FAUAA Honors 2017 Outstanding Young Owl Award Recipients
Photo 1: From left to right, Corey A. Hancock; Charlene N. Bobb-Smith; Karrie C. Prehm; Jessica Dornblaser; FAU President John Kelly; Thomas Zeichman, treasurer of the FAU Alumni Association Board of Directors; Ryan D. Wheeler; Chandana Buddhala; Daphne C. Hanson; and Caitlin Saladrigas.
The Florida Atlantic University Alumni Association recently hosted its fourth annual Outstanding Young Owls (OYOs) Ceremony & Reception to honor exceptional young alumni at the Broward Center for the Performing Arts in Fort Lauderdale.
The OYOs recognize remarkable alumni under the age of 40 from eight of FAU’s colleges for their personal and professional accomplishments. These individuals serve as exemplary representatives of the academic and personal development ideals of FAU.
“We are tremendously proud of our Outstanding Young Owl recipients,” said Meghan DeFord, assistant vice president of alumni and community affairs. “They are truly the personification of unbridled ambition, making significant impact in their professions and communities, and inspiring students and alumni alike.”
The OYOs’ recipients for 2017 are as follows:
- Corey A. Hancock, B.A. ’02, M.A. ’05, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters – Hancock iscurrently the director of the program office at the United States Agency for International Development in Côte d’Ivoire. Before his career as a diplomat in the foreign service, Hancock worked with multiple non-governmental organizations in both domestic and international contexts.
- Karrie C. Prehm, B.S. ’02, M.B.A. ’11, College of Business – Prehm is the founder and chief executive officer of Global Regulation Advisers Corp, an asset management compliance consulting firm based in South Florida. She has devoted two decades of her career to serving as a trusted adviser to senior executives in the financial service industry worldwide.
- Jessica Dornblaser, B.A.R.C. ’14, College for Design and Social Inquiry – Dornblaster holds more than 15 years of experience in the fields of architecture and design. She is currently the owner of The Everglades Architecture Group in Boynton Beach.
- Charlene N. Bobb-Smith, M.E.D. ’12, College of Education – Bobb-Smith is the manager of talent development and employee engagement for the Worldwide Services Organization at Citrix in Fort Lauderdale. She leads a global team of learning professionals and employee engagement enthusiasts in designing, delivering and consulting on employee learning, professional development and career programs to more than 2,500 employees in Asia, North and South America, and Europe.
- Ryan D. Wheeler, B.S.C.V. ’06, College of Engineering and Computer Science – Wheeler is a project manager with Caulfield & Wheeler, Inc. He is a licensed professional engineer with the State of Florida and is a certified LEED® accredited professional with the United States Green Building Council.
- Caitlin Saladrigas, B.A. ’08, Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College – Saladrigas is currently an associate at Akerman, LLP in West Palm Beach. Her practice concentrates on investigating and litigating healthcare fraud claims in state and federal courts.
- Daphne C. Hanson, R.N., NE-BC, L.H.R.M., M.S.N. ’13, D.N.P. ’15, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing – Hanson is a board-certified nurse executive and a licensed health risk manager. She is the director of quality and risk management at Kindred Hospital of the Palm Beaches in South Florida.
- Chandana Buddhala, Ph.D. ’12, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science – Buddhala is currently a senior scientist with the Department of Neurosurgery at Washington University in Saint Louis. Buddhala has successfully led several projects, including investigating pathophysiology of Parkinson’s disease using human post-mortem brain tissue and cerebrospinal fluids.
-FAU-