2000s

Clint Harp, BBA ’00, of Waco released his memoir, Handcrafted: A Woodworker’s Story (Touchstone, 256 pages), the completion of a longtime dream for Harp, who with his wife Kelly Harp, BSEd ’02, co-owner of Harp Design Co., came to national attention through his appearances on the HGTV home renovation series Fixer Upper. The book includes an endorsement by former President Jimmy Carter.

Greg Long, MDiv ’00, wants to save Navajo language and culture by creating the first Bible translated into Navajo directly from the original Hebrew and Greek languages. Long grew up on the plateaus of north-central Arizona. While studying at Truett, Long founded Buffalo River Indian Baptist Church near the Baylor campus. After graduation, he moved home to Arizona, where he served as pastor of First Indian Baptist Church in Winslow and Grandfalls Bible Church in Grandfalls before starting Selah Congregation in Flagstaff.

Joanna Gaines, BA ’01, of Waco released her latest book, Homebody (Harper Design, 352 pages). Gaines walks readers through how to create a home that reflects the personalities and stories of the people who live there. This comprehensive guide offers practical steps for navigating and embracing your authentic design style.

Maureen Murchie, BA ’01, MM ’03, lives in New York City and freelances on both modern and baroque violin and viola. In addition to regular work with the Handel & Haydn Society, a highlight of this year was playing in the Broadway show Farinelli and the King, starring Mark Rylance and Iestyn Davies. Maureen is also a sales and marketing administrator at BIA, a Manhattan-based eDiscovery firm. 

Ryan K. Patrick, BBA ’01, was sworn in at the federal courthouse in Houston as the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas. Patrick is a former state district judge and criminal lawyer.

Kristen Houseton Huguley, BA ’02, is executive director of the Leander [TX] ISD foundation—Leander Educational Excellence Foundation (LEEF).  Huguley previously worked at Texas Humane Heroes, where she rose through the ranks from volunteer to executive director. In 2017, Huguley was honored with the Texas Women in Business Community Member of the Year award.

Jessica Luparello, BA ’02, was promoted to general counsel and director of legal services for Community Coffee Co., based in Baton Rouge, LA. She continues to be responsible for the company’s legal strategy and protecting intellectual property. Luparello joined Community in 2014 as senior corporate attorney and leader of legal services.

Ryan, BSE ’02, and Jennifer Malone, BSEd ’01, of Katy, TX, created an endowed scholarship fund to provide support for students in Baylor’s School of Engineering and Computer Science. Jennifer and Ryan also serve on the National Campaign Steering Committee for Baylor’s fundraising campaign, Give Light, as representatives for the School of Engineering and Computer Science.

Dr. Matthew Brown, BA ’03, is a family physician at Texas County Memorial Hospital in Houston, MO. He attended Baylor College of Medicine, with a focus in international health/tropical medicine and traveler’s health.

Ben Johnson, BA ’03, joined the Penn State Law faculty as an assistant professor and holds affiliate faculty positions with the College of Information Sciences and Technology and the department of political science in the College of the Liberal Arts. He holds a juris doctor from Yale Law School and a master’s in economics from Boston University, and he previously worked in private practice in Dallas.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott appointed Emily Lindley, BA ’03, of Austin to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, which protects the state’s public health and natural resources consistent with sustainable economic development. Lindley most recently served as chief of staff for the Environmental Protection Agency Region 6 Administrator. She also has more than 10 years of experience at the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Attorney Stephen A. Mason, JD ’03, joined Dickinson Wright PLLC’s Austin office, where he focuses his practice on patent prosecution and litigation, trademark and service mark adoption and registration, and technology licensing and counseling.

Josh Terry, BBA ’03, of Dallas is president of The Garden Group. Mars Services, a member of The Garden Group Network, was selected for the 2018 Inc. 5000 list of fastest growing companies in America. The Garden Group is a family owned diversified holding company based in Dallas that focuses on small business investments. In 2011, Terry co-founded Acis Capital Management, LP, a fixed income asset manager, which he helped grow to $3.7 billion in assets under management prior to his departure in 2016.

Dr. Edgar Bedolla, BA ’04, joined the physicians at North Texas Plastic Surgery. He earned his medical degree at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and did his general surgery residency at the University of Oklahoma. He received advanced training in plastic surgery at the University of Miami.

Jennifer Cheek, BA ’04, of McKinney, TX, was elected to shareholder at Macdonald Devin, P.C. in Dallas. Cheek represents clients in a wide range of product liability, complex catastrophic loss, commercial and toxic tort cases nationwide.

Leslie M. Darby, BA ’05, JD ’07, of Fort Worth was named one of the Top 50 Most Powerful Women in Law in the Dallas region by The National Diversity Council. She is a partner at Kelly Hart & Hallman LLP, where she focuses her practice on brand management. 

