Shaun Baer ’00 is among the voice cast for the animated preschool series Bossy Bear, slated for a 2023 premiere on the Nickelodeon family of networks. On the 30-episode series, Shaun plays Bossy’s dad, the manager of an electronics shop who has a Ph.D. in dad jokes, as the kids navigate silly childhood adventures in their Koreatown-inspired city of Pleasantburg. Shaun is a veteran actor of stage and screen, currently based in Los Angeles.
InsureWomen has announced Meg McKeen ’00 as the latest Founding Member.
InsureWomen is creating a network of agents who are passionate about serving female insurance buyers. Agents are affiliated with top-rated insurance companies to provide the best insurance coverage at a competitive rate. Each agent is required to take the “InsureWomen Pledge” to make buyers feel comfortable during the process by answering questions and educating them about the insurance they are buying.
To read more about Founding Members and InsureWomen, visit here.
Dr. Susanna Widicus Weaver has been named Alumni of the Year for the Illinois Wesleyan University Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry and will speak at the department’s Senior Night Awards Banquet on April 18. Dr. Widicus Weaver is now a professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison Departments of Chemistry and Astronomy.
“To me this is more important than any other award I could have received because it’s really from the heart,” she said. “It’s such a huge honor. To know that they respect and care about me at this level is just incredible!”
Dr. Widicus Weaver chose Illinois Wesleyan’s undergraduate program after meeting her research advisor in a lunch line at the university’s open house. That advisor showed her a meteorite collection and ignited her passion for astrochemistry.
“Other schools wouldn’t even let me see the labs,” she said. “She was telling me all about her research, so I ended up working with her for four years, and I graduated with honors.”
The program contained a small number of students, who interacted regularly, and when Dr. Widicus Weaver’s mentor left for another job, the rest of the department stepped up to make sure she could finish her honors research, attend meetings, give talks and continue learning chemistry.
“The department was phenomenal at helping me navigate all of that and at helping me keep my work going,” she said. “Every bit of it prepared me to get through graduate school and taught me how to think about science in terms of how to come up with a hypothesis and test it. It taught me how to get a research proposal funded and keep a project running… everything I needed to know to be a research professor.”
As an undergraduate, Dr. Widicus Weaver worked hard, spending evenings and weekends in the lab and sharing her excitement for chemistry with others in the department. Her enthusiasm and dedication did not go unnoticed.
“I realized that we had a budding research chemist in the making,” said Ram Mohan, IWU Wendell and Loretta Hess Professor of Chemistry. “I’m pleased that my observations were correct–Susanna has done wonderfully well and carved a name for herself in the field of astronomy. She has made significant contributions to the field and her research focuses on understanding the evolution of prebiotic molecules as stars and planets form. She was an independent thinker and came up with unique solutions at times to problems she ran into during the course of the lab experiment.”
Her time at Illinois Wesleyan University taught her how to handle research challenges and helped her grow into a confident scientist, but it also left a lasting impression on her desire to mentor undergraduates.
“I am always aware of the power of an undergrad research experience and how that can influence someone’s career trajectory,” she explained. “It was such a strong influence on mine. I always have them in my group and I really love mentoring undergrads and teaching graduate students how to mentor them.”
Sharon Chung ’00 announced her candidacy for Illinois’ 91st House District seat.
Chung, a Democrat, has served on the McLean County Board since she was elected in 2018. She is a professional classical musician and private instructor in Bloomington. She also is an adjunct professor at Millikin University.
“Right now, we have a really exciting opportunity to have great representation for the Bloomington-Normal community in Springfield. It’s something we were lacking for many years, the way the districts were drawn,” said Chung.
You can read more at the Pantagraph or WGLT Radio.
Mike Rogers ’00 joined Nelnet Campus Commerce, a division of Nelnet, Inc., as National Sales Manager. In his new role, Mike will focus on management and strategy of new business development, account management, client retention, and revenue growth. He will be based out of Chicago.
Mike most recently served as an Application Sales Manager for Oracle America, where he managed and led complex, multi-pillar, and multi-industry sales cycles and developed go-to-market strategies for the national higher education team.
Matthew Dearing ’00 participated in a Careers in Technology Panel with the Hart Career Center at Illinois Wesleyan University on February 24, 2021. Moderated by Andrew Shallue, Associate Professor of Computer Science, Matthew and other alumni discussed careers in technology, software development, consulting, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and cybersecurity with IWU students.
Matthew is currently an AIOps Technical Lead and Applications Development with Argonne National Laboratory as well as a Freelance Sci+Tech Editor (AI/machine learning) in Chicago.
Paul Vranas ’00 received a 2021 Neighborhood Star Award by Denver’s Inter-Neighborhood Cooperation organization. In addition to working in software consulting and shuttling around two little kids, Paul has also been working on the following initiatives:
Burke Nihill ’00, in his fifth season with the Tennessee Titans, is being elevated to President/CEO of the Titans. In February of this year, Burke was promoted to Senior Vice President/Business Operations & Chief Legal Officer with the franchise.
During his time with the Titans, Burke has been involved in many different facets of the organization. As Vice President and General Counsel, he was responsible for the organization’s legal, human resources, and government relations functions. Following his promotion earlier this year, he also began overseeing stadium and facility operations. In addition to his core responsibilities, Burke has also taken the lead on other strategic projects for the team. He was instrumental in the effort to secure and execute the 2019 Draft in Nashville and is currently overseeing the renovation and expansion of Saint Thomas Sports Park.
Burke joined the Titans in 2016 with 15 years of professional experience working as an attorney and strategic business counselor with companies ranging from technology startups to Fortune 500 businesses.
“I am exceedingly grateful for and humbled by this opportunity,” Burke said. “I am inspired by Amy’s [Amy Adams Strunk is the Titans controlling owner] vision for our franchise and look forward to collaborating with my talented colleagues to serve our fans, partners, and communities. From the NFL Draft on Broadway to a magical run to the AFC Championship, last year was a special season for Titans fans, but as an organization we believe the best is yet to come.”
You can read the full article at Titans Name New President: Burke Nihill Elevated to President/CEO as Steve Underwood Retires from Full-Time Role.