2000s
Jeffrey S. Debies-Carl, BA ’02, Webster, NY, has published If You Should Go at Midnight: Legends and Legend Tripping In America (University Press of Mississippi, May 2023). In the book, Debies-Carl, an associate professor of sociology at the University of New Haven, guides readers through an exploration of legend tripping, drawing on years of scholarship, documentary accounts and his own extensive field work. Poring over old reports and legends, sleeping in haunted inns and trekking through wilderness full of cannibal mutants and strange beasts, he provides an in-depth analysis of this social practice that has long fascinated scholars yet remains a mystery to many observers.
Elena Marquetti-Ali, BS ’03, MPA ’05, Ashtabula, OH, was crowned Ms. Ohio Woman AmeriFest in Columbus, Ohio, in April. She also received the A.L.I.C.E. Award for Community Service from the same pageant. The pageant platform is dedicated to empowering women to become stronger leaders in the community and to spread kindness and advocate for others. She competed for the national title of Ms. US Woman AmeriFest in Tennessee this July.
Marquetti-Ali is chief operating officer of ReNew Flooring, owner of Marquetti Consulting and volunteers as board president for the United Way of Ashtabula County. She is using her pageant title to support the efforts of United Way of Ashtabula County and its work with 21 local charities.
She started a Handful of Hope project to help provide supplies and resources for homeless, domestic violence and animal shelters. She is visiting businesses in the county to solicit donations of products or goods that can be packaged and distributed through United Way of Ashtabula and its partner charities. To make donations or book her to speak at an event, contact consulting@marquetti.org .
Ashley Robinson, BGS ’04, Pittsburgh, PA, was appointed assistant city clerk of Pittsburgh on May 23, 2023.
Sarah Shendy, BA ’06, Cuyahoga Falls, OH, wrote: “After over 14 years of serving Copley Township, I have decided to accept a leadership position with another police department. My last day at Copley will be Friday, April 21st. I am joining Case Western Reserve University Police Department as a sergeant, making me the first Egyptian-Muslim female sergeant in the state of Ohio!
“I value and cherish every leader, mentor, friend, sponsor, and supporter whom I have encountered along the way while working for Copley Police. I thank those who spoke to the winner in me before I started winning, believed in me before I believed in myself, held me accountable, forced me to face my fears and held me to the highest standard.
“The staff, relationships and friendships that I have made at Kent State University have been a blessing and a huge asset to my happiness, fulfillment and the advancement of my career. I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
“I also wanted to let you know that I will be stepping down as director of the Office of Law Enforcement Recruitment on May 10th. It has been an amazing three-year journey and it is time to give someone else a chance to do great things.”
Read a profile of Sarah Shendy in the spring/summer 2021 issue of Kent State Magazine.
Nicholas DiSabatino, BA ’09, Boston, MA, wrote: “Since graduating Kent State with a major in English (and a double minor in LGBTQ studies and creative writing), I moved to Boston and attended graduate school at Emerson College. Graduating with an MA in publishing and writing in 2011, I began a career in book publishing. I started my career as a book publicist (moving up from assistant to associate to publicist) at the legendary nonprofit, independent publisher Beacon Press (known for the works of James Baldwin, Viktor Frankl, Mary Oliver, Cornel West, Roxanne Dunbar Ortiz, Richard Blanco, Christopher Emdin, and more).
“Since 2018, I’ve been at The MIT Press. Established in 1962, the MIT Press is one of the largest and most distinguished university presses in the world and a leading publisher of books and journals at the intersection of science, technology, art, social science and design. I’ve been promoted from publicist to senior publicist, and now to global publicity and author relations manager (overseeing a team of 5 publicists and lead trade titles). During my time at MIT, I’ve worked with the former Prime Minister of Australia, former members of the Obama Administration, the creator of the theory of multiple intelligences, one of the leading women of color data scientists in the U.S., an award-winning inclusion strategist and speaker, and many other successful authors.
“My time at Kent State was integral to my success in publishing. The most important person to me during my time at KSU was the late, great Dr. Kimberly Winebrenner. She was my professor, undergraduate honors thesis advisor, mentor and work studies employer. She is the reason I have a career.”