Class Notes - July 2009

Al Altomari ‘82, was interviewed on the web site Boil This Down, a site for industry chemists and chemical engineers created by the American Chemical Society. He also conducted a webinar, “From Idea to IPO and Beyond: Practical lessons from an Entrepreneur.” Mr. Altomari is the former CEO of Barrier Therapeutics, Inc. and currently serves on the Board of Directors at Auxilium Pharmaceuticals and as Executive chairman at Agile Therapeutics, Inc.

Stanley Braverman, Esq., ‘82, the President of Braverman Associates, LLC, was appointed Secretary of the Board of Life Laboratory, Inc. An attorney, educator and skilled mediator, Mr. Braverman possesses a national reputation for developing solutions for complex, sensitive and high-profile employment and organizational disputes. He is the former Deputy District Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the Philadelphia District.

Mimi Davis ‘06, and another Drexel alum, Nova Halliwell were highlighted in an article, “Snap Traps Provide Inspiration for Invention,” that was published on an online site, PCTonline.com. Ms. Davis and Ms. Halliwell started the company Mousesnaps and a web site, www.mousesnaps.com that provides hand painted mouse traps.

Kevin Donoghue ‘83, was appointed President of Telesoft, which provides telecom expense management software and services. Prior to joining Telesoft, Mr. Donoghue served as Vice President of Sales for NetPro Computing. His previous positions include Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Intesource, Vice President of Americas Operations at Viasoft, and Sales Executive at IBM.

Seth Feit ‘93, ‘95, was named one of the “40 under 40″ in the Charlotte Business Journal. Mr. Feit is Regional Vice President, Human Resources, at Time Warner Cable Carolina Region. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Before his employment at Time Warner, Mr. Feit worked for Northrup Grumman and America Online.

Gerry Frey ‘89, and his business partner Rob Johnstone, also a Drexel alum, were featured in a Delaware County Daily Times news article about their businesses Priority Express Courier, Priority Storage and Priority Shred. Mr. Frey and Mr. Johnstone recently acquired a 150,000-square-foot facility in Aston, Pennsylvania. The two first met as students at Drexel University.

Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, CFA, ‘93, was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Franklin Institute. Mr. Fitzpatrick is President and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank for Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. Previously, he was President of Bank of America, Pennsylvania, and Market Executive for Commercial Banking in Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.

Richard C. Ill, ‘73, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Triumph Group, Inc. was named one of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of The Year in the Manufacturing, Distribution & Construction field. He will participate in a national awards program, to be held in Palm Springs, California, on November 11 to 15. The Triumph Group supplies and overhauls aerospace systems and components.

Rob Johnstone ‘89, and his business partner Gerry Frey, also a Drexel alum, were featured in a Delaware County Daily Times news article about their businesses Priority Express Courier, Priority Storage and Priority Shred. Mr. Johnstone and Mr. Frey recently acquired a 150,000-square-foot facility in Aston, Pa.

Louis Konopelski ‘61, and his wife Vincenza celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June. Mr. Konopelski works with Innovative Food Sales, Inc. in Philadelphia.

David Keim ‘71, joined Heartland Financial USA in the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Officer. Mr. Keim will be responsible for leading the risk management function for Heartland Financial and its 10 community banks, including defining and assessing enterprise-wide business risks and facilitating proactive decision-making to effectively manage such risks. Previously, Mr. Keim was Chief Risk Officer at Susquehanna Bancshares.

Sandra Lee LaCourse ‘08, has been appointed Assistant Manager for the new Moorestown, New Jersey, location of the South Jersey Federal Credit Union. Previously Ms. LaCourse worked for more than seven years at Citizens- Union Savings Bank in Massachusetts, focusing on operational efficiency and staff development.

Joseph M. Lario III, CPA, 78, is a finalist in the 2009 Philadelphia Business Journal’s and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business’ 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the Year. Mr. Lario is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Kennedy Health System in Stratford, N.J.

Thomas Masci, Jr., CPA, ‘68, co-founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Health Advocate, Inc. in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, won the Philadelphia Business Journal’s and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business’ 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the Year Award in the Medium Company category.

Gerald “Jerry” McCaffrey, ‘82, announced his retirement as Coach of the Father Judge High School swim team. Since his graduation from Father Judge in 1976, Mr. McCaffrey spent nearly two decades coaching the swim team at his alma mater. He decided to retire in order to spend more time with his business, Thermal Solutions, a drywall/insulation contractor.

Peter Nolan, ‘83, ‘89, Chief Financial Officer of Firstrust Bank in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, is a finalist in the Philadelphia Business Journal’s and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business’ 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the Year.

