1980s Class notes

New class notes are posted as time allows.

1980
Michael Green (BA) recently retired after working for 32 years for the Minnesota Department of Corrections at MCF-Oak Park Heights, the state's maximum custody adult correctional facility. During these years Mike worked as an officer, case manager and discipline supervisor. At the time of his retirement Mike was the acting associate warden of administration. He also worked as an acting hearing officer, harassment investigator and primary crisis negotiator for the department of corrections. Mike was asked to speak to the criminal justice club at UW-Eau Claire and awarded an internship to a UW-Eau Claire student.

1981
Timothy Kay (BBA) has been elected to a four-year term as the municipal judge for Lake Country Municipal Court, located in western Waukesha County. The district serves 17 municipalities, the largest multi-jurisdictional municipal court in the state. Timothy also maintains his private general practice at Kay & Kay Law Firm located in Brookfield.

Barbara Ketcham-Mednick (BA) is associate director of corporate communications for KPMG LLP in Minneapolis. She also is a contributing writer for several industry and career blogs. Barbara previously ran a successful Twin Cities-based public relations consultancy and held senior public relations account management positions at several top Twin Cities public relations agencies. During her career she has served on the board of directors of several professional communications and nonprofit organizations and has garnered numerous industry awards for writing and successful public relations and marketing campaigns. Barbara and her husband, Philip Mednick, live in the Twin Cities and have son named Justin.

Laila Robins (BA) and fellow actors of the Belasco Theatre were named "Best of New York" by the Village Voice in October 2012, and Laila was named Best Theater Actress. Robins was also nominated for the Outer Critics Circle award for her performance in "The Lady from Dubuque." Her other Broadway credits include "Heartbreak House," "Frozen," "The Herbal Bed" and "The Real Thing."

1982
Eric Cutler (BBA) and his wife, Barbara Cutler '83 (BBA), have relocated to Portland, Ore., after living for nearly 30 years in the Atlanta area.

William Griffith (BA) has been elected president of Larkin Hoffman Law Firm in Minneapolis, Minn. Bill is a shareholder and chair of the firm's Real Estate and Land Use practice group, practicing extensively in land use, zoning, real estate, environmental permitting and municipal law. He has served as local counsel to Mall of America for more than 20 years and also serves as city attorney for the city of Columbus. In addition to practicing law, Bill is an adjunct professor at the University of St. Thomas School of Law where he teaches land use law.

Ken Pazdernik (MBA) is the chief financial officer at NYFS in Shoreview, Minn., and recently published his new book, "The Secret Bigotry of Liberalism." The book is available on Amazon.com in either book or Kindle format. For more information, visit the website at www.thesecretbigotryofliberalism.com.

1983
Ronda (Koch) Tucker (BA) has been a stay-at-home mom for the past 22 years. She and her husband Ron have six children: Abigail, Zach, Eli, Meredith, Seth and Noah. They reside in Lima, Ohio, where they are active in supporting their children's activities and in the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Contact Ronda at rrtucker@juno.com.

1984
Brenda Boone (BSN) received her doctorate in nursing in May 2012. Her dissertation was a qualitative descriptive study on the work of nurses in interventional radiology. She is an advanced practice nurse in imaging at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla, Calif.

Carl Whalen (BS) is teaching chemistry at Central New Mexico Community College and tutors high school and college students in chemistry, biology and math. Carl left Wisconsin more than three years ago, threw out his snow shovel and is enjoying the sunshine.

1985
Sherrill Dodsworth Smith (BSN), assistant professor in the College of Nursing and Health, Wright State University, Dayton, Ohio, was recently awarded the Presidential Award for Faculty Excellence: Early Career Achievement by President David Hopkins at the university's annual convocation ceremony.

1982
Thomas Adler (BBA), '86 (MBA) has been named controller for Kohler Co.’s kitchen and bath group. He is responsible for the overall finances of the kitchen and bath group, advising the business heads and key business managers as well as overseeing other business unit controllers. Since joining Kohler Co. in 1987, Adler has advanced through the finance department, holding positions in a number of different areas.

Robyn Conrad (BS-E), principal of Playa del Rey Elementary School in Gilbert, Ariz., has been elected to the board of directors of the National Association of Elementary School Principals. Conrad begins her three-year term as director of Zone 9 on July 1, 2012. She will represent principals in Arizona, California, Hawaii, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Guam and American Samoa. Conrad has been a member of NAESP since 2007, serving on the Principal Evaluation and Nominating committees, as well as attending the National Leaders Conference and Delegate Assembly. She also has been a member of the Arizona School Administrators since 2005, serving as president of the elementary division from 2009-11. Conrad's professional honors include being named Arizona’s National Distinguished Principal in 2010 and Arizona’s Assistant Principal of the Year in 2000, in addition to leading her school to be named an Arizona A+ School of Excellence from 2008-12. Conrad holds a master's degree and doctorate in educational leadership from Northern Arizona University.

