Abdullah Aldayel ('16) was recently was appointed as the Director of the Writing Center at the Royal Commission of Yanbu Colleges and Institutes. He is also working as an English lecturer/instructor at YELI - Yanbu English Language Institute. He teaches courses for the foundation year program along with technical writing courses for the Associate’s and Bachelor’s programs.

Leslie Briggs ('19) is currently employed by ICAT Logistics in Baltimore, Maryland.

Michael Brooks ('10) has published three books of humorous flash fiction stories, part of the Conversations with Pop series. He is also the author of the science fiction Destined trilogy reviewed in  Scribble's Worth Book Reviews.

Anthony Calabro (’12) was recently named Associate Editor at Clinical Orthopaedics, a peer-reviewed journal based in Philadelphia. He is also a contributor to Hoop76, a Philadelphia 76ers website affiliated with ESPN.

Joanne Christopher ('14) is a content specialist for the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), a nonprofit whose mission is to develop clinical and laboratory practices and promote their use worldwide. She began her employment with CLSI as assistant editor in 2013 and was promoted to editor in 2014. She has been a Board-Certified Editor in the Life Science (ELS) since 2015 and is a member of the American Medical Writers Association.

Dann Coble ('09) is working as an Assistant Professor of English at Corning Community College in upstate New York (Corning, NY). He just recently assembled and edited an open-resources textbook in use by his department that is available to students free of charge.

Vanessa Constantinidis ('16) was recently hired to teach Academic Writing at Hellenic College in Brookline, MA.

Don Corcoran ('15) is co-founder and Creative Director of Merokian Author Marketing, which provides a variety of individualized marketing services to make authors' books stand out for targeted readers. The company was started in March 2016. Additionally, Don recently began teaching at Philadelphia University.

Suzanne Cotter ('12)  has a new job as Marketing Specialist for The Think Company, an experience design consultancy.

Emily Czerniakoski (’08) served as a National News Correspondent in Washington D.C. following her M.A. in Writing Studies. She is now the co-founder of her own media company for kids, CaRu Entertainment.  She also maintains Modern Mommie – a lifestyle blog geared toward non-traditional families.

Joshua Dale ('21) does well with cats, plants, and coffee. A native Pennsylvanian, he’s an alumnus of Temple University & Saint Joseph’s University. He is the author of a poetry collection, Duality Lies Beneath (Thirty West Publishing, 2016), and the novella, The Light to Never Be Snuffed (Alien Buddha Press, 2022). His work has appeared in Breadcrumbs, Autofocus, Drunk Monkeys, Maudlin House, Micro podcast, and as a winner in the 2021 Loud Coffee Press Micro-Fiction Contest. Find him on his site: www.joshdale.com.

Cara Donaldson ('10) is the Senior Managing Editor for the New York arm of The Quarto Group, the dynamic, international book publishing team behind the adored Little People, Big Dreams series, the powerhouse Beautiful Boards, and the #1 New York Times Bestseller This Book Is Anti-Racist.

Jonathan Dorfman ('14) is currently in his third year of SJU’s IDEPEL doctorate program, starting work on what will later become his dissertation. It will be a research synthesis to create a new conceptual framework to reconcile opposing ideologies across the autism spectrum. He expects to graduate May 2023.

David Ellis ('13) works at Dotdash editing articles for various online information sites, including The Spruce, The Balance and Trip Savvy. He is also an adjunct instructor at Workforce Institute's City College of Philadelphia.

Germain Fountain ('07) is currently working on a low budget documentary film called Racing Shadows, which profiles addicts in the early stages of recovery.

Caitlin Gutekunst ('17) recently became Senior Product Marketing Manager, Mobile Fintech at Intuit on their QuickBooks product line, where she develops innovative solutions to help small businesses manage their business money more confidently. She also consults for startups to help with growth and communications strategies. She lives in San Francisco, CA, with her fiancé.

Kate Harron ('18) is the Marketing Director at CMC Energy Services, a company that works with utilities and state programs to help make businesses and residents more energy efficient.

Elyse Hauser ('16) is currently a nonfiction MFA student at the University of New Orleans Creative Writing Workshop. Her accolades include a Writing Between the Vines residency, and being a finalist in Creative Nonfiction's "Learning from Nature" contest. Writer's Digest magazine awarded her 9th place in the Print or Online Article category in 2020, and Honorable Mention in the Genre Short Story category in 2021.

Clare Herlihy Dych (’09) is the Director of Advancement at St. Peter's School in Society Hill. She does all of their non-events-based fundraising. This includes proposal writing, donor communications, alumni relations, and more.

David Jackson ('15) published his debut novel, State of the Nation, in April 2018. It is a provocative work of fiction centered around the lives of three boys of color during a time in American History of extreme police violence against Black youth. It was recently listed as a Lambda Literary award finalist. You can check out more of his work here. He also works for the Montgomery County Office of Behavioral Health as a Performance Management Coordinator. He has an MFA from Temple University.

