Class Notes

2000s

Ray Cooney, BA ’00, was named editor of The Commercial Review, a daily newspaper in Portland, Ind. He has been with the paper since 2001 and has served as sports editor and managing editor.


Kevin Keating, MA ’00, was named by Cleveland Magazine as one of the Most Interesting People of 2015. A lecturer in CSU’s English Department, he received a 2014 Creative Workforce Fellowship in literature from the Community Partnership for Arts & Culture for his novel "The Natural Order of Things." The novel was a finalist for the 2013 L.A. Times Book Prize, the Art Seidenbaum Award for First Fiction. His second novel, "The Captive Condition," will be released in July.


Frank Gofoth, MSIE ’00 and DEng ’06, is an associate professor at Georgia Southern University.


Radhika Reddy, MBA ’01, was recognized in Crain’s Cleveland Business’ 2014 Women of Note. She is founder and partner of Ariel Ventures LLC and also serves on the board of directors of the CSU Foundation.


Andratesha M. Fritzgerald, BA ’01 and MEd ’02, is director of federal programs for the East Cleveland schools.


Louella Smith, BS ’01 and BSN ’03, retired as a registered nurse from Marymount Hospital.


Thomas E. Green, JD ’02, is serving a two-year term as chair of the board of directors of the Conservancy for Cuyahoga Valley National Park. Green is an attorney and shareholder at Kastner Westman & Wilkins, LLC, in Akron. The Boston Heights resident also serves as president of the Fairlawn Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors and is a graduate of Leadership Akron.


Steve Stahl, certificate ’02, is a wellness coordinator and physical education teacher at St. Joseph Elementary School in Avon Lake, the head men’s cross country coach in Rocky River, a certified USATF track coach and official, and consultant and private track coach for students and adults with Coach Up. He lives in Bay Village.


Sheila Wright, BA ’02 and JD ’08, is director of community affairs for the Good Community Foundation. She was the executive director of the NAACP’s Cleveland branch for two years.


Kristy Becka, BA ’03, studied sustainable approaches to human-wildlife coexistence at the Maasai Mara National Reserve in the South Rift Valley of Kenya. An employee of Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, she took the graduate course in pursuit of her master’s degree from Miami University’s Global Field Program.


Jennifer Dieterich Erhardt, BSN ’03, earned a master’s of science in nursing, concentration adult-gero nurse practitioner, from Kent State University and passed her certification boards. She lives in Fairview Park.


Ann Marie Gynn, MA ’03, was named the International Association of Business Communicators – Cleveland 2014 Communicator of the Year for her efforts as director of marketing and communication for the 2014 Gay Games. She is a member of the CSU Alumni Association board of directors.


Bette Lou Higgins, MEd ’03, has created a PBS documentary, Trail Magic, which tells the story of Ohioan Emma Gatewood – the first woman to solo thru-hike the 2,050-mile Appalachian Trail in 1955 at the age of 67. She hiked the trail two more times, as well as the 2,000-mile Oregon Trail. Higgins is the artistic director of Eden Valley Enterprises in Elyria.


Michael Dever, MPA ’04, is the public works director for Cuyahoga County. He oversees the department that manages county construction projects and maintains buildings, sewers, road and bridges.


Mason P. Goodman, MPA ’05, is a special agent with the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, Federal Investigative Services. The Twinsburg resident is an official blogger for the Northeast Ohio Parent website and writes his own blog for expectant and new fathers.


Jeffrey J. Moyle, BA ’05, has rejoined the Cleveland office of Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management.


John Thomas, JD ’05, is an attorney with Schraff & King in Willoughby Hills and received the Ohio Bar Foundation Community Service Award for Attorneys Under 40 for District 18.


Megan Kilbane, BA ’06, was appointed to the new position of assistant dean for oncology, strategic development and chief of staff for the Case Comprehensive Cancer Center, University Hospitals Seidman Cancer Center and the National Center for Regenerative Medicine. For the past 15 years she has been affiliated with the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.


Elizabeth Meinke, BA ’06, received the H.F. Group Preservation Award from Kent State University’s School of Library and Information Science. The award is presented to students who demonstrate outstanding scholarship and an interest in library preservation. Meinke received her master of library and information science degree in 2014 with a specialization in museum studies. She is a scholarly resources and special collections librarian with Case Western Reserve University.


Seyed “Sean” Tavakoli, BS ’06, was named to the President’s Club at Rentokil North America as a top performing commercial sales representative. He lives in San Jose, California.


Kathleen Kulik, BA ’06 and MEd ‘15, was promoted to manager of alumni affairs at CSU. In addition to her work with the Student Alumni Association and the Presidential Student Ambassadors, she is involved with the Viking Travel program, association membership, and alumni and student mentor programs.


Jay P. Gardner, MA ’07, is a development manager at CSU, focusing on fundraising for three colleges – Liberal Arts and Social Sciences, Urban Affairs and Education and Human Services.


Kevin M. Ray, BAUS ’07, was one of just 10 librarians in the nation to receive the Carnegie Corporation of New York/New York Times I Love My Librarian award for outstanding service and commitment to changing lives through education. He is a children’s librarian with Cleveland Public Library.


Antoine D. Moss, MPA ’07 and Ph.D. ’11, was named one of Cleveland's Top 25 Under 35 Movers & Shakers and was featured in a Forbes article on millennials. The author and career coach is the youngest African American to earn a doctorate from Levin College’s Urban Studies and Public Affairs program.


Harry Cornett, BA ’09, was named an Ohio Super Lawyer for 2015 and was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America for 2015. He is an attorney with Tucker Ellis LLP.


Michelle Epps, MA ’09, is the community engagement manager at SPACES, a nonprofit arts organization. She is the co-founder of Cleveland Emerging Museum Professionals, which offers professional development and career guidance to newcomers in the field of museum studies.

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