Alumni Creekers

April Claus 1995

…is the sole proprietor of Interactive Environmental Programs, which as born in 2000 as a way to introduce Pennsylvanians to their native reptile and amphibian species.  Using live specimens, models, sights and sounds, these engaging “hands-on” environmental programs are presented to thousands of local citizens from area schools, colleges, parks, nature camps, summer camps and teacher workshops every year.  She even presents this program at Freshwater Academy (Creek Camp) every year! Recently she has expanded her business to include even more programming such as team building, women’s empowerment, consultation and more!

Lynn Willey 1996

…is a Senior Environmental Scientist at Tighe & Bond.

Patrick Coyne 1997

…is Vice President of Marketing, Consulting, & Engineering Sales for Environmental Data Resources, Inc. He has also worked for Waste Management, Inc. in New Hampshire.

Chris Resek 1997 (former Project Coordinator)

…obtained a Masters of Arts and Teaching from the University of Pittsburgh and started as a 7th grade Earth Science teacher at Highlands Middle School (north of Pittsburgh) in the fall of 2004.

Charles Eldermire 1998

…earned his Master’s Degree in Biology from the University of Montana in 2001. He has worked in a number of itinerant field biologist positions including the USGS in Alaska and the Yukon Delta. He spent 6 months in Costa Rica teaching sea turtle conservation to high school students. He is now the Multimedia Project Leader at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Allison Roy 1998

…is Unit Leader of the U.S. Geological Survey’s Massachusetts Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit and Research Associate Professor in the Department of Environmental Conservation at the University of Massachusetts Amherst. She works with graduate students and cooperators to characterize anthropogenic impacts on aquatic ecosystems and identify conservation strategies for effectively protecting and restoring watersheds and aquatic species. She received a MS in Entomology and PhD in Ecology from the University of Georgia.

Amy Shema 1998

…earned a master’s degree in Education and became a certified elementary teacher. She got  her Ph.D. in Education at the University of Rochester. She has worked for the Humane Society and the Audubon Society. She is currently a Senior Research Associate for Synergy Enterprises Inc.

Adam Smee 1998

…is living in Kathmandu, Nepal and works at Lincoln School, an international school for expat students.  He teachers philosophy, environment, and graphic design to high school students.

Chris Turner 1998

…is Senior Managing Scientist at The Johnson Co.

Erika Bilger 1999

…earned a masters in Entomology at the University of Georgia in 2002, looking at macroinvertebrate communities in the Okefenokee Swamp. She is an aquatic entomologist at the Illinois Natural History Survey.

Neal Alexandrowicz 1999

…He previously worked in Farmington, New Mexico as a petroleum geologist for CDX Gas. He spent a year and a half at the University of Montana after leaving Allegheny and has decided it was time to move back West. He is now a Geology Professor at Collin College – Preston Ridge in Frisco, Texas.

Ben Holcomb 1999

…obtained a Master’s degree in Fisheries Sciences from South Dakota State University while studying trophic dynamics of Black Hills watersheds.  He and his wife, Fabiola, are living in Salt Lake City where he works as the biological assessment program coordinator for the Utah Division of Water Quality.

Christy Meredith 1999

…She currently works for the Environmental Protection Agency in the Office of Research and Development. For her research dissertation, Christy studied factors influencing distribution of exotic brown trout in mountain streams in Utah. She previously worked as a freshwater scientist for the Western Pennsylvania Conservancy, helping local watershed groups and governments evaluate their streams, and developing watershed assessment plans and restoration projects. She was also employed at the U.S. Forest Service for three years, where she studied effects of cattle grazing on salmon streams in the West and communicated her findings to managers. She now resides in Minnesota.

Jeffrey Shearer 1999

…is an aquatic ecologist for the National Park Service Southeast Alaska Network Inventory and Monitoring Program. He oversees freshwater monitoring activities in 5 National Parks in Southwest Alaska covering 9.4 million acres. He and Cara married in March, 2007.

Katie Dye 2000

Ryan Furtwangler 2000

…Principal, Senior Financial Advisor at HBKS Wealth Advisors.

Nicole Mason 2000 (former Project Coordinator)

…spent two years in the Peace Corps and went on to become Project Coordinator of Creek Connections at Allegheny College for two years. After working for a food securities group in Washington, she completed a Master’s Degree in Agricultural Economics at the Michigan State University.  She is now an associate professor at Michigan State University.

Matt Rowles 2000

…worked for the EPA’s EnergyStar Program, was a consultant for the DOE’s renewable technologies programs and completed a combined MS/MBA program at Duquesne University in Environmental Management.

Nicole Clarke 2001

…is currently living and working in the Washington, DC area. She works at SRA International as an environmental consultant and analyst assisting the EPA Brownfields Program with data analysis and communications materials.

Melanie (Lyle) Lewis 2001

…moved to Miami, FL after graduation and worked as a staff scientist in the environmental consulting field. She has since relocated back to Pennsylvania and is currently working as a lab technician at Stewart Labs in Clarion.

