February 2023

1979

Theresa Sullivan Gonzales has been named the 2023 Commencement Speaker for the Medical University of South Carolina. Dr. Gonzales is a board-certified specialist in orofacial pain as well as oral and maxillofacial pathology. She retired from the U.S. Army with the rank of colonel after 30 years of distinguished service. Dr. Gonzales has published over 75 articles in peer-reviewed journals and most recently served as the Executive Director of the American College of Dentists. She was the 2019 recipient of the Pre-Health Society’s Outstanding Service Award in Medicine at CofC. Dr. Gonzales resides in Charleston, SC.

Donna Taylor is an Attorney and resides in Charleston, SC.

1982

Judy Cranford Deas is a school counselor for Charleston County School District. Ms. Deas resides in Mount Pleasant, SC, with her husband, Ted.

1983

Heather Pennington Downs along with her husband, Jamie, and her daughter, Jennifer Downs ’09, owns Lowcountry Power Yoga. Ms. Downs resides in Hollywood, SC, and has four children.

Karen Federspiel is a Clinical Nurse Specialist for Summa Health. Ms. Federspiel and her husband, Richard Hughes, reside in Stow, OH.

1984

Slim Woodard recently retired as a Tech Team Leader. Mr. Woodard and his wife, Teresa, reside in Laurens, SC, and have three grandsons.

1993

Willie Dasinger retired this year after teaching for 28 years. Mr. Dasinger earned his MEd from Charleston Southern University in 2022. He resides in North Charleston, SC, with his wife, Judy. Their son, Jesse Emerson Dasinger, graduated from the College in May 2022.

1996

Meredith Gibson is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Hudson County Community College in Jersey City, NJ, where she teaches courses in culture, diversity, and healthcare and foundations of public health. Ms. Gibson resides in Annapolis, MD, and has two sons, Adam and Gabriel.

1997

Manelik Pou is a Clerk for the International Longshoremen’s Association in New Orleans. Mr. Pou earned his MBA from The Citadel.

2000

Tiffany Johnson Williams is the Director of Student Experience for Meeting Street Academy. Ms. Williams and her husband, Julian, reside in North Charleston, SC, with their children, Latesha, Taniah, Ta’Leyah, and Julian.

2004

Rachel Meuser Bowman has been named Chief Development Officer at the YMCA of Central Florida after working the same position at the YMCA of Coastal Georgia for 14 years. Ms. Bowman resides in Orlando, FL, with her husband, Aaron, and their two sons, Wallace and Everett.

Burt Connelly has been named Executive Director of Dorchester Paws from their Board of Directors. Mr. Connelly previously served on the board for Lowcountry Youth Services and was a coach at Summerville High School. He resides in Summerville, SC.

Coston McPike is a Chef based in Cary, NC.

2005

Avery Hall Beuerman is a Team Leader for Wake Up and Read the Labels, a program designed to help educate people on their food industry choices. Ms. Beuerman resides in New Orleans with her husband, Greg. The Beuermans are generous donors to Greek Life Scholarships, the CofC Fund, and the Alumni Association Fund.

2006

Meredith Frandino Kablick was recently promoted to the Director of Collections and Curatorial Affairs at the Patriots Point Naval and Maritime Museum. Ms. Kablick will be overseeing the exhibitions and permanent collections on board the USS Yorktown and USS Laffey. She earned her certificate in museum collections management and care from George Washington University in 2019. Ms. Kablick resides on Sullivan’s Island, SC, with her husband, George, and their two children, Lillian and George IV.

Marc McCain is the CEO/CCO of Peter Elish Investments Securities based in Fort Worth, TX. Mr. McCain and his wife, Kayla, reside in Eagle, ID.

Ashleigh Muldrow (MEd ’18) is a French and Multilingual Learner (ESL) Teacher for Berkeley County School District. Before joining Berkeley County, Ms. Muldrow worked as an Assistant Language Teacher in the Niigata Prefecture of Japan from 2019 to 2022. She resides in Summerville, SC.

Kathryn Evans Reynolds is the Vice President and Shareholder of Poston Community Management, Inc. Ms. Reynolds and her husband, Chris, reside in Charleston, SC, with their daughter, Evans.

Margaret White joined Richmond, VA, based Brockenbrough, a wealth and investment management firm, in late 2022 as the Director of Marketing and Communications. Ms. White previously worked with fellow CofC alumni Billy Little, Jr. ’14, Ben Carew ’16, and Elaine Natoli Carew ’16 at Tandem Investment in Charleston, SC.

2007

Steve Jones is a Wealth Management Financial Advisor for Merrill Lynch and has been named to the 2022 Forbes “Best-in-State Next-Gen Wealth Advisors” list for Washington, D.C. Mr. Jones resides in Reston, VA.

