Janis Merluzzo has been into physical fitness for years, working out with weights, speed walking, and practicing yoga in addition to ballet lessons that she began at age five. As a physical education and health major at URI, Merluzzo studied ballet with Herci and Myles Marsden of the Rhode Island State Ballet.

Merluzzo continued ballet classes in New York City and in New Jersey where she taught health education and psychology at Bergen County’s Mahwah High School for 24 years and physical education in grades 3–5 for five years. She was also an adjunct professor in the Department of Health Professions at Montclair State University.

Her current dance athleticism builds on the strength and grace gained in those years of training. Today, she and her dance partner, Daniel Fugazzotto, are national champion ballroom dancers. They routinely practice two to three hours a day—upping that to four to six hours a day before a competition—and take lessons three times a week with their head coach plus occasional lessons with specialty dance coaches.

After early retirement and a move to Florida nine years ago, Merluzzo attended weekly open ballroom dances at a local studio; that’s where she met her dance partner. Fugazzotto and Merluzzo soon decided to share private lessons “to share expenses and have someone to practice with.” Their teacher felt the pair also shared ability, determination, and work ethic and encouraged them to start competing after just six months of lessons.

Now the pair hold several national titles in the DanceSport division of USADance and are members of Sarasota’s White Sands Chapter, where Merluzzo is events and publicity chair and incoming president. They compete in four Divisions: American Smooth, American Rhythm, International Standard, and International Latin in two senior age groups.

—Sally Adams ’66, M.A. ’68

From his email address, which starts off “appleman,” to his colorful Web site, tougasfarm.com, Mo Tougas is all about apples. And now American Fruit Grower magazine has given him another title—2011 Apple Grower of the Year.

Tougas owns a 120-acre Pick Your Own operation, Tougas Family Farm, in Northboro, Mass. His farm is close to the geographic center of New England, a fitting location for a farm that was voted one of the 10 best apple orchards in the country by Woman’s Day magazine.

Tougas’ life centers around growing apples and several other fruits and his family—wife Phyllis and their children, Andre, Nicole, and April, all of whom have roles in the farm’s operation.

Tougas, who spent three years as an agricultural extension agent after URI (B.S. in natural resources, M.A. in education) married Phyllis in 1981 and a year later bought the pick-your-own farm.

His travels and exposure to other growers convinced Tougas that his customers would like to have more than a bag of fruit when they visited. As a result Tougas Family Farm is a place to have fun, enjoy food, and absorb all the sights and smells of a farming operation.

Children by the thousands descend on his farm via school tours—he estimates 15,000 this fall— and while he and his family host the children, they also hope to start modifying their eating habits—slices of apples rather than candy for example. “Juvenile diabetes is a real problem in this country,” he says, adding that more consumption of fruits and vegetables is part of the solution.

The Apple Grower of the Year is not content with traditional methods of growing fruit. Rather he has embraced and is experimenting with high density growing techniques that he witnessed on trips to Europe. He is promoting the techniques through talks, on-site demonstrations and even U-Tube videos. “The whole idea,” he says, “is to grow fruit, not trees.”

—Rudi Hempe ’63

Although Jon B. Cooke liked to read comics when he was young, he became passionate about them when he was 12 and living with his mother and younger brother Andy in Europe. When he ran out of comic books, he and Andy created their own.

While most kids eventually outgrow comics, Cooke, 52, never has. “Comics, put simply, can tell a story as passionately and with as much impact as any prose literature. When composed in expert fashion, the melding of word and visual create a unique experience, one as enriching and vital as any in books, film, painting, music—you name it,” says Cooke. “If you sit down and read Maus or Persepolis or Jimmy Corrigan with an open, critical mind, you might come away quite enlightened as to the experience and the possibilities of the form.”

Cooke credits URI with helping him find and meld his interests in journalism and history with a lifelong hobby. Specifically, his stint as editor “in the grungy, counter-culture offices of The Great Swamp Gazette in the Memorial Union basement, where, with the aid of equally manic cohorts and lots of coffee” the staff pasted together the student alternative publication.

Those skills would eventually lead to the creation of COMIC BOOK ARTIST, a magazine Cooke produced between 1998 and 2005. The magazine won five consecutive Will Eisner Comic Industry Awards (the Oscars of the art form) for “Best Comics-Related Periodical,” sometimes presented by Eisner himself.

Cooke and his brother Andy produced an award-winning documentary, WILL EISNER: PORTRAIT OF A SEQUENTIAL ARTIST, which debuted at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival. Many consider Eisner the most influential person in American comics. Learn more at montillapictures.com.

While maintaining a full-time job as art director in advertising and marketing, Cooke’s zeal for comics has never waned. He owns thousands of comics and an almost equal number of magazines, fanzines, and books on the subject.

— Jan Wenzel ‘87

Amy Knowlton with her partner Bill McWeeny.

Entanglement and Other Issues

One thing’s for sure about working with right whales: it’s no boring desk job. Just ask Amy Knowlton of the New England Aquarium.

In 1987 Knowlton was conducting an aerial survey for North Atlantic right whales off the Georgia coast when the twin-engine plane ran out of fuel and crashed into the ocean. Her account of her escape and rescue was featured on the PBS science program NOVA.

Then there was the time her team was attempting to measure a whale’s blubber using an ultrasound device. North Atlantic right whales weigh about 70 tons and can reach 50 feet in length, and this one didn’t care to be studied. “The whale did a 180o turn and came up under our vessel and slammed it,” she recalled. “I got catapulted off. Luckily I had a float jacket on.”

The rewards involved in preserving these great creatures are worth the risks, she says. As a research scientist with the aquarium’s Right Whale Research Project, Knowlton studies one of the world’s most endangered large whale species. Fewer than 500 North Atlantic right whales survive in the coastal waters of North America. Human impact—in the form of vessel strikes and entanglements in fishing gear—accounts for about half of all right whale deaths.

Knowlton recently returned from two months on the water in the Bay of Fundy, where each year in late summer her team monitors the right whale population as part of a decades-long study. She started on the project right out of college.

Her graduate studies in marine policy at URI helped her to play a role in a successful effort to convince the federal government to place seasonal speed restrictions on ships in the whales’ habitats.

Her current focus, the entanglement issue, reflects the enduring struggle between humans and the natural world: “I’m trying to help us coexist.”

Get more information about right whales and the Right Whale Research Project.

—Mark Sullivan

Jennifer Baker and shelter dog Hunter.

Adoption Counselor

The world needs more people like Jennifer Baker. Despite the fact that she’s working a full-time job as a property coordinator while simultaneously studying for her master’s degree in nursing from Regis College, she also finds time to be an adoption counselor at the Northeast Animal Shelter.

After earning her degree in psychology in 2008, Baker decided to use some of her free time volunteering. She chose the Northeast Animal Shelter, in Salem, Mass., New England’s largest no kill shelter. She started with a couple of hours a week, but it quickly grew into more. “So many people volunteer just to play with animals,” she said. “But I wanted to work. I cleaned cages and walked dogs.”

Shelter managers soon asked her to become a part-time adoption counselor. Her psychology degree proved an asset in helping clients pick the dog that’s right for them.

All adoptions start with a pre-screen application process, and then the counselor must take many different factors into consideration including the adoptee’s working hours and family conditions such as the presence of young children in the household.

“These are rescue dogs so it’s important to make a good placement,” Baker explained. “Sometimes I have to put my conflict resolution skills to work. People will fall in love with a particular animal and don’t always understand that they won’t be able to take that same animal home.”

Her love of animals had led Baker to consider becoming a veterinarian: “I was interested in vet school but got discouraged because there are a lot of prerequisites, not a lot of schools to choose from, and really not that many jobs. And I’m very sensitive and didn’t think I would ever be able to help euthanize a dog.” Luckily that is something that never happens at the Northeast Animal Shelter.

As the recent recipient of a rescue dog, I can attest that the work Baker is doing is life changing for both dog and owner.

—Jennifer Gaul ’89

When we speak in our native tongue, we have mannerisms that indicate our gender. Marjorie Johnson ’10 wants to know if those tendencies carry over when individuals learn a second language.

Johnson headed to Paris, France, in October to research the topic, thanks to the Walter J. Jensen Fellowship for French Studies. The double major in French and philosophy won the fellowship from the Phi Beta Kappa Society last spring. It’s designed to help educators and researchers improve education in standard French language, literature, and culture and in the study of standard French in the United States.

As the country’s lone recipient, Johnson earned a $14,000 stipend that will allow her to pursue her master’s degree at École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (the School for Advanced Study in Social Sciences).

“I love the French academic system, because it puts a lot of the planning on the students,” Johnson said. “Students’ success in France is a function of their own motivation and effort.”

Johnson’s research thesis is “Des Américains bilingues en France: la transformation de la parole sexualisée,” (“Bilingual Americans in France: The Transformation of Gendered Speech).”

Johnson’s parents speak French. Her father, Galen Johnson, is a professor of philosophy at URI and the director of the University’s Center for the Humanities. Her mother, Becky, is a French and Spanish teacher at South Kingstown High School as well as an accomplished violinist. Marjorie Johnson plays the piano and upright bass and is an award-winning poet.

“All of us speak in a way that reflects our gender,” said Johnson, who taught several sections of French at URI last year. “I am fascinated to explore why that is. Is it something that carries over when we learn a second language? Is it a product of how we are raised? I want to know how much of our speaking patterns are determined by the social expectations that surround us.”

—Shane Donaldson ’99

On February 26, 2010, Ted Tedesco stood in front of a crowd of 400 professionals, students, and local leaders in Santa Barbara, Calif., and asked them to think back to the year 2000: “What if we’d held a meeting then?” he asked. “Could anyone have predicted the next 10 years?”

The World Trade Center attack, wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, hurricane Katrina, oil spills, economic collapse, climate change—why did we seem so ill-prepared for these situations? “Are we prepared for what the next 10 years might offer?” he asked the crowd. “How do we think about these things now?”

Ted Tedesco – Introduction to The Santa Barbara Institute on World Affairs Inaugural Event from Ted Tedesco on Vimeo.

