Class Notes

Name: Terry Ann (Hayes) Fernando

Class Year(s): 2009

Note: Last year, Terry Ann (Hayes) Fernando MFA ’09 published a memoir about training her vizsla, Zara, to be a hunting dog. It’s called The Accidental Bird Dog: My Journey with an Extraordinary Vizsla. The memoir is about how her life transformed after getting Zara as a pet and then discovering Zara’s talent for hunting birds. What began as a mild interest evolved into a passionate pursuit, as Terry Ann embraced training Zara for competitions and discovered a newfound love for dog training and dog sports. Terry Ann used her graphic design skills developed at RIT to design the cover and layout for the book. It’s available on Amazon in paperback and ebook form: https://a.co/d/g4w1DOp

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Arianna Valentini

Class Year(s): 2010, 2012

Note: Arianna (Valentini) Huffield CT ’09, BFA ’10, MS ’12 was recently featured in Precisely’s “Women in Technology” series, where she shared her insights on career growth, mentorship, and the power of diversity in tech. This October, she will speak at Product Marketing Alliance (PMA) Boston, contributing her expertise on innovation and leadership in product marketing.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Wilfredo Alvarez

Class Year(s): 2002

Note: Dr. Wilfredo Alvarez BS ’02 was promoted to associate professor of Communication Studies with tenure at Metropolitan State University in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Alvarez is a graduate of the Professional and Technical Communication program.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Benjamin Fishman

Class Year(s): 2014

Note: Benjamin Fishman BS ’14 is the winner of the first ever Newton Wellesley Hospital Lily Award, a peer-nominated award given to one member of the Med-Surg RN Float Pool.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Josh Kierpiec

Class Year(s): 2008, 2011

Note: Josh Kierpiec BS ’08, MS ’11 recently moved back to Western, NY. He is currently the principal site reliability engineering lead at Blizzard Entertainment, managing Diablo and Hearthstone live services.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Jeff Sugarman

Class Year(s): 1990

Note: Jeff Sugarman BFA ’90 has been running his design studio for 10 years.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Forest McMullin

Class Year(s): 1977

Note: Forest McMullin BFA ’77 has had his debut novel published. It’s title is, Shooting at Shadows, and it is a thriller about a photojournalist who gets mixed up with a crew of neo-Nazi bank robbers. It’s based on McMullin’s experiences in 1993 photographing radical racists and neo-Nazi skinheads, some of whom went on to rob 22 banks in the Midwest. It’s currently available on Amazon.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Bob Pittsley

Class Year(s): 2005

Note: Bob Pittsley BS ’05 was recently promoted from supplier development engineer to senior design engineer at an exciting startup called AirJoule LLC in Newark, Delaware. https://airjouletech.com/. Their technology captures potable water from air, even in arid climates. AirJoule® provides independent and reliable access to water, further reducing dependency on existing infrastructure and addressing water scarcity. Water is produced at scale using superior energetics compared to conventional technologies.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Steve Stansbury

Class Year(s): 1980,1984

Note: Steve Stansbury BT ’84 worked for Google, Microsoft, Starbucks, T-Mobile, Boeing, Orbimage, Data IO, and McAfee. He published the world’s first Windows 3.0 Zortech 2.02 C++ app, versions 1 and 2. He has been the owner of Buryware for 38 years. Steve retired in March 2025.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025

Name: Jerome Fraillon

Class Year(s): 2001

Note: RIT was a great place for education and to meet like-minded engineers. After many years as a packaging developer in the beauty industry, Jerome Fraillon BS ’01 co-founded a packaging company called, Alder Packaging, specializing in sustainable packaging solutions in the personal care space. The company just celebrated its 4th year in business. They are growing very quickly and currently employ 15 people on the East, West Coast, and Taiwan.

Submitted on: July 8, 2025