Class Notes
From marriages to births to new business…
See what’s happening in the lives of CGS alums, and submit your class note here.
1950s
George Lilly (’54, COM’56) is chairman of SJL Broadcast Management Corp., which operates various television stations in the Northeast United States, the Caribbean, and parts of South America. He is also a trustee of the SJL Foundation, a family charitable trust, which supports Boston University’s Los Angeles Program.
1960s
Joseph Doran (’63) writes that he went into social work due to the influence of Dean Brendan Gilbane (DGE’50, COM’52, GRS’59,69), dean emeritus of CGS, who had been his social science professor. His first job was with the Cuyahoga County Department of Welfare in Ohio. After two years with the agency, he left to work with Gould Inc. in Norwalk, Ohio, as a business management trainee. After two years there, he decided to go back into social work and took a position with Catholic Social Services of Cuyahoga County (CSSCC). He took a leave of absence in 1977 to attend the School of Social Work at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. After receiving his MSW, he returned to CSSCC and did adult therapy as a licensed independent social worker until retiring in 1998. He and his wife moved to Concord, N.C., 14 years ago to be near two of their three daughters. Their third daughter lives in Tampa Bay, Fla.
Richard Fardy (’63, Wheelock’65) writes that he had many great experiences at CGS. One of his favorite professors was Charles P. Fogg (DGE’49, Wheelock’52,’56,’63). He adds that, in many ways, Fogg became an inspiration and mentor for him as he began teaching biology and related sciences at Wilmington High School in Wilmington, Mass., after graduation. Music has always been Richard’s principal avocation, and he currently serves as bandmaster of the Aleppo Shriners Brass Band, also based in Wilmington. He has been married to his wife, Lydia, for 50 years, and they have three grown children and one grandson.
Leo Quinn (’64, Questrom’67) worked as the director of outsourcing at Digital Equipment for 22 years. He subsequently was the vice president of service operations at Rockwell Automation but is now retired and living in Wisconsin. He visits BU often when in the Boston area and has mentored BU students in the past. He writes that he is thankful for the great education he received at BU.
Jimmy Green (’65, COM’67) continues to be semi-retired and practices law part time in the Washington, D.C., area, where he has been since graduating Georgetown University Law Center in 1970. He has two children and three grandkids and spends time golfing and fishing.
Neal J. Schneider (’66), a retired US Marine Corps captain, was elected to the Visalia Memorial District Board of Directors last fall. His granddaughter graduated from University of Tennessee Knoxville magna cum laude with a BSN in 2016, while his grandson graduated from the University of Alabama summa cum laude with a BS in chemistry in 2020 and is attending medical school at Auburn University.
Sue William Silverman (’66, COM’68) published her fourth book of creative nonfiction, How to Survive Death and Other Inconveniences (University of Nebraska Press, 2020), which won gold in the 2020 Foreword Reviews INDIES awards in the autobiography and memoir category as well as the 2021 Clara Johnson Award for Women’s Literature, sponsored by The Jane’s Story Press Foundation.
Tim Miles (’67) moved to North Carolina six years ago. In his retirement, he has worked for Guardian ad Litem, advocating for abused and neglected children, and helps out at the local food bank every Thursday morning. He spends his spare time photographing and learning about the history and folkways of the Blue Ridge Mountain region.
Steve Robinson (’67, CFA’69) is the executive producer of an audio course called The Architects of Music with Larry Rapchak, which now has completed 19 installments. One of them is an analysis of Beethoven’s 5th and has been turned into a movie that will soon be available online. Steve has also been contracted to produce a series of 13, one-hour audio programs for a series called “No Regrets: The Music and Spirit of Billie Holiday.” The first five programs have been completed and the series will be available online in early 2022.
1970s
Tom Clifford (’70, CAS’72) was appointed by Governor Ned Lamont to the Connecticut State Board of Labor Relations. He is a former Connecticut assistant attorney general, heading the Office of the Attorney General’s labor relations unit, the former mayor of the City of Ansonia, Conn., and was previously an adjunct professor of business law at Fairfield University in Fairfield, Conn.
Deborah Campbell Dougherty (’70, COM’72) writes that she has been living on Cape Cod since 1986, where she raised two daughters. Her professional life has been in healthcare, first in marketing and public relations and now in philanthropy as the director of major gifts for Cape Cod Healthcare, a community healthcare system serving all of Cape Cod. She would love to hear from other Audubon Court residents from 1968 to 1970 and is happy to report that her BU education and experience has served her well.
