Wooster introduces new Alumni Board members
The College of Wooster welcomed new members to its Alumni Board for the 2025-26 fiscal year, including Vedica Jha ’18, David Sterna ’81, George Thompson ’94, Brian Yocum ’91, Timeka (Thomas) Rashid ’99 and Mark Sutherland ’76. Sutherland will also serve as an Alumni Trustee for the College Board of Trustees. 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.
Vedica Jha ’18, photo provided by Jha
Jha is a senior consultant for Deloitte, a transnational financial advisory and consulting network, where she works with businesses to make healthy financial decisions from an accounting and risk management standpoint. She received three Applause Awards for her contributions to the company. She graduated from Case Western Reserve University with a master’s degree in accounting (data analysis track) in 2021. As a biology and mathematics major at Wooster, Jha was an active participant in Alpha Psi Omega, the Math Club, and The Wooster Voice newspaper, as well as working several jobs on-campus, including leading three consecutive international orientations and actively participating in the STEM success initiative. Along with Gio Tramonto ’18, she founded an online talent discovery platform called ProMyTheUs in 2017, helping individuals plan their future and career with their talents at the forefront. ProMyTheUs was one of the client companies in the 2018 AMRE cohort. She has served as an event speaker on campus, notecard writer for Admissions, and an alumni mentor to current students.
David Sterna ’81, photo provided by Sterna
Sterna, an optometric physician in Ohio, has dedicated his life to serving his community since opening his own practice in 1985 after graduating from The Ohio State University College of Optometry. He currently works as an independent medical officer for Veterans Evaluation Services, providing disability medical evaluations for U.S. military service veterans. Sterna has received numerous accolades for his work, including becoming a Diplomate of the American Board of Optometry and Fellow of the American Academy of Optometry. Sterna worked in humanitarian medical relief and hosted foreign exchange students from various countries through Rotary International and hosted medical students from Russia through the Center for Citizen Initiatives. A chemistry major and Latin American studies minor at Wooster, Sterna was a member of the chemistry club, Beta Kappa Phi, and worked on The Index yearbook. He also studied abroad in Colombia. He acted as a class secretary and an APEX volunteer for the College.
George Thompson ’94, photo provided by Thompson
Thompson is a senior vice president, senior partner, and general manager of the Washington, D.C. office at FleishmanHillard Inc., one of the largest public relations firms in the world and part of the Omnicon Group, with focuses on marketing and communications service firms. Thompson has advised clients in the government, aerospace and defense, and technology sectors and serves as strategic communications counsel for a broad range of corporate technology, professional service companies, and government clients in the U.S., Europe, and throughout the Middle East. A political science major at Wooster, he participated in the Scot Marching Band playing and teaching the bag pipes and was a member of Phi Omega Sigma. Thompson volunteers with career services to support current students at the College and has hosted events with alumni in Washington, D.C.
Brian Yocum ’91, photo provided by Yocum
Yocum serves as the senior director of development for the Division of Physics, Mathematics, and Astronomy at the California Institute of Technology. He previously worked at The University of Chicago, University of Illinois Chicago, Illinois Institute of Technology, and Oberlin College and Conservatory in Ohio. He managed individual giving for The Cleveland Orchestra and was senior advancement officer for individual giving at the Chicago Shakespeare Theater. Yocum earned his degree in English at Wooster before receiving a Master of Nonprofit Organizations from Case Western Reserve University. An active contributor to The Wooster Fund, he is also a member of the 1866 Legacy Society and has hosted an I.S. Monday celebration in his area.
Timeka Rashid ’99, photo by Damien Campbell
Rashid is the interim chief operations officer for Burten, Bell, Carr Development, Inc., a non-profit corporation that focuses on aiding underserved citizens in central Cleveland and Kinsman. She regularly focuses on housing and health concerns and oversees projects to promote positive change in the area. Rashid previously served on multiple higher education administration teams, including most recently as the vice president for student affairs at Baldwin Wallace University in Berea, Ohio, and as assistant vice president of inclusive student engagement at Cleveland State University. She earned a degree in history and Black studies at Wooster before completing a Master of Arts at Ohio State University and gaining a Ph.D. in Higher Education Administration at Ohio University in 2009. At Wooster, Rashid was active in the Black Student Association, Black Women’s Organization, and Women of Images, as well as a resident assistant, class president, and active member and president of Black Alumni Council. Post graduation, she received the Young Alumni Award in 2004, served as a keynote speaker on campus for the Martin Luther King Jr. Day Celebration in 2022, and as an alumni admissions representative and advocate.
Mark Sutherland, photo by Wetzler Studios (Cleveland)
Also now serving as an alumni trustee for Wooster’s Board of Trustees, Sutherland is the retired corporate vice president of global communications and public affairs at The Lubrizol Corporation, a global manufacturer of specialty chemicals and performance materials. In this role from 2014-2020, Sutherland was also the president of The Lubrizol Foundation, the company’s philanthropic arm. Joining Lubrizol in 1981, his experience consisted of various marketing, sales, and business management assignments, as well as investor relations. He was later the vice president of investor relations at W.R. Grace & Co., a chemical manufacturing company that supplies specialty chemicals to industries, before returning to Lubrizol in 2014. Sutherland earned his Wooster degree in chemistry before completing a MBA at Case Western Reserve University in 1981. While at Wooster he was a swimmer, a member of Second Section and an international summer student at Sophia University in Tokyo. Since graduation he has focused on giving back to the College as an active contributor to The Wooster Fund as well as participating in the Cleveland Leadership Group and as a Class of 2020 mentor.
Posted in News on August 29, 2025.
