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Alumnae News: Fall 2024

3/24/2025

Fall Semester 2024 of The Word Magazine

We love learning what our talented and inspiring alumnae are up to. Enjoy these updates from our latest issue of The Word Magazine.

First in the tank on the season 16 premiere of the entrepreneurial TV show Shark Tank was Megan Klein, DSHA ’97 (pictured bottom right). Klein pitched her company Little Saints, which sells sugar-free, low-calorie, alcohol-free mocktails and spirits. On the show, Klein aimed to get support to grow her direct-to-consumer sales while highlighting her business’s rapid growth, hitting $5 million in sales since October 2023. While Klein didn’t receive a formal deal from the Sharks, she did secure a fundraising round at a valuation of $20 million shortly after, doubling what was offered on the show.

In September, DSHA 2021 Young Alumna of the Year Arike Ogunbowale, DSHA ’15, (pictured bottom left) became the fastest WNBA player to reach 4,000 career points. In November, she returned to Milwaukee as the keynote speaker for a workshop with PEARLS for Teen Girls, a nonprofit organization with the mission of improving quality of life and strengthening the community one girl at a time. The workshop for high school girls focused on setting goals and achieving dreams with the four-time WNBA All-Star.

Christina Green Pelino, DSHA ’09, (pictured top left) opened her third restaurant, Café Pelino, in Columbus, Ohio earlier this summer. Her first two Italian restaurants, Pelino’s Pasta and Piazza Pelino, have won numerous awards and are wildly popular in the area. Pelino is the owner and pastry chef of Pelino’s Pasta. Her desserts have been featured as some of the best in Columbus. Her newest restaurant offers popular breakfast items and pastries.

Emily Verabrook-Tutkowski, DSHA ’99; Pam Simon, DSHA ’99; and Laura Gagas Temke, DSHA ’99, (pictured top right) took first place in the 2024 Saint Jude the Apostle Golf Outing at Western Lakes Golf Club. Simon had the longest putt of the day, and Verabrook-Tutkowski had the longest drive for women. The trio have stayed in touch and remained friends since their time as Dashers.

DSHA’s 2022 Young Alumna of the Year Lissa deGuzman, DSHA ’12, (fourth from right) is the current standby for Elphaba for Wicked on Broadway and was invited to a special screening of the movie Wicked for the original and current Broadway casts of the musical, along with the movie’s stars Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo. Additionally, deGuzman sang the national anthem before game four of the MLB National League Division Series between the Philadelphia Phillies and the New York Mets in October.

On April 23, 2023, Sofia Hernandez, DSHA ’20, lost her father, Todd A. Hernandez. Her father’s passion for global communication, literature, and languages was reflected in his career as a Spanish and applied linguistics professor at Marquette University. Currently, Hernandez is completing her undergraduate degree in communication, Spanish, and marketing in hopes of pursuing a master’s degree in business at MU. To honor her father’s legacy, along with her family and her father’s colleagues, she helped create the Todd A. Hernandez Memorial Scholarship at MU, given biannually to Spanish major/minor students at MU.

In the fall, Bridget Ackley, DSHA ’07, received the 2024 South Florida PGA Player Development Award. Ackley acts as the Dedicated PGA Lead Coach/Junior Golf Coach at the Park. The award recognizes PGA Professionals for their extraordinary and exemplary contributions to player development. The award honored Ackley’s passion for growing the game of golf and creating inclusive, impactful programs for players of all abilities.

Following a rigorous and competitive audition process, Abby Quesnell, DSHA ’24, joined the University of Wisconsin Marching Band. While an accomplished percussionist in high school, Quesnell earned a spot playing bass drum in the band’s drumline, despite having never participated in a marching band before—a highly unusual and remarkable accomplishment.

This fall, Rhodes Scholar Claire Halloran, PhD, DSHA ’16, wrote and defended a PhD thesis at the University of Oxford in England that centered on climate change, entitled “Spatial planning of a bulk power system with high residential heat pump adoption.” Halloran recently relocated to Denver after joining the Capacity Expansion Team in the Grid Planning and Analysis Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and will be researching and studying the long-term future of the U.S. electricity system.