To initiate the process, Tedesco founded the Santa Barbara Institute for World Affairs (SBIWA), a non-profit organization promoting civil discourse and a deeper understanding of contemporary global and national issues.

At the opening forum in February 2010, experts spoke on such issues as human rights, globalization, and the future of money. Audience members were invited to interact directly with the speakers, fostering a discourse on a survey of world issues.

Tedesco has always had a strong interest in public affairs. After he graduated from URI with a political science degree, one of his former professors, John Stitely, suggested that he look into a career in city management. Tedesco went on to work as city manager in Enfield, Conn., Boulder, Colo., and San Jose, Calif. Later he became vice chancellor of the University of Colorado and eventually vice president, corporate affairs of American Airlines.

After retiring in 1998, Tedesco sustained his interest in public affairs and public management, culminating in the founding of SBIWA in 2010: “I was very concerned about the apparent polarization throughout our nation,” he explains. “No civil discourse by our leaders, as well as ourselves, could take place, yet we needed exactly that kind of discussion to answer our nation’s problems.”

SBIWA will hold its next session this fall, dealing with issues surrounding China and its relationship with the U.S.

To view videos from the previous sessions go to sbiwa.org.

—Bethany Vaccaro ’06

“The public library is not a passive institution,” says Carolyn Anthony, “but an active agent in the community.” Since her time at URI, Anthony has demonstrated this clearly. She is currently director of Skokie Public Library in Skokie, Ill., serving a suburban community of 64,784 people with a library collection of 568,685 books, periodicals, and media materials.

Under her leadership, Skokie Public Library was one of five libraries in the nation awarded a National Medal of Honor by the Institute of Museum and Library Services in 2008. Anthony has seen Skokie’s circulation increase by 1.5 million in the last 25 years. She has also shepherded special projects to fruition, such as the creation of a Digital Media Lab in 2009 providing high-end computers, musical equipment, and recording apparatus to Skokie’s patrons.

“I see the public library as the crossroads of lifelong learning in the community,” she says, “and librarians as essential partners in community development. Public libraries can bring resources to bear on local concerns such as economic development and immigrant integration and host civic discussion forums for informed and reasoned consideration of issues.”

In Skokie, these issues often revolve around the diversity of the population. When the USA PATRIOT Act was hotly debated, Anthony spoke out about its implications and worked to revise it.

“Skokie has more than 2,000 people from Iraq and at least 1,000 from Iran and other countries who might be subjected to investigation,” she explains. “The privacy of library records is an important professional value.” Her efforts earned her a nod from Time magazine in 2003; the same year she was declared Librarian of the Year by the Illinois Library Association.

“A librarian is an educated, aware, and engaged individual who networks with people and employs resources to help define and resolve issues in the local or wider community,” says Anthony, whose activism and professional commitment continue to make her a leader in public librarianship.

—Bethany Vaccaro ’06

When Laurie Van Wyckhouse launched NutriTutor®, no one was more surprised than she. “Truly, I’ve never been interested in business—it’s not who I am; I’m a clinician. When the idea hit me, I literally jumped out of bed and wrote for 15 minutes nonstop.”

A dietitian who has taught diabetes self-management for 35 years, Van Wyckhouse knows the frustrations faced by diabetics: “In the traditional setting, there are a lot of barriers that prevent patients from learning what they need to know,” she says. Lecture style classes, inconvenient hours, and information overload conspire against real change: “I’ve watched patients zone out. They have to learn how to lose weight, control their blood pressure, and monitor their glucose—it’s overwhelming.”

And that’s for folks who can get to a class. Convenience matters; so does depth. The NutriTutor® diabetes course lasts six months so people can learn at their own pace; hospital-based classes last 10 hours.

“NutriTutor® offers an online interactive program—customized for each patient—that emphasizes the development of technical and problem-solving skills,” explains Van Wyckhouse. “After members gain knowledge, they practice what they’ve learned. When they get stuck, they ask their clinician for help.”

According to the American Diabetes Association, 25.8 million Americans have diabetes. The American Association of Diabetes Educators estimates that as few as 1 percent learn how to handle their condition. “NutriTutor®’ makes it easy for companies, government agencies, and physicians to offer diabetes training from their own Web sites,” says Van Wyckhouse. “We’re bringing medical education into the 21st century—cutting costs and improving quality.”

NutriTutor® content was developed by clinicians and follows the guidelines of the American Association of Diabetes Educators. It also meets the requirements for a “patient-centered medical home” for chronic disease. Eventually, NutriTutor® will be a resource for all chronic diseases, including heart disease, congestive heart failure, obesity, gestational diabetes, and hypertension.

To learn more, go to nutritutor.com.

— Martha Murphy ’81

In the landlocked country of Rwanda, which is still rebounding from the 1994 genocide that claimed nearly one million lives, geology graduate Bob DiFilippo is making a profound difference for villagers in the Rugerero district.

As a member of Engineers Without Borders, Mid-Atlantic Professional Chapter (EWB-MAP), DiFilippo, a registered professional geologist, designed and constructed a new sanitation system for families left homeless by the genocide: “I was looking to get involved with a project that could benefit from my expertise when I attended EWB’s International Conference and met members of the Mid-Atlantic Professional chapter.”

It was a new group with less than 10 members. By combining forces with other Philadelphia organizations, including Jefferson Medical College and Barefoot Artists, EWB-MAP significantly improved the lives of families living in the Survivors’ Village: “In assessing the village’s sanitation system, we discovered open septic systems. We built ventilated improved pit latrines that eliminate a significant source of contamination enhanced through disease-carrying insects.”

EWB then established a health committee consisting of locals who could perform ongoing maintenance to the new system. In November, DiFilippo and his teammates will return for a four-day maintenance and strategy session: “Our goal is not simply to use our technical skills; EWB aims to help people help themselves.”

DiFilippo’s humanitarian efforts extend beyond EWB. He is also involved with the South Florida Haiti Project, a coalition of Episcopal parishes constructing houses and schools in Bondeau. As technical liaison to the community, DiFillippo is assessing well fields, important water sources for this small village.

“I have been fortunate to have the support of my family, friends, and staff at Aquaterra Technologies, Inc. My advice to anyone thinking of helping out is not to hesitate. You don’t have to travel half way around the world; there are opportunities in most urban centers throughout the USA as well as in Mexico. The work will leave a lasting impression; it truly transforms lives and changes you as a person.”

—Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ’92

As a child, Ana Maria Hagan lost a family friend to a dispute over fresh water in a refugee camp for Somalis in Kenya. For Hagan, this early experience drove home the importance of access to clean water.

Next year, as a Fulbright Fellow, Hagan will embark on a 10-month research project in Mongolia. She will be testing mercury contamination in water resulting from artisanal gold mining, where gold is extracted from solutions of 2-3 parts mercury to one part gold (8K gold), with the mercury unsafely discarded.

When Hagan came to URI in 2000, she settled on a civil and environmental engineering major. As a sophomore, she gained experience in international research through the International Engineering Program. “I did a small-scale water distribution study in Mexico thanks to a grant through the Office of the Provost,” she remembers. “It was such a boost of confidence; I got a taste of what it really takes to do international research. I graduated with the concept that if I continued following my dreams, I could contribute to the field and improve the quality of people’s lives.”

As the global price of gold reaches record highs, illegal artisanal gold mining is also increasing in Mongolia. Recent studies suggest serious health risks in mining communities with high blood-mercury levels. Hagan will research mercury exposure through water and treatment optimization for Mongolia’s cold climate. The findings will be used for completing her Ph.D. in environmental engineering science at the University of Florida.

In June, Hagan took an exploratory trip to Mongolia. She described finding a severely contaminated water source as bittersweet: “It’s great for my research, but horrible for people living nearby.

“I identified the problem through literature while I was half way across the world, but getting there and seeing it made it real. And the site I found is just one of hundreds.”

Hagan returns to Ulaanbaatar in February 2012. To follow her adventures, see her blog: http://8k-water.blogspot.com/.

—Bethany Vaccaro ’06

Journalism major Erika Sloan realized the value of her URI internships when she landed a job before she had even graduated.

As an undergraduate, Sloan interned for two semesters at NBC 10 WJAR-TV, worked in URI’s Department of Communications and Marketing, and spent another summer interning at News Talk 630 WPRO & 99.7 FM.

During her internship at NBC 10 last year, Sloan rode in a chase plane alongside an aerobatic aircraft at the 20th Rhode Island National Guard Open House Air Show at Quonset Point.

The former president and co-captain of the URI women’s gymnastics team, Sloan began her job search early because she knew she was entering a challenging economy. An online posting for a public relations/Web content coordinator at the corporate office of Fellowship Health Resources, Inc., in Lincoln, R.I. caught her eye.

“At my first interview, I was told their ideal candidate would have five to ten years of public relations experience,” said Sloan, who graduated with highest honors. The agency’s communications team was so impressed with her internships that after two interviews, the job was hers.

Her role at the mental health and substance abuse agency, which has more than 60 programs in nine regions, continues to evolve. She communicates with all regions, writes stories for the Web site, sends press releases, pitches stories, and oversees the agency’s Facebook page.

Sloan, who planned on a career in broadcast journalism, thought that the health industry would be interesting: “It’s the perfect first job; everyone is willing to help. I’m learning so much, and I’m using many skills that I developed during my time at URI.

“I share stories of recovery and promote our services across the East Coast. While publicizing our programs, support groups, and clinics, we educate the public about many common mental health illnesses. There’s a stigma about mental health; I want to help break this misconception. FHR empowers people to rebuild their lives and restores hope.”

—Danielle Sanda ‘14

When Patricia Coutts graduated on May 22 with degrees in chemical engineering and German, she departed with research experience, memories of a year spent abroad, and best of all—an excellent job in her field.

Coutts, a native of Staatsburg, N.Y., enrolled in the URI International Engineering Program, which meant she would spend a year studying in Germany and interning at a global company.

“I had never been abroad before, so I was nervous to be in a foreign country where they don’t speak English,” said Coutts, who played rugby and varsity field hockey at URI. “I was skeptical about how well I would do speaking German, but you learn small phrases really fast and you learn to think quickly.”

