Alumni Profiles
Got Started at Syracuse
Nearly 15,000 people in the Washington, DC metro area can say they got their start at Syracuse University. Armed with their degrees and shaped by their experiences on and off the Syracuse University campus, these individuals are making a difference and finding success in our nation’s capital and beyond. Meet just a handful of them below!
Meet our Alumni
The Hon. Joanne F. Alper ’72
Syracuse University Trustee Joanne Alper ’72 served as a circuit court judge of the 17th Judicial Circuit from 1998 until her retirement in 2012, and numerous resources have been made possible at the University through her generosity.
Yolanda Arrington '00
Yolanda Arrington '00 is a contractor working with the Department of Defense on social media and blogging. An Our Time Has Come scholarship recipient, Yolanda is active with the Office of Program Development in the DC area and on campus.
Erika Bugaj '98
After graduating from Syracuse with a Bachelor of Science in Social Work, Erika Bugaj '98 took an alternate path for a few years with Teach for America and taught second grade in DC Public Schools. Since earning her Master of Social Work in 2003, she has worked with survivors of interpersonal trauma, homeless families with young children, and families receiving care on the inpatient pediatric units of a teaching hospital, and has transitioned into full-time private psychotherapy practice.
Rochelle Coleman '05
Rochelle Coleman '05 is currently the Learning and Development Program Manager at PeacePlayers International. A DC area native, Rochelle was a member of the women's basketball team at Syracuse during her undergraduate career.
Daniel A. D’Aniello ’68
Daniel A. D’Aniello ’68 is a co-founder and chairman of The Carlyle Group, a public global alternative asset investment firm that originates, structures and acts as lead equity investor in management-led buyouts, strategic minority equity investments, equity private placements, consolidations and buildups, growth capital financings, Hedge Funds, and Funds of Funds.
Ryan Daughtridge '03
Ryan Daughtridge '03 is Founder & CEO at Bustin Boards Company.
Samuel V. Goekjian ’52
Samuel V. Goekjian ’52 is chair and CEO of Intracon Associates LLC, an international business consulting firm in Washington, DC. He is also managing partner of the Washington law firm of Kile Goekjian Reed & McManus PLLC.
Paul Greenberg ’65
Paul Greenberg ’65 has a passion for Syracuse University and for getting the University’s message heard in the Washington, D.C., and surrounding areas. A Life Trustee of the University, he is a former member of the Maxwell School Advisory Board, funded the annual Greenberg Speaker Series, and helped build support for the purchase of Greenberg House, named in his honor.
David B. Falk ’72
David Falk ’72 is one of the country’s most prominent sports agents, having managed many superstars like Michael Jordan and Patrick Ewing. He began his career with ProServ in 1974 and rose to vice chairman of the company. In 1992, he formed Falk Associates Management Enterprises (F.A.M.E.), providing specialized and personal representation to F.A.M.E.’s elite clientele of NBA superstars.
Pam Fessler G’80
As a correspondent for the National Desk of National Public Radio (NPR), Pam Fessler G’90 covers poverty and philanthropy, with her most recent stories focusing on hunger, homelessness, and the impact of the recession on the nation’s less fortunate, and how nonprofit groups are trying to address these issues.
Lawrence S. Kramer ’72
Lawrence S. Kramer ’72, founder of MarketWatch and a 40-year media industry veteran, was named president and publisher of the nation’s second-largest newspaper, USA Today, in May 2012. He is a member of the Gannett Leadership Team.
Katie Krause G'08
Katie Krause G'08 knew she wanted to work in sports since she was in middle school. In March 2021, Katie was named Director of Public Relations for the Baltimore Orioles, having previously worked with the Arizona Diamondbacks and in the American Hockey League.
Kevin Lamarque ’85
Kevin Lamarque ’85 has worked as Senior Staff Photographer for Reuters for 30 years, covering primarily the White House for the past 18 years in Washington.
Jocelyn Lederman '09
Jocelyn Lederman gladly credits the Department of Entrepreneurship and Emerging Enterprises (EEE) at the Martin J. Whitman School of Management with enabling her to see the possibilities of her potential. My professors would say ‘can’t is not an option,’ pushing me to aim higher than I ever thought I could,” she explains.
