Marietta College Alumni Association

Melissa Schultz Bennett

Class of 1991

Ms. Bennett, was a member of the White House Senior Staff and had served within the Bush Administration since January 2001. As Deputy Assistant to the President for Appointments and Scheduling, she was responsible for coordinating all aspects of the President’s Schedule. Prior to her position as Director of Appointments and Scheduling, Ms. Bennett worked in the Office of the Chief of Staff, where she served as Director of Operations from 2003–2004 and Scheduler from 2001–2003.

Before joining the Bush Administration, Melissa was a Scheduler for Former Congressman Robert Portman from 1993–2001 and Legislative Correspondent for Congresswoman Deborah Pryce from 1992–1993 on Capitol Hill. She earned a BA in Journalism from Marietta College in 1991. Melissa and her husband, Barry, have a daughter, Ella. They reside in Alexandria, VA.

Mark Fazzina

Class of 1983

Mr. Fazzina currently serves as a Principal with Executive Search Partners, Inc. in Columbus, Ohio, where he recruits for accounting, banking, and finance professionals. Previously he worked at Ernst & Young, Huntington Bank, and Crowe, Cizek, & Co.

Mark is active in the Columbus community having served on the Boards of Maryhaven, Inc. and the Contemporary American Theatre Company, as well as volunteering with Big Brothers of Central Ohio and Special Olympics. He is also a member of the Athletic Club of Columbus.

During his Marietta College experience, he participated in athletics including football, basketball, and track. His fondest memories include the friendships he made and still maintains. He currently splits his time between Columbus, OH, and Chicago, IL, and recently traveled on a mission trip to Russia.

David (Dave) Harmon

Class of 1954

Mr. Harmon has spent over fifty successful years in the oil, gas, and industrial mineral exploration and exploitation environment for numerous independent entities. He has served as director and corporate officer of many of these entities and is presently a co–founder and partner of Presidential Oil & Gas LLC.

Dave is a life–member of the Society of Petroleum Engineers and presently on the Board of the Ohio Petroleum Section. His involvement also includes the Geological Society of America where he was elected to Fellowship, the American Association of Petroleum Geologists, and the American Institute of Professional Geologists where he served as President of the Ohio Chapter.

At Marietta College, he was a member of Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, serving as Chapter treasurer; elected to Beta Beta Beta for biology honors, serving as Historian; Vice–President of the Senior Class; Coxswain, for the JV Crew team; and a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, a national leadership honor society. He and his wife, Paula, have six adult children. They live in New Concord, OH.

Daniel (Dan) Jones

Class of 1965

After college Mr. Jones held various sales rep positions with the Hobart Brothers Company, and the Industrial Lift Truck Co. in the Philadelphia area. In 1971, he became the Director of Alumni Affairs for Marietta College and in 1976 was named the Director of Admissions.

After fifteen years at Marietta College, Mr. Jones took the position of Director of Admissions at Maine Maritime Academy where he spent the next 18 years eventually becoming the college's Dean of Students. While at MMA his management responsibilities included admissions, marketing, financial aid, housing, dining services, health/counseling services, bookstore operations, public relations, and summer conferences.

Mr. Jones is currently a Broker for Old Colony Realtors of Marietta. He and his wife, Jane, reside in Marietta, Ohio, and have four children.

Brent McCurdy

Class of 1968

Mr. McCurdy is a Certified Public Accountant. He retired in June 2005 as Partner of the Indianapolis office of Ernst & Young LLP where he was responsible for the real estate and construction industry practice for Indiana, Kentucky and Southern Ohio. He began his professional career with Arthur Andersen in Cleveland in 1968, and later became the managing partner of the Columbus, Ohio office of Kenneth Leventhal & Company prior to its merger with Ernst & Young in 1995.

Brent serves as the Treasurer for the Dream Center Clinic, a free medical clinic for low income and uninsured families in the Charleston, SC area. Previously he served as Treasurer of the American Cancer Society and the Alzheimers Association, United Way, Ohio Hotel and Motel Association, and the Woodland Country Club where he was a member of the Board of Directors and Treasurer.