Her internship was spent outside Munich at Osram Opto Semiconductors. Her job was to help formulate and test a new chemical coating on the company’s products so they aren’t damaged by lasers used in the production process.

“It was great to get out of the U.S. and learn in a foreign environment,” she said. “As a native English speaker, I was somewhat of a novelty there, so I was asked to edit scientific papers and emails that had to be in English.”

Coutts’ internship wasn’t her only experience conducting engineering research. As a sophomore she worked with Professor Stanley Barnett on a project to build a microbial fuel cell that uses bacteria and waste from the production of biodiesel to generate renewable energy.

Months ago Coutts was offered a job at Praxair, a Fortune 300 company that supplies gases to a wide variety of industries: “I went to Houston for the interview, and just a few weeks later they offered me the job. I’ll be going through their year-long training program based in Hatfield, Pa.

It’s the fast track for a good position.”

—Todd McLeish

Cynthia Limoges is like the mystical Phoenix that arose from its own ashes to begin a new life.

Born in Galveston Island, Texas, she was abandoned by her mother when was five; her father died when she was eight. Raised by her grandparents and other family members, she suffered physical, sexual, and verbal abuse.

In the ninth grade, she joined Air Force ROTC: “The instructors were my saving grace.” When she graduated high school, she left home with only the clothes she was wearing and a small backpack.

“The military has been my only family, my means of survival,” she says. “It’s been one hell of a journey—a life-learning experience. I have fallen, but by the grace of God, I’ve come back up.”

Limoges’ latest achievement is a B.A. in psychology. The 34-year-old honor student took the majority of her classes at URI’s Feinstein Providence Campus.

Her journey to this degree took 10 years, two deployments to Afghanistan with the Rhode Island Air National Guard, employment as a victim’s advocate, and the birth of sons Ethan, 8, and Benjamin, 2.

She enrolled at URI as a part-time student in 2007. When she came off active duty in 2008 (she is now in the Guard reserves), she worried about balancing life as a single mother with work, military commitments, and college studies.

In fact, she excelled. A highlight of her time at URI was an internship with former Dean of Students Fran Cohen to found PAVS (Providing and Assisting Veterans and Significant Others) to help veterans transition from the battlefield into the classroom.

Limoges is a full-time advocate with the Rhode Island Attorney General’s office ensuring that victims of violent crimes are informed of their rights and receive referrals to counseling. She also prepares them for trial or grand jury testimony.

Limoges plans to take a year off for family time before entering a graduate program in clinical psychology. Her husband, Army Sergeant Michael Limoges, will be deployed to Kuwait in September.

—Jan Wenzel ’87

Michael Tanke always dreamed of becoming a professional soccer player: “My parents got me involved when I was young; by the time I was 8, I was begging them to let me play on more and more teams. On Saturdays I would have games from early morning to late at night, all for different teams.

“A huge part of my coming to URI was for soccer—not just for the winning records and playing facilities but for the team and coaching staff. Coach John O’Connor had the attitude of a coach I knew I could play for.”

“When I was appointed head coach, I was going through the files of recruits and found a letter from Michael about his interest in URI,” said O’Connor. “I knew I had to have him in my first class of Rhody Rams.”

Tanke has lived up to O’Connor’s expectations and has grown into a powerful midfielder, starting in all 18 games of his senior year, all while maintaining a 3.4 grade point average and being named to the Dean’s List. Tanke acknowledges the difficulty of fitting in time to study during his intense traveling and demanding practice schedule.

A nutrition and dietetics major and international development minor, Tanke remarks: “I already had an interest in nutrition because I pay attention to what I eat due to soccer; I became interested in international development since becoming aware of the Grassroot Soccer organization as a teenager.”

As part of his minor, he traveled to South Africa with Cross Cultural Solutions, a volunteer program that helps address global issues and promotes education and childhood development for diverse populations.

During his final semester at URI, Tanke was signed with the Rochester Rhinos, a United Soccer League team based in Rochester, N.Y. He is modest about his success: “I was never the best player on the team; I owe my success to my teammates and coaches.”

—Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87

As Vanessa Venturini received her M.S. in environmental science and management, she looked forward to a career building awareness of the natural world.

“I got my first taste of environmental advocacy as a high school student through Save the Bay when I did a beach clean-up; it was one of the most fulfilling things I had ever done,” said Venturini.

Venturini has worked with the Narragansett Bay Estuary Program, helped with the restoration of the Pawtuxet River, organized beach clean-ups through Project Clean Sweep, and taught environmental lessons to elementary school students: “I’m passionate about working with people to protect the environment. I like the idea of empowering people.

“I learned through my coursework how people and development have had such a negative impact on biodiversity and the environment, and I believe that through education we can help alter perceptions and practices to be better for the planet.”

As part of her degree program, Venturini undertook a research project with the Rhode Island Natural History Survey and the URI Outreach Center to encourage the use of native plants in home landscaping and ecological restoration projects. She studied model programs from around the country, interviewed nursery owners and program coordinators, and designed a training program for nursery professionals that will be launched this year.

At the same time, Venturini has spent the last three years working at the URI Outreach Center coordinating youth programs, training volunteers, developing curricula, and teaching students about the environment. She will continue these activities after graduation and start a program for the new community garden at the Roger Williams Park Botanical Center that will encourage children to become gardeners while teaching them about biodiversity in urban spaces.

“I always thought I was an English and history type person, but I’m also fascinated by the science side of things,” Venturini said. “Eventually I’d like to branch out and maybe one day be the director of a nonprofit environmental group.”

—Todd McLeish

Matt Horn enrolled in URI’s Graduate School of Oceanography just three days after earning a bachelor’s degree from Cornell University. Three weeks later he went to sea for the first time to begin his research on how carbon dioxide (CO2) moves from the atmosphere into the ocean and back again.

“It enters the water under high wind speed conditions, but most oceanographers only like to go to sea when it’s calm,” he said. “So I had to go to sea in the worst conditions and try to convince the ship’s captain to drive into the middle of the perfect storm.”

On an expedition aboard a 300-foot British research ship north of Scotland in 2007, he experienced 120-knot winds and 50-foot seas and had to be rescued by the Coast Guard.

Half way through his degree, he changed his research focus to diatoms that live at the surface of the Southern Ocean near Antarctica, one of the only places in the world where CO2 both enters and exits the ocean. He grew diatoms—single celled marine plants—in a laboratory under conditions resembling the Antarctic and analyzed the relationship between stable isotopes in their cells to the isotopic relationship found in sediment core samples from 30,000 years ago.

“CO2 levels have bounced around between 180 parts per million and 280 parts per million from one glacial cycle to another,” Horn said. “Now we’re at 390. I was looking to learn how nutrient utilization changed in the Southern Ocean and what kind of variability that has on CO2 levels over Earth’s history and see what it means for today.”

Horn now works as a chemical oceanographer at Applied Science Associates, just a few miles down the road from the GSO. He looks forward to applying his diverse background and experience to the company’s projects tracking oil and chemicals in the ocean and addressing other coastal and environmental hazards.

—Todd McLeish

If something really scares Valerie Damon-Leduc, she runs toward it. Take public speaking, for example. As a sophomore, she took a leadership class: “We went around the class and everyone had to introduce themselves and say something about their lives. I was so nervous, I thought about dropping the class. Instead, I took public speaking classes whenever I could and spoke to groups whenever I got the opportunity.”

Damon-Leduc displayed her speaking skills on Sunday, May 22 when, as student commencement speaker, she addressed an audience of nearly 15,000 during undergraduate commencement ceremonies.

URI, she says, was her last choice of colleges, but the honor student received an offer that couldn’t be refused—a full, four-year Centennial Scholarship. “I believe it was meant to be,” says the vivacious graduate who majored in English and minored in communication studies and leadership.

Damon-Leduc was this year’s winner of the A. Robert Rainville Student Employee Leadership award. Working as an event management consultant in the Student Programming Office for three semesters, she consulted for nearly 100 events. In May she helped fraternities and sororities execute more than 20 events during Greek Week.

“I learned to apply my training to practical situations and take the theories I learned about working with groups into the real world. I have had to speak publicly on various occasions and teach students tips to make their organizations better. As an advisor, I have had to learn to trust my instincts and to know that I can make good judgment calls, not only for myself, but others.

“I have also been transformed from a shy, slightly insecure individual to someone who can confidently call or approach the people I need to talk to, or stand my ground when necessary,” Damon-Leduc wrote in her application for the competitive Rainville award.

She enjoys event planning so much, she plans to explore job opportunities in that field. Her goal is to attend graduate school and go into human resources.

—Jan Wenzel ’87

In August 2010, after 32 hours of traveling, Katie Strauss walked into the Red Cross War Memorial Children’s Hospital on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. A certified child life specialist, she was there to volunteer her skills for three months in the Pediatric Burn Unit. Child life specialists work alongside medical staff to create a positive environment for children and their families in the hospital. Through play and art, they help kids understand everything that is happening around them.

After completing the Human Development and Family Studies program at URI, Strauss was looking for a way to obtain additional experience before joining the work force. During her internship at a New Jersey hospital, she heard about the program in Cape Town and couldn’t stop thinking about it.

Working in South Africa was unlike anything she’d ever done: “For the first two weeks, it was intense. Everything I saw I had never seen before, and every experience was foreign to me.” The children coming into the Burn Unit displayed wounds caused by open cooking fires, falling pans of boiling water, or electrical shocks. Many of them came from impoverished neighborhoods. In one-room houses constructed largely of tin sheeting, accidents were common.

Every morning Strauss worked with children in the Burn Unit as they underwent dressing changes: “It’s an extremely painful process and very scary for the children.” Strauss used aids like books, medical play kits, and breathing techniques to help them get through it.

“Throughout my time in South Africa, I realized what truly matters in life,” Struass said. “Happiness has nothing to do with material items; it is the memories you treasure, the experiences you have, and the people you have them with.”

Throughout her stay in South Africa, Strauss documented her experiences through her life-long hobby of photography. Her work, as well as her blog, can be seen at katiestrauss.com.