David S. Penn, ‘82, joined Janney Montgomery Scott, a financial services firm in Philadelphia, as Executive Vice President and Director of Wealth Management Services. He joined Janney from Legg Mason where he most recently served as Managing Director and Head of Affiliate Relations. In addition to overseeing the Wealth Management Services and Parker/Hunter Asset Management business units at Janney, Mr. Penn will serve as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Rob Reider, CPA, Ph.D., ‘63, ‘66, a business professor at Highlands University, is teaching courses in the new Casino Management Program at the University’s Santa Fe Center. The Program is a pilot and is the state’s first casino management program offered through the University’s School of Business. Dr. Reider also teaches courses in another pilot program at the University’s Santa Fe and Espanola Centers called the Entrepreneurial Institute, which focuses on small business success and the effective entrepreneur. Dr. Reider is the President and founder of Reider Associates, a management and organizational consulting firm in Santa Fe.

Robert W. Rice, ‘04, was named Pastor of First Baptist Church of Berwick, Pennsylvania. In addition to his degree from Drexel, he is a graduate of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

Stanley J. Scherf, CPA ‘86, a consultant with Walker Nell Consultants Inc., Philadelphia, was named Secretary to the Board of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Irwin Schmuckler ‘52, was profiled in Philadelphia’s Jewish Exponent newspaper. Mr. Schmuckler served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Missouri during World War II. He later spent 21 years as School Principal and founded the prison literacy project at Graterford Prison in Collegeville, Pa.

Richard Stipa ‘83, Chief Executive Officer of TruMark Financial Credit Union, was heralded, in the Credit Union Times, for the success of TruMark, which reached $1 billion in assets despite the economic downturn. Mr. Stipa has been working in financial services for 26 years, and he joined TruMark as CEO in March 2001.

Christopher A. Welde ‘85, Senior Manager with Parente Randolph, LLC, Philadelphia, was named President-Elect to the Board of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Welde’s specialty areas are forensic accounting and litigation consulting.

Steven B. Wittenberg ‘98, was named to the Board of Directors at Spells Writing Center of Philadelphia. Mr. Wittenberg is an attorney at Shaiman, Drucker, Beckman & Sobel, LLC

Al Altomari ‘82, was interviewed on the web site Boil This Down, a site for industry chemists and chemical engineers created by the American Chemical Society. He also conducted a webinar, “From Idea to IPO and Beyond: Practical lessons from an Entrepreneur.” Mr. Altomari is the former CEO of Barrier Therapeutics, Inc. and currently serves on the Board of Directors at Auxilium Pharmaceuticals and as Executive chairman at Agile Therapeutics, Inc.

Stanley Braverman, Esq., ‘82, the President of Braverman Associates, LLC, was appointed Secretary of the Board of Life Laboratory, Inc. An attorney, educator and skilled mediator, Mr. Braverman possesses a national reputation for developing solutions for complex, sensitive and high-profile employment and organizational disputes. He is the former Deputy District Director of the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission for the Philadelphia District.

Mimi Davis ‘06, and another Drexel alum, Nova Halliwell were highlighted in an article, “Snap Traps Provide Inspiration for Invention,” that was published on an online site, PCTonline.com. Ms. Davis and Ms. Halliwell started the company Mousesnaps and a web site, www.mousesnaps.com that provides hand painted mouse traps.

Kevin Donoghue ‘83, was appointed President of Telesoft, which provides telecom expense management software and services. Prior to joining Telesoft, Mr. Donoghue served as Vice President of Sales for NetPro Computing. His previous positions include Senior Vice President, Sales and Marketing at Intesource, Vice President of Americas Operations at Viasoft, and Sales Executive at IBM.

Seth Feit ‘93, ‘95, was named one of the “40 under 40″ in the Charlotte Business Journal. Mr. Feit is Regional Vice President, Human Resources, at Time Warner Cable Carolina Region. He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. Before his employment at Time Warner, Mr. Feit worked for Northrup Grumman and America Online.

Gerry Frey ‘89, and his business partner Rob Johnstone, also a Drexel alum, were featured in a Delaware County Daily Times news article about their businesses Priority Express Courier, Priority Storage and Priority Shred. Mr. Frey and Mr. Johnstone recently acquired a 150,000-square-foot facility in Aston, Pennsylvania. The two first met as students at Drexel University.

Daniel K. Fitzpatrick, CFA, ‘93, was elected to the Board of Trustees of the Franklin Institute. Mr. Fitzpatrick is President and Chief Executive Officer of Citizens Bank for Eastern Pennsylvania, Delaware, and New Jersey. Previously, he was President of Bank of America, Pennsylvania, and Market Executive for Commercial Banking in Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey.

Richard C. Ill, ‘73, President and Chief Executive Officer of the Triumph Group, Inc. was named one of the 2009 Ernst & Young Entrepreneurs of The Year in the Manufacturing, Distribution & Construction field. He will participate in a national awards program, to be held in Palm Springs, California, on November 11 to 15. The Triumph Group supplies and overhauls aerospace systems and components.

