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Buck Files has represented hundreds of individuals and corporations before juries and judges in his 50-year career as a lawyer. He also has been a regular contributor for the Voice of Defense and was honored in 2016 for writing 200 articles for the magazine. That represents 20 years of work, writing 10 times a year; he is proud that he has never missed a deadline. Buck has earned an incredibly long list of honors for his work. He currently serves as chair of the Board of Trustees of the Texas Bar Foundation—the first criminal defense lawyer in that capacity. A former president of the State Bar of Texas, Buck is a shareholder and founding member of Bain, Files, Jarrett, Bain, and Harrison law firm in Tyler, Texas, where he lives with his wife, Robyn (McChesney) ’62.
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Don R. Read was featured in the Best Docs Magazine. Dr. Read is board certified in both general and colon and rectal surgery. He is the former director of surgical education at Cook County Hospital in Chicago. He has given lectures on colon and rectal surgery in Europe, South America, and the United States. Dr. Reed is a Fellow of the American Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons and the American College of Surgeons. He has served as president of medical staff of Medical City Dallas Hospital and president of the Dallas County Medical Society and the Texas Society of Colon and Rectal Surgeons. He is president-elect of the Texas Medical Association and is a distinguished alumnus of Austin College.
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Fran Crown Sims received Austin College’s Heywood C. Clemons Volunteer Service Award at Homecoming 2016. See the Alumni & Volunteer Awards.
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Charles Schroeder (MA ’68) has published a book, The Undergraduate Experience: Focusing Institutions on What Matters Most, with four colleagues, including the president of Elon University. This is his third co-authored book related to undergraduate education. Charles spent over 30 years as chief student affairs officer, working at Mercer University, St. Louis University, Georgia Institute of Technology, and the University of Missouri-Columbia. In 2001, he was appointed a professor of higher education in the Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis Department at the University of Missouri. Following retirement from that role, he served two years as a senior executive at Noel-Levitz, a national higher education consulting firm. He currently serves as a part-time senior associate consultant for Ruffalo Noel Levitz, specializing in retention and student success strategies. When not working on higher education issues, he is an avid outdoorsman who enjoys backpacking and hiking in the Rocky 
Mountains, float fishing in Alaska, and rock and ice climbing in the U.S. and South America. He and his wife, Barbara ’68, have two adult children. Tim Millerick, Austin College vice president for Student Affairs, said he is pleased to see Charles’ success. “Charles is a legendary scholar-practitioner who has advanced the Student Affairs profession in many ways,” Tim said. “As a partner school, I am pleased to know he is among the cadre of people from whom we receive insight at the Ruffalo Noel Levitz group. I have been fortunate to host Charles on campus and to visit with him at many national conferences.”
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Bill and Lynn Marie Mayfield Campaigne visited Ed Jones and his husband, Jeffery Twu, in Hong Kong in February 2016. Jeffery’s field research there toward his Ph.D. in anthropology offered a perfect chance for travel-loving friends to gather. The group is pictured in Macau.
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Don Johnson was named to the Distinguished Alumni of Austin College at Homecoming 2016. See the Alumni & Volunteer Awards.
John Sheridan has been installed as the Texas – Oklahoma Kiwanis district governor for 2016-17. The Texas – Oklahoma Kiwanis District is a 7,500-member organization that is part of Kiwanis International. Kiwanis is a global organization of volunteers dedicated to improving the world one child and one community at a time.
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Kay Bartholomew Eldredge, a longtime professor and distinguished teaching professor in the Department of Health Promotion and Behavior Sciences at The University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health, was announced as recipient of the school’s John P. McGovern Award in February 2016. She was to be an honoree at a lecture series and award ceremony that recognized her trailblazing work in the field. Sadly, the event became a memorial service, as she died from cancer a few days before the event.
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Roger Luttrell (MA ’77) was named to the Insurance Business America “Hot 100” for 2016, a list of those industry power players “making waves in the insurance industry … whether for 12 months of achievements or one gutsy move that shook up the insurance world.” In 2015, Roger took over as chairman of Combined Agents of America, a nationally ranked insurance agency aggregator of independent agencies in the central region of the country, including Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, and Nebraska. In addition to his duties as CAA chair, Roger is a 35-year industry veteran and a partner and owner of Benton Luttrell Brown Insurance.
