Communication Department

Alumni News 2007-9

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• Pictures from June 2006 Amsterdam Argumentation Conference

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Julian Burroughs
Jennifer & Jason Black & family
Rebecca Meisenbach
Tim Steffensmeier and Sophia
Heidi with Zachary and Scott Poelman

Suchi Joshi

Sherick Hughes' new book
Shane Harris writes on Nat Security
Clare Novak's latest Book
Janette Kenner Mur's New book
Sarah Sager McSpiritt & Chris
Drake Bowen
Katya & Alexandra Ludmila
Carol Winkler's new book
Chandra and Charles
Tim and Max
Jeff, Addison, Elisia

• Katherine Ackerman ('04) is a creative assistant at Lowe Worldwide Advertising in New York City. She has recently begun her graduate work at the Business School at NYU/Stern School of Business.  She is getting her MBA in General Management, specializing in Strategy and Marketing.
• Stephanie (Wood) Aden (MA ’97) is in her 7^th year with Nebraska Plastics where she currently serve as the Director of Corporate Communications in Cozad, NE. She, her husband, and four year old son, Sam, welcomed a little boy (Jack) on April 4^th 2007. Stephanie is living a busy life.
•  Karen Bartel Arazim (’83) is in Zurich Switzerland with a global division at UBS, a Swiss bank. She is responsible for marketing and communications with Global Wealth Management & Business Banking.
• Olu Ariup (MA '06) is teaching at Guilford Community College in Greesboro.
• Jarrod Atchison (2000, MA '03) is finishing his Ph D. at the University of Georgia and will be Director of Debate at Trinity College in San Antonio Texas next year.
• Jill Bader ('05) works for Senator Lamar Alexander in his DC press office. She recently worked on the sucessful Bob Corker Senate campaign in TN.
• Karen Baynes ('89) is the Associate director of the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, Governmental Services at the University of Georgia. She earned a law degree from Cal Berkeley and served as a Juvenile Court Judge in Atlanta.
• Margaret "Peggy" Beach (MA, 94) was recently named "Weekend Warrior" of the Year at the N.C. Museum of History in Raleigh. Peggy is a weekend volunteer at the museum and was a delegate to the National Docent (Volunteer) Symposium, held in September 2003 in Chicago. Peggy is a special events coordinator and writer at the North Carolina Community College System Office in Raleigh.
• Mark Beckett ('88) live in Columbia SC and works with the Belk Stores.
• Randy Benson ('89) is married, lives in Durham, teach film at the Center for Documentary Studies at Duke, produce the Town of Cary's government TV station and work on my own freelance projects.
• Jason Black (MA, '02) is an assistant professor in Communication Studies and an affiliate faculty in African American Studies at the University of Alabama. He teaches and researches issues related to race/ethnicity and nationalism, with a contextual/textual focus on American Indian and African American rhetoric. He's getting set to publish a book on 19th century hybrid Native and governmental discourses with Alabama Press's Rhetoric, Culture and Social Critique series. Jason enjoys spending time with his partner Jennifer (MA 2001), daughters (Anabelle and Amelia) and Bitsy the retired, ex-racing greyhound.
• Jennifer (Berg) Black (MA, 2001) worked in Washington, D.C. for an NGO for three years and is currently a project/grant administrator for the Center on Mental Health and Aging at the University of Alabama. As such, she works as a liaison between various departments (sociology, psychology, etc.) to increase the visibility and funding of issues related to elder care and gerontology. Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family (Jason [MA 2002] and daughters Anabelle and Amelia), shopping and eBaying.
• Sandra McCullough Bowen (MA, 2001) married to Jamie, are new parents of Son Drake born November 1, 2006. They make their home in Raleigh NC. She is teaching at Wayne Community College and Johnson Air Force Base in Goldsboro, NC. (see Christmas picture)
• Susan Bray ('83) is working as a district court judge in Guilford County, campaigning for superior court (www.judgebray.com), biking and kayaking when she can, and looking forward to taking her nephew ( a college freshman at University of Alabama-Huntsville) on an adventure during the Christmas break.  She has a tradition of taking each niece and nephew on a trip in honor of their high school graduation.  While plans for this trip aren't firm yet, she's suggested that her nephew get a passport!
• Anne Burkett (1998) Lives in Winston-Salem and have been a non-profit fundraiser since she graduated. She worked for 4 years at Habitat for Humanity of Forsyth County as a Development Assistant is currently a Special Events Manager for the National Multiple Sclerosis Society., where she coordinates several major fundraising events, including the MS Walk and MS Bike Tour. Her primary duties include working with top event fundraisers, team captains, media and sponsors.
