TALKIN' - University of Wisconsin - Green Bay

1970s
James Ullmer ’71 regional analysis
and ’77 master’s of environmental arts
and sciences, is an associate professor
of economics at Western Carolina
University. He teaches courses in managerial,
micro and macro economics and
is the author of a soon-to-be-published
article in the journal History of Economic
Thought. A UW-Green Bay faculty
member in the 1980s, Ullmer says he is
most proud of leaving his lecturer position
at age 44 to pursue a doctorate in
economics at the University of
Tennessee. He taught at UT and Texas
A&M — where he won a student-directed
teaching award.
Paul Schumacher ’74 ecosystems
analysis, is the manager of planning for
Wisconsin Electric in Milwaukee.
Michael Jackson ’76 managerial systems,
has established
MLJ Consulting
to focus on the
supermarket and
wholesale business
after retiring from
his 30-year career
with Supervalu, Inc.
Pamela Anderson
Jackson
’77 population
dynamics, is a medical technologist for
Bellin Health in Green Bay.
Michael Cerkas ’78 business administration,
works as a business manager
for corporate applications at Oshkosh
Corporation.
Don Johnston ’78 science and environmental
change and ’87 master’s in
environmental science and policy, is an
environmental health and safety director
for U.S. Venture, Inc., an Appletonbased
company known for wholesale oil
distribution, retail gas, recycling and
related services.
Kay (Taylor) Nelson ’78 communication,
is a professor in management
information systems and entrepreneurship
at Southern Illinois University.
Paul Wozniak ’78 science and environmental
change and ’94 master’s of
science, won the 2011 Earth Caretaker
Award presented to UW-Green Bay
alumni as part of the school’s annual
Earth Day observation.
Wozniak is
an author, activist
and environmental
historian. For more
on Wozniak, and the
award, search on the
‘Dean of Green’ at
www.uwgb.edu.
Wozniak
1980s
Chris Groh ’81 human adaptability and
’86 master’s in environmental science
and policy, recently won the Wastewater
Peer Leadership Award for outstanding
performance in wastewater training. He
is a wastewater trainer for the Wisconsin
Rural Water Association, a nonprofit
organization based in Plover.
Mardi Gras brings a closer walk with Pete
About 10 years ago, Green Bay musician Kevin
VanEss met his childhood idol, jazz icon Pete
Fountain, at Fountain’s club in New Orleans.
The two ended up playing clarinet duets in
Fountain’s office after the show, and struck up
a lasting friendship.
This spring, Van Ess scratched an item off his
“bucket list” when he was invited to perform
with Fountain and his band in the 2011
Mardi Gras Parade. (That’s Van Ess, a 1984
UW-Green Bay grad in communication and
the arts, in the multi-color vest.) Fountain’s
trolley and Half-Fast Walking Club krewe
have led the parade since 1961.
Randy Johnson ’82 business administration,
president of US Lamp Inc. in
Green Bay, recently taught a high-efficiency
technology and design seminar
for the U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons in
Washington D.C.
Mary Schils ’82 social change and
development, is based in Green Bay as
human resources manager for Schenck
SC, a full-service regional accounting
and consulting firm. Schenck employs
more than 500 people at eight locations
across Wisconsin, and more than a few
are UW-Green Bay grads. Catching our
attention recently either via company
news releases or business-page items
are the following: Kathy (Englebert)
Jandrin ’85 managerial accounting, is
a supervisor in the Green Bay office,
as is Winnie Gremmer ’89 business
administration and managerial accounting.
Mary Vandenbusch ’90 business
administration, economics and managerial
accounting, is an audit manager.
Michelle (Miller) Flynn ’00 accounting,
is an assistant accountant. Kevin Dahlke
’01 accounting and business administra-
tion, is a manager in Green Bay. Joel
Hansen ’01 accounting and business
administration, is an audit manager.
Jason Nachtwey ’05 accounting, is a
supervisor in Appleton. Sarah Fritsche
’06 accounting and business administration,
is a senior auditor in Milwaukee.
Seth Kabat ’09 accounting and business
administration, is a staff accountant
and Ryan Sonnenberg ’09 accounting,
is a staff assistant in Green Bay. Sarah
Dombroski ’10 accounting and business
administration, is a staff accountant for
Schenck SC in Manitowoc.
Lynn LaRock ’84 business administration,
is a staff member with the U.S.
Postal Service in Antigo.
Steve Ste. Marie ’84 business administration
and regional analysis, was featured
in a Dec. 19, 2010 JSOnline article for
his Bay View Maytag Laundromat in
Milwaukee. His venture puts a new spin on
a traditional business with a play area for
children, flat-screen TVs, wireless internet
and new energy-efficient equipment. You
can find the article if you search his name
at www.jsonline.com/business.
Ahmad Alias ’87
environmental
planning and urban
studies, is an associate
professor with the
MARA University of
Technology’s Perak
campus in Malaysia.
Lucy (Cayemberg)
Alias
Arendt ’87 business
administration and Spanish and ’90
master’s in administrative science, was
promoted to associate professor of business
at UW-Green Bay.
Carol (Sweetland) Karls ’89 communication
and the arts, is president of
the interim board of directors of New
Leaf Market Cooperative, a co-op being
organized in Green Bay. She also serves
as manager of business and community
development for Wisconsin Public
Service.
May 2011
ALUMNI NOTES
“What an opportunity!” Van Ess says. “In the
past, I would travel to New Orleans and perform
with him at his club or in Bay St. Louis,
Mississippi, at the Hollywood Casino. To perform
with him and his band, some of the top
musicians in the country, for over one million
people, on the lead float… that’s something
I’ll always remember.”
Van Ess says he learned clarinet by “wearing
out” his father’s copies of Fountain’s Dixieland
albums including the gold-record tune “Just a
Closer Walk with Thee.” Today, the Washington
Middle School band director has a regional
following as a clarinet standout with his own
group, Kevin Van Ess and Talk of the Town.
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