Buchtel College of Arts and Sciences Alumni Advisory Council

Her first job out of college was teaching English at the University of Akron's English Language Institute. She later went on to get her master’s degree in teaching English as a Second Language from Kent State University. In 2021, she was awarded a virtual English Language fellowship through the US Department of State's English Language Fellows program, where she taught at Taurida National University in Kyiv, Ukraine. She is currently working as an Assistant Professor of English as a Second language at Cuyahoga Community College's Western Campus in Parma.

Her areas of research interest and teaching are gender, inequality in the criminal legal system, and qualitative methods. She is currently collaborating on a book on Gardening Behind Bars, and her work has been published in outlets including Women and Criminal Justice, Sexualities, and Societies Without Borders.

Amanda holds a master’s degree in Urban Studies and an undergraduate degree in sociology from The University of Akron. She is a past board member for Akron Torchbearers, past Board Chair of Goodwill Industries Akron, and member of Class 37 of Leadership Akron. Amanda is a 2011 Recipient of the Greater Akron Chamber’s 30 for the Future Award as well as a 2014 recipient of a Distinguished Sales and Marketing Award.

writing, contact tracing, and volunteering as a tutor with the Akron Hope project. She is applying to law school for fall 2022, and loves to spend time exploring Summit Metro Parks with her dog, Oliang.

was appointed by Mayor Daniel Horrigan’s Cabinet to serve as the Director of Strategic Development. Ms. Breck directs and manages the City’s work within the Elevate Akron strategic plan, the Akron Financial Empowerment Center, and oversees the divisions of Downtown Operations, Recreation and Parks, and Small Business and Entrepreneurship, including leading the City’s submission to the Bloomberg Global Mayors Challenge in 2021.

Catey graduated from the University of Akron with her Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science and earned her Master’s in Public Administration at the Levin College of Urban Affairs at Cleveland State University. Ms. Breck serves on the Executive Committee for the Downtown Akron Partnership, Catholic Charities – Diocese of Cleveland Board of Directors, Habitat for Humanity of Summit County Board, and the Ohio Erie Canalway Coalition Associate Board, and is a 2021 recipient of the Greater Akron Chamber 30 For The Future Award. Catey resides in Akron with her young daughter and 16-year-old cat named Frank.

in the design of high-quality language and literacy-rich environments for over a decade. Dr. Brueck holds a B.S. in Elementary Education, an M.A. in Educational Leadership, a Ph.D. in Curriculum & Instruction, all from The University of Akron, and is a licensed teacher and principal in the State of Ohio.

program, walking away in 2013 with 2 degrees in Criminal Justice and a minor in Law Enforcement from UA. Over the last 9 years, he worked in security at Lockheed Martin until 2015, police for 2 years, a cyber security analyst for 1 year and a special investigator for the last 3 and half years all for The Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co. After the first 2 years at Goodyear, Mark had the opportunity to start and acquire a Master’s degree in Cybersecurity specializing in Cyber Intelligence online from Utica College in New York from 2017-2020. With the 2 degrees from UA, the 1 year of experience in Cyber, and the Grad degree gave him the wonderful chance to earn his current role as Goodyear’s Insider Threat Program Manager and Investigator for the entire Global organization, working together on an incredible team of investigators, police, and security personnel, they successfully secure and protect over 50,000+ personnel and assets across the world from a variety of internal and external risk/threats. He hopes to be able to successfully begin giving back to this educational institution, where it all started.

University of Akron's Department of Public Administration and Urban Studies & the School of Communication. She came to the United States to play golf for the University of Louisville and after a year of coaching Women’s Golf at The University of Akron, she continued her graduate studies while conducting research, earning a Master of Publica Administration and a doctorate in Urban Studies and Public Affairs. Cristina positively influences her community by investing her time in nonprofits and leadership organizations, serving on boards and committees for the Akron Civic Theatre, WKSU, ShantiFarms, ArtsNow, Dream STEM, and the Greater Akron LGBTQ+Community Needs Assessment. She lives in Akron's North Hill neighborhood with her daughter, Isadora, and their dog, Bogey.

departments of FirstEnergy. Her main areas of expertise include: fostering employee development, process improvement & automation, and coding. Marlena began her career by earning her Master’s degree in Applied Mathematics, B.S. in Applied Mathematics and B.A. in Chemistry from the University of Akron in 2011.

