Class Notes

1974

Robert Leone
(MBA, ’73 BA, Mathematics) was selected as a 2024 American Marketing Association fellow. He is the chair and professor of the Marketing Department at Texas Christian University (TCU). Before joining TCU in 2008, Dr. Leone was a chaired professor at Ohio State University and the University of Texas at Austin.

1981

Mustaque Ahmed
(BS, Economics) is the founder of Dhaka Art Centre, founder trustee of Centre for the Rehabilitation of the Paralyzed, and a supporter of social, cultural, and charitable organizations. He is also a painter and frequently lends a helping hand and speaks out against social injustice and inequality. As a dedicated UTA alumnus, he enjoys the educational, social, and cultural opportunities the University offers and frequently gives back, such as through the Mustaque Ahmed Loan Fund and his endowment of the Festival of Ideas Global Research Institute.

1986

Richard Henrard
(BS, Architecture) is senior associate director of facilities management at the University of New Mexico. Henrard has served there in numerous capacities, including as facilities planner for the Health Sciences Center and director of planning, design, and construction from May 2013 to January 2018.

1987

Alexandre Migala
(BA, History) was named a “hometown hero” by the city of Flower Mound, Texas, for his military service. After leaving active duty, he joined the U.S. Army Reserve, where he served as a liaison officer for the United States Military Academy and congressional district coordinator for the Texas 26th Congressional District. Col. Migala has served as vice chair of the Urban Search and Rescue Medical Work Group and Subgroups of the Department of Homeland Security, Federal Emergency Management Administration, since 2010.

1994

Mahboob Rahman Ruhel
(BS, Computer Science) is a film producer whose film No Dorai won the Bangladesh National Film Award for Best Film and Best Screenplay in 2019. Ruhel is the founder and chairman of Show Motion Limited and the managing director at Sayeman Beach Resort.

1998

Stephanie Sneed
(BS, Interdisciplinary Studies) was elected as the chairwoman of the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Independent School District board. She was first elected in 2022 to the school board and later became its vice chair. She is a trial lawyer who earned her juris doctorate from Howard School of Law and specializes in labor and employment law.

1999

Jeff Parcheta
(BA, Journalism) is a sales director at Chetu Incorporated, a global custom software development company. He oversees the facilities management, residential services, insurance, construction, modeling, drafting, and artificial intelligence and machine-learning accounts. Parcheta joined Chetu in 2020, where he rose in the sales department ranks and helped the company grow into an award-winning organization.

2003

Aleksandar Milenkov
(BS, Mechanical Engineering) was promoted to engineering design principal at KAI Enterprise’s Dallas-Fort Worth office. Milenkov joined KAI in 2020 as director of mechanical engineering. He has more than 20 years of experience in the field of mechanical engineering.

2005

Crystal Bates
(BS, Economics) is a minister at Friendship-West Baptist Church, where she has spent 25 years as a part of the ministerial team. She is the president of the Tri-Cities NAACP branch.

Aaron Miri
(BS, Information Systems) recently published research examining the impacts of artificial intelligence in the health care industry. He is the senior vice president and chief digital and information officer at Baptist Health in Jacksonville, Florida. He was recognized as a CIO to Know by Becker’s Hospital Review and named a 2020 Healthcare Hero by the College of Healthcare Information Management Executives.

Ronald Sullivan
(MA, Political Science) was selected to serve as regional director for the U.S. Department of Labor’s Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs (OFCCP). Sullivan, who began his tenure with OFCCP as a compliance officer in 2006, will oversee the agency’s Southwest and Rocky Mountain region.

2006

Justin Hiles
(MArch, ’02 BS, Architecture) is the chief operating officer of VLK Architects. He is a member of the American Institute of Architects, the Association for Learning Environments, and the National Council of Architecture Registration Boards. His past leadership and volunteer roles include president and treasurer for the Fort Worth Chapter of the American Institute of Architects, board member for the Fort Worth Better Buildings Challenge, designer for Unbound Fort Worth, and volunteer for the American Red Cross.

