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Alumni News

Richard M Macksoud Jr (1971) is following a career as an estate and trust attorney in New Jersey and is active in local conservative activities. Richard and his wife Linda moved to Tennessee three years ago in semi- retirement, one daughter is married and a school teacher the other is a law student at Ole Miss.

 

 

 

Patrick Korten (1971) a former state and local YAF leader in Wisconsin, serves as Vice President for Communications at the international headquarters of the Knights of Columbus in New Haven, Connecticut. He was a senior appointee at two federal agencies during the Reagan Administration, and he and his wife Anita have three grown children.

 

 

Kurt Witzel (1978), former state chairman of Washington State YAF, has been in Marketing at Anheuser-Busch in St. Louis for the past 28 years and currently serves on the Executive Committee of the Missouri State GOP.

 

 

 

 

Douglas Wolf (1979) remembers going to the White House presentation of Anwar Sadat with Ronald Reagan on the South Lawn. It was 95 degrees with high humidity and the honor guard was losing soldiers every 30 seconds. His wife Gloria and he live in Sequim, Washington. She works for SAIC and he is a software marketing consultant. He has published a new book, entitled Marketing Me: Keeping your job in any Economy.

 

 

 

Marc Thiessen (1982) has published a brand new book entitled Courting Disaster that has made the New York Times bestseller list. He is scheduled to speak at the Foundation’s Thomas Phillips Student Luncheon during CPAC on February 19.

 

 

 

 

 

Tyrone Maho (1983) is a trial lawyer in Santa Barbara, California, with a practice that emphasizes personal injury and general civil litigation throughout Southern and Central California. He is busy with his wife, Dawn, raising triplet boys (1st graders) and a daughter (4th grade). In 1993, Tyrone founded a non-profit organization named SPARKLE, which puts on the City of Santa Barbara's fireworks display annually at the waterfront each 4th of July.

 

 

 

 

Terry Quist (1988) is currently serving as Programs Branch Chief of the National Guard Bureau Joint Intelligence Directorate after returning in September 2009 from a one-year mobilization for Operation Iraqi Freedom. Earlier, he served full-time as National Guard Liaison to the Defense Intelligence Agency (2002-2008) and part-time as Chief Intelligence Officer (G2) of the 28th "Keystone" Infantry Division of the Pennsylvania Army National Guard.

 

 

 

 

Wayne Bowen (1990) is professor and chair of the history department at Southeast Missouri State University, and has also been selected for promotion to Lieutenant Colonel in the US Army Reserve. He, his wife Kendra, and two sons (Samuel and Nathan), are proud residents of Cape Girardeau, hometown of Rush Limbaugh.

 

 

 

 

 

Mike Elmendorf (1991) is the New York State Director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), fighting for free enterprise and responsible fiscal policies in, of all places, the Empire State.

 

 

 

 

Anne Hayes (1993) recently published her first book, Sexless: How Feminism is Failing Women, available on Amazon.com. It is a comprehensive analysis of how progressive feminism demeans women more systematically than the "sexist" cultural standards the original feminist movement condemned. She lives in Sacramento with her husband and four children, whom they home-school.

 

 

 

Chris Wilson (1993) is City Administrator/CAO of Southaven, Mississippi; which was recently recognized by Bloomberg Business Week as the fastest growing city in Mississippi. In 2009, he was admitted to the Senior Executives in State and Local Government program at the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. Chris and his wife Celeste are the proud parents of two young daughters, ages 4 and 4 months.

 

 

Jonathan Tallman (1995) is the Social Studies Department Chair at Belleville West High School, outside of St. Louis. He will complete his second Master's Degree in May and will begin doctoral work in the fall. He is married to Kelli and has a two year old daughter, Adelyn.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wynton Hall  (1995) was appointed to the Young America's Foundation Board of Directors and is feverishly studying Ron Robinson's mega background binder in preparation for his first pop quiz on "How to be a Stellar YAF Director."

 

 

 

Paul Watkins (1999) subsequently graduated from Hillsdale College and Harvard Law School and is now a securities litigation associate at the law firm of Covington & Burling LLP in San Francisco, CA. He is interested in connecting with alumni in the Bay Area.

 

 

Joe Burns (2001) is serving as the Deputy Director of Election Operations at the New York State Board of Elections.

 

 

 

 

Zoli Simon (2002) has worked for international public relations and lobbying firms in recent years, and now acts as an outside advisor for PResston PR and an information officer for the Paks Nuclear Power Plant in Hungary, Europe.

 

 

 

Morgan Lorraine Roach (2003) is a research assistant for The Heritage Foundation's Margaret Thatcher Center for Freedom and Allison Center for Foreign Policy. She works on U.S.-European relations, public diplomacy, African and Latin American issues.

 

 

 

Joshua & Marie McNary (2003 & 2004) keep busy running after their now-16 month old son, Noah. The couple lives in Iowa and enjoys raising their family in Marie's hometown. Joshua continues to work in marketing and Marie in her administration work. The entire family is actively involved in Christian activities. Look them up on Facebook or Twitter!

 

 

Alexa Moutevelis (2005) was hired by the RNC in Washington, D.C. to work in the new media department and is engaged to be married to Grant M. Coombs III, who was a conservative activist with her at Washington and Lee University in Lexington, Virginia.

 

 

Jeff Kruszyna (2005) was recently promoted to the role of Senior Account Executive at HSP Direct, a direct mail fundraising agency for conservative non-profits, PACs, and candidates. Jeff currently resides in Fairfax, Virginia with his wife, Alyssa, who was also a campus activist at Stony Brook University.

