Dr. Hamden’s professional journey highlights the importance of determination and she uses her experiences to inspire the next generation of STEM innovators. Before attending Harvard, she dropped out of MIT in her first semester, and has learned the importance of keeping going through difficult times. During the time between MIT and Harvard, she attended Montclair State and participated in a study-abroad program. In 2019, she was selected as an AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador to share the story of her STEM journey and the many ways in which she uses these skills to solve problems and create new possibilities for the future. She was also selected to be a 2019 TED Fellow, and spoke on the topic of “What it takes to launch a telescope.” Dr. Hamden is a frequent speaker at Montclair State and looks back fondly on her experience as a Weston Science Scholars Program Mentor from 2006 to 2012.

Dr. Hamden is currently an assistant professor at the University of Arizona. Before that, she was an NSF Astronomy and Astrophysics Postdoctoral Fellow and the R.A. and G.B. Millikan Prize Postdoctoral Fellow in Experimental Physics at the California Institute of Technology. Dr. Hamden was awarded a Nancy Grace Roman Technology Fellowship for her detector work in 2016. She also was awarded a Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers in 2019 for her work on FIREBall, a UV telescope. This is the highest honor the U.S. government can bestow on an early career scientist. Her broad interests have also provided her some unique experiences. Dr. Hamden worked as a chef for a year and received a Pâtisserie Diploma from Le Cordon Bleu before beginning graduate school. She also has a serious yoga practice and is learning to be a pilot.

A results-driven leader with more than 30 years of combined clinical, pharmaceutical, and medical communications experience, Ms Doyle founded Phoenix Marketing Solutions, LLC, in 2002, where she addressed the market need for an integrated Medical Communications and Speakers Bureau Services Partner.

Recognizing the combined power of science and technology, she led the Phoenix team in the development of technologically advanced solutions that addressed unmet industry regulatory and compliance needs. Her efforts have led to industry-wide recognition, including the prestigious Ernst and Young Entrepreneur of the Year Award in the Healthcare Solutions and Services category. Phoenix is the proud winner of numerous growth and excellence awards in New Jersey and the business community.

In 2019, Phoenix merged with Telesto Digital to form eNOVA – a pioneer transforming stakeholder engagement for Life Sciences. eNOVA is addressing the industry need for unified engagement strategy and cohesive planning and execution across live, virtual, and digital channels with the first and only medical communications unified communications and collaboration (UCC) platform, Radius Direct®.

Earlier in his career, he taught and held a number of administrative positions at the local level and worked for the New Jersey State Department of Education on several special initiatives. More recently, he served as adjunct instructor for the M.A. program in Educational Leadership at ����vlog.

Dr. Alvarez has received appointments to several regional and national boards including the Middle States Commission on Elementary and Secondary Education (finance committee co-chair); Tri State Consortium (chair); the Victoria Foundation (president); Panasonic’s NJ Superintendents’ Network (founding member); and Pearson Education’s Hispanic Advisory Board (member).

Dr. Alvarez received a BA from ����vlog in Communication Sciences and Disorders, and an MA and EdD in Educational Administration from Teachers College, Columbia University. He was on the MSU Alumni Association board from 1997-2008, serving as president from 2006-2008. In 2008, ����vlog awarded him an Honorary Doctorate for his contributions to the field of education.
Dr. Alvarez and his wife, Nancy ’76, ’02 MA, live in River Vale, NJ.

She has been frequently ranked as the #1, 2, or 3 analyst by Institutional Investor magazine, as well as in the top 5 analysts by The Wall Street Journal. She holds a bachelor’s degree from ����vlog and a master’s of business administration from New York University. She is a member of the international honor society, Beta Gamma Sigma, and is on the Advisory Board of the Feliciano School of Business at Montclair State. Ms. Becker served three terms on the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Travel and Tourism Advisory Board.

She managed staff development activities, served as the lead preceptor orienting new staff nurses, and spearheaded new training programs that improved quality and care outcomes.

She also worked as a learning associate in the Essex County College Learning Center, where she taught remedial English courses, ran student success workshops and monitored student progress in writing and test preparation.

