[ search ]
[ how do i? ]
[ e-mail forwarding ]
[ alumni directory ]

Alumni Achievement Award: Recipients: 2001-2010
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

2005 Recipients:

• Theodore T. Blackmon ’92 Eng
• M. Christopher Brown II ’97 PhD Edu
• Stephen C. Burkholder ’94 Cap
• Barton P. Cahir ’94 EMS
• Colleen Meade Claps ’94 A&A
• Jill L. Cordes ’92 Com
• Kerry L. Golden ’91, ’93 MEd Agr
• Sherri A. Lombra ’90 Bus
• Susan Gerberg Pac ’95 H&HD
• Alexander Plotkin ’91 Lib
• Marc L. Rigas ’94 MS, ’98 PhD IDF (Graduate School*)
• Bradley E. Sinrod ’03 MBA GrtVly

Theodore T. Blackmon ’92 Eng

Theodore T. Blackmon ’92 Eng is the president and chief technology officer of Common Point, Inc. Common Point provides software solutions that optimize business through visual simulation of work processes using a virtual model of a building, facility, or industrial plant. Blackmon is a recognized leader in the area of robotics, virtual reality, advanced 3D modeling, and systems integration for real-time applications.

Prior to the launch of Common Point (formerly known as Reality Capture Technologies), Blackmon was employed at the NASA Ames Research Center, where he served as technology group lead for advanced human-machine interfaces within the computational sciences division. During this period, he led development efforts on several significant and highly visible system applications, including the “Virtual Reality for Mars Pathfinder” project and the “Chernobyl 3D Mapping System” project. Both of these applications required an extremely short development cycle of less than six months and involved the successful coordination and assimilation of technologies from multiple research groups in government and academia.

Prior to joining NASA, Blackmon successfully operated a technology consulting business focused on providing integration and visualization software solutions for large engineering and construction firms.

Blackmon received his M.S. and Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Berkeley, with a major in control systems and minors in robotics and human neuromotor control. He is a native of southwestern Pennsylvania and was the student marshall in the Mechanical Engineering department.

M. Christopher Brown II ’97 PhD Edu

M. Christopher Brown II ’97 PhD Edu is director of social justice and professional development for the American Educational Research Association. In 2004, he served as the executive director and chief research scientist of the Frederick D. Patterson Research Institute of the United Negro College Fund. He is on a continuing leave of absence from his appointment as associate professor of education and senior research associate in the Center for the Study of Higher Education at Penn State. Prior to joining the Penn State faculty, Brown (with F. King Alexander) successfully developed a nationally-ranked higher education program at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

Brown has earned a national reputation for his research and scholarly writing on higher education policy and administration. His research addresses issues of higher education leadership and governance, postsecondary statutory and legal concerns, institutional history, and collegiate diversity. He is especially well known for his studies of historically black colleges, educational equity, and institutional culture. He has lectured and/or presented research in Africa, Australia, Europe, and North America.

Brown is the author or co-author of more than 50 journal articles, book chapters, monographs, and publications related to education and society. His books include The Quest to Define Collegiate Desegregation: Black Colleges, Title VI Compliance and Post-Adams Litigation (1999) and Organization and Governance in Higher Education: An ASHE Reader (2000).

Brown has served as a director on the Penn State Higher Education Program Alumni Council and is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association.

Stephen C. Burkholder ’94 Cap

Stephen C. Burkholder ’94 Cap serves as president and sole member of S&R Enterprises, L.L.C., as well as S&R Stud Welding, L.L.C. Located in Harrisburg, Pa., S&R Enterprises is a structural steel and precast concrete erector, while S&R Stud Welding provides shear stud installation services.

