Giving back to ensure continued excellence.
The School’s strong network of graduates is exemplified by the impressive representation of industry talent on our Alumni Association Executive and Appointed Boards. These board members demonstrate unwavering support for The School and its students, “giving back” through their time, energy and enthusiasm to ensure continued excellence. Our students benefit from this strong industry support and connectivity thanks to the dedication and loyalty of these hospitality executives.
Board Engagement
The Executive Board of Directors Advisory Members, consist entirely of alumni and oversees the activities of the Alumni Association. The Appointed Board of Directors Advisory Members consist of graduates and non-graduates from all segments of leadership within the hospitality industry, who act as a group of advocates for The School and its mission. The Alumni Association Board fulfills its mission in a number of ways that benefit The School as well as sponsors several events:
- Executive & Appointed Advisory Board meetings, held twice each year (spring and fall on campus during MSU Homecoming)
- Homecoming parade and after-parade tailgate, game day reception, and football game each fall
- Annual Destination Auction (jointly hosted by the Alumni Association and Hospitality Association) each spring
- May alumni reception during the National Restaurant Association trade show in Chicago
Each year, the Alumni Association also recognizes:
- Inductees in its Hall of Fame
- Industry Leader of the Year
- Spartan Champion Award (not annually)
- Alumnus/a of the Year
- Emerging Alumnus/a Leader of the Year
- Honorary Alumnus/a of the Year
- Faculty/Staff Member of the Year
- Lifetime Academic Achievement Award
- Alumnus/a of the Quarter (formerly Alum of the Month)
The School's Alumni Association Executive Board of Directors
CHAIRMAN OF THE BOARD
Curtis Lease (BA ’91)
Regional Vice President, Dining Services, American Dining Creations
PRESIDENT
Gary Hernbroth (BA ’79)
Chief Motivating Officer, Training for Winners
VICE PRESIDENT
Martha Zehnder Kaczynski (BA ’03)
Vice President/4th Generation Owner, Bavarian Inn Lodge
TREASURER
Paul Finstad (BA ’13)
Vice President of Hotel Acquisitions & Asset Management, Aparium Hotel Group
SECRETARY
David DuBois (BA ’78)
Chief Executive Officer/President/Publisher, The Exhibitor Group
EXECUTIVE DIRECTORS
James F. Anhut (MBA ’85)
Director, Real Estate Program, The School of Hospitality Business
Carol L. Campbell (BA ’98)
Head of Consumer Experience, Ascension
Brian DeMeester (BA ’98)
Executive Housekeeper, FireKeepers Casino Hotel
Hans Desai (BA ’79)
Retired, Leisure Travel, Xanterra Parks & Resorts
Chris Durso (BA ’82)
Distinguished Alumnus
Gary Finnell (BA ’79)
Senior Director Development, SE Region, Hilton
Grant Sabroff (BA ’84)
Senior Vice President, Business Development, Concord Hospitality Enterprises Company
Rose Spickler (BA ’12)
Director of Statewide Engagement, West Michigan Sustainable Business Forum
Houston Striggow (BA ’75)
Chief Development Officer, SusieCakes Bakeries
EX-OFFICIO EXECUTIVE MEMBERS
James E. Burba (BA ’77)
Co-Founder, Burba Hotel Network
Bradley N. Cance (BA ’89)
General Manager, The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Washington, DC
John Flood (BA ’80)
Managing Director, elevate
Jeremy J. Mourey (BA ’00)
District Manager, Healthcare Services Group
HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERS
Mark C. Auerbach (BA ’65)
President, Auerbach Hotel Associates
Neil F. Barnhart (BA ’64, MBA ’65)
Retired
John Belden (BA ’85)
President & Chief Executive Officer, Davidson Hospitality Group
Kevin J. Brown (BA ’77)
President & Chief Executive Officer, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc.
Ronald F. Cichy (BA ’72, MBA ’77)
Professor Emeritus, The School of Hospitality Business
Richard C. Conti (MBA ’76)
Senior Managing Director, The Plasencia Group
Jay Dee Cutting (BA ’61)
Retired
HONORARY LIFETIME MEMBERS, cont’d.