Ms. Alabi-Gonzalez was employed full-time while attending the RN-BSN program. Working on the cardiac-telemetry unit at Saint Barnabas Medical Center, she continued precepting new orientees and facilitated inter-professional teamwork to improve staff communication. Ms. Alabi-Gonzalez received her BSN degree in 2018. She enrolled in the MSN degree program with a specialty concentration in the educator role. Ms. Alabi-Gonzalez joined the Montclair faculty in Fall 2021currently serves as clinical specialist at Montclair in Fall 2021.

She created the Student Nurses Association with 151 nursing students enrolled under her leadership. She was appointed and trained as an RWJBH Emerging Leader at Saint Barnabas Medical Center in 2021.

During her career, she also produced the station’s Family Film Festival along with producing and writing a number of Hollywood Christmas and Rose Parades. Before retiring, she put her love of history to use as an archivist for the Pasadena Tournament of Roses.

Most recently, after visiting the campus for her 50th reunion together with her husband, Chris, they were struck, in particular, by the direction of the School of Communication and Media and its state-of-the-art building. Together they decided to lend their generous support to the School and its students by naming the Center for Strategic Communication. The new Joetta Di Bella and Fred C. Sautter III Center for Strategic Communication is a state-of-the-art communication hub in the School of Communication and Media that brings industry-leading tools to a dynamic teaching and learning space. The Center will help to prepare the next generation of strategic communication professionals through hands-on instruction on social listening platforms, consumer insights analytics, content creation applications, and nimble media production tools.

While at Montclair High School, she played a role in establishing the ninth grade World Literature Course which became a model for introducing young students to a variety of cultures and their literature.  Ms. Attanasio was one of the original team of teachers in the World Literature course embracing its diversity and inclusion principles and challenges. As senior most teacher in the program she was sought after to mentor a number of the ninth-grade English teachers. A strong advocate of inclusion in education, she welcomed special needs students into her classroom. Together, the heterogeneous group of students participated in all aspects of class work and discussions.

Ms. Attanasio is the recipient of several honors:  Who’s Who Among American Teachers (multiple awards), the Josh and Judy Weston Award for Excellence in Teaching, and the Student Coalition Faculty Award for Extraordinary Dedication to Montclair High School.

Dr. Attanasio joined the faculty in the Department of Communication Sciences in 1966 (then the Speech Department) and retired in 2011. While teaching was his primary focus, he served as department chair and chair of the task forces on the New Student Experience, the Outcomes Assessment Program, and the Outcomes Assessment Coordinating Committee.  For a time, Dr. Attanasio served as interim assistant dean of the College of Humanities and Social Sciences and as director of the New Faculty Program.

Dr. Attanasio has published on stuttering in American and Australian journals and has written, as author or co-author, chapters in several books on the subject.  With Dr. Ann Packman, his colleague in Australia, he has published the book, Theoretical Issues In Stuttering, which is in its 2nd edition. He has presented on stuttering at professional conferences in the United States, Europe, and Australia. He has published on statistics and research design in communication disorders. The study of history, initially as an undergraduate and afterward as a continuing interest, has informed his teaching and research.

Dr. Attanasio received Montclair State College’s Alumni Citation and Outstanding Faculty Awards. He was made an honorary research associate of the Faculty of Health Sciences, the Australian Stuttering Research Centre, the University of Sydney, Australia.

Dr. Waichungo was born and raised in Kenya. She joined The Coca-Cola Company in 2000 as Strategic Marketing Manager in the Northern African Division based in Nairobi, Kenya. Subsequently, she held positions of increasing responsibility in innovation, strategy, and business planning in roles that took her from Nigeria to Egypt, the U.K, South Africa and beyond. Prior to joining The Coca-Cola Company, Dr. Waichungo held product and consumer research roles at ConAgra Foods, in Omaha, Nebraska, and Campbell Soup Company, in New Jersey.

