New Alumni Board Members

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Anika Aftab BS ’19 (Organizational Strategy & Healthcare Administration), MS ’20 (Health Policy, Systems Learning and Project Management)
Analyst, AMI Expeditionary Healthcare
Washington, DC

Ms. Aftab is currently writing a book entitled "I Will Run for Congress and Why You Should Too" with Creator Institute. In this book, she is exploring the intersection between women and politics, specifically in Congress. Ms. Aftab has stated that her writing has inspired her to learn from "the onlies" in a room - Women, POC, and underrepresented individuals that have defied obstacles and stigmas to stand up and, most importantly, speak up.

As a student, Ms. Aftab held the role of Student Government President and senator representing the School of Individualized Study. She was a member of the Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, a multicultural representative for academic success, and participated in the Panhellenic Council as well as serving as the student rep of the Alumni Association Board. She also attended numerous alumni activities including Welcome to the Chapter, the Entrepreneurship Conference, and Summer Start-Up Demo Night. 

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David Blonski BS/ME ’07 (Industrial Engineering)
CFO at Elementum
San Francisco Bay Area

Mr. Blonski is a passionate entrepreneur with a relentless focus on execution. As co-founder of a rapidly growing enterprise, he has led virtually every function, from Finance to Engineering to HR. Currently, he's building a world-class Customer Operations team at Elementum where he is both Co-Founder and CFO. Elementum is a supply chain management company focused on connecting brands across extended ecosystems allowing them to operate in real-time to deliver at the speed of customer demand. Previously, Mr. Blonski has served as a Director at Flex, worked in Private Equity at The Carlyle Group, was an investment banker at Goldman Sachs, and was an industrial engineer at Boeing.

As a student, Mr. Blonski was Student Government President, a member of the Honors Program, a member of International House, and the Weightlifting Club. He also won numerous awards, including Excellence in Student Affairs, NRS Scholarship, and the Outstanding Undergraduate Scholar. Mr. Blonski holds both a Bachelor and Masters of Science in industrial engineering from RIT, as well as an MBA from Stanford School of Business.

An active alumnus, Mr. Blonski has participated in numerous Chapter activities for the San Jose Regional Chapter, served as a Career Mentor, an Admissions volunteer, a First Friend of the Alumni House, and was chosen as a Campaign speaker for an event focused on entrepreneurship.

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Sophie Schillaci BS ’10 (Advertising & Public Relations) 
Marketing Consultant, Self-Employed
Burbank, CA

College of Liberal Arts alumna Sophie Schillaci is a seasoned entertainment journalist with a decade of experience in Hollywood, both in front of the camera and behind the keyboard. She has worked for media outlets including The Hollywood Reporter, MTV News, Afterbuzz TV, and Entertainment Tonight, interviewing A-list stars across film, television, and music, sharing their stories through compelling video and written content. She has created original video content, conducted sit-down interviews, and authored breaking news and feature articles for ET Online, while also appearing on ET’s televised programming as a music and pop culture expert.  Throughout her career, Ms. Schillaci has also appeared on such programs as The Talk, The Insider, Extra, Showbiz Tonight, Inside Edition, Good Morning America, and TODAY, and has interviewed top music industry stars for Entertainment Tonight and MTV News.  

Ms. Schillaci began her entertainment industry career path while attending RIT, where she worked as a director of talent writing and student executive producer for RIT SportsZone.  She was also a member of Zeta Tau Alpha and the RIT American Advertising Federation chapter as a student and served as a student member of the Alumni Association Board of Directors during the 2008-2009 school year. Recently, she agreed to serve as Emcee of the RIT Presidential Tiger Tour event in Los Angeles.  Ms. Schillaci currently resides in Burbank, CA with her husband, Mike Boya, a 2011 RIT alumnus, and their two children.

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Dr. Breeann Wilson BS ’02 (Biochemistry) 
Owner and Podiatrist, Pure Podiatry of WNY PLLC
Buffalo, NY

Dr. Wilson is a licensed podiatrist and the owner of Pure Podiatry of Western New York. Located in Buffalo, NY, Pure Podiatry provides comprehensive podiatry services as well as surgical procedures related to complications from diabetes. Dr. Wilson is currently the only licensed podiatrist in the Buffalo area that is a female person of color. After graduating from RIT, she went on to study podiatry at the William M. Scholl College of Podiatric Medicine in North Chicago. She completed her two-year surgical residency within the Catholic Health System in Buffalo and completed an additional year at Coast Plaza Doctors Hospital in Norwalk, CA, where she specialized in rearfoot surgery. In 2009, Dr. Wilson earned an MS in public health from the Aristotle University School of Public Health Research Institute. In recognition of her successful career, Dr. Wilson was a recipient of the 2011 Black Achievers in Industry Award. Outside of her podiatric career, Dr. Wilson also serves on the board of directors of the YMCA Buffalo Niagara. She currently resides in Buffalo with her husband, Dorian.

In recent years, Dr. Wilson has been quite engaged with RIT. She has served as a guest speaker for RIT's Woman of Color, Honor, and Ambition (WOCHA) student group and has attended a College of Science honors alumni dinner. As a student, she was a member of the women's basketball and track teams.

