April 18, 2023

Faculty & Staff

Brent White, assistant teaching professor and director of Drexel's Jazz Orchestra and Jazztet, was mentioned as one of the performers in the upcoming Center City Jazz Festival, in an April 16 Philadelphia Tribune story. Link to story

Joe Steinhardt, assistant professor of Music Industry is the founder of Don Giovanni Records, who hold three nominations for the 2023 Libera Awards. The celebration of independent music will be held on June 15. Read more in Variety.

The Visual Studies program from the Art & Art History Department, Drexel University is pleased to partner with The Study at University City in presenting a solo exhibition of small drawings and prints by adjunct faculty member Elaine M. Erne. Erne’s work will be on view through April 30.

Drexel President John Fry, Drexel Trustee Michael Forman and Westphal Dean Jason Schupbach were mentioned in an April 13 story in The Architect's Newspaper about "The Monument We Make" symposium. Link to story

Denise Marie Snow, Program Director of Student Diversity Programs & Partnerships was featured in the Scoop USA Media newspaper and on the City of Philadelphia’s website for Women’s Appreciation Month. Denise served on a panel discussion at Samuel Gompers School geared toward empowering 8th-grade girls with words of wisdom about her experience as a professional Black woman at a university. Link to story

Anne Cecil, adjunct instructor of Retail & Merchandising, was an invited speaker at Tools of the Trade Conference hosted at NextFab and CraftNow. Topic: Are You Retail Ready? Attendees brought product and created a small display. They were reviewed on their customer communication, product assortment, pricing, and visual merchandising. Anne has been asked to present this session again in October 2023. Anne is also providing ongoing education through a webinar series for the Museum Store Association. Anne will be speaking at the MSA conference in May 2023.She is leading a tour to examine visual merchandising at the Denver Pavillion. Finally, Anne has been asked to teach their Boot Camp, retail basics for store managers who have little or no retail experience or would like to learn more.

A 2014 event featuring a giant game of Tetris played using the facade lights of the 29-story Cira Centre office building, created by Frank Lee, PhD, professor and founding director of the Entrepreneurial Game Studio in the ExCITe Center, was featured in an April 10 Screen Rant post highlighting interesting facts about the game. Link to story

Harris Steinberg, distinguished teaching professor and executive director of the Lindy Center for Urban Innovation, was quoted in an April 3 Grid Philly article about Hilco Redevelopment Partners, the new owners of the former PES oil refinery site in South Philadelphia, and the lingering questions about the future use of the site. Link to story

Karin Kelly, a professor, and Siena Twiss, an undergraduate, both in Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, were interviewed in a March 21 CBS Philadelphia story about Westphal’s “Drexel in LA” program. The story was reported by Amanda Rosenblatt and Shayla Marrow, undergraduates in Westphal, as part of CBS-3’s “Collegiate Corner” series. Link to story (starting at 08:23)

Evan Harris, an undergraduate in the Antoinette Westphal College of Media Arts & Design, reported a story on March 21 for CBS Philadelphia, as part of CBS-3’s “Collegiate Corner Series,” about the Philadelphia Goat Project nonprofit group. Link to story

Students & Alumni

Stephanie Aranda (B.Arch ’21) published an article on a Tribal Buffalo Project in the latest issue of the magazine Texas Architect. She is also a participant in the AIA San Antonio Professional Path to Leadership Program (2PLP). Stephanie is a former president of Drexel's AIAS chapter.

Tanda Francis (Graphic Design ‘99) is one of five local artists who are in the running to be selected by the City of Philadelphia to create the Harriet Tubman statue at City Hall. In October 2022, a private group had Ms. Francis create a statue of Philadelphia-born opera singer Marian Anderson for the front of the Academy of Music. No firm date was set for completion of the Harriet Tubman statue, but the goal was to have it on its Broad Street perch by fall 2023. Link to Article

Glenna L. Stone (MS Interior Architecture & Design ‘10) will be one of the "Market Pros" who is participating in the Spring 2023 Market Pros takeover, an online event in which nine design and media tastemakers "take over" the Design HPMKT (High Point Market) By IMC's (International Market Center) Instagram account for an online event that showcases IMC's High Point resources. Ms. Stone is the founder and principal of Glenna Stone Interior Design in Philadelphia. Link to Article