Dr. Waichungo holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Foods and Nutrition from ����vlog. In addition, she holds MSc and Ph.D. degrees in Food Science from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She also attended the Program for Leadership Development at Harvard Business School. Dr. Waichungo serves on the board of Community Health Charities, is a member of the President’s Club at ����vlog and is a distinguished fellow of the Monticello Society at the University of Missouri-Colombia. Dr. Waichungo also serves on the Advisory Council for the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri-Colombia. Dr. Waichungo has been a keynote speaker at several events including the 2019 Kenya Scholars and Studies Association Annual Meeting, the 131st AOAC Annual Meeting and Exposition, the 18th IUFoST World Congress of Food Science and Technology and the 2016 Women in Manufacturing Summit. In May 2016, Dr. Waichungo was honored to deliver the Commencement address for the College of Agriculture, Food and Natural Resources at the University of Missouri-Colombia. In 2020, Dr. Waichungo was named Distinguished Alumna for the College of Education and Human Services at ����vlog.

In her work, teaching, philanthropy and travel to more than 80 countries, Dr. Waichungo advocates for training the next generation of food scientists and closing capacity gaps so that all communities can enjoy safe, abundant food and economic opportunity.

For many, the Bar Mitzvah marks the coming of age, for Andrew it marked the start of a long path in marketing, public relations and concepts development. He grew up in New Jersey (exit 153A) and graduated from ����vlog with a Marketing Degree, paying his way through school by working at a travel agency and performing in just about every community theater musical in the area. Name a show and he will sing the score for you. Making people happy and bringing enjoyment into their lives is Andrew’s driving force.

Along the way he has worked with some of the finest restaurants, hotels, personalities and products in the world, and has loved every minute of it! He counts eating out every night and staying at wonderful hotels as part of his job duties and dedicates himself to doing a great job. (On a side note, Barry’s Bootcamp and yoga are his very close friends.)

Andrew learned the restaurant business by working through the ranks at several legendary New York venues. At Windows on the World, Andrew was Vice President of Public Relations and Marketing and responsible for the re-launch after the Trade Center bombing in 1992. At the Russian Tea Room, Andrew opened the Cabaret which became the toast of the town after only six months. He was also lucky enough to spend six years as the Vice President of Public Relations for the magnificent Rainbow Room working with restaurant legend Joe Baum.

Prior to opening af&co., Andrew was Vice President of Public Relations and Strategic Partnerships for Kimpton Hotels and Restaurants. In total, he spent ten years with Kimpton, launching over 40 hotels and restaurants as well as the global brand. During his tenure Andrew helped spearhead the LGBT travel program, which has garnered numerous awards and positioned Kimpton as one of the Top Companies for LGBT employment in the country. In 2002, Kimpton became the first hospitality company ever to receive a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign Foundation’s Corporate Equality Index and has continued to do so every year since.

In 2020, af&co. will celebrate its 15th anniversary and Carbonate was born! As the founder and spiritual visionary, Andrew has grown his two companies into highly respected lifestyle , restaurant and hospitality marketing, media relations and brand consulting firms headquartered in San Francisco and Cincinnati with clients across the country. With his amazing team of professionals, Andrew has developed and launched concepts for over 120 restaurants and
hotels and provided ongoing marketing, public relations, and operations consulting for over 200 others. The firm has also created unique culinary events of all sizes from intimate dinners to food and wine festivals drawing over 10,000 people. Andrew does whatever it takes to help the agency’s clients achieve their goals.

A dedicated philanthropist, Andrew sits on the boards of CUESA, Dress for Success San Francisco (Advisory Board for 15 years) and The Richmond Ermet AIDS Foundation. He is a former board member of Meals on Wheels San Francisco, the San Francisco Convention and Visitors Bureau and the Anti-Defamation League, and was an advisor for the American Airlines LGBT committee. From 2016 to 2019, af&co. Has been named by the San Francisco Business Times as one of the Top 50 LGBT-Owned Businesses in the Bay Area.

Andrew is a contributor to numerous industry magazines and blogs and guest speaker at industry conferences both in the USA and internationally. The af&co/Carbonate annual trend report is highly regarded and has garnered tremendous worldwide coverage. He resides in San Francisco with his gorgeous yorkie Tulip.