Welcome to Northeastern Alumni Class Notes
Find out what your fellow alumni are up to these days. Share your news and events by submitting a note.
Aaron N. Durnbaugh
(M.A. ‘05 Geography & Environmental Studies)
Durnbaugh presented as the keynote speaker at this year’s Green Initiative Conference at NEIU. He is the director of sustainability at Loyola University, Chicago, IL.
Reginald Grigsby
(B.A '05 History and Secondary Education; M.A. '13 Inner City Studies)
Grigsby served as a student advocate, mentor and educator for Whitney M. Young High School, where he taught Dual Enrollment in African American History and Honors Ethnic Studies. Involved in the school's community. He facilitates a mentoring program, Brother 2 Brother, which was founded in 2012, which helped to promote brotherhood among at-risk young men. He also served as the advisor for the school's chapter of the National Honor Society. He has participated in extensive research study programs in South Korea, Costa Rica, Ghana, West Africa and the Dominican Republic.
Moneen Jones
(M.A. ‘06 Geography and Environmental Studies; M.S Biology)
Jones recently taught a series of beekeeping classes at NEIU through the NEIU Community and Professional Education (CAPE) program. She received a Ph.D. in Entomology from the University of Illinois.
Rebecca (Becky) Sarwate
(M.A. ‘07 English)
Sarwate recently published a new book featuring Chicago Cubs fans called “Cubsessions: Famous Fans of Chicago’s North Side Baseball Team.” The book is co-authored with Randy Richardson. Sarwate is a Chicago-based freelance writer whose work appears in Contemptor, The Broadway Blog, and Wrigleyville Nation, PoliticusUSA.com, RootSpeak magazine, EDGE Media Network, NewCity, Make It Better and StreetWise. She is a manifold IWPA award winner, and has been recognized for her work eight times by the National Federation of Press Women.
Ella Whitehead
(B.A. ‘11 History)
Whitehead was awarded the 2018 Black Heritage Alumni Award at the annual Black Heritage Awards Ceremony which took place at the NEIU Carruthers Center for Inner City Studies. She works as a the manager of the Career and Transfer Center at Oakton Community College, Des Plaines, Ill.
Lynda Gibson
(B.A. '11 Psychology)
Gibson recently accepted the position of Director of the Psychological Services Center and Clinical Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology at University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.Gibson is the principal investigator on a grant funded by the American Psychological Association Society of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology. The purpose of this grant is to implement Safe First Steps, a child trauma prevention program. She is also a research collaborator with the University of Illinois Chicago, consulting on two of their grants that are funded by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration and National Child Traumatic Stress Network.
Jennifer Reyes
(B.A. '12 Political Science)
As the founder of Fempreneur Poder Hub, Reyes plays a pivotal role in empowering women of color entrepreneurs by offering educational resources, support networks and guidance. Her dedication is in helping those that have economic differences as well as bring women's an opportunity to have their entrepreneurial dreams come true through different resources, tools and networking opportunities. She is also an Associate Board Member of the Hispanic Alliance for Career Enhancement, which focuses on Latine professionals.
Stephanie Gomez
(B.A. ‘12 Sociology)
Gómez was featured by the Mujeres’ Young Professionals Advisory Council. She is the co-director of programs and training at Public Allies Chicago, where she is involved with innovating the training and learning curriculum. Her role offers the opportunity to work with young adults from the city of Chicago.
Carolyn M. Hodrick
(B.A. ‘14 Justice Studies; M.A. ‘17 Inner City Studies)
Hodrick launched a new program called F.E.E.D. (Family, Education, Economics, Acts of Self-Diligence). The initiative hosts book drives for educational programs in Chicago.
Daniel Williams
(B.A. ‘14 History)
Williams was recently named librarian at the Balzekas Museum of Lithuanian Culture in recognition of his strong leadership in promoting local history and cultural institutions. He is currently a library associate at Teen Services at Chicago Public Library.
