1961

Elayne Arrington ENGR ’61, the first Black woman to graduate from Pitt’s Swanson School of Engineering, recently received the school’s 2025 Distinguished Alumni Award. Arrington, a graduate of the Department of Mechanical Engineering and Materials Science, earned a master’s degree at the University of Dayton in 1968 then a PhD in 1974 from the University of Cincinnati. In the 1970s, she was a mathematics professor at Pitt. Read more about Arrington.

1963

Anthony G. Massoud ENGR ’63 was inducted into the Ohio Veterans Hall of Fame for his post-military contributions to the state. He is a Vietnam War veteran who went on to serve on the leadership council for the American Diabetes Association and as president of the Civitan Club of Dayton. He also founded a Pitt alumni club in Ohio.

1973

Paul Wright Jameson A&S ’73, ’76G was elected president of the First Flight Society, an organization that tells the story of the Wright Brothers through community events, education  and commemoration of the world’s first powered flight in Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

1974

Ralph Duckworth BUS ’74G recently traveled to Zimbabwe to celebrate the opening of the Chindenga Rural Health Care Centre. Duckworth is the chair of the Nyadire Connection, a nonprofit, which raised more than $2 million to refurbish the Chindenga clinic and five others. He lives in New Sewickley Township, Pennsylvania.

1979

Peter C. Zubritzky EDUC ’79G, ’91G, a professor of psychology and education, is celebrating his retirement. He taught for 35 years at the Community College of Beaver County (CCBC), Monaca,  Pennsylvania. Before he stepped down, he was a senior faculty member in the CCBC Psychology Department, where he developed the school’s psychology major and taught its first online courses in 1995. He was honored as professor emeritus by CCBC in 2024. He also retired from Pitt in August 2024, where for more than 25 years he taught as an adjunct professor of psychology in the College of General Studies and with the School of Education. He is a licensed psychologist and has a private practice in Kennedy Township, Pennsylvania. 

1980

Judith R. Robinson CGS ’80, a Pittsburgh poet and artist, was awarded first prize for her poem “A Stream in Late Autumn” in the 35th Annual Reuben Rose Poetry Competition, an international contest hosted by Voices Israel. The poem, which explores the themes of human knowledge and mortality, will be published in an upcoming Voices Israel anthology.

1984

Frank DiGiacomo A&S ’84 co-authored his first book, an oral history of the New York Post titled “Paper of Wreckage: The Rogues, Renegades, Wiseguys, Wankers, and Relentless Reporters Who Redefined American Media.” DiGiacomo is a longtime New York City-based journalist and currently works as an editor at Billboard.

Ellen Bartman Jannette CGS ’84 has been appointed the director of diversity, equity and inclusion for law firm Plunkett Cooney in Michigan. A senior attorney and member of the firm’s DEI Committee since 2002, she is now responsible for leading the firm’s efforts to create and retain a more diverse, equitable and inclusive workforce.

1987

Sean Plasynski ENGR ’87, ’89G, ’91G, BUS ’95G was named principal deputy director of the National Energy Technology Laboratory (NETL). Since joining NETL in 1992, Plasynski has held numerous positions, including acting NETL director, deputy director and chief technology officer and chief operating officer.

1988

Stephanie Fielder Latimore A&S ‘88 was sworn in as director of the Legislative Reference Bureau of Pennsylvania. This makes her the first African American and the first woman to hold the position.

1991

Brian Botkin A&S ’91 was named one of the 2025 Executives to Watch by Risk & Insurance. He is the chief underwriting officer of insurance company MSIG USA and worked for AIG in London for more than 30 years.

Salomon “Sal” Guajardo SPIA ’91G, ’96G, EDUC ’94G has completed a nine-book series on organizational diversity and performance. Each book discusses a specific set of indices, such as age, gender and ethnicity, and applies them to demographic employment. The books were published by Cambridge Scholars Publishing in the United Kingdom. Guajardo, who lives in the Los Angeles area, also founded and hosts a weekly podcast and YouTube channel dedicated to the measurement and assessment of demographics in nonprofit, private and public sector organizations.

1992

Brandy Simms A&S ’92 is now a freelance general assignment reporter with Sports Illustrated, where he covers high school, college and professional sports and breaking news. While at Pitt, he was a sports reporter for The Pitt News and worked at the campus radio station, WPTS-FM. He is based in Washington, D.C.

1995

Deanna Angello A&S ’95 was named chief commercial officer at Cognito Therapeutics, a neurotechnology company based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She is responsible for the commercialization of a new therapy for the treatment of mild to moderate Alzheimer’s disease. She also advises numerous biotech and health tech startups and serves on the advisory board of SereNeuro Therapeutics and ixlayer.

1996

Brian Campbell A&S ’96 received the NASA Wallops Flight Facility Distinguished Public Service Award, the highest award bestowed upon a NASA federal contractor. He’s worked as a senior earth science specialist and subject matter expert since 2001 at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland and the Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. 

1999

Caleb Everett A&S ’99 is the newest dean of the University of Delaware College of Arts and Sciences. He previously served as a professor of anthropology and psychology and a senior associate dean at the University of Miami. He is a linguist whose research has been covered by The New York Times, Nature and National Geographic, among many others.

2005 

Elwin Cotman A&S ’05 is a recipient of the 2025 Whiting Foundation’s Whiting Award, which recognizes emerging authors and offers $50,000 in grant support to allow writers to devote themselves full time to their work. He is the author of four collections of short stories, and his debut novel, “The Age of Ignorance,” will be published by Scribner this year. He majored in English and earned a certificate in Latin American studies while at Pitt. He lives in Oakland, California, where he earned an MFA from Mills College. Read more about Cotman.

