20 in their twenties - Class of 2008 Bio's

Anissa Ali | Bethany Beecher | Christopher Blake | Katy Bradley | Douglas Camin

Diana Chandler | Erik Colón | Marisa Colonna | Tina Fernandez | Bryant Henson

Jennifer Hunt | Guru Madhavan | Nathaalie Maxwell | Sean O’Hagen | David Radigan

Kevin Stein | Brandon Sunderlin | Lea Webb | Carrie Wenban | Kimberly Wiggins

Anissa Ali

Electrical Engineer II – Lockheed Martin
Anissa Ali, a native of the Caribbean, grew up in Miami, was selected for a Florida Bright Futures Scholarship and graduated from Florida International University in Miami with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering. A move to the Southern Tier to work as an electrical engineer for Lockheed Martin brought Ali her first experience with snow, and also provided her the opportunity to showcase her skills. Rising quickly to her program’s lead electrical engineering position and earning a promotion to level two engineer, she is realizing her desire to spend her life solving problems, while also serving as a mentor to junior engineers.
Her contributions include establishing an adopt-a-family program during the holidays and Ali has three times received Lockheed Martin’s Special Recognition Award for dedication and hard work. Called a “go getter” who takes pride in her work, she has been described as “a good role model for her peers” and one who understands the task at hand, is flexible, possesses common sense and sound judgment and has impressive technical skills.

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Bethany Beecher

Learning Disabilities Specialist – Binghamton University
Bethany Beecher earned her bachelor’s degree in child development and child care, as well as her master’s degree in rehabilitation science and technology, from the University of Pittsburgh and has pursued coursework for a master’s of business administration at Binghamton University. She also holds National Commission on Rehabilitation Counselor certification.
As a proponent of equal access and the growth and development of students with disabilities, Beecher has exhibited strengths in leadership and collaboration according to her supervisor, and is “an outstanding professional with the highest integrity.” She has volunteered countless hours as co-chair of activities for National Disability Awareness month in Broome and Tioga counties and she shows initiative in implementing expanded or enhanced services on the University campus.
An active member and officer of Southern Tier Young Professionals, Beecher also serves on the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce membership committee and involves herself in numerous charitable and civic events throughout the year. Her nominators have said that “her enthusiasm for working hard, and her commitment to bettering herself through learning and service to her community is inspiring.”

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Christopher Blake

Program Management Planning and Operations Representative – Lockheed Martin
Christopher Blake has been called “the one person that every organization strives to attract and retain.” A Southern Tier native, Blake graduated from Broome Community College and Elmira College, where he earned a bachelor’s degree in computer information systems.
A single parent to a 9-year-old daughter, Blake “realizes that personal involvement and individual commitment are the cornerstones to any successful endeavor” and understands the work-life balance. His supervisor notes that Blake is the first father to have graduated from Mom’s House in the history of the program and Blake continues to make decisions that are centered on what is best for his daughter.
Dedicated to giving back, Blake volunteers for Mom’s House and works with the Endicott Rotary Club distributing food baskets to those in need. Blake devoted 400 hours of community service in attaining the rank of Eagle Scout, and is described as diligent, reliable and “always looking for creative ways to better the business and himself.” He has been credited with implementing five distinct programs this year to streamline Lockheed Martin operations and save employees time.

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Katy Bradley

First Line Software Manager – Lockheed Martin
Valedictorian of her graduating class at Union Endicott High School, Katy Bradley went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in computer science engineering in only three-and-a-half years from Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College with an honors thesis in engineering and leadership development. She is currently pursuing coursework for a master’s in business administration from the NTU School of Engineering and Applied Science at Walden University in Minneapolis.
Colleagues note that Bradley’s “desire to lead and to continually learn are only matched by her ability to complete the tasks assigned to her” and she is always looking for ways to enhance her skills and the skills of those who work for and with her. Described as someone with strong interpersonal and communication skills, a unique set of technical skills and demonstrated leadership capabilities, Bradley has coached track and field, cross country and basketball; tutored students in math and science; and worked with the Lockheed Martin Girls in Engineering program. Her numerous community service activities have earned her the Lockheed Martin Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

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Douglas Camin

Director of Technical Services – CyberCity Internet Business Center
Douglas Camin worked full time while earning associate degrees in computer information systems and business administration from Broome Community College and a bachelor’s degree in computer science from Binghamton University. He holds several professional certifications including Microsoft Certified Systems Administrator.
Camin is often tapped by local educators to be a guest lecturer on technology-related topics and consults for community committees on projects such as creation of the greaterbinghamton.com website. He has also served as a technical expert in legal cases.
Committed to living and working in downtown Binghamton, Camin has been instrumental in creating and developing the Southern Tier Young Professionals organization. He regularly meets with people new to the area, helping them to integrate into the community. He also serves as volunteer coordinator for the SpiedieFest and Balloon Rally and leads tours for the Georgeous Washington First Friday Art Walk.
Called an asset to the community, Camin is known for his ability to build social connections through formal and informal networking as well as through his technical work experience.

