Undergraduate

1LEONARD KURELLO and SABINA HELEN KURELLO of Forest, Va., and formerly of Lee Park Ave in Hanover Twp., celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary on Nov. 22, 2022. They were united in matrimony at Holy Family Catholic Church in Sugar Notch, Pa., on Nov. 22, 1952. The happy couple are the parents of four children: Dr. Leonard John Kurello (Vonda) of Brohman, Mich., Dr. Phillip John Kurello (Debora) of Lehman, Pa., Brittney Mary Kurello of Scott Township, Pa., and Dr. Anastasia Katany (Joe) of Forest, Va.. They have six grandchildren: Clayton Kurello, Phillip Jr. and Eric Kurello, Laura Kurello Nijmeh, Jesse Kurello and Brynn Katany as well as six great-grandchildren. Leonard and Sabina are enjoying their golden years living on a farm in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

Sam Shugar, Waunakee, Wis., has published two books under the pen name Dr. Ben Storm. They are “Youth of Planet Earth: ARISE” and its sequel, “Youth of Planet Earth Are Rising.” The first book is non-fiction and identifies several crucial problems facing the continuation of our planet. The second is fiction and suggests an approach to saving the planet.

ROBERT WALLACE, Newark, De., is a composer-in-residence with Delaware’s premier professional brass ensemble, Brandywine Brass. He is publishing numerous compositions with SMP, Cimarron Press, and more. Wallace has done in excess of 2,500 works.

Wilkes University sweethearts, KARL BACON and Giacomina (Jackie Buzzelli) Bacon ’77, Central, S.C., recently celebrated their 45th wedding anniversary.

2JACQUELINE (REINHARD) OTT recently relocated to the Nashville, Tenn., area to serve as a volunteer at Different Church Nashville.

DAVE JOLLEY, Larksville, Pa., retired in 2019 after a nearly 40-year career in executive leadership (public relations, public affairs, marketing, government relations, development and administration) at Geisinger Health System. He is now consulting with various clients and also serving as Communications Officer for Doctivity Health, Inc., and host of Doctivity Health’s Actionable Insights on the Business of Healthcare podcast.

1DR. WILLIAM V. LEWIS, JR., MBA ’86, Pittston, Pa., was the recent recipient of the National Society of the Daughters of the American Revolution Historic Preservation Award. Lewis is a past board president and current board member of the Luzerne County Historical Society, officer of the Wyoming Commemorative Association, board member of the Hollenback Cemetery, and is past President of the Northeast Chapter, Sons of the American Revolution. He has authored a number of publications on the history of Northeastern Pennsylvania. Professionally, Lewis is the managing principal and portfolio manager of Lewis, Litwinsky & Associates of the Wells Fargo Advisors Financial Network in Wilkes-Barre.

CHERIE BURKE PHD (c), DNP, APRN, CRNA, Chicago, Ill., has accepted the position of Director of the School of Nursing at Loyola University New Orleans.

MICHELE JAMES WAGNER, Centennial, Col., was recently certified as an Advanced Neurofeedback Trainer. Wagner’s business, Namaste Neurofeedback, uses FDA-approved Brain Fitness devices offered through www.neuroptimal.com.

HELEN BRANNON, Westbury, N.Y., was promoted in January 2022, to Chief Operating Officer of the Clinical Command Center for the Mount Sinai Health System in New York, N.Y.

2RENEE (STRUCKE) MATHUR, Shavertown, Pa., was presented with the Dermatologist of the Year Award by the Pennsylvania Academy of Dermatology and Dermatologic Surgery. The award pays special tribute to a member dermatologist who is a leader and role model in the specialty. Members of the dermatologic community are invited to nominate their peers for this award. Dr. Mathur is a native of Dupont. She is a graduate of Wilkes University and Harvard Medical School, and completed her internship and residency at Duke University.

CHRISTOPHER AUGUSTINE, Glen Burnie, Md., recently started a new position as the Deputy Director of the Department of Defense Insider Threat Management and Analysis Center (DITMAC) at the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA), in Quantico, Va.

