Class Notes – September 2009
Timothy Ericson ‘09 was featured in the Philadelphia Business Journal as the co-founder, with Drexel classmate Jason Meinzer, of CityRyde, a new organization that offers a way to make short-term use of bicycles from a common pool for a member fee.
Chelsea J. Soules ‘09 joined Pyramid Brokerage Company as a licensed sales agent. Pyramid Brokerage Company is a commercial real estate firm.
Jason Meinzer ‘08 was featured in the Philadelphia Business Journal as the co-founder, with Drexel classmate Timothy Ericson, of CityRyde, a new organization that offers a way to make short-term use of bicycles from a common pool for a member fee.
Ranjan Kumar Dash MBA ‘06, founder and Chief Technology Officer of Y-Carbon, Inc., was recognized by Technology Review magazine as one of the world’s top innovators under the age of 35 (known as the TR35) for his contribution in development and commercialization of tunable nanoporous carbon. Selected from more than 300 nominees by a panel of expert judges and the editorial staff of Technology Review, the TR35 is an elite group of accomplished young innovators who exemplify the spirit of innovation. He will be featured in the September/October issue of Technology Review magazine and honored at the EmTech@MIT 2009 Conference to be held in September. Y-Carbon is a nanotechnology start-up company based in King of Prussia, Pennsylvania. As a spin off from the A.J. Drexel Nanotechnology Institute at Drexel University, Y-Carbon has obtained exclusive rights to intellectual property invented and patented by Professor Yuri Gogotsi’s team at Drexel University. Y-Carbon’s core mission is to develop and promote an innovative method of making novel nanostructured carbon materials with precisely defined structure, porosity, and surface chemistry.
Clifton C. Jones, Jr. ‘00 was appointed to serve on the board of Mt. Airy, USA, a non-profit community development corporation serving the Mt. Airy neighborhood that is located close to downtown Philadelphia. Mr. Jones was recently named Director of Operations for New Covenant Church of Philadelphia. He spent 10 years as a US Marine and more than a decade in corporate banking and involvement in non-profits.
Todd Simmens, Esq. ‘91 has been admitted to the partnership at BDO Seidman as a tax partner and national director of tax controversy and procedure. He focuses primarily on assisting clients in resolving tax disputes, Internal Revenue Service procedure, reportable transaction rules and penalty issues. He is also the co-author of a soon-to be released BNA tax management portfolio on reportable transactions.
Sharon Faden Donahue, MBA ‘89, was profiled on BucksLocalNews.com in an article that spotlighted the six children’s books which she wrote and illustrated; her café, The Zebra-Striped Whale; and her charitable endeavors through the Zebra-Striped Whale Foundation. The Foundation’s mission is to raise funds for community members facing hardships.
Dan Devine ‘87 was named one of the top CFOs in San Diego, California. Mr. Devine was an honoree in the for-profit large business category. This is the second consecutive year that Mr. Devine was honored as one of San Diego’s CFOs of the Year.
Randall S. Burkert ‘82 has joined the firm Hirtle Callaghan & Co. and will serve as head of its newly opened first New York office, located at 57th Street and Madison Avenue. Burkert joined the Equities Division of Goldman Sachs in 1989. He was one of the original members of the Goldman Sachs Trust Co. From 1999 through 2009 Burkert co-founded and managed the global institutional group.
Claude C. “Corky” Corkadel III, MBA ‘80, has been named executive of operations of ION Engineering. Mr. Corkadel retired from Mobil Oil Corporation, where he served as a Country Manager in Asia, and as Global Director of Specialty Products Business. ION Engineering is a clean-tech startup that introduced ionic liquid solutions for carbon capture in the global energy industry.
Keith H. Fleury, Esq. ‘79 was promoted to principal at Gunnip & Company LLP, a Certified Public Accounting firm located in Wilmington, Del. Mr. Fleury has been with the firm since 2000.
L. Raymond Stankus ‘69, MBA ‘75, joined DNB First as senior vice president of commercial banking. Mr. Stankus has more than 25 years of commercial lending experience serving small- and mid-sized businesses in the Philadelphia region. He has spent his entire career in the Philadelphia banking market with Sovereign Bank, Core States and First Pennsylvania banks. Having served as a U.S. Army 1st Lieutenant in Vietnam, Mr. Stankus also participates in DNB First’s commitment to community by serving as the Director of the non-profit organization, “Philadelphia Stand Down,” which leads life enrichment programs for indigent veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces and homeless citizens.
