Class Notes

Name: Emily Finn

Class Year(s): 2018

Note: Emily Finn ’18 (CHST), MS ’18 (CHST) and Jake Timmons ’18 (KGCOE), ME ’18 (KGCOE) celebrated their wedding with friends and family, including several RIT alumni, in November 2025, in Rochester, NY. Jake and Emily met at RIT in 2013 and have been together ever since.

Submitted on: November 16, 2025

Name: Andrew Quagliata

Class Year(s): 2001, 2003

Note: Andrew Quagliata, Ph.D., ’01 (CLA), MBA ’03 (SCB) published Build Better Slide Decks: Create Sharper Slides, Smarter Stories, and Standout Presentations. Quagliata is a senior lecturer of management communication at Cornell University and founder of Ethos Communication Advisors, LLC. His book helps professionals create more compelling presentations and builds on more than two decades of teaching and executive education experience. Link to book: https://www.andrewquagliata.com/build-better-slide-decks

Submitted on: November 11, 2025

Name: David Spindel

Class Year(s): 1964

Note: David Spindel ’64 (GAP) is an acclaimed photographer whose six-decade career includes portraits of legendary athletes such as: Joe DiMaggio, Willie Mays, Duke Snyder, Phil Rizzuto, Whitey Ford, Yogi Berra, Ralph Branca, and Bobby Thomson. In the entertainment industry, he has photographed renowned personalities like Eli Wallach and his wife Ann Jackson, Jerry Stiller and his wife Anne Meara, Sid Caesar and Imogene Coca, George Burns, Liberace, Chuck Connors, Marty Allen and Steve Rossi, Douglas Fairbanks Jr., Tony Randall, Dr. Ruth, and Mark Leonard who played Spock’s father on Star Trek. Spindel was commissioned in the early 1990s by Abbeville Press to create an eight-book series on Major League Baseball teams, featuring still-life images of memorabilia he collected. His photographs have been published in several books from this photo session, one of which is titled, The Summer of 1980.

Submitted on: November 11, 2025

Name: Kurt Button

Class Year(s): 2006, 2010

Note: Kurt Button ’09 (SCB), MBA ’10 (SCB) was promoted to Partner at MMB+CO and was just named an RBJ 40 Under 40 Honoree.

Submitted on: November 11, 2025

Name: Teresa Benatti

Class Year(s): 1984

Note: Teresa Benatti ’84 (CAST) has retired this year. Teresa and her husband have been planning future trips to go on!

Submitted on: November 10, 2025

Name: Lacey Cook

Class Year(s): 2017

Note: Lacey Cook ’17 (CAST) and partner Iván Quintero recently returned to the U.S. after six years living and teaching across Europe. They developed the foundations of Move with Intention® a Neuroscience and Human-Connection–based movement integrating Emotional Intelligence, Mindset, and Embodied Learning. Move with Intention® delivers science-backed leadership trainings, international retreats, and bilingual corporate and one-on-one programs through their signature MOVE Method®, rapidly expanding as their work trains individuals and organizations to lead with clarity, connection, and purpose. In 2025, they signed their first book deal for, The Power of Hope, set for release December 2025, continuing their mission to make emotional intelligence and intentional leadership practical, powerful, and accessible worldwide and to bring their work back home through community programs, events and partnerships that connect and inspire fellow leaders.

Submitted on: November 7, 2025

Name: Sara Gould

Class Year(s): 2002

Note: Sara Gould ’02 (KGCOE) recently traded skiing in Tahoe for sailing in Bellingham, Washington. She continues to run, In A Flash Laser, the digital fabrication business she founded 15 years ago, blending engineering precision with a passion for creative problem-solving. The company provides laser cutting, engraving, and UV printing for industrial, promotional, and individual clients.

Submitted on: November 5, 2025

Name: Jake Mathew

Class Year(s): 2004, 2006

Note: Jake Mathew ’04 (GCCIS), MFA ’06 (CIAS) is a freelance motion graphic designer who recently got to work on projects for Marvel Studios, Netflix, and most recently animated the FUI (Fictional User Interface) for the upcoming 20th Century Studios film, Predator: Badlands.

Submitted on: November 4, 2025

Name: Keith Partington

Class Year(s): 1984

Note: Keith Partington ’84 (CLA) released a second novel, Workforce Resolve, a workplace inclusion story, during National Disability Employment Awareness Month in October 2025. The novel is about a talented neurodiverse employee navigating workplace bias and corporate challenges. To learn more go to: https://www.amazon.com/author/keith_partington

Submitted on: November 3, 2025

Name: oscar gutierrez

Class Year(s): 1991

Note: An intimate short documentary, THE OSCAR GUTIERREZ PROJECT, will follow acclaimed photojournalist, Oscar Gutierrez ’91 (GAP), as he reflects on a life spent documenting South Africa’s turbulent history and vibrant cultural landscape. The documentary will be hitting the film festival circuit.

Submitted on: October 31, 2025