—Bethany Vaccaro ’06

Armed with a new degree in geology and geological oceanography from URI, Heather Pacheco set out on a three-month road trip across the country to see America’s natural wonders. She discovered the Grand Canyon, the hot springs of Wyoming, and the majestic Rocky Mountains. She also discovered that Americans had “a general lack of appreciation and understanding of the natural resources around them.” She decided to do something about that by becoming a science teacher.

Pacheco earned her master’s in education from the University of Massachusetts in Boston and began teaching earth sciences at Framingham (Mass.) High School. She strongly believes that science needs to be taught well because “we want to have a critically thinking community of citizens with a solid background in scientific concepts who can make well-informed decisions.”

In 2009, Pacheco received an Albert Einstein Distinguished Education Fellowship to work with the National Science Foundation in Virginia evaluating school science and technology programs for effective engagement with the K–12 science education community.

When the fellowship ended, Pacheco joined researchers from the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute on a trans-Atlantic research expedition studying foraminifera fossils as a way to track climate change, an issue Pacheco believes is shaking Americans’ trust in the scientific community: “The American climate change ‘debate’ not only impacts the faith of Americans in the scientific community, but it also has negatively impacted the faith of Americans in their schools and teachers.”

Her goal is to bring new life to science education by focusing on quality interdisciplinary professional development for teachers. For Pacheco it is vital to have “a well educated and continually educated teacher workforce that sees students as whole people.” She wants science to empower teachers and students alike with the knowledge that “regardless of race, gender, socioeconomic status, or culture they can access information, form opinions, and have a voice in their own communities.”

Pacheco is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in science education at Arizona State University.

 —Robin Deal

When Capt. David Bill was a Boy Scout learning to tie knots, he never guessed that his new interest would someday take him to faraway places and lead to the creation of a unique pet toy company.

Bill, 51, a nautical science instructor at Tabor Academy in Marion, Mass., has combined his passion for knot tying with his love for animals to create Island Time Pet Toys, an exclusive line of all natural, nautical themed playthings made from cotton rope and twine.

“I’ve pretty much been a water rat since I was a kid,” says Bill, who grew up on Long Island Sound. “My mom tells me that I would crawl down to the water’s edge and eat sand as an infant.”

Bill credits URI’s Master of Marine Affairs program with giving him a solid foundation for lifetime learning and an interest in maritime writing: “The graduate Marine Affairs curriculum was second to none. I especially appreciate the mentorship that the faculty offered, in particular my faculty advisor Bruce Marti.”

After receiving his M.M.A., Bill founded Island Time Sailing School, named after the Caribbean notion of letting things flow a natural course. His sidekick at the time was a sea-going yellow Lab named Ceilidh who loved to play with pieces of line taken from boats that Bill sailed.

“I took a look at the pet toy market and quickly found that most of the pet toys available are made overseas, and none of them are made with any care or with natural, quality materials,” Bill explains. “I thought it would be cool to use traditional rope to create nautical style dog toys.”

With encouragement from his daughter Tayler, Bill launched Island Time Pet Toys in 1999. The pet-loving entrepreneur has created five different nautical themed toys for dogs and two for cats, all made by hand. “It’s a cottage business; I’m someone who always likes to be productive,” he says.

For more information, visit islandtimepets.com. To read Captain Bill’s sea stories, visit boatsandlife.com.

—Brian Lowney

In 2001, Marlon Mussington won the Harvey Robert Turner Award for Outstanding Service to the URI Black Community. Since then, he has continued to assist minorities with their educational endeavors.

After graduation, Mussington worked as an academic coach for the National Football Foundation’s Play It Smart Program that is “designed to place coaches with student-athletes to help improve grades, assist with the college application process, and teach life skills.”

Dedicated to these ideals of bettering students’ lives, Mussington, a communications and psychology major, earned a teaching certificate for physical education and joined the faculty of the Paul Cuffee Charter School. Mussington instructs students who live in Providence’s diverse neighborhoods: “One of the things that attracted me to Paul Cuffee was their focus on community. The school continues to work tirelessly in creating a community of compassion, respect, empathy, and understanding.”

This philosophy is reflected in the school’s Responsive Classroom, an instructional approach designed to foster respectful interaction: “It works well in my classes because it allows students to feel safe. It gives them a voice. Positive language is one of the keys to the success of my classes. Responsive Classroom is a part of that.”

Also contributing to Mussington’s success is his emphasis on developing “exciting activities that keep students engaged.” Mussington achieves this goal partly by teaching students Sport Stacking, a competition that involves quickly stacking specialized plastic cups in specific sequences. The sport requires laser-sharp focus and expert hand-eye coordination, both of which his students excelled at during the Connecticut State Sport Stacking Championships held in December. Three students set new Rhode Island state records for individual divisions.

Whether promoting the importance of community or the benefits of physical activity, Mussington is fulfilling his dream: “Working with teenagers through the National Football Foundation and working with children of all ages as director of Providence’s East Side YMCA contributed greatly to my decision to teach.”

—Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ’92

Dan Faggella is a busy man. After completing URI’s kinesiology program in 2009, he returned to finish a second degree in psychology this past year. Today, he juggles running his own martial arts academy, a motivational speaking career, a graduate program in positive psychology, and a book project focusing on technical development in combat sports.

During his time at URI, Faggella was involved in running the campus wrestling team (a club sport) and Brazilian jiu jitsu club. As part of a minor in business, Faggella completed an independent study project with Professor Alex Hazera, preparing a 30-page business proposal for his own gym. Less than a year later, Faggella opened up the Omoplata Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Academy in Wakefield, R.I. Today, running classes there for varying ages and skill levels remains his primary focus (see mma-ri.com).

The following year, Faggella launched into another independent study project with sports psychologist John Sullivan, former head of counseling at URI. This time, his focus was on best practices for teaching goal setting effectively, particularly for athletes. “I came to the conclusion that if the world knew how to choke people better because I lived, it wasn’t enough,” he remembers. So with characteristic gusto, he launched himself into the motivational speaking arena.

Before long, he was speaking to hundreds of Rhode Island high school students about time and focus management. He was also recently featured as a speaker at a URI resident assistant training/student athlete networking event. “Right now, my presentations hone in on goal setting and skill acquisitions—how to get good at things,” he says.

Faggella is currently building on his independent study at URI in a graduate program at the University of Pennsylvania, where he is working toward a master’s in applied positive psychology. He is also working on a book that explores technical developments in sports through research and interviews with top athletes. Segments of the text appear on Faggella’s Web site scienceofskill.com.

—Bethany Vaccaro ’06

Larry Voelker has participated in alpine ski racing since he was 15; at 82, he is still competitive: “In my freshman year I was Rhode Island State’s entire team, skiing under the sponsorship of Professor William Beck Sr. and competing against other New England colleges.” His best race then was a 9th place finish in the New England downhill championships.

A mechanical engineer with General Electric, Voelker joined the company’s Pittsfield, Mass., operation in 1959. He resumed skiing, serving as ski instructor at the Bousquet ski area on weekends for 17 years. He received his ski instructor certification via a week-long examination at Wildcat Mountain, N.H., and became head coach of the Berkshire Junior Ski Team based at Bousquet.

Since retiring from General Electric in 1988, Voelker has compiled many top results while racing in the master’s. Last year he won the Eastern Regional Championship, a four-day competition held at Okemo Mountain, Vt.

For the past 24 years, Voelker has been an active member of the U.S. Ski Association, the national organization that governs all master’s ski racing. There are eight divisions of master’s racing; Voelker participates in the New England division. In late March racing quotas from each division participate in a week-long competition for the national title, this year it’s at Copper Mountain, Colo. Voelker, who has participated 18 times, will ”sit this one out.”

All four of his children grew up on skis and attended high school at ski racing academies in Vermont and New Hampshire: “Three of our children had high ratings for their respective college teams, and Heidi, our youngest, was a three-time Olympian for the U.S. who competed internationally for 12 years. She is now ‘ambassador for skiing’ at Deer Valley ski area in Park City, Utah.”

Voelker restricts himself to selected master’s races. “I do race training twice a week at Bousquet with racing associates. Sometimes we retreat to Jiminy Peak in Hancock, Mass., for speed training. Then it’s off to the weekend races!”

—Vida-Wynne Griffin ’67, M.A. ’72

Jonathan “John” Shadeck ’06

Graffiti to Rock ’n’ Roll, Green Art to Tattoo Culture

When Fulbright scholar John Shadeck finishes his yearlong program in Hungary, he’ll leave his students with a better understanding of the English language and the American tattoo.

Shadeck, who holds a bachelor’s in art studio from URI, received his Fulbright award in April 2010 while finishing a master’s thesis in art education at the University of Arizona. He is presently an English teaching assistant living in Veszprem, western Hungary.

At the University of Pannonia, Shadeck teaches English improvement and a course of his own design called Alternative Contemporary American Art Practice, “a survey of underground and non-fine arts in the United States during the past 20 years. We discuss everything from graffiti to rock ’n’ roll, green art to tattoo culture.”

Shadeck volunteers at the American Corner, a program housed in the town library. He participates in English book and conversation clubs, while also assisting Hungarian students interested in studying in America complete the application process. And he teaches beginner English to a women’s group.

There are high school outreach engagements and weekly cultural programs. For Halloween, Shadeck gave a lecture on Arizona’s Dia De Lose Muertos celebrations.

Shadeck’s interest in studying abroad was piqued at URI: “I remember attending a study abroad fair and thinking how great it would be to travel around the world,” he recalls. “That’s when I was first inspired to travel. I ended up studying film the next year in Brisbane, Australia.”

Shadeck says he is considering staying in Eastern Europe after his program ends. “Perhaps I will move to Budapest and teach for another year in the capital city. I have a lot of Hungarian and American friends who live there, so it is close to my heart,” he says. “Teaching in Rhode Island is also an option, considering it’s my home and where my family and friends reside.”

—Marybeth Reilly-McGreen

Roommates

While she was a student at URI, Carol Liu took on the care of a disabled classmate, Marybeth Caldarone, in return for financial aid. The two became lifelong friends.

Caldarone, who uses a wheelchair, has a mysterious nerve disease that has left her in need of assistance in accomplishing simple tasks, like getting dressed or taking notes. While Liu’s ministrations certainly made her friend’s life at URI easier, Liu says she was the chief beneficiary in the relationship: “It was a completely life-changing opportunity. A number of huge events in my life connect to her.”