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Loretha J. McCullough BS ’03 (Management Information Systems), EMBA ’06
HR Director of Supply Systems, Linde PLC
Henrietta, NY 

Ms. McCullough is an HR director of supply systems at Linde PLC. Linde is a leading industrial gas and engineering company that employs approximately 80,000 people globally and serves customers in more than 100 countries worldwide. Linde delivers innovative and sustainable solutions, providing products, technologies, and services that help customers improve their economic and environmental performance in a connected world. Linde PLC was formed when Praxair, Inc. merged with Linde AG in 2018.

Ms. McCullough previously worked at Praxair as a global HR director. In that role, she provided strategic and tactical HR operations leadership to the vice president, the directors of global supply systems, and the vice president and directors of global procurement and materials management. Before that, she worked for over 10 years at Xerox as a customer experience program manager, an HR business operations manager, an HR manager for the supplies business group, and an HR programs and process manager; she also offered Lean Six Sigma Black Belt support to various managers and executives. Additionally, from 2010 to 2013, Ms. McCullough taught as an adjunct instructor for RIT's former First Year Enrichment program, which acclimated students to college life at the university.

Ms. McCullough formerly served as president and director of scholarships for the Black Women's Leadership Council Foundation; as a mentor for Women Helping Girls; as an HR chair of Mercy Residential Services; and was a program participant in Leadership Rochester. In February 2020, Ms. McCullough was selected as a recipient of RIT's Division of Diversity & Inclusion's (DDI) Alumnus Beacon Award. The DDI Beacon Award recognizes one alumnus/a who has shown exceptional leadership and fostered diversity, and whose career achievements reflect their dedication to the university and their respective community.

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Malik Simmonds BS ’96 (Professional & Technical Communication), MS ’98 (Human Resource Development)
Senior Director, Human Resources at ViacomCBS
New York, NY 

Mr. Simmonds has over 15 years of management and leadership experience in human resources, particularly in the entertainment industry; he provides strategic counsel to iconic international media brands. His specialties include talent acquisition and management, employee relations, data and analytics, training and development, employee engagement, diversity and inclusion, coaching and consulting, and performance management.

After working as a residence hall director at Stony Brook University and in two positions in human resources at other entities, Mr. Simmonds began his career at Viacom as a human resources benefit analyst in 2003, working within the MTV brand. He was quickly promoted to manager and then moved to the VH1 brand as a human resources manager. In 2009, he was promoted again to senior manager of human resources and worked on both MTV and the Nickelodeon Kids and Family Group. In 2011, he was named a director of human resources for Nickelodeon, and then in 2018 he was promoted to senior director of human resources. In early 2019, Mr. Simmonds began working as senior director of human resources for Comedy Central, TV Land, and Paramount Network, all under the Viacom conglomerate. Today, he is senior director of human resources at ViacomCBS (the two companies merged in 2019) for the Entertainment and Youth Group, which comprises MTV, VH1, Logo, Comedy Central, TV Land, and Paramount Network.

While he was a student at RIT, Mr. Simmonds participated in Unity House, Alpha Phi Alpha, the Black Awareness Coordinating Committee, and Gamma Epsilon Tau. Since his graduation from RIT, Mr. Simmonds has assisted for many years as an admissions volunteer in multiple capacities, helped plan a reunion, and has spoken on campus. He has also attended RIT-sponsored alumni events. Mr. Simmonds was given the Outstanding Alumni Award by RIT's School of Communication in 2018.

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Zoran Pejović BS ’04 (Hotel and Resort Management) MS '21 (Service Leadership and Innovation)
Croatia

Mr. Pejović has more than 15 years of international experience and a number of successful hotel and restaurant openings to his name. He is co-owner of Wine & Cheese Bar Paradox in Split, Croatia, named Hideaway Report’s Editor’s Choice for Best Wine Bar in the World in 2019. Most recently, Mr. Pejović has lead project development and pre-opening for Maslina Resort, on the island of Hvar, which is one of the first successful Greenfield Investments in luxury hospitality in Croatia. Additionally, under his Paradox Hospitality consultancy umbrella, Mr. Pejović consults on a number of hospitality projects, ranging from hotel conceptualization and development to crisis communication and management.

While he was a student, Mr. Pejović was Student Council President at RIT Croatia, and he and some fellow students started a band named “Tambo band.” Since graduation, he has consistently remained connected to the university through participation in alumni events, some of which have been hosted in his wine bar; being a guest speaker on numerous occasions; hiring RIT Croatia students for co-ops, and training and hiring alumni; working closely with HTM faculty, and presenting a Tiger Webinar on the topic of Post-Coronavirus Travel and Tourism. Aside from his engagement with RIT Croatia, he has been active in charity events, including hosting an annual Beard Auction at Paradox, designed to increase awareness about prostate cancer, while raising funds for the Croatian League Against Cancer. Mr. Pejović is the first international campus representative on RIT’s Alumni Association Board of Directors (main campus).