History, Anthropology, & Classics Alumni

Patrick Reilly ’06
Patrick Reilly graduated from Butler in 2006 with a history degree. He continued his education, earning his J.D. from Ohio State University in 2009. After law school, Patrick joined the firm of Baker & Daniels LLP in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He is married to Molly (Callon) Reilly, who is also a Butler graduate.

Krista (Chernausky) Ruud ’05
Krista (Chernausky) Ruud is a 2005 graduate from Butler, majoring in secondary education, and minoring in history. She continued her education at the University of Illinois, earning an MS in Library & Information Science in 2010. Krista has been able to apply her expertise teaching US history and social studies to 8th graders in both Kansas City and Urbana, Illinois. She currently serves in a middle school in Urbana as Library Media Specialist. Krista’s other accomplishments include presenting at Write Traits in 2007 and 2008, as well as being involved with the American History Teachers Collaborative as a fellow and a presenter for three years, from 2008-10. She volunteers her time at Windsor Road Christian Church with high school students. Krista and her husband, Collin Ruud (BA ’04), have a one-year old son, Colton Michael.

Stephanie Hicks ’05
I graduated in 2005 with a Minor in History (my Major was in Finance).  After graduation, I went to law school at Wayne State University Law School in Detroit. I graduated cum laude in 2008. I am currently practicing with Cardelli, Lanfear, & Buikema, P.C. in Royal Oak, MI focusing on insurance defense.

Also, I focused a lot on German history for my minor, and took several classes with Prof. Cornell that I really enjoyed. I backpacked through Germany right after the bar exam in August 2008 for a month, and visited a lot of places that I studied during Prof. Cornell’s classes (especially his contemporary Germany and history of Berlin class).

Jim Knytych ’05
Jim Knytych graduated from Butler in 2005, with a history degree. He continued his education, earning a Masters in Education from St. Xavier University in Chicago. Jim is now teaching Social Studies at Plainfield East High School. In addition to teaching, he also serves as Assistant Varsity Baseball coach at the school. Jim is married to Alissa Davis, who is a 2007 Butler graduate.

Andrew Zach ’05
Andrew Zach graduated with a BA in history and political science from Butler in May 2005, Since then, Andrew has lived in Washington, DC, working for the U.S. House of Representatives. He worked for Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner prior to working for the House Select Committee on Energy Independence and Global Warming. In December 2009, Andrew completed the Professional MBA program from George Washington University, with a concentration in Strategic Management and Public Policy. Andrew was a founding member of the Butler University Washington, DC Alumni Chapter and continues to serve on the chapter’s steering committee.

Rhea Cain ’03
Since completing my undergraduate degree at Butler, I have completed an MBA in Marketing and Non-Profit Management from the University of Indianapolis. This combination has been invaluable in both my volunteer and professional life.

I am currently serving as the President of the League of Women Voters of Indianapolis. I have been lucky enough to have been involved with the Indianapolis League, an all-volunteer organization, in various capacities for over eight years. I have also been a volunteer at the Indiana Medical History Museum since my undergrad days at Butler. It allows me to work with the public and assist with research and programs.  In my professional life, I am currently the Controller and Human Resources Director for P.H. Drew, Inc.

I have recently completed a large scale project for the League which included working with Well Done Marketing to launch an extensive public relations campaign to promote the League’s Voter Information Portal: Vote411.org. I also produce and manage LWV Indianapolis’ communications, both online and print.

After many years away, I’ve moved back to Speedway to live in a fantastic 90 year old house with my husband Jason, our new daughter Beatrice, and three ornery cats. On various Saturdays, you can find me out and about in Indy registering voters or giving tours at the Indiana Medical History Museum.

DeAnna (Brunner) Poon ’00
DeAnna (Brunner) Poon graduated from Butler in 2000 with a history degree. She continued her education earning a J.D. from Ave Maria School of Law. After law school DeAnna joined the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission as an Administrative Law Judge. In addition to her work, she serves as a board member for USS Indianapolis Museum. DeAnna is married to Peter Poon.

