Allison Bethel (C80) of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., director of civil rights in the office of the attorney general of Florida, was elected to the Florida Bar’s board of governors in June. She also was a featured speaker at the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development’s Fair Housing Policy Conference in Anaheim, Calif., in June. She received the Henry Latimer Diversity Award in June from the Virgil Hawkins Florida Chapter of the National Bar Association, the Florida Association of Women Lawyers and the Equal Opportunities Law Section of the Florida Bar.

Christine Brennan (J80, GJ81) of Washington, D.C., a USA Today columnist, wrote her memoir, Best Seat in The House: A Father, a Daughter, a Journey Through Sports (Scribner, 2006). She is a commentator for ABC News, ESPN and NPR and has twice been named one of the nation’s top 10 sports columnists by the Associated Press Sports Editors.

Michael Gunn (KSM80) of Nashville, Ind., was named national information technology manager for Toyota Material Handling, U.S.A., in June. He will select, guide and direct its information systems development projects and continue to manage his current distribution responsibilities.

Jane Strauss Davis Holzkamp (WCAS80) of Lighthouse Point, Fla., received a master’s in Christian ministries from Asbury Theological Seminary in Orlando, Fla., in May. She and her husband plan to work as lay leaders within the Methodist Church in church transformation and development.

Thomas “Tom” Rocklin (G80, 81) of Iowa City became associate provost for undergraduate education and dean of the University College at the University of Iowa in July after serving as an interim associate provost for special assignments for two years.

Ruta Zemaitis Bloomfield (GMu81) of Saugus, Calif., is pursuing a doctorate in historical performance practices at Claremont Graduate University, now that her three children are nearly grown.

Robert Boyd (GMu81) of Westmont, Ill., a music teacher for 33 years at Lyons Township High School in La Grange, received the Harold A. Decker Choral Award in July from the Illinois chapter of the American Choral Directors Association.

Abby Farber (C81) of Little Neck, N.Y., is director of New York operations for Achievement First, a network of college-prep public charter schools.

Sara O’Daffer Marberry (C81) of Evanston, a marketing communications consultant, author and health care design expert, became executive vice president of the Center for Health Design Aug. 1. She has edited several publications, including Improving Healthcare Through Better Building Design (Health Administration Press, 2006).

Sally Nemeth (C81) of Los Angeles wrote The Heights, the Depths, and Everything in Between (Knopf, 2006), a novel for young adults.

Anthony J. Ring (GMcC82) of Waterford, Wis., is the owner of Ring & Associates, a software consulting firm.

Margaret Nagle (C83) of Los Angeles, a screenwriter, was a finalist for the 2006 Humanitas Prize for her original screenplay Warm Springs, which has aired continually on HBO since April 2005. The film won an Emmy Award for best television movie, and she received the Writers Guild Award for best original screenplay.

Kerry Shannon (WCAS83) of Darien, Ill., became national director of planning and clinical operations at Computer Sciences Corporation’s health care practice based in Chicago in July. Her team works with hospitals, medical schools and other medical centers on planning at the enterprise or program level, as well as on operations to improve patient care and clinical research.

Michael Sperling (J83) of Irving, Texas, is a vice president at Weber Shandwick, a global public relations agency in Dallas.

Susan J. Benjamin (GSESP84) of Highland Park, Ill., retired as assistant superintendent for Township High School District 113 (Highland Park and Deerfield high schools) in July. Now she writes District 113’s external publications and gives book, movie and musical reviews.

Paul McComas (GC84) of Evanston, a self-employed writer, instructor and lecturer wrote Planet of the Dates, a coming-of-age novel to be published in 2007. He is adapting his previous novel Unplugged (John Daniel & Co., 2002) for the screen.

Kevin O’Shea (WCAS84) of Birmingham, Mich., a former attorney and current stay-at-home father, is president of Partnership for Dads, a Michigan nonprofit organization helping fathers become more involved as parents. He co-wrote The Fatherstyle Advantage (Stewart, Tabori and Chang, 2006). He also writes two parenting columns and was featured on Nick Jr.