Following graduation, Burkholder joined Peterson Beckner, a nationwide steel erector, based in Houston, Texas. Following the high ethical standards he learned from his mentors at Peterson Beckner Industries, Burkholder was part of a wide range of unique projects ranging from a dual swing span bridge in Norfolk, Va., to a pharmaceutical facility in Barcelona, Puerto Rico. Projects of interest locally include the Giant Center Arena in Hershey, and the Bayer Chemical Plant in Myerstown. In 2003, Burkholder left Peterson Beckner Industries to start S&R Enterprises. Using his own commitment to family as the philosophical basis for the company, S&R became a business that strives first for its employees and second for its customers. Burkholder also has received many awards for his business activities, including the 2003 Businessman of the Year Award from the National Republican Congressional Committee Advisory Council; Certificate of Achievement from the State of Florida Business and Professional Regulation Department; and the Certificate of Achievement – Recognition of Distinguished Achievement in Safety from the Dade County Structural Steel Erection.

When Burkholder is not focused on the growth of S&R Enterprises, he focuses his time around his family. His wife, Lisa, and daughters, Alexis and Maurah, enjoy traveling and spending time with friends and family.

Barton P. Cahir ’94 EMS

Barton P. Cahir ’94 EMS is a regional planning advisor for ExxonMobil Production Company. His current responsibilities include coordination of worldwide planning and budget activities for ExxonMobil, and in this role he will prepare the 2006 capital and operating budget.

Cahir began his career working for Exxon progressing through various assignments in subsurface operations, drilling, and reservoir engineering with a focus on the deep water Gulf of Mexico (GOM). After distinguishing himself in these technical roles, he was promoted to supervisor in 2002 with responsibility initially over ExxonMobil’s south Louisiana and GOM shelf assets and later over ExxonMobil’s operated GOM Deepwater portfolio. In 2004, he transitioned to production headquarters as a regional planning advisor covering international operations in the Asia-Pacific Rim and the Middle East before moving into his current role as production’s worldwide planning and budgeting coordinator. As an alumnus, Cahir directs his energy toward enhancing student experiences at Penn State. He
maintains this commitment by periodically returning to campus to provide professional presentations and recruit Penn State’s talented students for ExxonMobil. In addition to these contributions, he makes a personal investment in his alma mater through philanthropy. He established the Barton P. Cahir Undergraduate Award Endowment to reward academic performance of undergraduate transfer students enrolled in geosciences or petroleum engineering. Also, he and his siblings pledged funds to name a student advising room in the college’s Ryan Family Student Center in honor of his parents.

Colleen Meade Claps ’94 A&A

Colleen Meade Claps ’94 A&A is associate creative director at Vanity Fair magazine. Her graphic design skills, creativity, and
leadership ability have allowed her to leave her mark on a diverse selection of national publications since graduating from Penn State eleven years ago. In her current position she is responsible for developing and producing all creative projects for the promotion, sales, and marketing departments for the magazine. She and her staff, which includes six designers, a copywriter, and a production manager, produce special advertising sections, direct mail pieces, event collateral materials, invitations, media kits, and other promotional pieces for Vanity Fair.

Colleen has been with Vanity Fair since 1999, spending four years as design director before assuming her current position in 2003. Prior to Vanity Fair, she was art director at Harper’s and promotion art director for Discover magazine. She began her career as an assistant art director at M&C Magazine, a trade publication for the meeting and convention planning industry.

While at Penn State, she was active in Delta Delta Delta sorority. She is currently a member of the board of the Arts and
Architecture/Performing Arts Alumni Society.

Jill L. Cordes ’92 Com

Jill L. Cordes ’92 Com is an award-winning television host of The Best Of on Food Network. The highly-rated show takes viewers on a culinary journey around the world exploring the best foods, farmers’ markets, resorts, retreats, and roadside stands. Since the first season of Best Of, Of Cordes’ whimsical style and energy have garnered press attention in newspapers and magazines all over the country, as well as local and national television talk shows, including appearances on Oprah, Fox and Friends, and Ali and Jack.

Cordes writes and produces more than half of her segments. Following humble beginnings as a television news reporter in Rapid City, S.D., in 1995, she quickly moved up the news ladder, accepting positions in Sioux Falls, S.D., Omaha, Neb., and Minneapolis, Minn. In January 1999, she was one of four people in the country selected to audition live for the coveted co-host position on ABC’s The View with Barbara Walters. Cordes’ expertise extends beyond television and into the print and film world. She recently wrote a book entitled Food Network: Best Of The Best Of—part travelogue, part Of confessional, part recipe collection. In June 2004, she produced her first short film, Flightless Birds, which was shot in western South Dakota. Cordes also hosts syndicated television segments, Simple Solutions, which air in local newscasts across the country.

