2010s
Christine Deutscher BA ’17 (Sociology) was awarded the Student Excellence Award in Sociology for 2017 and participated in Commencement in May. After applying for a position found on the IUSB Careers website, she took on a three-month grant research and writing internship with a local nonprofit, Camp Millhouse, which provides summer camps for individuals with physical and intellectual disabilities. Christine submitted several grant applications and was able to secure $17,340 in funding for the organization. Her academic advisor, Gail McGuire, notified her about an available position with a local housing consultant, Anne Mannix, at Neighborhood Development Associates, LLC. In January, Christine was hired to help Anne write grants for affordable housing developments in Northern Indiana and just received word that the project she was working on, a historic rehab of The Bradley Building in Wabash, Ind., was awarded $823,000 for 11 low and moderate income apartment units. She is excited and proud to have been a part of the process of helping nonprofits improve services in their areas. Christine thanks IUSB for helping prepare her for her career and giving her the opportunities and guidance to embark on a career of helping people in our community.
Esmina Hamzagic BSW ’17 moved with her husband to the greater Grand Rapids area after graduation. They are in the exciting and stressful process of building their first home. Hamzagic recently began a position as a CASA coordinator with Pathways of Arbor Circle in October.
Alexandra Humphrey BS ’17 (Business) is currently a member of the AmericCorps St. Louis Emergency Response Team. The 11-month program operates in three different service areas: conservation, disaster response, and wildland firefighting. In her first month in the program, Alexandra’s crew was in Montana working on different conservation projects. So far, she has had the chance to work on trail maintenance, tearing down barbed wire fences, bucking firewood for cabins in the area, putting up silk fences to prevent runoff into the creeks, and finished staining a bridge on one of the trails. She encourages everyone to think about joining AmeriCorps after graduation.
Kayla Yakim BA ’16 (Mass Comm.) married Patrick Klann in June. Kayla is currently employed at MutualBank.
Marlon Burnley BFA ’15 (Theatre) is currently a Master of Fine Arts acting candidate at the University of Georgia. Last summer directed the Fremont Youth Foundation’s production of Romeo and Juliet as part of Shakespeare in the Streets. The program is a collaboration between the Notre Dame Shakespeare Festival, the Fremont Youth Foundation, South Bend Venues, Parks and Arts, and other community organizations to provide positive activities for young people and adults alike. Marlon also presented his award-winning one-man performance Black in the Box on campus in September.
Liz Brow BA ’13 (Speech Communication) is now the executive director of Junior Achievement and Lemonade Day of Elkhart County. She is thrilled and honored to be entrusted with continuing and growing the vision and spirit of the organization. Liz looks forward to building their Lemonade Day program, which teaches youth how to start, own and operate their own business - a lemonade stand.
Christopher Creighton BA ’11 (Political Science) has been serving as the deputy legislative director for Governor Eric Holcomb since the governor’s inauguration. Christopher was previously the legislative director for the Indiana State Department of Health. He is always happy to stay connected to IU South Bend and be a resource for students.
Angela N. Johnson BA ’11 (Political Science) was recently named to the Michiana Forty under 40. She notes that practicing employment law with Faegre Baker Daniels is still her "dream job." She also enjoys spending her spare time teaching the Litigation for Paralegals course at IU South Bend. Johnson serves as secretary for the IU South Bend Alumni Association Board of Directors and began her service with the board in 2015.
Kristin LaFollette BA ’11 (English), MA ’13 (English) is currently a third-year PhD candidate in Rhetoric & Writing at Bowling Green State University where she just completed a graduate certificate in Women's, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She is entering the dissertation phase of her program and is always grateful for how the faculty and programs at IU South Bend prepared her for this PhD journey.
2000s
Nathan Boyd MS Ed ’08 is now the director of African-American student and parent services for South Bend schools, aiming to improve performance and reduce lopsided discipline among black students. Nathan currently serves as the education representative on the IU South Bend Alumni Association Board of Directors where he started in July 2017. He previously served as principal for the past four years at Grissom Middle School in the Penn-Harris-Madison School Corp. Boyd.
