Alumni Notes

2016 Journalism

is a Los Angeles-based photographer who has made a name for himself on social media, specializing in portrait and music photography. Soon after graduating from Penn State in 2016, Kevin found himself on tour with hip hop artist Sammy Adams as his official tour photographer. At the end of four years and just over six U.S. tours, McKee decided to chase his dreams by moving to Los Angeles and expanding his career even more.

In just under a year, he grew his brand substantially. Now he focuses on his portrait photography, as well as shooting various bikini and lingerie campaigns around the Los Angeles area with some of the biggest brands to date. His editing style is artistically natural, accenting the natural beauty of both his models and the stunning locations he shoots. With an incredibly diverse portfolio, his work has been featured on various media publications and outlets such as Billboard, Apple Music, AOL Music, People Magazine and more. His work includes brands such as Savage x Fenty, Tinder, Lexus, and Los Sunday’s Tequila.

Website: http://www.kevinandrewmckee.com

Professional Instagram: http://www.instagram.com/McKeeK2

Note Posted: March 3, 2020

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

has joined the WP Intelligence team a senior sales executive, where he’ll oversee revenue for new membership councils and professional subscriptions the Washington Post plans to launch early next year.

Strang brings to us a strong history of building high end membership products at The Wall Street Journal, where he was sales lead for the WSJ Executive Membership products, helping grow the CEO Council and several other councils at WSJ.

WP Intelligence is the name given to the Post's new professional products business, which will have both a membership tier and a professional subscription, built around several topic verticals planned to launch in 2025. Strang will work across the company's Growth and Client Solutions teams and help build his own sales operation to create a revenue pipeline for growing this new suite of products.

A native New Yorker, Strang started his career at the Journal where he worked for the Corporate Communications team for WSJ's parent company, Dow Jones. From there, he joined the Memberships Team where he helped build out WSJ's Executive Membership product, including the creation of The CMO Network and expansion of The CEO Council.

He later moved to WSJ's Live Journalism team where he built out their strategic partnerships and sponsorships. During this time WSJ nearly doubled their sponsorship revenue and regained its foothold internationally as a top brand for business leaders around the world. In 2022, he moved to Google, where he worked as a Strategist for the Google Customer Solutions team. He returned to The Wall Street Journal in July of 2023, where he was C-Suite Sales Lead for The Journal's Executive Memberships

Strang graduated from Penn State and has an M.B.A. from Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business with a concentration in media. He is the chair of The Emerging Leaders Council at Fordham University’s Gabelli School of Business and sits on the Ad/PR Network board of Penn State University’s Bellisario College of Communications.

Note Posted: October 15, 2024

2016 Journalism

, the director of public relations for the Indiana Fever, was named the first-ever winner of the PBWA's Val Ackerman Award, which honors an WNBA media-relations official who best exemplifies the standards of professionalism and excellence.

Stevens is always quick to respond to questions from media members, proactive in finding ways to provide access and collaborate, and friendly and professional at all times with members. As the Fever have continued to improve, Stevens has made it easy to cover their rise.

"I am incredibly honored to receive the inaugural Val Ackerman Award from the Professional Basketball Writers Association," Stevens said. "This recognition is a testament to the collective effort and support from the Indiana Fever staff and players, all of whom I am grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside. Thank you to the PBWA members for the continuous efforts to increase women's basketball coverage and amplify our organization's stories and experiences."

The award was one of three created recently to honor WNBA figures who go above and beyond to work wiht the media who cover the league.

The PBWA, formed in 1973, is composed of more than 200 professional writers and editors who cover the NBA and WNBA on a regular basis for newspapers, online outlets and magazines.

Note Posted: January 23, 2024

2016 Broadcast Journalism

joined Fox News as a general assignment reporter. She previously worked for WFMZ-TV in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and WTAJ-TV in Altoona, Pennsylvania. As an undergraduate, her report about human trafficking earned an award from the College/University Producation Awards, the equivalent of a regional Emmy, from the National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences Mid-Atlantic Chapter. Born and raised in Switzerland, Hogan is multilingual and has lived in Spain, Israel and seven states across the United States.

Note Posted: January 13, 2020

2016 Journalism

earned three Mid-Atlantic Emmy Wards for producer, photographer and video editing work. She works as a digital content associate for WQED Multimedia in Pittsburgh.

Note Posted: October 10, 2019

2016 Journalism

was hired by the Washington Redskins as a social media manager.

Note Posted: May 16, 2019

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

is an account executive at DKC based in the agency's sports group.

