Alumni in the Classroom & Notes
Thinking Ahead
Rockefeller College’s Thinking Ahead class gives students an opportunity to hear first-hand from professionals working in the field. Drawing on both Rockefeller’s successful alumni network, as well as friends of the College, each class session features a different guest speaker, introducing students to a range of careers that once began in a political science or public administration classroom. The course also provides students an opportunity to practice and fine-tune behaviors linked to success in internships, graduate school, and careers.
Thank you to all who took the time to participate in Thinking Ahead during the 2020-21 academic year:
Chris Augostini ’87, '89
Samrat Bose ’12
Lola Brabham ‘96, '00
Manny Capellan ‘14
Samantha Clarke ‘17
Jasmine Clemons ‘16
Rose Gallagher ‘15, '16
Joseph Grogan ‘94
Joey Jackson ‘92
Christopher King ‘07
Seth Leitman ‘96
Frank McStay ‘14
Tyler Norton ‘14, '16
Catherine Provost ‘05
Patricia Salkin ‘85
Alyssa Shanderson ‘17
Ben Spear ‘10, '12
Alicia Tambe ‘11
Akua Williams ‘18, '20
Jamie Zieno ‘15, '18
Alumni Notes
Patricia Salkin ’85 has been named Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs at Touro College and University System.
May Beth Labate ’86 recently moved into the role of senior advisor at Brown & Weinraub.
Angela Albertus ’88 has completed her first year as the executive ADA for criminal practice and policy at the Queen’s District Attorney’s Office.
Bonnie Jenkins ’88 was selected as the nominee for U.S. Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security Affairs. Ambassador Jenkins was also voted as the 2020 Arms Control Person of the Year.
Scott de la Vega ’91 was appointed by President Biden as Acting Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior. He temporarily led DOI while Cabinet nominees moved through the confirmation process.
Peter Lauricella ’93 was named one of the top 25 lawyers in the Hudson Valley by Super Lawyers. He has earned this honor for two years in a row.
Lola Brabham ’96 ’00 is now serving as President at the Commission on Independent Colleges and Universities (CICU).
Jim Malatras ’99 ’00 ’08 was named the 14th Chancellor of the State University of New York (SUNY) System.
Rochelle Haynes ’02 was featured by Public Policy and International Affairs Program (PPIA) as a part of their 40 Changemakers series. Rochelle currently serves as the Vice President of US Social Impact at Sesame Workshop.
David Friedfel ’02 ’03 was appointed as the new secretary to the state Senate Finance Committee. Friefel previously served as director of state studies for the Citizens Budget Commission.
Peter Brusoe ’03 ‘04 recently celebrated his 10-year anniversary with Bloomberg LP.
Michael Rogers ’05, currently a professor of political science at Arkansas Tech University, earned a National Endowment for the Humanities 2021 summer stipend that will allow him to research newly-available constitutional ratification documents from the 13 states that formed the United States.
Christopher King ’07 was honored by Color Magazine as one of 28 black leaders featured for making an impact in diversity and inclusion. King is a professor at Howard University and CEO of We Are Marcus.
Aaron Gladd ’08 ’10 was recently named chief of staff at State University of New York (SUNY) System.
Michelle Mittler ’10 is now serving as chief of staff at Social Capital LP in Palo Alto, CA.
Cyndi Mellen’10 ’12 is now in the role of director for continuity of operations at NYC Emergency Management Department.
Sean Maguire ’14 was recognized as one of North America's Top 50 Economic Developers for 2021 by Consultant Connect — nominations were made by site selectors and economic development professionals.
Matthew St. Pierre ‘15 recently started at MVP Healthcare as the network strategy program manager.
Gemma Bianchi ’16 took a new position as an advisory associate at KPMG.
Winston Heslop ’16 ’19 recently accepted a position at Deloitte Consulting as a consultant.
Jonathan Meagher-Zayas ’16 has been named director of agency advancement at Villa of Hope in Rochester, N.Y.
Matt Leger ’16 ‘17 joined IDC on the government insights team as research manager for the worldwide education digital transformation strategies practice.
Alyssa Shanderson ’17 is now the diversity, equity & inclusion coordinator for Cooley LLP in Washington, DC.
Julia Alford ’18 ’19 has moved into the role of consultant at Deloitte Consulting in Albany, N.Y.
Akua Williams ’18 ’20 recently took on the role of financial intelligence analyst at High Intensity Financial Crime Area (HIFCA) at Manhattan District Attorney’s Office
Michael Braun ’19 was promoted to Director, Business Development & Government Relations at Kasirer LLC.
Injeong Hwang ’19 just started a new job at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul as a research professor with an initial three-year contract that can be renewed for another three years. She will continue her research on the rise of radical right populism while working on a project titled "New democracy in new normal" funded by the Korean National Research Foundation. According to US News, Sungkyunkwan University is ranked 2nd in Korea, 23rd in "Best Universities in Asia" and 195 in "Best Global Universities." Injeong also plans to teach online for her alma mater, Sogang University.
Maya Rudolph ’19 ’20 accepted the position of royalty analyst at Sony Music Entertainment.
Rockefeller College alumni Donald Boyce III ’06 ’08, Marisa A. Sotomayor, Esq '03 ’04; and Gary Striar '79 were honored at the University at Albany Alumni Association’s 2021 Excellence Awards Gala on April 10th.