David Ehrmann (’71) completed his undergraduate education at Emerson College, majoring in speech communication. He has worked in public and private education, corporate training, and, for the past 27 years, executive coaching and the facilitation of team processes. He is a proud husband, father of two, and grandfather of five.
Perry Solomon (’71, Questrom’74,’75) retired after a successful career as CEO of five private equity backed companies, and he is now active in a nonprofit accelerator and playing golf and pickleball.
Dave Felicio (’72, CAS’74) retired in March 2020 as the executive vice president and chief legal officer with Geisinger Health, a large integrated healthcare system located in north central Pennsylvania, and drew a close to his legal career, which began in 1980. Since then, he has been organic farming and waiting out the pandemic. He would love to hear from his CGS (formerly CBS) classmates and hopes all are doing well and are safe.
Mary Ellen Charlton McKenna (’75, Sargent’77) has worked with patients who are amputees, and with neurological disorders, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson’s disease, and cerebral palsy, as well as children with spina bifida and Down Syndrome. She has a patent for the Ataxia balance crutches, which help people with balance issues walk upright. She originally designed the crutches for one of her patients.
Martin Secofsky (’76, COM’78) retired with his wife, Alisa Feldman (COM’78), after working for Marjam Building Supply in Brooklyn, N.Y., for 27 years. He now lives in Savannah, Ga., and plays pickleball, goes out with his motorcycle “gang,” and is enjoying life.
Roger Gallagher (’78, CAS’82) put his BU degree to work as a self-employed general contractor in the Hingham, Mass., area, where he lives. He hopes everyone is “healthy, wealthy, and wise,” and that his fellow alums will stay in touch.
1980s
Laura Tennyson (’82, MET’86, SSW’89) became the director of communications at the Contemporary Arts Center in New Orleans after many years in the entertainment industry.
Kenneth Butensky (’84, CAS’86) recently presented a continuing judicial education program to members of the First Judicial District of Pennsylvania and a continuing legal education program for the Philadelphia Bar Association, both on the Pennsylvania Tort Claims Act. He serves as chief deputy city solicitor of the City of Philadelphia where he supervises the tort litigation unit and advises city agencies on risk avoidance.
Alys Myers (’86, COM’88) opened SUPPLY Bulk Foods, an online, local, plastic-free, bulk food store based in Boston. SUPPLY Bulk Foods carries as many local, women, and BIPOC suppliers as possible. The company’s goal, Alys writes, is to help alleviate Massachusetts’ status as the third in the country for food insecurity, while teaching people to live plastic free.
Jessica Frank Hernstadt (’87, CAS’89) has established her own law firm in Fort Myers Beach, Fla., with a focus on estate planning and probate, and serves on the executive board for three nonprofit organizations. She enjoys hearing from BU grads in Southwest Florida.
Rebecca Brooks (’89, COM’91) is the founder of The Brooks Group PR, which just celebrated 25 years in business and represents food and travel personalities including Andrew Zimmern, Guy Fieri, Jacques Torres, Scott Conant, and more. She is married to fellow CGS alum Marc Maidenberg (’89, Questrom’91) and has two sons, Max and Sam.
1990s
Greg Casamento (’90, Questrom’92, LAW’96) is living in Dix Hills, N.Y., with his family and working at the law firm Locke Lord, which he says has been a great place to develop his practice over the last 20 years. He hopes his classmates are doing well and would love to hear from them.
Marc Langevin (’90, Questrom’92) retired as colonel from the United States Marine Corps Reserves after 29 years. He looks forward to putting in more time growing his consulting business, L2 Consulting Solutions, LLC, and becoming more active with charitable foundations.
Wilfred Labiosa (’91, CAS’93) is the executive director of Waves Ahead Corp, a Puerto Rico–based organization that provides services to LGBTQIA+ older adults from its community centers. Wilfred recently opened the organization’s third community center in the town of Maunabo and unveiled a monument celebrating the diversity of Puerto Rico in the town of Cabo Rojo. Wilfred writes that both are accomplishments in a place where more than 18 members of the LGBTQIA+ community have been murdered in the last three years. He is currently working on the development of the first elder community for LGBTQIA+ individuals and on other projects across the island.
James Shepard (’95, CAS’96, SHA’98) is the owner and operator of the Cornwall Country Market in Cornwall Bridge, Conn., which he renovated and reopened in 2013 and has been running ever since. His message to everyone is, “You don’t have to go corporate.”
Felecia Lewis (’96, Sargent’98) worked in New York City’s Office of the Chief Medical Examiner’s forensic DNA lab and helped identify victims from 9/11 and Flight 800. She received her PhD in curriculum and instruction.
