Anthony Doerr, an internationally acclaimed author, won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for fiction for his novel “All the Light We Cannot See.” The novel, about two teens in World War II, topped The New York Times bestseller list and remained on the list for more than 200 weeks. Netflix will release a four-part limited series based on the book in November 2023 starring Mark Ruffalo and Hugh Laurie.

A native of Cleveland, Ohio, Doerr also has written the story collections “The Shell Collector” and “Memory Wall,” a memoir, “Four Seasons in Rome,” and the novel “About Grace.”

His latest novel, “Cloud Cuckoo Land,” was a finalist for the 2021 National Book Award, a finalist for Novel of the Year in the British Book Awards and winner of the 2022 Grand prix de littérature américaine in France.

Doerr’s work has been translated into more than 40 languages and won many awards, including five O. Henry Prizes, a Guggenheim Fellowship, a National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship and the 2010 Story Prize, considered the most prestigious prize in the U.S. for a collection of short stories.

He graduated from Bowdoin College in Brunswick, Maine, in 1995 with a degree in history and went on to earn a Master of Fine Arts in creative writing in 1999 from BGSU.

Doerr was named among the 100 Most Prominent BGSU alumni in recognition of the University's centennial celebration in May 2010. He was a visiting professor in the BGSU English Department from 1999-2002.

From 2007-10, Doerr was the writer-in-residence for the state of Idaho. He is a former board member of the Log Cabin Literary Center and is involved with the Book Industry Charitable Foundation.

Doerr lives in Boise, Idaho.

June Ryan, the first enlisted woman in the Coast Guard to rise to the rank of Rear Admiral, is an in-demand motivational speaker, seminar leader and corporate trainer. Ryan draws on her 35 years of military service as she leads and develops workforces across the country and around the world.

During her career, Ryan blazed new trails for women. She was the first woman to serve as the Military Advisor to the Secretary of Homeland Security and the third woman in our nation’s history to serve as the Military Aide to the President of the United States.

She served in a wide variety of leadership roles in the military, including five command positions – two aboard Coast Guard cutters, three with regional units ashore. She served as the Chief of Staff of Coast Guard Pacific Area, an area that encompasses six continents, 71 countries and more than 74 million miles of ocean from U. S. western states to Asia and from the Arctic to Antarctica. She also served as the first woman to lead the 6,000 men and women of the Ninth Coast Guard District (Great Lakes Region), a position she held until her retirement in 2017.

While attending Bowling Green State University, Ryan enlisted in the U.S. Coast Guard Reserve augmenting small boat crews on weekends at Coast Guard Stations Toledo and Marblehead, Ohio. Ryan earned a bachelor’s degree in biology in 1984 from Bowling Green State University where she was a member of the National Honor Society of Pershing Rifles, and active affiliate of the Army ROTC program. She received a master’s degree in adult education from the University of South Florida and is a graduate of the National Preparedness Initiative (NPLI) from the Harvard School of Public Health/Harvard Kennedy School of Government.

Her personal military awards include the Coast Guard Distinguished Service Award, two Defense Superior Service Medals, three Legion of Merits and six Coast Guard Meritorious Service Medals. She wears the Presidential Service Badge and the Secretary of Homeland Security Service Badge.

Ryan is an active community leader and volunteer. She serves as keynote speaker and facilitator for many organizations and community events. When not volunteering she enjoys spending time with her husband of 35+ years, Tim, their 21-year old daughter, Aisling, and dog Lucy.

With holdings in hotels, restaurants and real estate management, entrepreneur Allen W. Schmidthorst is known for his hard work and determination, respected as a leader in the hotel and hospitality industry.

An Ohio native, Schmidthorst grew up working alongside his grandfather at his family’s farm in the Cincinnati area. He got his first taste of entrepreneurial success as a 10-year-old, selling watermelons and sweet corn in front of his childhood home. Schmidthorst applied the lessons he learned on the farm throughout his career.

He attended BGSU in 1957 for a year before needing to transition to the workforce. He rose through the ranks at McDonald’s and bought several franchises that he owned for 30 years before selling them and entering the hotel business.

Schmidthorst and his wife, Carol, also own AWS Properties, a business that provides comprehensive services for office, retail and leisure properties. The longtime residents of Lima, Ohio, anchored their businesses in the state and expanded throughout the Midwest.

The pair are longtime supporters of BGSU, making the single largest academic donation in the history of BGSU. The transformational gift in 2020 established BGSU’s first named college, the Allen W. and Carol M. Schmidthorst College of Business.

Other gifts also led to the creation of the Schmidthorst Pavilion and Schmidthorst Heritage Hall, both located at the Stroh Center. They have also supported WBGU-TV, as well as many scholarship and athletic funds at the University.

Schmidthorst received an honorary doctorate of business administration from BGSU in 2017.

Clarence Albert Daniels Jr. served as chairman and CEO of CMS Hospitality, an airport food and beverage concessions company. Among the fastest-growing companies in its industry segment, Daniels built the company from three stores at LAX to over 40 locations in eight major airports. The company was also at the forefront of introducing popular local restaurants in airports to create “a sense of place.”

Since the sale of the business in 2016, Daniels has spent his time mentoring small businesses, nonprofit organizations and youth. With his fraternity, he started a mentoring program for 11- to 13-year-old disadvantaged males. He also served as chair and CEO of Concessions Management Services Inc.

Daniels earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees in education from BGSU and is a graduate of the Howard University School of Law. In 2013, Daniels was selected as the Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year for the Greater Los Angeles region.

Prior to starting CMS, Daniels was a vice president of the Marriott Corp.; vice president of development for Host International, the largest company in the airport concession business; and president of educational dining at Aramark Corp. He started his professional career as a child advocate and civil rights lawyer with the Children’s Defense Fund.

