Classnotes
- 1970+
George R. Matthews ’72 has been awarded a Charles Redd Center for Western Studies Research Grant for his next book, Billy the Kid: New Territory.
Stephen R. Kalaf, PMP, CFM ’78 has been promoted to vice president with Dewberry in Fairfax, Va. He is also the executive director of quality assurance. He is a member of the American Society of Quality, PMI and ASFPM, a certified floodplain manager and project management professional.
Lois Gibbs McManus ’78 retired from Eaton-Young in Cumberland after 40 years of service. She was their longest-tenured employee and spent 25 years as the store’s lead buyer of rugs, artwork, accessories and lamps. She plans to spend her retirement traveling and growing her own small business, Evitts Creek Arts.
- 1980+
Edward F. Herold, Jr. ’83 (kneeling) served on the Anne Arundel County Planning Committee for the annual Walk to End Alzheimer’s. Ed’s team, Gerry’s Kids, raised more than $12,000 and finished No. 1 in the county and No. 4 in the state of Maryland.
Rebecca A. Brown-McCusker ’85/M’88 has retired from Diakon Lutheran Social Ministries as the director of Frostburg Heights, an independent living facility, after 32 years and 4 months. In her retirement, she will help to secure underwriters for FSU’s public radio station WFWM 91.9.
Cheryl L. Davis-Nunnley ’87 is the director of TV Programming and Broadcast Traffic at South Carolina ETV.
Paul J. Gallo ’88 is an attorney practicing in Maryland and D.C. He and his wife, Maria, reside in Baltimore. Their daughter, Elizabeth, graduated from Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pa., and lives in the Virgin Islands, and their son, Matthew, attends the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Va.
- 1990+
Shannon M. Ralston ’91/M’96 has been named interim principal at Flintstone Elementary School. She was previously the assistant principal at West Side Elementary School in Cumberland.
Michelle A. Francis House ’92 has been appointed the behavioral health therapist in the Student Health Center at West Virginia University Potomac State College in Keyser, W.Va. She has also held positions at FSU, as well as at Mountain State Psychological Services and the Development Center and Workshop in Keyser.
Alex M. Giles ’94 was named the 2021 Best Lawyer of the Year for Admiralty and Maritime Law (Baltimore) by The Best Lawyers in America. In addition, Alex was named to Euromoney’s 2021 Best of the Best Expert Guide for Shipping and Maritime Attorneys, and was the lone representative from the state of Maryland on the list of attorneys from the United States.
Ericka E. Gibbs McKenney ’95/M’03 assumed the role of interim assistant principal at Beall Elementary School in Frostburg. Prior to this appointment, she was a language arts specialist at Braddock Middle School in Cumberland.
Sean J. Pierce ’95/M’97 was selected by Capstone On-Campus Management to receive the 2020-2021 Excel Award. He is the director of Housing and Residential Life at Queens College in New York City.
Jason P. Andrick ’97 is the senior director of Operations for the Eastern and Western districts of Sigma Alpha Epsilon Financial and Housing Corporation. Prior to this appointment, he was a major gifts officer at FSU.
Paul C. Edwards ’97/M’05, Garrett County commissioner and director of Secondary Education at Northern Garrett High School in Accident, Md., was named an Outdoor Recreation Ambassador for Maryland.
Dr. Thomas O. Metz ’97 has been elected president of the Metabolomics Association of North America. Tom is a biomedical scientist with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland, Wash.
Pete A. Forno ’98 is the vice president of Sales for Trinity Cyber. He was formerly with Gigamon for more than eight years.
Jennifer Perez Ryan ’99 has been named the 2021-2022 Frederick County Public Schools Teacher of the Year. She teaches at West Frederick Middle School and is an English-learners teacher.
- 2000+
Bridget Nolan Manley ’01 earned three journalism awards in the 2020 Virginia Press Association news contest, including first- and second-place honors in breaking news, and second-place honors in education coverage. Bridget is a co-publisher with The Citizen in Harrisonburg, Va.
Dr. Jason W. Metz ’02 has been recognized by West Liberty University in West Virginia as a professor of the year, representing the College of Education and Human Performance. Jason is an assistant professor of exercise physiology and joined WLU’s faculty in fall of 2016.
Michael H. Thompson ’04 has been named one of the Maryland State Arts Council’s 2021 Independent Arts Award recipients and was awarded a creativity grant. This photo is from his collection titled Peripeteia.
Joseph D. Graf ’07 has been promoted to principal at Kent County High School in Worton, Md. He was previously the assistant principal at the middle school. Joe is pictured with his wife, Jenny, and their son, Tyler.
Sheila Nolan Garrovillo ’08 graduated magna cum laude with an associate degree in applied science in dental hygiene from Northern Virginia Community College. She has accepted a position as dental hygienist at SmileMakers in Harrisonburg, Va.
- 2010+
Jerome W. Pickens ’11 was selected as Howard County Teacher of the Year for 2020-2021. He is a fifth-grade teacher at Bryant Woods Elementary School in Columbia, Md.
Andrea S. Riley Lowery ’13 has joined the Thomas B. Finance Center in Cumberland as a human resource officer lll. She was previously the human resource director at Friends Aware.
Nicholas Amick ’15, an English teacher at Allegany High School in Cumberland, has been named the 2021-2022 Allegany County Teacher of the Year.
Audi L. Colombo Lebedda ’15 has joined Horizon Goodwill Industries as its development manager. She will be responsible for organizing and executing fundraising initiatives, special events and grant writing.
Suzanne B. Mitchell Wilburn D’15 received the Outstanding Educator in Gifted and Talented Education – Teacher as Leader Award from the Maryland State Department of Education Gifted and Talented Advisory Council. She is an academic intervention specialist at Broad Ford Elementary School in Oakland, Md.
Tessa C. Palumbo ’16/M’20 has received the Morgan County Schools Mary Linn Fox Memorial Award for First Year Teachers. She is a special education teacher for Paw Paw Schools.
Lindsay J. Agnello Krisher M’19 was selected as the 2021-2022 Garrett County Teacher of the Year. She is a computer science teacher at Southern Garrett High School in Oakland, Md.