Courtney Thompson
Degrees B.A., 2001, English Arts (Hampton University) M.A., 2003, American Studies (Purdue University) Ph.D., 2011, American Studies (Purdue University)
Edward Vogel
Praised for his “clarion tone” (Chicago Classical Review) and “commanding and animated” presence (Seen & Heard International), baritone Edward Vogel possesses a diverse repertoire […]
Camila Castro
Camila Castro is a native of San Juan, a mountainous and warm province in the midwest of Argentina. Castro will be managing La Casa […]
Ted Clark
Dr. Ted Clark currently teaches trumpet at The Ohio State University, The College of Wooster, and Malone University, and is a member of the […]
Jeffrey Gershman
A conductor of the Scot Symphonic Band and Wooster Concert Band, Dr. Gershman is also an assistant director of the Scot Marching Band and has served as a Music Panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts.
Matthew Ryan Kilgore
With a diverse percussive background, Kilgore specializes in keyboard percussion, chamber music, steel band, and the marching arts.
Ashley Reid
Ashley Reid currently serves as interim associate vice president of student affairs, where she oversees associate and assistant deans, student rights and responsibilities as well as serves as a Posse Mentor and Deputy Title IX coordinator. Prior to her current appointment, Reid was elevated to associate director of athletics and chair of the physical education department in July 2019. In that role, Reid was involved with all of the athletic department’s day-to-day operations while also serving as a sport supervisor for 12 of the school’s 23 varsity teams. She completed her B.A. and M.A. in education at Walsh University, where she also was a four-year starter for the Division II women’s basketball program and left as the second all-time leading scorer and was a first-team all-American Mideast Conference selection three times. In 2011, she was inducted into Walsh’s Athletic Hall of Fame.
Carolyn Ciriegio
Degrees B.A. in Communication Studies, The College of Wooster ’08
Jenna Smith
Jenna Smith ’22 is Sociology major and Religious Studies minor from Vermilion, Ohio, and spent her final year at Wooster researching social justice and community formation within local Faith-Based Organizations. On campus, she spent time singing with Wooster Chorus, A Round of Monkeys, and COWBelles a cappella, was a member of the Ultimate Frisbee team, held two APEX Fellowships, and enjoyed working for the Office of Admissions as a Lead Tour Guide. She will continue her love for sustainable agriculture at Solidarity Urban Farms post-graduation and will promote produce access and coordinate community programming in Lorain, Ohio. She is incredibly grateful for her Wooster community and hopes to continue relationships with friends, faculty, staff, and mentors moving forward.
Benton Thompson IV
Benton Thompson
Darius Scott Dixson ’13
Darius Scott Dixson ’13, known as “DIXSON” professionally, is a singer, songwriter, and producer who plays 11 instruments. He stepped into the national spotlight in 2016 as part of Pharrell’s team on NBC’s The Voice. Shortly after he left the show, he was signed by record label Roc Nation and has since collaborated with notable musicians, including Kim Burrell, Peter CottonTale, Chance The Rapper, Vic Mensa, Pharrell Williams and Beyoncé Knowles-Carter. He also more recently worked with Justin Bieber on the acoustic version of the hit track, “Holy.” And in 2021, he wrote and produced his first solo album with Roc Nation, entitled “Darling,” releasing singles such as “Summertime. Fine,” “Aura,” and “BIG BRAVE MAN”—a song dedicated to his father who passed away in 2019.
In 2022, DIXSON received an Oscar nomination in the Best Original Song category for the music and lyrics of “Be Alive” from the motion picture King Richard, alongside Beyoncé. The song plays during the credits for the film that focuses on the story of the father of tennis superstars Venus and Serena Williams.
A POSSE Scholar from Atlanta, DIXSON graduated from Wooster in 2013, with a self-designed major in arts and media management. While at Wooster, he was part of several ensembles including the Wooster Chorus, The Wooster Fragments, the Wooster Jazz Ensemble, and he served as the music director of his on-campus band, Freddie Cool. In 2010, he became a brother of Xi Chi Psi and also a member of the Black Student Association. In 2011, DIXSON studied abroad in Paris, concentrating in French business and fashion merchandising. As a student, he held internship roles at MTV, The National Conference of Black Mayors, and was a founding team member of the streetwear brand, KITH.
He began his senior year at the peak of the SoundCloud era and worked with advisor Denise Bostdorff, professor of communication studies, to complete an Independent Study that examined how film can be used to instruct independent music artists on branding and promotion, including a short documentary called The Grey Area, a compilation of interviews with independent music artists, music industry executives, music producers, songwriters, and entertainment lawyers sharing his passion for educating independent music artists on the best practices in promotion and branding.
