Class Notes: Fall 2023 Issue

1984

Dave Celone of Sharon, VT, is the new vice president of alumni relations and development at Vermont Law and Graduate School, where he earned his law degree in 1992. He joins VLGS from his position as director of development and community relations at West Central Behavioral Health in Lebanon, NH.

1986

Michael Toce became vice president of wellness services in June 2023 at Epoch Senior Living with locations in New England and New York. Most recently, he was the senior corporate director of care for a group of senior living communities in New England, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. Prior to that, he was an administrator for the Yale University School of Medicine.

1989

Patrick McRedmond of Brookfield, CT, vice president and sales manager at Fairfield County Bank, has again been selected as a Five Star Mortgage Professional. He has been with the bank for more than 25 years.

1992

Roxanne Cichy Ruppel ’92, MS ’97, of Londonderry, NH, was named president and chief operating officer at Salem Hospital, Salem, MA, on March 1 after 25 years as an administrator at the hospital. She worked as a physical therapist at an acute care hospital and later in an outpatient setting for 10 years before that.

1996

Katherine Tucker ’96, MSN ’02, of West Haven, CT, is clinical program director of outpatient programs at Yale New Haven Hospital’s Heart and Vascular Center. She also serves West Haven as a councilwoman and was honored in February as that city’s African American Citizen of the Year.

2000

Colin Hill ’00, MBA ’03, was promoted to shareholder at Meketa Investment Group, a global investment consulting and fiduciary management firm. He serves as a consultant, delivering customized real estate investment services.

Nathan Noyes retired in May as director of the New Hampshire State Police.

Roy Sasenaraine ’00, MBA ’01, has been named CEO of Valley Springs Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke, MA.

2002

Russell Crist, MAT ’02, is the principal of Farmington High School, Farmington, CT. He previously served as interim principal.

2005

Brendan Lewis became the city editor of the Fitchburg Sentinel & Enterprise in Massachusetts in July 2023.

2006

Jennifer Barone of Plainville, CT, opened Back Again Café, a family-friendly board game cafe in Middletown, CT, in February. It features more than 900 games plus coffee, tea and snacks.

2007

Jessica Puk of Norwalk, CT, is a co-founder of The REACH Fund of Connecticut, a nonprofit abortion access fund. Founded in 2021 and launched in June 2022, REACH (Reproductive Equity, Access & CHoice) provides financial help for abortion care in Connecticut. She currently serves as the board president.

2009

Lisa DiVirgilio Arnold, MS ’09, is founder and CEO of Small Town Startup in Springfield, TN. Her digital marketing agency offers incubator and co-working space along with educational workshops for entrepreneurs.

Allison (Kemon) Chebbani of Holden, MA, and her husband, Adham, welcomed their second daughter, Alina, on Dec. 31, 2022.

Amber Schaub, MHS ’09, is a physician assistant with The Vascular Group, South Portland, ME. She previously worked as a vascular surgery physician assistant at Maine Medical Partners Vascular Surgery.

Carley Shimkus, a co-host on Fox & Friends First, and her husband, Peter Buchignani, welcomed a son, Brock Edward, in February 2023.

Taronte Venable has joined Chiro-Med & Rehab in Bennington, VT. After graduating from QU, he earned a doctorate in chiropractic medicine at the National University of Health Sciences. He is board-certified in functional neurology through the American Chiropractic Neurology Board.

2010

Brittany James of New York City is an account director and influencer at Lippe Taylor marketing agency.

Justine Lombardi was inducted into the Enfield, CT, Athletic Hall of Fame in September 2023. She earned Rookie of the Year honors as a first-year student on QU’s soccer team, then served as a captain during her sophomore, junior and senior years. In 2019, she started the Division I women’s soccer program at St. Francis College.

Kevin Rincon has returned to WINS/New York as a midday anchor. He started his career as an intern at WINS in 2007 and later worked as a reporter and fill-in anchor there. He previously worked at CBS2.

2012

Ashley Marinaro of Madison, CT, has been named assistant principal of Walsh Intermediate School in Branford, CT. She has a sixth-year certificate in educational leadership. She previously served as the district’s curriculum coordinator for grades 5 through 12, and as a literacy coach and an English teacher working in school districts in both Massachusetts and Connecticut.

