Notable Alumni

Our notable alumni list is updated periodically. It is not an exhaustive list but rather a small highlight of what NFA grads have continued on to do. 

Other names may be added at the discretion of the NFA Foundation, Inc. If you would like to nominate someone for potential inclusion on this list, please fill out this form.

 

Ruth (Goldberg) Hendel '69: Producer or co-producer on 60 Broadway shows (including multiple Tony Award-winners). Recent notable productions (new works and revivals) “Beetlejuice”, “Ain’t Too Proud”, “Mean Girls”, “1984”, “The Band’s Visit”, and “Hello, Dolly!”

 

Henry Pasnik Jerome '35: Big band leader, trumpeter, arranger, composer, and record company executive. “Henry Jerome and His Orchestra” toured nationally and began TV performances in 1940.

 

Frederick Douglass Knowles II '91: Inaugural Poet Laureate for the City of Hartford, activist, author of BlackRoseCity, and a Professor of English at Three Rivers Community College in Norwich, CT.

 

Wally Lamb '68: Six-time bestselling author and University of Connecticut Associate Professor directing the English Department’s creative writing program. Two books have been adapted to film. 

 

Georgia Marsh '68: American Artist with works in the collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, MA; the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York; the Musee National d’Art Moderne, Paris, France; and the Cleveland Art Museum, Cleveland. 

 

Domenic Pardo '36: Announcer for Saturday Night Live from debut in 1975 through 2014. Also voiced “The Price is Right”, “Jeopardy”, “Jackpot”, and NBC Nightly News.

 

Charles Pikler '69: World-renowned retired Principal and First Violinist of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.

 

Margaret Roberts '76: Current President of the Mystic Chamber of Commerce, awarded Pulitzer Prize for series on infant mortality in 1988.

 

Amber (Stepper) Ayer '98: Vice President of Marketing at the Evenflo Company

 

Dr. Richard Brewer '64: Retired President & CEO of Pro Mutual Group in Boston, serves as trustee emeritus of the Board of Trustees of the American Institute for Economic Research.

 

Jessica Bruce '83: Senior Vice President of Human Resources and Corporate Communication for the Associated Press.

 

Robert Burns '47: Hotel industry veteran with an international reputation for setting benchmarks in luxury hospitality; founder of Regent International Hotels in Hong Kong and The Robert Burns Hotel Group.

 

Rene Champagne '59: Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of ITT Education Services, responsible for the management of 74 ITT Technical Institutes in 28 states providing technology-related degrees to over 31,000 students.

 

Michael Coit '58: Partner in several companies that develop market rate and affordable multi-family housing projects in Texas and surrounding states.  Sole Manager at Coit Energy LLC, a non-operator for oil and gas development in Williston, North Dakota. Co-producer of the Broadway Musical “Come from Away.”

 

Sidney Frank '38: American businessman & philanthropist. Made the single largest gift in the history of the NFA endowment. In 2004, another donation to the NFA endowment created The Sidney Frank Scholarship, awarded every four years, which guarantees that a qualified NFA student would receive a four-year degree without suffering economic hardship or being forced to withdraw from studies.

 

Norah (O’Brien) Hughes '66: Former banking executive, founding Director of The Women’s Venture Fund, a micro-lending and advisory organization that assists low to moderate income women establish businesses.

 

Marsha Malinowski '78: Senior VP of books and manuscripts at Sotheby’s Auction House

 

Michael Mathieu '86: Founder of Front Seat, a civic software company; partner and former lead partner at Social Venture Partners, a leading U.S. venture philanthropy network.

 

Lesley Mitchell Jones '66: Retired Partner & Senior VP at Reich and Tang Asset Management

 

Peter Slosberg '68: Founder of Pete’s Brewing Company in 1986, noted as one of the pioneers of the American craft brewing industry.

 

Shirley (Czikowski) Sontheimer '48: Co-founder of Cuisinart, along with her husband and business partner, Carl Sontheimer 

 

Joseph Wayland '75: Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Chubb Group, responsible for the company’s global legal affairs and serves as principal counsel to the CEO, senior management team and board of directors.

