2010s
Angela C. Bunnell, BBA ’10, joined global law firm Greenberg Traurig LLP as an associate in the firm’s litigation practice in Boston. Previously, Bunnell clerked for the Honorable Donald L. Cabell, U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts. She has served as an AmeriCorps Advocate at Greater Boston Legal Services’ Welfare Unit and as a legal intern for the Department of Justice, Office of International Affairs and Greater Boston Legal Services, Immigration Unit.
Danielle Dingman, BSEd ’10, MPH ’13, won the women’s Ironman 70.3 Eagleman event in Cambridge, MD, qualifying her for the 2019 70.3 World Championships Sept. 7-8 in Nice, France. Dingman is a former All-American track and field student-athlete at Baylor. She is in her first season as an assistant triathlon coach at Drury University in Springfield, MO.
Jordan Graft, BBA ’10, and wife, Brittany Harlan Graft, BBA ’10, her brother, John Harlan BBA ’13, and wife Connie Harlan co-founded Dallas-based CrateBind LLC. Using Ruby on Rails, React, Swift, Node, Python and other leading technologies, the company works with startups, nonprofits and Fortune 100 companies across all industries. CrateBind is one of the fastest-growing custom web and mobile app development shops and has been consecutively ranked as one of the Best Companies to Work for in Texas. Contact at john@cratebind.com.
Marcy Cook, BFA ’11, has six large-scale collage works that were showcased in Robert Lawrence Designs in Dallas this summer. After more than six years of floral and event design work at her company Stems of Dallas, Cook is a full-time artist.
Caleb Simone, BA ’11, is pursuing doctoral studies in classics at Columbia University. At Baylor, Simone won the award for outstanding undergraduate thesis on 19th-century philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, who was among the first to locate the origins of Greek tragedy in the ritual celebration of the god Dionysus by a satyr-chorus, i.e., in a musical performance. A production of Euripides’ Herakles that Simone has been instrumental in bringing to the stage seeks to incorporate (for the first time in the history of American theater) the music that accompanied the original performances in ancient Greece.
Matthew Thompson, BBA ’11, was appointed chief financial officer of Payer Compass, a provider of healthcare reimbursement technology and price transparency solutions in Plano, TX. Thompson is a CPA.
Jordan Vannatta Williams, BSEd ’11, was named the head softball coach at Midway High School in Waco. At Baylor, Williams was a member of Baylor’s 2011 Women’s College World Series team.
The play, IMMERSION / IMMERSIÓN, by Courtney Bailey Parker, MA ’12, PhD ’16, was performed during the fourth-annual She NYC Arts Summer Theater Festival at The Connelly Theater in New York City. Parker also performs in the play, which alternates between English and Spanish. Parker is a St. Louis-based actor, playwright and professor at Greenville [IL] University.
After graduating from the University of Iowa College of Dentistry, Lucas Borg, BS ’13, is working at Incirlik Air Base near of Adana, Turkey. Borg serves anyone on the international base who requires emergent dental care — military or civilian, American or Lithuanian, Spanish or Turkish.
Ciera Cole, BBA ’13, chief operating officer of The 20, a leading business development group for managed service providers in Plano, TX, was named to CRN’s prestigious 2019 Women of the Channel list. The leaders on this annual list are from all areas of the IT channel ecosystem. Cole has supported the CEO across both The 20 and its sister company, Roland Technology Group, over the past six years.
Kathryn Dunn, BA ’13, is a contestant on this season of Big Brother on CBS. Dunn has worked in broadcasting, was a dancer for the Dallas Mavericks and competed in both Miss USA and Miss America pageant systems.
Trey Oakley, MACM ’13, was named president and CEO of the Methodist Children’s Home in Waco, a child care ministry founded in 1890. Oakley was involved in fundraising since 2001, when he joined the organization’s development department. He became vice president for development in 2006.
Tina Tran, BS ’13, graduated in May from the Paul L. Foster School of Medicine, a part of the Texas Tech University Health Science Center in El Paso. She started her pediatric residency at the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio in June.
Physician assistant Michael Valdez, BSEd ’13, joined the medical team at The Center Orthopedic and Neurosurgical Care in Bend, OR. Previously he worked at Hope Orthopedics in Salem, OR.
Erin Albin, BSFCS ’14, MSW/MDiv ’19, is coordinator of research projects at The Center for Church and Community Impact in Waco. In the Baptist Standard, Albin shared her experience with leading a focus group for those affected by Hurricane Harvey to study the effects of trauma on the church. Her members shared that church was a safe place during the storm and that it led them to trust in God’s provision even in the midst of a hurricane.
Austin Eck, BA ’14, was promoted to product manager of South Bend, IN-based FDC Graphic Films Inc. He joined their marketing team in 2015.
Rev. Hayley House, BA ’14, was the guest speaker at the annual Pinnacle Bank Honor Graduates Breakfast recognizing the top 10 percent of the Cleburne [TX] High School Class of 2019. House was inspired to serve in vocational ministry during a college internship at Waco’s First United Methodist Church, where she now serves as lead youth pastor.
Luke Martin, BBA ’14, graduated from Leadership Plainview [TX], a nine-month program that allows participants to polish their leadership skills and learn about the local community. He is president of Hale County Abstract & Title Company.