James Arthur (Art) Monk Sr. ’80
James Arthur (Art) Monk Sr. ’80 is principal of Art Monk Companies, located in Northern Virginia. An outstanding football letter winner at Syracuse, Monk joined the Washington Redskins in 1980. In 1997, he was the Redskins’ all-time leading receiver, with 888 receptions and 12,026 receiving yards.
Chineze Nwagbo '05
Chineze Nwagbo '05 is a former Syracuse University student-athlete, who earned her Bachelor of Science degree in Biology. Shortly after graduating from Syracuse, Chinny went on to play for 11 years as an international professional basketball player. She now works with a nonprofit organization called PeacePlayers International which is geared toward using the power of sport to unite, educate and inspire young people to create a more peaceful world.
Matthew Parker '02
Matthew Parker '02 is a Strategy & Operations Manager in Deloitte's Government and Public Services practice. A participant of Air Force ROTC while at Syracuse, Matthew is an accomplished aviator and former United States Air Force trained leader.
Michelle Perrin-Steinberg L'05
Michelle Perrin-Steinberg L'05 is the Lead Senior Legal Counsel at one of the largest global software companies in the world. She has had a wide range of experiences since earning her JD from SU that include time as a judicial law clerk; various corporate roles with major defense and aerospace corporations; a compliance role in academia; an attorney role in a traditional law firm; and Big 4 consulting management.
Elliott I. Portnoy ’86
Syracuse University’s first alumnus to be named a Rhodes Scholar, Elliott Portnoy ’86 is global chief executive officer of Dentons, a law firm with 2,500 lawyers worldwide that serves clients in 52 countries.
Mark A. Pryor '90
Mark A. Pryor '90 is President and Founder of World Express Management, a full-service athletic management company specializing in track and field. A graduate of the College of Arts and Sciences, Mark was a member of the Track and Field team at Syracuse University and continues to help collegiate athletes today.
Jim Rosenheim ’64
For more than 85 years, three generations of the Rosenheim family have made Tiny Jewel Box “a unique and welcoming institution”. Both father Jim ’64 and son Matthew ’92 are proud Syracuse alums and DC natives. Read more about their interesting career paths and SU experiences.
Matthew Rosenheim ’92
For more than 85 years, three generations of the Rosenheim family have made Tiny Jewel Box “a unique and welcoming institution”. Both father Jim ’64 and son Matthew ’92 are proud Syracuse alums and DC natives. Read more about their interesting career paths and SU experiences.
Andrew Schwab '03
Andrew Schwab '03 works for the United States of Care, a nonpartisan nonprofit founded under the Obama Administration. Previously, Andrew has worked closely with the Affordable Care Act and has a wealth of other public affairs related experiences.
Simon Sjogren '07
Simon Sjogren '07 works in the private school system as the Director of Technology at Millwood School. An involved student while on campus, Simon carried the lessons he learned at SU on to both his Master's Degree and his career.
Brian Spendley ’09
When Brian Spendley (photo by Rachel Fus ’08) came to Syracuse as a freshman in 2005, his interests in engineering and medicine led him to major in bioengineering at the College of Engineering and Computer Science. But through a multitude of experiences outside the classroom, he “quickly realized that my passions were wider and deeper than I ever knew prior to college.”
Megan Stull '00
Megan Stull '00 currently serves as Counsel on Google's Communications Law team, where she offers counsel on legal issues concerning consumer electronics, accessibility for individuals with disabilities, use and availability of spectrum resources, and video. She credits her studies during her freshman year at Syracuse with sparking an interest in communications law.
Richard L. Thompson G’67
Richard L. Thompson G’67, chairman of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees, joined the Washington, DC, office of Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP in June 2014, as senior counsel in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors. Prior to that, Thompson was senior counsel at Patton Boggs LLP in the healthcare and pharmaceutical sectors.
Brandy Witthoft '01
Brandy Witthoft '01 is a foreign service officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). She has served overseas for over 10 years in places such as Senegal, Iraq, Turkmenistan, and Haiti.
Helen Zughaib '81
Helen Zughaib '81 lived mostly in the Middle East and Europe before coming to the United States to study art at Syracuse University in the College of Visual and Performing Arts. For over 25 years, Helen has been exhibiting and selling her artwork, and has also traveled with the State Department as a Cultural Envoy, sharing her work in exhibitions, talks and workshops.