Rob Johnstone ‘89, and his business partner Gerry Frey, also a Drexel alum, were featured in a Delaware County Daily Times news article about their businesses Priority Express Courier, Priority Storage and Priority Shred. Mr. Johnstone and Mr. Frey recently acquired a 150,000-square-foot facility in Aston, Pa.

Louis Konopelski ‘61, and his wife Vincenza celebrated their 50th wedding anniversary in June. Mr. Konopelski works with Innovative Food Sales, Inc. in Philadelphia.

David Keim ‘71, joined Heartland Financial USA in the newly created position of Senior Vice President, Chief Risk Officer. Mr. Keim will be responsible for leading the risk management function for Heartland Financial and its 10 community banks, including defining and assessing enterprise-wide business risks and facilitating proactive decision-making to effectively manage such risks. Previously, Mr. Keim was Chief Risk Officer at Susquehanna Bancshares.

Sandra Lee LaCourse ‘08, has been appointed Assistant Manager for the new Moorestown, New Jersey, location of the South Jersey Federal Credit Union. Previously Ms. LaCourse worked for more than seven years at Citizens- Union Savings Bank in Massachusetts, focusing on operational efficiency and staff development.

Joseph M. Lario III, CPA, 78, is a finalist in the 2009 Philadelphia Business Journal’s and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business’ 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the Year. Mr. Lario is the Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Kennedy Health System in Stratford, N.J.

Thomas Masci, Jr., CPA, ‘68, co-founder, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Health Advocate, Inc. in Plymouth Meeting, Pennsylvania, won the Philadelphia Business Journal’s and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business’ 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the Year Award in the Medium Company category.

Gerald “Jerry” McCaffrey, ‘82, announced his retirement as Coach of the Father Judge High School swim team. Since his graduation from Father Judge in 1976, Mr. McCaffrey spent nearly two decades coaching the swim team at his alma mater. He decided to retire in order to spend more time with his business, Thermal Solutions, a drywall/insulation contractor.

Peter Nolan, ‘83, ‘89, Chief Financial Officer of Firstrust Bank in Conshohocken, Pennsylvania, is a finalist in the Philadelphia Business Journal’s and Drexel University’s LeBow College of Business’ 2009 Chief Financial Officer of the Year.

David S. Penn, ‘82, joined Janney Montgomery Scott, a financial services firm in Philadelphia, as Executive Vice President and Director of Wealth Management Services. He joined Janney from Legg Mason where he most recently served as Managing Director and Head of Affiliate Relations. In addition to overseeing the Wealth Management Services and Parker/Hunter Asset Management business units at Janney, Mr. Penn will serve as a member of the firm’s Executive Committee.

Rob Reider, CPA, Ph.D., ‘63, ‘66, a business professor at Highlands University, is teaching courses in the new Casino Management Program at the University’s Santa Fe Center. The Program is a pilot and is the state’s first casino management program offered through the University’s School of Business. Dr. Reider also teaches courses in another pilot program at the University’s Santa Fe and Espanola Centers called the Entrepreneurial Institute, which focuses on small business success and the effective entrepreneur. Dr. Reider is the President and founder of Reider Associates, a management and organizational consulting firm in Santa Fe.

Robert W. Rice, ‘04, was named Pastor of First Baptist Church of Berwick, Pennsylvania. In addition to his degree from Drexel, he is a graduate of Liberty Baptist Theological Seminary.

Stanley J. Scherf, CPA ‘86, a consultant with Walker Nell Consultants Inc., Philadelphia, was named Secretary to the Board of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants.

Irwin Schmuckler ‘52, was profiled in Philadelphia’s Jewish Exponent newspaper. Mr. Schmuckler served in the U.S. Navy on the USS Missouri during World War II. He later spent 21 years as School Principal and founded the prison literacy project at Graterford Prison in Collegeville, Pa.

Richard Stipa ‘83, Chief Executive Officer of TruMark Financial Credit Union, was heralded, in the Credit Union Times, for the success of TruMark, which reached $1 billion in assets despite the economic downturn. Mr. Stipa has been working in financial services for 26 years, and he joined TruMark as CEO in March 2001.

Christopher A. Welde ‘85, Senior Manager with Parente Randolph, LLC, Philadelphia, was named President-Elect to the Board of the Philadelphia Chapter of the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Mr. Welde’s specialty areas are forensic accounting and litigation consulting.

Steven B. Wittenberg ‘98, was named to the Board of Directors at Spells Writing Center of Philadelphia. Mr. Wittenberg is an attorney at Shaiman, Drucker, Beckman & Sobel, LLC.