Newsletter of the Department of Political Science at the University of Pittsburgh at Johnstown
Published continuously since 1999 / Summer 2016
Pi Sigma Alpha Annual Political Science Dinner 2016
As usual, our annual Political Science dinner was held at Pappy’s Pubon April 21, 2016. After beer, pizza and other assorted Italian fare, seven students were inducted into the Kappa Beta Chapter of Pi Sigma Alpha National Political Science Honor Society: Matthew Bugli, a junior from Northern Cambria; Angel Ramos, a junior from San Antonio; Eric Steven Sloan, a senior from Johnstown; Arielle Sloss, a junior from Murrysville; John W. Smith, Jr., a junior from Johnstown; and Christopher J. Zimardo, a junior from York. Ashley Eppley (front, next to Dr. Chris Cook) was named the College Scholar in Political Science for 2016. Also attending were Drs. Wrabley (far left), Coldsmith (far right), and Alexander (behind the camera).
SPACE 2016 Undergraduate Research Poster Presentations
Six political science seniors presentedposter sessionson their senior thesis topicsat the Pitt-Johnstown Undergraduate Research Symposium (SPACE) in the Living-Learning Center Heritage Room on campus on April 16, 2016. Each had been assigned to complete a legal prospectus on the prospect of an upcoming exhibition of works by a controversial artist, mostly contemporary artists. Presenting posters this year were Felipe Arias on Jean-Luc Godard’s controversial film Je voussalue, Marie (1985), Ashley Eppley on new Polish photographer WaclawWantuch (top left), Jessica Lyles on expressionist Egon Schiele (lower left), Gabriele Morrison on Sally Mann’s At Twelve portfolio; Max Pavlovich on the imagery of fantasy illustrator Luis Royo, and Eric Sloan on art deco artist Tamara de Lempicka (top right).
Alumni News
The following information on political science alumni is based on recent individual contacts, professional and other information available on-line, a scattering of Facebook scrounging and supplemental information already reported in previous issues of the Federalist Papers. Alumni not mentioned here or in recent issues may have defied discovery (we’ve been searching). Pitt-Johnstown political science alumni now number close to 600 and beginning in 1999, the Federalist Papers was mailed every summer to all of those alums for whom we had a known current address. Beginning with the 2012 issue, the newsletter went ‘paperless,’ with all issues now posted only on-line via the Pitt-Johnstown Political Science Department website. Each year we attempt to notify all alums for whom we have a current email address that the current edition has been posted. Comments on the newsletter can be sent to .
1970s
John Rafferty, Esq. ‘75, four-term State Senator (44th Dist. PA), won the Republican nomination for Attorney General and stands for election in November; James Sedlmeyer ‘79 is now Principal Technology Risk Analyst with Fidelity Investments in Raleigh-Durham NC.
1980s
Kelly Enders, Esq. ‘88 is now a partner at Caroselli, Beachler, McTiernan & Coleman, LLC in Pittsburgh; Lori Galen Fuchs ‘82 is now working with Howard Community College as a student coach under a DOL grant;Kevin Hancock ‘89 is Chief of Staff for the Pennsylvania Department of Human Resources, Office of Long-Term Living;Joachim Knispel ‘86 is now Deputy Chief of Staff at the U.S. Army Cyber Center of Excellence in Augusta GA;Mike Makatura ‘87 is now director of analytics and sales operations for PlanSource in Orlando;Sally McDonough ‘89 is now Director for Employee Engagement and Communications at Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems in Dallas; Stan Milavec, Esq.‘83 has accepted the position of Senior Vice President of Enterprise Services and General Counsel for Tandigm Health; Phil Skuta ‘87 retired after 24 years in the USMC and is now Director of the Land Systems Division of General Dynamics in Washington DC; Trina Vargo ‘85 dropped by for an extended chat about life inside the beltway and other matters, and is still doing well directing the United States-Ireland Alliance, its George Mitchell scholarships for study in Ireland, and its annual Oscar Wilde Awards honoring Irish film and television actors.
1990s
Trish Blue, CPA ‘93 is now senior manager at Cherry Bekaert & Holland LLP in Virginia Beach; Dan Edwards ‘96 is director of procurement operations at Rand Ingersoll in Charlotte NC; still in CT, Patrick Flynn ‘93 is now with Charter Communications, which just acquired Time Warner Cable; Angie and Dave Kot ‘97 founded Face Value Comics in 2011 (now Autism at Face Value) using steampunk universe images in educational materials and comics to promote autism awareness and acceptance; Steve McKnight ‘90 is now President and CEO of Altoona Blair County Development Corporation; Kirsten Rafferty Taylor ‘92, Department Chair in Government and International Relations at Berry College (GA), has published two books with CQ Press this year, one on American foreign policy, the other on affairs in the Middle East; Peter Savage ‘99, in addition to his work as a police officer, has now become a School Resource Officer working in Warwick High School in Lititz;Chad Serena ‘96 with RAND in Pittsburgh now teaches CyberWar at Carnegie Mellon as an adjunct professor; Christopher Sossong ‘95 is Associate with the Law Offices of Barbara Tsaturova in Holland MI;Marcia TelekDePaula, Esq. ‘91 is with Steptoe & Johnson, PLLC.
