Plymouth State wants to know what you’ve been up to since graduation!Send us your professional and personal accomplishments—career changes or promotions, advanced degrees and awards, military service, volunteer work, marriages, births/adoptions, and other information—so that we can share it with your classmates, alumni, and the University community.
1960s
Memorable Moments Frozen in Time by Stephen L. Clark ’66
Stephen L. Clark ’66published a book,Memorable Moments Frozen in Time, recounting magical moments during his 38-year teaching career. The book is available on Amazon.com.
David S. Smith ’67 has been the headmaster at Coe-Brown Northwood Academy in Northwood, NH, since 1980 and varsity basketball coach for 28 years. “It’s really about the kids, and they’re great kids,” Smith says. “They’re working hard and we have some players that I don’t think get a lot of notice because maybe they’re not flashy, but they have great fundamentals.” Smith was inducted into the NHIAA Hall of Fame in 2009.
James E. Goss ’68 retired from the U.S. Army in 2004 at the rank of sergeant major and retired from government service (Military Personnel Services Corp) in 2014. He is currently involved with his local chamber of commerce as an ambassador and as a member of the Plymouth State Alumni Association Board of Directors. Goss was a featured speaker at PSU Commencement 2018.
Robert S. “Skip” Whitmore ’69 and his daughter, Kristin A. Mullins ’95, were visiting in Nashville, TN, when they wore their matching Panthers t-shirts!
Robert S. “Skip” Whitmore ’69 and his daughter
Marion J. Patterson ’71 was recognized as a Woman of Achievement in the area of Arts, Education, and Culture by Waypoint, a Cedar Rapids, IA, nonprofit that provides a wide range of services to women and children. The award was in recognition of her outstanding work as an instructor at Kirkwood Community College in Cedar Rapids.
Cheryl A. Smith ’78 writes, “My time at PSC helped me realize I was destined for graduate school and to teach at the college level. I love that I can formally teach adult learners in a variety of formats and settings, conduct research, work with agricultural producers throughout New England, train master gardeners, and work in the lab and field to diagnose plant health problems … and help growers prevent future losses.” Smith is a past recipient of the Boston, MA, Outstanding Service Award, presented by Mayor Menino, for her dedication as a primary instructor for the Master Urban Gardener Program. She has a BA in biology from PSU, an MS in plant pathology and entomology from the University of Rhode Island, and a PhD in botany and plant pathology from the University of New Hampshire.
Kimberly A. Stamas ’78 retired in March after a long career with the Town of Andover, MA, most recently as recreation director. Stamas started working for the town in high school. She worked with the playground department and was eventually hired as the town’s recreation coordinator in 1984 until getting the top recreation job 30 years later. “I now have an eight-month-old granddaughter and I look forward to seeing her a lot more,” Stamas says.
Brooks Stevens ’79 has been designated by the American College of Financial Services as a chartered life underwriter and financial consultant.
1980sMartin M. Zarli ’80 retired after 35 years of teaching and coaching at Moultonborough Academy. He was inducted into the NH Coaches Association Hall of Fame in 2007 and the NHIAA Hall of Fame in 2009. He won NH P.E. Teacher of the Year in 2016. He is now happily retired with wife Linda (Hunter) Zarli ’71 in Columbia, NH, where they fly fish, hunt, paint, hike, and spend time with their children and six grandkids!
Karen E. Pelletier ’82 has been named vice president of operations for the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce, and will retain her responsibilities as director of education and workforce development. Pelletier began her career with the chamber in 2014 in a newly created position established to support chamber members by creating more conduits to colleges and universities, which helped fill positions in member companies.
Valerie S. Caruso ’83 has been a school psychologist in the Manchester School District in Manchester, NH, since 2000. She was previously employed by the Newtown School District in Newtown, CT. She writes, “I am now a school psychologist for 30 years based on my undergraduate degree in psychology. The internship during my senior year at PSC provided valuable experience and insight into career options.”
Richard A. Coutermarsh ’85 received a commendation award from the commissioner of the Texas General Land Office, the Honorable George P. Bush, on February 9, 2018, to recognize his extraordinary leadership efforts in connection with leading all-hazards incident management teams during numerous incidents and disasters of national significance (Hurricane Ike, Deepwater Horizon, Texas City Y Oil Spill, and Hurricane Harvey). Coutermarsh is senior executive fellow/HQE for the County of Galveston, TX.
David B. Sturdevant ’87G, head of school at Lincoln Academy in Newcastle, ME, is retiring June 30, 2018, after 33 years as an educator in the state. Before joining Lincoln Academy, Sturdevant spent 28 years at Fryeburg Academy in western Maine, where he served as an English teacher, dorm parent, curriculum coordinator, alternative school founder and director, and assistant headmaster and principal.
