Ace Watanasuparp ’98 is “breaking the mold” to become New York mortgage maestro.  A vice president at Citizens Bank, he has been vocal about educating the younger generation on programs for first-time home buyers and plans to educatate them on pursuing the “American Dream”.  In addition to Citizens Bank, he is also a co-owner of 39 restaurants in New York City, became president of Douglas Elliman’s DE Capital Mortgage when he was 31, and was the first Asian-American walk-on basketball player at UConn in 2000!

Eric T. Mullai ’93 MBA was promoted from Master Sergeant to Lieutenant and will now serve at Troop I in Bethany as commanding Officer.  Lt. Mullai has served for 21 years with the state police and in addition to his Bachelor’s Degree and his MBA, he holds an MA in national security and strategic studies from the U.S. Naval War College.  He retires in August 2018 at the rank of Colonel in the Army Reserve where he served 32 years.

Dianna Goode ’03 MBA has been appointed Executive Director of The Connecticut Council on Problem Gambling (CCPG).  Ms. Goode brings 25 years of leadership and passion in the non-profit section to this important work.  Previously, she held executive-level positions with Foodshare, Gifts of Love, and Operation Fuel.  Her commitment to her community is demonstrated by her service as a board member for the Community Farm of Simsbury, Gackstatter Family Foundation, Avon Land Trust, and Farmington River Watershed.

Davon Roberts ’06 credits his engagement in the Friday Night Youth Program at Bible Baptist Church of Hasbrouck Heights with steering him towards college.  He is working on developing an evening program to keep youth safe in Paterson, New Jersey.  Mr. Roberts received his Bachelor of Science degree in Finance from UConn, his MBA from University of Hartford and is on his third year in earning a law degree from Rutgers University.  He currently works as a risk manager for Japanese multinational Ricoh USA.

Gregory D. Smith, ’03, ’09 JD has been named Chief Operating Officer of Cutler Capital Management LLC, an investment management firm.  Mr. Smith previously served as Director for Alternative Investments at Barings LLC, an investment management firm owned by Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Co., where he focused on product development and portfolio management.

Brigadier General Francis J. Evon, Jr. ’89 has been appointed to serve as Adjutant General of the Connecticut National Guard.  General Evon possesses more than 30 years of military service and leadership experience.

Thomas O. Barnes, ’78 MBA has been awarded the Hartford Business Journal’s Lifetime Achievement Award.  Tom Barnes, chairman of the Barnes Group, represents the fifth generation of his family to have been actively employed by the Bristol-based manufacturer founded by his great, great grandfather. In addition, Mr. Barnes chairs the company’s charitable foundation, and he’s active in many other community organizations.

Matthew R. Bradford, ’16, ’17 MS employed with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, has been named one of the 2017 Sells Award winners.  The American Institute of CPAS bestowed the 2017 Elijah Watt Sells Award upon 58 CPA candidates who obtained a cumulative average score above 95.5 across all four sections of the CPA Examination and passed all four sections of the Examination on their first attempt.

Alan R. Schumann Jr. ’89 MBA has been promoted to Senior Vice President-Operations at the Hartford Federal Credit Union.  Mr. Schumann has over 30 years of credit union and banking experience.  His responsibilities include oversight of lending, regulatory compliance, branch operations, and human resources.

James M. King, ’01, ’08 MBA  has been promoted to President of Eljen Corporation.  After serving two tours in Iraq, Army veteran James King got his MBA at UConn and then joined East Hartford-based wastewater management firm Eljen Corporation.  His first major initiative as Eljen’s top executive includes expanding the company’s footprint to the West Coast.  Eljen’s workers are his most prized commodities, King said. The staff of about 50 consists mostly of U.S. military veterans and refugees of conflicts in countries, including Bosnia and Myanmar.