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The College of Liberal Arts Alumnus of the Year went from being uncertain about the future of his education to being one of the top residential real estate agents in the Las Vegas Valley.
Heidi Almase, ’92 BA Psychology, ’96 MA Psychology, ’01 JD, was elected to Las Vegas Municipal Court in 2011 and is serving a six-year term. In 2013, she was nominated to serve a two-year term on the Nevada Judicial Council. In February, she was named an alternate judicial member to the Commission on Judicial Discipline. She is married to attorney Caesar Almase. They have three children.
Diane Hornsby Ferraro
Diane Hornsby Ferraro, ’90 BA English, is chief marketing officer for Solana Marketing and currently is providing marketing consulting services at Chapel of the Flowers on the Strip and at Tropicana LV Weddings at the Tropicana. More than 20 years of marketing experience in a variety of industries, including fine jewelry, luxury goods, mobile phones, earphones, educational products, and non-profit organizations, inspired her to start her own agency. Specializing in advising start-up businesses, family-run companies, and entrepreneurs with aggressive growth and expansion plans, she helps other companies with digital and traditional marketing and advertising, social media, and public relations. She lives in Denver.
Beth Daniels
Beth Daniels, ’90 BA History, earned a master’s degree in English composition from Wright State University. She now is retired from teaching English composition at two community colleges, but continues her career as a novelist. Her most recently published book is SUPERSTAR. She has published 29 books under various names. She is in the process of moving away from romance and into fantasy and mystery. She for many years served as around-the-clock caregiver for her parents. Now that both her parents have died, she has moved from her Ohio hometown and is settling into her new home in Louisville, Kentucky.
Shannon Hume Shogren
Shannon Hume Shogren, ’87 BA History, is homeschooling her youngest child and working from home for an online event ticket company. After receiving her law degree from California’s McGeorge School of Law in 1990, she passed the Nevada Bar exam and spent eight years working for the state of Nevada as an unemployment appeals referee. She also worked in human resources for a nursing home. Her hobbies include serving as musical director for the local community theater company and sometimes appearing on stage in small character roles. Her son, Carnell Johnson, ’06 Bachelor of Music, is a gondolier at the Venetian. She and her husband have a combined family of four children. They live in Cambridge, Minnesota.
Lisa Ransom
Lisa Ransom, ’86 BA English, has worked primarily in the field of telephone customer service. Her hobbies include travel, animal rescue, wildlife conservation, veterans’ issues, retiree issues, sewing, knitting, and crafts.
Denise Miller Cipolla
Denise Miller Cipolla, ’80 BS Education, ’80 BA English, ’90 Master of Education, is coordinator of guidance and counseling for Conroe Independent School District in Texas. She previously spent four years as a high school English teacher and 25 years as a high school counselor. Her hobbies include traveling (38 countries so far), scuba diving, cooking, and spending time with grandchildren. She and her husband, Craig Cipolla, ’81 BA Chemistry, ’81 BS Engineering, celebrate their 35th anniversary in November. They live in The Woodlands, Texas.
Nancy Forni Flagg
Nancy Forni Flagg, ’79 BA Education, ’92 MA English, recently edited a financial planning book written by Ron Vejrostek. Her company, Finishing Touches Project Management, provides writing, editing, and proofreading services for a variety of local and national clients.
Richard Wilson
Richard Wilson, ’75 BA Anthropology, ’79 MA Anthropology, worked 31 years as a quality assurance specialist in ammo surveillance for the U.S. Army as a civilian. He lived in several countries including Korea, Panama, Kuwait, and Afghanistan, and traveled on business to many more. He says his anthropology background served him well in dealing with personnel in foreign countries. He was baptized and joined the Pilgrim Home Baptist Church at the age of 61. Woodworking in a field called intarsia is his hobby. He and his wife of 18 years operate a small tree farm in Wicksburg, Alabama. They enjoy traveling around the country, sometimes with grandchildren. The couple lives in Newton.
David Johnson
David Johnson, ’75 BA Political Science, has joined the Las Vegas law office of Duane Morris as a partner in its trial and gaming law practice groups. He retired as executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary of Global Cash Access. He previously had served as general counsel for International Game Technology, Anchor Gaming, and Bally Technologies. He has more than 30 years of experience in corporate law, regulatory law, and civil litigation with a focus on the gaming and financial services industries. He earned his law degree from Creighton University.
Jack Werner
Jack Werner, ’72 BA Political Science, left the federal government as the director of the energy office and became the executive director of the Institute for Sustainable Power, which develops and administers international energy training standards, and also became an assessor for the American National Standards Institute. He also is an expert advisor to the International Renewable Energy Agency in developing an international/regional renewable energy/energy efficiency standards/certification program for 15 West African countries. Additionally, he serves as a senior fellow of the Climate Institute, which is involved in climate change policy, and a senior associate of the Stella Group, a strategic marketing and policy firm. He lives in Washington, D.C.