Kayla Arias, associate at Barclay Damon, LLP, Syracuse, was selected a 2022 Upstate New York Rising Star.
Ancell Scheker Mendoza was appointed vice minister of education of the Dominican Republic. Ancell earned a doctoral degree in educational administration and policy studies from UAlbany and received the Alumni Association’s International Award of Excellence in 2016.
Jacob Fischler and Kathryn Beard welcomed daughter Annie Madison, April 11, 2022. Annie is the first grandchild of Dr. Arnold Fischler ’82 and Heidi Amsterdam ’81.
Georgia Crinnin of Bousquet Holstein PLLC was named a Super Lawyers Upstate New York Rising Star in 2022. She is a member of the firm’s Trusts and Estates and Litigation Practice groups.
Brienna Christiano and Jamie Dughi Hogenkamp of Barclay Damon, LLP, Albany, were included in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™. They were also named 2022 Upstate New York Rising Stars.
Amanda Miller was included in the 2023 edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™. Amanda specializes in mass tort litigation at Barclay Damon LLP, Albany.
Gina Valentino is managing editor of luxury lifestyle magazine Gulfshore Life. She serves on the UAlbany Alumni Association Board of Directors.
Jamie Zieno joined New York State Senator Jeremy Cooney’s team as Chief of Staff.
Meteorologist Mike Slifer joined WFSB News in his home state of Connecticut.
Felix Abreu is a customer solutions engineer at Google and founder of Blue It LLC.
Jackie Orchard is pursuing a master’s degree in Creative Writing at California State University, Northridge.
Raymond Blanchard is president-elect of the American Counseling Association of New York State.
Marlon Balogh was named a “City & State 40 Under 40 Rising Star”. He is a forensic accounting and fraud examination expert at Guidehouse.
Mike Avella Jr. was named a “City & State 40 Under 40 Rising Star”. He serves as government affairs associate at Dickinson & Avella, PLLC in Albany.
Iris White was named a “City & State 40 Under 40 Rising Star”. She serves as chief of staff at Bolton-St. Johns, a government relations and public affairs firm in Albany.
Haley Viccaro was appointed senior adviso for communications for NYS Governor Kathy Hochul. She previously served as communications director for Governor Hochul.
Jackie Silvestri opened Downtown Dough in Albany and Farmhouse Tap + Tavern in Altamont. She is the creator 518 Foodies, a Facebook Group with over 41,000 members.
Deirdre Barthel and Jeff Quain of Albany celebrated their recent engagement. Deirdre is director of Intergovernmental & Legislative Affairs at the NYS Division of Homeland Security and Jeff is director of operations at J Strategies.
Kayla Arias was selected to the 2021 Super Lawyers Upstate New York and Rising Stars lists. She is an associate at Barclay Damon LLP, Syracuse and serves on the firm’s Diversity Leadership Team.
Ashley Clark Stella and Anthony Stella Jr. welcomed baby Milo James Stella, Nov. 4, 2021.
Ryan Starks joined Gentry Locke’s Commercial Litigation Practice Group, based in Richmond, Va.
Brienna Christiano and Jamie Dughi Hogenkamp were selected to the 2021 Super Lawyers Upstate New York and Rising Stars lists. They are associates at Barclay Damon LLP, Albany.
School of business alum Nick Domnisch was nominated to the Forbes Tech Council and is a regular contributor on Forbes.com. He serves as CEO / Partner at EE Solutions, a full-cycle consulting & development agency based out of NYC that builds custom enterprise software.
Mike Slifer received the American Meteorological Society Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (AMSCBM) seal. He is a meteorologist at NBC affiliate News Center Maine in Portland, specializing in forecasting.
Last updated July 14, 2022.
Taylor Chaney was appointed director of Annual Giving at D'Youville University, Buffalo, N.Y.
Robert Pirson joined Field point Private’s NYC office as a Managing Director and Commercial Banker.
Lauren Ursaki started a new position as investigator, Compliance& Ethics at Zoom.
Dan Krzykowski is an associate at Barclay Damon in Albany.
Stephanie Kazanas was recently tenured and promoted to associate professor at Tennessee Technological University. She currently serves as interim-chairperson in TTU’s Department of Counseling and Psychology.
Rashan Brown joined the Walt Disney Company Product Operations Management team on ESPN+. He formerly served as associate product manager at Learning A-Z. Rashan is a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc, and is the founder of spoken word poetry platform Poetry Me, Please.
Harlan Ginsburg joined Etsy as senior technical recruiter.
Shaine Holloway is an editorial intern atPhilomel Books, Penguin Random House.
Saolam Nguyen and Christina Hodson were promoted to senior auditors at UHY LLP.
Mackenzie Darling was named a 2022 Maeve McKean Women’s Law and Public Policy – O’Neill Institute Fellow at Georgetown Law School. Mackenzie is working with HIPS, a Washington, D.C.-based organization that focuses on promoting the health, rights and dignity of people impacted by sexual exchange and substance use.