Jeremiah Baba Pagano was selected to San Diego Metro Magazine's 40 Under 40 list for 2023 for his work as a legal counsel in the financial services industry and for his community service working with lifestyle medicine charities. He is an attorney with the Jacko Law Group of San Diego.

Michele Scott, MS ’12, is a member of the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Council in Connecticut. She also chairs the tribe's economic development and health and human services committees.

Lauren Takores, MS ’12, joined the Daily Star of Oneonta, NY, as a reporter.

2013

Julie Jarvis was promoted to account executive at Mintz + Hoke advertising agency in Avon, CT. She lives in Newington, CT, with her fiancé, Mike, and their dog, Waffle Daisy. She has sung the national anthem at Quinnipiac ice hockey games.

Danielle Susi is assistant dean of college access initiatives at the University of Utah.

2015

Aaron King is director of marketing and communications at Caritas of Austin, Texas. The agency’s mission is to prevent and end homelessness in Greater Austin.

Shannon Scott, OTD ’15, was awarded tenure and promoted from assistant to associate professor in the School of Health Sciences and Human Performance at Ithaca College.

2016

Emmanuel Kumi, MBA ’16, recently earned a Doctor of Business Administration while serving at the Naval Medical Readiness Logistics Command, where he is a healthcare administrator. He began his naval career 11 years ago.

Flaviah Muchemi graduated from the UConn School of Dentistry in May 2023 and was chosen as its commencement speaker. She is continuing her education in oral and maxillofacial surgery at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland. She worked as a nurse at several hospitals after earning her BS in nursing at QU, but her lifelong dream was to become a dentist.

Asia Skyers graduated in May 2023 from North Carolina Central University School of Law. She also has a master’s degree in public administration degree from NCCU. Her degree from QU is in political science.

2017

Victoria Kozar is a third-year medical student at the University of Connecticut School of Medicine. She recently received the Edward Henderson Student Award given by the American Geriatric Healthcare Professionals in recognition of her extensive community involvement, significant leadership skills, record of academic excellence and strong commitment to geriatrics care.

Marc Russo was named the principal of Irving School in Derby, CT, in July. He came to Derby in 2018 as dean of students at Derby Middle School and then was named dean of students for the Irving and Bradley elementary schools in 2019. He earned a sixth-year certificate in educational leadership at QU.

Steven Sayman recently was promoted to vice president of sales for North America at Revelstoke Security. He lives in the Boston area and joined Revelstoke as a member of its founding sales team. Before that, he held senior sales roles at Malwarebytes and GuardSight.

2018

Ali Munshi is an associate at Miller, Turetsky, Rule & McLennan in Philadelphia, and previously worked at Mullen Coughlin in Pennsylvania. He earned a BA in political science at Quinnipiac and a JD at Drexel University’s Thomas R. Kline Schoool of Law.

April Simell ’18, MAT ’19, of Hamden married Sean Sweeney ’19 May 27 on Lake Winnipesaukee in New Hampshire.

2019

Paige Meyer is a morning co-anchor for Good Morning Virginia on WSET in Lynchburg, VA.

Stephanie Plasse, DNP ’19, has joined Northern Light Primary Care in Oakland, ME.

2020

Andre Rochester, MS ’20, is the art curator at UConn Health in Farmington, CT. He is active in the local arts community and his own portfolio includes acrylic paintings, oil paintings, and charcoal and pastel drawings.

2021

Michael Ciacciarella is an assistant town engineer for the town of Guilford, CT. He is the recipient of the Guilford Employee Recognition Award from the first selectman’s office “for taking on and seeking new projects without hesitation and producing great results.”

Tracy Hussey of Shelton was named director of special education for the Shelton Public Schools in June 2023. She previously served in the same role for the Region 9 school district, as well as in Oxford, CT, and Cheshire, CT. She recently completed a certification program at Quinnipiac in social and emotional learning and school climate.

Kara Riley has been appointed vice principal at Crosby High School in Waterbury, CT. She earned a sixth-year certificate in educational leadership.