Anne Drake BGS ’08, MSW ’11 was promoted to the position of director of disability support services in August. Anne has served the university as learning disabilities specialist since 2008. She, and her service dog Driver, look forward to continuing to advocate, guide, and direct all students in need of services to support them on their educational journeys.
Jerri Dunn MSW ’04 is now the clinical supervisor for Family Preservation Services with SCAN (Stop Child Abuse and Neglect) at their South Bend office. SCAN provides intensive short-term (6 months for 5 hours a week) in-home therapy to families referred by the Department of Child Services or Juvenile Probation. The organization utilizes an evidenced-based model of Family Centered Therapy (FCT), which is highly successful with at-risk youth and families.
Kris Langel Fishburn BS ’03 (Criminal Justice) and her husband John welcomed their son, Brock Hunter, on Friday, March 10, 2017 at 8:57pm. He weighed 7lbs, 11oz and measured 20”. Kris served on the IU South Bend Alumni Association Board of Directors for approximately 10 years and completed her service in 2016.
Cathi Isza BFA ’00 (Fine Arts) was a non-traditional student and part of the second BFA graduating class. After graduating, Isza taught part-time until 2008 when she moved to Grand Rapids, Mich. and attended Kendall College of Art and Design for her Master of Fine Arts degree. After completing her MFA, she moved back to South Bend and now teaches in the Department of Fine Arts at IU South Bend. She states that “There was a profound moment when I walked up the steps at Northside, the same steps I walked to see my advisor for the first time as freshman, but this time to sign my HR papers to become an employee.” She is grateful for her degree from IU because it made her a well-rounded student.
Stephanie Szabo MS Ed. ’00 has gone into private practice in Elkhart with her business SEA Therapy, LLC that focuses on mental health and addiction counseling. She is both a licensed mental health and licensed clinical addiction counselor. With almost 30 years in the field of mental health and addiction, Szabo holds a bachelor’s degree in consumer and family sciences from Purdue University and a master’s in counseling education from Indiana University. Szabo has extensive experience in working with forensic issues in juveniles and adult courts in Indiana and drug courts in Michigan.
1990s
Andre Anderson, BA’99 became the treatment coordinator at Camelot Care Centers, Inc. in the Greater Nashville Area, Tenn. in August 2017. About the position he says, “My new position enables me to procure innovative strategies within the social service sector. The children, adoptive/foster parents that we serve are the quintessential definition of ‘resilience.’ It does my heart well to educate and advocate using a strengths based format. I’d love to pass that adage along to my fellow alum- find the good and reinforce it- Momentum!!”
Kevin MacDonald BGS ’94 was recently named communications director for the Clark County (Nevada) Department of Air Quality, which is the air pollution control agency for all of Clark County, Nev. The Dept. of Air Quality also administers programs to improve the health and welfare of citizens by ensuring that the quality of the air in Clark County meets healthful, regulatory standards. MacDonald currently resides in Las Vegas.
Carmen Wright BS ’94 (Business) has accepted a new position at Beacon/Memorial Hospital. She was recently at The Lebermuth Company, Inc.
L. Dean Moore BS ’91 (Business) was recently hired as vice president of philanthropy at the YMCA of Michiana. He is happy to be back in South Bend after 25+ years away. Moore worked in California for the past 20+ years as an executive director with the Boys & Girls Clubs of America. He was most recently a small business operator contracting with the US Marine Corps operating a retail store aboard the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, Calif.
1980s
Kevin Ryan BS ’89 (Chemistry) is the associate director of analytical quality control at Shire in Covington, Ga. This includes the chemistry, immunology, and raw materials testing laboratories. Ryan has been with the company for 12 years, and they are currently working to make the conformance batches needed to apply for FDA licensure in December this year. Ryan recently wrote an article entitled “Designing a Lab” for the magazine Lab Manager. The article can be found in Volume 12 Issue 6 and was published in July 2017.