Emily Armour
As an Educational Technologist Emily is responsible for advancing the use of technology for faculty, students, and staff. She assists faculty in identifying, selecting, […]
Shelly Weiss Storbeck
Shelly has one of the most widely recognized names in the field of executive recruitment, having recruited senior leaders for America’s most prestigious colleges and universities. She has led Storbeck Search as an independent firm since 2007.
Recently, she has conducted presidential searches for Michigan State University and the University of Pittsburgh, and Carleton, Colorado, Haverford, Skidmore, and Reed colleges. In her career she has conducted more than 500 searches for public and private universities, liberal arts colleges, independent schools, and nonprofit organizations.
Shelly’s prior positions in executive search include: Managing Director of the education practice of A.T. Kearney; and, senior associate and administrative officer of the education practice at Korn/Ferry International.
Shelly writes, speaks, and consults on issues relating to higher education across the United States. She contributed to a series of seminars and ultimately a book about the liberal arts, Remaking College: Innovation and the Liberal Arts (Johns Hopkins University Press). She has served as chair of the American Council on Education (ACE) Executive Search Roundtable and is a member of the ACE Women’s Network. In 2021 she received the ACE Donna Shavlik Award in recognition of her commitment to advancing women in higher education and ensuring women’s equitable representation across the leadership pipeline.
Prior to entering the search industry, Shelly served as Assistant to the President for Educational Affairs at Haverford College. In that post, she gained experience in all senior administrative searches and chaired Haverford’s Middle States Accreditation Process. Shelly taught English at the Baldwin School (Bryn Mawr, PA) and English and religion at Phillips Academy (Andover, MA). She is also a former member of the Yale Parents Annual Fund.
Susan VanGilder
In her 25-plus years in executive search, Susan has identified and recruited leaders for a wide variety of institutions in the education and nonprofit sectors, in the US and abroad.
She has conducted searches for presidents, provosts, vice presidents, and administrative and academic deans of colleges and universities, as well as senior leaders of museums, foundations, and other nonprofit organizations.
Susan brings a knowledgeable and well-rounded perspective to the search process, having held several key roles at Storbeck Search since the firm’s founding.
Previously, Susan worked in the education practices of A.T. Kearney and another international executive search firm. Susan is currently based in the Washington, D.C., area but has lived and worked in Hawaii, Germany, and Belgium.
Susan’s prior work experience includes managing the information center at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education
(CASE) and serving as liaison to its board committee on career opportunities for minorities and women. During her tenure at CASE, she coordinated numerous career development conferences for college, university, and independent school advancement officers.
Peter Sundman ’81
Presidential Search Committee Chair
Peter Sundman ’81, alumnus and trustee, served as the chief executive officer of ClearBridge Advisors in New York, the largest stock-fund division of Legg Mason, a global asset management firm until 2011. Sundman joined ClearBridge in December 2008 and was previously chief executive of Neuberger Investment Management’s fund division. He joined Neuberger Berman in 1988 as director of institutional sales and held positions of increasing responsibility in both the mutual fund and institutional business at the firm. He was a member of the five-person executive committee that took Neuberger public and subsequently sold the business to Lehman Brothers. From 1982 to 1987, he was at Traveler’s Insurance Company in the asset management and pension services area. Sundman, who earned his degree at Wooster in history, has served as a trustee since 2003 and has previously served on a leadership group in the New Your area. He established the Sundman Endowed Scholarship at Wooster in 2014 to benefit students in study abroad programs. He also serves as a Board of Trustees member for Artisan Partners Funds, Frost Valley YMCA, and the Institute for the International Education of Students.
Mark Goodman ’90
Mark Goodman, alumnus and trustee, is Chairman of the Colorado Nut Holding Company. In addition, Mr. Goodman also advises and consults with select companies and institutions on global branding and marketing. Previously, Mr. Goodman served as the Chief Executive Officer of the Boyer Coffee Company. A former economic and foreign policy advisor to Senator Edward Kennedy, Goodman has held significant leadership positions at Fortune 100 and 50 companies including Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer for Walmart/Sam’s Club and Corporate Vice president of U. S. Strategy and Operations for the McDonald’s corporation. At Wooster he earned his degree in philosophy and has served as a trustee since 2016. He also serves on the Board of Trustees of Tufts University in Medford, Massachusetts, where he earned his master’s degree in analytic philosophy. He also serves on the board of directors for Pinnacol Insurance Company Bellco Credit Union and Delta Dental Insurance Company, Colorado.