Class Notes

Name: Nam Nguyen

Class Year(s): 88

Note: Nam Nguyen ’88 (SCB) is currently the M365/Power Platform Solution Architect for FPT/Intellinet and an eBook Author with the 30 best education book titles with 2400 eBooks in 105 Languages. The eBooks are available on Google Play. Protect Earth Today – starts with you at namhnguyen.org

Submitted on: January 4, 2023

Name: Emily Hartmann

Class Year(s): 2012

Note: Emily (Sowa) Hartmann ’12 (CIAS) was recently recognized with two Emmy Awards. Currently, Emily is the Senior Producer at New York’s #1 News Station WABC-TV. Emily produces, shoots, and edits premium content for ABC7NY, Hulu, and ABC Owned Television’s streaming platforms. Emily is the lead videographer and editor for the Emmy-winning investigative series ’Missing’ -- now streaming on Hulu. She has a passion for documentary-style storytelling and true crime and a record of success producing innovative, high-impact content for digital, social, broadcast, and marketing. 2022 was a huge year for Emily - both personally and professionally. After getting engaged in Japan in 2019, postponing her wedding because of the coronavirus pandemic, Emily finally got to marry fellow videographer Josh Hartmann, who she met at WABC in 2017. Their marriage took place in Kingston, NY on May 21, 2022, with a special addition to their guest list - baby girl Charlotte Hartmann, who was born on October 6, 2022. While in the hospital recovering from the birth of her daughter, Emily missed the ceremony where her colleagues accepted two Emmy awards on her behalf. An Emmy for her work on the documentary ’Eyewitness to 9/11: Behind the Lens’ and the true crime series ‘Missing: Leanne Marie Hausberg’ - both available on Hulu. In the past two years, Emily was also awarded a Regional Edward R. Murrow Award winner for Large Television Market News Documentary for her work on the documentary ’Eyewitness to the Death of John Lennon’ and a Sigma Delta Chi Award winner for Excellence in Journalism for Large-Market Station Documentary ’Eyewitness to 9/11: Behind the Lens’. After her maternity leave, Emily looks forward to creating more ground-breaking, innovative content and connecting with other SOFA and RIT alumni students.

Submitted on: January 3, 2023

Name: Harry Friedman

Class Year(s): 1985

Note: Harry "O" Friedman ’85 (CAST) of Silver Spring, MD retired from the United States Navy after a 37 year career in the Communications Department producing Television, Videos and Photography at the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Carderock Division in West Bethesda, MD !! His last day ever at work was July 31, 2022 as it was a great honor working for our country !! Go Navy !!!

Submitted on: January 3, 2023

Name: Josa Hanzlik

Class Year(s): 2008, 2008

Note: Dr. Josa Hanzlik ’08, MS ’08 (KGCOE) was promoted to Senior Manager, Scientific Services at Haemonetics in May 2022. She manages of team of 15 people that maintains a portfolio of blood and plasma services through global compliance of equipment and disposables for biocompatibility, sterilization, and stability. In November 2022, she became a American Board of Toxicology Diplomate (DABT) by passing the Toxicology Board Exam.

Submitted on: January 2, 2023

Name: Justin Katich

Class Year(s): 2012

Note: Justin Katich AOS ’12 (NTID) has been working for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation as a Bridge and Structural Drafter/Designer. He was hired into the Engineering Technology program in October of 2013 and a year later was promoted to the position of Bridge and Structural Drafter. Several years later he was promoted to his current position as Bridge and Structural Drafter/Designer. Justin enjoys traveling, especially to baseball spring training in Arizona. If you are in the Phoenix area in the early part of March, email Justin (playstationarea51@yahoo.com) to meet up at a spring training game!

Submitted on: January 1, 2023

Name: Ilena Finocchi

Class Year(s): 2005

Note: After a successful run on the film festival circuit, Creatures in My House is now available to view on line on both Youtube and Vimeo. Ilena Finocchi ’05 (CIAS) is behind this stop motion animated short film, Creatures in My House, which took the artist three years to make. The exquisitely handcrafted world in this stop motion animated short, follows a house full of peculiar monsters waking up amuck in this askew home. This quirky and tactile household is full of frenetic energy set off by the morning alarm. Discover what the ruckus brewing in the kitchen is really about in this colorful nod to film noir and German expressionism. It’s horrifyingly delightful. View on Vimeo: https://vimeo.com/535320846 view on Youtube: https://youtu.be/KMmHBpJcDzk Website: www.ilenaf.com

Submitted on: January 1, 2023

Name: Melissa Derby

Class Year(s): 2018

Note: Melissa (Barton) Derby ’18 (COS) and Mitchell Derby ’18 (GCCIS) were married in Buffalo, NY on August 27, 2022. They met while at RIT and were thrilled that many college friends were able to be in attendance to celebrate!

Submitted on: December 31, 2022

Name: Vinny Buscher

Class Year(s): 1980

Note: Vinny Buscher ’80 (CAST) was promoted to Partner, Strategic Solution Leader at IBM Consulting. Vinny leads solution development for IBM Consulting’s largest and most complex IT Services opportunities in North America.

Submitted on: December 31, 2022

Name: Scott Gentles

Class Year(s): 2000

Note: Scott Gentles ’00 (CAST) recently achieved his MBA as a Welch Scholar at the Jack Welch Management Institute. The Welch Scholar is the highest honors graduate with distinction.

Submitted on: December 31, 2022

Name: Grace Anne

Class Year(s): 2021

Note: Grace Anne ’21 (NTID) recently completed her first term with AmeriCorps through Conservation Corps Minnesota & Iowa. While there, she helped create and grow a new division called the Veteran’s Corps - a program specially designed for newly separated or currently serving veterans who have a desire to pursue a career in conservation and/or outdoor recreation. During her term, she educated social media and website design teams on good accessibility practices, earned her Wildland Firefighter certification, rehabilitated native prairies, removed invasive plant species, and created and maintained park trails. November through December, she had the opportunity to deploy to Fort Meyers, Florida, for disaster response. Hurricane Ian was the deadliest hurricane to strike the state of Florida since 1935. Such a large-scale disaster required a large-scale mission response. She had the opportunity to serve as Logistics Deputy and, later, transitioned to Public Information Officer which involved interviewing with survivors, field crew members and local news outlets; disseminating fliers and brochures, as well as creating and maintaining social media pages. Additionally, she had the opportunity to utilize her skills as an ASL interpreter by interpreting for crews who were working with Deaf survivors. Serving with AmeriCorps’ Conservation Corps prepared me for her next career move in ways she never would have anticipated. She looks to additional experiences with them and internationally through PeaceCorps in the future. If any readers are interested in outdoor recreation, conservation, wildland firefighting, or disaster response, she cannot recommend Conservation Corps enough.

Submitted on: December 30, 2022