Class Notes

Name: Josa Hanzlik

Class Year(s): 2008, 2008

Note: Dr. Josa Hanzlik ’08, MS ’08 (KGCOE) was promoted to Senior Manager, Scientific Services at Haemonetics in May 2022. She manages of team of 15 people that maintains a portfolio of blood and plasma services through global compliance of equipment and disposables for biocompatibility, sterilization, and stability. In November 2022, she became a American Board of Toxicology Diplomate (DABT) by passing the Toxicology Board Exam.

Submitted on: January 2, 2023

Name: Justin Katich

Class Year(s): 2012

Note: Justin Katich AOS ’12 (NTID) has been working for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as a Bridge and Structural Drafter/Designer. He was hired into the Engineering Technology program in October of 2013 and a year later was promoted to the position of Bridge and Structural Drafter. Several years later he was promoted to his current position as Bridge and Structural Drafter/Designer. Justin enjoys traveling, especially to baseball spring training in Arizona. If you are in the Phoenix area in the early part of March, email Justin (playstationarea51@yahoo.com) to meet up at a spring training game!

Submitted on: January 1, 2023

Name: Ilena Finocchi

Class Year(s): 2005

Note: After a successful run on the film festival circuit, Creatures in My House is now available to view on line on both Youtube and Vimeo. Ilena Finocchi ’05 (CIAS) is behind this stop motion animated short film, Creatures in My House, which took the artist three years to make. The exquisitely handcrafted world in this stop motion animated short, follows a house full of peculiar monsters waking up amuck in this askew home. This quirky and tactile household is full of frenetic energy set off by the morning alarm. Discover what the ruckus brewing in the kitchen is really about in this colorful nod to film noir and German expressionism. It’s horrifyingly delightful. View on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/535320846 view on Youtube: https://youtu.be/KMmHBpJcDzk Website: www.ilenaf.com

Submitted on: January 1, 2023

Name: Melissa Derby

Class Year(s): 2018

Note: Melissa (Barton) Derby ’18 (COS) and Mitchell Derby ’18 (GCCIS) were married in Buffalo, NY on August 27, 2022. They met while at RIT and were thrilled that many college friends were able to be in attendance to celebrate!

Submitted on: December 31, 2022

Name: Vinny Buscher

Class Year(s): 1980

Note: Vinny Buscher ’80 (CAST) was promoted to Partner, Strategic Solution Leader at IBM Consulting. Vinny leads solution development for IBM Consulting’s largest and most complex IT Services opportunities in North America.

Submitted on: December 31, 2022

Name: Scott Gentles

Class Year(s): 2000

Note: Scott Gentles ’00 (CAST) recently achieved his MBA as a Welch Scholar at the Jack Welch Management Institute. The Welch Scholar is the highest honors graduate with distinction.

Submitted on: December 31, 2022

Name: Grace Anne

Class Year(s): 2021

Note: Grace Anne ’21 (NTID) recently completed her first term with AmeriCorps through Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa. While there, she helped create and grow a new division called the Veteran’s Corps - a program specially designed for newly separated or currently serving veterans who have a desire to pursue a career in conservation and/or outdoor recreation. During her term, she educated social media and website design teams on good accessibility practices, earned her Wildland Firefighter certification, rehabilitated native prairies, removed invasive plant species, and created and maintained park trails. November through December, she had the opportunity to deploy to Fort Meyers, Florida, for disaster response. Hurricane Ian was the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since 1935. Such a large-scale disaster required a large-scale mission response. She had the opportunity to serve as Logistics Deputy and, later, transitioned to Public Information Officer which involved interviewing with survivors, field crew members and local news outlets; disseminating fliers and brochures, as well as creating and maintaining social media pages. Additionally, she had the opportunity to utilize her skills as an ASL interpreter by interpreting for crews who were working with Deaf survivors. Serving with AmeriCorps’ Conservation Corps prepared me for her next career move in ways she never would have anticipated. She looks to additional experiences with them and internationally through PeaceCorps in the future. If any readers are interested in outdoor recreation, conservation, wildland firefighting, or disaster response, she cannot recommend Conservation Corps enough.

Submitted on: December 30, 2022

Name: Paul Tracy

Class Year(s): 1989

Note: While Paul Tracy ’00 (CIAS) has had a successful video production business running for 28 years, in 2022 he started Westwood Studios, LLC as a local cinematic film company. His first film is called A Date for Anya, and they shot a trailer in July 2022. The studio is expected to make the full film in 2023 after raising funds. The film’s website is www.adateforanya.com

Submitted on: December 29, 2022

Name: Ron Sherman

Class Year(s): 1964

Note: In June 2022, the Stuart A Rose Library at Emory University acquired the photo archives of Ron Sherman ’64 (GAP), which were collected from 1971 to 2001. The collection comprised 500,000 black & white negatives, contact sheets, 35mm transparencies, digital files and notes. The Rose Archives originally acquired 750 black & white prints in 2014 that documented Atlanta’s 1970s political, social, sports, and events that he documented that decade. In August and September, 2022, the Roswell Cultural Arts Center exhibited twenty five of Ron’s selected photographic prints. That exhibit was held at the Atlanta Photography Gallery from November 2022 to January 2023.

Submitted on: December 29, 2022

Name: Erika Heffernan

Class Year(s): 2011

Note: Erika Heffernan MFA ’11 (CIAS) was recently awarded $7,500 for The Florida Keys Council of the Arts’ Art Builds Community Grant to build cultural equity by creating an art exhibition that displays a variety of works of art that evokes the various emotions and experiences during the pandemic for people with disabilities.

Submitted on: December 29, 2022