Her latest venture is on HGTV (Home & Garden Television) as host of a new show entitled My First Place, set to air this fall.

A Penn State honors graduate, Cordes and her husband, Philip Johnston, reside in Brooklyn.

Kerry L. Golden ’91, ’93 MEd Agr

Kerry Golden ’91, ’93 MEd Agr is the executive director of the Agriculture and Rural Affairs Committee of the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. As a legislative consultant on agricultural issues, Golden drafts legislation and manages information distribution and meetings for the committee. Her efforts have helped to craft and support key state legislation, including the farmland preservation and “Clean and Green” initiatives, making agricultural producers eligible for “Small Business First” loans, and updating the state dog law. Since 1999, she has taught an agricultural careers class to freshmen and sophomores at Penn State Mont Alto. She served six years on the College of Agricultural Sciences Alumni Society Board of Directors.

Actively involved in her community, Golden is an elected official of the Middletown Borough Council. She serves as chair of the council’s finance committee, and is an active member of the community and economic development committee. She is a founding board member and serves as secretary of the Greater Middletown Economic Development Corporation, which is seeking to revitalize the Middletown community through the Main Street Program. Additionally, she is a performer and performance director for the Olmsted Players Community Theater Group, and serves on the group’s board as an administrative director.

Golden was a scholar in the pioneer class of the Pennsylvania Governor’s School for the Agricultural Sciences. She was honored in 2003 as an Outstanding Recent Alumna of Penn State’s College of Agricultural Sciences.

Sherri A. Lombra ’90 Bus

Sherri A. Lombra ’90 Bus is the director of finance and business planning for the Global Softlines business within Disney Consumer Products (DCP) in Burbank, Calif. DCP Softlines licenses third party manufacturers and retailers to produce and market Disney apparel, fashion accessories, and footwear and generates approximately $130 million in operating income and $2.5 billion in retail sales annually.

Lombra began her career as a staff auditor with Marriott International in Washington, D.C., before joining Disney in 1995. She has held numerous senior management level positions at DCP in various businesses/departments, including DCP Business Operations & Control, DCP Royalty Reporting & Analysis, and North America Merchandise Licensing. She transferred to her current position in 2001 and is responsible for driving the quarterly forecast, annual operating plan, and annual strategic plan processes globally. She also works closely with senior financial officers and the CFO to develop and evaluate new business opportunities and negotiate deal points with licensee partners. Additionally, Lombra has been a driving force behind key initiatives within DCP, including leading the division’s worldwide litigation support efforts relating to contested intellectual property rights and related royalty payments.

Lombra remains connected with the Smeal College of Business by serving as the executive sponsor of the DCP/Penn State Smeal Internship Program. Over the past eight years, she has recruited, placed, and facilitated post-internship activities for more than 35 Smeal students. Her efforts have led to 10 interns accepting full-time positions within Disney upon graduation.

Lombra also is active with the Los Angeles Chapter of the Penn State Alumni Association, currently serving as vice president of career development and an executive board member.

Susan Gerberg Pac ’95 H&HD

Susan Gerberg Pac ’95 H&HD is currently manager of regulatory affairs for Gerber Products Company. She develops company policy for food labeling and ensures that all Gerber communications comply with government regulations.

Since joining Gerber in 2000, Pac has played an active role in several significant research projects that influence how parents and caregivers feed infants and toddlers. She was part of the nutrition team that created Gerber’s “5-A-Day” program, which helps parents make sure that their babies eat enough fruits and vegetables. She also played a key role in the development of the Start Healthy Infant and Toddler Feeding Guidelines, which provided the basis for the development of scientifically sound and practical feeding guidelines for parents and caregivers. Pac led all aspects of the evidence-based literature review for this groundbreaking project and coordinated its nutrient analysis. Finally, Pac participated in the design and analysis of the Feeding Infants and Toddlers Study (FITS), the largest dietary intake survey ever conducted on children 4–24 months of age. FITS provides significant insight into the eating habits of young children—a critical topic, given the link between infant feeding patterns and obesity and chronic disease.