John Mendel, executive vice president for automotive at America Honda Motor Company in California, presented the keynote remarks to open the 2016 Washington, D.C., Auto Show’s Public Policy Preview Day in January 2016. He spoke about the vision for sustainable mobility and empowering drivers to take the wheel of a greener, cleaner world. The Washington Auto Show draws members of Congress and regulatory officials to see new advances in the automotive industry. As executive vice president of the Automobile Division of American Honda, Mendel is the head of U.S. sales and marketing activities for both the Honda and Acura brands. Before he joined the company 11 years ago, Mendel spent 28 years with Ford Motor Company, ultimately serving as executive vice president and chief operating officer for Mazda North American Operations. He and his wife, Luan Beaty Mendel ’75, live in California.
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Katy Massingill Manck was elected president of the International Association of School Librarianship at its conference in Tokyo, Japan, in 2016. Katy is a librarian-at-large and reviewer of young adult books at BooksYALove.com. She now lives in East Texas, having earlier worked in academic, corporate, public, and school libraries. She and her husband, Lynn, celebrated their 35th anniversary last year and have five children—including 2005 ’Roo Josh, 12 grandchildren, six great-grandchildren, and several dogs. They are members of St. Andrew Presbyterian Church in Longview, Texas.
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Sean Coleman was named the associate vice president for Military and Governmental Affairs for Webster University in St. Louis, Missouri in 2016. He oversees the 39 military campuses that provide master’s level educational opportunities to service members, their families, and civilians. He lives in the Washington, D.C., area, where four of his campuses are located.
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Eve Neidhardt has published her first young adult science fiction/fantasy novel, Abysmal Canyon, on Amazon, as M.E. Neidhardt. Available in print or e-book, it is the first book of the Domina Lumen series. The contemporary novel is about an 18-year-old girl who is a dowser and about to go to college when she unwillingly inherits an ancient title that could be the deciding factor in a war between positive and negative energy entities. Ysolde is thrown into constant danger on Earth and other worlds as she struggles to accept her new role as the Domina Lumen. When Eve is not writing, she works on her art and assists in the management of the art estate of her late father, Richard “Dick” Neidhardt, who was a member of the Art Department faculty at Austin College from 1967 until he was named professor emeritus in 1986. Eve lives in Sherman with her four-legged friends. Read more on her blog: meneidhardt.com.
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Steven Pounders received the 2016 Kuchling Humanitarian Award at the annual Black Tie Dinner in Dallas in October 2016. The award, which recognizes “extraordinary gifts of time and talents,” honors Steven’s 25-plus years of serving the LGBT community with compassion and dignity through his medical practice, beginning at a time when HIV and AIDS were sweeping through the community with devastating impacts. Beyond his practice, Pounders volunteers as the medical director for Resource Center’s Nelson-Tebedo Clinic, which provides free medical care to those in need in the LGBT community. “I am humbled to be included on a list loaded with champions of social change and equality for the LGBT community,” Steven said. “My activism began in 1981 caring for and treating patients with the disease we came to know as HIV and AIDS at UTMB Galveston. While I’m very proud of our advancements in medical, legal, and civil rights, I realize there is much work ahead.” The award is named in honor of the late Raymond Kuchling, a leading activist in Dallas’ LGBT community in the 1980s. Since its beginning in 1982, Black Tie Dinner has been the nation’s largest fund raising dinner for the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender community. The event is one of empowerment, education, and entertainment.
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Doug Kohrs recently has been named to the board of directors for MedShape, Inc., an industry leader in orthopedic devices using advanced functional material technologies. He is currently president of the Foundation for Essential Needs and separately serves as a strategy consultant to the medical device industry. With more than 30 years of experience in the industry, he has served on the board of directors of more than 10 different medical device companies including Inova Spine and OmniGuide, Inc.
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Margie Briscoe Norman received the Cindy Curtis Bean Service to Alumni Award at Homecoming 2016. See the Alumni & Volunteer Awards.
Clayton Oliphant has co-authored a Bible study series titled The Basics. The series is comprised of three studies for a complete 12-week course on the basics of living as a follower of Jesus. Created especially for busy people, each book offers short, readable chapters with highlighted subtitles. The series is available through Abingdon Press. Clayton is the head pastor of First United Methodist Church in Richardson, Texas. He and his wife, Lori, have three children.
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Danny Henderson (MA ’85) joined the Oklahoma State basketball coaching staff in April 2016. His teams won more than 700 games and four state titles when he was a high school coach in Texas. He spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Boise State, where he helped the Broncos win the 2014-2015 Mountain West Conference title and at least 20 games each season. Throughout his career, Danny received several coaching awards, and was a finalist for Naismith National High School Coach of the Year. He also was named TABC Texas Coach of the Year, Texas Sportswriters Coach of the Year, and Southwest United States Coach of the Year. Danny and his wife, Anna, have two children, Maddie and Sophie.
