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Outstanding Alumni Awardees

The CALS Alumni Association's Outstanding Alumni Award recognizes alumni who demonstrate outstanding and uncommon achievement in their professional field and/or distinguished civic or public service. Recipients are committed and proven leaders who are a positive reflection of CALS and Cornell.

 

Click here for this year's Outstanding Alumni Award winners. Past winners are listed below.

2022 Recipients

Leslie Herzog '77

Leslie Herzog earned his B.S. in food science from Cornell in 1977 and then received an M.S. in food science from Rutgers University in 1978. Upon completion of his studies, he joined Lipton/Unilever, working as principal food scientist, and after that as a Manager in Research and Development. At Unilever, he made significant contributions to the commercial success of many food products, including soups, side dishes, peanut butter, frozen complete meals, and beverages, and has been a leader in translating new technical information into successful applications for market introductions and store shelf success. Following his retirement from Unilever after more than 35 years, Herzog became the Vice President of Operations and Research Services for The Understanding & Insight Group LLC, a position he maintains today.

In the food industry, Herzog is extremely well known. He has been very active with the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT), serving on many committees and task forces as well as its executive committee, both at the local and national level. Additionally, he is a valued member of the editorial advisory board and a freelance writer for Food Processing Magazine. In 2021, he was recognized by IFT, awarded him the Distinguished Service Award in Honor of Calvert L. Willey “for his lifelong, innovative, and passionate service to IFT and the advancement of food science and technology.”

For more than thirty years, Herzog has served on the Cornell Food Science Advisory Council, including serving as chair. During his time on the Council, he has provided strong mentorship and support for food science students, including the Cornell Food Science Summer Scholar Program which, among other initiatives, recruits and retains students representing traditionally underrepresented minorities in food science. He has also encouraged and assisted Cornell’s highly successful Institute of Food Technologists Student Association product development teams, which have placed in the national finals for the last 13 years.

Philanthropy to food science at Cornell and other universities is a focus of Leslie and his wife, Jacqueline’s driving force. Starting in the early 1980s, Leslie and the Herzog/Flegenheimer family have created endowments that support food science programs, undergraduate and graduate students. As his family is fond of saying, if blood wasn’t red, it would be for Leslie given his love of Cornell and the food science program.

 

Nancy Roistacher ’72

Nancy Roistacher is a clinical cardiologist and echocardiographer and the medical director of the Adult Echocardiography Laboratory at Memorial Sloan Kettering, where she evaluates and manages the cardiovascular risks of cancer patients who are undergoing surgery or chemotherapy. She investigates new echocardiographic and other noninvasive cardiac modalities into the evaluation and treatment of cancer patients. She also serves as an assistant professor of clinical medicine at Weill Cornell Medical College. Earlier in her career, she was a noninvasive cardiologist at St. Luke’s Hospital and Medical Center in Manhattan and was an assistant clinical professor at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons. Nancy is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology and a member of the American College of Physicians and the American Society of Echocardiography.

At Cornell, Nancy worked at the Cornell Daily Sun, was a member of Delta Phi Epsilon sorority, Ho-Nun-De-Kah, Raven and Serpent and Alpha Epsilon Delta. In her junior year, she was among the initial members of Risley Residential College.

Nancy has spent her spare time as a lifelong volunteer for Cornell. She currently serves as the president of the Class of 1972, a position she has held several times before, as well as her class reunion chair. A sustaining member of the President’s Council of Cornell Women, Nancy is in her third term as a member of the Cornell University Council.

A native of Queens, NY, Nancy earned her B.S. in biology with a concentration in genetics in 1972, received her medical degree from New York Medical College and completed her residency, internship and chief residency from St. Vincent’s Hospital and a cardiology fellowship at St. Luke’s Hospital. She and her husband, Wayne Merkelson ’73 JD ’75, have two sons, Randall ’01 and Jeremy, and four grandchildren.

 

John Toohey ’84

John R. Toohey, known on TV as John Morales, is an atmospheric and environmental scientist with a long tenure as a widely respected broadcast meteorologist. He also founded and is the lead certified consulting meteorologist at ClimaData, a boutique firm specializing in forensic meteorology and weather consulting.

During his 38-year career, Toohey-Morales has been proud to participate in the public, academic, and private sectors of America’s Weather Enterprise. Even though he retired this year from Florida’s legacy television station, NBC-owned WTVJ Channel 6 in Miami, he still functions as their first-ever hurricane specialist. John is also an influential climate communicator with a following in the hundreds of thousands on social media, and a climate change columnist for the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. John was elected Fellow of the American Meteorological Society and was inducted into the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences Silver Circle for exceptional and exemplary contributions in broadcasting for over 25 years.