Peter Eckerline (BBA), '83 (MBA), a Wayzata, Minn.-based Merrill Lynch financial adviser, was recognized for the fourth consecutive year as the No. 1 adviser in Minnesota on Barron’s "America's Top 1,000 Advisors: State-by-State" list in the Feb. 20, 2012, issue of Barron’s magazine. Eckerline, who joined Merrill Lynch in 1983, works with a wide range of high net worth and ultra-high net worth clients and is an expert in retirement planning.

Larry Engel (BA) has been promoted to the position of group leader in the account management department of Bader Rutter, an integrated marketing services agency. He oversees the strategic planning and account management of teams serving accounts such as Ball Horticultural Co., OfficeMax, CliftonLarsonAllen and Oshkosh Corp. Engel has been with Bader Rutter since 1996.

Lynne (Billmeyer) Hogan (BS-E) was promoted to the position of senior estimating specialist in the Construction Services department of the J.C. Penney Co. in December 2011. The headquarters office is located in Plano, Texas, where Lynne has been an associate for 18 years. She would love to hear from former classmates and friends by email at lhoga2@jcp.com.

Carol (Bolen) Isaksson (BA), '11 (BSN), was named assistant director of surgery at Eau Claire's Sacred Heart Hospital in November 2001. Isaksson, who is certified in perioperative nursing, has worked as a registered nurse in Sacred Heart's operating rooms and most recently with the hospital's cardiovascular team.

1983
Jeff Sarazen (PRE), a doctor of optometry, was elected president of the Wisconsin Optometric Association at the association's annual convention and business meeting in September 2011 in Appleton. Sarazen assumed his duties in January 2012. The WOA is a statewide professional organization representing more than 630 licensed doctors of optometry. Sarazen graduated from the Illinois College of Optometry in 1987 and joined the WOA soon after his graduation. He currently lives and practices in Wausau as part owner of a three-doctor practice, Envision Eyecare LLC. Before attending the Illinois College of Optometry to pursue his chosen career, Sarazen attended UW-
Eau Claire. He has been married to his wife, Cherri (Boettcher) Sarazen '82 (BS-E), '87 (MST), for 25 years. They have two children: Sean, who is currently a UW-Eau Claire student, and Marni, who will begin at UW-Madison in the fall.

Elizabeth Willis (BA) was awarded a fellowship in poetry from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation for 2012-13. In addition, her most recent book of poetry, "Address," (2011) received the PEN New England/L.L. Winship Award for poetry. Willis is the Shapiro-Silverberg professor of creative writing at Wesleyan University in Middletown, Conn.

1984
Former dance directors turned novelists Pandre' (Fay) Shandley (BBA) and Doris Greenberg are recipients of the 2012 National Indie Excellence Book Award for Young Adult Fiction. Their debut novel, "The Legend of L'Esprit," published by AuthorHouse, recently was featured in the New Title Showcase at BookExpo America in New York. The competition is judged by experts from the indie book industry, including publishers, writers, editors, book cover designers and professional copywriters. Headquartered in Beverly Hills, Calif., the NIEA recognizes the best literature published by small and independent presses, catapulting winners into the national spotlight. To learn more about the authors, visit www.DancersatHeart.com.

1985
Julie Furst-Bowe (BA) has been named chancellor of Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, effective July 1, 2012. Furst-Bowe, a native of Chippewa Falls, served at UW-Stout for nearly 22 years as a faculty member, department chair, associate vice chancellor, assistant chancellor and, since August 2005, provost and vice chancellor. She holds a master's degree from UW-Stout and a doctorate from the University of Minnesota.

1986
Tom Laszewski (BBA) has accepted a position as a strategic system integrator solution architect at Amazon Web Services. He is responsible for helping companies architect and deploy enterprise software solutions on the Amazon public cloud. Laszewski, who now owns a home on the New Hampshire seacoast, is the co-author of two books: "Migrating to the Cloud" and "Oracle Information Integration, Migration, and Consolidation.

1988
Julian Lynn (Stockley) (BA), '96 (BFA), reports that after receiving her master of fine arts degree from Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., she spent five years in the American Southwest teaching community-based, university and college classes in Hatha yoga. Her e-books, "Four Gates to Health: Eastern Ideas and Techniques for Vital Living," "One Slice: A Visual Artist's Notebook" and "Plastic and Red Hot: A Collection of Devotional Work," are available online.

1989
Mark Smolen (BS) was named vice president of Case Management Services within the Public Sector Group of Rust Consulting Inc. based in Minneapolis, Minn. Rust Consulting recently acquired FRAUDExchange LLC, a company founded by Mark and his wife, Karla, six years ago. Mark and Karla live in Marietta, Ga. Mark often returns to Minneapolis and welcomes the opportunity to reconnect with UW-Eau Claire friends by email at mark@smolen.me.