Alumni News & Notes
2003
Nicole Haff, attorney at Balber Pickard Maldonado & Van Der Tuin, P.C., in Manhattan, has been named to the 2016 New York Metro Rising Stars list. She is listed in the “Intellectual Property” and “Business Litigation” sections.
James VanDenmark
James VanDemark was hired as senior accountant on the The Bonadio Group’s Internal Audit team. He previously worked for Sunmark Federal Credit Union for 13 years.
2004
Boys of a Certain Age, a full- length play by Daniel Fingerman, was featured at the 2016 Fresh Fruit Festival in New York.
First Lt. Dorothy Kastl
First Lt. Dorothy Kastl made U.S. Air Force history as one of the participants in the first all-female missile alert. She is a 321st Missile Squadron combat-crew commander at the 90th Missile Wing.
J. Ramon Gil-Garcia
2005
Dr. J. Ramon Gil-Garcia, research director at the Center for Technology in Government at UAlbany, received distinction as Level 3 National Researcher from the Mexican National Council of Science and Technology. This is the highest distinction a researcher can obtain before becoming Researcher Emeritus as a result of a lifelong career of research contributions. UAlbany roommates Felicia Fleitman and Alina Tubman recently launched BYLT Consulting, a full-service consulting firm that works with companies to develop campus-recruiting initiatives for strategic internships and entry-level hires.
2008
Seth Buchwalter
Seth Buchwalter recently accepted a media-relations position at CMD Agency, Portland, Ore. In his new role, Seth will develop and manage content for leading international technology corporations headquartered in the Pacific Northwest, a slight step up from managing public relations for UAlbany’s favorite a cappella group, The Earth Tones! Bridget O’Toole, associate attorney at Bansbach Zoghlin, P.C., Rochester, N.Y., was named an Excellence in Law award recipient and an Up and Coming Attorney by The Daily Record.
2011
Xunyu Pan received the Frostburg State University 2016 Faculty Achievement Award for Teaching. He is assistant professor, Department of Computer Science and Information Technologies.
2012
Sara Ventura is employed by the Xbox Live team at Microsoft, Seattle, as producer for the console home dashboard.
2013
Stephanie A. Kazanas
Stephanie A. Kazanas earned her Ph.D. in cognitive psychology from the University at Albany in May. She will join the Department of Counseling and Psychology at Tennessee Technological University this fall. Stephanie earned a master’s degree from UAlbany in 2013. Laura Colaneri will pursue a Ph.D in romance languages and literatures at the University of Chicago beginning this fall, specializing in Hispanic and Luzo-Brazilian studies. Laura earned a master’s degree from UAlbany in 2014. Gina M. Melendez earned a master’s degree in Teaching Bilingual Childhood Education Grades 1-6 from Fordham University in May.
2015
Abigail Young
Abigail Young was recently promoted to Marketing Coordinator at LP&M Advertising in Syracuse. Her new role includes developing and coordinating promotions between media and public-relations departments, managing websites, and maintaining social-media activities for LP&M clients. She joined LP&M in 2015.
2016
Kaliel Williamson accepted a position as software engineer at American Express in New York City.