| ALUMNI SNAPSHOTS: MICUA GRADUATES WHO SERVE THE STATE |
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MICUA Matters Spring 2008
Each year, MICUA's 18 private, not-for-profit colleges and universities educate over 51,000 students. This page highlights some of our distinguished graduates: men and women who help make Maryland great. Below are snapshots of some of the many MICUA alumni who have gone on to become accomplished professionals: judges, musicians, scientists, chefs, teachers, parole commissioners, and bank presidents, to name a few.
Executive Chef Santoni's Marketplace and Catering Company Baltimore International College
After graduating from Baltimore International College with a degree in cooking and baking, Kevin Korman worked at several Baltimore establishments, including Harbour Court Hotel, Ritz Carlton Reynolds Plantation, and Rudy's 2900 Restaurant. Now, he is Executive Chef at Santoni's Marketplace and Catering Company in Glydon. "BIC gave me a good culinary foundation that I have been able to build my career on," says Korman. He has worked with 15 different certified master chefs and has cooked for a 600-person banquet that included President Bush and Vice President Cheney. Korman has also cooked for numerous celebrities and has met some of today's most famous chefs.
CEO SGT, Inc. Capitol College
Capitol College alumni Harold Stinger and Kam Ghaffarian founded the aerospace services company SGT with 140 employees; today, the company counts more than 900 employees with an annual revenue of $150 million. Based in Greenbelt, SGT supports 30 active contracts for several government agencies. In 2005, SGT won NASA's 2005 George M. Low Quality Award--the agency's highest honor for quality and technical performance--which is bestowed annually to only four companies in the country. In addition, the company has garnered two NASA Goddard Contractor Excellence Awards (2001 and 2005) and was a semi-finalist for the 2003 Low Award.
Associate Judge Circuit Court for Baltimore City College of Notre Dame of Maryland
When Audrey Carrion left Puerto Rico to enroll at College of Notre Dame of Maryland, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in law. Even then, the teen was intrigued by politics and the importance of public service. At College of Notre Dame she majored in political science, took on campus leadership positions, and gave the student speech at her commencement. "If there were any leadership skills that I came with, they were honed even further at the college," she said. Today, Judge Carrion applies those skills each day in her work as a judge in charge of the family division of the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. Judge Carrion serves as chair of the Baltimore City Female Task Force, which addresses the needs of young, at-risk girls.
Musician/Producer Columbia Union College
John Stoddart has contributed to the albums of numerous Grammy/Dove and Soul Train nominees and winners, and recently marked his first major label debut as a solo artist on Reprise Records. While at Columbia Union College he performed at Carnegie Hall and the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, launched his own production company, and held positions as artist-in-residence and conductor at a number of Maryland churches and universities. Stoddart has produced, arranged, performed, and contributed songs for some of the top names in gospel, urban, and pop, including Celine Dion, Al Jarreau, Diana Ross, and Patti Austin.
President and CEO Strategic Management Consulting Goucher College
A social justice major, Odette Ramos graduated with honors from Goucher and went on to earn a master's in public policy and public administration from Rutgers University. She worked as a lobbyist and fundraiser for Senator Barbara Mikulski's 1998 campaign before founding the nonprofit Baltimore Neighborhood Indicators Alliance, a group that provides local organizations with the data they need for grants and programs. In 2005, Ramos founded and still serves as president and CEO of Strategic Management Consulting, a Baltimore-based firm that helps community groups, nonprofits, businesses, and public agencies operate strategically to improve the quality of life for all of the City's residents.
Commissioner U.S. Parole Commission Hood College
Patricia Cushwa, who earned a bachelor's degree in history and a master's degree in contemporary government from Hood College, has served on the Maryland Parole Commission for 12 years. Seven of the 12 years she spent as chairwoman of the commission, becoming the first woman to be named chair of parole in Maryland. Under her jurisdiction, the commission developed its first risk assessment instruments. In 2002, she worked with Chief Judge Robert Bell to start a publication to inform the Maryland judiciary on parole matters. Commissioner Cushwa served as a Maryland State Senator in 1990, was nominated to the United States Parole Commission by President George W. Bush and confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 2004, and served as a member of Governor Martin O'Malley's transition team in 2006.
Professor of Medicine Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine Johns Hopkins University
Lisa Cooper, a Liberian-born Johns Hopkins internist and epidemiologist, conducts landmark studies designed to understand and overcome racial and ethnic disparities in medical care and research. She has focused primarily on doctor-patient relationships in the United States, but, with the help of a $500,000 MacArthur Foundation "genius grant" she received in 2007, hopes to extend her focus to individuals in economically or socially disadvantaged communities throughout the world. "I grew up around people from a lot of different backgrounds," she said. "Throughout my career, I've strived to understand how patients and physicians from different racial, ethnic, and social backgrounds can learn to relate and work with each other to achieve better care."
President, Chairman, and CEO Howard Bank Loyola College in Maryland
Mary Ann Scully has served as chairman, president, and CEO of Howard Bank since its founding in 2003, when it became the first new bank to open in Howard County in 15 years. In addition to her leadership at Howard Bank, Scully chairs the Howard County United Way Partnership board and serves on the board of the United Way of Central Maryland. She is also a board member of UMBC's Alex Brown Center for Entrepreneurship. Scully was formerly a trustee of the Howard Community College Foundation Board and served on the board of advisors for Loyola College's Sellinger School of Business. Scully was recognized as one of Maryland's Top 100 Women by The Daily Record in 2002 and 2005, was one of the Baltimore Business Journal's 2004 "Enterprising Women," and was recognized as an honoree in the Howard County Women's Hall of Fame in 2007.