John Messner ’99
John Messner graduated from Butler in 1999 with a BA in history. He continued his education at the University of Leicester, England, where he earned an MA in Museum Studies in 2001. John has served as Curator for several museums, including the Museum of Science and Industry in Manchester; the World of Glass Museum in St. Helens, England; and the National Football Museum in Preston, England. Today he is Curator for the Museum of Transport in Glasgow, Scotland, with a goal of expanding the collection there, and making it more accessible to the public. John is married to Heather Milligan of Stewarton, Scotland.

Zachary Fuqua ’97
I graduated from Butler in 1997 with a BA in History. I continued my education at Lexington Theological Seminary where I earned a Master of Divinity in 2002.  I recently started work toward a PhD in Higher Education—Policy Studies. Following that I served at the Seminary for 4 years in admissions and recruitment. Currently, I work at the University of Kentucky as an Academic Advisor. I work specifically with freshmen and sophomores who are still exploring their major. I live in Lexington, Kentucky and am married to Holly Spencer Fuqua and we have two beautiful children, Kennedy and Spencer. I am so thankful for the experience I had at Butler where I learned a valuable lesson that I try to instill in my current students, choose a major you will love.  Then, find a job you will love and utilize the skills you learned within that major. I have found that while I don’t use history in a direct way, the skills and information I learned through that degree are used daily.

David Locke ’92
David Locke graduated with a history degree from Butler in 1992. He continued his education, earning his J.D. at Indiana University School of Law in 1995. After graduating from law school and passing the bar exam, he served as a federal law clerk for the late Chief Judge Allen Sharp. He then turned to private practice with Stuart & Branigin, where he received Martindale-Hubbell’s top, AV® peer-review rating from fellow lawyers and judges.

An experienced litigator, David helps to continue the firm’s long-time commitment to the defense of railroads. His 1994 Note, titled “Counter-speech as an Alternative to Prohibition: Proposed Federal Regulation of Tobacco Promotion in American Motorsport,” was selected for publication in the Indiana Law Journal. The Note provided a unique bridge between his earlier profession as a racing driver in the Sports Car Club of America’s Can-Am Challenge Cup series and a career in the law.

David went on to become editor-in-chief of the Indiana Law Journal. David has been admitted to practice before the U.S. Supreme Court and holds memberships in the National Association of Railroad Trial Counsel, the Defense Research Institute, and other professional associations.

Outside the office, he has served as president of the Lafayette Christian School Board of Trustees and is back on the race track in the Sports Car Club of America’s club racing program.

David and his wife, Tracy, have been married since 1995, and have a daughter, Erin.

Mayor James Brainard ’76
After graduation from Butler, I received a Juris Doctor from Ohio Northern University and a diploma from the University of San Diego Institute on Comparative and international Law.

I was elected Mayor of Carmel, Indiana in 1996 and have served in that position since then, having been re-elected five times.

I served as President of the Butler Alumni Association in the 1980s and as a Trustee of the University.

As Mayor, I have presided over one of the fastest growing cities in the country. I was elected as a one of 13 Trustees of the US Conference of Mayors and serve with the mayors of major cities throughout the US.

I have been quoted recently in Time Magazine, the Financial Times of London, the Christian Science Monitor and many other publications. I have instituted the use of roundabouts in Carmel, building more than any other city in the US resulting in a city-wide per-mile decrease in injury accidents of over 65%.

In 2008 I received the US Conference of Mayors Climate Protection Award beating out over 100 eligible cities.

Elton (Gene) Sullivan 1971
Elton (Gene) Sullivan is a 1971 Butler graduate with a BA degree in history. He is owner of Athletic Enterprises, which is a sales agency representing numerous sporting goods manufacturers throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He and his wife, Deborah, have two children and two grandchildren. Elton is looking to retire to South Carolina in 2013.

Susan (Saunders) Stepleton ’70
After Susan (Saunders) Stepleton’s 1970 graduation from Butler with a BA in history, she continued her education earning an MA, MSW, MBA and a PhD in Policy Analysis and Administration. Since 2002, she has served as President and CEO for the Parents as Teachers National Center, which is an international early childhood parent support and education program. Prior to 2002 Susan served in various social services administrative positions, including 13 years as Executive Director for Edgewood Children’s Center, an organization which works with severely emotionally and behaviorally challenged children. Susan was awarded the CORO community Leadership Award; has been recognized as Distinguished Alum at two universities; was honored with the Reinhold Niebuhr Servanthood Award…and has received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Webster University. Through the years, Susan has volunteered for the Child Welfare League, the Brown School of Social Work, the Eden Theological Seminary, the Missouri Women’s Forum and the St. Louis YWCA. Susan is married and has two adult children.