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Diana Chandler

Account Executive – Radigan Broadcasting Group
A recent transplant to the area, Diana Chandler holds a bachelor of science degree in plant science and a master’s degree in education from the University of Arizona.
A mother two boys, with one son diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder, Chandler not only worked and handled household and medical duties while pursuing her teaching degree, but has also transitioned from teaching to radio advertising sales as a way to fully immerse herself in her new community. She strives to set an example for her sons and for others around her.
Chandler volunteers as playground mom at her sons’ school, is den mother for their Cub Scout troop, is a committee member for the Tioga Center Pumpkin Festival and has become involved with the Tioga County Republican Committee.
She developed a Teacher of the Month campaign for News Radio 1330, WEBO and, in only her third month there, was recognized as the station’s top sales person. Her supervisor notes how well she has adapted to her new home and her enthusiasm and energy is impressive.

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Erik Colón

Academic Adviser, Harpur College of Arts and Sciences – Binghamton University
Erik Colón’s focus is on students. A Binghamton University alumni with a bachelor’s degree in human development and a master’s degree in social science with a concentration in student affairs and diversity, Colón “is a guide, a friend and a mentor” whose energy and enthusiasm for education and his work are contagious.
After growing up in the projects of Brooklyn, he became the first in his family to graduate from high school, college and graduate school. Colón nominators note that he “has excelled academically through hard work and natural intelligence.” As a graduate student, he was recognized with the Chancellor’s Award for Academic Excellence and the Graduate Student Employee of the Year Award. He also continues to challenge himself, presenting at local and national conferences and serving as co-chair of the American College Personnel Association’s Latino Network.
Yet, he believes in giving back and, in addition to mentoring student advisors on campus, is regularly involved in charitable and community-service activities for organizations including the American Diabetes Association, the American Cancer Society, St. James Church in Johnson City and the local Latino community.

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Marisa Colonna

Staff Accountant – Piaker & Lyons, P.C.
Marisa Colonna is a certified public accountant with specialties in governmental audits, the wholesale distribution industry and personal income taxes. A hard-working student all her life, she was salutatorian of her high school class and is a graduate of Marywood University, earning a degree, with honors, in accounting and computer information and telecommunications systems.
She has distinguished herself through the quality of her work and her work ethic and is active in her firm’s committee for continuing professional education. Colonna is a board member and treasuere for the local chapter of the New York State Society of CPAs and chairs its fledgling Young CPA Committee.
Her ability to assume leadership positions in her professional life extends to her volunteerism in the community. As one of the youngest members of the Friends of the Library for the Broome County Public Library, she regularly contributes to its projects and events. As a member of Southern Tier Young Professionals, she also continues to volunteer for its initiatives with organizations including Habitat for Humanity because of “how rewarding it has always been for me.”

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Tina Fernandez

Associate Attorney – Hinman, Howard & Kattell, LLP
An attorney who earned her bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York at Geneseo and her juris doctor from the State University of New York at Buffalo Law School, Tina Fernandez has been called a natural leader by those she interacts with.
Her professional growth “has been exceptional” and she is a leader among associate attorneys. She also serves on her firm’s Recruiting Committee to attract talented law students from across the country to the area and speaks at seminars for organizations including the Broome County Bar Association.
The community benefits from contributions made by Fernandez as well. She is a member of the boards of the Broome County Urban League, the Broome County Library Foundation and the Greater Binghamton Chamber of Commerce Small Business Council. In particular, her role as a primary fundraiser for the Urban League has had a significant, positive impact on that organization. Her community service also extends to time spent as a coach for a local Special Olympics team and as an Organizing Committee member for the Regional Special Olympics Spring Games.

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Bryant Henson

Systems Engineering Functional Manager – Lockheed Martin
Bryant Henson earned his bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Morgan State University in Baltimore and, while working full time, his master’s degree in systems engineering from Cornell University. He terms his career experience at Lockheed Martin “phenomenal” due to the opportunities for growth and leadership experiences he has gained. He’s currently undertaking evaluation for becoming a Qualified Systems Engineer and Qualified Systems Architect.
He has received two Honor’s Night Performance Recognition Awards and one Performance Merit Award from Lockheed Martin, and was a nominee for the Black Engineer of the Year Award in the Most Promising Engineer category.
A graduate of Lockheed Martin’s prestigious Engineering Leadership Development Program, Henson serves on the board of the Broome County Urban League and is its Program Committee Chair. In this role, he has taken on the challenge of evaluating and defining the organization’s programs to determine effectiveness and value to the community.
His superiors note that he “has set a standard of excellence for himself and other early career professionals” and “continues to push the envelope” and grow as a future leader and a person.

