Valpo alumni are doing amazing things across the country and around the world — in their professional and personal lives. They’re leading industries, contributing knowledge, and serving in a multitude of ways. These class notes offer a glimpse into their activities, accomplishments, and milestones. If you have news to share with your fellow Valpo alumni, please share it below.
Published Fall 2019
Tanya Smutka
Tanya Smutka ’99 lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota, and is a biology instructor at Inver Hills Community College, where she also serves as the faculty president and chair of the shared governance committee. She was named 2019 Instructor of the Year by LeadMN, which represents 180,000 two-year college students in Minnesota.
Jessica Myhr Reich
Jessica Myhr ’99 Reich and her husband, Seth, launched The Phoenix Theatre outside of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, this year. Their inaugural show, Shakespeare’s “The Tempest,” opened in July 2019.
Published Winter 2019
Dorothy “Dottie” Parson McDermott
Dorothy “Dottie” Parson ’99 McDermott, J.D., recently joined Jackson Lewis P.C., one of the country’s preeminent workplace law firms, in their Indianapolis office as a principal. Her practice focuses on the representation of employers in workplace law matters, including preventive counseling. Dottie previously served at Ogletree Deakins, where she represented employers in the full spectrum of labor and employment law matters.
Glenn Jaffe
Glenn Jaffe ’99 was recently re-elected as the senior vice president of the North Carolina Chiropractic Association (NCCA). This is Glenn’s fifth year of service on the board, having previously served as vice president, secretary, and treasurer. He will also serve as the legislative chair for the NCCA again in 2018.
Frank Dale
Frank Dale ’99, ’03 MALS publicly launched a sales deal management software company named Costello in Indianapolis in September 2017, developing his career in the entrepreneurial world. A deal management platform that aligns sales representatives, managers, and vice presidents, Costello helps representatives consistently follow sales methodology, gives managers visibility into the quality of each deal, and shows leaders what’s working and what’s not. Prior to Costello, Frank served as the chief executive officer and president of Compendium, an Indianapolis-based content marketing platform that helps organizations capture and create original content in a branded hub for distribution to marketing channels. He speaks regularly about leadership, digital marketing,
and entrepreneurship.
Jennifer Baker-Trinity
Jennifer Baker-Trinity ’99 recently accepted a position as program director for Resource Development, a joint position with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and Augsburg Fortress, a division of 1517 Media. In this role, Jennifer works to develop worship resources for the church and teaches about worship and worship-related resources in the ELCA. She currently serves as interim director of the Institute of Liturgical Studies at Valparaiso University with co-director Brian Johnson, assistant vice president for mission and ministry. Jennifer and her spouse, Nathan Baker-Trinity ’00, currently live in the Twin Cities with their three elementary-age children. Nathan, an ELCA Pastor, serves as a chaplain in a memory-care facility.