Krisann Janowitz, ‘16 In November 2017, she celebrated the launch of her Moonstone Poetry chapbook, Home(less). The poems are paired with beautiful photos done by the great Harvey Finkle, who has been taking pictures of social justice movements in Philadelphia since the 70's. She was hired by Drexel University recently as a copywriter in their Marketing Department. Her latest achievement is writing the script for this video.

Kate Podlesney Kleinbaum ('06) is a Technical Product Manager for a Fintech company based in San Francisco called SS&C Advent. Kate made these comments about the Writing Studies program: "A Master's in Writing Studies might not be a readily apparent asset, yet every day I'm thankful for it! My role necessitates oodles and oodles of clear technical documentation. Thank you so much for the wonderful preparation!"

Kim Krol (’12) is the editor-in-chief of Global Traveler magazine, a print publication written for frequent, luxury business and leisure travelers, as well as its online counterpart, globaltravelerusa.com. She also serves as editor-in-chief of the company's two web publications, trazeetravel.com, written for travelers 18-35, and whereverfamily.com, the trusted travel source for the modern family.

Liz Kukielka ('13) is a medical writer on the Clinical Communications team at MJH Associates, a healthcare communications company in New Jersey. Between her undergrad degree and her Writing Studies degree, she received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Temple University. She previously worked as a community pharmacist and pharmacy manager at Walgreens.

Nadia Lambert ('12) works as a proposal writer for a managed care organization on state Medicaid contracts.

Scott Lasley ('18) spends his time consulting as a content strategist and proofreader for several small non-profit organizations in the Greater Philadelphia area. Along with consulting, he dedicates most of his time to working as the Education & Marketing Content Writer and 9-12th grade English Instructor for a vocational high school in North Philadelphia. When the school day ends, he is also a Professional Tutor for Writing at Thomas Jefferson University in East Falls. The variety of classes and instructors in the Writing Studies program helped him develop a keen eye for detail. It also elevated the interdisciplinary writing skills needed to succeed in his current field.

Ryan Latini ('15) recently got a job teaching High School English in Camden, New Jersey. He also continues to be published in a variety of places.

Randy Lobasso (’07) is on the masthead at Philadelphia Weekly as a staff writer. You can follow his articles on PhillyNow.

Danielle Bullen Love (’06) works in employee communications and freelance writes, mainly in the healthcare and wellness space.

Donna Kennedy Maccherone ('07) has been teaching writing for 40 years. Her work has been published in The Philadelphia Inquirer, Tiferet Journal, Collateral, ParentCo, Kaatskill Life, Paterson Literary Review, East By Northeast Literary Magazine, BrainChild, The Weight of Motherhood, a Moonstone Arts anthology, and Persimmon Tree. Her most recent poem “Madwoman in the Office” can be found here.

Theodora Malison ('17) was recently promoted to Managing Editor of Suburban Life and Philadelphia Life Magazines.

Bernadette McBride (’06) has published four full-length poetry collections, her most recent, Everything Counts (Aldrich Press 2019). She’s an English faculty member at Bucks County Community College, poetry editor for the Schuylkill Valley Journal, and a creative writing editor for private clients. Her poems have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, including in the UK, Canada, and on PRI's The Writer's Almanac. She is a founding member of the poetry improv troupe, No River Twice and a Pennsylvania Poet Laureate for Bucks County. Her new manuscript, in progress, is focused on spiritual themes. She welcomes your visit at: www.bernadettemcbridepoetry.com.

Veda McLean ('08) is an adjunct professor at Ashland University. She teaches writing in the Online Correctional Educourse program.

Marisa McClellan (’06) is the author of four cookbooks. They are Food in Jars, Preserving by the Pint, Naturally Sweet Food in Jars, and The Food in Jars Kitchen. She continues to write her Food in Jars blog (founded in early 2009) and make a podcast devoted to home cooking called Local Mouthful. Marisa gave birth to twin boys in the summer of 2019 and now divides her time between work and caring for them.

John McManus ('15) is currently residing in Williamsburg, Va. where he is a historic interpreter in Colonial Williamsburg. He is also an election official in James City County. He recently applied as a Phillies inside sales rep (fingers crossed).

Tasha Mercer ('16) has started a blog for new mothers addressing the everyday issues they face. She also started a new job in August 2016 as a Grant Writer and Events Coordinator.

Zchagiel Monroe ('12) is an Assistant District Attorney in the Post Conviction Relief Unit at the Philadelphia District Attorney's office.

Camille Moore (’14) works as a content specialist at a search engine optimization company called HOTH. She manages a team of freelance writers, editors, and topic creators.

Lana Morelli (’12) was recently selected and interviewed in April of this year to be a 2024 Honoree of Who's Who in America, for her dedication to writing. Read the press release here.

Colleen (Mullarkey) Donnelly (’12) was a digital content producer at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and is now the Associate Director of University Publications at Villanova.

Jackai Musonge (’07) returned to Cameroon after completing his Writing Studies M.A. and began work for a telecommunications regulatory agency. He was recently appointed Bureau Chief. His manuscript "International Student Part One: Journey to America," was recently accepted by a publishing company in South Africa.