Note Posted: October 24, 2018

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

is the program officer at Maccabi USA, a Jewish, non-profit organization whose mission is building Jewish pride through sport.

She is responsible for organizing the USA delegation to the second-largest sporting event in the world, the Maccabiah that takes place in Israel every four years. In the summer of 2022, Maccabi USA brought a delegation of over 1,350 athletes and volunteers to the 21st Maccabiah. Since the fall of 2016, Mackenzie has and currently plays an integral role in organizing the USA delegation to two Maccabiot in 2017 and 2022, Maccabi Youth Games in 2018 in Israel, the European Maccabi Games in Budapest in 2019, two Pan American Maccabi Games (Mexico City 2019 & Buenos Aires 2024), the inaugural Maccabi Winter Games 2023 in Germany and the European Maccabi Youth Games 2024 in London.

Note Posted: August 23, 2023

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

is an account executive with North Hills Magazine in Pittsburgh.

Note Posted: July 19, 2017

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

is the government relations manger for Shield AI.

The defense technology company is building the world's best AI pilot. He works closely with elected officials to deliver next-generation AI and autonomy capabilities to the Department of Defense and our service members.

Prior to joining Shield AI, Nulty served as the top military adviser to U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a senior member of the Senate Defense Appropriations Subcommittee and the former Chairman, now Ranking Member, of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Nulty also served in a similar capacity for U.S. Rep. Glenn "GT" Thompson.

Nulty's experience in both chambers of Congress provides a unique perspective of Capitol Hill and allowed him to usher numerous pieces of legislation through Congress that were signed into law.

He is a graduate of the U.S. Naval War College, was born and raised West Chester, Pa., He resides in Arlington, Va.

Note Posted: October 10, 2022

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

just accepted her first job working as a content strategist for Odyssey Media Group in New York City.

Note Posted: January 24, 2017

2016 Telecommunications

is working as a digital video producer for AccuWeather. He lives in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania.

Note Posted: August 22, 2016

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

is an account director for BerlinRosen.

Since graduating from Penn State, she has worked in public relations roles across industries including media, technology, sports, cities, higher education and real estate. Currently at BerlinRosen, a public relations agency, she works with clients shaping the future of cities and higher education.

Previously, she worked at DKC and Meredith Corporation (for Entertainment Weekly and Food & Wine magazines).

Note Posted: October 10, 2022

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

joined Gatesman+Dave, a Pittsburgh-based independent marketing communications agency, as a media coordinator. She will focus on media buyng and planning support for clients such as UPMC.

Note Posted: June 23, 2016

2016 Film-Video

is the video coordinator, editing and producing video content for Lucky Vitamins in Conshocken, Pa.

Note Posted: June 14, 2016

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

was named Northeast Region Press Secretary for the Democratic National Committee.

Note Posted: December 13, 2021

2016 Advertising/Public Relations

is the strategist for Google.

At Penn State, he held leadership positions on the Penn State Interfraternity Council and was a member of Sigma Chi Fraternity, where he served as their alumni relations chair. He was also involved in Thon, the PRSSA and the LifeLink program.

He started his career at The Wall Street Journal before pivoting to working in Advertising Strategy at Google in 2022. He began his career on the corporate communications team for WSJ's parent company, Dow Jones. From there he joined the memberships team, where he helped expand the Journal's CEO Council membership and helped in the creation of several other memberships ultimately finishing his time at WSJ on the Live Journalism team.

He made the move to Google in February of 2022, where he currently works as a Strategist for the Google Customer Solutions team. He is also pursuing his MBA at Fordham University in New York City.

Note Posted: October 10, 2022

2015 Broadcast Journalism

writes scripts for Fox News affliates across the nation in New York City.

Note Posted: January 15, 2020

2015 Print Journalism

recently accepted a position as a public relations specialist for Penn State IT Communications. As a writer for Penn State IT News, Garman focuses on the many ways information technology benefits the Penn State community. You can read her stories at news.it.psu.edu online.

Note Posted: August 7, 2015

2015 Advertising/Public Relations

accepted a position as a staff associate at McNeely Pigott & Fox Public Relations in Nashville, Tennessee. The company is the largest PR firm in the state and has been recognized as one of the best PR firms to work for by The Homes Report. MP&F currently has more than 75 clients across the United States, including U.S. Job Corps, the Tennessee Titans, BlueCross BlueShield of Tennessee and AT&T, among others.

Note Posted: July 29, 2015

2015 Advertising/Public Relations

recently accepted a position with Philadelphia Magazine ("Philly Mag") as an account coordinator.