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William Kerrigan has earned two prestigious fellowships that will support both his latest research project and his teaching at Muskingum University. He was one of 25 faculty members from the Council of Independent Colleges members selected to participate in summer 2016 in a week-long seminar on slave narratives at Yale University. That fall, the professor traveled to Mt. Vernon for a fellowship at the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington. The one-month residency supported research for his latest book, Citizen Henfield: Privateering and the Politics of Neutrality During Washington’s Presidency. The Mt. Vernon residency was key to William’s research for the book because of his access to President Washington’s books and papers, allowing him to carefully examine Washington’s correspondence with his cabinet on the question of neutrality. The professor was one of 17 faculty members selected for the fellowship. He has been a member of the faculty at Muskingum University since 1997.
Michael Minton of Fort Worth, Texas, represented the United States at the 6th World Union of Karate-do Federations Championships in Dublin, Ireland, in June 2016. He had placed third at the 2015 AAU National Karate Championship and earned the Team USA invitation. In Ireland, he competed in the Veteran Division (51 and older) in kumite (sparring) and kata (forms). He had trained for many years but gave it up when his law career and family demands grew. After nearly two decades away from the sport, he began training a few years ago when he moved his law office to a new location that turned out to be very near his former instructor and Genjikai Karate & Tai Chi.
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Michael Adams was named to the Distinguished Alumni of Austin College at Homecoming 2016. See the Alumni & Volunteer Awards.
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Scott Josephson is head writer for Uppermost Entertainment in Dallas, Texas. The first project, a comedic, one-man stage play, I’m Always on My Mind, revolves around the life of Brock Besson, a Harvard graduate and possible narcissist. It played to positive reviews and audience reaction at StageWest in Fort Worth and Water Tower Theater in Addison in summer and fall 2015. The play has been accepted by Tony-winning producers at Jumpstart Entertainment who are now seeking investors for a Broadway production.
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Tim Newson has formed the law firm of Young & Newson, P.C. in Amarillo, Texas. He also was selected as a Texas Super Lawyer in Texas Monthly in the area of personal injury plaintiff for the 12th consecutive year. Each year, Texas Super Lawyers publishes a list of the state’s top attorneys based on peer recognition and professional achievement. No more than five percent of Texas lawyers are selected as Super Lawyers. Tim co-authored an article titled “The American Jury” that was featured in the spring 2016 edition of Voir Dire magazine, the publication of the American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA). He is a former president of the Amarillo Chapter of ABOTA.
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Virginia Smith Volpe was named to the Distinguished Alumni of Austin College at Homecoming 2016. See the Alumni & Volunteer Awards.
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Darin Gustafson received new ’Roo gear for Father’s Day 2016—as did his 5-year-old son, A.J. Wife Megan knows how to outfit her men!
George Zoys was chosen for the 10th time as one of the Best Doctors listed in D Magazine. He is an expert in the surgical management of sport-related injuries, trauma, arthroscopy of the knee and shoulder, and total joint replacement of the hip and knee. He is board certified, a Fellow of the American Academy of Orthopedic Surgeons, and a Diplomat of the American Board of Orthopedic Surgeons. In his 14 years of private practice, he has been recognized many times in the Guide to America’s Top Orthopedists, received numerous Patients’ Choice Awards, been nominated for listing in America’s Best Doctors Registry, selected for the Compassionate Doctor Award 2013, and selected as a member of the Best Doc Network.
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Juan Caraveo is riding a wave of interest in competitive swimming since Olympic medalist Simone Manuel triumphed in the 2016 Summer Olympics. Juan is the sports diversity and inclusion consultant of the USA Swimming Foundation, a philanthropic organization aimed at teaching every child to swim by third grade. He says the very next day after Simone’s win, calls increased
by about 15 percent. “Swimming is the only sport that can save your life,” Juan said. Drowning rates are higher among Hispanics and African-Americans, and Juan and USA Swimming hope to help curb that. Juan said that swimming skills also can open doors for higher paying jobs for youth as lifeguards, give them opportunity to join competitive teams, and therefore meet higher grade requirements. Those higher grades can open doors to scholarships and college and trade schools, he explained.
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Riann Emch was named “Rookie of the Year” for Keller Williams Dallas DFW. In her first 12 months as a licensed REALTOR®, she sold $6.7 million in real estate, focusing on residential homes sales. She was also named among Dallas Best Real Estate Agents by D Magazine. She serves the Dallas/Fort Worth and surrounding areas.
