Class Notes

Allee Wengert ('14 journalism) has joined the Ames (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce and Ames Economic Development Commission staff as marketing coordinator. She will oversee video and graphic design, support digital marketing, develop content, and coordinate advertising for the organization.

Christa Catherall Williams ('93 finance), vice president of consulting services and one of the founding members of Signature Performance, Inc., in Richmond, Texas, recently received the 2019 Leading for Impact, Women in Leadership Award. This award recognizes women who create impact leading organizations and mission-focused strategic programs across the federal technology, health, and the consulting community. Williams’ vast technical expertise of patient accounting and claims processing, as well as her knowledge of MHS business practices was instrumental in leading the Department of Defense’s (DoD) revenue cycle expansion project within MHS GENESIS. She is a primary subject matter expert for all healthcare revenue cycle workflows, system functionality, and change management/adoption needs. Her expertise has been invaluable in taking functional requirements and translating them into electronic health record configuration, improving workflow and enabling business standardization and efficiencies that drive improvement in healthcare experiences for clinicians, support staff, and most importantly beneficiaries. “In my career, as with the other awardees, there have been hard roads and defining moments that shape the leader within you,” Williams said. “However, as time passes, those defining moments become the path and the way forward. I would have never been able to navigate those moments without the many people who have stood to my left and to my right. They helped shape me into the person I am today.” Williams was presented with her award at the 2019 Leading for Impact, Women in Leadership Conference on Oct. 30 at the Women’s Memorial in Arlington, Virginia.

Adam Obrecht (L)('98 ag bus) has been elected to the Urbandale (Iowa) City Council. He is the owner of AO Wealth Advisory and former president of the Urbandale School Board and ran for the council on a public safety platform.

Jeremy Shepherd ('02 civil engr) has been hired as vice president, land development with Development Services Corp., in Des Moines.

A painting by retired Wisconsin museum administrator Cheryl Stidwell Parker (MA '91 art & design) received first place at the 57th annual juried exhibition at the Frances Hardy Gallery in Ephraim, Wisconsin.

Adrienne Nelson ('09 interior design, MA '13 arch), AIA, LEED GA, an associate at Pickard Chilton, has been named one of ENR New England's 2020 Top Young Professionals. The annual award recognizes the best and brightest emerging design and construction leaders from across the New England region. Nelson is one of 10 professionals under 40 who received the honor this year.

Ed Chabal (A)('82 ag bus) has been elected vice president of the Association of School Business Officials. His term will begin Jan. 1, 2020, and he will become president of the organization in 2021. Chabal is the chief financial officer for Mt. Pleasant Community School District in Mt. Pleasant, Iowa. He is only the second Iowan ever elected to the post -- and the first since 1939.

Michael "Mick" Pechan (PhD '77 physics) retired from the faculty of Miami University's physics department, where he served 11 years as department chair. Since 2014, Pechan has been working for the U.S. Department of Energy as program manager for basic energy science.

Rachelle Justice ('04 chemistry) has published her second book: Singularity for Baby: Preparing Your Child for the Coming Overlords, under the pen name R.E. Lane. Singularity for Baby is a tongue-in-cheek concept picture book, touring through tomorrow's technology today. On first view, it is filled with the imaginary slang and bright, happy possibilities of advancing technology. Further examination, with a secondary text (hidden in binary, but translated in the back), injects a dose of dark humor into the mix. This is the perfect book for the delightfully eccentric, the proudly nerdy parents, and their growing broods.

Ron Loch (L)(’87 ag journalism) has been named chief operating officer of G&S Business Communications. He is responsible for integrating strategies and managing daily operations across the agency’s account services, finance, and HR teams. He will also manage the agency’s partnership in global PR network PROI Worldwide, which provides services in 50 countries. G&S is O'Dwyer's No. 15 ranked independent firm with $30.5M in fees last year.