Daniels has been actively involved in civic activities. He served on the board of directors of AMAC, a national airport trade association; the national board of directors for the 100 Black Men of America and locally as a board member of the Los Angeles Urban League; a board member of The Los Angeles Educational Partnership; president of the board of the Greater Los Angeles African American Chamber of Commerce; and was appointed by the Mayor of Los Angeles as a commissioner on the Los Angeles Convention Center Authority.

Daniels is a trustee of both the ArtCenter College of Design and The Ray Charles Foundation. He is also a member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, having pledged at BGSU, and a member of Sigma Pi Phi Fraternity.

Daniels and his wife of 50 years, Dr. Monet Daniels, a retired educator, reside in Los Angeles. They have two children and two grandsons.

Brenda J. Hollis is an international criminal prosecutor. She served as the international co-prosecutor of the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC) from July 2019 to July 2022, having been the reserve international co-prosecutor since April 2015.

Prior to her appointment as the ECCC’s international co-prosecutor, she was the prosecutor of both the Residual Special Court for Sierra Leone and the Special Court for Sierra Leone from 2010-2019. After serving as a legal consultant to the special court prosecutor in 2002, 2003 and 2006, she became lead prosecutor in the case against former Liberian President Charles Taylor in 2007 and continued to lead the prosecution of that case until the appeal was concluded in 2013.

From 1994 to 2001, Hollis held various positions in the Office of the Prosecutor of the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia, including that of co-counsel in the Duško Tadić case, the first litigated case in an international criminal tribunal since the Nuremberg trials; lead prosecutor in both the reopening of the Furundžija case, in which rape was charged as torture; and the preparatory stage of the case against former Serbian President Slobodan Milošević until her departure from the ICTY in 2001.

Hollis has trained judges, prosecutors and investigators in Cambodia, Indonesia and Iraq. She also assisted victims of international crimes in Colombia and in the Democratic Republic of Congo to prepare submissions requesting investigations by the International Criminal Court.

Before entering the international arena, Hollis served as a U.S. Peace Corps volunteer, and as an officer in the US Air Force, retiring with the rank of colonel, having served as an Air intelligence briefing officer and judge advocate, the latter primarily as a prosecutor at the trial and appellate level.

After earning her bachelor’s degree in liberal arts from Bowling Green State University, Hollis earned her Juris Doctor from the University of Denver. She also has honorary degrees from Case Western School of Law and BGSU.

Among her other honors, Hollis was inducted into the Ohio Women’s Hall of Fame in 2011. In 2018, the American Association of State Colleges and Universities named her the recipient of its Distinguished Alumnus Award, which is presented to an individual who has achieved acclaim in her or his field and who has made a significant contribution to the public, intellectual or cultural life of the nation.

Beth Macy is a Virginia journalist and the author of three New York Times best-selling nonfiction books about outsiders and underdogs.

Her 2018 exploration of the opioid crisis, “Dopesick,” won an L.A. Times Book Prize and was adapted by Hulu for a series starring Michael Keaton, with Macy serving as an executive producer and cowriter on the show. “Dopesick” received 14 Emmy Award nominations this year, including Outstanding Limited or Anthology Series, and previously won a Peabody Award. The series also was nominated for multiple Golden Globe and Critic’s Choice Awards.

Her follow-up book, “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis,” was published by Little, Brown and Co. this summer. It sheds light on drug company settlements while giving voice to the parents of the dead who have become unwitting activists. More importantly, it outlines key strategies to help turn back the overdose crisis.

Macy’s other works include her 2014 J. Anthony Lukas Prize-winning “Factory Man,” which traced the aftermath of globalization in America, and “Truevine,” a racial history that was a Kirkus Prize finalist and was longlisted for the Carnegie Medal.

A former newspaper writer for The Roanoke (Va.) Times, Macy has also published in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, NewYorker.com and The Atlantic. Based out of Roanoke for three decades, Macy earned her bachelor’s degree in magazine journalism from Bowling Green State University, a master’s in English/creative writing from Hollins University and was a Nieman Fellow in Journalism at Harvard. She has honorary doctorate degrees from Roanoke College and Ferrum College.

A native of Urbana, Ohio, Macy and her husband, Tom Landon, an educator, have two grown kids, Max and Willis.

Dr. Tony Rucci currently serves as senior advisor to the U.S. Semiquincentennial Commission, established by Congress in 2016 and charged with the planning, design and execution of the nationwide events which will commemorate the 250th anniversary of the nation in 2026. He is also founding president and CEO emeritus of the America 250 Foundation, having served in that role pro bono from 2018 until 2021.

In his nearly 30-year business career, Rucci served as a senior corporate officer for three Fortune 50 companies: executive vice president and president of strategic corporate staff, Cardinal Health; chairman of the board, Sears Mexico; executive vice president and chief administrative officer, Sears Roebuck and Co.; and senior vice president of corporate strategy and business development, Baxter International; Rucci has also been on the board of directors of several companies including Sears Canada, Sears Mexico and Grupo Carso in Mexico.

In addition, he is professor emeritus and a university distinguished teaching professor from Ohio State University, having retired in late 2018. He previously served as interim CEO of Ohio State University Physicians, as well as dean of the College of Business and tenured professor at the University of Illinois, Chicago.

He has taught over 100 courses in his academic career, primarily at the graduate level, at Ohio State University, Bowling Green State University, the University of Illinois, Chicago and the University of Texas, Dallas. He has authored/co-authored over 40 peer-reviewed articles, book chapters and professional conference presentations, including the Harvard Business Review, and has delivered over 100 keynote addresses at major conferences.

