Doane Academy’s biennial Career Day featured fourteen guest speakers, including a number of noted alumni, parents and members of the community. Our keynote speaker, Neal McTighe ’96, business owner (Nellino’s natural and organic pasta sauces) and entrepreneur, began the day by connecting his experiences as a student here at Doane Academy to his later abilities to have the confidence to find and pursue new opportunities, to take on the challenges and responsibilities of these opportunities, and to summon the courage and self-confidence to overcome and learn from those things common in professional life, rejection and failure, in order to improve not only his approach to his business but himself as well, and to recognize and encourage those around him to always strive for the best in themselves.

After Mr. McTighe’s opening remarks, and a question and answer session, students in grades ten, eleven and twelve broke into groups and were able to meet with our many professional guests in smaller settings. These more intimate gatherings enabled students to engage our guests and learn from their experiences in the fields of Law, the Arts, Education, Technology, Entrepreneurship, Finance, Health and Science.

Doane Academy would like to thank our wonderful guests:

• Neil McTighe ‘96
• William Osterman (Parent ’21 & ’24)
• Montu Patel ‘95
• Alex Buzick ‘96
• David M. Williamson (Parent ’20)
• Ivy M. Washington ‘85
• Gloria Rowan
• Rebecca Lockwood ‘04
• Joseph M. Garemore ‘85
• Caitlin Anderson Civitello ‘04
• Gene Barretta ‘78
• Alexander Shanks ‘14
• Dr. Callan Lichtenauer (Dill) ‘10
• Chevon Matthews (Hodges) ‘96

 

Career Day Bios

Keynote Speaker:

Neal McTighe ’96, Business Owner, Entrepreneur - After twelve years of teaching, and three years living and traveling in Italy, Neal McTighe ’96 went through a period of reinvention in 2010. It was during this time that he combined his passion for Italy and Italian food and his interest in starting a business. The idea for Nellino’s was born in mid-2010. Nellino’s distributes premium natural and organic pasta sauces to consumers in roughly 1,000 store locations in retailers like Harris Teeter, Whole Foods Market, Ingles Markets, Earth Fare, hundreds of natural and independent stores, through the meal-kit company Plated, and via Amazon. Since launching his pasta sauce brand in January 2011, he has earned a "street MBA,” having seen the full life cycle of the food business. In 2015 he was named a “Food Entrepreneur to Watch” by one of the industry-leading publications, FoodNavigator. In 2017 he was selected as a member of the “40 under 40” class for leadership by Triangle Business Journal. He’s been quoted alongside both Stonyfield Farm and Plum Organics co-founders in a feature story, “The New American Supermarket,” in the natural and organic lifestyle magazine, Kiwi. The New York Times included him in its feature, “Small Food Brands, Big Successes,” in 2015. Neal McTighe graduated from Doane in 1996 and holds his time here as some of the best and most transformative in his life.

Health/Science:

Dr. Callan Lichtenauer (Dill) ‘10 is the owner of, and chiropractor at, Empower Chiropractic in Fairfax, Virginia along with her husband Dr. Evan. After attending Doane Academy since the 1st grade, she graduated in 2010 before moving onto Cabrini University in Radnor, Pennsylvania. She graduated in 2014 with a Bachelors of Science in Exercise Science and Health Promotion with a Concentration in Sports Science and Minor in Psychology. In September 2014, she moved away from home and family to Marietta, Georgia to attend Life University.She graduated on June 15, 2018 with her Doctorate of Chiropractic, and the very next day her and her husband moved to Northern Virginia to open Empower Chiropractic. They have been open for 5 months and are already one of the largest and fastest growing offices in the region, specializing in kids and family care.

