N N IAL CEL O - Youngstown State University

Class Notes
Class Notes
Certified Law Enforcement Executive
designation.
Patrick Berarducci of Boardman,’77,
BSAS, has been named the chief
of the Boardman Township Police
Department. Berarducci is a native of
Youngstown’s South Side and worked
for four years as a city police officer
before joining the Bureau of Alcohol,
Tobacco and Firearms. Berarducci
graduated from Wilson High School.
Henry Guzman of Columbus,’77, BS,
has been appointed to serve as the
director for the Ohio Department of
Public Safety by Gov. Ted Strickland.
In this cabinet-level position, Guzman
advises the governor and staff on issues
relating to the eight divisions within the
ODPS, including Homeland Security.
Previously, he was director of the City
of Columbus Department of Public
Service and served as acting mayor.
Mary Saathoff of Lubbock, Texas, ’78,
BM, co-owner of George Robinson
Violins, was named executive director
of the Lubbock Symphony Orchestra,
after serving in an interim position.
Carla Wilson Buss of Watkinsville, Ga.,
‘79, BA, has been promoted to curriculum
materials and education librarian
at the University of Georgia in Athens,
Ga. She joined the faculty at UGA in
1997 as a reference librarian in the main
library. Originally from Fowler, Ohio,
Buss earned a master of library science
in 1997 from Kent State University.
80s
Joseph A.
Castrodale of Westlake,
Ohio, ’80, BA,
recently was named
an Ohio Super Lawyer
for 2007. The
annual statewide list
was published in the
January 2007 issue of
Cincinnati Magazine,
Joseph A. Northern Ohio Live
Castrodale, ’80
magazine and in
Ohio Super Lawyers magazine. Only
5 percent of Ohio lawyers are selected
as Super Lawyers by their peers for
outstanding professional achievements.
Castrodale is with Ulmer and Berne
LLP, a major Ohio-based law firm.
He represents large corporate clients
in business and commercial disputes
and litigates cases in federal and state
courts. He received a juris doctorate
from Harvard Law School in 1983.
Peyman Givi of Pittsburgh, Pa.,’80, has
been selected as Engineer of the Year
by the Pittsburgh Section of the American
Society of Mechanical Engineers.
He is being recognized for his many
contributions, including over 165 publications
and nearly 170 presentations.
Givi has also served as editor or editorial
board member for five different
journals. The William Kepler Whiteford
Professor at the University of
Pittsburgh, Givi was honored by YSU
with the Phi Kappa Phi Distinguished
alumnus award.
Dan Pecchia of
Canfield, ’84,
BA,’89, MA, established
Pecchia
Communications
in 2005 after
13 years at two
public relations
firms. He was
most recently
vice president and
part owner of Innis
Dan Pecchia, ’84
and ’89
Maggiore Group. More information
is available at the firm’s web site,
www.pecchiacomm.com.
David Capretta of Rustburg, Va.,’87,
AAS, has been named IT department
manager of Wiley & Wilson, a company
that provides professional consulting
services. His duties include company
responsibility for all IT functions. In
addition to his YSU degree, Capretta
received a bachelor of science in
industrial technology from Kent State
University.
Ed Leonard of Columbus,’87, BSBA,
has been appointed to serve the
remainder of Ohio Treasurer Richard
Cordray’s unexpired term as Franklin
County’s treasurer. Since March 2003,
he has served as special counsel to the
county treasurer’s office. Leonard plans
to run in the November 2008 election
for a full four-year term. He received
a law degree from Cleveland-Marshall
College of Law in 1990.
Ted Schmidt of Canfield,’87, BSBA, has
been named head of corporate banking
at National City Bank for a five-county
region encompassing Youngstown and
the Ohio Valley.
Schmidt joined
the bank in 1988
and has served in
various executive
capacities including
vice president
of corporate banking
and senior
vice president and
regional manager
of corporate
banking.
Michele K. Yoder of
Youngstown,’88,
BSE, has joined
The Webb Law
Firm in Pittsburgh
as a patent agent.
In her position,
she drafts and
prosecutes patent
applications,
prepares foreign
amendments and
Ted Schmidt, ’87
Michele K. Yoder,
’88
shares expertise in the area of international
applications. She is also certified
as a registered patent agent.
Gregory D. Ellis of Newton Falls,’89,
BA, has recently been named continuous
improvement engineer at PTC Alliance
in Alliance. His new duties include
divisional lean manufacturing, continuous
improvement, and educational
responsibilities for six manufacturing
plants in five Midwestern states. Prior
to the new position, he spent seven
years at RMI Titanium in Niles in both
production and technical roles.
He received a master’s degree from the
University of Akron and has his Six
Sigma Black Belt and project
management certification.