His community service efforts have focused on pro bono advising at the CEO/board level for a number of central Ohio organizations including LifeCare Alliance/Meal on Wheels, Children’s Hunger Alliance and Homeport affordable housing. He is currently a member of the BGSU Foundation Board, and has also served on the Chancellor’s Advisory Board at the University of Illinois, Chicago, the Ohio State University Medical Center Advisory Board and the Columbus Museum of Art.

Rucci is also co-creator/co-founder of the BRIGHT New Leaders for Ohio Schools, an innovative program in cooperation with the Ohio Legislature and the Ohio Department of Education to prepare new principals and administrators for inner city and rural school districts.

Rucci holds a bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree in industrial and organizational psychology from BGSU and has permanently endowed eight annual scholarships at the University.

He is the proud father of five children – Kelly, Heather, Joshua, Jordan and Sage – and five grandchildren.

Leon Bibb is an acclaimed Emmy-winning journalist who broke ground as the first black primetime news anchor in Ohio and one of the first in the country. This year marks his 50th straight year in television.

Bibb’s career as a news anchor and multimedia journalist began in Toledo at WTOL before joining WCMH-TV4 in Columbus. He broke new ground again as the first black primetime anchor in Ohio’s largest television market when Cleveland’s WKYC-TV promoted him to the anchor desk in 1985. He spent 16 years there, another 22 at WEWS-TV5 and then returned to WKYC, where he still works as a senior commentator. An iconic figure in Northeast Ohio, Bibb’s deep, low voice and exemplary storytelling abilities have set him apart from his peers.

Bibb entered the field during an era when there were very few black journalists in the newsroom. A true trailblazer, Bibb opened the doors for many of Ohio’s black television journalists, and he continues to keep those doors open as a veteran television news anchor. Bibb has set an example for journalists by adapting to the ever-changing field of broadcast journalism.

Bibb is a seven-time recipient of the TV Emmy Award for Excellence in Journalism, having been nominated many times over. He is also a member of the Associated Press Ohio Broadcasters Hall of Fame and an inductee of the National Association of Black Journalists. He was awarded the Distinguished Journalist Award from the Cleveland Chapter of the Society for Professional Journalists and won various awards and citations from the Office of the Governor and the Ohio House and Senate.

Bibb earned his bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from BGSU in 1966 and then joined the U.S. Army, where he served in the Vietnam War and was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for meritorious achievement against hostile forces. He returned to BGSU following his military service for graduate courses from 1969-1971.

As a student, he was active in Alpha Phi Alpha fraternity and a member of Rho Sigma Mu Broadcasting Honorary; worked in radio and television newscasting at WBGU-FM and WBGU-TV; and was a copy editor for the BG News. He was inducted into BGSU School of Mass Communications Hall of Fame in 1989 and served on the University’s board of trustees from 1996-2005, including serving as chairman of the board.

Dr. Susan Finn is a recognized leader and a respected communicator in food, nutrition and health. As a top-level advisor to professional societies, educational institutions and industry, Finn evaluates, interprets and brings context to nutrition research and its implications.

For nearly 30 years, Finn headed nutrition services for the Ross Products Division of Abbott Laboratories (now Abbott Nutrition), where she advocated for making nutrition screening and support integral elements of health care. She was the chief architect behind multifaceted campaigns to advance nutrition support, particularly for women, the elderly and those with diseases placing them at nutritional risk.

Finn has served as president of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (AND), the largest such organization in the world with more than 100,000 members. She has also served as chair of its foundation. As co-chair of the academy’s Second Century Initiative, she is intimately involved in shaping the organization’s future direction. Over the past several years, she has focused on strengthening the authority of registered dietitians as the profession moves into its second century; effectively communicating food/nutrition science; and exploring the intersection of food, nutrition, agriculture and sustainability.

Finn also serves on the board of the Royal Academy of Science International Trust and participated in the trust’s inaugural World Women Health and Development Forum at the United Nations. As a result of this initiative, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a groundbreaking resolution to establish an annual International Day of Women and Girls in Science.

Finn has been honored for her leadership in health and nutrition. President George W. Bush appointed her to the President’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. In 2014, then Speaker of the House John Boehner appointed Finn to the National Commission on Hunger, which assessed the hunger crisis in this country and recommended how government along with private and public partners can respond. She has received the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics’ Medallion Award, has presented the academy’s prestigious Lenna Frances Cooper Lecture and has received the Marjorie Hulsizer Copher Award, the highest honor bestowed by the academy.

Finn is widely published in professional journals and consumer magazines. She is co-author of two books: “The Real Life Nutrition Book/Making the Right Food Choices Without Changing Your Lifestyle” and “The American Dietetic Association’s Guide to Women’s Nutrition for Healthy Living.” Her new book, “Nutrition Authority: Perspectives on Opportunity,” is scheduled for release in 2021.

After graduating with a bachelor’s degree in education from BGSU, Finn went on to earn a master’s in public health nutrition at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland and a Ph.D. in nutrition science from The Ohio State University, which also honored her with a Distinguished Alumni award.

Jan Heppe’s 30-year career has been committed to national and international retail organizations, holding various senior management positions in both department and specialty stores. Her leadership was marked by operational expertise, market growth and strategically aligning global positioning of brands across all channels.

Proudly, she was the first woman and youngest female divisional vice president/general manager in the Gimbels organization at the age of 28. After 15 years of service with Burberry Ltd., a British international luxury brand, Heppe retired having held the positions of senior vice president of retail, chief operating officer and president of the Americas region reaching from Canada through Latin America. She played a pivotal role in shaping and growing Burberry’s retail operations across the region.