John Walsh ('86 marketing) has been promoted to Group CEO for Communications, Media & Technology Business with Accenture, a leading global professional services company to which he has provided 33 years of service. In the new role, Walsh will oversee an operating group that had $8.8 billion in revenues in fiscal 2019 and join Accenture's Global Management Committee.

Jake Swanson (L)(’14 global resource systems) has accepted a position as the ag policy adviser to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

Jake Swanson (L)(’14 global resource systems) has accepted a position as the ag policy adviser to Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds.

Jason Arment (’12 English) of Denver, Colo., is the author of the 2018 war memoir “Musalaheen” (University of Hell Press), which describes Arment's time serving as a machine gunner for the U.S. Marine Corps during Operation Iraqi Freedom and chronicles the occupation of the country in chilling detail from a boots-on the ground perspective. The title of the book is Arabic for "gunslinger." This is the first full-length effort from Arment, who had been previously been published extensively in short form. He also oversaw a veteran's stories program for Colorado Humanities that resulted in the book "Still Coming Home."

Jane Hoegh ('88 home ec ed, MS '03) -- a family and consumer sciences instructor at Hampton-Dumont (Iowa) High School -- has been named the Iowa Restaurant Association's 2019 "ProStart Educator of Excellence" in the organization's annual awards ceremony held Nov. 18 in Des Moines.

Ben Bruns (L)('01 construction engr) has joined The Boldt Company in Appleton, Wis. -- a 130-year-old general contracting firm with more than 2,000 employees in 14 offices across the U.S. He has been named to Boldt's leadership team after more than 18 years in construction project management, engineering, and business development with The Weitz Company in Des Moines. As executive vice president for Boldt's Northern Operations group, Bruns will direct the company's Wisconsin offices in Green Bay, Appleton, and Stevens Point.

Colin McNiece (L)('96 community & regional planning, MCRP '98) is now the general counsel at the Massachusetts Housing Finance Agency, where he serves as a key strategic adviser to the MassHousing Board and works closely with rest of the executive team on all aspects of the agency’s business to confront the challenges of affordable housing. A planner and attorney, McNiece has dedicated his career to community development. Prior to joining MassHousing, he held roles as bond, borrower, underwriter and bank counsel as a public finance attorney at a Boston law firm and as the chief planner and then economic development director for the City of Lowell, Massachusetts.

Anna Bruen (MCRP '14 community & regional planning, MS '14 sustainable ag) has been awarded the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship, which aims to foster a community of American leaders who have first-hand experience in the political, economic, and cultural environment of Germany and the European Union. This distinguished transatlantic initiative offers a select cohort of accomplished Americans the opportunity to complete a comprehensive intercultural professional program in Germany comprising three main components: individual professional assignments, professional seminars, and German language training. While in Germany, Bruen will explore circular food systems and the relationship between large and small cities in the context of climate change.

Zina Alaswad (MFA '13 interior design, PhD '17 education) has joined Texas State University in San Marcos as an assistant professor of interior design.

Jon Kamrath ('08 integrated visual arts) is the author of "Don't Forget to Brush Your Teeth" -- a children's tale of adventure with robot friends told in six-word statements.

Curt Liljedahl (A)('83 agronomy) is the author of "Fix the Problem and Other Life Lessons from a Pragmatic Dad" -- a collection of advice Liljedahl says he started recording when his daughters were approaching the age of "leaving the nest for good."

Gordon Eggleton (A)('65 chem) has been inducted into the Oklahoma Higher Education Heritage Society Hall of Fame. The honor is in recognition of outstanding achievements during more than 40 years of chemistry teaching, research, and service at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in Durant, Okla.

Now available on Amazon.com - Shannon Laine's charming Christmas tale "Trap for Santa". I did the digital illustrations, using Adobe illustrator, for Shannon's book. Book design and layout by Davis Creative, St. Louis.

Won the 2019 Iowa NCWIT Aspirations in Computing Educator Award!

Took a full time role as an Industrial Engineer in New Product Introduction in Melbourne, FL!