Nick Radio 2001

…Completed a Ph.D. in pharmacology at Duquesne University with research on the effects of melatonin on bone formation in human stem cells (may be used for osteoporosis therapy). He is also the head TA for an anatomy lab and has a chocolate lab. He is now the Regional Manager- East for Thermo Fisher Scientific.

Rich Schultheis 2001

…completed a master’s degree at the University of Georgia with a project on wetland trophic dynamics. He is currently a Migratory Shore & Upland Game Bird Biologist for the Kansas Department of Wildlife, Parks, and Tourism. He also enjoys biking.

Laura Wies 2001

…is managing a farm and farmer training program: the Greater Lansing FoodbankShe is currently an Associate Inspection Supervisor for California Certified Organic Farmers.

Mike Shema 2002

…earned a master’s degree in Environmental Science and Management from Duquesne University and is now living in Pittsburgh with his wife, Laura Paich ’02, and daughter. He and Laura are working as ecologists with Civil & Environmental Consultants, Inc. and environmental consulting firm based in Pittsburgh.

Chad Cochrane 2003

…married fellow alumna Leah Cole ’03 in 2003 and is a soil conservation technician for the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service in Concord, New Hampshire. Leah and Chad had their first child in June 2004.

Tim Day 2003

…is an Assistant Professor at Osaka University.

Sarah Falkowski 2003

…worked for the Florida Department of Environmental Protection at Rookery Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve in Naples, Florida. She is currently an Education Manager at an Environmental Learning Center.

Lisa Flinn 2003

…received her Masters of Divinity at the Lutheran Theological Seminary in Gettysburg, PA.

Derek Giebell 2003

…Earned a masters degree and teaching certificate at Edinboro University.

Katie Howlett 2003

…is working for the State of Ohio Department of Mental Health. She’ll be going back to school with plans of earning a master’s degree.

Laura (Tingley) Tuel 2003

…earned her J.D. at West Virginia University.  She married Alex Tuel in 2007 and they have two sons: Hudson and Desmond.  After living in WV, DC, and MD, they now reside in Colorado. Laura worked for The Wilderness Society as the Senior Philanthropy Officer for the Southwest Region. She is now the Major Gift Officer for national conservation org.

Dhira (Dale) Brown 2004

…lives and works Washington state. She worked as a restoration ecologist for 9 years who ran a very successful long-term habitat stewardship program for two environmental non-profits. She is now a facilitator and life coach. 

Mark Galatowitsch 2004

…spent the summer after graduation in Colorado working for Allegheny Professor Scott Wissinger before going abroad with the Peace Corps in Nicaragua as an environmental education volunteer (2004-2006). He went on to get his master’s studying wetland mayflies at University of Georgia and later a PhD at University of Canterbury in Christchurch, NZ where he investigated damselfly and waterboatmen life history strategies in mountain wetlands and lakes. He is now an Associate Professor of Biology at Centre College where he teaches Freshwater Ecology, Entomology, and many other ecology courses.

David Hall 2004

…is working with the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection in Meadville, PA.

John Domsic 2005

…received his post-doc at the Wistar Institute. He is now a Large Molecule Analytical Development Scientist at Janssen Pharmaceutical. 

Kaitlin McCormick 2005

…is working for Ecology and Environment, Inc. at their Lancaster, NY headquarters.  She is also pursuing an Executive MBA at the University of Buffalo.

Ellen (Smith) Cass 2005

…is teaching at the The Learning Center and involves her students in Creek Connections.

Jessie (Perryman) Fuller 2006

…is a teacher in the Meadville area.

Jackie Stallard 2006

…completed her master’s degree from Lesley University and is the Manager of Education Programs at  Project Learning Tree in Washington, D.C.

Mary (Zoller) Utter 2006

…is the Dean of Students at the Community College of Allegheny County.

David Cass 2007

… is the agency forester for Washington State Parks. He works across the state taking care of trees and forestland in 129 parks.  He lives in Tacoma, Washington with his wife, Lindsay Herendeen (2007) and sons.

Dan Conant 2007

…is the founder and CEO of Solar Holler, a non-profit solar developer and advocacy group in his home state of West Virginia.  Dan married his college sweetheart Laura (Nagel) Conant 2007.

Cassandra (Hamilton) Sprenkle 2007

…taught life science in Erie for years before moving to Georgia and raising amazing children.

Lindsay (Herendeen) Cass 2007

…is the health educator in environmental health at the State of Washington Department of Health. She does outreach to communities dealing with contaminants in their environment.  She also leads communication around fish consumption advisories for the state. She lives in Tacoma, Washington with her husband, David Cass (2007) and sons.

Nicole Scatena 2007

…earned her Masters of Public Health degree at Boston University’s School of Public Health, with a concentration in Environmental Health. She worked for PPG as the Industrial Coatings Product Stewardship Manager for the Americas. She is now a Global Product Stewardship Manager at Johnson & Johnson.

