Alumni Updates
University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy alumni are leading dynamic lives, gaining recognition, getting new jobs, or investing in their personal lives through family, friends, and hobbies. Stay in touch with your fellow UW–Madison School of Pharmacy alumni across the country by checking (and sharing) Class Notes in each DiscoveRx digital magazine issue.
- See our previous edition of Class Notes from the Winter 2022 issue.
- Submit your class note for the Fall 2023 issue.
New Jobs/Positions
Tyler Jessel (BS ’17) graduated from the Florida Gulf Coast University Physician Assistant program in December 2021 and started his career as a physician assistant in inpatient cardiology at the Oklahoma City VA Medical Center in 2022.
Katie Swanson (PharmD ’13) is the new lead pharmacist at the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Ashland, Wis.
Travis Suss (PharmD ’12) is the medical outcomes and analytics director with Pfizer Medical Affairs, focused on helping health systems improve quality of care and population health in prioritized therapeutic areas.
Monica Bogenschutz (PharmD ’08) has been appointed to the Board of Pharmacy Specialties – Pediatric Pharmacy Specialty Council for the 2023-2025 term.
Kate Hartkopf (PharmD ’08) is joining the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin as the director of Team-Based Care Strategies and Business Development.
Kari Trapskin (BS ’99, PharmD ’00) has been promoted to senior vice president of Practice Transformation at the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin.
Paul Winger (BS ’90) has purchased the Medicine Shoppe Pharmacy in Ashland, Wis., from Joseph Stock (BS ’84).
Thomas McCourt (BS ’80) has been appointed to the Board of Directors for Pliant Therapeutics, a clinical stage biotechnology company focused on discovering therapeutics for fibrosis.
Accomplishments and Awards
Amy Kennedy (PharmD ’08) has been selected as the Badger of the Year for the southern Arizona chapter of the Wisconsin Alumni Association.
Heidi Mansour (BS ’96, PhD ’03) has been elected to the 2023 Class of Senior Members in the National Academy of Inventors.
Thomas Thielke (BS ’67, MS ’69) was honored with an Honorary Membership Board of Directors Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.
Personal Updates and Check-Ins
Mark Putzi (PharmD ’10) has retired from pharmacy and is attempting a return to the construction field as a manager.
Neil Noesen (BS ’98): “Who was the cardiology professor who wanted to be a DEA agent? Once, he provided us with some much-needed entertainment by telling us this in class and hiding behind parts of the lecture hall acting as if he was ready to make a drug bust on some criminals. He was one of our best professors in my opinion.”
Cyrelle Gerson (BS ’75): “To my pharmacy school classmates, I hope that you are alive and well. It seems impossible to imagine that it’s almost 50 years since we graduated. Three mentors from Madison greatly affected my career after pharmacy school: Dr. David Perlman, for whom I worked for three years while in school; Dr. Melvin Weinswig, who helped me realize a love for producing continuing education programs; and my pharmacy preceptor Robert Schwartz (BS ’54), who set an example as an excellent pharmacist and human being. I spent four years working at the American Pharmaceutical Association and 25 years at the American Chemical Society in Washington, D.C. before retiring in 2005. It was a satisfying career working with top professionals to provide continuing education first to pharmacists and then to chemists and chemical engineers. Since retiring I have enjoyed seeing my only son grow up and become a husband and father to two adorable grandchildren and in addition doing lots of volunteer work.”
Edward Kostlevy (BS ’72): “I was in the Nov 11, 2022, Dateline NBC program The Trouble at Dill Creek Farm, which featured the sad story of Ken Juedes (BS ’71) who was my friend since 1974 and business partner in a fraudulent business in my opinion. Be careful who you bring into your life.”
Nancy Kildsig (BS ’58): “A long career retiring at age 73, the last 25 years spent as a consultant pharmacist to long-term care facilities. My husband, Dane (BS ’57, PhD ’65), is deceased. He was on the faculty at the Purdue College of Pharmacy.”
In Memoriam
Professor Emeritus Dexter Northrop passed away in February 2023. Born in Minnesota, Northrop earned his bachelor’s degree in chemistry from St. Olaf College and his PhD in biochemistry from Case Western Reserve University, before completing a two-year postdoctoral research fellowship with the American Cancer Society. He joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Pharmacy in 1971 and spent decades inspiring students about biochemistry and enzyme kinetics. Outside of the School, he and his wife, Lynn Van Campen (MS ’79, PhD ’81), shared a love of music and family.
Robert Kubiak (BS ’54) passed away in March 2023. A native of Pulaski, Wis., he served as a co-pilot on a B-24 bomber during World War II, completing 19 missions. After later graduating from the School, he spent more than three decades at Mercy Hospital, and he served a term as president of the Wisconsin Society of Hospital Pharmacists. In his free time, he enjoyed flying, woodworking, and traveling.