Denise E. Palmer (KSM84) of Baltimore became president and publisher of the Tampa Tribune after four years as publisher of the Baltimore Sun. She is a member of Northwestern’s Council of One Hundred and the president-elect of the Inland Press Association. She was named one of Maryland’s Top 100 Women in 2005. (See “Room at the Top.”)

Cheryl “Cheri” Pugh (WCAS84) of Chicago, cataloguing director at the HistoryMakers, co-produced and co-directed the documentary Forgiving Dr. Mengele, which won the Slamdance Film Festival’s 2006 special jury prize for best documentary feature. The film tells the story of Eva Mozes Kor, a survivor of twin experiments in an Auschwitz concentration camp who decided to forgive the Nazis to heal her emotional pain.

Michael P. Reynolds (C84) of Rapid City, S.D., president and chief operating officer of Dunbar Enterprises, is working with actor Kevin Costner on Tatanka: Story of the Bison — a museum and tourist destination in Deadwood — as well as other developments in the Black Hills region of South Dakota.

Rebecca Theim (J84, GJ95) of Chicago, director of corporate communications at UPM North America, in 2006 received several awards for an innovative internal communications program she created for UPM North America. In addition a feature she wrote for the company’s employee magazine was named the best feature story in the 2006 Ragan Recognition Awards.

Maury Fertig (KSM85) of Deerfield, Ill., co-founded Relative Value Partners, a Securities and Exchange Commission-registered investment adviser in Northbrook, after 17 years at Salomon Brothers/Citigroup. He wrote his first book The Seven Deadly Sins of Investing: How to Conquer Your Worst Impulses and Save Your Financial Future (Amacom, 2006).

Steven Gish (WCAS85) of Montgomery, Ala., became professor of history at Auburn University in October. He wrote Desmond Tutu: A Biography (Greenwood Press, 2004).

Laura J. Rosenthal (G85, 90) of Bethesda, Md., associate professor of English at the University of Maryland, wrote Infamous Commerce: Prostitution in Eighteenth-Century British Literature and Culture (Cornell University Press, 2006).

Steven A. Bragorgos (WCAS86) of Danville, Ill., a lieutenant colonel in the Illinois National Guard, is deployed for a year in Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His wife, Celeste Arbogast Bragorgos (J86), is an editor and designer at the University of Illinois. They are the parents of Alex, Paris and Grant.

Randall Giles (GMu86) of Chennai, India, a missionary with the Episcopal Church USA, is director of the department of liturgy and music for the Church of South India’s diocese of Madras. He is featured in Windows on Mission, a 12-part documentary series showing the work of 11 Episcopal missionaries in different parts of the world.

Nelson Jacobson (KSM86) of Grand Haven, Mich., became president and chief executive officer of JSJ Corp. in June. JSJ designs, develops and markets a group of durable goods brands.

Elaine King (GC86) of Bethesda, Md., a professor of art history, theory and museum studies at Carnegie Mellon University, co-edited the anthology Ethics and the Visual Arts (Allworth Press, 2006). She served as distinguished art historian in residence for American University during its international program in Corciano, Italy, in the fall. In June she served as guest curator for the exhibition Crossing Lines, in conjunction with Site Santa Fe.

Martin Maskarinec (GMcC86, 89) of Good Hope, Ill., was recently promoted to full professor in the department of computer science at Western Illinois University.

Nancy Shepherdson (KSM86) of Barrington, Ill., an award-winning magazine writer and author, won the Eleanor Roosevelt Woman-of-the-Year Award from the Illinois Democratic Women. She was noted for her work in organizing Democratic volunteers in the 8th Congressional District. She is co-author of La Vida Rica: The Latina’s Guide to Success (McGraw-Hill, 2004), written under the name Nancy Garascia.

Dawn Westlake (C86) of Los Angeles, a producer, director, writer and actress, directed and starred in the film, God’s Good Pleasure, filmed at the castle of friend Susan Phemister (WCAS86) in Amsterdam, N.Y., in May. Susan and her husband, Manfred, have cameo roles in the film.

Mark R. Jenkins (KSM87) of Chicago, a U.S. Navy Reserve Civil Engineer Corps officer, received the Bronze Star for exceptional meritorious performance in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. He was deputy district engineer for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from July 2005 to February 2006. He was also selected for promotion to captain. In civilian life he is an engineer with the Illinois Department of Transportation.