John Kohler has been selected as a 2022 St. Louis Business Journal 40 Under 40 award recipient. Dr. Kohler is the President of SSM Health Medical Group in Southern Illinois and serves as the ACO Executive and Board Chair. He earned his MD from the Medical University of South Carolina in 2011 and his MBA from North Carolina State University in 2017. Dr. Kohler resides in O’Fallon, IL, with his wife, Allison.

2008

Kim Fuller is an Associate Professor at Cleveland State University. Dr. Fuller earned her MEd and MSW in 2012 and her PhD in human sexuality in 2016 from Widener University. In 2020, she opened a sex therapy practice called Cleveland Sex & Intimacy Counseling. Dr. Fuller won an award for Best Paper in Sex & Relationship Therapy in 2021. She and her spouse, Kara Tellaisha, welcomed their son, Luca, in October 2021.

Carolina Gomes married Christopher Sweeney in 2017 and the couple welcomed their first child, Emilia Sweeney, in November 2021. The family resides in Greenville, SC.

2009

Mary McCumber Melson is the Center Director for the University of Georgia, Georgia 4-H. Ms. Melson earned her MS in ecological teaching and learning from Lesley University in 2107. She and her husband, Hunter, have one son, Gray. The family resides in Hampton, GA.

2011

Logan Suggs is a Registered Respiratory Therapist and ECMO specialist for the Medical University of South Carolina. Ms. Suggs married Raymond Harris ’21 in December 2022. Mr. Harris is an academic advisor for the CofC Academic Advising and Planning Center. The couple resides in Ladson, SC, and have a daughter, Jailyn. Ms. Suggs has recently made a gift to the Alumni Association Fund.

Joey Nigels has been promoted to Accounting Manager, External Reporting and Technical Accounting, at Greystar in Charleston, SC.

2012

Anthony James has been named Director of Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. James earned his EdD from the University of South Carolina in 2018 and a certificate of diversity and inclusion from Cornell University in 2021.

Karina Colgan Mangel is a Registered Nurse at the East Cooper Medical Center in Mount Pleasant, SC. Ms. Mangel and her husband, Richard, own two apparel companies, Charleston Custom Apparel and Keys to Embroidery in Key Largo, FL, and produced the faculty/staff t-shirts for CofC Day 2023. While at the College, she majored in physical education, joined Kappa Alpha Theta sorority, and was on the Cheerleading team. Ms. Mangel recently donated to the Alumni Association Fund. The couple resides in Charleston, SC, with their five children, Savana, Hailey, Edison, Sawyer, and Hudson.

Thomas Struble is an Associate Principal Scientist for Merck & Co., Inc. Dr. Struble earned his PhD in chemistry from Vanderbilt University in 2017. He was a post-doctoral scholar at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology where he studied machine learning and artificial intelligence. Dr. Struble resides in Cambridge, MA.

2013

Alex Kilpatrick is a Logistics Coordinator for Integrity Express Logistics and resides in Mount Pleasant, SC. He recently made a gift to the Alumni Association Fund.

Michelle Ortega is the Director, Connections Strategy, of Edelman and resides in Brooklyn, NY.

Stephanie Thomas Stephens is an Accountant for Blueland. Ms. Stephens earned her MS in accounting from Walden University in 2018. She and her husband, Charles, welcomed their son Charles Martin Thomas Stephens, in January 2022. The Stephens family resides in Goose Creek, SC.

2014

Emmie Clisham is an Account Executive for Ralph Lauren. Ms. Clisham married Simon Schachat ’14 in December 2022. Mr. Schachat is an Account Executive at NBC Universal working in ad sales. The couple resides in Hoboken, NJ.

Andrew George is Associate Director, STEM Ambassador Program, at the University of Utah. Dr. George earned his PhD in integrative biology from the University of Chicago in 2020. He resides in Salt Lake City.

Emily Pringle is a Senior Manager, Guest Services, for Austin FC. Ms. Pringle earned her MPS in sports industry managements from Georgetown University in 2018. She resides in Austin, TX.

2015

Sarah Bilbrey is the Public Relations Manager for Ulta Beauty in Chicago.

Louise Ray is a Teacher at the O’Quinn School of Porter-Gaud. Ms. Ray earned her MEd in literacy from The Citadel in 2017. She resides in Charleston, SC.

Kristen Klimek Smith is an AV Marketing Producer, Entertainment/Studios, for Known based in Los Angeles. Ms. Smith resides in Milton, GA, with her husband, Patrick.

2016

Anthony Ciccia is the new Resident Coordinator of Assessment at the University of Charleston in West Virginia. Mr. Ciccia has given to the Alumni Association Fund.

