Class Notes

Ben Zelle (L)('14 ag bus & MIS) has been promoted to territory customer support manager for John Deere based in Olathe, Kansas.

James Pease ('71 pol sci), professor of agricultural and applied economics in the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences at Virginia Tech, has been conferred the title of professor emeritus by the Virginia Tech Board of Visitors. A member of the Virginia Tech community since 1988, Pease’s scholarship focused on the economics of water quality protection at the farm, watershed, or regional levels as well as on community and regional economic development analysis, economic impacts analysis, regional economic development, and industrial development of bioenergy. Throughout his career, he provided Virginians with nationally recognized Extension education programs on state and federal food and agricultural policy, environmental and natural resource policy, and rural and community economic development.

Sara Egge (MA '09 history, PhD '12 ag history and rural studies) is the co-recipient of the State Historical Society of Iowa's Benjamin Shambaugh Award. The award recognizes the author of the "most important book on Iowa history" for the previous year. Egge penned "Woman Suffrage and Citizenship in the Midwest, 1870-1920" in 2018.

Marco Serrato (PhD ’06 indust engr) has joined the University of Chicago as an associate provost. Prior to joining the University of Chicago, Serrato served as director and vice rector for executive and continuing education at Tecnolgico de Monterrey. He has also co-founded two startups that provide consulting and learning solutions in public and private sectors. Serrato has experience as professor for executive education, doctoral and master’s degree programs delivered in 17 countries worldwide.

Staci Laird (M.Ed. '15) has been named principal of Fort Dodge (Iowa) Senior High School, effective for the 2019-2020 school year. She is the first-ever female lead principal of the school. Laird and her daughter are both graduates of the high school, and her son currently attends the school. Laird has been employed by the school as an English teacher for 19 years.

Carl Kirpes (L)('12 indus & mech engr, M.S. '14), a crude oil strategy analyst with Marathon Petroleum Corp. in Findlay, Ohio, has been elected senior vice president for industry on the 2019 board of trustees for the Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers. Officers are elected to a three-year term; Kirpes' began April 1, 2019. The Institute of Industrial and Systems Engineers is the world’s largest professional society dedicated solely to the support of the industrial engineering profession and individuals involved with improving quality and productivity. Founded in 1948, IISE is an international, nonprofit association that provides knowledge, training, networking opportunities and recognition to enhance the skills and effectiveness of its members, customers and the profession.

Cybil Abrao (A)('98 ag bus) has joined the Charlotte, N.C., office of Burr Forman McNair as a partner in the firm's regional lending practice group. She represents national and regional financial institutions and investors in connection with complex financial transactions, with an emphasis on transactions involving commercial real estate. Her practice includes commercial loan origination, structuring, syndication and participation, debt restructuring, defaulted loan workouts and restructuring, portfolio loan sales, including both syndicated and single-lender transactions and secured and unsecured transactions.

Thomas Burns ('01 history & genetics) has joined the Chicago-based intellectual property law firm Marshall, Gerstein & Borun as associate. He is a patent litigator with a focus on representing clients in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries.

Prabhakar Tamboli (PhD '61 agron), an adjunct professor in the University of Maryland College of Agriculture & Natural Resources, is the 2019 recipient of the college's Honorary Alumni Award. The award was presented March 26.

Colin Hurd ('13 ag studies), CEO of Smart Ag, is a member of the first-ever class of "AgGrad 30 Under 30" honorees -- a program celebrating young professionals shaping the future of agriculture.

Elizabeth Burns-Thompson (L)('11 ag business & intl ag), a corporate affairs official for Renewable Energy Group, is a member of the first-ever class of "AgGrad 30 Under 30" honorees -- a program celebrating young professionals shaping the future of agriculture.

Andrew Lauver (L)('12 ag studies), industry relations manager for Syngenta - North America, is a member of the first-ever class of "AgGrad 30 Under 30" honorees -- a program celebrating young professionals shaping the future of agriculture.

Sarah Dvorsky ('15 event mgmt) has joined the professional staff of the Ames (Iowa) Chamber of Commerce as events coordinator. In the newly-created role, she will plan and execute events for Ames Main Street -- an affiliate organization of the Chamber.

Mike Tousley ('80 construction engr), executive vice president and general manager of The Weitz Company, is the 2019 recipient of the Master Builders of Iowa "Build Iowa Award." Tousley was selected by a committee of his peers based upon his leadership and actions that have embodied the principles of Master Builders of Iowa -- skill, integrity, and responsibility. Tousley has served Weitz for 34 years and currently works in Des Moines, Iowa.

Jeff Mounts ('08 advertising and design), an employee-owner of ESP International, a 100% employee-owned global supply chain company headquartered in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has been named the 2019 "Employee-Owner of the Year" by the Iowa/Nebraska Chapter of The Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) Association. The award was presented during the Association's annual meeting Feb. 28 in Omaha, Neb.

Norman Friedrich (A)('82 Ag Engr) was selected by the National Society of Professional Engineers as the 2019 Federal Agency Engineer of the Year for USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service.

Ken Isley ('84 ag and life sci ed), head of the U.S. Department of Agriculture Foreigh Agricultural Service, will present Iowa State University's 2019 Carl and Marjory Hertz Lecture on Emerging Issues in Agriculture. The lecture will be held April 9 in the Dolezal Auditorium, 127 Curtiss Hall. As administrator of the USDA Foreign Agricultural Service, he leads offices around the world in expanding trade and export opportunities for American agriculture. Additionally, Isley chairs USDA’s Intra-Departmental Coordination Committee on International Affairs.

Michael Nettles (MEd '77, MA '78 pol sci, PhD '80 education) has received a 2019 Dr. John Hope Franklin Award from Diverse: Issues in Higher Education magazine. Nettles is senior vice president and the Edmund W. Gordon Chair of the Educational Testing Service's Policy Evaluation and Research Center. He is nationally recognized as a top policy researcher on educational assessment, student performance, and educational equity.

Steve Whitham (A)('90 ag biochem) is the 2019 recipient of Iowa State University's Rossmann Manatt Faculty Development Award. Whitham is an ISU professor of plant pathology and microbiology and co-leader in the development of the Enviratron system -- a robotic facility for phenotyping plants.

P. Kim Bui ('04 journalism) has joined the Arizona Republic in Phoenix, Ariz., as the newspaper's director of audience innovation.

Cliff Brockman ('75 journalism) retired in May 2018 after 14 years in the Wartburg College Department of Journalism and Communication. He previously spent 32 years as a television and radio journalist.

Ashlee Sorensen ('16 public svc & admin in ag & journalism) has accepted a position as digital account lead at Spinutech -- a web design and digital marketing firm in Des Moines, Iowa.

Bailey Petersen ('15 an sci) has been promoted to thermal process authority in Hormel Foods' research and development unit.

Michael Knight (A)('16 ag and life sci ed) of Ankeny, Iowa has accepted a position as a customer success training manager with Granular, Inc.

Charles Sukup (L)('76 ag engr, MS '82) is the 2019 recipient of the Iowa 4-H Foundation's Outstanding Alumni Award. Sukup is the president of Sukup Manufacturing and a longtime 4-H supporter.