Class Notes

By Amanda Clark

*Annual Alumni Association Member
**Lifetime Alumni Association Member

Faculty, staff and friends

Chaffee

Eric Chaffee, Distinguished University Professor in The University of Toledo College of Law, was recently elected a fellow of the American Bar Foundation, an honor limited to only 1% of lawyers licensed to practice in each jurisdiction. He teaches courses relating to business law, contract law, tax law and trusts and estates.

1970s

Michael Malone (Ed ’77, Ed ’77) recently retired from his role as executive director of Manahan, an organization dedicated to serving individuals with developmental disabilities. Manahan, located in Toledo, is formerly known as Josina Lott Residential & Community Services.

Simon

**Gregg J. Simon (Eng ’78, MEng ’80) is the Toledo area 2021 Engineer of the Year. He is a registered Professional Engineer in both Ohio and Michigan. Simon joined Jones & Henry Engineers more than 20 years ago and is the office director of the corporate headquarters in Toledo.

Stidham

Dr. Greg Stidham (MED ’76), a pediatric intensivist (intensive care unit physician), retired in 2012 after a 32-year career in academic medicine as a professor of pediatrics at Queen’s University and Kingston Health Sciences Center. In his retirement, he resurrected his passion for literature and creative writing, publishing a memoir, pieces of short fiction and creative nonfiction.

1980s

DeBolt

**Steve DeBolt (MA ’87) retired in fall 2020 after a 35-year career in municipal/state government, along with service as a high school teacher and golf coach. In addition to working as a village administrator in Ohio and North Carolina, he served as a city safety service director and bureau chief for the state of Ohio.

Walker Minor

Natoya Walker Minor (A/S ’89) has been named deputy general manager of administration and external affairs for the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority.
Hon. Vernon L. Preston (Law ’80) retired from his position as a judge in the Ohio Third District Court of Appeals after 27 years of judicial service. He proudly served on active duty in the United States Navy for six years and retired with the rank of Captain in 2003 after serving 25 additional years in the U.S. Navy Reserve. In 1980, Preston opened a law practice in Portsmouth, Ohio where he specialized in administrative and insurance law representing individuals and business clients.
Dr. Alan Sandler (Pharm ’80) is the president, head of global development, oncology for Zai Lab, an innovative commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, with offices in San Francisco, Calif. And Shanghai, China. In this position, he will lead global oncology development and related enabling functions to support the company’s development activities.
Mark Stegman (Bus ’83, MBS ’89) is now the chief financial officer of Forever Oceans, a company with the mission to nourish the world with seafood through eco-friendly innovation. In this role, he is responsible for capital markets strategy and the accounting and finance functions. Forever Friends is headquartered in Gainesville, Va.
Stuart Wilcox (Eng ’86) was appointed to the board of directors of Agrify Corporation, a developer of premium grow solutions for the indoor agriculture marketplace.

1990s

**Dr. Gayle Dean (A/S ’92) is the first woman of color chief of staff at Tucson Medical Center in Arizona.

LeSage

Gary LeSage (Bus ’98) was added as a partner of Savage and Associates, a financial, insurance and group benefits services firm in Maumee, Ohio.
John M. Phelan (Law ’97) was named vice president and general counsel of Glycon Corp., an innovator in screw design for injection molding, blow molding and extrusion, injection non-return valve design and predictive-maintenance technology. His new responsibilities will include working with the COO in planning and managing future growth, as well as all personnel and legal functions, including recruiting, hiring and training of new employees and advancement and training of current employees.
Steve Warns (A/S ’97) is a public affairs specialist for the Air Force Installation and Mission Support Center at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland, Texas. He moved to San Antonio to work at the San Antonio Express-News. He is still a part of the newspaper world even after the Express-News merged operations with the Houston Chronicle.
**Thomas Zahorec (Univ Coll ’93) started his own business more than eight years ago, Metalink, LLC, a national scrap management and metals trading company. His company is headquartered in Greenville, S.C., with sales offices in Memphis, Tenn. and Dallas, Texas.

2000s

Marks

*Hon. Eric Allen Marks (Law ’05) was selected by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to fill the position of Lucas County Common Pleas judge. He is a member of the Lucas County Bar Association and the Maumee Valley Criminal Defense Lawyers’ Association.
Dr. Stephen J. McNew (Ph.D. ’08) was appointed to the newly-created Student Recovery Advisory Council by Michigan Governor Whitmer The council will provide guidance and recommendations to ensure Michigan students have the tools and resources they need to get back on track. McNew is the superintendent of the Monroe County Intermediate School District.
*Dr. Ngalula Sandrine Mubenga (Eng ’05, MEng ’08, Ph.D. ’17) was appointed by Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine to the New African Immigrants Commission. She is an assistant professor in the College of Engineering at UToledo.
Irma L. Olguin Jr. (Eng ’04) is the CEO and co-founder of Bitwise Industries, a California-based tech apprenticeship engine. Bitwise is partnering with ProMedica to launch an innovation center at the former Jefferson Center site in downtown Toledo. The center will focus on accelerating partnerships, supporting workforce development and facilitating technology innovation while also serving as a business incubator for technology and non-technology business to foster synergies and create new opportunities.

Prater

Rusty Prater (Bus ’07) was added as the newest member of the executive leadership team of Eagle Eye Marketing, a full-service branding and marketing agency headquartered in Wilmington, N.C. His role enables expansion of the agency’s capabilities specifically for client relations. Prater will ensure that organizational initiatives and services are supported and strengthened.
**Major Justin Shedron (A/S ’07, A/S ’07), an Aviation Officer and UH-60 Helicopter Pilot on active duty in the U.S. Army, was promoted to the rank of Major.

2010s

Dr. Elvis Cami (MED ’10) was named the first medical director of advanced cardiac imaging at the MemorialCare Long Beach Medical Center, located in Long Beach, Calif.
Dr. Joel Castellanos (MED ’14) was appointed as clinical advisor on the scientific advisory board of Tryp Therapeutics, a pharmaceutical company focused on identifying and developing clinical-stage compounds for diseases with high unmet medical needs. He is a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation physician who is fellowship-trained in pain medicine, and an associate professor in the department of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine.
Brent Faber (Law ’10) opened Stone Hound Brewing Company, a craft brewery located in Williamsburg, Mich.

Kruger

*Dr. Jessica Kruger (Ph.D. ’17) was selected as an Online Teaching Ambassador for the State University of New York. She is a clinical assistant professor in the department of community health and health behavior, school of public health and health professions at the University at Buffalo. Kruger’s research focuses on behaviors in eating and addiction, decision-making and behaviors that impact public health and the science of teaching public health-related information.

Wells

Monique Wells (MEd ’11) was appointed as the director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion at DTE Energy. She will be responsible for accelerating DTE’s progress in building a workplace where everyone feels valued and able to contribute their best energy toward serving their customers, communities and each other. DTE Energy is a Detroit-based diversified energy company involved in the development and management of energy-related businesses and services nationwide.