Philip J. Hickey, Jr. (BA ’77)
Chairman, Miller’s Ale House Restaurants
Kenneth D. Hill (BA ’56)
Retired
Jon Kennedy (BA ’73)
Senior Vice President, Grandstay Hospitality
John M. O’Donnell (BA ’69)
General Manager & Chief Operating Officer, St. Clair Golf Club
Zoe P. Slagle (BA ’59, MA ’64)
Retired
Lou Weckstein (BA ’58)
Retired
Peter J. Weien (BA ’81)
Senior Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, Opryland Entertainment
Robert A. Wills (BA ’70)
Retired
Stu Wolff (BA ’82)
Business Coach, Wolff Leadership
CHAIR EMERITI
Dan E. Burdakin (BA ’81)
Retired
Chuck Day (BA ’91)
Regional Director, Revenue Services, InterContinental Hotels Group
Billy Downs (BA ’88)
Owner, Downs Management and Ford’s Garage Michigan
Richard Farrar (BA ’73)
Principal, The Farrar Consulting Group
Michael H. Getto (BA ’56)
Retired
Marc J. Gordon (MBA ’73)
Retired
John P. Hawes (BA ’73)
Senior Partner, LucasGroup
Allegra Johnson (BA ’91)
Managing Director, Club Management Association of America, Georgia Chapter
James Kauffman (BA ’75)
Retired
J. Bruce Lange (BA ’78)
Retired
Dan H. Mathews, Jr. (BA ’66)
Retired
Jerry A. McVety (BA ’67)
President, McVety & Associates, LLC
Michael W. Murray (BA ’81)
Chief Operating Officer, HHM
Mary Ann Ramsey (BA ’75)
Owner & President, Betty Maclean Travel, Inc.
Mike Rice (BA ’91)
Business Development Director, Hotel Contracting Services, Inc.
Susan K. Smith (BA ’59)
President, Food Technologies, Inc.
John Theuer (BA ’83, MBA ’83)
Chief Financial Officer, Simms Restaurants & Partake Collective
Ken Weber (BA ’77)
President, Weber’s Hotel & Restaurant
Terri Woodin (BA ’88)
Mountain Vacation Consultant, Rocky Mountain Getaways
William A. Zehnder (BA ’71)
President, Frankenmuth Bavarian Inn Restaurant
The School's Alumni Association Appointed Board of Directors
STUDENT REPRESENTATIVES
Tyler Dahms (BA ’24)
Chief Executive Officer, Hospitality Association
Autumn Mellino (BA ’25)
Chief Executive Officer, Destination Auction
APPOINTED DIRECTORS
Andre Alexandre (BA ’00)
Vice President, Business Development, NEXDINE Hospitality
Ed Ansbro (BA ’79)
Managing Director, Fairwood Capital
Dan Briks (BA ’04)
General Manager, Martinique NY on Broadway
Richard A. Bruner (MLRHR ’77)
Professor of Practice, The School of Hospitality Business
Marc L. Cassier, Jr. (BA ’89)
Corporate Head of Catering & Events, HILTON – Americas Managed Hotels
Art Davis (BA ’88)
Director of Finance, The Drake Chicago
Jesse Eisenhuth (BA ’00)
Customer Development Specialist, Gordon Food Service
Jeffrey R. Gillett (BA ’86)
Executive Vice President, The Elliot Group
Jennifer Hajduk (BA ’98)
Complex Director of Catering & Events, Hilton (O’Hare & Rosemont)
Joel A. Halperin (BA ’07)
Director of Operations, Heirloom Hospitality Group
Jason Hilliard (BA ’95)
District Manager, Aramark Business Dining
Aaron Ide (BA ’98)
General Manager, The Thompson Hotel – Dallas
Lauren Johnson (BA ’19)
Travel Industry & Entertainment Sales Manager, Four Seasons Hotel – Boston
Lauren Jones (BA ’10)
Director of Employee Experience & Organizational Development, Rush University Medical Center
Kevin S. Kennebeck (BA ’88)
General Manager, Ruth Lake Country Club
Andrew J. Kern
Senior Managing Director, Investments, Marcus & Millichap
Nadia Kilgore (BA ’11)
Office Administrator, GGV Capital
Caitlyn Kuskowski (BA ’16)
Health & Hospitality Business Entrepreneur
Stephen E. LaHaie (MBA ’77)
Retired, Shaw’s Crab House, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc.