1U.S. Navy Captain DARYLE CARDONE, stationed in Yokosuka, Japan, assumed command of the nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in October, 2022. Cardone, originally from Nanticoke, graduated from Wilkes with a BM in music education. He holds a MA in national security and strategic studies from the Naval War College, and was commissioned as a Naval officer in 1995. Cardone has more than 2,800 flight hours and made over 700 carrier-arrested landings. He has flown more than 120 combat missions in support of Operations Deliberate Forge, Southern Watch, Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom. He is authorized to wear the Defense Superior Service Medal, the Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (four awards), Strike Flight Air Medal (Bronze Numeral Four), as well as various personal, unit, service and campaign decorations. The USS Ronald Reagan is home-ported in Yokosuka, Japan, with over 6,000 personnel, and is the only aircraft carrier deployed out of the 11 in the U.S. Navy’s fleet.

2TONY DARE, Easton, Pa., Agency Principal and Chief Executive Officer of BSI Corporate Benefits, has been selected as the recipient of the 2022 Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year Award. BSI Corporate Benefits was honored at the Chamber Annual Meeting on Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, attended by over 1,000 area business leaders. His award recognizes a business that demonstrates excellent business operations, displays broad interest and involvement in community affairs, shows leadership in the economic and community development of the Lehigh Valley, and brings a notable measure of pride to The Chamber and the entire Lehigh Valley community.

3EDWARD T. BEDNARZ, III and wife, Heather, Jessup, Pa., proudly announce the birth of their daughter, Natalina “Nina,” on Dec. 12, 2022. Nina will enjoy playing with siblings Eddie IV (17), Nicolo (5), Graziana (3), and Luciano (2).

1JUSTIN CARL, Alexandria, Va., became AlexRenew’s fifth general manager and chief executive officer on Feb. 6, 2023. Alexandria Renew Enterprises is one of the most advanced water resource recovery public utilities in the United States. For the past five years, Justin has been the program manager for RiverRenew, AlexRenew’s $615 million environmental initiative that will prevent millions of gallons of combined sewage from polluting Alexandria’s waterways.

KATIE NEALON, Scranton, Pa., recently spoke at the American Association of Justice’s 2022 Annual Convention in Seattle, Wash. Her talk was entitled “How to Prepare Your Case and Client for Trial,” presented to trial attorneys in the Advocacy Track at the Conference. Nealon joined Munley Law in 2014. She is a passionate personal injury attorney for her clients and takes great pride in helping those in need. Her work focuses on automobile accidents, premises liability and dog bite cases.

ALLISON KRISTOFCO, MBA ’16, Boonton, N.J., started a new role as the Project Manager (PCM) on Oreo Limited Editions at Mondelez International in East Hanover, N.J. Previously, she was the Project Manager on the Jewel Brands portfolio which includes Nutter Butter, Teddy Grahams, Honey Maid, and other cookies.

SAMANTHA SCHUMACHER (see 2018)

2FELICIA SNYDER and SAMANTHA SCHUMACHER ’16M, South Abington Township, Pa., were married on Nov. 19, 2022, at The Anthracite Center in Carbondale, Pa. They were surrounded by friends and family with a total of 12 Wilkes Colonels at the wedding. Felicia and Samantha met while taking classes at Wilkes in 2012.

1NATASHA MILAZZO, MS ’22, Mountain Top, Pa., has been appointed as superintendent of the Hazleton Area School District.

MADDISON BLACK, Wilkes-Barre, Pa., was chosen as an author for a children’s book that will be based in downtown Wilkes-Barre. Utilizing her creative writing skills, Black will work with community members to depict a story of a young Tony Brooks growing up in the historic city of Wilkes-Barre.

DR. WILLIAM V. LEWIS, MBA (see 1980 undergrad).

THERESA LONG, MS, Mountain Top, Pa., was appointed as the new head of MMI Preparatory School in August, 2022. Long will be the first woman to hold the position in the 143-year history of the Freeland school. A board member, parent of former students and a native of northeastern Pennsylvania, Long graduated from Wyoming Area High School, Misericordia College with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, and Wilkes University with a Master of Science in Nursing and a concentration in education.

ALLISON KRISTOFCO, MBA (see 2014 undergrad).

NATASHA MILAZZO, MBA (see 2019 undergrad).