fort Hays State University in Hays, Kan. She is best known for her novel Marcella and for her poem, Pricksong, which received the Pushcart Prize in 1976.
1957
Beverly Ann Deepe Keever has been honored with an award from the Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism Alumni Association. Keever earned the M.A. at Columbia in 1958. In a press release, the association said Keever "was one of the earliest and single longest serving western reporters (seven years) of the Vietnam War for Newsweek, the New York Herald Tribune and the Christian Science Monitor. Keever began teaching in the 1970s, first at the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University's Washington, D.C., program, then at the University of Maryland Eastern Division and then at the University of Hawaii. She is the co-editor of the book News Coverage of Racial Minorities: A Sourcebook, 1934-96.
1953
Ruth Raymond Thone, Lincoln, was one of nine UNL grads to be honored with Alumni Achievement awards May 9. Sponsored by the Nebraska Alumni Association, the awards banquet honored recipients for their service to their community, state and nation. In addition to countless newspaper and magazine articles, Thone has written Women and Aging, Celebrating Ourselves; FAT: A Fate Worse Than Death; and Being Home, a collection of essays. In 1999 the Lincoln chapter of the National Organization for Women recognized her as Feminist of the Year.