John Schuchman ’61
After my wonderful education as a history major at the hands of Beeler, Thornbrough, Silver, Comfort, and of course Waller followed by graduate degrees from Bloomington, I went on to become a history professor and VP for Academic Affairs at Gallaudet College in Washington, DC. During the course of that career, colleagues and I developed what is now referred to as “Deaf community history.” Personally, I completed work on the history of film/television and its impact on the lives and image of deaf people in the United States, oral history techniques with deaf subjects, and finally on the Holocaust experiences of deaf persons. Now that I am retired, my wife and I are downsizing.

My hope is to donate my collection of deaf history monographs to Butler’s Irwin Library.  I believe it runs to about 90 volumes or so.  I plan to bring the collection to Butler sometime in 2011 which is the 50th anniversary of my graduation in 1961.  For those who might be puzzled by my connection to deafness, I should add that my parents were profoundly deaf and went to the school for the deaf there in Indianapolis. Updated Fall 2010.

Edward and Margery (Harder) Bennett ’52
Edward Bennett and his wife, Margery (Harder) Bennett, both graduated from Butler in 1952 with degrees in history.

Edward has a wealth of experience teaching in universities; serving on committees and national organizations; writing articles, essays and books; making speaking appearances; reviewing books and manuscripts and much more.  The majority of his work, extending from the early ’60s to the early ’90s, was with Washington State University. His national experience includes reviewing grant applications for the National Endowment for the Humanities, as well as the U.S. Department of Education.  He has been honored with numerous awards, including Outstanding Teaching Award on more than one occasion. Since 1976 he has been included in Who’s Who in America.

Edward and his wife, Margery, have partnered in writing publications through the years. Edward says that Margery is his research assistant, editor, typist, partner, and you name it.

Ashley Nicole Parks ’08
After Ashley graduated from Butler’s Theater and Anthropology programs, she received her master’s degree in biological anthropology with a concentration in evolutionary neuroscience from Emory University in 2012. She then worked as a Research Scientist at the University of Washington in Seattle where she studied neurodegenerative diseases with a focus on mitochondrial dysfunction in patients with Huntington’s Disease. She is currently a PhD student at Stony Brook University in the Interdepartmental Doctoral Program in Anthropological Sciences. Ashley uses phylogenetic comparative methods and comparative neuroanatomy in order to study the evolution of the mammalian brain.

Greg Bowers ’07
After Greg graduated from Butler in 2007 with a BA in Anthropology he joined the police force in West Chicago, IL. Greg is married to Megan Decker ’07.

Maggie (Maxwell) Morales ’06
I am currently working for Zion Township and CREW, Inc. (Community Resources for Education and Wellness) as their Community Development Manager in Zion, IL. I spend most of my time working with a coalition called Partners for an Enriched Community and establishing more social service agencies within Pearce Community Resource Center. I graduated with my masters in Social Justice in Intercultural Relations.

Theresa (Barstow) Couch ’06
I’ve been working in nonprofit development since I graduated (2006). My first position was a Development Associate, and I worked in all aspects of fundraising, specializing in grants. I grew that position when we had a change in leadership and became the Grants and Donor Relations Manager. In that new role, I grew grant revenue from $800k to over $1.1 million, accounting from approximately 50% of revenue for that organization. I also created new policies and procedures relating to donor relations, data management, gift records, gift acknowledgments, etc. Plus, I was able to supervise interns, which really helped to grow grants.

In 2009, I accepted a Development Director position, which included creating a real vision for the development efforts of a small and young nonprofit. I just moved to Chicago this summer, and am now working with The Posse Foundation as the Development Officer. Posse is a national organization with a Chicago office, and there are two development staff here. We work to cultivate and build diverse revenue sources including individual donors, foundation grants, corporate grants & sponsorships, events and individual giving. We are specifically responsible for raising $2 million.