Caldarone’s example taught Liu to “put your head down, press forward, and make a difference. Marybeth brought out the potential in me.”

Liu says Caldarone inspired her to go to law school and to write her first book, Arlene on the Scene, a children’s chapter book whose lead character has Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT), the debilitating nerve condition that Caldarone and her nine-year-old daughter Grace both have. Caldarone only learned the name of her illness when her daughter received the identical diagnosis.

Proceeds from the book, which was released on Sept. 1, 2010, and is available on Amazon.com, are being donated to the Hereditary Neuropathy Foundation. According to Liu, more than 500 copies of the book have already been sold.

The story centers on title character Arlene and her campaign to be class secretary at her Rhode Island school. Liu also wrote a teacher’s guide to the book with the goal of raising awareness about CMT. The main goal of the book, say Liu and Calderone, is to educate people about CMT. There is as yet no cure for the 2.6 million people afflicted with CMT.

The book is also a tribute: “Hanging out with Marybeth has provided me with a teeny window into her world, and it certainly makes me feel that I want to do something—anything—to help,” Liu says. “Marybeth doesn’t ever let anything stop her.”

For more information, check ArleneOnTheScene.com

—Marybeth Reilly-McGreen

World-Class Rhody Rugger

Not quite five years ago, Brian Doyle was representing URI on the rugby field. These days, he’s representing the United States in that rough and tumble game. Doyle recently returned from Argentina, where he played for the U.S. “Select” squad—a team of elite players shooting for a spot on the national team—against teams representing Canada, Argentina, and Tonga.

Doyle, 26, played for the U.S. national team, the Eagles, on three occasions in 2008. He says pulling on the U.S. jersey never gets old: “You don’t know when you’ll get the chance again. I get pretty worked up when I hear the national anthem.”

Doyle, 6’ 7” and 250 pounds, plays “lock” in the heaving heart of the eight-man scrum. After leaving Kingston, the Rockland, N.Y., native emerged as a world-class rugby player both in the U.S. and overseas. He joined the New York Athletic Club in the U.S. “Super League,” and helped NYAC to national championships in 2008 and 2010. This past season, NYAC went undefeated before stunning San Francisco Golden Gate in front of a Bay Area crowd in a 28-25 nail-biter, with Doyle putting forth a “monstrous” game, in the words of Rugby magazine.

In 2009, Doyle spent a season in Sydney, Australia, playing professionally for Northern Suburbs and learning the nuances of the game in that rugby hotbed.

NYAC coach Mike Tolkin says Doyle, formerly URI’s rugby captain, has come a long way since first turning up as athletic but raw rugby talent. “Brian has emerged as one of the leaders of NYAC,” says Tolkin, “and one of the best rugby players in the country.”

Doyle, who is working in sales in Manhattan, hopes to add to his impressive rugby scrapbook by earning a spot in the U.S. Eagles squad when it treks to New Zealand for the 2011 World Cup. “Those are the moments you know you’ll live with,” he says, “for the rest of your life.”

—Michael Malone ’91

Keeping Fashion Local in NYC

Michelle Vale, who graduated with a degree in human development and family studies, became a handbag designer to satisfy her creative side. Vale is ahead of the curve when it comes to style, and Michelle Vale handbags embody that same fashion-forward idea.

In 2007, Lucky magazine recognized Vale’s handbag designs in a Best New Designer editorial. With a handbag featured in a fashion magazine and her name in the public eye, Vale launched her company, established a Web site, and got her sample handbags into production.

Shortly after the company was established, an economic recession hit. The company survived by expanding only when the business was ready. “We have focused on growing organically and trying to work in a socially responsible way,” says Vale. Today, Michelle Vale handbags are available through vendors nationwide and have been spotted on the arm of fashion icons like Sarah Jessica Parker.  

All Michelle Vale handbags are made in New York City. Whenever possible, the materials used in her designs are manufactured locally. Vale works with other designers and Save the Garment Center trade association, to keep production in the Garment Center of New York City, where retail businesses are slowly taking over what was formerly a manufacturing district.

“We are working hard to educate our customers on the importance of local manufacturing,” says Vale. “If we do not start to bring manufacturing back to the U.S., we are headed for much bigger issues. New York is the only city in the world where you can have a pattern created, cut, and sewn all within a few blocks.”

Out of 800 worldwide competitors, Vale was recently honored with the Independent Handbag Designer Award: “The most rewarding thing about being a designer is seeing people appreciate your designs. The road as a designer is far from easy, and this award validated all the hard work I have put forward.”

To learn more about Vale’s line of handbags and customized removable hardware (sold separately), go to michellevale.com

—Robin Deal

Leave Your Footprints Along the Way

Have you ever wished there was an instruction manual for communicating with your teenagers? Unfortunately, there are no manuals, but Carolyn Viens’ book, Leave Your Footprints Along the Way, is the next best thing.

Leave Your Footprints Along the Way is designed as a workbook to help mothers communicate all the things they want to share with their daughters. Viens was inspired to write the book while living in Singapore and traveling throughout Asia surrounding the events of 9/11: “I was worried that if anything happened to me, I wouldn’t be there to share my priorities, values, goals, and hopes with my children.”

Viens and her husband, Erik, are both URI graduates; she was a marketing management major and French minor. After a successful career with IBM that took her around the globe, she left the business world to raise her three children. In addition to focusing on her family life, Viens also spent time developing her passion for writing and photography.

She began writing her book as a general guide to parenting but decided to narrow in to the mother-daughter relationship. Viens, who is the mother of two sons and a daughter, explains that the book emphasizes the mother-daughter relationship because “the challenges facing girls through each phase of their lives are quite different than the challenges facing boys.”

Because of her experiences traveling abroad, Viens became acutely aware of the challenges facing women. Wanting to get involved, she partnered with the Girl Effect, an organization created by the Nike Foundation that focuses on helping girls in poverty around the world.

“Every day, in every interaction, you make an impact on someone else,” says Viens. “Make it a positive one.” Committed to leaving her own “footprints along the way” by helping women fight poverty around the world, Viens is donating the profits of her book to Girl Effect.

For more information about the book, the author, and the Girl Effect, go to carolynviens.com

—Robin Deal

A Sense of Rumor

“I opened the door with my key, stepped into Nina’s living room, closed the door, turned toward her bedroom and froze. My breath caught in my throat. I stared at her bloody body and began to hyperventilate.”

These chilling lines are an excerpt from Max D. Lechtman’s novel, A Sense of Rumor. Published in June 2010, the novel tells the story of a reporter forced to prove his innocence when he becomes the prime suspect in a murder.

Lechtman graduated from URI with a major in biology and a minor in English. He became particularly interested in microorganisms in his senior year so went on to earn his M.S. in Bacteriology at the University of Massachusetts. His studies led him to Los Angeles to a Ph.D. in Bacteriology from the University of Southern California followed by Army, Airforce, and NASA work with aerospace industries concerning biological warfare and America’s concerns about the “race to the moon.”

Lechtman followed his time in aerospace by working in disease management at a hospital in Long Beach, Calif., and later co-founding a company specializing in microbiology lab supplies. When business circumstances changed, Lechtman taught microbiology at Golden West Community College in Huntington Beach, Calif.

After 25 years, Lechtman retired from teaching and became a student again taking classes in sculpting and mystery writing. “I started thinking about writing a novel as a child, since I enjoyed reading,” Lechtman explains. Influenced by his favorite genre, mystery, he knew he would write a novel based on his scientific background: “Microbiology gave me the flexibility to get a variety of jobs that enabled me to contribute a wide base of knowledge to my teaching and my writing.”

A bio-terrorism plot touched upon in the first novel will be further developed in Lechtman’s second novel, which is already underway.  For information and to contact Lechtman, go to outskirtspress.com/asenseofrumor.

 —Robin Deal

When Elise Fitzgerald was a freshman at URI, she went to a club meeting every night: “I just wanted to see what I liked,” she said.

Today Fitzgerald, who has been a campus tour guide, intern in the Department of Communications and Marketing, Homecoming queen, and mentor for a 10-week course that helps freshmen succeed at URI, has jumped into the next stage of her life.

On June 7 the leadership studies minor began a paid internship in New York with Burston and Marsteller, a leading public relations and communications firm with operations in 92 countries.

Her numerous experiences at URI prepared her well. Fitzgerald completed two successful public relations internships with FM Global, a global leader in commercial and industrial insurance, a field marketing internship with Contiki Vacations that sent her on an all-expense paid trip to Europe, and a sales internship with Collette Vacation.

“The leadership experience I gained at URI helped me get this internship,” Fitzgerald said. “The program taught me to know my strengths, my weaknesses, and where I can grow. The leadership program allowed me to work with people with different opinions who came from diverse cultures and backgrounds. I wouldn’t be half the person I am today without meeting the people in the leadership programs.”

Fitzgerald was a peer mentor for a three credit first-year leadership course called FLITE. She participated in the First Year Student Leadership Institute as a freshman and served as a ropes course facilitator, small group leader, and coordinator.

Fitzgerald also helped build WOWW (We’re Offering Women Wisdom), a mentoring program for freshmen women, and served as recruitment chair and vice president. She also performed in The Vagina Monologues and participated in Leadership Rhode Island, Relay for Life, Annual WOWW Domestic Violence Fundraiser, and Alzheimer’s Memory Walk.

Even with multiple activities, Fitzgerald’s academic performance remained excellent, and she graduated in May with a 3.67 grade point average.

—Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ‘87

Matt Burak enrolled at URI because of its unique program that merges chemical engineering with biology: “I’ve always been interested in chemistry and biology, partly because my grandparents came down with multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s, and I wanted to help find a cure. And my grandfather and father are both engineers, so I wanted to keep that tradition alive, too.”

But it wasn’t just academics that lured him to URI. He was also recruited to compete on the swim team. Although the University dropped varsity swimming mid-way through Burak’s career, he worked to ensure that the team remained active as a club sport. It was for those efforts that he was rewarded with the University’s Rainville Student Leadership Award.