Pac co-authored three articles about FITS that appeared in a special edition of the Journal of the American Dietetic Association in 2004. As a result of her accomplishments, she also received Gerber’s Outstanding Achievement Award in 2003. Pac also holds a master’s degree in nutrition from Tufts University and is currently pursuing her Ph.D. at Rutgers University.

Alexander Plotkin ’91 Lib

Alex Plotkin ’91 Lib is the co-founder and president of PhillySwirl, Inc. Plotkin began this venture with Max Lapin, whom he met at Penn State. After quitting law school, Plotkin and Lapin eventually founded the Italian ice production company PhillySwirl. The company’s major expansion started in 1998 through sales at a regional Sam’s Club, which eventually led to nationwide sales in Wal-Mart Supercenters, now the biggest grocer in the United States. It is also available in six other countries. They have developed a variety of flavors and innovated a production process that swirls two or more flavors in a cup. The process has also been refined to capitalize on the product’s naturally gluten-free composition.

As PhillySwirl has grown and enjoyed success, Plotkin and Lapin have launched a variety of community service projects. Their commitment to promoting persistence and achievement is also reflected in PhillySwirl’s product line and marketing. The company funds initiatives in celiac research and pediatric cancer research. Plotkin regularly speaks in elementary and junior high schools on entrepreneurial spirit. He sponsors and coordinates a program called Tomorrow’s Leaders. Through mentoring, monitoring, and retention, the program challenges at-risk children to do their best, to stay in school, and to graduate. PhillySwirl initiatives also include a “rising star” program to promote achievement among children and school-based fundraising programs.

Marc L. Rigas ’94 MS, ’98 PhD IDF (Graduate School*)

Marc L. Rigas ’94 MS, ’98 PhD IDF is a scientific review administrator for the National Institutes of Health, Center for Scientific Review (CSR), in Bethesda, Md. He manages the review of grant applications in bioengineering and computational biology.

Previously, Rigas was a research scientist with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Research and Development and was an adjunct faculty member at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His research interests included computer modeling in physiology with an application to environmental problems and risk assessment. While at the EPA, Rigas served as a member of an interagency coordinating committee to develop the National Children’s Study, authorized by the Children’s Health Act of 2000. The study, currently in the pilot phase, will examine environmental influences on the health and development of more than 100,000 children across the United States, following them from before birth until age 21.

Rigas received the CSR Director’s Cup Award in 2004 in recognition of his outstanding determination and team effort on a large trans-NIH scientific project. He is a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society, and the International Society of Computational Biology.

At Penn State, Rigas was actively involved in the Graduate Student Association and met his wife, Jeanne. They reside in Herndon, Va., with their 2-year old daughter, Zoe, and dog, Luna.

Bradley E. Sinrod ’03 MBA GrtVly

Brad Sinrod ’03 MBA GrtVly, is currently the president of the Spring Mill Group, L.L.C., a real estate development company that has more than 500 residential building lots under development.

Prior to his career in real estate, Sinrod cofounded IPO.com, Inc., an online financial services provider. During his four years as CEO, he raised more than $10.5 million in venture capital and drove the business through a period of explosive growth, securing more than 150 business development contracts and helping the company become the leader of its market. In 2000, the company was recognized by Forbes Magazine as one of “The Best of the Web.”

In 2001, Sinrod sold his stake in the company and the following year enrolled in Penn State Great Valley School of Graduate Professional Studies. In less than two years, he received his MBA and was honored with the Management Department’s award for “Overall Achievement in Management” for 2003-04.

A founding board member of the Penn State Great Valley Graduate Alumni Society, Sinrod has contributed to several board initiatives and volunteered his time in the classroom. Sinrod is also a graduate of Hamilton College in New York and resides in suburban Philadelphia with his wife, Lauren, and their two children.