Mr. McCurdy and his wife, Charlie, are members of Seacoast Church and Snee Farm Country Club. They reside in Mt. Pleasant, SC.

John R. Murphy

Class of 1963

John earned his undergraduate degree in Political Science from Marietta College in 1963 and a master’s degree in Counseling from the University of Bridgeport in 1966. He advanced his professional development with completion of the Harvard University Management Development Institute in 1986.

For thirty-seven years, John served Penn State University in a variety of capacities before retiring as director of student affairs on the Wilkes-Barre campus in 2004. His many contributions were recognized with the dedication of the John R. Murphy Student Services Center in October, 2008.

Actively involved in a variety of professional and campus organizations, John provided leadership for strategic planning, budget, and assessment groups within the Penn State system while winning several awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Student Government Association in 2003.

John’s appreciation and respect for the quality of his undergraduate experience at Marietta prompted him to encourage no fewer than eight other family members to join The Long Blue Line. He is married to Shawn (Wilska) ’64 and they reside in Dallas, Pennsylvania.

Teresa Gilliam Petras

Class of 1988

Terri Gilliam Petras graduated in 1988 from Marietta College with bachelor's degrees in advertising and public relations. While at Marietta, Terri was vice president of Chi Omega Sorority, participated in volleyball and basketball, serving as captain of both teams, worked for the campus newspaper and radio/television station and was a member of the mass media honorary.

Terri is Vice President, Director of Business Development, for Mullen, an integrated communications company in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. She coordinates all agency proposal responses and the production of corporate communication material and marketing campaigns. Prior to joining Mullen in 1995, Terri served as the marketing director for the Northwest Indiana Forum.

She is married to Michael Petras, a 1989 graduate of Marietta College. They reside in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, with their two children, Taylor and Seth.

J. Roger Porter

Class of 1966

Hailing from Malta, Ohio, a small town about 40 miles northwest of Marietta, Porter graduated from Marietta with a degree in petroleum engineering. Upon his graduation, Porter began working for Continental Oil Company in New Mexico. He later received his MBA from Columbia University and began working with a New Jersey-based company Finetex.

During 35 years at Fintext including president and CEO, Porter led the once small textile chemical company and propelled it to become an eminent manufacturer of specialty ingredients that are used in the personal care and the pharmaceutical industries. He retired in 2005 after selling Finetex.

He and his wife, LaRue Scala Porter ’66 divide their time between Bonita Springs, Fla., and Woodland Park, N.J. The couple enjoys walking trips in Europe and South America and spending time with their three adult children—Lisa, Julie and Jill—and four grandchildren.

Jodell Raymond

Class of 1984

Mrs. Raymond has over twenty years of experience in advertising, public relations, sales, and marketing. She is President of GenderCorp, a training and development organization geared toward helping woman in business. Formerly, she was a Senior Sales Director for Mary Kay Cosmetics, consistently placing in the top 1% in sales. During her tenure at Mary Kay, she received the "Miss Go Give" Award, a national peer–nominated award.

Jodell is the founder of Marietta College Mass Media Department's Women's Mentoring Program, serves on the Cat Fancier's Association International Ambassador Program Committee, is a CFA licensed, Certified Clerk and serves as Treasurer of the Educated Guess Cat Fanciers and Hallmark Cat Club.

She teaches business as an adjunct faculty member at Medaille College's ACCEL program in Rochester, NY and Everest Business Institute, as well as owns an online women's apparel website. She holds a M. A. L.S. on women's leadership from S.U.N.Y. Empire State College and a BA in Radio–Television with Departmental Honors in Mass Media from Marietta College. She currently resides in Rochester, NY.

Jason Rebrook

Class of 1996

Mr. Rebrook was recently promoted to Senior Vice President, Oil and Gas, managing over $1B in equity investments, with responsibilities that include deal origination, various negotiations, structuring, asset development, and technical oversight at GE Energy Financial Services in Stamford, CT. Previously, he was employed by Chevron and held various engineering, business development, and leadership roles, both domestic and international.