• Julian C. Burroughs ('51), the longtime communication professor who led the growth of radio station WFDD into the modern era and introduced film studies into the curriculum 40 years ago, died May 7 in Winston-Salem. He was 80. Wake Forest University remberance.
• Kelly Blackman Capps (M.A. ’04) lives in Raleigh with husband, Kenny, and is working as the Communication Specialist for The Mental Health Association in NC. She also serves as a part time Adjunct Faculty the Mental Health Association and the local community colleges, teaching various courses in Communication Studies. Kelly and Kenny are expecting our first child, a daughter, in April 2008.
• Kellie Carlyle (MA, 2003) completed her MPH in Health Behavior and Health Promotion and PhD in Communication at The Ohio State University.  Kellie is currently an assistant professor in the Hugh Downs School of Human Communication at Arizona State University and is getting married in October 2008.
• David Cheshier ('85) is the chair of the Communication Department Chair at Georgia State University in Atlanta.
• Tripper Clancy ('02) earned a Masters in Screenwriting from the University. of Texas after graduating from Wake Forest.  He loved Austin and the UT program but moved to LA right after graduation because that was the next step.  He has a lot of scripts in hand, and his agent is making the rounds with them.  As Tripper put it, "Things could be better, but they could certainly be a lot worse."  That's the right attitude.
• Elisia Cohen (MA '99) has taken a new postion in Communicatin at the Universtiy of Kentucky, fall 2007. She has been teaching at the Uinv. of St Louis and is a Univ. of Southern Calif. Ph.D. But more importantly, She and Jeff brough Addison into the world. Congrats
• Alan Coverston (MA) was elected to the Nashville, TN School board this fall.(see pic)
• Gina Harris Cozza (MA) Works in Winston-Salem with Coldwall Bankers as a realtor, but the big news is welcoming son Roman into their lives, Sept. 20, 2007.
• Drew Dayton ('03) is currently an assistant football coach at Lenoir-Rhyne college in hickory, NC
• Jaime Wright Doyle (MA, '99) is finishing her Ph.D. at the University of Texas-Austin and will be teaching at Queens College in NY in the fall.
• Alan English ('03) accepted a new position in Feburary with The Stanley Works as Product Manager for VIRAX North America. At the French company he has the opportunity to incubate the brand and launch it here stateside. Alan describes it as the "perfect opportunity to bring together my branding experiences with my knowledge of the plumbing category and masters in Trans-Atlantic studies." He is relocating from Atlanta to Hartford, CT.
• Sandra Lyn French (Gomila) (MA '94) and Hunter welcomed daughter Soren Elizabeth to their world July 6th, 2003. She was recently awarded a Ph.D. from Penn State University. Sandy is teaching t at Radford University in Radford, Virginia.
• Tim Fuller (2000) is as assistant Men's Basketball coach at Fairfield University in CT.
• Coker Gamble ( MA '02) Prior to beginning her career with the American Heart Association, Gamble worked on the re-election campaign of South Carolina Governor Jim Hodges. Since joining the American Heart Association, the nation’s largest non-profit, devoted to reducing cardiovascular disease, she has been promoted five times in just over four years.  Gamble has earned numerous awards for her work with the American Heart Association, including Rookie of the Year for outstanding professional performance, three consecutive Outstanding Fundraising Performance awards, the Sophomore of the Year award (a new award specifically developed to recognize Gamble’s achievements), and numerous “best in class” association-wide awards.  In December 2005, Gamble was recognized as one of the organization’s most promising “up and coming” leaders at the national leadership conference in Dallas, TX.  After four consecutive years of unparalleled performance, Gamble was hand-picked to be the National Development Consultant for the organization in January 2007.  Her responsibilities include creating national development strategies and staff training techniques for the organization, with a primary focus on the East Coast.  Gamble's campaign goal is $103 Million.
• .Cagney Gentry ('06) shot a film for the Northwest North Carolina Partnership for Public Health featuring the work of 10 area health organizations. The film to be finished by April 1 is featured in the Winston-Salem Journal Feb 2007.
• Elizabeth Goins ('01) received my MA in communication (concentration in risk comm) at George Mason University in Fairfax, VA in May 06.  She is working in Washington, DC at a non-profit doing event planning and member relations and considering goint back for a PhD in communication.