1991

Keith McCabe, JD ’91, a trial lawyer with more than 30 years of insurance defense litigation experience, has joined Marshall Dennehey’s New Haven office as a shareholder in the casualty department. He represents clients in both personal and commercial claims involving automobile liability, premises liability, hospitality and liquor liability, and general liability matters.

1992

John Cordani Jr., JD ’92, partner at Robinson+Cole, has been named a 2023 James W. Cooper Fellow.

1996

Patrick Caruso, JD ’96, of Madison, CT, was nominated by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to serve as a Superior Court judge in New London, CT. In his role as an assistant U.S. attorney, he has supervised investigations and prosecutions of drug trafficking organizations.

1997

TaShun Bowden-Lewis, JD ’97, the Connecticut chief public defender, has been named a 2023 James W. Cooper Fellow.

Alfred Bruno, JD ’97, was named director of human services for the Shelton Board of Education in June 2023. He has served as legal counsel for the State Education Resource Center, was a senior counsel for Berchem Moses, and recently served as an associate general counsel for Sacred Heart University.

Moira Buckley, JD ’97, of Glastonbury, CT, was nominated by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to serve as a Superior Court judge in Hartford. She was an assistant federal defender in the Office of the Federal Defender for the District of Connecticut.

1999

Thomas J. Saadi, JD ’99, of Danbury, CT, was nominated by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to serve as a Superior Court judge in Bridgeport, CT. He worked for 15 years as a Connecticut assistant attorney general and a special prosecutor. He also served as commissioner of the Connecticut State Department of Veterans Affairs and was a lieutenant colonel in the U.S. Army Reserve.

2000

William Boltrek, JD ’00, is a stockholder at Henderson, Franklin, Starnes & Holt in Fort Myers, FL. He was named a Florida Super Lawyer for 2023.

2001

Steven McHugh, JD ’01, has joined Cantor Colburn’s intellectual property team. He has been practicing intellectual property law for more than 20 years.

Ryan Morley, JD ’01, of Cleveland, OH, is an office manager shareholder for Littler, among the world’s largest employment and labor law practices.

Jason Welch, JD ’01, of Bristol, CT, was nominated by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to serve as a Superior Court judge in Derby, CT. He was chief legal counsel to the Senate Republican Office. Previously, his practice focused on professional liability, insurance coverage, and construction and business disputes for the firms of Cummings and Lockwood and McCarter and English.

2003

Craig M. Gianetti, JD ’03, has been named co-chair of Day Pitney’s real estate and environmental practice in Parsippany, NJ.

Christina Hanna, JD ’03, is a personal injury lawyer with Berkowitz and Hanna, a firm with multiple offices in Connecticut. She serves as a member of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association and was named a New England Super Lawyer Rising Star. She was a member of the Dean’s Council at QUSL.

2004

Vikki Cooper, JD ’04, of Fairfield, was nominated by Connecticut Gov. Ned Lamont to serve as a Superior Court judge in Stamford, CT. She was deputy corporation counsel for the City of Stamford.

Leslie Jennings-Lax, JD ’04, an attorney with Reich & Truax, has been named a 2023 James W. Cooper Fellow.

2005

Matthew Loman, JD ’05, was ordained to the priesthood on May 20 at St. Theresa Church in Trumbull, CT.

2006

Suphi Philip, JD ’06, an attorney with Philip Law, has been named a 2023 James W. Cooper Fellow.

2007

Steven Lapp, JD ’07, is a partner at Shipman & Goodwin in Hartford. He represents renewable energy firms, contractors, suppliers and sureties, as well as other Connecticut-based businesses and public and private educational institutions, in dispute resolution, legal compliance and regulatory matters.

2011

Albino Caporale is president and CEO of the Exchange Authority, a subsidiary of Fidelity Bank. Before that, he served as the executive director of CATIC Exchange in Hartford.

2012

Jennifer Amdur, JD ’12, is an associate at Berkowitz and Hanna where she practices in the areas of medical malpractice and complex personal injury law. She is a member of the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Association, the Connecticut Trial Lawyers Women’s Caucus and the American Association of Justice.