Cossette Bellegarrigue ’05
Cossette Bellegarrigue graduated from Butler in 2005 with a BA in Anthropology. After graduation, she moved to Montreal, Canada to attend a French language school, and then spent time in Florianopolis, Brazil to learn Portuguese. At that time Cossette received a Fellowship to attend graduate school at University of South Florida. She received a second Fellowship in 2007 to pursue research in the Ecuadoran Amazon and learn Kichwa. Currently Cossette teaches as an Adjunct at State College of Florida in Sarasota, FL, specializing in Introduction to Anthropology, Cultural Anthropology and Intercultural Humanities. Her goal is to find a full time position in teaching. Cossette has traveled to over 30 countries, and uses her experiences to give students first-hand knowledge. Cossette was a non-major dancer at Butler, and has continued her love of dance performing with Sarasota’s School of Russian Ballet.

Susie Bremer ’04
My life has come together nicely since graduation. I spent a year as an AmeriCorps Volunteer teaching English as a Second Language to immigrants and refugees in Pittsburgh. I now have invitations to stay all over the world with my former students. I’m currently working for a refugee resettling program in Pittsburgh as an Employment Specialist. I help my clients find jobs and also assist them in acculturation as much as possible. Several of my clients are from Uzbekistan and I’m learning a lot about their culture. We also have some Sudanese, Meskhetian Turks, and Somali Bantu.

April Collette ’03
Its been a long time-approximately a year-since I have last Its been a long time-approximately a year-since I have last written to you. And indeed a lot has changed! This past fall, I received my MSc (with merit) from LSE in urbanization and development studies in the department of geography. I was actually glad to end my time in London and would honestly say that I wouldn’t recommend my program or my department at LSE to anyone else. Probably the best experience for me there was writing my thesis, “Governing Urban Informality: A Case Study of Street Vending in Sao Paulo ” for which I went to Brazil for about 3 weeks to do fieldwork. That was an incredible experience…

I returned to the states in October and got a job at an international economic development consulting firm called International Business Initiatives (IBI) in late November in the Washington DC area. I was really looking for a job in either political or social development, nevertheless, when Its been a long time-approximately a year-since I have last written to you. And indeed a lot has changed! This past fall, I received my MSc (with merit) from LSE in urbanization and development studies in the department of geography. I was actually glad to end my time in London and would honestly say that I and the newly independent states of the former soviet union. I’m learning all the ins and outs of USAID and the World Bank, which is, of course, very interesting;) Also, I’m trying to help IBI break into Latin America , which is what I focused on at LSE. But for now, it looks like I will be traveling to either Ukraine or Romania in the spring. It looks like my perseverance in all those economics classes that I took at Butler and LSE paid off and I would really recommend anthropology students at Butler to take similar econ courses. In fact I would welcome e-mails from any of your students who are interested in getting into the development field or who would like to know more about it.

Abby Pickens ’03
I have just finished the first year in Indiana University-Bloomington’s Ph.D. program in Anthropology. My focuses within social-cultural anthropology are gender, social movements and resistance, and I plan to conduct fieldwork in Poland. I am hoping to pursue a career as a research anthropologist and an anthropology professor at a small liberal-arts college. I am now undertaking summer language classes in Krakow.

Alicia Viani ’03
I’m living in Eugene, Oregon now. I’ve returned from teaching in Prague and am working at an outdoor high school here for “at risk” youth. It’s one of the most difficult jobs I’ve ever tackled, though I can’t remember loving any work I’ve done more. The kids are all a little hung up on emotional baggage, but they’re wonderful people. We spend every other week outside, doing conservation and restoration work in the woods around Oregon, building hiking trail, or teaching ecology.

When I’m in the classroom, I teach an anthropology class every day! It’s SUCH a great thing in my life right now! You understand me completely when I say that you look at the students faces and see their minds working in ways that they never have before, and challenging their sense of reality, and it makes you feel so good. I’m doing an introductory class, and we basically have heaps of class discussions rather than accomplish any sort of classroom work, but that’s what these guys need now. I could go on and on about things I’ve heard them say and the racism that drips from their words-they definitely need eye-opening conversation.

So as the job is temporary, I’m looking for work for next year, and am applying for a couple graduate degrees as well, such as the Intercultural Youth and Family Development Program at the University of Montana. I know for certain that I want to be involved in counseling and youth outreach (I love working with high school aged kids) and having the cultural stimulation would keep me happy, too.