• CPT Brandt Goodwin ('03) writes of the value of his communication training for his work in Iraq: "at Wake I truly gained useful information, which has positively influenced me as a leader in US Army. I have utilized what have learned in many different arenas, be it as Pay Agent on the ground with interpreters negotiating tens of thousands of dollars with local nationals, as a convoy commander out on the road dodging IEDs pushing supplies throughout our area of operations, or as as combat lifesaver volunteer during mass casualities at the Level II Medical Treatment Facility aiding US soldiers, Iraqi soldiers, and local citizens. As a young Captain, I have recently been offered command of a company consisting of 200 personnel." Brandt may pursue an International Buisness Degree at the University of South Carolina upon returning to the States.
• Brad Hall (BA 06, MA '08) has been selected work with Al Gore as a research assistant for his next book about solutions to global warming. His duties will include research, writing, planning summits of experts, travel, and other duties geared toward ending the climate crisis. He will be living in Nashville and traveling the world.
• Jeff Hall (MA 2000) is finishing his Ph.D. at USC in Los Angeles and will be on the faculty at the Univ. of Kansas in the spring of 2008.
• Rad Hallman ('99) is a graduate of the American Film Institute screenwriting program.   He is living in LA writing scripts and recently finished one that's being read by folks.  To pay the bills, he's coaching triathletes and marathon runners as well as the USC triathlon team.  Also, he works part time as a tutor for highschool students and reports, "It's a non-stop party."
• Casey Harrigan (MA '08) is the new Debate Coach at the Univ. of Georgia, Athens.
• Shane Harris ('98) is the Intelligence and Homeland Security Corespondent with the National Journal. He appears on such shows as C-SPAN's Washington Journal. For example
• Ekaterina Haskins (MA. '93) Ekaterina and husband Derick ('91) welcomed a new daughter Alexandra Ludmila Haskins into their lives Jan 15, 2007. Ekaterina teaches in the Department of Language, Literature, and Communication at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in Troy, NY. She was previously a professor at Boston College Her book Logos and Power in Isocrates and Aristotle was published by the Univ of South Carolina Press in 2004. She was granted tenure and promotion by RPI in Dec. 2005.
• Mary (Sue Petroshius) Heckert ('94) works for Human Capital and Diversity Communications in Chicago IL.
• Sherick Hughes (MA, '99) is a tenure track Assistant Professor in the Minority and Urban Education Unit of the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at The University of Maryland. He earned his B.A. from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington, M.A. from Wake Forest University, and his MPA and Ph.D. degrees from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He has particular interests in researching how race, class, and gender connect to historical and contemporary experiences of ideology, political economy, and schooling. His work has been recognized in Teachers College Record, by Phi Delta Kappa and Harvard University's Family Involvement Network of Educators. Along with several book chapters and peer-reviewed publications in journals, including Educational Foundations, Journal of Black Studies, Urban Review and Educational Studies, Dr. Hughes is an author and editor of two new books in circulation at over 125 universities worldwide. Sherick married his undergraduate "college sweetheart" Megan Erin (Hoert)Hughes, they enjoy a precocious two-year-old daughter named Micah (pronounced Mike-Ah) Victoriana Hughes, and a Black Lab Retriever named, Raleigh Franklin Hughes
• Jen Jackson (BA '95) is working for Studios International, a production company with offices in Los Angeles, London, and Bangkok. In addition to developing a slate of feature and television projects, Studios International is also building production facilities in Bangkok and London.
• Audrey (Young) Johnson ('00, MA '02) has left her postion as Planned Giving Accounts Manager with Wachovia to start her second graduate degree at UNC-Greensboro.
• Suchi Joshi (MA '06) just finished her research at the Amsterdam School of Communications Research through a Fulbright Scholarship. She has returned to Washinton DC and is working as a Project Manager for a Pharmaceutical Consulting company.
• Angela Massoni Kates (MA, '04) lives with her husband Steve in Columbus GA, they have two dogs (no children yet) and like to SCUBA dive. Angla is Assitant to the President. with Aflac. She writes, "I have very fond memories of my time at Wake and of the entire Communication Department.  It was a time of growth and learning for me on so many levels."
• Katherine Konecny ('06) is a consultant with Ford and Associates in Atlanta. Previously she was with Garden Events Coordinator at Atlanta Botanical Garden .
• Peter Koprince ('05) is finising his MA in commnication at the Univ. of North Dakota. He plans on pursing his Ph.D. at North Dakota State Univ in the fall.
• (Bonita) Lara Lee (MA '97) completed her Ph.D. at UNC-Greensboro in Educational Leadership and Cultural Foundations in November 2006. Lara and her husband live in Winston-Salem.