Ruth Piepgras Zekowski (KSM87) of Skokie, Ill., retired marketing manager for Presbyterian Homes in Evanston, joined the board of the Ember Kenya Grandparents Empowerment Project, which helps grandparents develop income sources to support themselves and their AIDS-orphaned grandchildren in Funyula, Kenya.

Pamela J. Cytrynbaum (J88) of Cambridge, Mass., associate director of Brandeis University’s Institute for Investigative Journalism, teaches Investigating Justice and has created the Justice Brandeis Innocence Project. She also serves on the planning committee for the National Innocence Network’s 2007 conference. A few years ago she co-taught a class with David Protess at Northwestern, where she helped coordinate the Medill Innocence Project.

Julie Tresnak Dietz (SESP88) of Sigel, Ill., became full professor at Eastern Illinois University in fall 2005. She is also the community health major adviser and serves on the university council on academic affairs.

Daniel S. Katz (McC88, GMcC90, 94) of Baton Rouge, La., is now an assistant director for scientific computing systems and software in the Center for Computation and Technology at Louisiana State University. He is also an associate research professor in the electrical and computer engineering department. He remains a faculty part-time principal at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory at the California Institute of Technology.

Liane LeMaster (C88) of Atlanta, recipient of the Paul Bowles Fellowship for Creative Writing at Georgia State University for the 2005–06 academic year, is pursuing her master’s of fine arts at Georgia State. She won the 2005 Porter Fleming Prize for Literature in September 2005. Her fiction has been published in literary journals and nominated for a Pushcart Prize.

Julie Libera Liss (WCAS88) of La Canada Flintridge, Calif., is director of account planning at TBWA/Chiat/Day in Los Angeles.

Ding Lu (G88, 91) of Tokyo is professor at Sophia University, where he teaches economic development, international economics and comparative economic systems.

Candace Ennesser Passi (GSESP88, 95) of Orland Park, Ill., is dean of students at St. Xavier University in Chicago.

Brenna Kriviskey Sadler (J88) of Brookfield, Wis., vice president at the independent public relations firm Zeppos & Associates, is responsible for account management, client services, business development and managing the firm’s team of professionals. In May she received two Paragon Awards from the southeastern Wisconsin chapter of the Public Relations Society of America.

David Smethurst (GJ88) of Walnut Creek, Calif., wrote his first book, Tripoli: The United States’ First War on Terror (Presidio Press, 2006). He and his wife have two daughters.

Marilyn J. Ward (GC88) of Kenosha, Wis., professor of education at Carthage College, received the college’s 2006 Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award. She was recently named full professor. She is also co-director of the Carthage College Center for Children’s Literature and director of Poetkids Theatre.

David F. Warner (WCAS88) of Evanston became a partner at the Chicago law firm Freeborn & Peters in May. He practices land-use and real estate law. He and his wife, Chelsie Adams, have a 1-year-old daughter, Truman.

Beth Daley (WCAS89) of Washington, D.C., was named director of investigations for the Project On Government Oversight, an independent nonprofit that investigates and exposes corruption and other misconduct in the federal government. She testified before Congress in February regarding the need for stronger protections against retaliation for whistleblowers. She and her husband, Steve Holmer, are the parents of twins, Ginger and Traci.

Charlotte Dillon (G89) of Aurora, Ill., a clinical psychologist in full-time private practice, recently earned a master’s degree in pastoral studies from the Institute of Pastoral Studies at Loyola University. She specializes in working with adults and couples, and she has a special interest in the integration of faith and psychology issues.

David G. Myers (G89) of College Station, Texas, associate professor of English and religious studies at Texas A&M University, wrote The Elephants Teach: Creative Writing Since 1880 (University of Chicago Press, 2006). The book covers the development of creative writing as a classroom subject and the subsequent national system for employment of fiction writers and poets to teach the subject.

J. Gregory Smith (WCAS89) of Columbus, Ohio, an attorney at Ulmer & Berne, was named in Ohio Super Lawyers — Rising Stars for 2006 by Law & Politics magazine. With expertise in environmental law, his practice includes real estate matters and business litigation.