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 Fall 2022 issue.
- Submit your class note for the Spring 2023 issue.
New Jobs/Positions
Angie Ngo (PharmD ’20) started a new position as an Emergency Medicine – Critical Care Clinical Specialist at Seattle Children’s Hospital.
Kasey Arnhoelter (PharmD ’13) took on a new role as director of pharmacy for Wisconsin’s Aurora Medical Center Sheboygan County and oversees pharmacies at Aurora Medical Center – Manitowoc County in Two Rivers and Aurora Health Center – Sheboygan on Union Avenue.
Elliott Sogol (BS ’78, MS ’81, PhD ’84) has been appointed to the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education’s Continuing Professional Education Commission Board for a three-year term.
Marianne Ivey (BS ’67) has been elected vice president of the International Pharmaceutical Federation.
Accomplishments and Awards
Paria Sanaty Zadeh (PharmD ’17) was selected as the 2022 recipient of the Minnesota Pharmacists Association’s Excellence in Innovation Award. Sponsored by Upsher Smith, the honor recognizes excellence in innovative pharmacy practice resulting in improved patient care.
Ling Hao (PhD ’17) earned the 2022 Rising Star award from the Human Proteome Organization.
Moath Sarsour (PharmD ’16) opened a second location of his Long Life Pharmacy in Milwaukee, Wis.
Tristan O’Driscoll (BS ’07, PharmD ’13) earned the designation Board Certified Infectious Diseases Pharmacist (BCIDP).
Stuart Burke (PharmD ’12) is part of a team that earned the 2022 Innovation in Pharmacy Practice Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Foundation. The team won the award for a publication outlining the implementation of telehealth antimicrobial stewardship through partnership of an academic medical center and a community hospital.
Dan Fleischman (PharmD ’10) is part of a team that earned the 2022 Innovation in Pharmacy Practice Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Foundation. The team won the award for a publication outlining the implementation of telehealth antimicrobial stewardship through partnership of an academic medical center and a community hospital.
Kajua Lor (PharmD ’09) is selected as the 2022 Pharmacist of the Year by the Pharmacist Moms Group, the organizing body behind Women Pharmacist Day.
Lucas Schulz (PharmD ’08) is part of a team that earned the 2022 Innovation in Pharmacy Practice Award from the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Foundation. The team won the award for a publication outlining the implementation of a telehealth antimicrobial stewardship program through the partnership of an academic medical center and a community hospital.
Jeanine Abrons (MS ’08) received the 2022 Humanitarian Award from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy.
George MacKinnon III (BS ’88, MS ’90) was honored with the 2022 Winston J. Durant Lecture Award by the UW Health Pharmacy Department.
Vicki O’Connor (BS ’87) has been named the 2022 Best Pharmacist for Savings by SingleCare.
Robert Buerki (BS ’63, MS ’67) published a new chapter in a book: “Prescription for Death: The 1925 Ohio State Poisoning Case,” History of Pharmacy and Pharmaceuticals 64:1 (2022), pp. 89-103.
Personal Updates and Check-Ins
Stephanie Bishop (PharmD ’19): “We got married in June 2022! I am grateful for the friendships we created while in pharmacy school that have lasted years beyond the classroom.”
Kinsey Clark (PharmD ’19) got married in July 2022.
Abigail Sharpe (PharmD ’19) got married in August 2021.
Jocelyn Kerl (PharmD ’12): “I got married in Lake Geneva, Wis., this past July to my summer camp sweetheart Paul Graening. Kayla McGowan (PharmD 12′) was also in our bridal party.”
Patti Thornewell (PharmD ’10): “On October 18, after a three-year journey, my wife, Elizabeth, and I welcomed our son, Emmett Joseph, to our family. We’re absolutely smitten.”
Pam Benzschawel (BS ’83): “I retired from a great career in retail pharmacy in 2018. Life took me to Tucson, Ariz., for 25 years, and then I lived in my own cute little house in Combined Locks in the Appleton, Wis., area for almost five years. It was a great time to sell a house, so I did that and don’t miss the upkeep. I’m happy with apartment life and enjoy area classes and events and the company of my dog.”
Eldon Karwand (BS ’82): “After 40 some years in the pharmacy game I’ve decided to hang up my spatula and smell the roses for a bit. They say it takes a village to raise a child. It certainly takes a village of mentors and colleagues to raise a pharmacist. I want to thank all of you for all the support (and occasional butt kicking) you’ve given me over my journey. It’s been much appreciated.”
Nancy Losinski Haggar (BS ’81): “My husband Curtis and I have a pharmacy museum in Ouray, Colo. We have an extensive historic collection of pharmacy and medical items dating back as far as 200 BC, but most items are from the 1800s, including many pieces from our local area in the San Juan mountains. Dr. Sonnedecker would be proud! I took all of his history of pharmacy classes while working toward my bachelor of science degree at the University of Wisconsin School of Pharmacy.”
Marvin Knoeck Jr. (BS ’74): “I semi-retired at the end of July 2020 after 35 years as a pharmacist with the University of Rochester Medical Center in Rochester, N.Y. The last 22 years were spent working in oncology at the university’s affiliated Wilmot Cancer Institute. I have been working one to two days per week in the cancer center since then. My wife and I moved into a newly built house at the end of December 2021. Enjoying the retirement time off biking the many trails in upstate New York, especially the Erie Canal Trail. Also spending a lot of time on the new house and developing the new yard and gardens.”
Jay Bubrick (BS ’71): “I just started my eleventh year volunteering at Hunger Task Force. I just ended eight years of volunteering at their farm.”
Jack Hunter (MS ’63): “My wife and I are living in an assisted living home in San Ramon, Calif. I retired as a pharmacy manager for Rite Aid in 2004 with 50 years in the Seattle area. One of the fun parts of my job was that I was the team pharmacist for eight years for the Seattle Seahawks of the National Football League. One our daughters received her PhD. from UW and is a practicing psychologist and lives on a ranch in Fitchburg, Wis., with her husband. I still follow the Badgers and Boilermakers, where I got my two degrees. I wish all my graduate student friends who are still on this side of the sod well.”
Sally Harford Rudolph (BS ’61): “Lee and I moved into a retirement community very near our previous residence in May 2022. Scaling down was a huge effort but we are happy we made the change. Life is good!”
In Memoriam
Thomas Schuknecht (BS ’79) passed away in November 2022. He was a pharmacist with Walgreens for nearly four decades, as well as an avid fisherman and outdoorsman. He frequently volunteered with Meals on Wheels, the Society of St. Vincent de Paul, and in nature preservation efforts.
James Fenno (BS ’66) passed away in November 2022. He spent more than 30 years as director of pharmacy at St. Joseph’s Hospital in Chippewa Falls, Wis., where he also served as the public health officer and on the Chippewa County Public Health Board for many years. He was also active with the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), American Institute of the History of Pharmacy, and with the Wisconsin Pharmacists Association (now the Pharmacy Society of Wisconsin), where he previously served as both president and chairman. After his retirement, he found fun in part-time work at Leinenkugel’s Leinie Lodge.
Marion Malnory (BS ’49) passed away in November 2022. After graduating from the School, she returned to her hometown of Waupun to work with her family at Damsteegt Drug Store, as well as at Central State Hospital. In 1964, she and her husband, Robert (BS ’54), opened Malnory Pharmacy where she worked until she retired in 1983. She loved golf, puzzles, needlepoint, playing cards, and traveling.