• Jennie Loughridge ('02) got her Masters in screenwriting at Chapman University in Organge, CA in 2005. She moved to LA where she continues to work as a writer's assistant for scribe/director/producer Jill Soloway.
• Thomas Loquvam ('01) has moved law firms in Phoenix to Fennemore Craig (www.fclaw.com). On the side he is coaching debate at Desert Vista HS in Phoenix.
• Fairley Washington Mahlum ('01) is Communications Director for the AAA Foundation for Traffic Safety in Washington, DC. He has been with them for six years.
• Sam Maurer (MA '06) is the new director of Debate at Emporia State University in KS. He worked for the previous two years as Asst. debate coach at Gonzaga Univ. in Spokane.
• Sarah (Sager) McSpiritt (MA'06) recently married Chris McSpiritt and resides in Philadelphia. (see picture)
• Rebecca Meisenbach is a Communication Prof at the University of Missouri-Columbia.
• Laura Mills ('05) is an account executive with the New York Park Avenue PR firm Peppercorn.
• Janette Kenner Muir (MA '83) is the new editor of Communication Quarterly, the association journal of the ECA. Star Muir ('80) is the Senior director in the communication department. Both teach at George Mason University. Their best time is spent with kids, Kaitlin and Alex. Jeanette's new book Readings on Political Communication will be published by Strata Publishing in May.
• Clare Novak (MA '78) founded the firm Novak and Associates in 1994. It is an international consulting firm in Exton Pennsylvania. She was the 1998 recipient of the Helen Dutcher Mentoring Award from the American Society for Training and Development, Philadelphia Chapter. Her latest book is Never Rule Without a Magician, a Sage and a Fool.
• Jon Ohlhauser (MA) is President of Prairie Bible Institute in Alberta, Canada. Check oue the story in Christian Week. His focus is communication bring theology and communication theory together. The magazine quotes “God spoke the act of creation,” he says. “Communication was the genesis of creation, and the desire to commune is foundational. At the Fall it was broken. Misunderstanding is an element of Fall. Then came the Word. The mandate to communicate a part of God’s story and how He works.”
• Melissa Painter ('00) works as the consumer reporter for FOX8 WGHP. She also teaches Broadcast Journalism for WFU. Melissa and her husband, Adrian Greene, Class of 2000, live in High Point.
• Jain-Shukla, Parul (MA '06) is working on her Ph. D. at Texas A&M Univ. but is planning to tranfer to Ohio State, taking the opportunity to get closer to family.
• Mandy Pedersen ('03) is finishing her Masters in Education at DePaul University while working as a nanny for three children and planning for her June 2007 wedding "to a wonderful boy."
• Richard Penny ('77) has been appointed as Vice Chancellor of Advancement and External Affairs at the University of Washington Bothell. Story Link
• Heidi Poelman (MA, '04) is moving from San Diego to Salt Lake City where her husband Scott will take a new job with a law firm. Heidi is raising their son, Zachary. http://scottandheidifamily.blogspot.com/
• Chandra Poston (MA '02) is working for Lowes Foods in Winston-Salem as the manager for Beer and Wine. She is getting married this year.
• Danielle Powell (MA) is an instructor at Cascadia Community College, just outside of Seattle Washington.
• Brad Preslar (BA 1999) after completing his MFA in Film Production at the University of Miami last fall, is working at Center Line Productions, a Raleigh-based media production agency. He now lives in Charlotte, working to expand Center Line's client base into the Charlotte and Triad markets.
• Veronique Prado-Lacoste ('02) lives in Paris. Currently she is Sports Media Officer, responsible for getting lacoste tennis and golf players in the media, providing them with a communications support and advise, and provide sports media with different tools to allow them to write their articles and spread the news.
  
• Jillian Rainwater (’03) has completed a Masters Degree in Professional Counseling and achieved licensure in the field and is Program Manager, Continuing Education & Professional Development with Grand Rapids Community College, in Grand Rapids, MI
• Albert Rattacasa ('05) is with Merrill Lynch in Mount Pleasant South Carolina and "loving every minute of it."  Personal update: both King Charles Spaniels--their names are Reagan and Thatcher.
• Amber Rieg ('02) is an account executive at a strategic communications firm in Boston.  The firm specializes in public relations and political affairs, and her concentration is sports PR and crisis management.   Within each of these practice groups, she assists in the implementation of communication strategies that encompass media relations, government relations, industry research, and analysis. Currently, their clients include the Red Sox and Bruins on the sports side as well as clients across a number of industries on the crisis management side.
