Alumni Notes

1989 Print Journalism

is president and chief storyteller at Kerry Ford Communications. Founded in Pittsburgh in 2017, the PR and social media firm specializes in large retail brands, family marketing clients and customized crisis counseling. The agency provides expertise in brand identity, campaign development, social media, CSR, media relations, crisis management,internal communications and special events planning.

Kerry Ford Communications has also secured thousands of local, regional, national and international media placements. Key clients include McDonald’s Restaurants, Disney On Ice, Monster Jam Motor Sports, Universal Studios Live, Jurassic Park Live, Ronald McDonald House Charities, GoodTaste! Pittsburgh, Urban Land Institute, and Dick’s Sporting Goods Pittsburgh Marathon. Ford is the eight-time recipient of McDonald’s Corporation’s highest award for public relatins achievement and six-time winner of Renaissance Awards from the Public Relations Society of America. She is a board member of The Daily Collegian’s Alumni Interest Group and the Outdoor Classroom. Kerry also chairs the PR committees for Ronald McDonald House Charities and St. Louise de Marillac School. Ford and her husband Ed Tomkowitz are parents to 8-year-old Kathleen and 19-year-old Greydon, a junior majoring in advertising/public relations in the Bellisario College.

Note Posted: March 9, 2020

1989 Broadcast Journalism

will mark her third anniversary as weekend host on SiriusXM Classic Vinyl in February 2020. Boyd's classic rock show broadcasts live across North America on SiriusXM Radio, Channel 26, and around the world on the SiriusXM App. SiriusXM has more than 33 million subscribers. Boyd broadcasts live each weekend from the studio is the heart of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Fans are invited to stop by the Rock Hall and watch her in action Saturdays and Sundays from 12-6 p.m. She can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @KatBoydRocks.

Note Posted: January 15, 2020

1989 Journalism

is public information officer for Mt. Lebanon Municipality and editor in chief of Mt. Lebanon Magazine. Her career has included writing positions at the Centre Daily Times and the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, in addition to radio work at CBS Radio in Pittsburgh.

Note Posted: April 17, 2019

1989 Journalism

senior vice president of Vanguard Communications in Washington, D.C., has been named a PR News 2019 Top Woman in PR for her "far-reaching impact on the field of strategic communications and public relations." Foster was honored for her 30-year career helping nationally prominent nonprofits and government agencies, such as Farm Aid and the American Psychological Association, achieve their social change goals.

Note Posted: April 8, 2019

1989 Advertising/Public Relations

is now the vice president of customer & technician experience at Comcast and recently completed the Betsy Magness Leadership Institue program as part of the BMLI Class 32 along with fellow Penn State alum Lauren Monks of NBCUniversal.

Note Posted: June 23, 2016

1989 Advertising/Public Relations

was named associate dean, graduate liberal studies, at Georgetown University. He also earned his Ph.D. in workforce education from Penn State in 2013. He previously worked as director of executive and professioanl education at George Washington University, and in the College of the Liberal Arts at Penn State.

Note Posted: July 28, 2015

1989 Journalism

recently was an elected as an alderman in the City of Middletown's (N.Y.) second ward. Kevin works as the commmunity liaison, managing website content and handing public relations, for the Middletown school district. Prior to joining the district in 2010, Kevin spent 21 years as a sports writer with the Middletown (N.Y.) Times Herald-Record. There, he won won multiple Associated Press New York state sports writing awards, and was a three-time finalist in annual national AP writing awards contests.

Note Posted: July 27, 2014

1989 Journalism

marked her third anniversary as weekend host on SiriusXM Classic Vinyl in February 2020. Boyd's classic rock show broadcasts live across North America on SiriusXM Radio, Channel 26, and around the world on the SiriusXM App. SiriusXM has more than 33 million subscribers. Boyd broadcasts live each weekend from the studio is the heart of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Fans are invited to stop by the Rock Hall and watch her in action Saturdays and Sundays from 12-6 p.m. She can also be followed on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram at @KatBoydRocks.

Note Posted: June 18, 2020

1989 Journalism

won first place, 2022 Professional Keystone Media Award for Business or Consumer Story, for “Trapping and Rapping: Wildlife control expert starts podcast to help local businesses,” an article in the May 6, 2021 edition of the Centre County Gazette.

Note Posted: August 26, 2022

1989 Advertising/Public Relations

is a partner/creative director at 31,000 FT, a full-service creative advertising agency in Dallas, Texas.

Note Posted: September 4, 2023

1988 Journalism

published another book. She has eight books published and two short story collections.

Note Posted: August 4, 2014

1988 Film-Video

was elected 2013-14 president of the Associated Press Television and Radio Association (APTRA), representing 13 western states. He served as vice president of the APTRA Board of Directors the last two years and as Nevada Radio representative on the board for the past four years.

Note Posted: August 1, 2013

1988 Broadcast/Cable

works as a nationwide anchor for USA News (USAMediaGroup.com).

He writes and anchors news updates ad the top and bottom of the hour for affiliates across the country, and can be heard from 4 to 8 p.m. ET Monday to Wednesday and again from 1 to 3 p.m. ET Saturday and Sunday.

USA News is based in Dallas. Shaffer works from a studio in Las Vegas.

Note Posted: January 13, 2023

1987 Broadcast Journalism

married Peter Gregory on July 12, 2014. They live in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

Note Posted: August 11, 2014

1987 Telecommunications

has been named CBS News’ west coast bureau chief, where he will oversee the organization’s newsgathering in the western region for all broadcasts and platforms. Lima, who most recently served as the vice president of news for Univision/Fusion, brings extensive experience in executive management, team building and innovation to this new role.

Lima joins CBS News from Univision/Fusion, where since 2013 he served as Vice President of News, overseeing news coverage and impact programming in English for Univision/Fusion. While at Univision/Fusion, he also served as the executive producer of the Edward R. Murrow Award-winning weekly Facebook Watch program “Real America with Jorge Ramos.” He also created a variety of programs and documentaries targeted toward millennial audiences.

In a career that spans two decades, Lima has been honored with some of the top awards in broadcast journalism including the Peabody Award and multiple Emmys. During his career, he has led coverage on some of the biggest stories of this era and has created and produced programs for broadcast television and multimedia digital platforms.

Note Posted: August 6, 2020

1987 Telecommunications

was part of the team at Fusion TV network and the "Real America" news program that won the 2020 Edward P. Murrow Award for Breaking News coverage. Lima was VP News at Fusion. Lima is now West Coast Bureau Chief for CBS News.

Note Posted: October 13, 2020