Alumni Update

A secure searchable alumni database has been added to the website.  Click on the alumni services link from our homepage (www.eiu.edu/~commdis) and then you will see the link to the alumni database, or you can go directly to the database by typing www.eiu.edu/~commdis/alumniDirectory.  You can find phone numbers, home and email addresses of former classmates in the database.  Contact information is searchable using the classmate’s married or maiden name. A login and password must be supplied to access the database. The login is EIUalumni, the password is VanRiper.

Alumni Updates
(1974 – 1990)

(’74) Dona Evans King retired from the Charleston school district in 2007.  She plans to travel to California and visit children and grandchildren in Texas.  She is also going to continue working as a speech pathologist in early intervention.

(’74) Barbara White celebrated the final wedding of her children in 2006.  Her son, Mike, was married in Florida this past year.  Barbara kept busy with several trips to Jacksonville to help with the plans.  She also was blessed with a grand baby, David Michael, in March.

(’78) Colleen Hillyard Taylor has worked for 24 years as a public school SLP.  She is currently in Manhattan, IL, at a K-2 building.  She has a daughter, Mattie, (4th grade) and son, Jack, (1st grade).

(’78) Marsha Anderson Maxedon retired in 2007 from the Shelbyville school district. 

(’80) Christy Olsen Strole continues to be active in ISHA.  Her children have been busy as well. Gaven advanced to graduate school at SIUC.  Griff studied in Singapore for a semester, and daughter Jessie vacationed in Tahiti.  In addition to working as an SLP in the schools, Christy works part time as a coordinator.

**Add picture of Mary Anne Hanner and Christy Strole with caption that reads “Mary Anne Hanner and former student teacher Christy Strole”

(’87) Athanasios Xofillis completed his Ph.D. and lives in Thessaloniki, Greece.

(’89) Mary Ellen Shea Donofrio continues to work part-time at Elmhurst Hospital and enjoys spending time her family.  

(1990 – 1999)

(’90) Tracy Landes Brangle was married to husband, Patrick, in November of 2006.  She resides in St. Louis, MO, and serves as convention co-chair for the Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association.

(’90) Jennifer Klay-Kravat works with pre-schoolers at the Kankakee Headstart Program.  She is busy with daughter, Jade, (7th grade) and son, Aidan, (4th grade).  Her husband continues cutting hair and moved into a new hair salon.

(’91) Ann Lueken is currently taking some time off from work. Her son, Adam, is now 21 and daughter Lindsey keeps her on her toes.

(’92) Amy Becker Ring keeps in touch with former classmates Jodi and Julie.  Amy is in England, where she works about 6 days a month while enjoying activities like yoga, a book club, and cooking classes.  Her husband, Jim, continues to work a lot but makes time for fun things like skiing and cycling.    

(’94) Laurie Bounds Keck is currently a stay at home mom with children Joseph (born in November, 2006), Sam, Abigail, and Adam.  She plans on returning to work at the University of Illinois once Joe is in school.

(’95) Heather Gainey resides in Cambridge, IL, and has been busy working and CFY supervising.  Her son, Nicholas, is in first grade.

(’95) Vance B. Innes had a change in career and now works for the Vermillion County Probation Department as a drug court coordinator in Danville, IL.

(’95) Lori Reeds Waggoner currently resides in Pinckneyville, IL.

(’97) Jennifer Keigher-Fogel recently changed jobs from working in private practice in a hospital and clinic for the last 9 years, to a school position.  She is enjoying the schedule of working in a school, especially with two girls at home and another one on the way.

(’99) Melissa Nulty Strathman enjoys spending time with husband Chris and her two daughters, Josie and Avery.

(2000-2002)

(’00) Jane Harris is working at Elmhurst Memorial Hospital as a pediatric SLP.

(‘00) Lisa Odorizzi Grodeon welcomed her first baby in August 2006. She is working for St. Louis Special School District.

(’01) Angie Thor Schnobel had a baby boy, Nicholas, in July of 2005.  She is enjoying time with her little boy and working 2 days a week at Easter Seals in Joliet, IL.  She and her husband recently built a new house and reside in Plainfield.

(’01)  Jennifer Albin Stork and husband Shane have two daughers, Aubrey and Amelia.  She previously worked for the Charleston Unit School District #1 and did some consulting and EI private practice.  Jennifer is moving to Bloomington, IL and will be working for Unit 5 School District in Normal.

(’01) Cheryl Browning Gillihan is in management and maketing for a group of long term care facilities in the St. Louis metro-east region with RehabCare Group. Her husband, Jason, began an anesthesia residency at Barnes-Jewish.  Son, Andrew, is a busy toddler (2). 

(’02) Carey Little Miller had a new baby, Brady Tennyson, in March 2007.

(2003-2006)

(’03) Amy Beyers Finan was recently married to husband Dan and resides in Lockport, IL.   She works at Provena St. Josepha Medical Center in Joliet.

(’04) Angela Ballinger Staley and husband Chris had a baby girl, Chloe, in December.  Angie is working for Rehab Care Group at 2 skilled nursing facilities in Lombard and Elmhurst, IL.  She is also doing PRN and SNF with Central Dupage Hospital.

(’05) Trisha Brengle currently works for Provena Covenant Medical Center in Urbana, IL.  She is engaged to be married in November 2007.

(‘05) Danielle Brumleve Weber was married in June 2007, to husband Dean.

 (’05) Emily Lutz is working for Kaskaskia Special Education District in  Centralia, IL.  She also works for db Speech Therapy and Associates as an EI provider in Watson, IL.  Emily and husband Jamie welcomed a new baby, Andrew, in April 2006.

(’05) Lindsay Moffett worked for a school district west of St. Louis, MO, for the past year.  She is excited about her move up north to a school district in Wheaton, IL.

(’06) Erin Mulcahy Smith was married in October, 2006 and is working at Toddler’s Choice Leaps-N-Bounds Pediatric Clinic in  Indianapolis, IN.

The department received some sad news as the newsletter was in the following editing stages.  An alumni from the class of 1991 passed away unexpectedly while on vacation with her family.   The following obituary was printed in the Evansville Courier Press on August 4, 2007.

Jennifer (Barter) Ramsey, 40, formerly of Harrisburg, IL, died Wednesday, August 1, 2007, while on vacation in Gatlingurg, TN.  She operated her own business called “My Little Wonders” and was a member of McKinley Avenue Baptist Church and attended First United Methodist Church in Crystal Lake, IL.  She is survived by her husband, Shane; sons, Brendan and Nathan; mother, Suellen Barter; brothers Chris and Jeremy Barter and stepmother, Dianne.