Heppe also served on the board of directors of Mood Inc. and The Philadelphia Fashion Incubator. Currently, she is a director on the board for the Sandy Rollman Ovarian Cancer Foundation and is on the team of Survivors Teaching Students for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund Alliance. She also serves on the Bowling Green State University Foundation Board and the advisory council for the fashion merchandising and product development program at BGSU.

Heppe graduated from BGSU in 1974 with a bachelor’s degree in home economics. While at Bowling Green, she was a member of the Alpha Gamma Delta sorority and served as president of Panhellenic Council. She was also the recipient of the president’s outstanding student award her senior year. She served as president of the Alumni Board several years following graduation. In 2019, she served as an executive in residence for the University’s fashion merchandising and product development program.

Heppe resides in Sunset, South Carolina, with her husband, Douglas, and has two children and four grandchildren. In her community, she also serves on the McKInney Chapel Committee, the Community Reach Out Committee and is the vice president for the Keowee Vineyards Ladies Golf Association.

You may not know Eileen O’Neill, but you might know one of the many TV programs she created during her tenure at Discovery Communications, including “Cake Boss,” “Long Island Medium,” “Say Yes to the Dress,” “Naked and Afraid,” “Fast ‘N Loud,” “The Little Couple,” “Sister Wives” and “Toddlers & Tiaras,” just to name a few.

O’Neill’s road to Discovery’s headquarters in Maryland began in Ohio. As part of her master’s program in Popular Culture at BGSU, O’Neill started at Discovery as an unpaid intern, organizing the company’s first tape library. Hired immediately upon graduation in 1990, she spent the next 25 years rising through the corporate ranks to eventually become group president for Discovery Channel, TLC and Discovery Fit & Health. At the time of her retirement in 2015, she was the global group president at Discovery Studios.

In her leadership roles at Discovery, O’Neill was responsible for strategic direction at the networks including development, programming, production, digital media, marketing, research and communications. Her stewardship of Shark Week in 2013 led to the most-watched week in its history among viewers aged 18-34. She produced multiple live events, including “Skywire Live with Nik Wallenda” as he walked across a portion of the Grand Canyon, watched by 13 million viewers.

O’Neill has won two national Emmy Awards, including one for the network’s coverage of Austrian skydiver Felix Baumgartner’s record-breaking jump from the edge of outer space. Her 2010 series “Sarah Palin’s Alaska” was the No. 1 program launch in TLC history, and she also broke viewing records for all of ad-supported cable television in the U.S. for a single episode of “Jon & Kate Plus 8.”

O’Neill served as president of Planet Green, the first TV network dedicated to green programming. She was also executive vice president and general manager of Discovery Health Channel & FitTV, as well as director of scheduling for the Travel Channel.

O’Neill has been widely recognized for her professional achievements. She was cited by Multichannel News as a “Wonder Woman” and inducted into the Cablefax Hall of Fame in 2009, as well as earning the CINE Golden Eagle Award and being ranked No. 15 on the list of Hollywood Reporter’s “Power 100 Women in Entertainment” in 2013. BGSU conferred an honorary doctorate upon her in 2014.

Since retiring, O’Neill has published a children’s book, volunteers weekly at a draft horse rescue farm, coaches middle school girls’ basketball and serves on multiple educational trustee boards. She lives in Maryland with her wife, their son and their beagle, Riley.

Dr. Eugene T. W. Sanders is the CEO and superintendent for Sandusky City Schools. He has leadership experience serving children and communities as a teacher, high school administrator, college professor, consultant, and superintendent of schools in Sandusky, Toledo and Cleveland.

Sanders is recognized as a national leader in school transformation and preparing students to compete in the 21st-century global economy. His transformation plan for the Cleveland Metropolitan School District was noted as one of the most efficient and elaborate reorganization plans in the nation. He created a district STEM high school on the campus of General Electric, the only one of its design in the nation. Additionally, Sanders introduced single-gender academies, Science and Medicine High School and Architectural Design and Engineering High School. He is most proud of the Closing the Achievement Gap Program that has dramatically increased the graduation rate for at-risk minority male students.

Sanders’ visionary leadership has been featured on “MSNBC Morning Roundup,” and NBC’s “The Today Show.” He is regularly sought after as a speaker and presenter on school reform and redesign throughout the nation. He has also served as an executive lecturer at the University of Hawaii at Maui College.

In his current role, Sanders led a successful levy campaign in November 2012 and is now coordinating the largest construction program in the history of the Sandusky City Schools. The $72 million project will result in three new elementary schools and the building of the Global Education Center at the new intermediate school.

Sanders has also led the innovative redesign of the district’s instructional delivery, creating the following new programs: The Regional Center for Advanced Academic Studies; Blue Streak University; The Global Internship Experience; The Sandusky Digital Academy; and The Great Lakes Visual and Performing Arts Academy.

Sanders was inducted in the Sandusky High School and Erie County Hall of Achievers and was selected Superintendent of the Year by the Martha Holden Jennings Foundation. He received his bachelor’s degree in comprehensive social studies; master’s degrees in educational administration and supervision, and secondary education; and a Ph.D. in educational leadership and organizational management from Bowling Green State University.

He is a proud 1976 graduate of Sandusky High School and is active in his church and local civic and community activities. One of 11 siblings, he credits his career success to his family, faith and school community.

Bob Sebo retired as senior vice president for Paychex Inc., where he played a significant role in the evolution of the payroll service company from a small franchise with a handful of employees to a publicly traded national payroll company with 12,000 employees serving more than half a million businesses nationwide.

After earning his bachelor’s degree in business administration from BGSU in 1958, Sebo received at graduation his commission through BGSU ROTC, where he served as a first lieutenant in the U.S. Army and became a commander at the Nike Missile Air Defense unit at the U.S. border. He then spent 14 years with the Cadillac Motor Car Division of General Motors, serving as a distribution manager, business manager and district sales manager.

