Category: 1990s

Kesha Boyce Williams has joined the University of South Carolina Upstate as the new vice chancellor for marketing and strategic communications. In her new role, she provides strategic leadership to the USC Upstate marketing and communications team and foster a spirit of collaboration.

Before this position, Williams served for nine years as the public information director for Clemson University, where she developed and implemented strategies for marketing, communications, and social media content.

Bridget Haggerty (IMC95) has been named vice president of advancement at Carthage College in Kenosha, WI.

Since joining Carthage in 2016, Bridget has elevated and helped launch various campus initiatives. She has reinvigorated the President’s Leadership Council, evolved Carthage’s donor recognition programs into a Leaders in Philanthropy program valuing committed donors at every level, and developed significant donor engagement programs including the 75 Years of Black Excellence and pre-health programs. Thanks to her efforts, Carthage established the Wiggan-Kinniebrew Black Alumni Network, which has yielded over $1 million in donations for equity and inclusion initiatives in three years.

In addition, Bridget’s efforts have brought several new members to the Board of Trustees. She has been a vital partner in recruiting alumni and parents in support of the College and has developed strong, collaborative relationships with faculty and staff across campus.

Bridget lives in the Third Ward in Milwaukee, WI.

Pradnya Joshi (BSJ93 and MSJ93) has joined The Washington Post in the newly created role of National Weekend Editor. She focuses on breaking news stories and ensuring that the weekend report is vital and engaging. She previously worked for nearly five years at Politico and worked for The New York Times for 11 years in various editing roles.

Benoit Denizet-Lewis, an associate professor at Emerson College and a longtime contributing writer with The New York Times Magazine, was awarded a 2022 New America fellowship. He will work on a new book, “We Don’t Know You Anymore,” about people who experience significant shifts to an identity or belief system.

Gregor Gilliom (MSJ ’90) is owner and editorial director of Versatile Words (www.versatilewords.com), a writing and content strategy practice that serves countless regional and national brands, including NetJets, Nationwide, JPMorganChase, and Target. Founded in 2005, Versatile Words has won dozens of awards for copywriting and creative collaboration, and Gregor recently received the Ed Grauer Leadership Award, the highest honor given by Columbus Society of Communication Arts, the region’s leading creative industry organization.

Prior to his work with Versatile Words, he worked for eight years in magazine editorial, including titles based in Chicago, San Francisco, Madison, and Columbus, Ohio, where he served as founding editor of Columbus CEO magazine. He and his family live in Upper Arlington, a suburb of Columbus.

Joanne C. Gerstner was elected to the Michigan Journalism Hall of Fame, for its 2021 class. She joins the two other female sports media already elected to the Hall, and she is the first female sports writer. She is being honored for her award-winning career and leadership to advocate and promote women in sports media.

Ed Sealover, a senior reporter at the Denver Business Journal, was honored recently as Colorado Journalist of the Year by the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. He won the award for his coverage of the devastating effect of the coronavirus pandemic on the state’s business community, which included more than 500 stories written in 2020 on the suffering of businesses, the public policies that impacted them and the way that many were changing in order to survive. SPJ Colorado described his “commanding deep sourcing, fast turnaround and a near-encyclopedic knowledge of Colorado business” in the news release announcing the honor. He also received three first-place awards in the four-state competition in the categories of business news, business enterprise reporting and political news. Sealover lives in Wheat Ridge, Colorado with his wife, Denise Jobin Sealover (BSJ ’95) and their children, Lincoln and Jane.

In April, Susan Howe was named to the PR Week “Hall of Femme,” along with 27 other women leaders in the public relations industry. The award recognizes female leaders who demonstrate commitment to mentorship and the advancement of women in the field. Howe is currently Chief Growth Officer at Weber Shandwick, a leading global communications agency. She serves as Chair of Northwestern’s Council of 100, a group dedicated to supporting Northwestern women in their careers.