Alumni
Notable Alumni
David Friedman, '66, spent his career and a journalist and public relations specialist. Immediately after graduation, he was named sports editor of the Coatesville Record. Following a stint in the U.S. Army, he returned to civilian life and joined the Delaware County Daily Times as a general assignment reporter.
In 1969, he accepted a position in the public relations department of the now defunct railroad, which launched his public relations and marketing career. He was an account executive for two public relations agencies where he handled numerous accounts, including Schmidt's Beer and the March of Dimes. He also handled public relations for a variety of shows and concerts and met such celebrities as Lena Horne, Tony Bennett, Johnny Cash, Peter Nero, Cliff Robertson and his wife, actress Dina Merrill.
He served as a communications executive for the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia and, from there, moved to the Jewish Community Centers of Greater Philadelphia as the director of public relations and marketing, where he remained for 20 years until his retirement. He is presently working on a book about his father's exploits as a B-24 co-pilot who flew 35 missions over France and Germany in World War II.
Joanne Grossi, '81, is a regional director at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. From the Philadelphia office, she oversees Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia and the District of Columbia. Secretary Kathleen Sebelius appointed her to this position in April 2010.
Previously, Grossi served in the administration of Pennsylvania Gov. Edward G. Rendell, first as deputy secretary of health and later as the first-ever director of the Office of Women's Services. During her five-year tenure as deputy secretary for health promotion and disease prevention at the Pennsylvania Department of Health from 2003 to 2008, Grossi oversaw all the public health programs for the Commonwealth, including tobacco cessation and prevention; obesity prevention; drug and alcohol programs; and maternal and child health programs. As director of the Office of Women's Services at the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare from 2008 to 2010, Grossi administered statewide programs that provide assistance to women, including family planning/reproductive health; domestic violence; sexual violence; and the breast and cervical cancer treatment program.
Before joining the governor's administration, Grossi served for 13 years in the Bureau of Global Health at the United States Agency for International Development, where she oversaw international health programs in developing countries. Earlier in her career, she served on the staffs of Congressman Peter Kostmayer and Ambassador Millicent H. Fenwick at the American Embassy in Rome.
Michael Meyers, '86, is the founder of MMPR, a full-service public relations and marketing agency in Northern California, working almost exclusively in interactive entertainment.
He combined his time spent in the arcade at the Student Activity Center and his education to launch a career in the video game business. For 30 years, he has helped market games such as Dinosaur Hunter, Maniac Mansion, NBA Jam and NFL Quarterback Club.
He is the former senior editor of GamePro Magazine and a former contributor to Electronic Gaming Monthly, TV Guide, Playboy, Ultra Game Players, ESPN2's Dirt and Blip (Marvel Comics).
Prior to that, Meyers ran the public relations departments at the major gaming publishers Acclaim Entertainment and The 3DO Company and ran the U.S. Product Development Department at Data East USA.
Chip Schutzman, '91, is president and founder of Miles High Productions, an online music marketing and promotion company founded in 2002. He is responsible for all business development and operations and is responsible for communications with more than 25,000 websites and media outlets internationally. In the last few years, Miles High Productions has worked with over 150 artists and dozens of established record labels.
Prior to starting Miles High Productions, Schutzman was the Director of Music Programming for House of Blues Entertainment and is credited with the initial content development for HOB Digital (hob.com). He is also credited with the development of 20 internet radio stations within the HOB Radio Network, and was responsible for maintaining content distribution deals with AOL, MTV Interactive, DMX Music and MSN Music.
In 1998, Schutzman implemented music downloads of exclusive live music and initiated the 99 cent purchase model several years prior to the formation of the iTunes Music Store.
Maureen Duffin-Ward, '81, is an author and freelance writer. Her first book, Suddenly Southern: A Yankee's Guide to Living in Dixie, published in July 2004, garnered much publicity, including a feature in the Sunday New York Times Book Review.