90s
Michael Archibald of Houston, Texas,’91,
BSE, is currently president and
CEO of Siemens Industrial Turbomachinery
in Houston. After graduating
magna cum laude and finishing top in
his class, he joined General Electric’s
Manufacturing Management Technical
Leadership Program, then assumed
manufacturing operations leadership
with GE in their plastics and transportation
divisions. Once he joined Siemens
in 1999, he received consistent promotions
until he became president in 2005.
Jason Van Hoose of Youngstown,’93,
BFA, has recently won Best of Show in
the Area Artist’s Show for his painting
“Shale and Storm” at the Butler Institute
of American Art. Van Hoose’s work
has been shown in galleries in Cleveland,
New York City and local venues,
with many of his large oil paintings in
corporate and private collections from
Los Angeles to New York. His work
can be viewed at Tiptopgallery.com.
Art work of Jason Van Hoose, ’93
Kat Ricker of
Dallas, Or.,’93,
BA, has had a
book of poetry
and short stories,
titled “Something
Familiar,”
recently published
by Trillium
Press. The book
Kat Ricker, ’93
includes illustrations
by Kate Ramunno-Finney of
Youngstown, ’86, BFA, a recipient of
the Margaret Evans Award from the
Butler Institute of American Art, where
she now serves as docent. Top Amazon
reviewer Rebecca Johnson says “this is
one of the top 10 books you should read
in your lifetime.” Visit mightykat.net
for more information.
Michele
McCaughtry, ’94
Michele
McCaughtry of
Lowellville,’94,
BSE, has recently
published a teacher
resource book
through Scholastic,
a top publisher
of educational
materials. Titled
“Independent
Reading Management
Kit: Literary Elements,” the book
is geared towards students in grades
4-8. She is a reading teacher at South
Range Middle School.
Michael Beverly of
Youngstown,’95,
BA,’02, MA,
has served as
the coordinator
of Multicultural
Student Services
in the YSU Center
for Student
Progress since Michael Beverly, ’02
2003. He currently
coordinates YSU’s Summer Bridge
Program. In 2005-06, he was presented
with YSU’s Edna K. McDonald
Cultural Awareness Award. His many
activities at YSU include serving as
a History Day judge on the annual
student awards committee and on the
Div-ersity Banquet Committee. Prior,
he was at Eagle Heights Academy for
four years.
Chris Barzak of
Youngstown,’98,
BA,’03, MA, had
his first novel,
“One for Sorrow,”
published in
August. The book,
which he categorizes
as a ghost
story/coming of Chris Barzak, ’98
age novel set in
Youngstown, was
published by Bantam Books. The 31
year-old Johnstown Township, Ohio,
native is an adjunct faculty member
in YSU’s English department. He is
currently working on his second novel,
“The Love We Share without Knowing.”
It is set in Japan, where he spent
two years teaching English. More
information about Barzak and his work
can be found at christopherbarzak@
wordpress.com.
00s
Derrick Marsh
of Norwalk,
Ohio,’00, BE, has
recently received
the designation of
registered professional
engineer.
Marsh has worked
at KS Associates’
Land Development
Group, a
Derrick Marsh, ’00
civil engineering
and land surveying firm, headquartered
in Elyria, Ohio, since 2000.
Alan Miner of Cleveland,’01, BSBA,
recently graduated from The James J.
Nance School of Business Administration
at Cleveland State University, earning
a master’s in business administration
with a concentration in operations management
and business statistics. He has
also recently accepted a new position as
an operations manager with the Danaher
Corporation at its new Fluke Biomedical,
Radiation Management Services Division
in Solon, Ohio.
Melinda M. Hicks of Morgantown,
W.Va.,’03, MA, has been named an assistant
professor at West Virginia University,
where she is also a doctoral degree
candidate. Hicks specializes in economic
and gender history in her major field of
Colonial American history. She is co-editor
of the book, “Defining Security in an
Insecure World: Historical Perspectives
on Radicalism, Terrorism, and State
Responses,” published by West Virginia
University Press.
Megan A. Kerrigan
of Hubbard,’03,
BS, recently
graduated with a
master of education
degree in
curriculum and
instruction from
Gannon University.
She is Megan A. Kerrigan, ’03
currently teaching
first grade in the Slippery Rock Area
School District in Slippery Rock, Pa. She
is also working on her master’s in library
and information science at Kent State
University.
Carmella Williams
of Hubbard,’05,
BSBA, became
the coordinator
in YSU’s Office
of Associate
Degree and Tech
Prep Programs in
2005, assisting
in marketing and Carmella Williams, ’05
facilitating the transition of
and academic progress for secondary and
post-secondary College Tech Prep students.
She earned a certificate in American
Humanics from YSU in 2007 and is a
candidate for a master’s degree in public
administration, a consortium program
between YSU and Cleveland
State University.
50 Youngstown State University Summer 2007 51