Andrew Herrington-Gilmore ’09 and Lauren (Giannini) Herrington-Gilmore ’08, founders of The Gilmore Family Foundation, recently had a very successful Fundraising Gala that was held in Chicago. At this Gala, there were 300 people who attended, 20+ sponsors, and nearly 70 IWU alums. They raised over $250,000, all of which will go to The Rare Disease Program at Children’s Wisconsin to “support both the infrastructure required to provide coordinated clinical care and provide opportunities for ongoing research collaboration in pediatric rare diseases.” You can read more about The Gilmore Family Foundation here.

Nicole (Pilotte) Carmen ’09 and Mitch Carmen ’09 welcomed their son, Conor Gregory Carmen, to the world on December 5, 2022. Congratulations to you both!

Andrew Herrington-Gilmore ’09 and Lauren (Giannini) Herrington-Gilmore ’08 were recently featured in The Pantagraph to share more about their organization, The Gilmore Family Foundation. This foundation was cofounded by Lauren and Andrew and their mission is to “raise money to support childhood rare disease treatment, discovery, diagnosis, awareness and research.” You can read the article about the journey of their foundation here.

Karlin E. Sangdahl ’09 has been promoted to partner at Reed Smith LLP in the firm’s Chicago office. She was previously counsel. Karlin is a litigator in the Global Commercial Disputes Group. She represents and counsels corporate clients, product manufacturers and sellers, and service providers in a variety of matters, including contract disputes, business torts, unfair competition, and product liability. She also defends clients in class actions featuring breach of warranty, consumer fraud, and contract-based claims, often arising from the marketing and sale of products and services. Karlin has substantial experience litigating and resolving cases at all stages, from pre-suit investigation all the way through trial or arbitration. After graduating from Illinois Wesleyan, she obtained her J.D. in 2013 from Chicago-Kent College of Law, Illinois Institute of Technology. Congratulations Karlin!

Joe Carani ’09 was recently named the Director of Brewing Operations at 3 Sheeps Brewing Company. Congratulations, Joe!

Lauren (Giannini) Herrington-Gilmore ’08 and Andrew Herrington-Gilmore ’09 cofounded The Gilmore Family Foundation in the summer of 2022 to raise money for childhood rare disease treatment, discovery, diagnosis, awareness, and research.

“A rare disease diagnosis is devastating, and it’s the last thing any child should have to endure. Unfortunately, for our family and thousands of others, it is reality. It is also extremely hard to find doctors and care teams who have the experience, knowledge, resources and capability to provide the coordinated care each child deserves. The entire process is mind-numbingly frustrating, terrifying, and exhausting. Yet, through personal experience, we have learned what a family can do when pushed to the limits, and what children can overcome in the most difficult of circumstances. We aim to celebrate and honor what these kids can do while alleviating some of that burden on families dealing with pediatric rare diseases.”

Read more about their foundation and how you can help here.

Bryce Pierson ’09 was awarded the 2022 Legal Innovator of the Year Award from the State Bar of Wisconsin. Bryce won this award for his work on the new free all-digital jury instructions for Wisconsin. You can read more about this here. Congratulations!