Albany Mayor Sheehan swore in Warren W. Abriel Jr., a 42-year fire department veteran, as the new chief of the Department of Fire and Emergency Service at a ceremony at City Hall on Feb. 25. Abriel is a 1983 graduate of Empire State College. ... MORE
George Bosolet '03, at left, graduated with a bachelor’s degree in professional studies in management and economics from the Metropolitan Center. ... MORE
Lisa Brescia ’08, at right, graduated from the Center for Distance Learning with a B.A. in the arts. A native of Sioux Falls, S.D. who was raised in Milwaukee, she is an American musical theatre actress who has performed as lead and understudy in several Broadway shows, including on Broadway as Donna in the critically acclaimed “Mama Mia!” ... MORE
By Wendy Page for women@work, January/February 2014 issue
You can take the girl out of the city but not the city out of the girl — and for Evoke Style’s proprietor Sandra Dollard, at right, the city of Albany is who she is. ... MORE
Carol Dwyer '96, at left, earned a B.S. in business administration at Central New York Center. Her research for more than 15 years has been in nonprofit board governance and improving the efficiency and effectiveness of local governments and nonprofits. As the founding director of the Community Benchmarks Program at The Maxwell School of Syracuse University, she developed the program with a mission to “support local governments, nonprofits and educational institutions through the use of comparative measures to improve performance and accountability.” ... MORE
Nehme Frangie '09, at left, received a B.S. in business, management and economics at the Northeast Center. He is the vice president of partnerships and operations at Vicarious Visions, Inc. ... MORE
Last year, the Jordan-Elbridge (N.Y.) school district was ripped apart by an upheaval marked by suspensions, firings and lawsuits.
The shake-up spurred a grass-roots citizen uprising, lots of bad publicity for the district and a series of lawsuits.
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David Gentner '96, was appointed president and CEO of The Wartburg Adult Care Community, in Mount Vernon. Gentner received his B.S. in business, management and economics from Central New York Center. ... MORE
The Rev. Paula Gravelle '78, at left, a Lutheran minister, is the newly appointed executive director of the New York State Council of Churches, a statewide network of Christian denominations. Gravelle is an Empire State College graduate with a B.S. in Community and Human Services earned at the Northeast Center. ... MORE
Writer, performer and designer Deborah Gregory ’86 is the award-winning author of “The Cheetah Girls,” a series of novels for adolescent readers published by Disney Publishing Worldwide. She also has been a National Association of Black Journalists award-winning contributing writer for Essence magazine since 1992 and her work has appeared in Vibe, More, Heart & Soul, Entertainment Weekly and US magazines.
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As angelic as their faces may be, Michelle M. Hagen ’04 of Saratoga Springs, N.Y., (at left, in Paris) usually can tell if one of her sons is lying. The co-author of “Everything Body Language Book: Decipher signals, see the signs and read people's emotions without a word!”, Hagen (who uses ‘Shelly’ in her professional byline) admits the skill is useful, “but not magic. It doesn’t work if you don’t understand the context for a behavior or a gesture.” ... MORE
By David Henahan, director of communications, Office of Communications and Government Relations
SUNY Empire State College alumna Erin M. Hamlin ’11, at right, will compete in her third consecutive Winter Olympic Games in luge, women’s singles.
A former world and three-time national champion, the 27-year-old Hamlin of Remsen, N.Y., earned her A.A. in interdisciplinary studies online through the college’s Center for Distance Learning. ... MORE
By Eric Zencey, part-time mentor, Master of Arts in Liberal Studies, School for Graduate Studies
Alida Karakushi '11, at left, a graduate of International Programs in Tirana, Albania, was instrumental in the initiative for a national ban on using plastic bag as food packaging in Albania. Her efforts were an outgrowth of a project completed in Visiting Associate Professor of Historical and Political Studies Eric Zencey’s class, "Ecological Economics: Principles and Policies." The final assignment in the study was to prepare a position paper on an environmental topic of interest, using the concepts learned in the course, to make a case for a new or improved policy ... MORE
Brian McDowell ’97, at left, who earned a Master of Art in Culture and Policy Studies from SUNY Empire State College, is a recipient of the Morrisville State College Distinguished Faculty Award. The award is presented to faculty members who display professional growth, personal and professional achievement and have provided outstanding service to the college.
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Muhammad is always moving. There is no other way to end up with the sizable list of volunteer activities and educational pursuits that she is juggling at any one time. This juggling is what earned her the 2013 Unsung Heroes Award during Syracuse University's annual Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration earlier this year. ... MORE
By Desiree Drindak, military academic development coordinator, Office of Veteran and Military Education
Command Sgt. Major Mark Oldroyd, (in profile, far right) at Fort Drum, has relinquished his post and enrolled in the Master of Arts in Liberal Studies program through Empire State College’s School for Graduate Studies. ... MORE
Alan Rachins ’74, at left, graduated with a B.A. in the arts from the Metropolitan Center. The Boston native is one of an elite group of actors who has starred in two successful television series in his career, both the Emmy Award-winning “L.A. Law,” for which he created the complex character of Douglas Brackman that earned him both Golden Globe and Emmy nominations, and “Dharma and Greg,” now in syndication, in which he starred as Larry Finkelstein, the hippie father. ... MORE
By E. Patrice Perkins, student, Northeast Center-Latham Unit
Entrepreneur, mentor, professor, project manager, philanthropist and advocate for education are a few of the terms that can be used to describe Dr. Emad Rahim ’03, at right. For a child who fled a Cambodian concentration camp in his mother’s arms, and for whom school had originally been a struggle, this might seem an improbable outcome. ... MORE
Victoria A. Rockwell ’76, immediate past president 2011-2012 of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers, is a former member of the Board of Governors and has been an active volunteer during her 30-plus years as a member of the organization. ... MORE
James M. Sheppard, (center in photo, flanked by Genesee Valley Center Dean Jonathan Franz, at left, and Acting President Meg Benke, at right) chief of the city of Rochester Police Department, has received special recognition as an alumnus of SUNY Empire State College’s Genesee Valley Center for his outstanding leadership and service to the community. ... MORE
Vincent J. Smith ’88, chief of the Wayland (Mass.) Fire Department, is the first city resident to assume the role in more than 30 years. He received a B.S. in business, management and economics through the Center for Distance Learning. ... MORE
By Jason Russell, coordinator, Master of Arts in labor and policy studies, School for Graduate Studies
Erin Sullivan, a recent M.A. in labor and policy studies graduate, recently initiated the implementation of a new member mentoring program within International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 3. Local 3 has had a long association with ESC through the Harry Van Arsdale Center, and Sullivan also completed her undergraduate studies at ESC. ... MORE
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