2000s
Thomas Belli‘09 is an audit and financial control specialist with Loudoun County (VA) Government;Andy Biller, Esq. ‘02 has joined Markovits, Stock & DeMarco, LLC in Columbus OH and recently argued a Fair Labor Standards action before the Ohio Supreme Court; Sarah FactorMimeiro ‘03 is married to a Hill staffer and has a son Oscar and a new daughter Clementine; Carmelo Funari ‘06 is a certified surgical technologist (CST) with Aestique Medical Center and Spa in Greensburg; Brett Goda ‘07 is an account consultant with System Source, Inc. in San Diego; Frank Honkus ‘05 is now with Intelligent Network Security as a cyber threat analyst contracting with the US Department of Energy; Will Graulich ‘03 is supervisor of career and technical education at the Paterson (NJ) public schools; Matt Leonard ‘07 was recently married to Ann Borlinghaus, who teaches elementary school in the Harrisburg area; Danielle Parks ‘07, after six years as a paralegal, has now completed her law degree at Duquesne and accepted a position with PNC Bank;Julie Porterfield ‘09 is now Instruction and Outreach Archivist at the Paterno Library at the Pennsylvania State University;Adam Primi ‘00, still director of human resources for the Oncology Nursing Society, reports he got married last March; Matt Rok, Esq. ‘06, still with Progeny Systems Corp., is married to AtitayaPratoomtong, Esq. a fellow Duquesne Law graduate working in Washington DC; Matthew Vassalo, Esq. ‘08 is now an attorney with the Social Security Administration in Baltimore; Patrice Wade, Esq. ‘00, since our last report on her has added a boy Luca and girl Capri to her brood.
2010s
Kristine Ansell ‘11 is married to Patrick Dobbins and working in Clearfield; Ashley Arabia ‘14 is now an account manager with TEKsystems in Charlotte NC;John Bandzuh ‘14 completed his Masters degree in Geography at Virginia Tech and has been admitted into the doctoral program at Florida State University; Adam Brnadric‘12 is a government affairs coordinator (aka lobbyist) with Wellington Strategies in Pittsburgh; Jeff Burtner ‘10 is now Sponsored Programs Coordinator with AFS-USA Intercultural Programs in New York; Zach Cacicia ‘12 senior airman and photojournalist with the 436t airwing at Dover AFB, married Kayla Russell last April; Kelly Cernetich ‘12 received a first place award from the Pennsylvania Women’s Press Association for her reporting on environmental issues in the Altoona Mirror, and is central district director for the PWPA. In May, she (finally) married Ryan Brown ‘12, also with the Mirror; Ashley Eppley ‘16 now works for the Office of Financial Aid at the University of Pittsburgh as an interim step toward graduate study; Alyssa Faight ‘13 completed her MA in public history at Duquesne and works with the Rivers of Steel National Heritage Area in Pittsburgh; Maggie Hallaman ‘14 is working with the Intermountain (WA) Americorps as a reading tutor at the Douglas Community Action Council;Santino Jaber ‘16 is currently enrolled in the M.Ed. program, at IUP to become a reading specialist;Brandon Jordan ‘13 is entering his final year at Widener University Commonwealth Law School and was elected President of the Student Bar Association;KadyLetosky ‘10 is completing her paralegal certification at Westmoreland CC;Josh McConnell ‘11 has completed his MSLS from Clarion and is now the Head of the Department of Information Services at the Altoona Area Public Library;Tyler Mentzer ‘12 finished his MA and is now in the doctoral program in political science at West Virginia University, and serves as President of the Department’s Graduate Student Organization; Paul Moreau ‘10, now a Captain in the USMC, recently married Katherine Sahl and is living in Northern Virginia;Gabrielle Morrison ‘15 is now a Freshman Admissions Counsellor at Drexel University; T.D. Morsillo ‘10will complete her Masters degree in Public Health at the University of Pittsburgh in behavioral and community health sciences in December, and has accepted a position as a program coordinator with the Allegheny County Health Department’s Plan for Heathier Allegheny (PHA); Jovia Radix ‘12 completed her MPA at Long Island University and is currently the Brooklyn regional representative at the Office of the Governor of New York State; John Richard ‘15 still in graduate study in policy analysis at the University of Pittsburgh, is working as a summer intern in international affairs and trade with the General Accounting Office in Washington DC; Tyler Ripko ‘14 is a supplier program coordinator for Ariba in Pittsburgh; Russell Turner ‘14 begins study at Duquesne Law School this fall; Drake Watters ‘13 completed his MA in Health Administration at the University of Pittsburgh and is currently working as a physician practice manager at UPMC Shadyside Hospital with Medical Thoracic Associates; MandieWitters ‘12 has started her own online business HealthyHemp, based in Lebanon PA.
Note: Appreciation to all of you who have made contributions to Pitt-Johnstown through the Johnstown Educational Foundation, and dedicated your gift to political science, international studies, or the Albert P. Vannucci Study Abroad Fund.Those extra funds help us to develop and present current affairs symposia on campus, to support current students traveling to such events in Pittsburgh, or to Model United Nations competitions, or to support students studying abroad.