Britt Hoglund (’98, CAS’00) started with Amazon’s global real estate department in July 2020, relocating back to Tacoma, Wash. She was promoted to senior lease analyst and then to co-manager of the parking portfolio of all of the company’s North America sites in October 2021. She loves being back in the Pacific Northwest, although she misses fall in New England. She writes that she enjoys cheering on the Seahawks and never tires of seeing Mount Rainier and all her beauty. She says, “I’d love to be back in touch with classmates so please feel free to reach out. If you get to Seattle or Portland, let me know and we’ll celebrate BU.” Britt can be reached at bhoglund@hotmail.com.
2000s
Adam Marks (’00, COM’03) recently earned his MEd in health and wellness education from the American College of Education and is currently teaching a class called Navigating Health and Safety for first-semester freshmen at Brandeis University in Waltham, Mass.
Francis Racioppi (’01, COM’03) launched The Jedburgh Podcast in March 2021, where each week he speaks with transformative leaders, visionaries, drivers of change, and those dedicated to winning, no matter the challenge. The conversations leverage Francis’ experience from his almost 13-year career as a Green Beret in the US Army Special Forces. He has interviewed and told the stories of Olympic and professional athletes in the NFL, MLB, and PLL, as well as the most senior military commanders in the nation. He has also spoken with leaders in societal change regarding women and minority equality, entrepreneurs in global businesses, and experts in talent management and talent development. Francis credits his journalism skills to his classes and faculty as a broadcast journalism major in COM and his roots in CGS.
Christine Hochkeppel (’03, COM’05) graduated from the Cape Cod Leadership Institute in 2020 and was an honoree in the Cape & Plymouth Business 40 Under 40 Business Leaders on Cape Cod in September.
James Boynton (’05, Questrom’07) relocated his business to a new office in downtown Wellesley, Mass., between Wellesley College and Babson. His team of insurance professionals helps specialty lines businesses in 14 states secure risk management and insurance services from national and regional insurance carriers. He writes that he is seeking a new generation of active minds to join the team. He encourages his fellow alumni to reach out if interested to connect.
Erin Kelly (’05, COM’07) is working at Starbucks Coffee Corporation, leading marketing and communications about some of the company’s key social impact initiatives, including its commitment to sustainability, hunger relief, and first responders.
Chelsea (Marino) Sireno (’05, SHA’07) and her husband James recently welcomed their fourth child and moved to Stony Brook, N.Y. When not running after their children, they run a video production and live events company, Sireno Productions. She recently attended Ali Baldassare’s (’05, CAS’07) wedding in Newport, R.I., with Erin Kelly (’05, COM’07).
Matt Trevithick (’06, Pardee’08) recently finished graduate school and is still running Blank Slate, a cognitive sciences firm. He has enjoyed staying in touch with all things CGS and BU through a variety of alumni activities, as well as seeing some good friends, recently crossing paths with Mark DiCristofaro (’06, COM’08,’09). He writes, “Go BU!”
Franco Lozano III (’07, CAS’09) and husband Michael Reidy (’07, CAS’09) are in the process of expanding their restaurant BuenoMalo in downtown Andover, Mass. They invite any and all alumni to visit the restaurant and have a taste of Southern California–style Mexican cuisine.
Adanta Ahanonu (’08, Questrom’10) lives in Oakland, Calif., and is the chief program officer at COOP Careers, a national nonprofit focused on overcoming underemployment for recent first-generation college graduates through peer connections and digital skills.
Domenic Filingeri (’09, CAS’11, MED’15) says he’s thankful for the support he got from CGS faculty and staff, which had a direct impact on his success today. After graduating from BU with degrees in biochemistry and molecular biology, he is now applying for fellowships in pediatric endocrinology as a pediatric resident in Philadelphia. He wishes everyone studying at BU this year the best of luck.
2010s
Billur Buran (’15, Questrom’17) moved to London after graduating and cofounded a dog care start-up called PawsApp with her twin Piril Buran (’15, Questrom’17).
Alexis Kenney (’17, CAS’19) is in her final year of law school on a full tuition merit scholarship and is currently working part time for a landlord/tenant law firm in Worcester, Mass.
Dalia Saleeby (’19, CAS’21) was hired by Oracle to be a tech solution engineer shortly after graduating with a computer science degree. She has since relocated to Austin, Tex., where Oracle’s corporate headquarters is located, and has been loving it so far. She is still in close contact with the community she met at BU and CGS and has been forming new connections at work and in her new city.