UAlbany Magazine

The Carillon

Alumni News & Notes

• 1940s - 1950s
• 1960s - 1970s
• 1980s - 1990s
• 2000s

1980

Neil A. Sonenberg joined New York City-based accounting, tax and advisory firm Marks Paneth as partner.

1982

Dr. Lauren Solotar, president and CEO at May Institute, was one of 23 women from the Boston business community honored as a 2015 Woman of Influence by Boston Business Journal.

1983

L.A. Sokolowski Pomeroy received the Syracuse Press Club Recognition Award for her profile of thoroughbred trainer Jennifer Gurney in New York Horse Magazine. At the White House in April, Julio Medina received a Champions of Change Award for Advancing Prevention, Treatment, and Recovery. Julio is founder and executive director of Exodus Transitional Community, a reentry program in East Harlem, Newburgh, Poughkeepsie and 
Albany, N.Y.

1985

Patricia Salkin was named provost for the Graduate and Professional Division at Touro College. She will serve as the chief academic officer for the college, providing leadership, policy formation, and guidance for faculty and academic programs. Christopher Betke was elected to a second three-year term on the board of the Rose Kennedy Greenway Conservancy. The non-profit maintains, programs, and improves the Greenway on behalf of the public in partnership with the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Chris is partner at Coughlin Betke LLP, a civil-litigation defense boutique based in Boston. Stuart A. Hack is managing member of Hack Tax and Accounting Services in Wellington, Fla. He recently was named to the Wellington Chamber of Commerce Executive Board of Directors and joined the chamber’s exclusive President’s Circle.

1986

Jennifer Manner was promoted to senior vice president, Regulatory Affairs, at Echostar. Keith Miller was named managing partner of Perkins Coie’s New York office. A former SEC enforcement attorney, Keith is chair of the firm’s White Collar and Investigations practice. He holds a J.D. from New England Law and earned master’s and bachelor’s degrees from UAlbany.

1988

Mrs. Jeanne L. O’Reilly established The Jennine O’Reilly Conway ’88 Memorial Scholarship at UAlbany to help provide support for a student who is blind or visually impaired. Those of you from the Class of 1988 may remember Jennine: despite her visual impairment and blindness while a student at UAlbany, she persevered, obtained her degree and achieved many notable accomplishments. Among her most impressive feats was being one of the first blind climbers to successfully scale Mount Kilimanjaro. Mrs. O’Reilly remains appreciative of the support and encouragement given to her daughter by the faculty and staff of UAlbany, especially John Levato, assistant dean of the School of Business at the time. If you are interested in supporting this scholarship, please go to albany.edu/giving and note the O’Reilly Conway Scholarship.

1990

William Malpica was recognized as one of Pro Bono Partnership’s Volunteers of the Year for 2015. Mark Schaefer recently stepped into a new role as university chaplain for American University after serving as campus minister for 16 years.

1991

Kathie DeKalb was named Business and Marketing Outstanding Teacher of the Year for the Capital District. She has served as business and computer teacher at Fort Plain Central School for the past 25 years, and is retiring after 34 years in education. Siobhan Connolly, Garden State Trust Company executive, recently conducted a class outlining how to avoid pitfalls while creating an effective estate plan. Siobhan is a board member of the Social Communities Activities Network (SCAN), which provides quality social education and resources to the active adult population in Monmouth and Ocean counties. Richard Reyes Gavilan, executive director of the Washington, D.C., Public Library system, is overseeing renovation of its historic main branch.

1992

Manjit Singh, co-founder of the Sikh American Legal Defense and Education Fund, was appointed to President Obama’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships.

1993

John Bagyi was named one of the Nation’s Most Powerful Employment Attorneys by the Human Resource Executive for the third consecutive year.

David Van Slyke recently was named dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University. He previously served as associate dean and chair of the Department of Public Administration and International Affairs.

1996

Meghan Cook, program director at the University’s Center for Technology in Government, received a UAlbany 2016 President’s Award for Excellence in Professional Service.

1998

David Mutnick is now managing director, co-head of the Chicago Board Options Exchange (CBOE) High Touch Services for Convergex.