Chevon Matthews (Hodges) ’96, after graduation from then St. Mary’s Hall, completed her undergraduate degree at Cleveland State University with a B.S. in Biology. As she began to think about career choices that would be in line with raising a growing family, she choose to teach high school science. During her years as an educator she became intrigued with all the crime shows that were taking over during the mid 2000’s. As a result, she enrolled in the University of Florida’s forensic science program and graduated with a M.S. in Forensic DNA & Serology in 2015. In 2016, after 10 years of teaching, she was hired by the NY City Office of Chief Medical Examiner (OCME) as a Criminalist level 2.

Arts:

Caitlin Anderson Civitello ‘04 received a Bachelor of Science from Drexel University/College of Media, Art & Design - majored in Graphic Design, minored in Fine Art, class of 2008. She spent five years designing text book covers for the college division of McGraw-Hill after graduation - thanks to the co-op program at Drexel. Currently, she is a Lead On-Site Graphic Designer for Brandmuscle, working with Fedway Distributors (since 2014) - designing restaurant menus, table tents, event posters, liquor store price points, etc. She now lives in Hamilton, NJ with her husband, Lou (also a designer), their son, Alex and their dog, Roxy.

Gene Barretta ’78 is an award-winning author and illustrator of children’s books. Among his honors are the Carolyn W. Field Award and the Bank Street Cook Prize Honor. His books include, “The Bat Can Bat: A Book of True Homonyms,” “Muhammad Ali: A Champion is Born,” “Lincoln and Kennedy: A Pair to Compare,” “Now & Ben: The Modern Inventions of Benjamin Franklin,” “Neo Leo: The Ageless Ideas of Leonardo Da Vinci,” “Jack the Tripper,” “Dear Deer: A Book of Homophones,” “The Bass Plays the Bass and Other Homographs” and “Timeless Thomas: How Thomas Edison Changed Our Lives.” Gene has contributed illustration and animation to Sesame Street and Between the Lions. He has also designed characters for The Jim Henson Company.He lives in Bryn Mawr, PA. For more information on Gene and his work, please visit: www.genebarretta.com

Alexander Shanks ‘14 began his artistic training at an early age through the classical methods taught by his parents, Nelson and Leona Shanks. He drew extensively in graphite and charcoal, in his father’s private studio, while his father painted portrait commissions and other major paintings. Alexander studied at Studio Incamminati in Philadelphia, completing four years of training. He lives at Chelwood, in Andalusia, and paints in the studio of his father. Alexander regularly visits the museums in Philadelphia, New York and Washington D.C. as resources for inspiration and historical understanding of art. Heavily influenced by classical and contemporary art, Alexander paints portrait commissions, still life and figure paintings through observational creative exploration. Creating pieces that correspond to his own life experiences. Alexander is training to become a teacher of realist art and an accomplished freelance painter. For more information on Alexander and his work please visit: www.alexanderolivershanks.com.

Law:

Rebecca Lockwood ’04 graduated from George Washington University with a Bachelor’s in Art History in 2007. She received a Master’s in Contemporary Art from Sotheby's Institute in 2008 and a JD from New York Law School in 2011.Following graduation from law school, Rebecca worked as a paralegal and collection manager for Washington, DC art lawyer and collector, Ira Lowe. She served as Vice President of Trusts & Estates at Gurr Johns International, an independent art appraisal and advisory firm before joining Sotheby’s in 2014 as Vice President of the Fiduciary Client Group. At Sotheby’s Rebecca advises individual and corporate fiduciaries on the valuation and sale of valuable personal property including fine art, decorative art and furniture, jewelry, wine, and cars. During her time at Sotheby’s, she has been directly involved in the sale of many important collections and estates including David Bowie, the Mellon Family, the Merck Family, and many others.