Beth L. Wright BUS ’05 has been named vice president, treasurer and chief financial officer of Carnegie Museums of Pittsburgh. Wright is a CPA who previously served as director of finance and operations for Chartiers Valley School District and chief financial officer and senior director of enrollment for Propel Schools and the Propel Schools Foundation. 

2006

Kate Gundlach ENGR ’06 has been promoted to race engineer — the top engineer on an IndyCar team — at Arrow McLaren. Gundlach has been working at IndyCar for more than a decade and was the first woman engineer to win an NTT IndyCar series title. Read more about Gundlach.

2009

Stephen L. Guzzetti A&S ’09 joined Fox Rothschild’s Pittsburgh office as a partner in the litigation department. He represents clients in the technology, financial services and transportation sectors on matters of regulatory compliance. 

2010

Jeremy Raymer ENGR ’10 is the artist behind a 1,000-square-foot mural in Pittsburgh’s Strip District. He spent months painting a larger-than-life image of celebrity chef Guy Fieri on the side of Kelly O’s Diner to commemorate the restaurant being featured on Fieri’s Food Network show “Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives.” Raymer’s work appears in multiple locations around the city, including at Stack’d in Oakland.

2011

Jasmine Wilson-Bryant SOC WK ’11 won Social Worker of the Year 2025 for the Washington, D.C., Veterans Affairs Medical Center. Wilson-Bryant, who was nominated for the award by her colleagues, was also selected to serve as a panelist for the Veterans Affairs’ National Social Work Program during National Social Work Month. 

2012

Dan Beck EDUC ‘12G was one of three finalists for the National Association of Secondary School Principals’ 2025 High School Assistant Principal of the Year award. Beck, named in November 2024 as Pennsylvania’s Robert E. Lavely Assistant Principal of the Year, was nominated for his contributions to student success, school improvement and educational leadership. He has served as assistant principal of Upper St. Clair High School in the South Hills region of greater Pittsburgh since 2013. In 2020, Beck was named the Pennsylvania Association of Student Councils Principal of the Year.

2018

Jessica Gaynelle Moss LAW ’18 was appointed managing director and curator of Sibyls Shrine. The Pittsburgh-based arts organization provides unrestricted financial support, skill-sharing workshops, career development and exhibition opportunities for Black artists in 27 cities across the United States. 

Kehinde Winful SPIA ’18G released her debut novel “Flooding the River.” The story, told in both past and present, focuses on Lolah, a Nigerian American woman who must navigate relationships with her two love interests, her mother, and her aunt while grappling with her own identity. 

2019

Sarah Fling A&S ’19 was selected as a member of the national Youth250 Bureau, an initiative to amplify young voices in commemorating the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. The 100 members of the bureau will collaborate on projects that celebrate American democracy and serve as resources for organizations and communities planning their own events.

Terri L. White BUS ’19G was named one of Charlotte Magazine’s 2024 Charlotteans of the Year. Since she became president and CEO of the Charlotte Museum of History two years ago, the museum’s attendance, membership, donations, grant revenue, staff and volunteers have all risen. The first African American to oversee the museum, White has helped to diversify the museum’s exhibitions, income streams and local partnerships.

2023

Ben Asciutto A&S ’23, BUS ’23 recently completed his second season as a production assistant for Saturday Night Live (SNL). In his role, Asciutto worked on pre-recorded sketches featuring the likes of Andy Samberg, Jean Smart, Shane Gillis, Jake Gyllenhaal, Sabrina Carpenter and Pete Davidson during the long-running program’s 49th and 50th seasons on NBC. Prior to joining SNL in late 2023, Asciutto freelanced for ABC News after interning at HBO. During his time at Pitt, he spent two years as executive producer of Pitt Tonight, the University’s student-run late-night talk show. Read more on Asciutto.

Valeria Vázquez Gomez A&S ’23 was drafted by the Omaha Supernovas of the Pro Volleyball Federation. In her six seasons at Pitt, she helped lead the team to three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships and four NCAA National Semifinal appearances. She notched Second Team All-America honors in 2023 and All-ACC honors in 2022 and 2023. She also set a program record with 62 total digs in the NCAA tournament.

2025

Rachel Fairbanks (BUS ’25) signed a professional contract with LOVB Atlanta, a team in League One Volleyball. Over her career at Pitt, she helped lead the team to three Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) championships and four NCAA National Semifinal appearances. She is the most decorated setter in Pitt volleyball history, earning All-America and All-ACC honors three times. She was also named ACC Setter of the Year in 2023.

Women of influence

Six Pitt staff and alumnae have been named Women of Influence by the Pittsburgh Business Times. The annual award honors impactful businesswomen who are contributing to significant change in the region and their communities.

• Rhonda Carson-Leach is the director of the entrepreneurial fellows class and the Urban and Community Entrepreneurship Program at Pitt’s Innovation Institute.
• Alyssa Cholodofsky (A&S ’89, SPIA ’95G) is CEO of 412 Food Rescue.
• Amy Coles (LAW ’02) is a partner and co-chair of Blank Rome LLP’s Pittsburgh office.
• Rosa Davis SOC WK ’81, ’86G is CEO of the Pennsylvania Organization for Women in Early Recovery.
• Susheela Nemani-Stanger SPIA ’07G is executive director of the Urban Redevelopment Authority of Pittsburgh.
• Susie Shipley BUS ’88G is the Pennsylvania, Ohio Valley and Mahoning Valley regional president of Huntington National Bank.