Burak led the URI swim team to set five national records for club teams—the 200 and 400 meter freestyle relays, the 200 meter medley relay, the 100 meter individual freestyle, and the 50 meter individual freestyle. During his sophomore year he was recognized as the smartest male athlete at URI for having earned the highest grade point average among all male athletes.

“Swimming helped me prioritize my time,” he said. “Without it, I’d probably have gone crazy. It’s important that I had both swimming and studying in my life.”

Burak also worked on a microbial fuel cell research project designed to use microorganisms to break down pharmaceutical waste products: “In the last couple of decades, there has been an increasing amount of pharmaceuticals turning up in ponds and reservoirs—especially heart disease drugs—and we don’t want them getting into our drinking water. We proposed using a fuel cell in a reservoir that will help remove these harmful drugs from the water supply.”

Burak’s next step is to enroll in a doctoral program at the University of Kentucky where he will study drug delivery systems for cancer therapy, with the goal of conducting his own research and teaching at the college level.

—Todd Mcleish

Brandon Brown’s former high school gained national attention last spring when the district’s superintendent fired the entire teaching staff because of poor student performance.

A double-major in sociology and political science with a minor in African-American studies, Brown has applied for multiple positions in this school district; his goal is to work in the community to help turn Central Falls around.

Brown was the first URI student to serve consecutive terms on the Rhode Island Board of Governors for Higher Education, and he spent the spring of 2009 as a program coordinator for the Young Voices Central Falls/Scope program. He was also a camp counselor and activities coordinator for the URI Transportation Center and has been a mentor with Rhode Island Children’s Crusades.

“The University has been an opportunity for me, as well as for my peers, to absorb information and find our own place in the world we are in, based not only on the history we come from, but also the future we are mutually working to create,” Brown said.

While at URI, Brown worked with several campus leaders and was especially close to President Robert L. Carothers and Gerald Williams, director of URI’s Talent Development program. He also worked with the Rev. Bernard Lafayette Jr., former director of the Center for Nonviolence and Peace Studies.

While he sees obstacles around him, Brown maintains hope for a better tomorrow: “I subscribe to a philosophy that places a heavy emphasis on positivity. Positivity is transformative. It flows from one person to another, and we have an opportunity and the full capacity to generate positivity within ourselves and share that with others around us.”

It is that outlook that makes Brown believe he can have an impact in Central Falls: “I believe that the American Dream is most prominent in places like Central Falls. Spend some time in Central Falls walking with me, and I’ll point out people who are striving for and achieving the American dream.”

—Shane Donaldson ’99

Tyrene Jones has a passion for helping people find the tools they need to improve their own situations. That’s why the Pawtucket native dedicated much of her senior year to strengthening URI’s Alumni of Color Network.

Working closely with Assistant Director of Alumni Relations Michelle Fontes-Barros and now senior Marquis Jones, Tyrene Jones developed a week-long series of events in April dedicated to helping students connect with alumni.

A speed networking night introduced students to staff from Career Services and alumni from the professional world, a scavenger hunt helped students find campus resources to help them think about post-graduate opportunities, and a panel discussion and dinner with graduate students and alumni provided advice and networking opportunities.

“It was a great feeling to see the events grow from an idea into action,” said Jones, a double major in political science and English with a minor in leadership studies.

Jones’ efforts with the Alumni of Color Network have helped the University develop a mentorship program that will pair students one-on-one with faculty, staff, and alumni in the professions. “The idea of empowering each student with a network of support is a real driving force for me,” Jones said.

This is what Jones did with the student organization Uhuru SaSa, which is dedicated to maintaining cultural, social, and educational enrichment of all people at URI. The group held many events, including a December ball for the African American and Pan-African holiday Kwanzaa.

“Our goal was to cultivate a social knowledge on campus in a variety of ways,” Jones said. “Whether it was an academic or social setting, we wanted to expose everyone to culture and help educate people about the history and meaning of Kwanzaa.”

Jones is now working at College Visions, which provides low-income youths in Rhode Island with the individualized advising and resources they need to enroll in college.

—Shane Donaldson ’99

Teresa Mahony, mother of 12, grandmother of 34, could be a poster child for continuing education. When she received a bachelor’s degree in history, she became the oldest undergraduate to earn a degree this year from URI. Mahony turned 80 in June.

“I was on a 10 year plan. You have to have goals. Give yourself a practical window and make a plan,” says Mahony.

When she was 43 and her youngest child was 3, Mahony earned an associate’s degree from the Community College of Rhode Island and became a registered nurse. She worked part-time for 35 years at Kent County Hospital. URI converted those experiences into credits, which shortened the number of courses she had to take.

A decade ago, she attended an Open House at URI’s Alan Shawn Feinstein College of Continuing Education in Providence. “I’m ready,” she said and signed up to take one class a semester.

She studied at the Warwick Public Library, away from interruptions: “You have to have silence. Silence is rejuvenating. That’s where you can get your inner strength. I studied for my nursing degree in the cellar. Set my alarm clock for 5 o’clock in the morning. It was just me, the washing machine, and the dryer. I got the kids up at 6.”

Of her URI graduation, Mahony says: “I have the good fortune of good health and tremendous support from my husband, Owen, and children.”

She wasn’t the first Mahony to graduate from URI. Sons Tim, Mike, and Tom earned degrees from URI in 1979, 1989, and 1994.

And she has another connection to URI. Her niece, Lisa Harlow, is a professor of psychology. “ I have never known anyone to match the sparkling spirit of my Aunt Teresa,” says Harlow. “Her zest for life and learning is endless and contagious.”

So what’s Mahony’s next plan? “I’m giving myself 10 years to learn how to play the piano. The children all took lessons, but I never did.”

—Jan Wenzel ’87

Jeffrey Stanley has something many new college graduates don’t have—a good job in his field.

When Stanley received his bachelor’s degree in supply chain management from the College of Business Administration, he had already been on the job for several weeks at TracRac. The Fall River, Mass., firm manufactures rack systems for pickup trucks that hold ladders and heavy tools.

Stanley said the supply chain program at URI, through rigorous coursework and work with local and national companies, prepared him well for his new job: “The professors are great, especially Doug Hales and Jim Kroes. They brought in recent grads to do presentations on supply chain management and conduct interviews with us. Those experiences helped us get a real feel for the career.”

Hales and Kroes also involved students like Stanley in the CONNECT (Coalition of New England Companies for Trade) Conference in Newport: “We worked the conference as volunteers, which gave us the chance to go to seminars and network with the companies there.”

Last September, Stanley held an internship at VIBCO Vibrators of Wyoming, R.I., makers of high-quality industrial vibrators for a wide range of industries, including construction and agriculture: “These are large products that go in dump trucks, cement mixers, and industrial hoppers that help shake out or mix the material,” said Stanley. “They treated me as a member of the team. I did projects to help on the floor, worked to decrease inventory, and worked directly with the manufacturing employees.”

Probably most beneficial was his work with Paul Cary, a leader in the lean manufacturing movement, whose main job at VIBCO is eliminating waste and enhancing productivity. Stanley also appeared on the AM 790 talk show, The Lean Nation, which is hosted by VIBCO President Karl Wadensten ’82.

“The experience at VIBCO led me to my current job at TracRac,” Stanley said. “TracRac is a great place where I can apply all my lessons from VIBCO.”

—Dave Lavallee ’79, M.P.A. ’87

Rhode Island is blessed with a huge coastline, but that blessing can come with a host of problems when it comes to people living on the waterfront. Kate Venturini ’06, a graduate of the Landscape Architecture Department currently working towards her Master’s degree in Marine Affairs, is trying to address these issues.

Venturini’s main interest is landscape restoration, which covers a lot of territory including how people deal with invasive plants, use native vegetation, manage storm water, protect water quality, and still have an aesthetically pleasing water view.

The challenge is not easy, especially when it comes to places like Greenwich Bay in Warwick that is composed of small residential lots. The rules of the Rhode Island Coastal Resources Management Council, which has jurisdiction over the state’s coastline, simply don’t work well for small lot areas. For example, Venturini cites a regulation that states a half-acre lot has to have a 50-foot buffer, but in Greenwich Bay that buffer boundary “could end up in someone’s living room.”

So Venturini is busy writing a Native Plant Design Manual that will make more sense for areas like Greenwich Bay. The manual’s guidelines are less extensive but there are still requirements for handling storm water and using appropriate native plants.

In addition, she spends much of her week as an outreach agent for the College of the Environment and Life Sciences educating landscapers, developers, URI Master Gardeners, non-profit groups, and the general public.

When it comes to landscape restoration, Venturini says she is not only interested in aesthetics, habitat, storm water management, and resource protection but also in meeting the expectations of the home owner, the designer, and coastal officials. It’s a tall order considering the emotions that can arise when state regulations are applied to private property.

When her workday is done, Venturini relaxes by writing songs and performing with her Providence band, Royal Jelly.

—Rudi Hempe ’62

Gil Barden’s grandparents, John and Hazel, founded Barden Family Orchards in North Scituate in 1931. Despite John’s brilliant freshman year at URI (he won an award for his essay on “Chemistry in Agriculture”) the family was unable to fund his education. John couldn’t graduate and always had a full time job in addition to running the farm.

Gil helped his grandparents on the farm from the age of 12 but didn’t get the farming bug himself until his early twenties.

After graduating, Gil (forestry and wildlife management) and Sandie (wildlife biology) both held jobs at DEM until seven years ago when they tried selling their now famous peaches at a farmers’ market in Central Falls.

Sold out before lunchtime, they realized that selling directly to the public could generate sufficient income to make the farm their livelihood. They eventually quit their jobs and are now growing the business together—a symbiosis of skills that works well for them, “She’s the idea person and I’m the doer,” says Gil.

Gil is passionate about their farm and growing new crops: “I love everything about growing food: it defines me.” They have recently diversified their crops, adding berries and vegetables and building a farm store (and a new home after their farmhouse burned down). And they enjoy a loyal customer base at Rhode Island’s many farmers’ markets.

Gil and Sandie share a strong interest in developing sustainable farm practices to produce their crops in the safest and most environmentally conscious way. At the moment, all their fruit is grown with the lowest spray possible, and they are currently preparing soil for new organic orchards in response to customer requests.