Note Posted: June 7, 2016

2015 Broadcast Journalism

launched Persist Strategies, a Pennsylvania communications consulting firm, in 2017. She works with first-time candidates develop successful campaign plans and sharpen their public speaking skills, assists progressive organizations with messaging and digital communications strategy, and offers advice to those thinking of running for office at both the local and state level. Additionally, Richards has relocated from Philadelphia back to her hometown of Wilkes-Barre,where she has become the newest program manager of Dress for Success Luzerne County, a non-profit committed to empowering women to achieve economic independence.

Note Posted: January 18, 2018

2015 Advertising/Public Relations

is an associate account executive at Rubenstein in New York Ciy.

Note Posted: January 10, 2018

2015 Telecommunications

has joined NH Bragg in Bangor, Maine, as a marketing and e-commerce specialist.

Note Posted: August 2, 2017

2015 Advertising/Public Relations

is completeing a post-grad internship with the Major League Baseball Players Association. She writes articles, creates digital content and serves as the host for all live online broadcasts -- including a Facebook Live Q&A with New York Mets right fielder Curtis Granderson (photo).

Note Posted: June 28, 2016

2015 Journalism

is a production assistant for "Andrea Mitchell Reports" on MSNBC. He lives in New York City.

Note Posted: March 2, 2017

2015 Advertising/Public Relations

was among the first to graduate from Carnegie Mellon University with a master's degree Global Communication and Applied Translation, three-semester master's program designed for translation, localization, and global communication.

Slesinski, a Pittsburgh native, started her language journey in fifth grade when she chose to study French. Slesinski continued with the language while sacrificing her lunch period during her senior year of high school to take a German class -— a testament to her admiration for language learning.

At Penn State, Slesinski took courses in both languages, studied abroad and finished her undergraduate degree while living in Germany as an au pair. “Working with a 3-year-old is another great way to learn the language,” Slesinski laughs.

After working at Google as a contractor in Bilingual Product Analysis, Slesinski decided to continue her studies, finding the GCAT program at Carnegie Mellon University during an online search. She hopes to use her master's degree to enter the field of localization or project management.

Note Posted: December 22, 2020

2015 Broadcast Journalism

was promoted to an associate producer I at ESPN, working in the event production group.

She continues to be the lead graphics producer and graphics manager of the 2021 WNBA season.

Note Posted: June 18, 2021

2015 Journalism

accepted the position of Program Manager, Earned Media at TaylorMade Golf Company at their headquarters in Carlsbad, California.

Esse will be joining the TaylorMade media department heading their earned media/media relations efforts. Working with partners such as the PGA Tour, Golf Digest, Golf.com and Barstool Sports, his primary responsibilities will be to manage the external storytelling of TaylorMade’s products and athletes.

Esse joins the industry leading TaylorMade brand to continue to grow its imprint in the digital and social media spaces. He previously worked six years in various production and leadership roles at ESPN.

Note Posted: August 24, 2021

2015 Broadcast Journalism

has joined the national team at Planned Parenthood as the director of federal advocacy communications. She was most recently a strategic communications consultant with BerlinRosen and prior to that served as communications director for Congresswoman Mary Gay Scanlon (PA-05).

Note Posted: May 16, 2022

2015 Journalism

joined The Baltimore Sun as a member of the government and politics team.

A southeastern Pennsylvania native, Janesch joined the team in mid-April. At Penn State, he served as editor-in-chief of The Daily Collegian in the aftermath of the Jerry Sandusky child sex abuse case.

After a summer interning with a series of Pennsylvania Legislative Correspondents’ Association reporters in the state capital, Sam has spent the last seven years covering politics and government for LNP, a newspaper in Lancaster County, and for The Caucus, a watchdog publication in Harrisburg that focuses on accountability and transparency stories within the state Capitol.

His investigative work, both individually and as part of a small team that collaborates with Spotlight PA, received several awards through the Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association and beyond, including a 2021 Freedom of Information Award from Investigative Reporters & Editors for a years-long investigation into state lawmakers’ expenses.

His political experience includes coverage of presidential campaign events, the 2016 Republican and Democratic national conventions, redistricting and Pennsylvania congressional, state, county and municipal races.

Note Posted: August 15, 2022

2015 Broadcast Journalism

is the director of Federal Advocacy Communications for Planned Parenthood Federation of America and the Planned Parenthood Action Fund.