In 1974, Sebo became associated with a fledgling company, known as Paychex, and its founder, Tom Golisano. Under an agreement with Golisano, Sebo began Paychex Inc. of Ohio. Over the next 20 years, Sebo helped expand the company across the country and take it public in 1983. As vice president of operations, his role was to consolidate, standardize and organize all branch operations for the company, including policies, procedures, and recruiting and training. After retiring as senior vice president in 1994, he continued to serve as a member of the Paychex Board of Directors until 2006.

Sebo has been the recipient of numerous awards and honors over the years in recognition of his professional success and his prolific support of causes and organizations, especially in his hometown of Salem, Ohio, which named him Citizen of the Year. He has been inducted into the U.S. Army ROTC Hall of Fame, the Salem High School Athletics Hall of Fame and the Paul J. Hooker Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership Hall of Fame at BGSU.

Sebo previously served on the BGSU Board of Trustees from 2002 to 2011 and is a current member of the Changing Lives for the World Campaign Committee. He has supported several BGSU scholarships, helped establish the Sebo Lecture Series in Entrepreneurship in the Schmidthorst College of Business and made the lead gift to help fund a new athletic facility at Doyt L. Perry Stadium. The 42,500-square-foot Sebo Athletic Center features a state-of-the-art sports medicine and rehabilitation facility and strength and conditioning areas for all University student-athletes, as well as meeting and office spaces. He also provided funds for improving the football stadium in Salem, which was recently renamed Sebo Stadium.

Sebo and his wife, Linda, reside in Salem, Ohio. He is the father of two daughters, Christine Parisi and Julie Schmelzle, also a BGSU graduate and previous inductee into the Academy of Distinguished Alumni; and stepchildren Courtney and Parker, who just started his freshman year at BGSU.

John Mitchell is the global practice managing partner of the health care and life sciences practice at Heidrick and Struggles, an executive search firm. He is also a core member of the CEO and board of directors practice.

Before joining Heidrick and Struggles, he led the global private equity practice at a leading executive search firm. Previously, he was the firm’s life sciences practice leader for the Americas and a core member of its CEO and board practice. He also served as the managing partner of another international search firm’s life sciences practice. He was elected to this firm’s board of directors.

A graduate of the BGSU Schmidthorst College of Business Administration, Mitchell has nearly 30 years of experience in executive search, working at the senior executive and board levels, primarily advising companies in health care and life sciences, including global conglomerates, emerging firms, private equity-backed companies and start-ups. He has worked with firms operating in a broad range of investment areas from mega deals to venture capital and the middle-market arena.

Peter Englehart’s career as an entrepreneur and investor began upon his graduation from BGSU in 1975 where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in journalism, later to be followed by an MBA from the Harvard Business School. He started his professional career as a publicist for the Professional Bowlers Tour, and two years thereafter began as a production assistant at ABC Sports.

This began a 25-year career in the sports television business where he earned six Emmy Awards at ABC Sports and ESPN. Among his production credits were assignments at four Olympic Games, the America’s Cup, French and Australian Open tennis championships, NCAA College Football, NASCAR and various other telecasts on ABC’s venerable series “Wide World of Sports.” After more than eight years at ABC, Englehart accepted a position as ESPN’s director of program planning where he oversaw strategic planning and acquisitions for all network programming and led the launch of ESPN2.

In 1995, Englehart founded the Outdoor Life Network (née NBC Sports Channel), along with the Speed Channel. In this role, he was responsible for all creative and financial aspects of the network’s programming and production. He developed properties such as the Tour de France and Professional Bull Riders into the network’s line-up. After Outdoor Life Network reached nearly 60 million U.S. households in distribution, he helped successfully sell the network to the Comcast Corporation.

In 2007 he founded and became president and CEO of the Competitor Group, the world’s largest endurance sports (marathons, triathlons and cycling) company. He expanded the company’s trademark Rock ‘n Roll Marathon Series brand into 34 worldwide locations and controlled media properties in the endurance sector though ownership of five magazines and multiple digital properties. He successfully sold the company in December 2012.

He is currently involved in multiple enterprises and investments. He is chairman of the board of TEN: The Enthusiast Network. TEN is a network of enthusiast brands such as Motor Trend, Automobile, Hot Rod, Surfer, Powder and Grind TV. With more than 50 publications, 60 websites, 1,000 branded products, the world’s largest automotive video channel and world’s largest action/outdoor sports media platform, TEN connects companies with their most passionate audiences.

Englehart also serves as executive chairman of Javo Coffee Beverages, one of the country’s premier providers of ready-to-serve coffee to restaurants and convenience stores. Additionally, he is the executive producer of VStar Entertainment, where he oversees various national family entertainment tours such as “Sesame Street LIVE,” “Discover the Dinosaurs” and the Pro Football Hall of Fame “Honor the Heroes” Tour. At BGSU he was voted Outstanding Senior Man and was president of the Undergraduate Alumni Association. He received the University’s Presidential Distinguished Service Award, was voted ROTC Cadet of the year, was a member of Omicron Delta Kappa and earned three varsity letters in lacrosse.

Antonio Daniels ’97 is the third-highest draft pick in Falcon basketball history, being selected No. 4 overall by the Vancouver Grizzlies in 1997. That came on the heels of a senior season in which he averaged 24 points per game and led Bowling Green to a share of the MAC regular season crown.

He is fourth in career scoring at Bowling Green with 1,789 points, second in career assists with 563 and seventh in career steals with 162. Daniels was an AP Honorable Mention All- American in 1997 as well. He was selected to the BGSU Athletics Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility in 2007 and won an NBA crown with the San Antonio Spurs in 1999.

