Alumni Notes

1999 • Journalism

Laurie A. Roth

was recently elected to the executive board of the Municipal Clerks' Association of New Jersey (MCANJ). The Municipal Clerks' Association of New Jersey has been around for 100 years. 

The objectives of the MCANJ are to promote educational training in the municipal clerk industry, a better understanding of the official duties and obligations of its members, and insofar as possible set up uniform methods of procedures in New Jersey municipalities. 

Roth works as the borough administrator/municipal clerk for Allentown, New Jersey, in Monmouth County for the last decade.ectives of the Municipal Clerks' Association of New Jersey are to promote education and training in the Municipal Clerks' industry, a better understanding of the official duties and obligation of its members, and insofar as possible to set up uniform methods of procedures in New Jersey municipalit

The objectives of the Municipal Clerks' Association of New Jersey are to promote education and training in the Municipal Clerks' industry, a better understanding of the official duties and obligation of its members, and insofar as possible to set up uniform methods of procedures in New Jersey municipalities.

Note posted: August 03, 2026

1985 • Telecommunications

Joseph Lello

retired in June after 35 years as a public school teacher — the last 25 years as an English as a Second Language teacher in the Pittston Area School District.

Note posted: August 03, 2026

2005 • Journalism

Laura Michalski

was promoted to deputy head of print at The Washington Post in 2026, helping lead a team of editors and designers who fully own print production, planning and strategy. She was previously a senior copy editor and has worked at The Post since 2017. 

Note posted: August 03, 2026

2020 • Film-Video

Katie Gergel

wrote and sold a Survivor-inspired romcom novel titled "Worth Playing For" that will be published with Penguin Random House in spring of 2027. 

Note posted: August 03, 2026

2006 • Film-Video

Tyler H. Walk

and classmate Chris Chandler ('06) both had films screen as part of this year's Sundance Film Festival. Walk was an editor on "Who Killed Alex Odeh?" and Chandler was an editor on "The Musical." "Who Killed Alex Odeh?"

Note posted: August 03, 2026

2004 • Broadcast Journalism

Amy Barrickman

released a book, "The Living Room Design Formula," that became a No. 1 new release on Amazon in Interior Design & Decorating Books. The book is designed to help everyday homeowners create beautiful, functional living spaces using a clear, approachable system that removes the overwhelm from decorating.

Note posted: August 03, 2026

2022 • Telecommunications

Courtney Rowland

is a martech operations analyst for an industry leader in B2B data analytics and integration. Bottom- and top-line focused, she supports go-to-market strategy, shareholder reporting and sales enablement across global sales and marketing organizations. She partners with over 40 global sales teams and regional leaders to enable and align AI-driven prospecting at scale.

Prior to entering tech, Rowland built her foundation in business operations and cross-functional execution through corporate fashion roles at Free People and Saks Fifth Avenue. At Free People, she worked in sourcing and procurement, where she supported contract negotiation, overseas production timing, and vendor communication. 

Rowland's first job post-grad was at Saks Fifth Avenue, where she excelled on the ecommerce sample management team supporting the buying office in finalizing purchase orders. She is is grateful for the flexibility of her communications degree, positioning her to seamlessly pivot from retail to tech. She is forever grateful to Bellisario College professors, naming Anne Hoag and David Norloff as pivotal in her succsess. 

Note posted: August 03, 2026

1981 • Journalism

Katy Koontz

editor-in-chief of "Spirituality & Health: A Unity Publication," accepted the trophy for Print Magazine of the Year at the 2025 Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards in New York City last October. The publication is a hybrid of Unity Magazine and Spirituality & Health, created in January 2024 when Unity purchased S&H. Before that, Koontz was editor-in-chief of "Unity Magazine," which consistently won various Folio: honors for both editorial and design over the ten-year period she was editor. In 2019, Koontz was named to the Folio: 100. The Folio: Eddie & Ozzie Awards have been one of the most prestigious recognition programs in the publishing industry for more than 30 years.

Note posted: August 03, 2026

2016 • Advertising/Public Relations

Robert Strang

has joined the WP Intelligence team a senior sales executive, where he’ll oversee revenue for new membership councils and professional subscriptions the Washington Post plans to launch early next year.

Strang brings to us a strong history of building high end membership products at The Wall Street Journal, where he was sales lead for the WSJ Executive Membership products, helping grow the CEO Council and several other councils at WSJ.

WP Intelligence is the name given to the Post's new professional products business, which will have both a membership tier and a professional subscription, built around several topic verticals planned to launch in 2025. Strang will work across the company's Growth and Client Solutions teams and help build his own sales operation to create a revenue pipeline for growing this new suite of products.

A native New Yorker, Strang started his career at the Journal where he worked for the Corporate Communications team for WSJ's parent company, Dow Jones. From there, he joined the Memberships Team where he helped build out WSJ's Executive Membership product, including the creation of The CMO Network and expansion of The CEO Council.