Based in Washington, DC, Richards works to amplify the importance of protecting reproductive health care and rights from the halls of Congress to the campaign trail. She has played an integral role in helping to shape the conversation on reproductive health following the overturning of Roe v. Wade.

Note Posted: December 7, 2023

2015 Telecommunications

is a new business team lead at AssetMark, based in Phoenix, Arizona.

Note Posted: August 18, 2023

2015 Advertising/Public Relations

accepted a position as international communications manager at UPMC.

Note Posted: November 28, 2022

2015 Journalism

writes scripts for Fox News affiliates across the nation in New York City.

Note Posted: June 18, 2020

2014 Advertising/Public Relations

is the head of advertising, marketing and public relations of the Academy of Vocal Arts, which is the world's only tuition-free institution dedicated exclusively to the study of voice, and is also the world's premier institution for training young artists as international opera soloists. She also runs a Philadelphia-based lifestyle blog, "Positive Publicity," and has a series titled "FemFocused."

Note Posted: June 18, 2020

2014 Journalism

was promoted to regional editor for crime and social justice at The News Journal Media Group.

Note Posted: July 14, 2021

2014 Journalism

, who also earned a bachelor's degree in political science and her JD in 2017, joined Wisler Pearlstine LLP as an associate in the firm's education law practice group.

Before joining the firm, her practice focused on defending professionals and businesses in professional liability and employment litigation matters.

Note Posted: September 8, 2021

2014 Advertising/Public Relations

is a coordinator, global marketing solutions for Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. She creates marketing and partnership platforms across Barclays Center, Brooklyn Nets, New York Islanders, Nassau Coliseum and Coney Island properties.

Note Posted: June 14, 2016

2014 Broadcast Journalism

is a general assignment reporter at WXMI-TV (Fox17) in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

Note Posted: June 21, 2016

2014 Journalism

conducts PR and internal communications for a tech consulting company.

His husband works in the marketing department at Johnson & Johnson.

They met at Penn State 10 years ago this October. They We live in Philadelphia and own a beach house at the Jersey shore.

"Our niece is 17 years old and is starting to look for colleges—we took her to main campus because we love it in Happy Valley and without Penn State, we would be where we are today," Herman said.

Note Posted: August 29, 2022

2014 Journalism

joined WFTV in Orlando, Florida, as sports anchor.

He covers UCF, Florida, the Orlando Magic, Orlando City (MLS), the Orlando Pride, Daytona, the PGA Tour and a bit of NFL from time to time in Tampa.

After graduation in 2014, Alex worked as a sports anchor at KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa. He also worked as a sports anchor at WITN-TV in Greenville, N.C, before moving to the Bluegrass State to work as a sports anchor for WKYT-TV in Lexington, Ky., prior to EFTV.

Note Posted: September 19, 2022

2014 Journalism

is a specialty sales representative for Avion Pharmaceuticals Hematinic Division.

Note Posted: February 4, 2017

2014 Advertising/Public Relations

is the marketing manager for league and team partnerships at FanDuel.

She is an experienced sports marketing and partnerships professional currently managing league and team partnerships at FanDuel.

Prior to FanDuel, she worked in marketing and partnerships for multiple NBA teams and started her career on the sports marketing agency side. Previous NBA team career stops include managing digital partnerships for the New York Knicks at MSG, partnership strategy at the Brooklyn Nets and marketing at the Philadelphia 76ers.

She started her career at Octagon, a premier sports marketing agency assisting the BMW and LG electronics accounts.

Note Posted: October 10, 2022

2014 Journalism

known as Alex Walker on TV, joined WFTV-TV in Orlando, Florida, as a sports anchor on Sept. 12, 2022.

The position is his first in a top-20 TV market. He previously worked at WKYT-TV in Lexington, Ky., WITN-TV in Greenville, N.C., and KCAU-TV in Sioux City, Iowa.

Note Posted: September 13, 2022

2014 Broadcast Journalism

is a news production specialist at the Associated Press in Washington D.C. She helps customers across the globe with training and technical support with the newsroom software program ENPS.

Note Posted: January 18, 2019

2014 Advertising/Public Relations

is the head of advertising, marketing and public relations of the Academy of Vocal Arts (AVA), which is the world's only tuition-free institution dedicated exclusively to the study of voice, and is also the world’s premier institution for training young artists as international opera soloists. She also runs a Philadelphia-based lifestyle blog, Positive Publicity, where she highlights anythign and everythign Philadelphia, and has a series called "FemFocused," where she highlights a variety of women (artists, musicians and entrepreneurs).

Note Posted: January 28, 2020