Kourtny Penn Garrett is now president of the economic development group Downtown Dallas, Inc., and takes on the CEO role as well in January 2017. She has worked at the organization for 13 years, most recently as executive vice president since 2012. Kourtny works to transform downtown Dallas from a space that can be driven to and from, to a place where citizens and visitors can find community. A Dallas Morning News article called her “downtown Dallas’ biggest economic evangelist” and she’s determined to move the city forward. She serves on many Dallas-area boards, is a 2009 Leadership Dallas graduate, and has been included on the Dallas Business Journal’s “40 Under Forty” list. Kourtny lives in a Farmers Market townhouse with her husband and 4-year-old twins.
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P. Lindley Bain was selected to the 2016 Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars. The distinction places her among the top 2.5 percent of attorneys in the state of Texas. The annual Texas Super Lawyers “Rising Stars” ranking recognizes the state’s best lawyers under the age of 40 and practicing for no more than 10 years. Lindley is certified in family law and heads the Austin offices for Goranson Bain law firm. She joined the firm in 2007 and practices in Austin and Dallas.
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Veronica Bonhamgregory has joined the international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges as an associate in the banking and finance practice in its Dallas office. Veronica earned her law degree magna cum laude at St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2015. While in law school, she interned with Judge Edward C. Prado in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 5th Circuit. She also served as a staff writer for The Scholar: St. Mary’s Law Review on Race and Social Justice, as a research assistant for professor Ann Nova, and as a student attorney for St. Mary’s Center for Racial and Social Justice.
Cory McDowell was named a shareholder at the law firm of Stubbeman, McRae, Sealy, Laughlin & Browder in Midland, Texas, in January 2016. He joined the firm in January 2015 to lead the Estate Planning and Probate practice. He recently was named one of the Midland Reporter – Telegram’s “Top 20 Under 40” Young Professionals. He and his wife and fellow ’Roo, Jennifer (Whetsel) McDowell, have twin daughters, Cori Ann and Carli, 4.
Ariana Vasquez completed her doctorate in educational psychology from the University of Texas-Austin in May 2016. She has accepted a position as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Pittsburgh in the Developmental and Motivation Research Lab.
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Josh Manck ’05 has joined the Texas A&M University-Commerce staff as director of athletics communications, serving 14 intercollegiate sports. He will communicate the story of Texas A&M-Commerce’s student-athletes and coaches to local, regional, and national media through traditional and emerging media. Josh is a member of the College Sports Information Directors of America, the Football Writers Association of America, the U.S. Basketball Writers Association, National Collegiate Baseball Writers Association, and the National Wrestling Media Association.
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Melida Ailshire received the Sherman Chamber of Commerce 2015 Community Leader Award—and a standing ovation from the large crowd in attendance. “Some people light up a room by walking out of it and others light up a room by walking into it,” the board chair said in announcing the winner. “Our 2015 Community Leader Award winner definitely lights up the room when she walks into it.” Melida said she was humbled by the honor. “I have always said we all need to give back, to take care, be involved, and invest in our community—it’s the only one we have,” she said. “My greatest reward though, is that I can inspire others, especially my children, to be more civic-minded.” Melida is active in several local organizations and owns JTALK Services, which provides Spanish-language translation. She and her husband live in Sherman. Evidencing just one of her community involvements, she is a longtime Big Brothers Big Sisters volunteer and was a recent Big
Sister of the Year in Grayson County.
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Kristin Saboe received the Austin College First Decade Award at Homecoming 2016. Read more about Kristin.
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Jacqueline Armstrong Zimmerman (center) is pictured with Ben and Mary Gwen (Chapin) Hulsey, both Class of 1968, at a gala event of the Interfaith Ministries for Greater Houston in May 2016. Mary Gwen is a board member and longtime supporter of Interfaith Ministries. (She also is a senior member of the Austin College Board of Trustees.) At the time of the gala, Jacqueline was senior development officer at Interfaith Ministries. She since has moved to Bryan, Texas, where she serves as associate director of advancement for Catholic Charities of Central Texas. Her husband, Steve, is an assistant district attorney there.
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Jillian Jean Kerbacher graduated from the Seattle University School of Law with the degree of Doctor of Jurisprudence in May and was admitted to the Washington State Bar Association in September 2016.
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Kris Alborz is now an associate in the Dallas office of the family law boutique Orsinger, Nelson, Downing & Anderson. His practice focuses on all areas of family law. He earned his doctorate of juris prudence from St. Mary’s University School of Law in 2015.
