Class Notes

Name: Juliana Shaw

Class Year(s): 2015

Note: Juliana Shaw ’15 (COS) and Scott Gentile ’13 (CET) got married on October 10, 2020. Scott and Juliana started dating in 2012 when they were at RIT. They got married in Negril, Jamaica surrounded by their family and closest friends. They currently live in Boston, M.A.

Submitted on: February 19, 2021

Name: Gerard Kiernan

Class Year(s): 1983

Note: Gerard Kiernan ’83 (CAST) is the facilities engineer & sustainability coordinator for the City of Springfield. He successfully applied for a $200,000 grant from The State of Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources to replace the antiquated oil-fed burners at the facility headquarters. These new boilers will save the city in energy costs and help reduce the city’s carbon footprint.

Submitted on: February 16, 2021

Name: Stacy Lake

Class Year(s): 2005, 2007

Note: Stacy Lake ’05 (SCB) MBA ’07 (SCB), corporate communications manager for national architecture, engineering and planning firm Bergmann, is one of 13 finalists for the 2021 ATHENA International Young Professional Award. The ATHENA awards, which honor and empower women in business, are presented annually in three categories by the Greater Rochester Chamber of Commerce and its Women’s Council Affiliate.

Submitted on: February 12, 2021

Name: Rob Snowden

Class Year(s): 2002

Note: Rob Snowden MBA 2002 (SCB), founding partner of South Park Advisors and business valuation expert, has been named to the Cabinet of Professional Advisors for the Foundation of the Carolinas. The Foundation for the Carolinas (FFTC) serves as a catalyst for philanthropic activity in a 13-county region. Established in 1958, the FFTC has more than $2.5 billion in charitable assets across nearly 3,000 charitable funds established by families, nonprofits, and businesses.

Submitted on: February 12, 2021

Name: Mariya Kofman (Lyubman) Mlyubman@arkmortgage.com

Class Year(s): 2001

Note: Mariya (Lyubman) Kofman ’21 (SCB) joined Ark Mortgage Inc., a financial lender, as a chief administrative officer in January.

Submitted on: February 6, 2021

Name: Mark Higgins

Class Year(s): 1997, 2003

Note: RIT graduates from all over came together to support the 11th Annual Autism Open, hosted by Mark Higgins ’97 (SCB) MBA ’03 (SCB) and Ron Toper ’97 (SCB) MBA (SCB). This year’s event raised over $18,000 for Autism Up, a local autism support group in Rochester NY. In 11 years of the event, RIT grads (many from the Triangle Fraternity in the late 80’s and 90’s) have helped the event raise over $140k! RIT Grads in attendance included David Payne ’83 (CAST), Brian Fox ’88 (KGCOE), Vince Hesketh ’90 (SCB), Dave Bardusch ’92 (SCB), Mike Derose ’89 (CAST), James Stroud ’94 (KGCOE), Mike Scorzelli ’94 (KGCOE), Trevor Young ’94 (KGCOE), Jim Senall ’95 (KGCOE), Chris Merz ’95 (KGCOE), Donny Gentilcor ’02 (CAST), Eric Schmidt ’95 (KGCOE), Jack Degrace ’95 (KGCOE), John Flannery ’95 (SCB), Ryan Shooshan ’96 (SCB), Ryan Kiley ’15 (CIAS), Eddie Aro, Adam Platzer ’01 (SCB) MBS ’02 (SCB), Matt Deis ’95 (KGCOE), Joe Valenti ’95 (KGCOE), Tony Ruland ’92 (SCB) and Dan Christner ’07 (SCB). The Autism Open thanks you for years of generosity and looks forward to seeing all the RIT grads at the 12th Annual Autism Open in June 2021!

Submitted on: January 12, 2021

Name: Alan Frohlichstein

Class Year(s): 1977

Note: Alan Frohlichstein ’77 (GAP) has a book chapter on Ophthalmic Photography (Chapter 20, pp. 291 - 308) in the newly published book "Photography in Clinical Medicine published by Springer." Alan has also been elected to a 4 year term on the Ophthalmic Photographers’ Society Board of Directors.

Submitted on: January 8, 2021

Name: Parth Shah

Class Year(s): 2014,2016

Note: Parth Shah ME ’16 (KGCOE) recently gradated in the winter term of 2020 from The George Washington University with a Doctoral degree in Engineering Management. He is the first in his family to graduate with a Doctorate and says he owes a lot of the credit to his undergraduate and graduate professors and RIT family for the support.

Submitted on: January 8, 2021

Name: Gene DePrez

Class Year(s): 1962, 1968

Note: Gene DePrez ’68 (FAA) advised the board and staff of the Greater Richmond Partnership in the development of their Regional Strategic Economic Development plan. He teamed with IBM’s Global Business Services Brussels-based business location client consulting team, which he co-led prior to retiring from IBM. He also moderated a panel on "The Power of Design Leadership" at the Annual Conference of the International Economic Development Council. At RIT, he is helping to guide the Vignelli Center for Design Studies as a member of its Vision Committee. Gene and his wife, Patty DePrez ’76 (CLA) recently moved from the NYC area back to Rochester where they now live downtown along the city’s new Riverway Promenade.

Submitted on: January 8, 2021

Name: Mary Mihajlov

Class Year(s): 2008

Note: Mary Mihajlov ’08 (CIAS) accepted a new position as a Human Resources Generalist at Banner Engineering in Minnapolis, MN.

Submitted on: January 8, 2021