Norwich University | Alumni & Family

GIVE NOW

Alumni in the News

At Norwich, you developed leadership traits — discipline, integrity, confidence, loyalty, and honor — for you to excel in any profession.

Read below, and follow the external news source links, for stories of Norwich alumni demonstrating leadership and WickGrit in their work or service lives.

Alumni Spotlight

Anela Arcari '91Anela Arcari '91

Anela Arcari is the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers North Atlantic Division chief of staff. “Starting out as a second lieutenant to where I am now, I’m thrilled and honored, and I definitely have enjoyed it; I look forward (to) seeing where this takes me.”

She knew exactly what she wanted to be by age 13. Growing up, Arcari was a military brat. By the age of 12, she had lived more than half of her life outside of the United States, having the opportunity to live in Germany and travel to major European cities, doing things other kids her age had “never seen, never heard, never done.”

“I was coming into a small community where the kids had all been together since they were in kindergarten,” Arcari said. “I very much felt like an outsider at that point, and I realized that I saw the Army as a family, an extension of my family. It was when I was in eighth grade when I made the decision ‘I think I want to serve in the military. I want to go in the Army.’”

See more of this "Women of the NAD" feature from the nad.usace.army.mil site. 


read past alumni news


Madyson Moore '15Madyson Moore '15
May 18, 2023
Congratulations to Madyson Moore on being named the new Head Women's Hockey Coach at the University of Dubuque. See more (links to university website).


Anthony Facos '95 & M13. Photo courtesy Jeb Wallace-Brodeur, Seven Days (VT)Anthony Facos '95 & M'13 
May 18, 2023
Former longtime Montpelier (VT) Police Chief Anthony Facos is taking a new job with the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Burlington. Facos, who has been the Director of Enforcement and Safety with the Department of Motor Vehicles for almost three years, will serve as the liaison to federal, state and local law enforcement agencies for the prosecutor’s office. See more (links to news article).


Rear Adm. John Gumbleton ’89Rear Adm. John Gumbleton '89
May 4, 2023
President Biden nominated Norwich alum Rear Adm. John Gumbleton '89 for vice admiral and deputy commander of the United States Fleet Forces (USFF). See the full article (links to Norwich news site).


Walter “Wally” Pardo '91
May 3, 2023
Avantax®, a leader in tax-focused financial planning, welcomes Walter “Wally” Pardo, CWS®️, PPC™ and his New Jersey-based Wealth Financial Partners LLC team. Pardo is looking to Avantax for new growth opportunities, including the ability to expand services and investment expertise with the support of Avantax’s Home Office specialists, as part of Pardo’s commitment to the marriage of tax and financial planning. See more (links to Avantax website).


Joanna Owen Schmergel '99Joanna Owen Schmergel '99
April 10, 2023
Joanna's Boston Bridges Initiative works to connect city kids and suburban kids through art. See more (links to news video).


Michael Agnes '20Michael Agnes '20
April 3, 2023
Petty Officer 3rd Class Michael Agnes, a native of Jefferson Township, supports versatile missions while serving at Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron (HSC) 2. Agnes joined the Navy two years ago and today, he serves as an aviation rescue swimmer. See more (links to news article).


Brent White '05 (l.) and the Matthew Rodman family (r.)Brent White '05 & M'07
and Matt Rodman '05
March 27, 2023
Brent (left in photo) on his journey to the Boston Marathon: "I learned from social media that Matt Rodman '05 has a son who is an open-heart patient at Boston Children's Hospital. In September 2022 I reached out to Matthew and his family (all at right in photo) to see if they would support my application to run the 2023 Boston Marathon with their son, Nathaniel as my patient partner. I am pleased to pass along that I was accepted to the BCH 2023 Miles for Miracles Boston Marathon team."
See the full article (links to Norwich news site).
Link to donate to Miles for Miracles.
See a prior story of Nathaniel  Rodman's police escort to a Spring '21 surgery.


Jason Everman M'17Jason Everman M'17
March 6, 2023
Jason, a former band member of Nirvana, Soundgarden and Mind Funk, later became a US Army Ranger and Green Beret. Inspired by a Navy SEAL friend, Everman abandon his musical career and entered the Army in 1994 at the age of 27. See more on warhistoryonline.com.


Ron Gray '74 (l.) Tom Donnelly '84 (r.)Ron Gray '74 and Tom Donnelly '84
February 20, 2023
Ron Gray and Tom Donnelly joined forces in Saint Cloud, FL to battle our nation's veterans' addiction and homelessness issues. The Transition House, Inc.’s Veterans Program is designed to engage homeless veterans and guide them toward independence through employment and permanent housing. See  www.thetransitionhouse.org/veterans-program.


Shane Morgan '94BG Shane Morgan '94
February 17, 2023
Last month, the Eliot, ME native and decorated veteran rose to the rank of one-star brigadier general, the fourth-highest level among Army officers. A celebration was held Jan. 27 at the U.S. Army Field Artillery School in Fort Sill, OK, where Morgan resides with his family and is the 56th commandant of the school. See Facebook post.


Pete Bue '11 (left)LCDR Peter J. Bue '11
February 17, 2023
Congratulations to Pete, who recently took command of USS PATRIOT (MCM 7) homeported in Sasebo, Japan.
See Facebook post and see more about Pete.