 

 

 

Chris Brown (2005) currently serves as the Executive Vice President of the National Federation of GOP Assemblies and will be running for State Representative in Missouri in 2010.

 

 

 

Jonathan Miller (2005) received the 2009 Young Conservative Leader of the Year Award from The Phillips Foundation. He is a Member of the West Virginia House of Delegates and will marry Kimberly Dawn Williams in April.

 

 

Katie Wilcox (2006) is a new associate at the Dykema law firm in Lansing, Michigan. Her practice focuses on administrative law, campaign finance and election compliance, and nonprofit organizations.

 

 

Lindsey Miranda (2006) works for Kaplan Test Prep and Admissions doing service and operations for Northern Virginia. She lives in Arlington, Virginia and recently got engaged to Daniel Canaley, who was a conservative activist during his undergraduate years at the University of Illinois.

 

 

 

 

 

Luke Sheahan (2006) is director of the Campus Freedom Network (CFN) at the Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE). In November of 2009, the CFN was recognized with a Templeton Freedom Award for Student Outreach. Luke is engaged to be married on November 27, 2010.

 

 

 

 

 

Melanie Harmon (2006) is a freelance writer in Washington, DC covering conservative issues and politics. She was previously a senior writer to President George W. Bush.

 

 

Anthony Warren (2006) started a new position working for Waggener Edstrom doing broadcast PR in Oregon.

 

 

Jeff Wiggins (2007) is currently a law student at the University of Detroit Mercy, President of the UDM Federalist Society and an intern at the Michigan Attorney General's office. He is engaged to marry Jennifer Loomis this May.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Brandon Kenig (2007) works as an account manager for iModules Software, Inc., a technology firm that specializes in website design, email marketing, online communities, and social networking for schools, non-profits, businesses, and political groups. Brandon is also involved in local and statewide conservative activity in Kansas.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen W. Browne (2007) claims to be the “world's oldest intern” when he was with NJC in summer 2007 at Human Events. He is living with wife Monika, and children Jerzy, 8, and Judyta, 3, in Valley City, North Dakota. He was hired in 2008 to help rebuild a venerable community newspaper that had fallen on hard times. He is a government reporter and op-ed columnist, working on getting syndicated.

 

 

 

 

Nicole Norton (2008) started East Texas Travel Guide, a full service magazine that introduces the world to East Texas with the help of some Texas A&M alumni. Nicole also owns her own marketing consulting firm, Norton Consulting, and recently purchased her first home at the ripe age of 24!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Chelsey Penoyer

(2008) was just promoted to Assistant Banquet Manager of the Embassy Suites Hotel in Loveland, Colorado. She also sits on the Larimer County GOP Executive Board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Gretchen Kuhnmuench (2008) is working at BI Digital Marketing as a project coordinator in Minnesota. She is assisting in the implementation, fulfillment, and functionality of some of the company’s most promising and exciting marketing campaigns. Looking ahead, Gretchen is eager to help out with local conservative movement activities.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Burton

(2008) is a law student at University of Wisconsin. He reports it was great to see Katie Geary, Bobby Hamill, and Jacob Kampen all win Phillips Foundation Scholarships this year! He was home over Christmas and they all went out for a "Phillips Luncheon." They would have never known about that without YAF!

 

 

 

 

 

Naomi Brown (2009) is the Dade County Coordinator, Northwest Georgia Regional Director, and Director of GOP Outreach for Ray McBerry for Georgia Governor. She has been invited to speak at a few TEA Party meetings on the topic of electability.

 

 

Brandon Roman (2009) is currently employed as a Research Associate at Idaho Technology Inc. and will be entering the J.D. program at American University Washington College of Law in August.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Rodrigo Simonsen (2009) is one of the few conservative activists in Brazil, a country dominated by communists. He owns an IT company called TrueBrains, is managing to get his PhD in Philosophy of Religion at the Catholic University of São Paulo, and, surprisingly, is still single.

 

 

John Mark Rogitz (2009) was sworn in as a California attorney in January, 2010. He is currently Of Counsel to Van Susteren Law Group (general civil) and Preston and Associates (intellectual property). John still posts weekly columns on his conservative blog, the Rogue Report.

 

 

Adam Tragone (2009) was an intern with Young America’s Foundation and has joined Human Events as their web producer.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This section features regular updates about our alumni. The listed year is the latest in which the person was involved with the Foundation. If you would like your career update to be considered for inclusion, please email the information about your new job, wedding, birth in the family, or other accomplishment to Roger Custer at alumni@yaf.org or call 800-USA-1776.

 

Foundation News

 

 

For the latest Young America’s Foundation news, please visit our blog.  

 

 

Recent highlights include Fox News clips from Foundation leaders, campus controversies, questioning tuition, and more!

 

 

Young America’s Foundation on the Web

 

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 Job Opportunity: Policy Analysis, New Media, and Communication Positions

 

 

The Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation is currently hiring professionals with up to ten years of work experience for the 2010-11 Koch Associate Program. Whether just starting a career or seeking to become a more effective contributor, the Koch Associate Program provides participants with valuable management training and professional development. Applicants should be passionate about free-market ideas and advancing liberty through their career, while also possessing a desire to build their capabilities in a free-market oriented think tank, policy institute, or grassroots organization. The program is full time and competitively paid. Please visit www.cgkfoundation.org/associate-program  to learn more. The application deadline is March 1, 2010.

 

Moving? E-Mail Changing?

 

Please send us your latest contact information so you can continue to receive updates about the benefits of the Young America’s Foundation Alumni Network. Please contact Roger Custer at alumni@yaf.org or at 800-USA-1776 with any address changes, career updates, questions, or comments. In order to build your Alumni Network, we need your help!