Kurt Lefler (BA ’88)
District General Manager, Compass Group
Emily MacIntyre (BA ’10)
Area Director of Sales, Graduate Hotel – East Lansing
John G. Malone (BA ’82)
Area Director – Franchise Services, Choice Hotels International
Kevin Maul (BA ’96)
Regional Director – Revenue Strategy, Aimbridge Hospitality
Adam McGaughy (BA ’90)
Senior Managing Director, JLL Hotels & Hospitality Group
James McHenry (BA ’14)
Director, Sales, Widgeteer, Inc.
Russ Melaragni (BA ’79)
President, The Melaragni Consulting Group, Inc.
Michael Moriarty (BA ’11)
Senior Vice President, Eastdil Secured
Jake Olsman (BA ’08)
Real Estate Services Solutions Company
Kit Pappas (BA ’82)
Tavistock
John W. Pharr (BA ’69)
President, Strand Development Company
Jason C. Rabidoux (BA ’04)
Executive Vice President, Acquisitions & Business Development, Davidson Hospitality Group
Nate Redner (BA ’12)
Divisional Sommelier, Lettuce Entertain You Enterprises, Inc.
Geoff Ryskamp (BA ’06)
Vice President, Medallia
Rob Sadoff (BA ’00)
Principal, Scarlett Hotel Group
Amy Schmidt (BA ’18)
Vice President, HVS
Joshua Smith (BA ’00)
Senior Vice President, HREC Investment Advisors
Katie Smith (BA ’16)
Advocacy Programming Manager, Team Enterprises, Bacardi
Mikaela Smith (BA ’18)
Account Executive, General Mills
Matthew A. Sparks (BA ’84)
Executive Vice President & Chief Development Officer, Hilton Vacations
Scott Steilen (BA ’91)
President & Chief Executive Officer, The Sea Island Company
Kevin Swanquist (BA ’08)
Executive Recruiter, Harper Associates
Christopher Tatum (BA ’81)
General Manager, Westin/Aloft at San Francisco Airport
Steven B. Thompson (BA ’87)
Director of Catering & Events, Waldorf Astoria Hotel – Chicago
Mike Tueros (BA ’97)
Director of Meeting & Event Management, Westin Kierland Resort & Spa
Alison Wallace (BA ’97)
Director of Sales, Hilton
Blair Wills (BA ’02)
President & Chief Executive Officer, StepStone Hospitality
Mary Winslow (BA ’91)
Chief Marketing Officer, Luckie & Company
Kurt B. Wisniewski (BA ’94)
Senior Director, Business Development, SAMBAZON
Philip Zeller (BA ’96)
Chief Executive Officer/Owner/Master Trainer, Dale Carnegie Training by Ralph Nichols Group, Inc.
Faculty/Staff Member of the Year Award
This award is presented each year at the Homecoming board meeting. The criteria are:
- Recognize and honor faculty member(s) and/or staff member(s) who creatively deliver the educational experience inside and/or outside of the classroom, create new synergies through their work and/or research, and then apply it to their service and/or teaching
- Open to all full-time and part-time faculty and support staff who have had a positive effect on positioning The School as the leader in hospitality business education by demonstrating integrity, ethics in the classroom and the workplace, and rigorous personal and professional standards
- Efforts should have an industry-related focus
- Solid relationship with students, alumni, faculty and staff
- Involved in Hospitality Association and Alumni Association activities
- Recognize faculty and/or staff members who help and collaborate with students, alumni and other faculty members
- Can be given to an individual or team
- Not a lifetime achievement award, but rather a reward to recognize The School’s faculty and staff for helping students, alumni and other faculty collaborate
2022 Staff Member of the Year
Allyson Griffith
2020 Faculty Member of the Year
Carl P. Borchgrevink
2019 Faculty/Staff Member of the Year
Not Awarded
2018 Staff Member of the Year
Jeff Yingling
2017 Faculty Member of the Year
Jeff Elsworth
2016 Staff Member of the Year
Chris Moening
2015 Faculty Member of the Year
Ronald F. Cichy
2014 Staff Member of the Year
James F. Rainey
2013 Faculty Member of the Year
Michael Kasavana
2012 Staff Member of the Year
Lois Schroeder
2011 Faculty Member of the Year
Bonnie Knutson
2010 Staff Member of the Year
Jamie Lyon
2009 Faculty Member of the Year
Raymond Schmidgall
2008 Staff Member of the Year
Lena Loeffler
2007 Faculty Member of the Year
A.J. Singh
2006 Staff Member of the Year
Authella Collins Hawks