While at Marietta College, Jason was President of the Marietta Chapter of the Society of Petroleum Engineers, President of Pi Epsilon Tau, and was named Outstanding Senior within the petroleum department. He was also student member of the Academic Standings Committee. Academically, he was designated as a Freshman Scholar, Alpha Lambda Delta Honorary, and graduated with departmental and college honors.

A native of Clarksburg, WV, he holds an MBA from Duke University. He is a volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, Relay for Life, and United Way. He is married to Erin Conroy Rebrook, Marietta College Class of 1999. They have two children, Jacob Charles (2003) and Katelyn Grace (2005) and currently reside in Newtown, CT.

Brian Rothenberg

Class of 1988

Brian P. Rothenberg is Executive Director of ProgressOhio. For the past 20 years, Brian has served Ohio progressive candidates and causes as a political and earned media strategist. His commitment to progressive causes began as a 16–year old student in Aurora, Ohio, where he co–founded and served as Chairman of the non–profit Aurora Youth Center, Inc. Later, the community created the Shaffer–Rothenberg Scholarship for Community Service which continues to be awarded annually to a deserving A.H.S. senior.

Brian is no stranger to Columbus and the State House and has served in capacities as varied as the Governor's Honors Intern for Governor Richard Celeste to Communications Director for the Ohio Democratic Party. Over his career in advocacy and outreach, he has earned accolades for his service to former Cleveland Mayor Michael R. White and in support of the defeat of Issue 2 in 1998.

After a very active and distinguished student career, he graduated from Marietta College as the 1988 Irvine Award Winning Outstanding Senior, with a B.A. with Honors in Political Science and Journalism. In 2003 the Marietta College Alumni Association named Brian its Outstanding Young Alumnus.

Frank Schossler

Class of 1986

Mr. Schossler is a Certified Public Accountant with over twenty years of experience. Currently he serves as the Chief Financial Officer for Installed Building Products. He has provided financial management for various companies including Basic Plastics, Ltd., O-Cedar Brands Inc., and Worthington Food Inc. Schossler began his career with the accounting firm of Ernst & Young LLP, and is a current member of the Ohio Society of Certified Public Accountants.

Schossler received his bachelor degrees in Accounting and Management from Marietta College in 1986. In 1992 he obtained his MBA from The Ohio State University.

He was a four year member of Marietta College's baseball team including the 1986 National Championship team. Schossler was named All OAC, All Academic OAC, and All Mideast Region. He and his wife Amy, reside in Hilliard, OH with their two children, AJ and Emma.

Reginald E. Sims

Class of 1975

(Bio not provided)
Current Term Expires 2010

Jeffrey Stafford

Class of 1983

Mr. Stafford has held various positions with Sonoco Products Company since being hired in 1988. Currently he serves as Vice President & General Manager for their Protective Packaging Division.

He serves on the Board of Directors for Excel Aquatics, a non–profit organization. At Marietta he was involved in basketball and track. As a two time All–American high jumper, he inducted into the Marietta College Hall of Fame.

Jeffrey is married to Pamela (Lane) Stafford, a 1990 Marietta College graduate. They have a 12 year old son, Grant, and are currently living in Brentwood, TN.

Sharon Thomas

Class of 1978

Ms. Thomas has been employed by Rehabilitation Services Commission as a Disability Claims Specialist for the past 29 years. She is an active member of OCSEA Women's Action Committee & Committee on Minority & Community Affairs, The Greater Linden Business Association and active in local community issues

While at Marietta College, she was involved in The Black Student Union, both as president and secretary. Sharon is honored and proud of Marietta College’s rich history including how Marietta and MC students played a big part in American history including The Underground Railroad, The Constitution, and The Civil Rights Movement.

Sharon enjoys collecting black art & angels, shopping, decorating and reading. She has a teenage daughter and resides in Columbus, OH.