Assistant DSHA Varsity Volleyball Coach Caitlyn Coffey, DSHA ’14, was named one of the BizTimes Milwaukee Notable Women in Sports in August. Coffey, the athletic success coordinator at Bryant & Stratton College in Milwaukee, has been serving student-athletes for six years. She earned her bachelor’s degree in public relations and advertising from DePaul University while playing Division 1 volleyball. Since starting as assistant varsity coach for DSHA in 2023, she has helped the team secure WIAA D-1 State Championships in 2023 and 2024. She previously served as the DSHA JV Volleyball Coach from 2020-2022.

Recently Sonia Spitz, DSHA ’20, joined the BizTimes Milwaukee team as a general assignment reporter. Spitz is a recent graduate of UW-Milwaukee with a degree in journalism, advertising, and media studies. She recently worked with CNN during the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee and the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.

Jennifer Ament Moeller, DSHA ’87, was sworn in as Door County’s first female circuit judge this fall. She took her historic oath of office in front of friends and family at the Door County Justice Center in Sturgeon Bay. She previously served as the Door County Family Court Commissioner for 12 years after working as an attorney at several law firms. Moeller obtained her JD from Marquette University Law School. In her new role, she will handle every type of case in state court including criminal, juvenile, family, probate, civil, and municipal.

Megan Waldoch, DSHA ’13, was named to the Medical Laboratory Observer’s 55 Under 55 list. The recognition honors professionals working in the laboratory industry who are making a significant contribution to their organization’s success. Waldoch is the DL Hematology Supervisor for the Versiti Blood Center of Wisconsin. In November, she visited DSHA for the quarterly Cookie & Career event where she spoke with students about her education, and career path, and held a Q&A.

In October, Terrie Baier Hanrahan, DS ’63, was inducted into the Intermountain Professional Ski Instructors of America Hall of Fame. The award recognizes passion for the sport as well as superb teaching, coaching, and mentoring. Throughout her career, Hanrahan achieved the highest level in alpine skiing and teaching—PSIA III. She and her husband moved to Utah in 1995, where she became the Children’s Ski Supervisor at Snowbasin Resort. She has been there for over 20 years and received the Ski Instructor of the Year from her peers in her first year of employment. Additionally, she is a respected volunteer and coach for the Ogden Valley Adaptive Ski Foundation.

KDV Label, LLC welcomed Hannah Bruckman, DSHA ’20, as the new Marketing Specialist. Previously serving as the Social Media Intern for Insight Investment Advisers, Bruckman managed digital campaigns, produced video content, led strategic brand initiatives, and more. Her time as a Live Production Assistant at Notre Dame Studios allowed her to master visual storytelling, with her work featured on ESPN’s SportsCenter Top 10. Bruckman earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies with a minor in public relations and advertising from Saint Mary’s College, Notre Dame.

In the next few months, Catherine Pfannerstill Nolan, DS ’57, will welcome two new great-grandchildren,

for a total of eight, in addition to her 12 grandchildren. Nolan’s Dasher family includes her late mother Dorothy Backes Pfannerstill, HA ’35†, her daughters Mary Caye Nolan Smith, DSHA ’81, and Dr. Michelle Nolan-Olmsted, DSHA ’80, as well as her granddaughters Laura Smith, DSHA ’04, and Margaret Smith Mahler, DSHA ’06. While her family is growing, she continues to cantor, singing with the Milwaukee Choristers as well as teaching a music class for seniors.

Read the full issue of the Fall Semester 2024 Word Magazine here.

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- Read about the accomplishments of Christina Green Pelino, DSHA ’09 (top left); Emily Verabrook-Tutkowski, DSHA ’99; Pam Simon, DSHA ’99; and Laura Gagas Temke, DSHA ’99 (top right); Arike Ogunbowale, DSHA ’15 (bottom left); Megan Klein, DSHA ’97 (bottom right), and more!