Blake A. Holt, BA ’04, left a logistics career at Dal-Tile Corporation to open a Kona Ice franchise with his wife Lisa in Frisco and Allen, TX. Five years later, he is excited to announce the opening of his newest venture, a Budget Blinds franchise, also in Allen. The Holts have three boys and recently celebrated their 14th wedding anniversary. Contact at bholt@budgetblinds.com.

Jenny Ebbeling Toste, BA ’04, of Fresno, CA, is president and CEO of ValleyPBS. Most recently, she was an award-winning social media specialist for Fresno State University. Toste is founder and CEO of Jenny Toste Productions and a regional EMMY® Award-winning anchor known for her work in local and national television news, from the network level at ABC News’ Good Morning, America to large markets like San Francisco. She spent a decade as a reporter and anchor at KSEE-24 and CBS-47 in Fresno. 

Michael Bracken, BA ’05, of Hewitt, TX, authored Smoked, a short story appearing in The Best American Mystery Stories 2018, released by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Smoked first appeared in Noir at the Salad Bar (Level Best Books, 2017). Bracken, the author of several books and more than 1,200 short stories, has received numerous awards for his writing. Bracken is editor of Texas Gardener magazine and marketing director for the Waco Symphony Association. 

David Ocamb, MA ’05, of Cedar Park, TX, was promoted to chief research and planning officer for GDC Marketing and Ideation. He oversees the department tasked with uncovering market insights as well as crafting campaign strategy and tactics for all of the agency’s clients. Contact at david.ocamb@gmail.com.

Rev. Dr. Robert E. Wallace, PhD ’06, was named senior pastor of McLean [VA] Baptist Church. He most recently was professor of Biblical studies at Judson University in Elgin, IL. He is a respected Old Testament scholar and has spent more than 20 years as a professor striving to bridge the gap between academia and the church.

Matthew Genitempo, BFA ’07, of Marfa, TX, released Jasper (Twin Palms Publishing, 2018: 96 pages), a book of his photographs inspired by poet and land surveyor Frank Stanford. The images consist of landscapes, cluttered interiors and rugged men living in solitude in the Ozark Mountains. Genitempo holds an MFA from the University of Hartford. He was recently selected as one of 30 Emerging Photographers by Photo District News, and he received the LensCulture Emerging Photographer Award. Jasper was short-listed for the 2018 Paris Photo/Aperture Foundation First PhotoBook Prize. Learn more at matthewgenitempo.com.

Dean Martin, MHA ’07, was named executive director of Fort Knox and the Penobscot Narrows Bridge & Observatory in Prospect, ME. A decorated combat veteran, Martin recently retired from active duty in the U.S. Army as lieutenant colonel after serving more than 24 years, including as an aeromedical evacuation pilot with combat zone deployments to Kuwait and Iraq.

Emily Chapman Richards, BA ’07, is executive director for Nashville-based nonprofit Show Hope, a nationally recognized voice for adoption advocacy and orphan care support work, co-founded by her parents, Mary Beth and Steven Curtis Chapman. Richards holds a master’s degree in theology from Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland. She and her husband Tanner have three daughters. Show Hope has provided more than $24 million in Adoption Aid grants, impacting more than 6,200 children from more than 60 countries. Learn more at showhope.org.

Denise Hearn, BA ’08, of Seattle co-authored The Myth of Capitalism: Monopolies and the Death of Competition. Endorsed by two Nobel Prize-winning economists, the book dissects the true drivers of inequality, low wages and low dynamism in America today. Learn more at www.mythofcapitalism.com. 

Maj. Mary Hossier, BA ’08, is stationed at Incirlik Air Base Turkey. She is training for her 13th marathon and uses her training as an opportunity to mentor other service members. 

Taylor L. Mathews, BBA ’08, was promoted to accounting specialist in the oil and gas department of Gollob Morgan Peddy in Tyler, TX. A certified public accountant (CPA), Mathews advises clients (in the area of oil and gas tax and audit) on economic and political trends that may affect them.

Dr. Jeffrey D. Shahidullah, BA ’08, ES ’11, coedited Handbook of Pediatric Behavioral Healthcare: An Interdisciplinary Collaborative Approach (Springer Publishing Co., 321 pages). The book addresses the delivery of high quality pediatric behavioral healthcare services that are multitiered, evidence-based and integrated.

Rev. Sarah Stewart, MDiv ’08, is senior pastor of First Baptist Church of Oklahoma City, the church’s first female pastor in its 128-year history. She preached her first sermon as senior pastor Nov. 18. Stewart served as youth pastor at churches in Norman, OK, and Rosebud, TX, before she and her husband Brad, MDiv ’08, returned to Oklahoma City. She began serving as young adult pastor at First Baptist, where Brad serves as minister of discipleship and young adults.

Mayra Jimenez, BBA ’09, was highlighted by InStyle Magazine for working to aid and educate refugees through the Refugee and Immigrant Center for Education and Legal Services (RAICES). Jimenez is children’s program director and managing attorney, overseeing more than 50 employees in the largest faction of RAICES that provides legal services to unaccompanied children in court. The organization closed 51,000 cases free of charge in 2017.