At Cornell, John serves on the Atkinson Center for Sustainability’s external advisory board, the CALS Advisory Board, the Cornell University Council, and is the president of his Cornell Class of 1984. Non-Cornell volunteerism includes the CLEO Institute’s board of directors in Florida, empowering communities to act on climate and champion solutions for a resilient future; and the board of directors of the Open Door Health Center in Homestead, Florida, a free clinic for the poor and uninsured.

Toohey-Morales graduated from the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences as an atmospheric scientist in 1984. Extracurriculars on and off campus included the Cornell crew, WVBR and countless afterschool hours at Bradfield Hall trying to win the student weather forecasting contest. John is also an aviator with 1500 hours as a private pilot, including multiengine and instrument ratings. Recently, John attained an advanced degree in environmental science and policy at Johns Hopkins University.

 

Maria Van Kerkove ’99

Dr. Maria Van Kerkhove is the COVID-19 Technical Lead for the World Health Organization and the Head of Emerging Diseases and Zoonoses in WHO’s Health Emergencies Programme. She is an infectious disease epidemiologist.

Dr. Van Kerkhove’s research spans zoonotic emerging and re-emerging high threat pathogens such as avian influenza, MERS-CoV, SARS, SARS-CoV-2, Ebola, Marburg, plague and Zika. She is responsible for the health operations and technical aspects of the global COVID-19 pandemic response as well as developing strategies for the prevention, preparedness and control of epidemic and pandemic zoonotic pathogens. For more than 25 years, her research has focused on factors associated with transmission between animals and humans, the epidemiology of zoonotic pathogens, and ensuring that research directly informs public health policies for action.

Van Kerkhove completed her undergraduate degree at Cornell University, a master’s degree in epidemiology at Stanford University and a PhD in infectious disease epidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Prior to joining WHO in 2017, she was the head of the Outbreak Investigation Task Force at Institut Pasteur’s Center for Global Health, in Paris, where she was responsible for establishing public health rapid response teams for infectious disease outbreaks. Her previous roles include a senior fellow at Imperial College London in the MRC Center for Outbreak Analysis and Modelling, and an epidemiologist at the Institut Pasteur in Cambodia.

 

Recipients Prior to 2022

CALS Alumni Association Outstanding Alumni Award Recipients Prior to 2022.