Bonnie Cate ’02
I am a 2002 Butler graduate with a degree in Anthropology. During my undergraduate experience, I was most interested in cultural anthropology and archaeology. My Junior year I had the opportunity to participate in an archaeological dig in Cortez, Colorado, where I spent two weeks excavating ancient Anasazi ruins. I have been working at Butler as the Global and Historical Studies Program Coordinator since 2005. I am doing some volunteer work with the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis in the Collections Department, where I am conducting conservation treatments on some of the objects. I have also been working closely with one of the curators to conduct visitor observations to see how various exhibit elements are working out. I have completed two internships in collections (one at the Eiteljorg Museum and another at the Children’s Museum of Indianapolis) over the past few years, but have discovered that my interests lie more in museum education. I have always had an interest in other cultures and life ways, and I hope that my career as a museum professional will allow me to create experiences for visitors that will encourage them to think about cultures and ideas that are different from their own. I married in July 2011 after I graduated from my Master’s program in Museum Studies through IUPUI.

Courtney Bilderback ’01
Courtney Bilderback double majored at Butler, graduating in 2001 with degrees in Anthropology (high honors) and Political Science. After working an undergraduate fellowship in Butler’s Center for Citizenship and Community from 2001-2002, she pursued and earned an MS (with Merit) in Anthropology and Development from the London School of Economics. Currently, Courtney works in IT Project Management at Supervalu in Minnesota, and is on track to finish her MBA from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota in April 2011. In addition to her work and schooling, Courtney has served on the European Commission in Higher Education, where she wrote, “European Higher Education Internationalization Efforts,” an article that was published in 2004 for IIE Networker Magazine. She has also worked for the American Cancer Society. Her future plans include pursuing a doctoral degree. She writes, “where, when and what subject…TBD.”

David Thielemeier ’01
I am sure you are wondering what I have been up to. I will start you off with after the wedding. Toby and I had a great Honeymoon in Tuscany. Right now I am sitting at my desk with a beautiful picture of her sitting on the ledge of our Villa in Tuscany with vineyards and cypress trees in the background. It was a really great experience other than the weather. For some reason May decided to be as cold as an Italian December (according to the locals). As you probably can tell, we had a wonderful time…just really great time…

Then we came back to St. Louis and pounded the pavement looking for new jobs. Both of our jobs had grown stale…Toby’s especially. Well after a summer of frustration and doors closing in our face and talks of moving to a different city, Toby finally got great news. She received an offer for a great engineering firm in St. Louis. About two weeks later, I was called in for an interview with an up and coming St. Louis based insurance company. Needless to say, I received an offer too. Both of us started new jobs at the end of October and we are both really happy.

So basically now I work for company called Centene Corporation that manages Medicaid insurance across the county. I deal with claim investigation to see why providers are not being paid. All in all I am really happy with the job and the opportunity. I see a lot of potential with Centene in the future too. Last fall I also started taking pre-rec courses for pursuing an MBA. I am taking Microeconomics this semester and took Accounting last semester at the local Community College…It sure is strange being back in the class room and not having my anthropology buddies around. As far as the MBA goes…I don’t know. There is really good tuition reimbursement where I am working so I think that I could go to Wash U and get a MBA from a top 25 program and have most of it paid for…seems like a no brainer, right! Well, I am planning on taking the GMAT sometime in the next three or four months and then I will see what is out there.

Lisa Markus ’99
I graduated in 1999 with majors in Anthropology and French.  From 1999 to 2007, I worked in residential treatment programs serving children and adolescents with developmental disabilities and mental illness diagnoses. I began as a direct caregiver, then became a case manager and ultimately managed a home in New York for some really amazing people as part of Easter Seals New York. Anthropology was not an expected degree path for the positions I held, but my studies in anthropology taught me it was imperative to understand the kids on their terms. Given the very unique constellations of diagnoses, needs, and experiences of these exceptional people, it seemed each child had developed a culture of his or her own with particular norms and expectations. Our task was to find ways for one’s particular way of viewing and interacting with the world to work better with that of the community around them. In 2007, I returned to Butler to coordinate the Honors Program from which I graduated, and indulge in the luxuries of working in an academic setting. Here I am enjoying the challenges of working with a different group of outstanding students. I’m taking classes in natural and social sciences with long-term intentions to pursue graduate studies in public and global health.