Wooster welcomes new members to Alumni Board
The College of Wooster welcomed new members of its Alumni Board for the 2024-25 academic year including Ryan Allen ’99, Robert Hetherington ’74, Kelley Johnson ’13, Liz Farina Markel ’02, Charles “Chuck” Nusbaum ’02, and Diane Weisz Young ’85. Nusbaum ’02 joins as the board as president elect and will assume the presidency on July 1, 2025. The full Alumni Board (listed here) is an advisory organization made up of a diverse group of alumni that leads the Alumni Association, plans programs for students and alumni, and supports the College’s advancement and development missions.
Allen earned his degree in psychology from Wooster and a M.Ed. from Lehigh University. He currently is assistant head of school at Latin School of Chicago, where he brings extensive educational experience and a student-centered focus to his high school alma mater. He was a resident director and program director for the Youngstown Early Intervention Program to bring students from Youngstown to Wooster. The former DJ at the College Underground and director of multi-cultural recruitment at Wooster is an active member of Wooster’s Black Alumni Council and a member of the National Association for College Admissions Counseling.
Hetherington is professor emeritus of theatre & dance at the University of Memphis, where he taught for 21 years. As a speech major at Wooster, he was active in Phi Omega Sigma, Debate Team, and theatre performances. He received a master’s degree from Northwestern University in 1977. Hetherington earned many awards for his involvement in theatre and the arts and received the Distinguished Alumni Award from the College in 2024. He is a member of the Stage Directors & Choreographers–National Labor Union and previously served on the Muse Machine, Dayton Foundation Allegro Fund, and Ohio Theater Alliance. He also helped launch The Human Race Theatre Company, Dayton’s premiere professional theatre, and was the first residential director.
Johnson is a director in the Brands & Properties Division for Wasserman, a global sports, music, and entertainment company. The communication studies major was a standout volleyball and softball athlete who received Wooster’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2024. She also served as assistant volleyball coach/recruiting coordinator and program coordinator for campus life at the College. Prior to joining Wasserman in 2017, she earned an MBA and Master of Sports Administration dual degree at Ohio University. From Ohio, Johnson lives in Columbus with her husband and daughter.
Markel has spent much of her professional tenure in the nonprofit sector, serving in marketing and membership-focused roles at a wide variety of organizations in the Chicago area. She has earned master’s degrees in nonprofit administration from North Park University and advertising from Michigan State University. A French and English major at Wooster, Markel was a four-year member of both varsity women’s track and field and the Scot Band. Additionally, she co-edited The Index yearbook, was a resident of La Maison Francaise, and worked for Matt Dilyard as a photography intern–an experience that she has parlayed into a fulfilling career as a freelance photographer.
Also serving as an alumni trustee on the College Board of Trustees and president elect on the Alumni Board, Nusbaum is manager of service management platforms at Moog Inc., which designs and manufactures advanced motion control products for aerospace, defense, industrial, and medical applications. A computer science and Spanish double major at Wooster, he was a member of the marching band, gospel choir, Wooster Volunteer Network and Newman Catholic campus ministry. He received an MBA in 2007 from Baldwin Wallace University and was presented Wooster’s Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2017.
Weisz Young, an international relations major at Wooster, is regional manager for EducationUSA – West and Central Africa, where she oversees training and professional development for 27 advising centers in 21 countries. From 2008 to 2013, she was the program officer for EducationUSA for Sub-Saharan Africa at the U.S. Department of State. Young also worked with the Young African Leaders Initiative in Zambia with USAID and in Nigeria with IREX. She earned a Master of Arts in counseling from Edinboro University of Pennsylvania in 1988.
Posted in News on August 29, 2024.