2007

Timothy M. Good
(BBA, Marketing) campaigned for district attorney in Johnson and Somervell counties in the March 5 Republican Primary. The Johnson and Somervell County assistant district attorney campaigned in hopes to bring a fresh, new perspective to the office. Before coming to Johnson County, he worked for the Nueces County Attorney’s Office representing the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services in emergency removal hearings.

2009

Venton Jones
(MS, Health Care Administration) is in his first term in the Texas House of Representatives, serving District 100, which includes parts of South Dallas, West Dallas, East Dallas, Buckner Terrace, Victory Park, and Oak Cliff. Along with being a Texas realtor, he is founder and chief executive officer of the Southern Black Policy and Advocacy Network. Jones is the first member of the Texas Legislature to be openly HIV-positive. He has used his diagnosis to advocate for legislation that works to end AIDS. For his bravery and success as a lawmaker, Dallas Voice named him LGBTQ North Texan of the Year in 2023.

2010

Christy Martinez
(BS, Criminology and Criminal Justice) joined the Caruth Police Institute as an honorarium instructor after gaining 20 years of law enforcement experience. She then became a director of the North Central Texas Council of Governments’ Regional Police Academy. In December 2023, she was one of the three finalists for the position of the Lewisville police chief.

2013

Nakia Cole
(MA, Criminology and Criminal Justice) is a coordinator for Fort Worth Independent School District, where she is responsible for developing and facilitating community and grassroots activities. She participates in several boards and committees, including the city of Fort Worth Teen Court, city of Fort Worth Community Action Partners District, Unity in the Community, Generation Uplift, and Beyond the Badge.

Gordon Sallas-Mensah
(MBA) is a financial services expert and insurance professional, most recently with Huntsville Consult LLC.

Ibrahim Qattan
(BS, Biology) fulfilled his dream of running his own eye care clinic when he opened Valley Ranch Eye Care in Coppell, Texas. He has experience practicing in Denton, Texas, at a corporate optometry office as well as at a private practice. He said that optometry changed his life and believes that people need to see their best to live their best.

2014

Norma Annette Avitua-Ovalle
(BSN) was presented with the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award by Marquis Who’s Who. She is a registered nurse and nurse administrator for the Methodist Healthcare System in San Antonio, Texas, and has been serving in her position since 2000. Avitua-Ovalle, who has been in the nursing field for over 35 years, previously served as an oncology staff licensed vocational nurse and pre-employment nurse.

2017

Kimberly Oyler Rodriguez
(MEd, Science Education) married Ray Rodriquez II, a patrol sergeant at Belton Police Department, in November. She is a seventh-grade science teacher in the Killeen Independent School District, where she also coaches eighth-grade girls basketball.

James Talambas
(BM, Music Composition), an artist and musician, announced in January 2024 that he is opening up a new gallery within Dallas’ Exposition Park. The gallery, New Media Contemporary, will focus on new media projects, including projections, performance art, experimental music, and collaborations of all kinds. Talambas holds a chair position with the Fort Worth Art Commission.

2021

Spencer Brewer
(BA, Journalism) accepted a role as a reporter for Law 360, where he will cover court cases in Dallas, Texas. Prior to the role change, he covered residential and commercial real estate in Tarrant County for the Dallas Business Journal.

2022

Levi Calderon
(MSN, ’18 BSN) is an adult-gerontology acute care nurse practitioner and a member of the Mechanical Circulatory Support and Heart and Lung Transplant Team at Stanford Healthcare. He serves patients in the San Francisco Bay Area and is recognized for his commitment to advancing health care through patient-centered evidence-based practice.

Lillian Juarez
(BA, Journalism) is the east Dallas editor for the Advocate. She covers various topics in the area where she spent most of her childhood, east Dallas and the Lakewood neighborhood.

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