Class Notes

Jim Esterby ’96 earned his masters in software engineering at Penn State in December 2023.

Robert Sidkey ’96 joined the Chicago office of Cunningham, Meyer & Vedrine P.C. as a partner. He focuses his practice on professional liability, health care, and civil defense.

Julie Tiede ’96 Winkler was named among Crain’s 2019 Notable Women in Finance. As chief commercial officer at CME Group, Julie leads sales, product marketing, research and product development, data analytics, and digitization functions. Julie was instrumental in developing CME Group’s Bitcoin futures contract, which launched in December 2017. She has also worked with her global team on a new client acquisition drive.

Travis Alber ’96 has been promoted to SVP, user experience at Saatchi Wellness, an advertising agency in New York City that focuses on health and wellness products. She lives in Manhattan with her husband, Aaron, and four-year-old son, Emerson.

Doug Samuels ’96 was promoted by Lake City Bank to direct its corporate and institutional services department. Doug, who is vice president, manages sales, and coaches sales staff for Treasury Management Services, Merchant/Cardholder Services, and Retirement Services. He is also the commercial depository product manager and a treasury management sales officer. He has been with the bank since 2006, and he has worked in the financial services industry for 23 years.

Heidi Diefenthaler ’96, ’03 MALS Bernardi, a teacher for nine years, has been recognized as one of the Porter County Teachers of Excellence in October 2014.