Chase Caldwell, MDiv ’15, and Brittany Caldwell, MDiv ’16, are co-pastors of Nobles Chapel Baptist Church, a rural church in Wilson, NC. Between them, they have more than 10 years of experience in preaching, teaching, service and international missions.
Dr. Grant Dean Clinkingbeard, BS ’15, received a Doctor of Medicine from the Louisiana State University School of Medicine in New Orleans in May. He was hooded by his grandfather, Dr. Herschel B. Dean. Clinkingbeard began his residency in pediatrics with LSU at Children’s Hospital in New Orleans.
Dr. Tucker E. Doiron, BSEd ’15, received a Doctor of Medicine from the Louisiana State University Health Science Center New Orleans. Doiron will do her residency in obstetrics and gynecology at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Medical Center in Little Rock.
Melissa Hollis, BSN ’16, of Plano, TX, completed a Master of Science in nursing leadership. She is returning to her roots at Baylor to teach a lab course to future nursing students as she pursues a Doctor of Philosophy. “Sic ’em, Bears!” she writes.
Lindsey Cargill McLean, BSEd ’16, MS ’18, was named head softball coach at China Spring [TX] ISD.
Brent Smith, BMEd ’16, was named Corsicana [TX] High School band director after spending the last three years at Richardson [TX] J.J. Pearce High School, directing the concert and symphonic bands. Smith performed around the country with Baylor’s Wind Ensemble and Symphony Orchestra and spent two years as an undergraduate staff member to the Golden Wave Marching Band.
Grant Tinsley, PhD ’16, is assistant professor of exercise physiology at Texas Tech University. He has studied the diet phenomenon of intermittent fasting since 2013.
American violist Brian Bires, BMEd ’17, was awarded first prize at the 2019 Texas Music Festival Cynthia Woods Mitchell Young Artist Competition in Houston after performing the Cecil Forsyth Viola Concert in G Minor. Bires will perform next year as an invited soloist with conductor Carl St. Clair and the Texas Music Festival Orchestra.
Jillian Gardner, MM ’17, was appointed director of music ministries and organist for Huntsville [AL] First United Methodist Church. Her responsibilities include overseeing the music department, consisting of 11 ensembles, choirs and children’s music. She also is an award-winning performing organist with an international touring schedule that spans the United Kingdom, Canada and the U.S.
Findings from a study conducted by Elias Oziolor, PhD ’17, about how a species of fish evolved in response to pollution in the Houston Ship Channel, were published in Science, a peer-reviewed journal of the American Association of the Advancement of Science.
Dani Price, MDiv ’17, was named assistant coach of Georgia Southern University’s softball team. Price was previously an assistant coach at McNeese State University. She specialized in pitching and was credited with helping lower McNeese State’s team ERA from 3.56 in 2018 to 2.53 in 2019. While at Baylor, she assisted the softball team in their two visits to the Women’s College World Series.
Bailey Wren Scruggs, CCC-SLP, MS ’17, is a speech pathologist practicing at New York City’s Heritage Oaks West Retirement Village, a senior housing community offering various healthcare services to residents. She works in adult and geriatric care.
Elizabeth Teed, BBA ’17, is an intern in the office of U.S. Rep. Bruce Westerman of Arkansas. It is Teed’s second stint on Capitol Hill; she had a similar internship five years ago, working for then-U.S. Rep. Tom Cotton [AR].
Jordan Tucker, MM ’17, accepted a professor of music position at San Jacinto College in Pasadena, TX, teaching music theory and aural skills courses. At Baylor, Tucker was a graduate student in music composition and adjunct professor in music theory.
Erick LeBrun, PhD ’18, vice president for research for the Parallax Division of Pebble Labs in Los Alamos, NM, recently spoke to Los Alamos County Council members about bringing fellow natives of the region home to work. His expertise is in microbial ecology with an emphasis on bioinformatics, metagenomics and integrative genomics.
Staff Sgt. Austin Westjohn, MM ’18, plays trombone as a member of the U.S. Army Band, one of the most exclusive musical assignments in the U.S. Westjohn performed July 4 before the Independence Day fireworks at the White House. He also has played the trombone on the Truman Balcony when foreign ambassadors visited.
Alex Williamson, BA ’18, and Ben Ellison BBA ’18, were married June 7 at The Milestone Mansion in Aubrey, TX. They now live in Shreveport, LA, where Alex works for a finance company and Ben is a medical student at the Louisiana State University Sciences Center Shreveport.
Madeline Ward Stokes, BSFCS ’18, married Dillon Taylor Stokes, BBA ’18, Feb 2. The couple resides in Royce City, TX. W. Todd Ward, BFA ’85, walked his daughter down the aisle. Rian Rahimi, BBA ’19, started a new job in Dallas at PulteGroup’s land acquisitions department as an analyst. Contact at rahimirian@gmail.com.
Veteran Kino Hickey, MSW ’19, worked at the Veterans Administration sterilizing medical equipment when he dreamed of a job where he could help people battling mental illnesses. Now that he has earned both bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work, Hickey plans to advocate for veterans and assist veterans with mental illnesses. Hickey’s story was covered by ABC affiliate KXXV-TV (Waco, Temple, Killeen).
Dr. Albert Reyes, president and CEO of Buckner International and a former Baylor Regent, authored Hope Now: Peace, Healing and Justice When the Kingdom Comes Near. Learn more at albertlreyes.com.