Kevin Cardinal '12Kevin Cardinal '12
February 13, 2023
Atlanta-based Blue River Development LLC hired registered landscape architect Kevin Cardinal as director of land development. At Blue River, he will work on design, engineering and land development, including securing land-disturbance permits and managing projects from conception to the final plat and turnover to builder. See more (links to industry article).


Jason Vitug M'07 Jason Vitug M'07
February 11, 2023
MBA alumnus and “Happy Money Happy Life” author Jason Vitug discusses effective budgeting in the Money Talks News podcast. Learn the tricks and tools of budgeting: See the full article and access the podcast.


Col. Shane P. MorganCol. Shane P. Morgan '94
January 27, 2023
Commandant of the Field Artillery, Col. Shane P. Morgan, was promoted to brigadier general during a ceremony at Fort Sill, OK. Surrounded by both his immediate and Army families, Morgan took the field to officially don the rank of brigadier general. See the full article (links to news site).


Warren J. Curd '67Warren J. Curd '67
January 25, 2023
Warren was honored at the Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, VA (also on Facebook) for completing 11,000 hours of volunteer service. An active docent since 2011, Warren generally talks with guests and leads tours three times every week. Warren also received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award after completing 4,000 hours of volunteer service.


Andrew Liptak ’07 & M’09Andrew Liptak '07 & M'09
January 20, 2023
mychamplainvalley.com's “This Place in History” segment recently interviewed Andrew about his latest VT Historical Society ‘Connections’ newsletter piece on the clothespin industry. “(There was a) very long history of clothespin manufacturing ...in Vermont.” See the video and article on mychamplainvalley.com.


Michelle LeBlanc ‘92Michelle LeBlanc '92
January 9, 2023
After building her unique service dog training program over the past eight years, Michelle LeBlanc wants to take Vermont Paws & Boots “to the next level”—that means securing a larger facility that will allow more room for the veterans and first responders she matches with dogs in her comprehensive training course. See the full article (links to news site).


William McIntosh IV '95William McIntosh IV '95
January 3, 2023

Has William McIntosh IV ’95 cracked the secret to living an extraordinary life? In his quest to serve others, the former pro hockey player has skated from California to Florida, helped train Navy SEAL candidates, and joined the search for missing persons. See the article "The Believer" in the Winter 2023 Norwich Record.


Tori Charron '14Tori Charron '14
January 3, 2023

After a pro season in Toronto, the 2014 grad signed on as GM for New Jersey’s Metropolitan Riveters. See "Tori Charron’s Rapid Rise in Professional Hockey" in the Winter 2023 Norwich Record.


Jeff Wichman '09 Jeff Wichman '09
January 2, 2023
Jeff shares "5 Things You Need To Know To Successfully Manage a Team." Jeff is an experienced Incident Response Practice leader with a demonstrated history of working in the computer and network security industry currently working at Semperis. See the full article (links to Medium.com).


Philip Susmann '81Philip Susmann '81
December 21, 2022
We are proud to announce that Phil Susmann, President of Norwich University Applied Research Institutes (NUARI), was recently appointed by Vermont Governor Phil Scott to the State’s new Artificial Intelligence Advisory Council. See the full article on NUARI site.


John DiFederico '92John DiFederico '92
December 19, 2022
Town officials promoted Deputy Chief John DiFederico (left) as chief of police in New Canaan. The promotion, which follows the retirement of Police Chief Leon Krolikowski, took effect Dec. 31 and comes with standard three-month probationary periods, according to Commission Chair Paul Foley. See the full article (links to news site).


Greg Gaines M'98Greg Gaines M'98
December 18, 2022

Greg Gaines has been promoted to Chief Operating Officer at E-Complish. A senior executive with 20 years of experience, Gaines, has excelled in leading organizations and teams to deliver excellence to clients while promoting sustainable growth.
See the full article (links to news site).


Ryan Kelly '11Ryan Kelly '11
December 13, 2022
Ryan has been promoted to deputy athletic director with Long Island University Athletics. Kelly originally joined the department a year ago as assistant athletic director for sport administration. "I want to thank Ryan for his leadership, helping our department with the recruitment of exceptional student-athletes, sport supervision, helping us improve our general operations," director of athletics Dr. William E. Martinov Jr. said. See the full article (links to LIU Athletics website).


Dennis Smith '90Dennis Smith '90
December 2, 2022
Smith—after an impressive three decades as a coach in Middlebury, VT's MUHS football program, and head coach since 2008—is stepping aside. Smith's final season coaching the Tigers, his alma mater, was a successful one, leading Middlebury to the Division I state championship game as the tournament's No. 3 seed. See the full article (links to news site).


John “Fin” Eifert M'18
November 17, 2022
Eifert, a Norwich leadership alumnus, was named District Ranger for Los Padres National Forest, Monterey Ranger District. Los Padres is California’s second-largest national forest and one of the most heavily visited national forests in the nation. See the full article (links to USDA/Forest Service site).


Tony DiSotto M'11Tony DiSotto M'11
November 10, 2022
MBA alum, Tony DiSotto, has been appointed market president at KeyBank, overseeing and coordinating the banks go-to market strategy across its various lines of business and serve as the face and voice of Key in Maine. See the full article (links to news site).