The Rivalry landed at #41 on The New York Times list of the best college football rivalries this year. Sadly, the newspaper got one key detail wrong — mistakenly identifying it as Lafayette-Lehigh rather than Lehigh-Lafayette.
Fortunately, other lists this year got things right, recognizing Lehigh alumni for their leadership, discoveries, and accomplishments. Read about a few of these amazing people.
Leadership
Amazon Senior VP Beth Galetti ’93 was listed on Fortune's 2025 Most Powerful Women list.
The WNBA, led by Cathy Engelbert ’86 ’23P, ranked No. 4 on Fast Company’s list of "The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.”
Nuuly, the rental clothes company, under Richard A. Hayne ’69, president and CEO of Urban Outfitters, was No. 38 on Fast Company’s list of "The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.”
Alloy Development, co-founded by Jared Della Valle ’93, ranked No. 44 on Fast Company’s list of "The World’s 50 Most Innovative Companies of 2025.”
Dina DiLorenzo ’93, president of asset manager Guggenheim Investments, was named to Barron’s 100 Most Influential Women in Finance list.
Ann Tracy ’85 ’86 ’90G ’91G, chief sustainability officer of Colgate-Palmolive, landed at No. 7 on Sustainability Magazine’s “Top 250 Women for 2025” list.
Rick Slayton ’90G, managing partner and CEO of Slayton Search Partners, earned the Lifetime Achievement Award at the Association of Executive Search and Leadership Consultants Global Summit on Leadership.
Corning Inc., under CEO Wendell P. Weeks ’81, was listed on Forbes’ America’s Best Large Employer Icons and named by Fortune as one of America’s Most Innovative Companies for 2025.
Digital Realty board member Kevin Kennedy ’77 and Moody’s Chairman Vincent Forlenza ’75 were ranked on The Wall Street Journal's 250 Most Influential and Effective Corporate Directors list.
High-performance computing trailblazer David Bader ’04 ’06G was selected as a member of HPCwire’s 35 Legends: Class of 2025.
Martin D. Baron ’76 MBA’76 H’14 was named a recipient of a 2025 International Press Institute-International Media Support World Press Freedom Hero award.
Philanthropist Karen Schaufeld ’83 P’14 P’17 made Washingtonian's list of Most Powerful Women in Washington 2025.
Tajinder Vohra MS’90, senior vice president of global operations at Revvity, earned the Life Sciences Voice’s 2025 Rising Stars Award.
Fran Rosch ’86, CEO of Imprivata, landed on Comparably's Best CEOs 2025 list.
Trane Technologies, under CEO David Regnery ’91, has been named to Forbes’ America’s Best Employers for Women 2025 and One of the World's Best Employers, TIME’s World’s Best Companies, Fortune’s Best Workplaces in Manufacturing and Production, and Glassdoor’s Best-Led Companies 2025. Regnery was also named to Barron’s Top CEOs of 2025 list.
Bruce Haines ’67, managing partner of Hotel Bethlehem, saw the historic hotel earn the No. 1 rating in USA Today’s 10 Best Historic Hotels for the fifth consecutive year. Tho hotel’s George Gray mural collection was recognized by Historic Hotels of America as one of the most magnificent hotel art collections in the United States.
Keysight Technologies, where Ronald Nersesian ’82 serves as executive chairman, was named one of Time’s World’s Most Sustainable Companies of 2025 and received Frost & Sullivan's 2025 Global Company of the Year Award in the 6G test and measurement industry.
Kate E. Johnson ’89, president and CEO of Lumen Technologies, was included in Forbes' 50 Over 50: Innovation list.
A VFW Post in Albion, New York, was named in honor of Carl Strickland ’41, who was killed in a naval battle in 1942.
Frank Douglas ’66 was included in The History Makers for his contributions to medicine and science.
Frank Ingrassia ’75, CEO of Clever Devices, was in City & State New York's 2025 Trailblazers in Transportation.
Kirkland & Ellis Chair Jon Ballis ’91 was included in the Financial Times' list of “Innovative Lawyers: 20 Years” retrospective.
Academics
Edward Brandt Ph.D.’XX, principal of Hunterdon Central Regional High School, was chosen as a 2025 New Jersey Exemplary Educator.
Daniel Siegwart ’03, professor in the departments of biomedical engineering and biochemistry at UT Southwestern Medical Center, was named a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors in recognition of his more than 300 patents.