Susan A. Higgins ’88 is web content editor and social media manager of Farmers’ Almanac in Maine. In 2001, she received Honorable Mention from the National Steinbeck Center’s National Short Story Competition for “Best Offer.” In 2014, she received Honorable Mention for the John Hervey Award for Excellence in Harness Racing Journalism. “I had a very rich and robust experience with my writing ‘brethren’ at Plymouth,” she writes. “My professors in Rounds Hall and the people I met on the editorial team of the Clock became my friends for life and prepared me for a world of the written word. My degree in English writing paved the way for my current job in editing, web content, marketing, and social media.”
Darius X. Thompson ’88, ’93G ran a campaign for the Exeter, NH, Board of Selectmen. “I can talk and work with anybody,” he says. “And through my 20-plus years working with HR professionals, it’s inherent as a selectboard person that you need to be civil in your conversations and be respectful with one another. When those dynamics can get into play, those things can impact how you are perceived.”
1990s
Amy Bassett ’90, PSUAA Board of Directors
Amy Bassett ’90 is a new member of the PSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. Her four-year term begins on June 9, 2018. Bassett serves as the Maine district director for the U.S. Small Business Administration.
Andrea C. Difilippo ’93 is chief parenting officer for Social Judo, a technology company that has created a tool for parenting children on their smartphones. Difilippo gave a Ted Talk in November 2017 on Parenting in Cyberspace. She also has her own private practice. She writes, “I learned the importance of human connection, both in the classroom and among my friends at PSU.”
Ellen P. (Pietrzak) Kotzin ’92 ’94G and her family.
Ellen P. (Pietrzak) Kotzin ’92, ’94G is a middle-school French teacher in DeWitt, NY. She has been active in publishing through the AATF National Bulletin, with another publication released in April 2018. Her son is studying musical composition at the University of Pittsburgh and her daughter is a senior in high school. Married 20 years as of August 2018! She writes, “I was very well prepared by my language teachers Dr. Joel Goldfield, Dr. Virginia Garlitz, and Frau Gisela Estes and took all three languages at PSC at that time.”
Ian A. Walker ’93 of Norwell, MA, has been appointed the vice president of finance at VERC Enterprises. Walker joins VERC Enterprises with more than 20 years of experience in the financial services industry, most recently as chief financial officer for Stephanie’s Restaurant Group in Boston.
David M. Ryan ’94 has been named superintendent of SAU 16 in Exeter, NH. Ryan has served as assistant superintendent for the Manchester School District. He also served as principal at Nashua High School North, where he was lauded as the state’s principal of the year. Ryan has a bachelor of arts in English from Plymouth State College, a master’s of education from Boston College, an educational specialist degree from the University of New Hampshire, and recently successfully defended his dissertation for his doctor of education degree at Boston College.
Betsy A. Memoe ’97G has been appointed co-principal of Manchester Elementary and Middle School in Manchester, NH. Memoe will serve as middle school principal at MEMS, where she has spent the last 25 years as a primary middle school counselor.
Michael J. Sullivan ’97 has published an action adventure/science fiction book called Runner’s Dawn under the pen name Michael Stinger. The book is available on Amazon Kindle, Barnes & Noble, and Google Play.
Michael A. Bellamente ’99 is chair of the newly formed Sustainability Committee of the NH Association of Realtors. A real estate agent with Zoeller Realty Group at Keller Williams Coastal Realty, he recently left his role as managing director of the Green Alliance, the Portsmouth-based network of sustainable businesses and consumers. Prior to taking over the Green Alliance, Bellamente served as head of consumer engagement for CDP, a global repository of corporate environmental data.
Kevin A. Hebert ’99 is the new head varsity football coach at Spaulding High School, a Division I school in Rochester, NH.
2000s
Jonathan S. Hunt ’00 is a new member of the PSU Alumni Association Board of Directors. His four-year term began on March 10, 2018. Hunt recently started a new position as major gifts officer at Colby-Sawyer College.
Garrett M. Lashar ’05 is the alpine program director at Carrabassett Valley Academy, a U.S. Ski and Snowboard Gold Certified Club and a U.S. Ski and Snowboard High Performance Center. Lashar began his coaching career with Waterville Valley Ski Club, working with the men’s and women’s U19 program. He returned to CVA for two years, coaching the men’s U19 program. For the past six winters, Lashar has coached athletes across genders at the U16 and the U19 levels.
Dominic A. Lea ’06 is the senior commercial property manager at CBRE, Inc. for the Tenet Healthcare account, overseeing real estate operations for the East Coast markets including Memphis, TN, Birmingham, AL, and Hialeah, FL, and managing real estate portfolios for St. Vincent Hospital in Worcester, MA, MetroWest Medical Center in Framingham/Natick, MA, and Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia.
Rachel C. Xavier ’06 achieved just under $17 million in sales in 2017 for Roche Realty Group. Xavier has consistently been one of Roche Realty’s top multi-million-dollar producers, continually ranking in the top five agents within the firm. In 2017, for the second year in a row, Xavier was third in sales income and sales volume for the firm, reaching almost $17 million in sales.