After 13 seasons in the NBA and two more in the D-league, Daniels turned his attention to success in another arena with the Daniels Family Foundation. With his wife, Sonia, he combines his three key passions in life – faith, family and fitness – to improve the lives of children and families in San Antonio and across the country.

Antonio and Sonia met in 2002 through an introduction from a mutual friend. Although it took some time for Antonio to muster the courage to ask, the two shared a first date at a local 24-hour diner. A short courtship later, the couple wed in 2004 and now have two daughters, Jada and Jordyn. Faith and fitness have proved to be the cornerstone of their marriage and family life, so they have dedicated themselves to sharing the message of healthy lifestyles and relationships with as many people as possible through the Daniels Family Foundation.

The foundation provides opportunities to improve fitness, develop faith-based practices and foster healthy families, and to attend low-cost summer basketball camps. The Daniels also serve as spokespeople for San Antonio Parks and Recreation. In addition, Antonio is a personality on the San Antonio ESPN Radio Show. He was named the 2015 San Antonio Magazine Radio Personality of the Year.

Pamela Beall ’84 is director and president of MPLX LP, a master limited partnership sponsored by Marathon Petroleum Corporation, and senior vice president for corporate planning, government and public affairs at Marathon Petroleum. She serves on the board of trustees of The University of Findlay and is a member of The Ohio Society of CPAs.

She began her career with Marathon in 1978 as an auditor and held positions with the corporate risk and environmental affairs and domestic funds organizations before transferring to USX Corporation as general manager for treasury services in 1985. She was vice president and treasurer of NationsRent Inc. and OHM Corporation, and served on the boards of directors of System One Services Inc. and Boyle Engineering.

Beall rejoined Marathon in 2002, as manager of business development for Marathon Ashland Petroleum. She was named director of corporate affairs in 2003 and appointed director of business development in 2005. She then served as organizational vice president for business development - downstream for Marathon Petroleum Company in 2006. Beall was named vice president of global procurement for Marathon Oil Company in 2007, vice president of products, supply and optimization for Marathon Petroleum Company in 2010, and vice president of investor relations and government and public affairs in 2011. She assumed her current positions with Marathon Petroleum and MPLX in 2014.

Beall graduated from The University of Findlay with a bachelor’s degree in accounting in 1978. In 1984, she received her master’s degree in business administration from Bowling Green State University. She was licensed as a certified public accountant in Ohio in 1984.

Chuck Bogosta is executive vice president of UPMC, a $12 billion non-profit company and the State of Pennsylvania’s largest employer, and president of UPMC’s International and Commercial Services Division, for which he oversees UPMC’s international and commercial business efforts. This includes a leading transplant hospital in Palermo, Italy, the creation of a new biomedical research center in Sicily, a private hospital and cancer treatment centers in Ireland, a transplant center in Singapore, a comprehensive cancer center in Kazakhstan, a reference laboratory in India, and second-opinion pathology services in China. He also oversees UPMC’s homegrown Advisory Services group which advises governments and large healthcare organizations on the development of Oncology, Pediatric, Telemedicine and Information Technology initiatives. His team is also spearheading efforts to create and manage innovative, for-profit businesses that leverage UPMC’s medical and technological expertise. The businesses range from digital pathology services, to natural language processing technology, to a clinical pathways company, to an investment in a network of dialysis centers.

Chuck is also president of UPMC Cancer Center, a partner with the University of Pittsburgh Cancer Institute. UPMC Cancer Center has the largest presence worldwide of any of the NCI Designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers. In this role, Chuck is responsible for the strategic, operational and financial activities of all cancer-related clinical activities domestically and abroad. He holds a bachelor’s degree in business economics from SUNY Oneonta and an master’s degree in educational administration from Bowling Green State University. He and his wife reside in Gibsonia, Pennsylvania.  They have four children.

John Damonti ’82 is president of the Bristol-Myers Squibb Foundation as well as vice president of Corporate Social Responsibility at Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, a global bio-pharmaceutical company.

John has more than 25 years of experience working in the areas of health policy, government affairs and philanthropy. He completed his undergraduate degree in psychology at Bowling Green State University and received a master’s degree in social work from Fordham University in 1985. In 2007, he was awarded an Honorary Doctorate degree from Fordham University.

John began his career as manager of Contributions and Community Relations for Mutual of New York. He was also director of the Primerica Foundation (now part of Citigroup) and before joining Bristol-Myers Squibb in 1991, served as director of State Government Relations for Ciba-Geigy Corporation (now Novartis.)

The Foundation’s mission is to seek innovative approaches to promoting health equity by strengthening community-based healthcare worker capacity, medical care and community-based supportive services, and by mobilizing communities to fight disease. To do this, the Foundation actively engages a wide range of partners to develop, execute, evaluate and promote strategic and innovative programs to improve the health outcomes of populations disproportionately affected by HIV/AIDS and cervical cancer in Africa; Hepatitis B and C in China and India; the mental health and wellbeing of returning United States veterans and their families; Type 2 Diabetes in the U.S.; cancer nursing in Central and Eastern Europe; and a new initiative focused on community-based care models for lung cancer in the Tobacco Belt of the United States.

In addition to his professional accomplishments, John is a member of the Boards of the New York Academy of Medicine, Malaria No More, and Family Care International. He is also a member of the steering committee of the Pink Ribbon Red Ribbon initiative of the Bush Institute and the public issues committee of the Advertising Council.

John and his wife Barbara Yastine and their twin daughters Jamie and Samantha live in New York City and Stockton, New Jersey.

Alicia Fernandez-Mott is former chief, Division of Seasonal Farmworker Programs, Employment and Training Administration for the U.S. Department of Labor in Washington D.C.  From 1991 until her retirement in 2006, she managed job training programs for migrant workers across the nation and developed and monitored performance standards and financial management of funds to State governments, non-profit organizations and educational institutions.