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Jennifer Hunt

Manager – IBM
Jennifer Hunt, a graduate of Penn State’s Schreyer Honors College with a bachelor’s degree in computer science, also holds an MBA from Binghamton University. While at Penn State, she was a four-year member of its Blue Band and founded a local chapter of the Phi Sigma Rho national engineering sorority.
A founding member of the “IBM New Blue” group that helps to acclimate new IBM employees to the company and the Southern Tier, Hunt has been cited for her “dedication, willingness to learn, and ability to master complex technical concepts.” Her expertise has resulted in two patents from her work on projects for IBM, and recognition as the 32nd of the top 50 contributors to IBM’s Linux Kernal worldwide. She is also active in leadership roles for Phi Sigma Rho, and is a founding member of the board of the Phi Sigma Rho Educational Foundation.
Married and mother to an infant daughter, she is active in IBM’s charitable projects including the CHOW Challenge and is active as a musician with her church and other ensembles locally.

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Guru Madhavan

Graduate Research Assistant – Binghamton University
Guru Madhavan, a native of India, is the first person in his family to have pursued higher education studies abroad. He earned his bachelor’s degree in instrumentation and control engineering from the University of Madras, India, and a master’s degree in biomedical engineering from the State University of New York at Stony Brook. He then earned an MBA from Binghamton University.
His research collaborators note his “extraordinary capacity for leadership.” He is called an upstanding citizen of the world who “brings a signature sense of dedication and gentleness to both his work and his social interactions.”
Madhavan conceptualizes health-care problems in an innovative way. His research is expected to have broad clinical and economic implications for illnesses including heart failure, chronic fatigue syndrome, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, osteoporosis and renal failure.
He organizes workshops and symposia for national and international conferences and has been a leader in the development of a book to introduce people to careers in bioengineering and biotechnology. He has also provided post-tsunami relief in India and provides support to an organization working to improve living conditions in rural Peru.

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Nathaalie Maxwell

Director of Budget and Research – Broome County
Nathaalie Maxwell is not only the youngest person to hold the position of director of budget and research for Broome County. She’s also the first woman and the first minority to do so. A native of Guyana, South America, she came to the U.S. at a young age to live with her father. She earned her bachelor’s degree in English and her master’s of public administration degree from Binghamton University.
Maxwell “is the person responsible for planning, creating and executing Broome County’s $328 million budget plan” and she “possesses the rare ability to sharply focus on complex problems and create workable solutions,” according to her nominators.
She currently serves as president of the Apalachin Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, one of the leading minority organizations in the Southern Tier, and she founded the Unexpected Step Team at the Saratoga Boys and Girls Club to promote pride, discipline, dedication and teamwork among underprivileged youth. Maxwell’s community services efforts have also extended to creating and developing and Introduction to the Arts program, aimed at introducing minorities to the renaissance taking place in Binghamton.

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Sean O’Hagen

Graduate Student in Clinical Psychology – Binghamton University
Sean O’Hagen is a graduate of Montclair State University in New Jersey, with dual bachelor’s degrees in psychology and classics, and is currently a graduate student in clinical psychology at Binghamton University, with a current placement providing adult psychological services for the Broome County Mental Health Department.
His internship with the Keeping Youth Drug-Free and Safe (KYDS) Coalition, a community-based drug prevention program, has set a standard for integrating education and community services that is difficult to match. O’Hagen analyzed survey instruments for the coalition that measure substance use as well as risk and protective factors, recommended selection of a new one and coordinated efforts to administer it to over 5,000 local students in 10 area school districts. His KYDS Coalition work continues, now as a volunteer.
O’Hagen “has a penchant for going above and beyond what is expected of him” according to his nominators, and has also encouraged University colleagues to join him in his KYDS Coalition volunteer activities.
O’Hagen has had several research projects accepted for publication and presentations and he is a member of Binghamton University’s Psychological Clinic Emergency Response Team.

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David Radigan

President and General Manager – Radigan Broadcasting
When David Radigan purchased WEBO AM (1330) two years ago, he attained a dream he had since he first fell in love with radio at the age of 14. A graduate of SUNY Geneseo with a bachelor’s degree in communications and media studies, Radigan has become absorbed in making the station a success and in contributing to the community.
Already an active member of Tioga County Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors, Radigan also serves on the Business Advisory Board for Tioga State Bank, is a volunteer with the Owego Fire Department, a member of the Owego Kiwanis Club and a member of the board of directors for the Tioga Area Recovery Project that helps those devastated by disaster.
In addition to “breathing new life” into WEBO, Radigan’s nominators note that his professionalism and personal drive have “created a community voice which is utilized for breaking news, local events and emergency bulletins” that is of tremendous value to the county. During the June 2006 floods, in fact, WEBO broadcasts “helped to keep the community calm and informed.”