Matthew B. Weekley

Class of 1981

Matt is a partner and CPA with Plante & Moran PLLP, the nation's 11th largest certified public accounting and business advisory firm. Matt leads the firm's Health & Human Services practice that serves nearly 2,000 clients, including hospitals and healthcare systems, senior care facilities, physician practices, and not–for–profit organizations.

Plante & Moran, named to FORTUNE Magazine's "Top 100 Companies to work for in America" for the past 11 years, provides clients with financial, human capital, operations, strategy, technology, and family wealth management services. Plante & Moran has a staff of more than 1,600 located in offices throughout Michigan, Ohio and Illinois, as well as internationally in China and Mexico.

Prior to Plante & Moran, Matt worked for two international accounting firms and was the CFO of a hospital system for more than 11 years. He has served on the College's Business & Economics Advisory Council.

Jon Wendell

Class of 1969

Mr. Wendell entered the information technology field with State Farm Insurance in 1970. Currently, he is an IT Director at Talbots Inc. His responsibilities include all IT Operations and Customer/Associate Security and Privacy.

During his time at Marietta College, Jon was a member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity. He also played in the band and was a member of the Singers. He lives in Oldsmar, FL with his wife and has four adult children.

Mary Ellen Zeppuhar

Class of 1971

Dr. Zeppuhar has over thirty years of experience in special education. Currently she works at West Virginia University serving as a faculty member and a Program Manager for the Center for Excellence in Disabilities. Her area of expertise is in the education of persons with visually impairment and cognitive disabilities. Mary Ellen has consulted numerous organizations including the State of West Virginia Board of Law Examiners, Classroom Inc., and West Virginia Rehabilitation Services. A lecturer, published writer, and researcher for individuals with disabilities, her work has been published in numerous professional journals and state reports. Fond memories of Marietta College include living in Follett Hall and writing for the Marcolian. She has two adult daughters and one grandson. She currently resides in Morgantown, WV.

Zhou Zhou

Class of 2002

Zhou Zhou is currently a TV producer for Phoenix Satellite Television of Hong Kong’s Beijing Program Department. Phoenix Satellite Television Holdings Ltd or Phoenix Television is a Hong Kong–based Mandarin Chinese television broadcast outlet that serves the Chinese mainland and other markets with substantial Chinese viewers. It has five different television channels. Phoenix Television provides news, information, and entertainment programs and enjoys a good relationship with the People's Republic of China government. It is also one of the few privately owned broadcasting companies in mainland China able to broadcast information about events not covered by the government media. After three years working with Phoenix TV’s Washington DC bureau as a news reporter, Zhou Zhou returned to Beijing in 2005. She is now producing a weekly forty–five–minute Chinese Traditional Culture program, Chinese Culture Kaleidoscope, which reaches a large number of Chinese viewers around the world.

Zhou came to Marietta College as an international student in August 2000 after earning her BA in Communication at the University of China. After two years of study, she completed her MA degree in Mass Media Liberal Learning. Zhou resides in Beijing, China and is proud to be the first international MCAA board member.

Tracy L. Zuckett

Class of 1996

Tracy Zuckett is a principle of the law firm of Moser & Marsalek where she specializes in professional liability defense and risk management for health care providers, medical facilities and educational institutions. She joined the firm in 1999 after obtaining her JD from Saint Louis University School of Law. Tracy is a member of and holds leadership roles in several legal organizations and publishes and presents to her peers and clients on various legal issues.

Tracy obtained her BA in English with a minor in theater from Marietta College where she actively participated in theater productions on and off stage, various instrumental and vocal ensembles, was a cheerleader and served on the Student Senate and Student Athletic Council. Tracy was also a member of Omicron Delta Kappa, Alpha Psi Omega, and Sigma Tau Delta.

Tracy lives in St. Louis, MO, with her husband, Hugh O'Sullivan, and enjoys volunteering with Habitat for Humanity and participating in recreational softball, volleyball and football leagues.