Additionally, in 2003, Alicia was asked to work in the Dallas Regional Office of the U.S. Department of Labor as director, Office of Discretionary Programs, director of Systems Support. She returned in 2009-10 as team lead and primary technical adviser to all Department of Labor American Recovery and Reinvestment Act grantees, specifically addressing regulatory and reporting requirements. Prior to her Department of Labor Service, Alicia was the director of Rural Opportunities, Inc., a statewide organization providing training and services to farmworkers and other economically disadvantaged youth and adults.

She was born into a migrant agricultural worker family of eight and raised by a single parent. Alicia was mono-lingual Spanish speaking when entering first grade at a time when Texas schools were English speaking only. As a teen, she traveled across the country as a migrant agricultural worker and had to drop out of school having only completed tenth grade.

She received her general equivalency diploma at the age of 30 and enrolled at Bowling Green State University. Attending as time and money permitted, she received a bachelor’s degree in business administration in 1982 at 38 years of age. During her junior and senior years, she was honored to receive a full academic scholarship from Marathon Oil Company.

Gary Kovacs began his financial services career in 1970 with Fidelity Union Life. He was mentored in this field by Bill Violet ‘64 who was the older brother of his BGSU Phi Delta Theta fraternity brother Jim Violet ‘69. He was inducted into the Fidelity Union Life’s Hall of Fame in 1977.

Gary subsequently formed Financial Planning Services in 1972 which he operated until 1994. He merged the company in 1994 when he became a principal with Harris, Webb, & Garrison (HWG), a full-service regional securities and investment banking firm serving Texas and the southwest. In 1998, HWG was acquired and merged with TEI, Inc. of Houston along with two other similar companies to form Pinnacle Global Group, Inc.

Additionally, Gary is co-founder of Izzo’s Illegal Burrito which opened its first location in 2001 at the north gates of Louisiana State University. Together with his partner Ozzie Fernandez, they have expanded their operation throughout Louisiana and Mississippi, with eighteen total units. Their concept continues to expand and they are called the Burrito Kings of Louisiana.

Gary also served as mayor, city treasurer and councilman for the city of Hunters Creek Village from 2000-04 and is currently senior vice president for Wealth Management at UBS Financial Services, Inc. in Houston, Texas.

Gary became a student at BGSU after serving in the military with the Special Forces which included a tour in Vietnam for 21 months. As a student, he was a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, worked for the BG News, lettered in soccer, was co-captain of the 1969 soccer team and was a Varsity Club member. He graduated in 1969 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism.

Linda Forte is senior vice president of business affairs and chief diversity officer for Comerica Incorporated. She is a member of the bank’s national senior leadership team. Her duties include oversight of the Comerica Charitable Foundation, Comerica Contributions and Civic Affairs. Forte has demonstrated a passion for her employees and adopted hometown that surpasses her job description.

Forte has spent the entirety of her nearly 40-year career with Comerica after a BGSU education faculty member recognized and cultivated her aptitude for business. She has risen through the Comerica ranks in various positions of increasing responsibility in branch management, human resources, corporate banking and executive administration.

Forte volunteers on the boards of The Henry Ford Health System, New Detroit, The Michigan Women’s Foundation, Executive Leadership Council, Economic Development Corporation of the City of Detroit, Women’s Caring Program and the Michigan United Negro College Fund. She also serves as a commissioner for the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department.

Most recently she was recognized as the 2013 Girl Scouts “Tough Cookie” Leadership Awardee, a 2013 Women and Leadership in the Workplace Distinguished Service Awardee, a 2013 DBusiness “Powered by Women” honoree, a 2012 Woman of Achievement and Courage by the Michigan Women’s Foundation, and a 2012 Mercy Education Project PHD Awardee. She was also selected by Black Enterprise magazine as one of the 2011 Top Executives in Diversity, and by Crain’s Detroit Business magazine as one of 2007’s Most Influential Women and one of Detroit’s 100 Black Business Leaders in 1998.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in psychology and education at BGSU and her MBA in finance and accounting from the University of Michigan.

Forte serves her alma mater as a member of the BGSU Student Affairs Board of Advocates. As an undergraduate at BGSU, she was a member of Delta Sigma Theta sorority.

McPhee was recognized immediately as a standout hockey player at BGSU. A four-year letterwinner from 1978-82, he was the recipient of the 1982 Hobey Baker Memorial Award, given to the top player in college hockey. His other accolades included a first-team All-CCHA selection in 1982, second-team All-CCHA honors in 1979 and 1981 and his selection as the CCHA’s Rookie of the Year in 1979. Earning a degree in interpersonal communication, he became the first player to be named to the CCHA All-Academic Team in three consecutive seasons. Washington Capitals. He is also one of BGSU’s 100 Most Prominent Alumni, BGSU Athletic Hall of Famer, and one of the all-time most decorated student-athletes in collegiate hockey.

Upon the completion of his college career, McPhee signed as a free agent with the New York Rangers and started his NHL career during the 1982 Stanley Cup playoffs. Following his seven-year playing career with the Rangers and New Jersey Devils, McPhee earned his law degree from Rutgers University in 1992.

Prior to joining the Capitals, McPhee spent five seasons as the vice president and director of hockey operations as well as an alternate governor for the Vancouver Canucks. In his time with the Canucks, the team enjoyed four trips to the playoffs, a division championship and a trip to the 1994 Stanley Cup Finals.