• Sara Rudolph (MA '06) is living in Winston-Salem where she works as Wellness Coordinator at Cancer Services. She writes, coordinates, and facilitates the support groups and "Conversations on Cancer" programs..
• Sam Settar ('00) has taken a new position within my company (TAP Pharmaceutical Products) as a Senior Program Manager of Employee Develpment and relocated to Chicago IL
• Lucy Shaw ('04). Lucy played Field Hockey player for Wake and continues that adovation. She is currently the Manager, Communication, and Community Relations specialist for NaiKun Wind Development in Vancouver, BC, Canada. She entertains the optoin of returning to graduate school in the future. http://www.naikun.ca/
• Wade Solomon ('96)graduated from Loyola Marymount University's School of Film and Television in Los Angeles with an MFA in screenwriting in 2003. He is currently working in the Fox Television Studios legal department in L.A. and also writing and performing as part of the Employee of the Month sketch comedy troupe (www.employeecomedy.com).
• Shane Stafford (MA '89) will be teaching and coaching position at the Blake School in Minneapolis
• Tim Steffensmeier Ph.D. (M.A.) is an assistant professor at Kansas State University and an associate with the Institute for Civic Discourse & Democracy. Tim, Tina & their daughter, Sophia reside in the Little Apple of Manhattan, KS. In July they were blessed with a new son, Max Francis. See Papa and Max at the left.
• Jamal Thomas ('96) is currently working as an actor in Los Angeles, CA. He has appeared on CBS drama Without A Trace, the ABC drama Grey's Anatomy, and just finished shooting two episodes of the ABC daytime classic General Hospital, which will air on the 21st and 22nd of September. Jamal also appeared in the feature film Goal:The Dream Begins and continues to play soccer with his semi-professional club, Hollywood United FC.
• Cristie Tobias (’07) is the Executive Assistant to the CEO for United Rehab Specialist, and a Board Member for Positive Wellness Alliance an HIV/AIDS case management, awareness and education organization. Kristie lives in Winston-Salem.
• Will Watson ('98) writes "God has led me to be the pastor of United Baptist Church for the past 2 1/2 years here in north Winston-Salem and is using my passion to communicate the gospel in an authentic, relevant, and effective manner.  I am married to my lovely wife, Mandi (9 months and a day;)), and we live in Pfafftown, NC.  I am about to receive my Master of Divinity degree on May 12 at a Hooding Ceremony with the Campbell University Divinity School.  I am a proud Wake Forest alumnus and seek to use what I learned in all academic arenas to meet people right where they are...AS they are.  I am also a part-time writer/contributor to the online christian men's magazine, The Prodigal Son Magazine (www.prodigalsonmag.com).  My recent article can be found here: http://www.prodigalsonmagazine.com/walk/2007/03/devo_distraction.php. 
• Josh Williott ('99) has open and lovely Art Gallary in Palm Desert, CA. Check it out, Wow!
• Carol Winkler (MA '84), is a dean at Georgia State University. Her new book In The Name Of Terrorism: Presidents On Political Violence In The Post-world War II Era was published in Nov 2005.
• Sarah Wood (MA, 07) is in Washington DC with her new job as Project Associate-Editorial for the Medical Reserve Corps project with the National Association of City and County Health Officials
• Leigh Anne (Shepherd) Wray ('01) is Office Administrator for Pharr & Boynton, PLLC, a construction litigation firm in Winston-Salem. Leigh manages accounting, personnel and human resources aspects of the firm. In May, along with her husband and 1-year-old daughter, Lillie will relocat to Durham where he will do his residency in orthopaedic surgery at Duke.
• Jaime Wright (MA '99) is now Dr. Wright, finishing her Ph. D. at the University of Texas-Austin. She is an assistant Prof in the Speech, Communication Science, and Theatre Department, St. John's University, New York City.
• Matt Zakreski ('06) tooks a summer internship at Harvard University Research Psychophsyiological Processes, working with Dr. Wendy Mendes. That went so well they brought him back as a paid researcher at the Psychology Lab and at the Harvard Business School. After the research was compted Matt has  been working in international educational travel at EF Education, focusing on marketing and effective selling techniques.  He is planning on returning to school working on his PhD in Communication Studies.
• Leigh Zick ('03) worked for Xerox for two years, was successful to a move to Afac headquarters in South Bend Indiana and where she currently works for Aflac.She is currently making plans toto return to school to become a teacher, her first love.