Joseph M. Garemore ‘85 is a partner with the law firm Brown & Connery, LLP, in Woodbury, New Jersey and concentrates his practice in commercial litigation, including litigation in the Bankruptcy Court and matters relating to creditors' rights, and in business transactions. Joe attended St Mary’s Hall -Doane Academy from 1978-1985, where he played varsity baseball and soccer, participated in the Quiz Bowl team, and served as class vice president and was the 1985 recipient of the Head Boy cup. Joe graduated from Franklin & Marshall College with a Bachelor of Arts degree in History, and earned his law degree from Rutgers University School of Law, where he served as an Associate Editor of the Rutgers Law Journal. After law school, Joe served as judicial law clerk to the Honorable Myron H. Gottlieb of the Superior Court of New Jersey in Burlington County. Joe is admitted to practice in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and also before the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey, the United States District Court for the Eastern and Middle Districts of Pennsylvania, the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, and the United States Supreme Court. He is a member of the New Jersey and Burlington County Bar Associations, as well as the American Bankruptcy Institute and is certified by the American Board of Certification as a Creditors' Rights Specialist. Joe joined the Doane Academy board in 2016. He is the board Secretary, chairman of the Finance Committee, and the Vice President of the Society of Graduates. Joe is also actively involved at the Epworth United Methodist Church in Palmyra where he is the Chairman of the Staff-Parish Relations Committee. Joe lives in Cherry Hill with his wife Holly, daughter Grace and son, Tim, Doane Academy class of ’19.

Tech/Entrepreneurship:

Neal McTighe ’96 - Keynote Speaker

William Osterman (Parent ’21, ’24) has 22 years’ experience in the IT industry specializing in WAN and LAN network infrastructure, network security and information assurance. He has worked both as and in-house IT specialist at a Wall Street firm and for 15 years as professional service engineer for Enterasys Networks supporting Cabletron, Enterasys Network and Extreme Network products both in the US and internationally. Now running his own company, he has been the lead professional service engineer for the wireless solutions installation at many NFL stadiums including the Philadelphia Eagles, Tennessee Titans, Buffalo Bills, Baltimore Ravens, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Miami Dolphins and more.

Montu Patel ’95, with over 20 years in the hospitality industry, has learned the business from the ground up – working in housekeeping, maintenance, General Manager, Developer and VP of Sales and Operations. His expertise in strategic development and asset repositioning has lead to purchasing value-add assets that drive results to the bottom line. As an asset manager and developer who oversees over $100 Million in assets with hundreds of employees in multiple states he has assembled a strong leadership team that has helped the company prosper over multiple economic cycles. Current real estate holdings include hotels, assisted living, corporate office buildings, delis, and fast casual dining. Following his undergraduate work at Vassar Montu pursued a Master’s Degree in Asset Management from NYU. Prior to joining IHM in 2008, Montu worked at American Express for ten years and was one of the youngest Director’s in American Express history. His responsibilities included managing 26 travel locations with over 250 employees and over $100 million in revenue. He has been featured in the New York Times and has been recognized at American Express, Tompkins Financial, AAHOA, Choice Hotels, IHG and Hilton hotels. Montu has served as a Director of Choice Hotels Owners Council and currently serves as an AAHOA Ambassador. Montu is running for the New Hope- Solebury School Board Director and volunteers at the Community Soup kitchen regularly. He is also an advisor to The Excellent English Medium school in Borsad, India and the Shraddah Hospital and Nursing College.

Education:

Alex Buzick ’96 is currently a Lecturer in the Writing Program at Rutgers University, New Brunswick, Adjunct Professor of Latin at Moravian College in Bethlehem, Pa., and a Reader of the AP Latin exam. He graduated with a B.A. in Classical Studies from Dickinson College in 2000, and received an M.A. (2010) and a PhD (2014) in Classical Philology from Fordham University, where he wrote a dissertation on the fragments of tragic poetry in the works of Cicero. He has previously taught classical languages and literature at the Loudoun Country Day School of Leesburg, Va., the North Cross School of Roanoke, Va., the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, and Fordham University in New York. He is a parent of two Doane students ('29 and '32) and is married to Dr. Heather Buzick, class of 1997