Jason Zarillo was named one Albany Business Review’s Class of 2023 “40 Under 40” honorees.
Raymond Blanchard graduated with a Ph.D in Counseling from Montclair State University and joined Manhattan College’s Counseling and Therapy Department as an assistant professor this fall.
Jonathan Wiggins is the assistant director of Residence Life and Housing at Columbia School of General Studies. He previously worked at NYU as a residence hall assistant director and UAlbany as a residence hall director.
James Dodd was named one of the Albany Business Review’s Class of 2023 “40 Under 40” honorees.
Holly McKenna was appointed executive director of the International Center of the Capital Region (ICCR). Holly previously served as ICCR’s director of Community Engagement. She is a media lecturer at UAlbany, and former journalist for Reuters. Holly’s family bleeds purple and gold; the UAlbany legacy family includes husband Chris ’85, son Peter ’14 and son Aidan ’22.
Dr. Lina Uribe Correa was appointed rectora of the Unicomfacauca university in Popayán, Colombia. She holds a Ph.D. in Educational Administration from UAlbany.
John Scott was named one of Albany Business Review’s Class of 2023 “40 Under 40” honorees. He is co-founder of 4th Family Inc., a nonprofit created to address issues faced by inner-city youth.
Christopher Babiarz is an associate in Barclay Damon’s Real Estate and Financial Institutions & Lending Practice Areas.
Umaru Barrie, a dual-degree M.D./Ph.D. candidate at University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, earned his Ph.D. in the spring. He will finish his eighth and final year at UTSMC with an M.D. in 2024.
Will Brunelle was listed among City and State New York’s Albany 40 Under 40. He is vice president at communications and political consulting firm SKDK.
Jessica Dubowski joined Twomey, Latham, Shea, Kelley, Dubin & Quartararo, LLP as a corporate attorney. She holds a J.D. from New York University School of Law.
Justyn Turner was promoted to vice president of Strategic Partnerships, New York City Economic Development Corporation. He previously served as Brooklyn Borough Director.
Joe Mahoney was named one of the Albany Business Review’s Class of 2023 “40 Under 40” honorees.
Assembly Member Kenny Burgos was listed among City and State New York’s Albany 40 Under 40.
Colin Cooper was appointed by the Geneva City School District as head coach of the Geneva High School varsity football team. Cooper was a standout for the Geneva Panthers before playing at UAlbany.
Kathleen Digan was listed among City and State New York’s Albany 40 Under 40. She is the public policy manager at Amazon.
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ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT: Grace Claxton ’17
Former UAlbany Track & Field star and 2016 Olympian Grace Claxton has been putting her public health degree to good use since graduating in 2017. Today, the San Juan, Puerto Rico, native is a certified and licensed massage therapist and owner of Paradise Wellness Center, located on the island of St. Kitts. She continues to train as a professional track athlete for Puerto Rico, though she recently took some time off for her pregnancy. Grace welcomed a son, her “little prince” Thyree, on June 6! “I’m still in awe with his beautiful existence,” said Grace. “I’m embracing motherhood and extremely excited for this new journey as a mom, business owner and professional track athlete. I still have goals to accomplish. God is Good.”Grace holds a BS in Public Health. She was featured in the story “Going Places,” published in the Fall 2016 issue of UAlbany Magazine.
Brian Navichoque started a new position as marketing manager, creative partnerships at NBCUniversal.
Angel Mejia is an engineering project manager at Apple.
Melissa Ertl is an assistant professor of Counseling Psychology at the University of Minnesota.
Michael Charlebois was elevated to Of Counsel at national law firm of Ballard Spahr. He is based in the firm’s Los Angeles office and focuses on public finance, project finance, and public-private partnership matters.
Nicole Della Ragione Osborne was promoted to partner at Ruskin Moscou Faltischek, P.C.
Marc Cohen and wife Emily welcomed son Benjamin Oliver, Dec. 18, 2023.
Mikala McCauley ’16, ’18 and Peter Rodrigues ’16 were married Aug. 11, 2023 in NYC. The wedding was officiated by Ted Anderson ’82. Mikala is a UAlbany Volleyball alum, and Peter was involved in UASBIG. Both were members of Delta Sigma Pi.
Lucas Novko is an interpreter and blacksmith at the Farmer's Museum and Fenimore Art Museum in Cooperstown, NY.
Ashley Scott, associate business engagement manager at Pepsico and founder and CEO of Data Girl Ash, spoke about career transitions and establishing professional networks at 2023 TEDx DeerPark Women: Two Steps Forward.
Taesha Martinez is a bilingual guidance counselor at the NYC Dept. of Education.
Joél Duran is an artificial intelligence product manager at Microsoft.