Tara Fortier 2008

…is a research analyst in the water resources and drinking water quality division of the Cadmus Group, Inc., an environmental consulting firm on the outskirts of Boston which is primarily contracted by the EPA’s Office of Water. Her office is located on Water St, in Watertown, a fact that often makes her chuckle.

Carrie Kean 2008

…is a veterinarian at Choice Vets Pet Care.

Matthew Knittel 2008

…is an environmental educator at Cleveland Metroparks Watershed Stewardship Center.

Perry Bruno 2009

…is an Account Executive at Hologic, Inc.

Sarah (Culver) Roode 2009

…is a scientist at Zoetis, a veterinary pharmaceutical company, in Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Sarah (Dippold) Lindgren 2009

…is the Pennsylvania State Park Manager at Kettle Creek and Ole Bull State Parks.

Emily Ricotta 2009

….earned her Master of Science in Molecular Microbiology and Immunology degree from  Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public health and is now a Senior Research Assistant at the Johns Hopkins Center for Communication Programs, with the Global Program on Malaria – NetWorks project.  It is a USAID-funded program aimed at preventing malaria by increasing access to and promoting consistent use of long lasting insecticide-treated bed nets.  She’s responsible for data collection, analysis, and dissemination, and travels all of the world managing field teams and attending international meetings with partners like Roll Back Malaria and the World Health Organization.

Brandon Goeller 2010

…is a Riparian and Wetland Scientist at NIWA in Waikato, New Zealand.

Kelsey (Mitchell) Whittelsey 2010

…She currently lives in Erie, PA with her husband and two daughters.

Zachary Piso 2010

…pursued a Ph.D. in Environmental Philosophy at Michigan State University. He is now an Assistant Environmental Philosophy Professor at the University of Dayton.

Amy (Kerschner) Smith 2011

…Amy is an Earth/Space Science and Biology teacher at Franklin Regional HS in Murrysville PA. Amy is a Creek Connections participating teacher.

Mark Kirk 2011

…completed his masters degree from University of Idaho in fisheries science studying diadromous fish ecology. He then completed his Ph.D. at the University of Wyoming. He continues his research in fisheries science.

Ian Armstrong 2012

…is a water sciences system technician at Walt Disney World.

Cameron Eddy 2012

… is an Invasive Mammal Specialist at Backcountry, New Zealand.

John Milligan 2012

…is an Assistant Professor, Department of Chemical and Biological Sciences at Thomas Jefferson University, East Falls campus.

Sara Salisbury 2012

…was an environmental scientist with ARCADIS, an environmental consulting firm.  She did everything from permitting and site remediation to restoration projects and more! She is pursuing a Ph.D. at Middle Tennesee State University.

Sahar Arbab 2013

…is Program Coordinator at Washington Green Schools.

Xiaoqing (Evelyn) Ma 2014

… is a Strategic Pricing Analyst in North Carolina.

William Tolliver 2014

…was named a PBS Early Learning Champion in 2018. He continues his work with PBS and much more!

Elliott Bartels 2015

…is a landscape architect in Arizona.

Kristy Garcia 2015

…As of March, 2018 she was a customer service representative for a wildlife removal company. She volunteers for her local Audubon Society.

David Olson 2015

… is a Research Assistant for Forest Entomology at the University of Kentucky while pursuing a Master’s Degree in Entomology.

Katie Katilius 2015

…She currently works as a Medical Device Sales Representative at Precision Medical, Inc.

Kelcy (Wagner) Marini 2015

…is the Environmental Education Coordinator for the Mercer County Conservation District.

Brogan McGowan 2016

…is a Project Coordinator at Pittsburgh Filmmakers designing programming, curriculum, and outreach initiatives for Youth Digital Media.

Jacob Turin 2016

…is studying at the West Virginia University School of Pharmacy.

Johanna Stanley 2017

…is a Animal Care Technician at Hera Bio Labs.

Melissa McCann 2018

…is pursuing a graduate degree at Washington University in St. Louis.

Paul Sutkowski 2018

…is a genetic Counseling Assistant at GeneDx.

Matthew Hutchinson 2019

… is an Intake and Assessment Counselor at Waddington Rehabilitation Center.

 Kala Mahen 2019

… is a researcher at Lerner Research Institute at the Cleveland Clinic. She is working under Dr. George Stark in his cancer lab while focusing on immunotherapy and other cancer treatments. Dr. Stark is a distinguished scholar and is mostly known for his invention of both the Western and Northern blots and the discovery of the JAK-STAT signaling pathway, a chain of protein signaling responsible for cell death, cell division, immunity, and most importantly, tumor formation.

She is also studying to receive her masters of public health through Chamberlain University.

Gretchen Barbera 2021

…is an environmental educator at Fern Hollow Nature Center.

Isabella Petitta 2021

…is a research technician at Pennsylvania State University.