 

Lake Barrett '63: Global Nuclear Energy Expert, retired from federal service in 2002; served at the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) and was part of the early response to the Three Mile Island accident. Consultant working on clean-up efforts from the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster in 2011.

 

Dr. June Bradlaw '54: Former FDA Scientist in both genetic toxicology and in vitro toxicology, led the FDA In Vitro Toxicology Group in 1985 and was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award.

 

William Darrow '57: Former Chief of the Behavioral and Prevention Research Branch, Division of STD/HIV Prevention, at the National Center for Prevention Services at the Center for Disease Control. His role in the discovery of the AIDS virus, HIV, was described in Randy Shiltz' 1987 book And The Band Played On.

 

Catherine Twomey Fosnot '65: Leading voice in mathematics education; Professor Emerita of Education at the City College of New York and Founder of Mathematics in the City, a national center for professional development.

 

David Goodenough '63: Doctor and Researcher with storied career developing and perfecting medical image testing in the field of radiological physics.

 

Berel Lang '50: Professor of Philosophy Emeritus, at the State University of New York, Albany. Author or editor of twenty-one books, including Act and Idea in the Nazi Genocide and Philosophical Witnessing: The Holocaust as Presence. 

 

Allen Latham Jr. '26: Revolutionized blood transfusion methods and pioneered blood separation technology, Founder of Haemonetics Corporation.

 

Frederick Mandell '56: Former Vice Chairman of the National SIDS Foundation, pioneer in SIDS (Sudden Infant Death Syndrome) research.

 

Eric Meyers '58: One of the leading archaeologists of the early Jewish and Christian period of Israel’s history. Former President of the American Schools of Oriental Research and of the Annenberg Research Institute; Editor of the five-volume Oxford Encyclopedia of Archaeology in the Near-East. 

 

Elizabeth Paluck '96: Professor of Psychology and Public Affairs at Princeton University and Deputy Director of the Kahneman-Treisman Center for Behavioral Science & Public Policy. Recipient of prestigious MacArthur Fellowship Genius Grant in 2017.

 

Lewis Randall '55: Consultant for the Bureau of Vocational Technical schools proposing the original Transition to Work program for all students. Served in various Director positions with Windham Tech, Ellis Tech, Prince Tech, and Cheney Tech before retiring in 1997.

 

Dr. Edward Serna '89: President, University of Maine at Framingham.

 

William Stanley '48: Author, historian, local journalist hailed the “Champion of Norwich History”, founder of the Norwich Historical Society.

 

Maureen Sullivan '67: Former president of the American Library Association, faculty in the Managerial Leadership in the Information Professions Ph.D program at Simmons College. 

 

Dr. Karl Weisgraber '59: Retired Biochemist who specialized in Alzheimer’s research at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco. Recipient of the Metropolitan Life Foundation Award for his discovery of the protein suspected to cause Alzhiemer’s disease. 

 

Dr. Michael Morosky '68: Chairman of the Department of Surgery at the Johnson Memorial Medical Center, Chief of Obstetrics and Gynecology at JMMC and rated as a Top Doctor in Connecticut for 10 years.

 

Sandra (Berkman) Fromm '50: Disability Rights Advocate; Chaired or served on countless local and national boards and commissions, including the Developmental Disabilities Council and the White House Conference on Handicapped Individuals. Consultant to the DC Board of Education, the Commission on Public Health, and the Federal Department of Education. 

 

Rear Admiral Arnold Lotring '74: Retired; Chief Operating Officer Naval Education and Training in Norfolk, VA from 2008-2010 where he led the US Navy’s operations of all advanced skills training for 33,000 students. Previously Commander of Naval Service Training Command in the Great Lakes from 2006-2008, and Commander of the Submarine Learning Center from 2003-2006. 

 

Pamela Adams '69: Former Director of the Connecticut State Parks System for 12 years, Current Co-President of Friends of CT State Parks.

 

Robert Brand '37: Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for East Asia Pacific Affairs during President Regan’s first term. Also served as Minister for Economic Affairs in the Paris and London Embassies, and Consul General in Melbourne, Australia; Served 40 years total in the U.S. Foreign Service. 