He later moved to WSJ's Live Journalism team where he built out their strategic partnerships and sponsorships. During this time WSJ nearly doubled their sponsorship revenue and regained its foothold internationally as a top brand for business leaders around the world. In 2022, he moved to Google, where he worked as a Strategist for the Google Customer Solutions team. He returned to The Wall Street Journal in July of 2023, where he was C-Suite Sales Lead for The Journal's Executive Memberships

Strang graduated from Penn State and has an M.B.A. from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business with a concentration in media. He is the chair of The Emerging Leaders Council at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and sits on the Ad/PR Network board of Penn State University’s Bellisario College of Communications.

Note posted: October 15, 2024

1981 • Journalism

Mark Tosh

Mark Tosh (‘81 Journ) is working as a ranger/starter at Caledonia Golf & Fish Club in Pawleys Island, S.C., after retiring from WebMD, where he had worked with the Jobson Health division since 2016. He previously held reporting positions with The Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre, Pa.),The Montgomery Journal (Rockville, Md.) and Women’s Wear Daily in its Paris office.

Note posted: October 13, 2024

2006 • Journalism

Michael V. Pettigano

earned the 2023 Associated Press Sports Editors contest Excellence in Video honor for "The Athlete of the Week Story" at NorthJersey.com and The Bergen Record. This is his second consecutive APSE Excellence in Video honor.

-https://www.northjersey.com/st...

-https://apsportseditors.com/20...

Note posted: February 28, 2024

2004 • Journalism

Emily Mahler (Evans)

was recognized as one of America's Best Lawyers in the Employment Law - Management category for 2024.

https://www.bestlawyers.com/la...

Note posted: February 15, 2024

2003 • Advertising/Public Relations

Jerry Hoak

has been named chief creative officer at The Martin Agency.

Hoak joined Martin in 2016 as senior vice president, group creative director, working across multiple accounts and on new business.

Full Story

Note posted: February 01, 2024

2016 • Journalism

Ryan Stevens

, the director of public relations for the Indiana Fever, was named the first-ever winner of the PBWA's Val Ackerman Award, which honors an WNBA media-relations official who best exemplifies the standards of professionalism and excellence.

Stevens is always quick to respond to questions from media members, proactive in finding ways to provide access and collaborate, and friendly and professional at all times with members. As the Fever have continued to improve, Stevens has made it easy to cover their rise.

"I am incredibly honored to receive the inaugural Val Ackerman Award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association," Stevens said. "This recognition is a testament to the collective effort and support from the Indiana Fever staff and players, all of whom I am grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside. Thank you to the PBWA members for the continuous efforts to increase women's basketball coverage and amplify our organization's stories and experiences."

The award was one of three created recently to honor WNBA figures who go above and beyond to work wiht the media who cover the league.

The PBWA, formed in 1973, is composed of more than 200 professional writers and editors who cover the NBA and WNBA on a regular basis for newspapers, online outlets and magazines.

Note posted: January 23, 2024

1999 • Journalism

Laurie Alicia Roth

was re-appointed to the executive committee on f the Monmouth County Joint Insurance Fund.

This is her 15th year serving of service. Her specialities are workplace safety, workers compensation and liability claims.

Note posted: January 16, 2024

1999 • Broadcast Journalism

Laurie Alicia Roth

has been recognized by Rutgers University and the New Jersey Civil Service Commission for her completion of the Certified Public Manager Program.

The State of New Jersey Certified Public Manager Program® (CPM) is nationally accredited by the National Certified Public Manager Consortium. New Jersey has provided the CPM program to public sector managers, supervisors, and administrators since 1984.

Roth serves as administrator/municipal clerk for Allentown Borough.

Note posted: December 07, 2023

2015 • Broadcast Journalism

Gabby Richards

is the director of Federal Advocacy Communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Based in Washington, DC, Richards works to amplify the importance of protecting reproductive health care and rights from the halls of Congress to the campaign trail. She has played an integral role in helping to shape the conversation on reproductive health following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Note posted: December 07, 2023

1986 • Film Production

Andrew Kevin Walker

wrote a film, "The Killer," directed by David Fincher, that is in competition at this year's Venice Film Festival and will be released in select theaters in October 2023. It will begin airing on Netflix on Nov. 10.

Note posted: November 30, 2023

1997 • Broadcast/Cable

Kenon Lee

recently marked 23 years of working for NBC News.

He's a technical associate for shows such as "Early Today," "MSNBC Daytime" and multiple daytime programming projects.

Note posted: November 03, 2023

1994 • Journalism

Amy Zurzola Quinn

is director of public information for the New Jersey Department of Corrections.

Note posted: October 08, 2023