Paul Corkum ’67G ’72G, professor of physics at the University of Ottawa, earned the American Physical Society's 2025 APS Medal for exceptional achievement in research.
Urinrin Otite ’25G made history as the first graduate of Lehigh’s Master of Science in Catastrophe Modeling and Resilience program.
Daniel Burkey ’98, associate at the University of Connecticut’s College of Engineering, was named Outstanding Higher Education Professional by the UConn Neag School of Education’s Alumni Board.
Gene Mitchell Gray Sr. ’57G, the first Black student to attend the University of Tennessee, was honored in a retrospective highlighting his harrowing journey and lasting legacy.
Miriam Schimmoller ’87G was one of two educators named The Washington Post’s 2025 Teacher of the Year.
Rachael Roettenbacher ’10, assistant research scientist at the University of Michigan, and her mentor from Ohio Wesleyan University received a NASA grant to conduct a study of starspots.
Entrepreneurs
Olivia Abrams ’21 was named to Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list for Social Impact for her work with her company, Tick Mitt, which produces a tick-removal product included in Time’s The Best Inventions of 2025
Dori Jones ’07, co-founder and CEO of AcQumen Medical and a winner of StartUp Lehigh Valley project-pitch competition, went on to earn the $50,000 grand prize at MN Cup as well as a Top Innovator Award for the best seed-track presentation at the New York Venture Summit.
Daniel McKorley ’02 was honored as Most Influential Entrepreneur of All Time at the 15th anniversary awards ceremony of the Entrepreneurs Foundation of Ghana.
Athletics
Hannah Edwards ’20 had her jersey retired by Catasauqua High School, recognizing her as one of the most decorated softball players in Pennsylvania’s history.
Deb Carr M.Ed.’79 Ed.D.’89 was inducted into the Hazleton Area Sports Hall of Fame for her advocacy for women in sports.
Darryl Burley ’83 ’85G was inducted into the National Wrestling Hall of Fame.
CJ McCollum '13 was named one of three finalists for the Muhammad Ali Sports Humanitarian Award.
Sports Business Journal recognized Penske Entertainment, led by Roger Penske '59, as one of the Best Places to Work in Sports for 2025. Penske also received the Centennial Award by the Automotive News Group.
The Kansas City Royals acquired pitcher Mason Black ’21 from the San Francisco Giants.
Josh Snyder ’02, head football coach at Northwestern Lehigh High School, made history as the team won its first PIAA championship in 2024 and advanced to the 2025 state finals.
Tyler Young ’24, utility player, signed with the Washington Wild Things minor league baseball team.
Pitcher Matt Svanson ’21 began his first Major League Baseball spring training camp with the St. Louis Cardinals.
Mike Sisselberger ’23, a standout lacrosse player at Lehigh, signed a one-year contract with the Rochester Knighthawks of the National Lacrosse League.
Sherie Androlewicz Mischler ’90, the first female athlete at Lehigh to have her number retired, was enshrined in the South Jersey Basketball Hall of Fame.
Courtney Molinaro McGeehan ’09 ’11G will be inducted into the Lehigh Valley-Pocono Sports Hall of Fame.
In his first year as head coach, Avon Mack ’05 led the Emmaus girls basketball team to its first league title in 18 years.
Wrestler Darian Cruz ’18 was inducted into the District 11 Hall of Fame.
Matt Ciasulli ’07 was named to the Pennsylvania Wrestling Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.
Defensive backs coach Quentin Jones ’18 was named a 2025 Bill Walsh NFL Diversity Coaching Fellow by the San Francisco 49ers.
Who’s Who
Kareem Kombarji ’13, a partner in Salesforce’s professional services strategic banking consulting practice since 2024, was selected for inclusion in Marquis Who's Who.
Sanford “Sandy” Kaplan MS’76 earned the Albert Nelson Marquis Lifetime Achievement Award.
John V. Veech ’80, CEO of Sustainability Partners, was recognized by Marquis Who’s Who for his expertise in infrastructure solutions.
Mohammed Maltumbi Umar ’07G was honored by Marquis Who’s Who for his extensive engineering and regulatory expertise.
Lisette Torres-Gerald ’03, a senior researcher at TERC, was recognized by Marquis Who’s Who for excellence in STEM education and advocacy.