Vice President of Academic Affairs Howard Community College Maryland Institute College of Art
Ron Robertson received a masters of fine arts from the Hoffberger School of Painting at the Maryland Institute College of Art. A post-baccalaureate Fulbright Fellowship to study art history at the University of Louvain in Belgium convinced him of the value of a global perspective, leading Robertson to serve as an art history lecturer and a drawing and painting instructor on study tours of Italy. Since 1989, Robertson has worked at Howard Community College as professor of art, chair of the division of humanities, and, currently, vice president of academic affairs. He has served as vice president of the Howard County Arts Council and chair of the Maryland State Arts Council. In 2003, he was honored by the Howard County Arts Council with a Howie Award for the Outstanding Business/Community Supporter of the Arts. Most recently he has been involved in developing international articulations and faculty and student exchanges in Mexico, Estonia, Denmark, Turkey, Macedonia, Scotland, and the People's Republic of China.
Executive Director Copper Ridge Institute McDaniel College
McDaniel alumnus Dr. Alva "Buzz" Baker is a pioneer in the treatment and care of people with all forms of dementia. This certified geriatrician and expert in hospice and palliative medicine is the director of the newly founded Center for the Study of Aging at McDaniel College and executive director for the Copper Ridge Institute, a world-renowned research and education center in Sykesville for patients with all forms of dementia. His work makes a difference here in Maryland-and touches lives around the world. "Our philosophy is that of an active treatment model in which we honor what's left instead of what's lost," Baker says of the elderly patients who have Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia. Geriatrics is a field that is exploding as baby boomers look down the road to retirement, old age, and a one-in-three chance of developing Alzheimer's by the time they celebrate their 80th birthdays.
President and CEO SunTrust Bank Mount St. Mary's University
Scott Wilfong graduated from Mount St. Mary's University with a degree in economics, and claims the school played a key role in his way of thinking. "What the Mount does extraordinarily well is help you develop a core foundation of values and beliefs... which helps define your idea of success." Wilfong's success can be measured in the time and talent he has given to a wide variety of Maryland organizations and activities in addition to serving on the board of trustees at Mount St. Mary's University. He has served on the boards of the Baltimore Development Corporation, Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Catholic Charities, Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond-Baltimore Branch, Greater Baltimore Alliance, and Mercy Health Services Inc. In addition, Wilfong has served as chairman of the American Heart Walk and was named Outstanding Volunteer Fundraiser of the Year by the Maryland Association of State Fundraising Professionals.
Chief, Laboratory of Clinical Infectious Diseases NIAID, NIH St. John's College
After receiving his bachelor's degree from St. John's College, Steven Holland went on to earn a medical degree from Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He stayed at Hopkins as an intern, resident, and chief resident in internal medicine, followed by a fellowship in infectious diseases. He joined the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in 1989 to study the molecular biology of HIV, and in 1991 moved to the Laboratory of Host Defences, NIAID, to study phagocytes and phagocyte immunodeficiences. His work centers on understanding the pathophysiology and treatment of infections in patients with congenital and acquired immune defects affecting the phagocytes. NIAID supports basic and applied research to prevent, diagnose, and treat infectious diseases such as HIV/AIDS and other sexually transmitted infections, influenza, tuberculosis, malaria, and illness from potential agents of bioterrorism. NIAID also supports research on basic immunology, transplantation and immune-related disorders, including autoimmune diseases, asthma, and allergies.
Chief Operating Officer Ridge 103, LLC Community and Outpatient Mental Health Clinic Sojourner-Douglass College
Peggy Anderson earned a bachelor of arts degree in business administration and management from Sojourner-Douglass College. She is now chief operating officer at Ridge 103, LLC Community and Outpatient Mental Health Clinic. Anderson has been committed to the mental health community for the past 14 years. She serves on several boards at the local and State level; her titles include president for the State of Maryland National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI); executive board member of Baltimore Crisis Response, Inc.; advisory council president for Sheppard Pratt Health System; member of the National Association for Female Executives; and advisory member of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene Administration for family psycho-education evidence-based practice.
Senior Executive Assistant Baltimore County Administrative Office Villa Julie College
Donna Croucher Morrison was named by The Baltimore Business Journal as one of the 2007 Top 100 Women in Maryland and was named Villa Julie College's 2007 Distinguished Alumni Award recipient. Both awards recognized her distinguished 30-year career in Baltimore County government, as well as her volunteer work with professional and nonprofit organizations. Morrison is one of the founding members of the Fuel Fund of Maryland. For 25 years, the Fuel Fund has been keeping families and their homes safe by helping them pay their energy bills. The organization assists seniors and people with disabilities living on fixed incomes, families and individuals earning the minimum wage, and people weathering hardships like job losses or medical emergencies.
2007 Maryland Teacher of the Year Somerset Intermediate School Washington College
April Todd, a Washington College graduate, received the 2007 Maryland Teacher of the Year Award. Todd, who teaches language arts at Somerset Intermediate School, says that the creative thinking skills she mastered at Washington College enabled her to develop a dynamic teaching philosophy. As a sixth and seventh grade language arts teacher, her passion is developing technology projects that inspire reluctant readers and writers. She has authored reading strategies that have been implemented in two Maryland counties, in addition to taking on State leadership roles working with the Maryland School Assessments, the Voluntary State Curriculum, and the Maryland Toolkit, as well as presenting at statewide conferences. |
KEVIN KORMAN
HAROLD STINGER
AUDREY CARRION
JOHN STODDART
ODETTE RAMOS
PATRICIA CUSHWA
LISA COOPER
MARY ANN SCULLY
RON ROBERTSON
ALVA "BUZZ" BAKER
J. SCOTT WILFONG
STEVEN HOLLAND
PEGGY ANDERSON
DONNA CROUCHER MORRISON
APRIL TODD