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Kevin Stein

Disability Income Specialist – Northwestern Mutual Financial Network
Kevin Stein, a graduate of Binghamton University with a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering, is a leader and mentor in the financial services field and has been twice recognized as the Financial Representative of the Year by his peers in Greater New York. He is characterized as one who sets high standards for himself and others, and helps those around him.
Certified as a Chartered Life Underwriter and a Chartered Financial Consultant, he is College Unit Director for Northwestern Mutual, providing guidance and encouragement to young men and women interested in the financial services field. His efforts have taken Northwestern’s college program to 34th in the country. At the same time, in five short years with Northwestern Mutual, he has already attained million-dollar round table status, a financial services industry association representing the top 6 percent in productivity and ethics.
Called “inspirational and an effective ‘hands-on’ worker” as well as one who leads a very balanced life, Stein is an active member of the Southern Tier Opportunity Coalition, supporting its Venture Capital Day at Binghamton University and its Angel Network.

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Brandon Sunderlin

Marine Corps Veteran/Wal-Mart Associate/Broome Community College Student
Brandon Sunderlin “realizes that excellence is a journey, not a destination” according to him nominators. A veteran of combat during one tour in Afghanistan and two tours in Iraq, Sunderlin has been recognized for heroism with the Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medal with Combat V for valor. As his platoon commander in Iraq notes, Sunderlin’s “leadership ability and overall maturity were unmatched by any other Marine in the platoon and I could always rely on him to exceed my expectations. Brandon never let me or his Marines down.”
Sunderlin received awards for performance under fire and also received a meritorious promotion to corporal. By the time he completed his four years of military service, he had been promoted to the rank of sergeant.
With primary custody of his infant son, Sunderlin balances full-time work at Wal-Mart with his full-time student obligations working toward an associate’s degree in accounting. His professors note that he demonstrates “leadership qualities in and outside of the class by assisting other students with work, leading team activities and interacting with peers, faculty and staff.”

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Lea Webb

Community Organizer - Citizen Action of New York
A Binghamton native, Lea Webb earned her associate’s degree in liberal arts from Broome Community College and her bachelor’s degree in psychobiology from Binghamton University. Her nominators note that she has consistently “demonstrated an enormous sense of commitment to bettering the community within which she lives.”
That commitment is apparent in her career path, which has taken her from working with the Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network to her current position as supervisor of the Neighborhood Assemblies Project and Managed Care Consumer Assistance Program Coordinator for Citizen Action of New York.
Webb’s efforts were instrumental in developing, coordinating and supervising the Neighborhood Assemblies Project, which encourages civic involvement by city residents to help revitalize neighborhoods. “Her work has been nothing short of Herculean,” writes her colleague, who notes the project might not have been realized without Webb’s work.
Webb’s efforts to improve her hometown have also taken her to a new level of participation with her election to Binghamton City Council. “She was ‘grace under fire’; she worked hard, engaged people and won the seat,” making her the youngest person to serve in that capacity.

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Carrie Wenban

Associate Attorney – Levene Gouldin & Thompson, LLP
Called “phenomenal in terms of her rapid development as an attorney” by partners at her firm, Carrie Wenban earned her bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and law from Binghamton University and her juris doctor degree from Syracuse University College of Law.
Wenban, who graduated 10th in her law school class, specializes in real estate transactions and corporate law. Clients have commented on her “excellent work product which is a result of dedication and an unbelievable work ethic.” She has accepted a recent offer to become a partner at Levene Gouldin & Thompson.
Wenban is more than willing to volunteer on projects for her firm or in the community, including for the Broome County and New York Bar Associations, Binghamton University Fund, American Red Cross, American Cancer Society, Southern Tier AIDS Program and Binghamton High School athletics. She promotes her profession by speaking to Binghamton University students interested in attending law school, and she also serves as a guest lecturer on business law principles to students studying to take the Certified Public Accountant exam.

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Kimberly Wiggins

Occupational Therapist – Binghamton School District
Kimberly Wiggins’ work with special education children changes lives. In fact, her work brought her into contact with one developmentally disabled child in foster care who made such an impact on her that she and her husband became foster parents and took him into their home.
In addition to her full-time job with the Binghamton School District, Wiggins works with two other agencies to provide services. One of those is the Family Enrichment Network, where she was responsible for establishing a successful preschool evaluation team. That procedure has stood the test of time, “a hallmark of a leader” according to her supervisor there.
Community involvement is also important to Wiggins, who was elected president of the Junior League of Binghamton after serving in other leadership capacities for the organization. The Junior League is committed to promoting volunteerism, developing the potential of women and improving the community. Wiggins’ efforts have earned her the reputation of having a ’can-do’ attitude and enthusiasm to get things done. She shows exceptional leadership skills, knowledge of her profession and the drive to better herself and her community.

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