He is a former Prosecutor, Judicial Attorney, Councilman of District 5 Summit County, Chair of Public Safety, founder of the Summit County Jail Advisory Commission, founder of the MY-STARS Summer Youth Enrichment Camp, and founder of the Greater Akron Small Business Summit. He also created COMPASS (Compassion-Opportunity-Mentoring-Purpose-Achievement-Success and Stepping-forward) which is a court-sponsored program geared towards helping young men find their way by providing opportunities that foster personal and professional development, while lowering recidivism rates. David is currently serving his first term as the Akron Municipal Court Judge. He is passionate about helping people and it is his desire to use his skill set and legal background to give back to his community.

a consultant at Search Discovery. She is currently a Senior Analytics Associate, where she uses her knowledge of analytics and optimization to help clients find actionable solutions to complex business questions.

After graduating in 2009, she went on to earn a Doctor of Medicine (M.D.) from the University of Toledo in 2013, and returned home to Akron to complete residency specialty training in Emergency Medicine at Cleveland Clinic Akron General. Since 2016, she has been employed as an Emergency Medicine Physician at Cleveland Clinic Akron General, and also holds an appointment as Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine at NEOMED. Brittany resides in Wadsworth with her husband Josh (UA, 2009), and two adopted dogs, Kono, and Maui. She enjoys traveling, hiking, scuba, and humanitarian medical mission work.

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign (UIUC) under the guidance of Prof. Jeffrey S. Moore. His dissertation was awarded the Walter G. Klemperer Dissertation Award for outstanding research in materials chemistry. Prior to UIUC, he graduated summa cum laude from The University of Akron in 2014 with a B.S. in Chemistry and a minor in Mathematics. Dr. Moneypenny currently resides in Chester County, PA with his wife, Molly, and his dog, Daisy. In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his wife, walking his dog, reading, and exercising.

for the City of Akron, Ms. Nischt managed relationships with all print, digital, tv, and radio media outlets, drafted speeches and press releases, hosted press conferences, and served as spokesperson for the City. As Senior Strategic Counsel, Ms. Nischt helped drive policy for the City and coordinated and communicated it's legislative, strategic, and operational goals and initiatives, both internally and externally. Ellen first attended U of A as a high school student through a post secondary program and is the first person in her family to graduate from college. Ellen is part of the pandemic's "Great Resignation", currently pausing her career to care for her two young children before pursuing the next stage of her professional life with a fresh perspective.

David continued his studies while attending the University of Akron’s police academy. David was hired into his current career immediately after graduation.

She has been instructing Kindergarten and first grade for twenty years to the youngest learners in Wadsworth, Ohio. She is currently teaching first grade at Isham Elementary, a National Blue Ribbon nominated school as well as recipient of the Hall of Fame School award. Betsy will become a literacy coach next school year. She has been an active member of many committees that helped to form pertinent educational decisions for the district. She is also an active volunteer and board member for the Chippewa Youth Football Association as well as the Chippewa Touchdown Club.

custom and off-the-shelf selection assessments. Ariel received her B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. in Industrial-Organizational Psychology from the University of Akron. She and her partner are currently based in the triangle area of North Carolina, along with their cat and dog. In her free time Ariel enjoys buying plants, cooking, peloton-ing, reading, and is an avid movie watcher. She is truly passionate about the undergraduate and graduate experience at the University of Akron and is excited to be a part of the BCAS Alumni Advisory Council!

to increase UA’s involvement with local area K-12 schools and the general public. Lara is a co-author on an identification book on the Birds of Bath Nature Preserve. She serves as the President of the Organization of Biological Field Stations. And was the recipient of the Cleveland Museum of Natural History Conservation Educator of the Year in 2017 and the Diversity Award from the University of Akron in 2020. She is a National Geographic Certified Educator and a Certified Interpretive Guide through the National Association of Interpretation. Lara lives with her partner Josh and lots of animals in Lakewood, Ohio. She loves gardening, hiking, crafting, and all things nature.