Class News: February 2023

Welcome to the February 2023 edition of Class News, our monthly snapshot of the personal and professional milestones and adventures of your fellow Tars.

Each month we’ll share a collection of the most recent submissions, so don’t forget to keep us up to date on your latest news.

Honor Roll

Stacy Portner Ritter ’82, president and CEO of Visit Lauderdale, was recently honored as one of South Florida’s 250 Power Leaders by the South Florida Business Journal. She was also inducted into the Broward Education Foundation Alumni Hall of Fame.

Maria Paz Gutierrez ’16 joined Rollins’ student media director Greg Golden ’11 ’16MBA on an episode of WPRK’s 70th anniversary show. She spoke about how her experience at the radio station was crucial preparation for a career that has included stints at Planet Money, NPR, and now Radiolab, where she serves as an associate producer.

Across the Arts

Phyllis Zatlin ’60, author of several scholarly books and translator of numerous plays from Spain and France, has recently edited an anthology, Microtheatre, A Door County Debut of Short Plays From Wisconsin & Spain, which contains her first published short play.

Lisa-Marie Matyas Steinmeyer ’14 performed as a spoken-word poet and served as a judge for poetry slam and haiku competitions for the 2022 Fusion Fest at Orlando’s Dr. Phillips Center for the Performing Arts.

Gatherings & Milestones

Alexa Hardrick King ’17 and her husband, Dylan, welcomed their second child, Milena Kathryn, on 11/9/22.

Julian Grundler ’18 and Karina Barbesino ’19 got married in an intimate city hall ceremony in New Haven, Connecticut, on 11/28/22. The couple met in a computer science course at Rollins.

Onward & Upward

Brandy Mitchell ’98 received certification as both a Functional Health Coach and a National Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach (NBC-HWC) to help support people with chronic illness and autoimmune conditions.

Jennifer Grant McArtor ’99 recently launched a private practice while continuing her work as a psychotherapist at the University of Virginia.

Working toward creating change within the U.N.’s Sustainable Development Goals of global health, climate action, and equity, Daniella Sykes ’19 attended the International Summit on Psychology and Global Health in Bogota, Colombia, as an emerging leader in the field of psychology. She currently serves as an associate clinical psychologist and director of membership at the Jamaica Psychological Society.