Mary Beth Peabody ('15)  joined the Diocese of Camden as communications and marketing manager for Catholic schools in March 2016. In this capacity, Peabody is responsible for developing and implementing communication and marketing strategies to support the ministry of Catholic education.

Elishia Peterson ('13) has a new book of poetry out! Blacklisted is her second poetry collection. Get it here.

Don Philbrick (aka Sawney Hatton) ('15) is working as a Marketing Communications Manager for Carroll Community College in Westminster, MD. Don says "it's a great position, one where I get to write, edit, and even produce videos. And I wouldn't have gotten it without my Master's degree from SJU!" Under his pen name Sawney Hatton, he has written the dark comedy novel DEAD SIZE, the noir novella UGLYVILLE (which was his Master's thesis at SJU), and the dark fiction short story collection EVERYONE IS A MOON (containing three stories workshopped at SJU), as well as appearing in the noir novella anthology MURDER IN MONTAGUE FALLS and editing the sci-fi/horror anthology WHAT HAS TWO HEADS, TEN EYES, AND TERRIFYING TABLE MANNERS?. He is currently working on writing his next novel.

Kevin Pitts ('20) works in digital marketing as a Keyword Strategist for Adworthy in Bucks County, where he uses his Writing Studies skills to identify the most effective words for client web copy.

Justin Rademaekers (’09) went on to complete a PhD in Rhetoric and Composition at Purdue University. He was recently invited to join the faculty at West Chester University as Assistant Professor of English.

A.J. Rebuck ('18) works as a freelance content writer/editor/developer for various organizations. She was recently published in PGA magazine, and continues to write creatively while caring for her two young children.

Dan Rousseau ('16) Since graduating from the program in 2016, Dan has completed an MFA in nonfiction at the Vermont College of Fine Arts and is currently teaching at the University of the Sciences in Philadelphia. His most recent work includes pieces in Cimarron Review and Baseball Research Journal, and in the last several months, he has been a finalist for awards from Fourth Genre, The Pinch, The Southampton Review, and Arts & Letters. Dan says: "all of my writing successes are founded upon the instruction, critique, creativity, and empathy I encountered as a graduate student at SJU."

Bassam Sebti ('08) is the Global Editor of World Bank. He manages the editorial calendar, core website pages and blogs, and coordinates with social media and other digital products across the World Bank.

Christy Selagy ('17) is the marketing communications specialist at Penn State Great Valley and an assistant editor for the Philly-area basketball news website City of Basketball Love.

Tiffany Sellers ('15) is currently working as a Human Resources Associate with an HR Consulting firm called PROXUS, in Fort Washington, PA. This past year, she launched a website for freelance opportunities, a little blogging, and just to have a platform in general (tiffanyjsellers.com). She is also working on revising her first young adult fiction novel. Once the draft is complete, she hopes to begin the search for an agent.

William Shelton ('14) was recently accepted into CUNY's Ph.D. program in Urban Education.

Sara Solt ('12) co-owns a massage therapy company where she creates advertising material as well as handling marketing and social media responsibilities. She also provides social media support and customer relations for a car dealership.

Megan Larrisey Tertel (’10) recently resigned her role as Editorial Manager at the Clinical and Laboratory Standards Institute (CLSI), where she worked from 2010 to 2021. Under her leadership, the editorial department grew in both size and scope. She has been a Board-certified Editor in the Life Sciences (ELS) since 2015. Megan now works as a freelance medical editor while raising her three children.

Gina Tomaine ('10) was promoted in November 2019 as Health and Wellness editor at Philadelphia Magazine. She also teaches a course in the SJU Writing Studies program. She recently made a Tarot deck book (illustrated and designed by James Boyle), which stemmed from an essay she wrote for the magazine last year.

Sonia Vazquez ('07) teaches Writing and Creative Writing to students in North Philadelphia. She is in her 21st year of teaching and continues to write on the side.

Ashley Weyler (’12) is a senior copywriter at Independence Blue Cross. She concentrates on communications that support the sales and marketing departments and serves as the lead writer for all communications supporting the Blue Cross Broad Street Run. Ashley also works on freelance projects in her spare time. Her reviews about T.V. shows like Game of Thrones, This is Us, and The Good Place have been published on ShowSnob.com.

Shyheim Williams ('19) Immediately after graduation, Shyheim will be serving as an English Instructor for Saint Joseph’s Ignation College Connection summer program, be a Professional Writing Assistant and Summer Bridge Program Coordinator at Cheyney University of Pennsylvania, a Junior Publicist at Regan Farley Agency, a boutique public relations firm based in Baltimore, MD and ultimately pursuing a dual PhD in African-American Studies and English while working as adjunct faculty in English or Composition Studies. Busy guy!

Rob Zawatski ('12) is a writer for WHYY's NewsWorks. Read his latest piece here.

Mike Zodda (14) is a writer in Vanguard's institutional investment marketing group in Malvern. He works on websites, presentations, white papers, blog posts - anything that uses words to attract business from retirement plans, endowments and foundations, and other large-scale investors.