Duffin-Ward was a newspaper columnist for The News & Observer of Raleigh, N.C., from 1999 to 2005. Her biweekly column, "New in Town," took an irreverent look at moving South from a Yankee's perspective. Popularity of her column led to a counterpoint column and a radio show. "Don't You Be My Neighbor," a tongue-in-cheek program on the cultural clash between Northerners and Southerners, was broadcast on WPTF 680 from 2000 to 2004.
Before moving South and launching her writing career, Duffin-Ward was a national sales manager for NBC Television. She directed the Philadelphia sales office, representing NBC's 14 owned and operated stations around the country.
Duffin-Ward was inducted into SCT's Gallery of Success in 2004.
Pamela J. Thomas, '95, is editor in chief and co-publisher of Pathfinders Travel Magazine for People of Color, a national publication founded in 1997 with partner Weller Thomas. As editor in chief, she is responsible for the editorial, planning and direction of the magazine. She frequently provides interviews and information on the African American travel market to various media outlets.
Thomas co-hosted the "Travel with Pathfinders Radio Show" on WPGC-AM in the Washington, D.C., market. She has more than 20 years of business experience including marketing, publishing and media relations.
Pathfinders Travel Magazine was recognized by then-First Lady Hilary Rodham Clinton and Richard Moe, President of the National Trust for Historic Preservation, for the company's campaign for the preservation of African American historic sites and cultural institutions.
Steve Charles, '80, is co-founder and executive vice president of immixGroup of McLean, Va., which helps technology companies sell their products and services to the federal government. Charles works with clients to map their products and services to the appropriate federal agencies, and develop strategies for sales success while navigating through government procurement and compliance regulations. A sought-after speaker at industry events, he leads immixGroup's training workshops and authors a monthly column in Washington Technology.
Renee G. Simon, '74, is vice president of current programming at the Style Network. In this position, she is in charge of current series and specials. Previously, she was senior director of programming and talent relations at Soapnet. A self-proclaimed "television and information junkie," she started out studying print journalism, but switched to RTF because of a newspaper strike during her sophomore year. Simon chose Temple because it offered a practical and professional approach to media studies that prepared her for her career.
Rev. Kevin Nadolski, '89, is a Catholic priest with the Oblates of St. Francis de Sales, an international religious community of priests and brothers serving the church and world in parishes, schools and social agencies. As director of communications in Wilmington, Del., Nadolski is responsible for representing the Oblates to the media during the challenges of the current priest abuse crisis in the Catholic Church. He supervises the Oblates' crisis communications and manages their efforts at reputation restoration. He directs all electronic and print communications, including the internal publications and advancement materials. Nadolski is also the director of vocations, recruiting priests and brothers to serve in the ministries of the church. After earning master's degrees in divinity and educational administration, he worked in Catholic education as a high school campus minister, teacher and principal.
Tim Hudson, '91, is the founding dean of the School of Communication at Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pa. An experienced television news reporter and documentary producer, he received his PhD in Mass Media and Communication from Temple's School of Communications and Theater, where he pioneered early application of interactive multimedia in journalism gatekeeping and ethics research. In the mid 1990s, while associate director of the University of Oklahoma School of Journalism and Mass Communication, he designed one of the first accredited journalism education programs to integrate multimedia methods and applications. He later taught interactive multimedia design at the International Academy of Broadcasting in Montreux, Switzerland. Hudson was appointed founding director of the School of Communication at East Carolina University in 2005, prior to his current position.
Related Links
Access to Excellence: The 125th Anniversary Campaign for Temple
Intercom alumni newsletter Fall 2009 (PDF 12 pages)
Intercom alumni newsletter Spring 2009 (PDF 8 pages)
Intercom alumni newsletter Spring 2010 (PDF 8 pages)
Contact
Development & Alumni Affairs
Mailing Address:
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Office Address:
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Ashley Lomery
Director of Development
215-926-2538
Katharine Wiseman
Assistant Director of Development
215-926-2588
Jeff Cronin
Assistant Director of Communications
215-926-2519