 
LastFirstClass YearYear Won
HerzogLeslie19772022
RoistacherNancy19722022
TooheyJohn19842022
Van KerkhoveMaria19992022
AdelmanMichelle19892021
ArrindellDeborah19792021
FraserAmy19842021
MillerKathleen19822021
FerreiraAnn19882020
Fils-AiméReginald19832020
FurieMartha19742020
WintonJeffrey19802020
KoenigPeggy19782019
LattmanJessica19902019
Preger SellewLisa1979, MBA '79, MBA '822019
RosenbergDavid1989, MD '932019
SellewMark19782019
MullarkeyDavid19882018
MullarkeyKim19882018
Simon GrossLorette1989, MBA '902018
TeichNatalie19652018
ThompsonMichael19772018
BraunsteinScott19862017
GraingerBrad19792017
GraingerMary1979, MPS '872017
MackeyCatherine1977, PhD '832017
DukartGary19762016
TroyMichael19812016
Westring PikeM. ElizabethPhD '832016
DalrympleDana54, MS '562015
EverettElizabeth19972015
GaffneyCatherine19892015
MageeWilliam19812015
NozzolioMichael73, MS '772015
BaccilePeter19842014
MalchoffGodfrey19432014
McGonigalJane50, PhD '842014
MuellerGeorge19542014
PamkowskiPeter19742014
AmbrosiaLynn79, MBA '812013
BornsteinDale19852013
GoldmanDaniel19872013
HookerPatrick19842013
LambJonathan19942013
KligermanAlan19522012
KornetMitch1976, DVM '792012
LevineJohnathan19762012
OlayanLubna19772012
WagnerKim19852012
AtkinsonDavid19602011
JohSun PaikMS '772011
JohYongkeunMS '782011
MarinoThomas19782011
MogilLaurey19762011
PollardKen19582011
CalpeterLynn19862010
FessendenEdwin19542010
FrankFrederick19792010
JanickJules19512010
ManelskiJoseph19562010
BleylerRuth19622009
Curtiss IIIRoy19562009
EckhardtLawrence19802009
ResnickGene1970, MD '742009
TeeleStephen19722009
FenstermacherGary1961, PhD '702008
LeleUmaMS '63, PhD '652008
McManusGeraldine19782008
PulverMary 19802008
VincentRichard19592008
BortonRaymond19532007
HouseknechtKarenPhD '942007
LincolnJohn19602007
SaltonstallPeter19752007
TobinRobert19602007
LamontGeorge19572006
O'ConnellFrank1965, MBA '662006
RippyMarianMS '792006
Van DeusenMarie19742006
Wilcox*G. Harris19432006
Bishop IIIC. Morton19742005
ByrnesJames19632005
HerdtRobert19612005
SternErnest19562005
YunkerCraig19722005
BandlerNed19492004
HerendeenNathan1964, MS '692004
MalchoffKevin19742004
OdakPerry19682004
RodeeCelia19812004
Coombe, Jr.Richard19642003
HanIn KyuPhD '652003
HollidaySusan19772003
JeffersThomas19632003
WilkersonL. JohnMS '67, PhD '702003
Bickford*RobertMS '502002
Everingham*Robert19412002
LoWinstonMS '672002
PutnamLloyd19442002
TetorDavid19652002
ClarkJ. Thomas19632001
DallasGlenn19582001
MarronePamela19782001
NolanPeter19802001
VallaMichael19762001
GellertGeorge19602000
KentThomas19712000
LipinskiWilliam19792000
Mondy*NellPhD '532000
RiceDavid19512000
Colby*James19501999
DeGolyerWillard19691999
Ladd, Sr.*Robert19431999
MacMillenGlenn19541999
NobleJohn19761999
AshleyStephen19621998
BitterCarole19811998
HicksAlfred1962, MBA '631998
VossElwyn19641998
WickhamThomas19621998
Niederhauser*John19391997
NolanDavid19491997
OffuttSusan19801997
Ten Eyck, IIPeter19601997
Winch, Jr.Fred19371997
Coombe, Jr.Philip19581996
KeeneRichard19571996
MeisterRichard19401996
MulcahyJ. Patrick19661996
Wille*Charles19501996
FrancisCheryl19761995
Longley-Cook*Jane19691995
Teng-HuiLee19681995
Walkley*Frank19431995
WidgerBruce19511995
WingKenneth19581995
BoekWalter19461994
FloraCornelia19661994
MixLewellyn19461994
MixMaurice19501994
RowleyJean19541994
AxinnGeorge19471993
Curtis, Jr.Austin19321993
GowenGordon19521993
Lynch*Ronald19581993
Warner*Richard19511993
Beard, Jr.*Albert19521992
BrodieDouglas19551992
CookSolomon19421992
JohnsonRaymond19541992
KennedyW. Keith19411992
Baker*Robert19431991
Longhouse*Alfred19371991
RiehlmanJudith19801991
Sands*Fenton19421991
Smith*Steve19351991
BayDonald19551990
GellertPhilip19581990
Hurd*T. Norman19361990
Kling*Herbert19361990
Earle*Wendell19481989
Greig*Robert19361989
LevineGilbert19491989
PeckJoseph19601989
Slusarczyk*Edwin19491989
Abraham*George19391988
Abraham*Katherine19431988
BitzRobert19521988
ConklinGordon19491988
ThompsonRobert19671988
AllenNorman19461987
MellorJohn19501987
Severinghaus*C. William19391987
Shepardson*E. Stanley19361987
Smith*Robert19421987
BondareffEsther19371986
Hamilton, Jr.*William19261986
LaBastilleAnne19551986
Lounsbury*Albert19551986
Pendergast*H. Joseph19381986
Bernays*Edward19121985
CallRichard19521985
Call, Jr.Robert19501985
Dalrymple*Daniel19271985
Neel, IIIHarry19621985
DysonJohn19651984
Luders*Clifford19381984
Warren*Stanley19271984
WiggintonB. Eliot19651984
Wiley*Frank19441984
BrodyJane19621983
Carter*Julian19371983
McClintock*Barbara19231983
Robinson, Sr.*Donald19411983
SipherErton19431983
DavisLloyd19421982
Edick*Glenn19401982
Jones*Robert 1982
Potter*Bernard19431982
Smith, II*William19381982
Fuerst*Myron19291981
TalmageJohn19521981
Adams*Mort19331980
Creal*Harold19191980
Wickham*Don19241979
Shaul*Max19421978
King*Joseph19361977