McPhee was named the fifth general manager in Caps history on June 9, 1997 and found immediate success with the Capitals, engineering the club’s first trip to the Stanley Cup Finals in his first season. Under his leadership, the team has claimed seven Southeast Division championships (1999-00, 2000-01, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10, 2010-11 and 2012-13), seven 40-or-more win seasons (1997-98, 1999-00, 2000-01, 2007-08, 2008-09, 2009-10 and 2010-11) and set a club record for wins and points (2009-10).

McPhee has stayed connected to his alma mater and has invested in the BGSU Hockey team and the renovation of the Ice Arena and remains committed to motivating BGSU student-athletes.

Dr. Paul W. Stiffler is a board-certified microbiologist, entrepreneur and passionate supporter of BGSU University Libraries. He is co-founder, executive vice president and director of regulatory affairs for Medtrol, Inc., a manufacturer of infection control products widely used in the healthcare, food service and education industries.

Since founding Medtrol in 1994, Stiffler and his business partner, Dr. Joseph G. Martorano, have expanded the Chicago-based operation into a leading manufacturer of more than 35 disinfectant and sanitation products. They hold a patent used for packaging “EPA registered, pre-diluted, bleach (sodium hypochlorite) liquid and saturated wipes”. These packaged bleach wipes counter such important pathogens as Clostridium difficile spores, MRSA, VRE, Salmonella enterica, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, HIV, Hepatitis B and C, and Trichophyton mentagrophytes.

Stiffler is a founding member of the Library Advocates Board and has served as its chair since 2006. Stiffler and his board colleagues supported an expansive renovation of the William T. Jerome Library, which included new group study and discussion space, a coffee and snack counter, and enhancements to access of digital collections. His leadership and support was recognized with a 2009 Friends Award from University Libraries.

Stiffler earned both his bachelor’s degree in biology and chemistry in 1965 and master’s degree in biology in 1967 from Bowling Green State University. As an undergraduate, Stiffler was president of the Union Activities Organization and a member of the men’s swim team.

Stiffler earned his doctorate in microbiology and public health from Michigan State University in 1972, and completed his clinical microbiology fellowship at the University of Chicago Pritzker School of Medicine.

Since graduating from BGSU, Stiffler has also endowed two scholarships to support BGSU students.

Maryrose Sylvester ’87 is President & CEO of GE Lighting, a $3 billion division of the Fortune 500 company, General Electric, leading nearly 15,000 people in manufacturing, sales, technology and distribution locations around the world who fulfill customers’ most basic and business-critical needs with a wide variety of innovative, lighting products and services.

Sylvester has spent 15 of her 26 years at General Electric with GE Lighting. She began her GE career in 1987, as an intern at GE Motors in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Her career has included numerous supervisory and leadership positions in several different businesses within General Electric. She most recently served as President & CEO of GE Intelligent Platforms and in the same capacity before that at the former GE Quartz. She served as director of sourcing for GE Lighting Europe in Budapest, Hungary in 1996, less than a decade after the fall of Communism in the country

Sylvester has spent 15 of her 26 years at General Electric with GE Lighting. She began her GE career in 1987, as an intern at GE Motors in Ft. Wayne, Ind. Her career has included numerous supervisory and leadership positions in several different businesses within General Electric. She most recently served as President & CEO of GE Intelligent Platforms and in the same capacity before that at the former GE Quartz. She served as director of sourcing for GE Lighting Europe in Budapest, Hungary in 1996, less than a decade after the fall of Communism in the country

In 1997 she helped to establish the GE Women’s Network, an important part of General Electric’s organized effort to cultivate diversity and empower its workforce. She is quick to acknowledge the dozens of mentors and advocates who helped to develop her career, and Sylvester is a thoughtful and conscientious mentor to talented young professionals and women in business.

Sylvester is active in community outreach both nationally and in her community of greater Cleveland. She is on the Board of Governors for the National Electrical Manufacturers Association and serves on the Board for the Foundation Fighting Blindness, the Greater Cleveland Partnership and the United Way of Greater Cleveland.  She is also on the Case Western Reserve University Corporate Visiting Committee.

She earned her bachelor’s degree in the former procurement and production management program (now the supply chain management program) in 1987 from Bowling Green State University. As an undergraduate, Sylvester was a member of Management Club and Delta Zeta sorority. She holds an MBA from Cleveland State University.

Watters currently serves as vice president for government relations at John Hancock Insurance Company, a role which she took on in 2009. Previously, she was appointed by Michigan governor Jennifer Granholm as commissioner for the state's Office of Financial and Insurance Services. Since being named BGSU's Homecoming Queen in 1972, Watters has been involved with Hutzel Women's Hospital, the Urban Financial Services Coalition, the National Black MBA Association and several other organizations.

Jack Williams is a partner for the law firm of Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, which he joined in 2008. He is a former federal prosecutor with more than 20 years of experience as a trial lawyer and litigator. Since receiving a degree in business administration from BGSU, he moved on to earn an MBA from Cleveland State University and a juris doctorate from the University of Michigan Law School.

Ed Reiter is retired Senior Chairman of Sky Financial Group and has been involved with several boards and capital campaigns in northwest Ohio. He has been involved with BGSU's Alumni and Foundation Boards, the Cosi Board of Directors, the Toledo Community Foundation Board, the Toledo Symphony Board and the United Way. He is a former Board of Trustees member for Owens Community College, Lourdes College, Davis College, the Toledo Area Chamber of Commerce, Cherry Street Mission and the Boys and Girls Club of Toledo.

Philport, who earned a doctorate in media communications from BGSU, is president and CEO of Traffic Audit Bureau for Media Management, Inc. Previously, he held executive positions at Arbitron, CMR, Nielsen, and AGB Television Research. He was given the Advertising Research Foundation’s 2009 Gold Great Mind Award for innovation in research behind the EYES ON system, and is also a frequent speaker at industry conferences and symposia.