David M. Williamson (Parent ’20) is the Vice President for New Product Development at Educational Testing Service (ETS).He leads a group of experts in new product development to conceptualize, prioritize, and develop new programs and services that advance the ETS mission. Dr. Williamson is responsible for opportunity creation, managing the opportunity pipeline and priorities, guiding teams in using market insights to design and develop new products, and ensuring successful deployment of new products and services. Previously as Senior Research Director of the Assessment Innovations Center in the Research & Development Division of ETS Dr. Williamson led a team of as many as 56 researchers conducting fundamental and applied research at the intersection of cognitive modeling, artificial intelligence, and multivariate scoring models. In this capacity he led the development, evaluation and implementation of automated scoring systems for text and spoken responses for a variety of testing and learning environments, including GRE and TOEFL. This work leveraged technologies from artificial intelligence, cognitive science, psychometrics, natural language processing and speech processing to develop solutions that realized gains in both efficiency and quality. In prior positions at ETS Dr. Williamson conducted research in simulation-based assessment, Bayesian inference networks, cognitive modeling, evidence-centered assessment design, and automated scoring, as well as developing assessment products that leverage these capabilities. Prior to ETS Dr. Williamson worked at The Chauncey Group, a subsidiary of ETS specializing in certification and licensure assessment, where he conducted research on job analysis, standard setting, assessment design, and simulation-based assessment for the professions. Dr. Williamson earned his Ph.D. in psychometrics from Fordham University in 2000, with his dissertation “Utility of Model Criticism Indices for Bayesian Inference Networks in Cognitive Assessment” winning the 2001 NCME Brenda H. Lloyd Outstanding Dissertation Award. He has published 16 articles in professional journals, 18 books, book chapters and published proceedings, and 41 professional conference presentations.

Finance:

Ivy M. Washington ’85 is a Supervising Examiner in the Supervision, Regulation and Credit (SRC) division of the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia (Reserve Bank). She is a commissioned Federal Reserve System safety and soundness bank examiner, with over 20 years of expertise. Presently, Ms. Washington serves as the program manager responsible for overseeing SRC’s outreach program and Community Banking Connections, a nationwide Federal Reserve System publication that provides extensive and real-time regulatory and policy updates to ensure that community bankers have access to important information necessary to maintain safe and sound banking practices in an evolving economy. She also serves as a Federal Reserve System instructor for its examiner commissioning program. Ms. Washington continues to conduct and manage bank examinations and holding company inspections of financial institutions headquartered within the Reserve Bank’s district. Over her tenure, she has served as a central point of contact for one of the Reserve Bank’s regional banking organization, as well as its sole insurance savings and loan holding company. Additionally, she is a Bank Secrecy Act/Anti-Money Laundering (BSA/AML) specialist, where she served as BSA/AML liaison for the Reserve Bank’s sole foreign and large banking organization. Previously, Ms. Washington managed the Reserve Bank’s training initiatives for FedLine Access Solutions, a suite of services provided to financial institutions with direct access to Federal Reserve Financial Services information and critical payment services. In this capacity, she also served as a resident lecturer at payment systems risk conferences sponsored by the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council. Before joining the Federal Reserve, Ms. Washington spent 10 years in the financial services industry, specializing in interest rate risk analysis. Ms. Washington graduated from St. Joseph’s University, with a major in Finance. She is a current candidate of The Stonier Graduate School of Banking at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania.

Gloria Rowan attended Rider College for Computer Science from 1983 to 1987.After completing her studies, she attended Ocean County College where she got a degree in accounting. In 1988 she got a job as a teller in a small bank which was bought out by Fidelity Bank within a month of her starting. In 1989 Gloria joined Commerce Bank, now known as TD Bank, as a teller and soon after started her management career. She worked there for 23 years as a Teller, Assistant Head Teller, Head Teller, Customer Service Representative, Assistant Manager, and Manager. In 2012 she joined Beneficial Bank where she currently manages the Sunset Road branch.