The Bardens plant with care and take a long-term view of our food future. “I love it when people tell me they love our produce. I’m done for the day then,“ Gil says.

For more information about the Bardens’ produce and seasonal harvesting times, please go to bardenfamilyorchard.com/

—Bevan Linsley

A poll of South County farmers results in wide grins and a flurry of anecdotes about the way Ken Ayars has supported the growth of sustainable agriculture since becoming chief of the state’s Division of Agriculture (part of the Department of Environmental Management) 12 years ago.

Noted for his ability to bring diverse interests “to the table,” Ayars is credited with stewarding many new business-to-farm partnerships, such as Rhody Fresh Milk and Rhody Warm Blankets, in addition to supporting the recent explosion of local farmers’ markets.

After graduating from URI with a dual Bachelor’s in Zoology and Agriculture followed by a Master’s in Agriculture, Ayars joined the division in 1987, working his way through its branches and learning how to help farmers increase production while also protecting the environment. “If you look at the ills of society,” he says, “you can see that agriculture, more than any other industry, has the potential to play a role in achieving health.”

Ayars has worked tirelessly to promote awareness of food sources and to develop an infrastructure that allows the public to be involved in local agriculture: “If the business climate supports agriculture, then viability is possible,” he says.

After decades of decline, the number of Rhode Island farms has increased dramatically to more than 1,219, and agriculture has grown from a $38 million industry in 1980 to more than $65 million today.

“There’s an increased focus on local agriculture due to concerns about where food comes from,” says Ayars. “People are worried about the safety and purity of their food, the environmental cost of factory farms, and the contribution of long-distance transport to global warming.”

Ayars hopes to foster a collaboration of partners looking to the future in terms of a regional food supply and energy sources. He says that URI, the RIDEM’s Department of Agriculture, local businesses, and not-for-profits must all offer leadership in “preserving our ability to produce food locally, an important goal for Rhode Island.”

—Bevan Linsley

A Model Garden

When President Barack Obama and other world leaders gathered in Pittsburgh for the G-20 Summit last September, they enjoyed dinner at the Phipps Conservatory and Botanical Gardens, a 113-year-old institution that has reinvented itself under the leadership of executive director Richard Piacentini ’77.

More than 300 organizations bid on hosting G-20 events, and Phipps won three of them, including the lavish dinner served on tables made from locally reclaimed trees.

Phipps itself seems a metaphor for Pittsburgh’s recovery from post-industrial near-ruin. “The president chose Pittsburgh as the G-20 site because he saw it as a rejuvenated city,” Piacentini said. “Pittsburgh has done much better than most of the country during the recession. It’s a city that has reinvented itself.”

Since Piacentini took over in 1994, Phipps has become a model of environmental leadership and efficiency in everything from its new visitors center to educational programs and greenhouses. Piacentini has led a $36.6 million expansion marked by environmentally sensitive designs such as the first

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified building in a public garden in the country.

A pharmacy major at URI, Piacentini, who later earned an M.B.A. and a botany degree on his way to a career change, has traveled the world to impart advice on energy efficient development. He is currently working with URI’s College of Pharmacy in designing a medicinal plant conservatory as part of the college’s new campus facility.

“The impetus for LEED came to us from architect Bill McDonough,” Piacentini explains. “We were preparing for our expansion in the ’90s, and he started talking to us about green buildings. It made a lot of sense; we thought we should reflect our values. Now we are recognized internationally for exactly that.”

The expansion isn’t complete yet. Piacentini is putting the finishing touches on fundraising for Phipps’ Center for Sustainable Landscapes, a multi-million dollar project designed as a “living” building with net zero energy consumption.

—John Pantalone ’71

The road to Watson Farm in Jamestown, R.I., runs up a wooded drive, past the farmhouse, through the farmyard with its resident sheepdogs, geese, and chickens and over the hill to open pastures that sweep down to Narragansett Bay. This land has been farmed for 400 years, the last 30 of them by Heather and Don Minto.

The Mintos met at URI where Don studied plant and soil science and Heather studied historic textiles and museum education. By the late 1970s, they had decided to farm and were reluctantly ready to move to North Carolina for affordable land when they heard that Historic New England was searching for a farmer to work Watson Farm, recently bequeathed to the organization with the stipulation that the 265 acres be farmed in perpetuity.

The deadline for applications was close, the Mintos had a new baby with another on the way, no money, and no plan, but inspired by their first walk across the “green paradise,” they worked up a proposal, wowed the interviewers, and were offered the position at their first meeting.

While the 18th century farmhouse was being made habitable the Minto family lived in a tent, “a very nice tent” Don remembers, with a floor covered with sheepskins for the two babies. The young parents worked outside to bring the farm back to life.

These days Watson Farm is a beautiful working landscape open for trail walks and farm festivals. The Mintos, who pasture-raise Red Devon cattle and Romney cross sheep, articulate the benefits of grass fed meats while selling their beef and lamb at local farmers markets as well as directly from the farm.

The Mintos are champions of local sustainable agriculture intent on “raising awareness of the importance of rebuilding the decaying fabric of agriculture and soil sustainability.” Don emphasizes that sustainability must make economic sense for the farmer by “shortening the distance between the farm gate and the dinner plate” to make family farms viable once again.

For more information, see historicnewengland.org/visit/homes/watson.htm.

—Bevan Linsley

Victor Bell travels the world one week a month advising corporations on how not to offend the environment. From a small house in Jamestown, R.I., his company, Environmental Packaging International, helps the likes of WalMart, Nike, and Coca Cola find their way through a maze of international regulations on the packaging and disposal of consumer goods.

Bell studied resource economics at URI and directed Rhode Island’s statewide recycling program in the 1980s. He says the United States trails way behind Europe, Canada, Japan, and China in how it pays for the disposal of packaging and electronic products. Simply put, the onus here is on communities and states while in Europe manufacturers pay disposal fees and must comply with sustainable packaging regulations. Thus, Microsoft and McDonald’s—clients of Bell’s 11-year-old company—have to know the ins and outs of sustainability or suffer a costly penalty.

Seven of Bell’s 18 employees are URI graduates and all of his staff members are multilingual by necessity. “It’s a lot easier to do what we do if you speak the other country’s language,” Bell says. “We track global requirements for companies and deal with officials and executives all over the world.”

EPI has written software programs, sustainability guidelines, and guidelines to prevent “greenwashing,” a subtle form of lying in which manufacturers claim their packaging is sustainable when it isn’t. Bell and others at EPI work closely with companies on the WalMart Scorecard, a set of sustainable packaging standards that WalMart requires its vendors to meet. Bell says WalMart has been a leader in the U.S. effort to catch up with the rest of the developed world.

EPI’s business has grown to the point where it needs new quarters, which Bell is erecting now at the rear of the current offices. This building will reflect the company’s environmental values as it incorporates geothermal, solar, and wind energy in an effort to reach a near-net-zero energy profile.

—John Pantalone ’72

Señor Ramey

What won’t Rhode Island’s 2010 Teacher of the Year Dana E. Ramey do for love of teaching?

Hard to say. Señor Ramey, as his students know him, has taught Spanish at Middletown High School for the past 13 years. He is guided by the philosophy that to learn a language one must immerse oneself in the culture that generated it. To that end, Ramey has developed a curriculum that includes cooking, dancing, history, and participation in a “World Language Fair,” to spur students’ love of foreign languages.

“The key is getting kids to want what we want for them,” Ramey said. “It’s so important for people to understand the value and importance of studying world language. It’s such a global community nowadays.”

Ramey’s diverse interests may be the key to his success. After college, he spent two years at Nature’s Classroom in New Hampshire, where he alternately taught and directed environmental programs for middle-school-aged children. While there he developed a love of storytelling and singing, which led him to a career change: folk rock musician. He and his band played a number of venues, including the Living Room and Lupo’s, both Providence clubs.

“We made a living at it,” Ramey said, “but then it was time to go back to our other careers.”

Ramey returned to teaching in the 1980s. In 2003, he taught in Mexico for a year through the Fulbright Teacher Exchange program. He also holds the distinction of being the first Rhode Island teacher to receive National Board Certification in World Languages.

Ever the educator, Ramey intends to leverage this latest honor to bring attention to his discipline. “I’m in love with what I teach, and I absolutely love sharing it with others,” he said. “Language study helps to break down barriers and opens people’s hearts and minds to other things. Education is the answer.”

—Marybeth Reilly-McGreen

Robert Hanson and Kristin Marge after their Narragansett wedding last summer; left to right Jack Hanson ’11, Robert Hanson ’06, Kristin Marge ’08, Taylor Marge ’11, Andy Hanson ’09.

On the Job with Homeland Security

The thwarted Christmas Day airplane attack in Detroit reconstituted the debate over U.S. homeland security. Robert Hanson ’06 is caught up in the issue as a strategic risk management specialist in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.

Hanson began work at DHS last September as a presidential management fellow after completing graduate studies at Georgetown University. He had earlier worked as a staff member in the office of Rhode Island Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse, a job he obtained through astute political networking.

As a precocious freshman, Hanson had interned in Rep. James Langevin’s office, and an aide he worked with there hired him for Whitehouse’s 2006 senate campaign, which eventually led to Hanson’s job as a legislative correspondent for Whitehouse.

Hanson’s parents and two uncles are URI alumni, and one of his brothers is a graduate while the other is a current student. He is also the new husband of Kristin Marge ’08, a pharmacist at Fairfax (Va.) Hospital whose own brother attends URI.

Hanson was editor-in-chief of the campus newspaper in his senior year and won a Presidential Medal in Political Science and a Boren National Security Education Scholarship to study in Russia in 2004.

His experience landed him at DHS where he is fulfilling his desire “to work in policy and to work on the issues.” DHS defines risk management as reducing security risks to an acceptable level at an acceptable cost, and Hanson collaborates on developing and applying risk models that help guide national security policy and funding.

It is a contentious process of reassuring the public without raising expectations beyond practical spending levels. “Our job,” Hanson said, “is to develop statistical models and apply the models to governance.”