Raj Rajbhandari is an Electromagnetic Plasma Postdoctoral Appointee at Sandia National Laboratories. Dr. Rajbhandari earned his PhD in mathematics from Oregon State University this year. He resides in Corvallis, OR.

Ben Stephens is a Science and Technology Attaché for the Department of Foreign Affairs of Ireland. Dr. Stephens earned his PhD in chemistry from Johns Hopkins University in 2021. He resides in Boston.

2017

Katherine Lawson has been promoted to Vice President at FD Stonewater, LLC, a boutique real estate brokerage, investment, development, and asset management firm. Ms. Lawson resides in Arlington, VA.

Jazmyne Okallo is a Realtor for eXp Realty in Atlanta.

Patrick Owens is a Systems Administrator for the University of South Carolina and received the Rookie of the Year Award in 2022 for being an outstanding new employee. Mr. Owens resides in Columbia, SC.

2018

Austin Fitzhenry, of Charleston, SC, is the Owner and Operator of Coastal Chamber Musicians, performing at over 100 events a year in SC and GA.

James McGivern is a first-year MBA student at Pennsylvania State University specializing in supply chain management. During the summer, he will be interning at Chewy.com at their first ever fully robotic fulfillment and distribution center. He resides in Flourtown, PA.

Stephen Redmon earned his Doctor of Chiropractic from Life University in 2021 and resides in Charleston, SC.

2019

Rodrick Bellamy has been named the 2023 Teacher of the Year at Northwoods Middle School in Charleston County School District. Mr. Bellamy is a generous donor to the Alumni Association Fund, the CofC Fund, the School of Education, and the Teacher Leaders Program Fund.

Jordan Culpepper is the Catering Event Coordinator for InterContinental The Clement Monterey hotel. Ms. Culpepper will receive her MBA from Western Governors University in March. She married Marcos Gonzalez in January. The couple resides in Monterey, CA.

Kathleen Eader is a Cultural Arts Floating Instructor at Dougherty Arts School in Austin, TX. Ms. Eader is studying art education at the University of Texas at Austin with plans to graduate with her MA in 2023. She recently gave to the Alumni Fund.

Halle Kasson works for Blackbaud and resides in Ladson, SC.

Cameron Kurek is a Sales Analyst for Continental Tires the Americas, LLC. Mr. Kurek married Caroline Brown ’18 in November 2022. The couple resides in Rock Hill, SC.

Brianna Porter is currently in Chanthaburi, Thailand, on a 10-month Fulbright dissertation research grant. Ms. Porter is pursuing her PhD in cultural anthropology at SUNY Buffalo with plans to graduate in 2024.

Tyler Troy has been promoted to Data Analytics Manager for the DC Public Charter School Board in Washington, D.C.

2020

Erin Danfy started at Ridge Media in 2020 as a Digital Marketing Analyst and has been promoted to Senior Account Executive. Ms. Danfy resides in Greenville, SC, and has recently given to the Alumni Association Fund.

Alice Gaynor married Robert Lewandowski ’15 in November 2016 and the couple resides in Greenville, SC.

Suzanne Grantham is studying paleontology at East Tennessee State University with plans to graduate in 2023.

Don Merckle has worked at the College for over 10 years and has recently been promoted to Inventory Control Manager. He resides in Goose Creek, SC.

Teresa Scalley is the Marketing Project Coordinator for Dekaf Digital based in Indianapolis, IN. Ms. Scalley married Jacob Smith in March 2021. The couple resides in Poulsbo, WA.

Carly Valdez is an Automation Technician for Carnival Cruise Line and resides in Simsbury, CT.

2021

Zeke Carsella is an SEO Coordinator for Q4Launch and resides on Johns Island, SC.

Daniel Gray has been admitted to the sport and exercise science MEd program at the University of Minnesota beginning in Spring 2023. Mr. Gray has made a recent gift supporting the Alumni Fund.

Keylin Lopez is a Researcher for the International Union of Operating Engineers and resides in Washington, D.C. She has given to the Alumni Fund.

Colby Ratledge is a new Financial Analyst for Ignite Digital Services in Charleston, SC. Mr. Ratledge has repeatedly given in support of the Alumni Fund.

2022

Morgan Gleniewicz is an Assistant Event Coordinator Intern for ESPN. In this role, Mr. Gleniewicz helped coordinate the ESPN Shriners Children’s Charleston Classic at TD Arena on campus. He is also a Caddie for the Ocean Course at Kiawah Island Golf Resort in SC.

DJ Guarino is a Senior Application Analyst at MUSC and resides in Summerville, SC. He has recently given to the Alumni Fund.

Vinny LaManna is a Registered Client Associate for Alex Brown, a Division of Raymond James, and resides in West Palm Beach, FL. Mr. LaManna made a gift recently to support the Alumni Fund.