Leandra Davis (Interior Design ‘08), an established professional in higher education capital and master planning, was named the executive director for the Office of Planning, Design, and Construction at Caltech Facilities, effective April 10. Ms. Davis joins the company after spending more than 15 years at the University of Pennsylvania where she most recently led the planning, design, and construction group in the School of Engineering, managing a team of eight project management professionals who oversee interior renovation and new construction projects. Link to Article

Janey R. Garrido (Interior Design ‘03) was featured in the "Professional Recognition - Women's History Month" segment of the Philadelphia Business Journal. Ms. Garrido is the design director for Philadelphia based DAS Architects, a nationally recognized architectural and interior design firm specializing in hospitality design. For two decades, she has created unique and sophisticated designs for hotels, restaurants, retail and residential spaces. As design director, Ms. Garrido leads the design efforts, oversees the operations of the interiors studio and manages all elements of the design process through problem solving, collaboration and innovation. Link to Article

Anina Major's (Graphic Design ‘03) collection of ceramic artworks was displayed at the Shoshana Wayne Gallery in Los Angeles. The exhibition, titled Inheritance, was her first solo show with the gallery. Ms. Major's work can be found in the permanent collections of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; the National Gallery of The Bahamas, Nassau, Bahamas; the RISD Museum, Providence, Rhode Island; and Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA), Los Angeles, California. Link to Article

Laura Petrovich-Cheney's (MS Fashion Design ‘93) is exhibiting her collection of artwork, titled Weathered Shapes, Wooden Quilts, at the Boston Children's Museum. The installation features Ms. Petrovich-Cheney's novel constructions that bring together the traditional crafts of wood sculpture and quilt making to show the potential of rebuilding and hope. She repurposes wood collected after natural disasters and assembles the pieces into quilt-inspired sculptures, displaying the very personal impact of natural disasters and the potential for renewal. Ms. Petrovich-Cheney has been teaching as an elementary-level art teacher for more than 15 years, as well as presenting lectures and workshops to adults. Link to Article

Nancy P. Volpe-Beringer (MS Fashion Design ‘16) was highlighted in a segment on CBS 3 News. She launched her luxury fashion brand, The Vault by Nancy Volpe Berringer, which focused on adaptable design, inclusivity and accessibility. Ms. Beringer and her brand want to help alter the fashion industry by promoting more inclusivity and adaptable design while continuing to be sustainable with pre-owned luxury items. Link to Article

Kevin M. Buttery, Esq. (Entertainment and Arts Management ’10) joined law firm Gordon Rees Scully Mansukhani as an associate in the firm's Florham Park, NJ office. He is a member of the Professional Liability practice group in the New Jersey office of Gordon & Rees.

Thomas Falzani (Graphic Design ‘20) and Adit Gupta (CCI) are the founders of Lula Convenience that announced new partners for its Lula Store Platform to help convenience stores fulfill orders, including those placed online for delivery or in-store pickup. The Lula Store Platform now works with Alberta POS, Aboveo, ADD Systems, PDI C-store Essentials/Pro, ERPLY, Modisoft, Clover, Square and SSCS Inc. Link to Article

Laura A. Glantz, AIA, NCARB, (B.Arch ‘07) was promoted to partner at Asher Slaunwhite Architects in Jenkintown, PA. Ms. Glantz joined the firm as an architectural designer in 2010 after gaining experience in both urban and suburban projects in the Philadelphia region. A registered architect, she is a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA) and holds National Council of Architectural Registration Boards (NCARB) certification. Link to Article

Andrew Gorel (Music Industry ‘19) wrote an opinion piece "The Vaccine Ban on Foreigners Isn't Just Hurting Djokovic. It's Hurting Americans" for Newsweek magazine. Mr. Gorel is a photographer, journalist, and recording artist by the name of LA Parties. Link to Article

Karen Pelzer (Interior Design ‘19) joined NELSON Worldwide, architecture, design, and strategy firm, as a senior project manager, hospitality. In this capacity, Ms. Pelzer will provide guidance and support to the hospitality team as well as champion project success. She has led and managed design teams for decades, including at Daroff Design and Loews Hotels, as well as helped develop the hospitality design curriculum at Drexel where she taught restaurant design and full-service boutique hotel design studio courses to both undergraduate and graduate students. She has helped develop restaurants, hotels, resorts, and more throughout her career, including Disney's Coronado Springs Resort as well as Loews Philadelphia Hotel, plus on-site SoleFood Restaurant. Link to Article

Maria C. Renz (Interior Design ‘90) joined Google as the vice president and general manager for Commerce, overseeing Shopping and Payments, according to a LinkedIn update. Link to Article