He credits his undergraduate preparation, including his days at The Good 5 ¢ Cigar, with preparing him for such serious work. “I’ve applied skills I learned in classes and at The Cigar to everything I’ve done professionally,” he says.

—John Pantalone ’71

“I applied on a whim,” says Sara Green in describing her journey from elementary education and communications major to Peace Corps volunteer in Lesotho, an independent African nation surrounded by South Africa.

Her plans to start a teaching career as a substitute were derailed when she attended a job fair during her sophomore year. “My friend didn’t want to go alone, so I went along. We spoke to the Peace Corps representative; at the time my friend was more interested than I was.”

Though Green considered the Peace Corps’ mission admirable, she gave little thought to the organization until she returned to the job fair the following year. “The same woman was at the Peace Corps booth. She recognized me and asked if I had made a decision yet.”

Green then started to consider seriously the possibility of applying: “I didn’t think it would work out. The competition is tough.” Yet, she made it through the rigorous interview process. The Peace Corps chose Green to participate as an education volunteer who works with local teachers and students, providing alternative teaching strategies and support.

Green explains that Lesotho’s educational system is “military-style,” and Peace Corps staff cautioned that “some of her ideas may not be welcome.” Green is undeterred and aims to make a difference. “I am just trying to do something amazing—and am happy to be a part of this amazing organization.”

Indeed, the only aspect of the experience that Green found unnerving was air travel. “I was nervous about the plane. I’d never flown before.” With a trans-continental flight behind her, Green is settling into her new life and enjoying the adventure.

To keep the URI community informed about her endeavors during her assignment, Green will be sending Rhody Postcards to QUAD ANGLES for the on-line version of the magazine. 

—Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ’92

“Thou art a boil, a plague sore,” thought Rudy Sanda, an actor who apprehended one of two thieves who stole donation jars from a Two Gentlemen of Verona performance in Westerly, R.I., last summer.

“It was just before intermission, and I was back stage chatting when Harland [the director] starting yelling, ‘Call the cops!’ while running through stage left. I knew something was bad,” says Sanda, who at the time was in full costume as Thurio, a wealthy nobleman. “I saw two men run across the street behind a house, so I chased them.”

At that moment, Sanda’s martial arts training and expertise in stage combat kicked in: “It was dark, but I tackled one and held my forearm to his throat for about five minutes until the cops came.”

Police officers took the suspect away, and he was held in prison when law enforcement officials learned he was wanted on a warrant for an unrelated incident.

Sanda, like all good actors, went on with the show.

Since assisting area police officers and making the world a safer place, this theater graduate has been busy with auditions, performances, and preparing for roles in Birdy and Burn This that will be performed in Rhode Island theaters before summer.

Birdy is set in a U.S. military mental hospital and follows the developing friendship between two patients; Burn This focuses on four friends dealing with the death of a loved one.

When the seasons change and Shakespeare in the Park resumes at Westerly’s Colonial Theater, Sanda will most likely return to the scene of the crime—again, as an actor. While he has no desire to present an encore performance of To Catch a Thief, Sanda noted the bright side: “It was good publicity for the theater; many local newspapers covered the story.”  

To learn more about Rudy’s career, visit his page at the New England Actors site: neactor.ning.com/profile/RudySanda.

Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ’92

Writer Nancy Coggeshall grew up in what she calls the “demi-monde” of 1950s Narragansett where, as a teen-age waitress at a coffee shop she encountered the town’s colorful characters.

Years after leaving Rhode Island for London, Toronto, and Quebec, she discovered New Mexico, a world of open space and solitude with its own brand of colorful folks.

Instead of the fishermen and farmers of her youth, it was ranchers and cowboys. “They all live marginal lives,” she says. “That imperative breeds colorful people.”

A descendant of one of the founders of Rhode Island, Coggeshall majored in English and studied with Nancy Potter. She began a freelance magazine writing career in the early 1970s. Her affinity for New Mexico has led to her first book, a biography of the late New Mexico cowboy-rancher Quentin Hulse.

Gila Country Legend (University of New Mexico Press) has been named a notable book of the year by the Tucson-Pima County Library’s list for Southwest book lovers.

The book embodies the rugged history of southwestern New Mexico’s Gila County with its ancient peoples, Apache raids, Mexicans, ranchers, prospectors, and miners. Its contrasting mountains and forests, cliffs and hard ground, diamondbacks and coyotes seemed to vibrate with history, captivating her when she moved there in 1988.

By the time Coggeshall found Hulse, there was plenty of local lore surrounding him: He had reportedly met the outlaw Butch Cassidy, had witnessed a point-blank shooting at age 10, and was once shot himself. “Quentin was a great storyteller,” Coggeshall says. “I have tried to tell his story and Gila’s.”

It took her eight years of research and writing to complete the book she believes she was destined to write. “The connections between the Narragansett of my childhood and New Mexico are palpable,” says Coggeshall, who lives in a village over 250 miles from Albuquerque.

“Quentin carried the history; it was in his DNA. He had only an eleventh grade education, but he was one of the smartest men I ever met.”

—John Pantalone ’71

Dr. Edward Bozzi’s career in the biotechnology industry, launched by a B.S. in Chemistry from URI, took him around the world.

After 30 years in the industry he has returned to work at URI’s Feinstein Campus near his boyhood home in Providence. Bozzi, who received his Ph.D. from Brown, directs and teaches in the Biotechnology Manufacturing Program.

He has also returned to URI as a member of the board of the Alumni Association and as a committee chair with his wife, Anne Mazzie Bozzi ’68, of the Big Chill Weekend.

“After growing up in Rhode Island, I left the state for 30 years, but I promised my wife that some day I would teach,” Bozzi says. “I was fortunate to get this job at my alma mater.”

Bozzi worked at Dow Chemical but spent the bulk of his career (26 years) working for the Swiss company CIBA-Geigy, including two years in Brazil with Anne and their daughters, Christina ’06 and Laura. He also lived in Switzerland where he managed one of CIBA-Geigy’s global billion dollar businesses.

In URI’s Biotech program he deals mostly with older, returning students, many of whom have suffered layoffs. “We have a small number of true freshmen,” he says, “but our older students are from diverse backgrounds and situations. It’s a unique program.”

Undergraduates immerse themselves in chemistry, biology, and biotechnology in their first year, then follow that with a summer internship at a regional biotech firm. Those that land a job can complete their undergraduate degree part time at Feinstein.

“The key is staying connected to the companies,” Bozzi says. “It’s a rapidly growing field, but you have to fight for jobs. We arrange a lot of interaction between our students and folks from companies such as Amgen and Avant Immunotherapeutics.

An avid URI football and basketball fan, Bozzi’s alumni activities began three years ago: “It takes a lot of time, but it’s my small way of giving back to the University.”

—John Pantalone ’71

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words

Think of buying a new camera. The process likely involves reading photography blogs and visiting Web sites to gather details about specific models. Armed with this information, the consumer exits the online environment and heads to a bricks-and-mortar store to purchase a camera.

According to Internet Retailer, sales conversion rates, though varied by site type (e.g., chain retailers, Web-only merchants), are low. While catalog/call center operators fare best with conversion rates as high as 27%, many e-tailers convert less than 1% of all shoppers.

Stas Antons, a management information systems major, aims to improve those statistics through Smart Symbols™ Interactive Technologies. Antons’ start-up firm uses visual labeling technology to enhance the online shopping experience with 50 x 100 pixel pictures that organize essential product information and external buzz on one page. Customers mouse over the icons for information.

Using the camera example, a consumer may see icons depicting a flag (for Made in America), a newspaper (for print media reviews), and people (for social media network information). “In online space, there is no interaction between the buyer and seller,” says Antons. “Our intent is to make visual labeling technology a core part of customer engagement.”

Research shows that consumers buy more when they spend more time at a site. By offering key facts about products, these icons encourage consumers to linger and purchase.

Smart Symbols™ also offers e-tailers detailed insights regarding the technology’s traffic and marketing effectiveness. Top 3 Smart Symbols™ icons identify which product qualities customers are drawn to at specific sites. During testing, consumers gravitated toward social networking icons. “Smart Symbols captures analytics no one else has,” says Antons.

The technology has been tested against 30,000 products, and while it can be applied to any product or service, Antons focuses on consumer goods. To learn more about Smart Symbols, visit smartsymbols.com.

—Maria V. Caliri ’86, M.B.A. ’92

David Brennan, left, with James Loney, starting first baseman for the LA Dodgers, at the Dodgers Dream Foundation Bowling Extravaganza.

Fundraising for the Dodgers Dream Foundation

Like many American boys, David Brennan collected baseball cards when he was growing up in Portland, Conn. How many students would use that as inspiration for a senior thesis, which Brennan did at Bates College, where he graduated in 1996?

He wrote about “racial stacking” in baseball from the 1950s through the 1980s, where white players were given opportunities to play any position, particularly catcher and pitcher (decision making positions), but blacks were confined to outfield positions (athletic positions).

In 2005 Brennan won a front office with the Los Angeles Dodgers in a serendipitous union of his baseball interest and his skills in fundraising and community relations. He developed those skills at URI working at the affiliated Institute for International Sport, a non-profit that promotes athletic and academic achievement along with international understanding among youths.

Now director of fundraising for the Dodgers Dream Foundation, Brennan works closely with current and former players and Dodger legends like former manager Tommy Lasorda to build community programs through the foundation. Founded in 1998, the foundation provides educational, athletic, and recreational opportunities for the youth of greater Los Angeles, placing special emphasis on underserved children.

“It helped that I had experience in community affairs, which I started developing when I was at the Institute working with Dan Doyle,” Brennan said recently from his Dodger Stadium office in Los Angeles. “That helped me get the first job that landed me in LA as community affairs coordinator for the Los Angeles Clippers.”

While working at the Institute, Brennan also earned an M.B.A. at URI’s College of Business Administration. “That has helped me a great deal in my career,” he said. “It definitely helped me get where I am now.”

“I have fond memories of my time in Kingston,” Brennan added. “I met a lot of great people at URI. I miss New England, but a few years of no snow shoveling or ice scraping has helped me adjust to LA.”

—John Pantalone ’71