 

Allyn Brown '1901: Youngest Mayor of Norwich elected in 1916, appointed as the first ever public defender in New London County in 1917; Elected to state senate in 1920, CT Supreme Court in 1935, and became Chief Justice of the CT Supreme Court in 1950. 

 

General William Evans ‘42: Former Commander, Allied Air Forces Central Europe and Commander in Chief, U.S. Air Forces in Europe.

 

Thomas Melady '45: American Ambassador under three presidents and a sub-cabinet officer for a fourth president. Served as Senior Diplomat in residence at the Institute of World Politics in Washington, D.C. from 2002 until his passing. 

 

Brigadier General Thomas Mikolajcik '64: Director of transportation, Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff, logistics, Headquarters U.S. Air Force, Washington, D.C., providing guidance and direction to Air Force activities on transportation plans, policy and programs. 

 

Admiral Robert Papp '70: Retired 24th Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard. At the time, he led the largest component of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), comprised of 42,000 active duty personnel, 8,200 Reservists, 8,000 civilians and 31,000 volunteers. 

 

Reverend Avery Post '42: Former President of the United Church of Christ from 1977-1989.

 

Mary Ellen Ring '73: Sitting Judge of the High Court of Ireland, Chairperson of the Garda Síochána Ombudsman Commission, which investigates complaints against the country’s police force. Named “Woman Lawyer of the Year” in Ireland in 2018.

 

Thomas Sabatino '76: Current Co-Chair of the Humane Society of the United States.

 

James Shugrue '36: Appointed Commissioner of the CT Department of Transportation by Governor Ella Grasso in 1975, retiring in 1979. Supervised the design and construction of over 600 miles of CT expressways and interstates.  

 

Patricia (Riess) Tennison '64: Features and News Writer, Movie Editor, and Restaurant Reviewer for the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Magazine, author of James Beard Award-honored cookbooks, Founder of Paris Cafe Writing. 

 

Howard Dickenman '64: Retired College Basketball Head Coach for the Central Connecticut State University Blue Devils, the second-longest tenured head coach in program history.

 

Nicolas Macarchuk '59: Former Men’s Basketball Head Coach at Canisius, Fordham, and Stony Brook.

 

Dr. James Moore '27: Murray State Hall of Fame Inductee, coached the Racers to their first ever  Bowl appearance in the 1947 Tangerine Bowl. Coaching the SCSU Owls baseball team for 27 seasons, the Southern Connecticut State University fieldhouse bears his name. 

 

Gary Makowicki '73: First and current Commissioner of the Eastern Connecticut Conference.

 

Richard Smith '72: Executive Director of Basketball Operations at the Utah Jazz, Executive Director for Global Scouting.

 

Rob Kearney '09: Pro-strongman, formerly the Director of Sports Medicine at The Williston Northampton School. 2019 Winner and Current Record Holder for the American Log Lift and 2019 Champion of the Arnold Pro Strongman Competition in Australia.

 

Dean Trantalis '71: Current Mayor of Fort Lauderdale, first openly gay man to hold the office, and advocate for LGBTQ rights.

 

John-Manuel Andriote '76: American author and journalist for The Washington Post and other periodicals. Recipient of numerous awards for his coverage on the HIV/AIDS epidemic, including a book. In 2008, the Smithsonian Institution's National Museum of American History Archive Center created "The John-Manuel Andriote Victory Deferred Collection" using his research materials.

 

Nina Elgo '80: First Asian Pacific American Judge appointed to the Connecticut Appellate Court and the first Asian Pacific American judge appointed to the Connecticut Superior Court.

 

Edwin Land '26: Scientist and Inventor, widely known as the Co-Founder of the Polaroid Corporation. 

 

Justine (Perry) Miller '62: One of the first women, and woman-of-color to join the ranks of the CT State Police, working undercover to investigate organized crime.

 

Joseph Perry '60: Named Commander of the still nearly all-white Connecticut State Police Department in 1991, the first minority officer to ever hold the job.