Each year, the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln invites prestigious alumni from each college back to connect
with students and the University. All UNL students are invited to join the
Masters for a dessert reception and success panel, and Scarlet Guard members
have the exclusive opportunity to network with the Masters at luncheons the
days following the panel. In the past, Scarlet Guard members have received
internships and job offers as a result of the connections made during Alumni
Masters Week.
We are thrilled to welcome
back a group of ten outstanding alumni for the 2014 Alumni Masters Week.
Matthew
L. Blomstedt | '94, '98, '13
Matthew
Blomstedt has both a Ph.D. in educational leadership and higher education and a
Master's degree in community and regional planning from the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln. He has worked alongside Nebraska school district officials,
policy makers, and educational stakeholders for the past 16 years and was on
the Nebraska School Finance Review Committee in 2001. Blomstedt has served in
various educational advisory roles within the state government and higher
education, including his role as Executive Director for the Nebraska
Educational Service Unit Coordinating Council. He was named Commissioner of Education
by the Nebraska State Board of Education in January of this year. Blomstedt is
hosted by the UNL College of Education and Family Sciences.
Tom
Christiansen | '84
Tom Christiansen received a Bachelor of Science degree in
Agriculture, Journalism, and Natural Resources from UNL in 1984. For 29 years,
he has served with the Wyoming Game and Fish Department. Christiansen has many
roles with the sage grouse
conservation program, including serving on the Rangewide Interagency
Sage-Grouse Conservation Team, the Wildfire and Invasive Species Working Group,
the Science and Policy Implications of Climate Change to Sage Grouse Working
Group, and serves as chair of the Western Association of Fish and Wildlife
Agencies' Sage and Columbian Sharp-tailed Grouse Technical Committee.
Christiansen is hosted by the UNL College of Agricultural Sciences and Natural
Resources.
Terry Connealy |
'94
Terry Connealy is a Husker football alum
and two-time Academic All-American. He has co-hosted a nationwide radio call-in
show and, from 1996-2002 was a member of the Pinnacle Sports Productions'
Nebraska football radio broadcast team. In the past, Connealy worked with Wells
Fargo Home mortgage as a private mortgage banker and eventually rising to a
regional sales manager. Currently, he is serving as Senior Vice President of
Mutual of Omaha bank. Connealy works with the virtual mortgage team, fosters relationships
with community association banking, and leads the strategic growth and
management of Mutual of Omaha's sales channels. Connealy is hosted by the
Department of Athletics.
Victoria L. Collier
| '02
Victoria Collier served in the United
States Air Force from 1989-1995 and the Army Reserves from 2002-2005. She
started The Elder and Disability Law Firm of Victoria L. Collier, PC, in 2002
in Decatur, Georgia. She has been recognized as a rising star in the 2005 and
2009-2012 editions of Georgia Super Lawyers, co-founded Lawyers with Purpose,
Lawyers for Wartime Veterans, Veterans Advocates Group of America, and Trust
Associates, Inc., chaired the Georgia Chapter of the National Academy of the
Elder Law Attorneys, the State Bar of Georgia elder law section and the Atlanta
Bar Association elder law committee. She has also been admitted to practice
before the United States Supreme Court and Court of Appeals for Veterans
Claims. Collier is hosted by the UNL College of Law.
Angie Klein | '01
Angie Klein received
bachelor's degrees in Business and Journalism from the University of
Nebraska-Lincoln and has served on the CBA Young Alumni Board, the NAA Board of
Directors and Alumni Advisory Council, and is a member of the Nebraska Women's
Leadership Network. She serves on the Lower East Side Girls Club Board of
Directors in New York City and received a Nebraska Young Alumni Achievement
Award in 2011. Klein currently resides in New York and is vice president of
marketing and sales for Verizon's Northeast Area. She is responsible for more
than 5 billion dollars of annual revenue. Klein is hosted by the College of
Journalism and Mass Communications.
Edward J. Kodet Jr.
| '68
Edward Kodet Jr. currently serves as
President of the 20-person architectural firm he founded in 1983 in
Minneapolis, Kodet Architectural Group, Ltd. He chairs the Professional
Advisory Council for the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and has previously
served as a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, as an officer for local,
state, and national brances of the AIA and chairs the AIA College of Fellows
Young Architects 2+2 program. He has also previously served at the
University of Minnesota, served as treasurer, vice president, and
president-elect of the Minneapolis City of Lakes Rotary, has won numerous AIA
Design Merit Awards, and received the AIA Minnesota's Gold Medal. Kodet is
hosted by the College of Architecture.
JoAnn Martin | '75
JoAnn Martin is a University of
Nebraska-Lincoln business grad and is currently the president and CEO of
Ameritas Mutual Holding Company, and chair, president, and CEO of Ameritas Life
in Lincoln, Nebraska. She serves on the National Research Corporation Board,
the University of Nebraska Foundation Board, and the Nebraska Innovation Campus
Development Corporation Board. She has received the Nebraska Society of CPAS
Public Service Award, the Dr. Barbara Hibner Trailblazer Award, and was
recognized as one of Insurance Networking news' Top 10 Women in Insurance
Leadership. Martin has also received a College of Business Administration
Leadership Award, an NAA Alumni Achievement Award, and has been inducted into
the UNL School of Accountancy Hall of Fame. She is hosted by the UNL College of
Business Administration.
Ayman Sahli | '94
Ayman Sahli earned his Ph.D. at the
University of Nebraska-Lincoln and serves as CEO of Gulf Pharmaceutical
Industries. He has previously worked in process development in Syngenta, Ala.,
and Wyeth, N.Y.. He joined Hikma, a multinational pharmaceutical company, in
2004 and was appointed deputy general manager of the Jordan Unit until 2008,
when he acquired his current position at Gulf Pharmaceutical Industries
(Julphar). Sahli extended Julphar geographically and through a $150 million
investment in biotechnology. He plans on increasing Julphar's regional
manufacturing bases. Sahli is hosted by the UNL College of Arts and
Sciences.
Dawn Schaefer | '99
Dawn Schaefer earned her master's degree
from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She has served as the executive art
director for CBS for 14 years, during which time she has been involved with
numerous television shows such as Survivor, Price is Right, Bold and
the Beautiful, and The Apprentice Live Finale in Los
Angeles. She has also been credited with various corporate events and local
shows. Schaefer has been with Survivor since its 2003
beginning, including when Survivor: Thailand was nominated for
an Emmy in Outstanding Art Direction for a Variety or Music Program. Schaefer
is hosted by the Hixson-Lied College of Fine and Performing Arts.
Don Voelte | '75
Don Voelte earned his degree in Civil
Engineering from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. He currently serves as the
managing director and CEO of Seven Group Holdings, deputy chairman of Seven
West Media, and chairman of Nexus Energy. He boasts 38 years of global oil and
gas industry experience, has held a number of senior executive positions at
Mobil Corp., Atlantic Richfield Company, and Chroma Energy Inc.. He previously
served as managing director of Woodside Petroleum. Voelte is a member of the
Society of Petroleum Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and
the Chi Epsilon Honor Society. He is a Foreign Fellow to ATSE, Fellow of the
Australian Institute of Company Directors, and was appointed an honorary
officer within the general division of the Order of Australia. Voelte is hosted
by the UNL College of Engineering.