Dr. Cynthia Shinabarger Reed BA ’85 (Psychology) and her husband, Dr. Robert Reed, recently moved back to the South Bend area after spending over 20 years in Texas. Since returning to the South Bend area, they have been enjoying the Entrepreneur Lecture Series offered by the Judd Leighton School of Business and Economics at IU South Bend. Together they have launched a private practice in Michiana, Reed and Reed Consulting, offering human behavior consulting to individuals and organizations. Holding advanced degrees in both psychology and sociology, Drs. Reed provide information on behavior from both the micro and macro perspectives. The practice specializes in providing information on suicide prevention. Dr. Cynthia Reed is so grateful for the foundation she received at IU South Bend that enabled her to go on to earn two Master’s degrees and two Doctoral degrees. reedandreedconsulting.com
Charles “Mike” Settles BS ’85 (Business) is proud to serve on the Elkhart County Property Tax Assessment Board of Appeals. He was appointed to the Elkhart City Board of Zoning in 2008 by the mayor and thanks to his service there, he was asked to serve on the Property Tax Board and was appointed to the board in 2014. He loves helping provide service to the taxpayers of Elkhart County. Settles is currently certified as a Level II Assessor and is working toward Level III certification, the highest in the state.
Phyllis Wezeman BGS ’84, MS Ed. ’90 is the founder and president of the non-profit organization Malawi Matters, which works to develop and facilitate HIV and AIDS education with the people of Malawi using hands-on techniques grounded in Malawian culture. The organization launched the 30 for 30 Campaign in support of securing transportation for their Regional Representatives (The Nine Guys) who travel throughout Malawi to coordinate 60 area reps, 188 local reps for creative methods, 188 local reps for women/girls, and thousands of certified instructors on behalf of Malawi Matters. The 30 for 30 Campaign asked individuals to donate a dollar a day in the month of September help cover the costs of a motorcycle for each of The Nine Guys. www.malawimatters.org
1970s
Douglas J. Leonard, BS ‘76 (Business) retired from the Indiana Hospital Association last June, where he served as president from 2007-17. Prior to that, he worked at Columbus Regional Hospital in Columbus, Ind. where over a nearly 30-year-career, he served in roles including that of vice president, chief operating officer, as well as president and chief executive officer. Among others, Douglas has received the Award of Honor from the American Hospital Association (2017), the Distinguished Alumni Award from the Indiana University Richard M. Fairbanks School of Public Health (2016), and the Sagamore of the Wabash Award from both Governor Daniels (2007) and Governor Pence (2016). In October Douglas married Laura Hurt, who serves as president of Hospice of South Central Indiana.
Gail Hinchion Mancini BA ’75 (Journalism), MLS ’94 and her husband Joseph A. Mancini BS ‘78 (Accounting) received The Rising Star Award from the Ernestine M. Raclin School of the Arts. The honor is given in recognition of the couple having endowed a scholarship to the Raclin School. Joe served as treasurer of the IUSB Arts Foundation from 2005-16, and he is currently a CPA at Metzger, Mancini & Lackner. Gail is currently the director of public affairs and communications at the South Bend campus of the IU School of Medicine.
Joan Garber, BS ’74 (Business) has recently returned to the area after living in Illinois. She is an independent beauty consultant with Mary Kay. Her focus is to empower women by helping them achieve their inner and outer beauty. For more information visit www.marykay.com/jgarber1.
Nancy Sulok BA’ 73 (English) donated her late husband’s collection of negatives to IU South Bend’s archives to help the university collect historical memorabilia in celebration of its Jubilee Year. Sulok’s late husband, Richard Feingold, was a photographer for the university from the late 1960s to the early 1980s. The university is very excited and grateful to receive the wealth of knowledge this donation brings.