Gregory M. Jones ’07 is senior project manager for the City of Newburyport, MA. Jones has worked as a land use planner in New Hampshire for 11 years. After graduating from PSU, he worked as conservation and planning commissioner in Laconia and as a planner for the Strafford Regional Planning Commission. More recently, he has worked as town planner for Plaistow, NH.
Laura L. (Kozminski) Flores ’09 is the band and choir teacher at Parker High School and the band teacher at Wallace Junior High School in Parker, AZ. She writes, “PSU prepared me so completely for teaching. The moment I stepped on campus, I felt comfortable and at home. I also liked everything that the music department was about and how complete it is. I love the fact that I always wanted to be a high school band teacher and I’m a lucky person to say that I have my dream job.”
Erika J. (Gibb) Olivier and husband Matt Olivier have opened Matt’s Local Pharmacy in Middletown, RI, believed to be the only independently-owned pharmacy on Aquidneck Island.
Samantha C. Prindiville ’09 completed her MM, music education, in December 2017 and was awarded her professional teacher’s license in March 2018. She writes, “Plymouth State prepared me by ensuring I had the best pedagogical background in music education to get me started in my teaching career.”
2010sElane L. Doell ’10G has joined the University of North Carolina Wilmington as assistant vice chancellor for human resources. Doell came to UNCW from East Carolina University, where she was an advanced classification and compensation consultant. Prior to that, she served as chief human resources officer for Cape Fear Community College and served as assistant director and then director of HR at Plymouth State University.
Lindsey M. Stepp ’10G of Holderness, NH, has been named the commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration. New Hampshire Governor Chris Sununu nominated Stepp for the position on December 6, 2017, and she was confirmed by the Executive Council on December 20, 2017. Stepp’s term as commissioner runs until September 1, 2020.
Adah J. Gillon ’11 received a master’s degree in special education from Central Connecticut State University in 2015.
Matthew B. MacLean ’11 has been named the head football coach at Sandwich High School in Sandwich, MA. MacLean, a physical education teacher, came to Sandwich prior to the start of the 2017–2018 school year by way of Abington, where he served as an assistant for the Green Wave football program.
Joseph R. Hudson ’12 was hired by the Boston Red Sox as a strength-and-conditioning coach. Hudson will work with players before games and will be on the bench during all games. He will also work with pitchers after starts to help them in their recovery process.
Ashley A. (Rasicot) Smith ’12 is a senior supply planner at Under Armour in Baltimore, MD. She won the 2016 Supply Chain Excellence Award for Customer Collaboration for her work on the Under Armour Curry 2 shoe, and was the 2016 footwear MVP at Under Armour. She continued her education at the University of Maryland in acquisition and supply chain management, graduating in April 2018.
Noelle W. Tuttle ’13 was promoted to marketing and communications manager at Sugarloaf Mountain.
Andrew P. Veilleux ’13G is the program manager at the Newfound Lake Region Association. He writes, “I worked with an organization throughout my degree that is very similar to the organization I currently work for. That gave me a huge boost over other job applicants. I get to work outside with friendly people in a place I love.”
Martha J. Cummings ’14G, director of the Rufus Porter Museum in Bridgton, ME, is leaving to pursue professional interests in southern New Hampshire. Cummings led a revision of the museum’s strategic plan, designed the permanent exhibit in the Webb House, stabilized the museum’s finances, and upgraded the database and other technology. Membership, giving, and volunteerism have all increased over the time she has been the director.
Maxx L. Finn ’14 is freelancing as an assistant lighting designer with Opera Omaha and Boston Lyric Opera. He received his MFA in stage design from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln in 2017 and won the school’s award for Achievement in Lighting Design for his work on Hamlet. He writes, “Plymouth State gave me the knowledge base and hands-on experience to excel through a three-year master’s program and begin my career in theatre. What I love most about my career in theatre is that no two days are the same; I am always on my toes and I continue to learn and create.”
Derek B. Barros ’16 is a therapeutic support specialist at Huntington Therapeutic Day School in Brockton, MA, and is pursuing a master’s in school adjustment and mental health counseling. He recently concluded a race for city council in Brockton and coaches football and track at Cardinal Spellman High School.
Jacqueline N. Curran ’16 will be receiving her master’s in criminal justice from the University of Massachusetts in May 2018. She writes, “Plymouth State’s rigorous curriculum prepared me for graduate school. I was nervous when I first started graduate school, but the level of work expected is the same that was expected at PSU. As such I have a cumulative 3.9 GPA and will be graduating with my master’s in the spring.”
Anthony C. Lindardos ’16G has been appointed state director for USDA Rural Development in New Hampshire and Vermont. Linardos managed K-Mart Pharmacy for ten years before becoming pharmacy district coordinator for New England. He served as the general manager for Omnicare of NH, a CVS company, for the past four years.
Michael G. Economos ’17 of the Peoria Rivermen was named the Warrior Player of the Week by the Southern Professional Hockey League for the week of February 12, 2018.
Ali A. Sekou ’17, recipient of the Graduating Senior Award for Excellence in Tourism Management and Policy, has been accepted to the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire.
Tags: alumni class notes
