Alumni Updates

Find out what's up with your fellow alumni

Career News

1970s

Keith Shelburn (’79) is the incoming vice president of aviation at Satcom Direct. Shelburn came to Satcom from DuPont, where he began working in 1981 as a pilot and served 11 years as aviation director.

1980s

Kurt Godwin (’84) is managing owner of Mosquito Joe of Baltimore and Annapolis, Maryland. A story about him and his business was featured in the April 2018 edition of Entrepreneur magazine. Previously, Godwin spent 31 years in the aviation industry as a pilot. In 2013, he and his wife started their own Mosquito Joe business. The Godwins were named the inaugural Franchisee of the Year for their system in 2016. Godwin also serves on the Franchise Advisory Council for Mosquito Joe.

1990s

U.S. Air Force Lt. Col. Jeffrey Woolford (’95) is a qualified pilot-physician stationed at the Ministry of Defence Boscombe Down in Wiltshire, England, assisting British allies. Woolford earned his Doctor of Medicine in 2008 from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, F. Edward Hébert School of Medicine in Bethesda, Maryland.

2000s

Corey Dobridnia (’09) was awarded Public Information Officer (PIO) of the Year by the Florida Association of Public Information Officers on Jan. 19, 2018. The achievement fell on the heels of yet another PIO distinction: In October 2017, Dobridnia was named PIO of the Year at the Florida Law Enforcement Public Information Officers Association conference. PIO for the Walton County Sheriff’s Office in Florida, Dobridnia holds a B.S. in Communications from Embry-Riddle and a master’s degree from Florida State University in corporate and public communication. Before becoming a PIO, she was a weekend anchor for WMBB News 13 in Panama City.

2010s

Mary Smith (’11) was elected to the board of directors for the Organization of Black Aerospace Professionals. She will serve as treasurer and chair of the finance committee. She joins fellow alumni Donald Gardner (’07) and Xavier Samuels (’96), who serve the nonprofit organization as secretary and programs chair, respectively.

Oluwadamilola “Dami” Coker (’12, ’16), an Embry-Riddle Prescott Campus flight instructor, was recognized by the Federal Aviation Administration as Flight Instructor of the Year for the state of Arizona. Coker received the award at the 44th annual Arizona Safety Awards Banquet, presented by the Aviation Safety Advisory Group and Scottsdale Flight Standards District Office.

Family News

2000s

Philip Bonzell (’04) and his wife, Megan, welcomed their second daughter, Ada, to the family on May 2, 2017. She joins their older daughter, Margaret, who is 2 years old. The family lives in Newport News, Virginia. Bonzell is a primary aerospace patent examiner at the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office, where he has worked for the past 10 years.

2010s

Rebecca (Zgorski) Claxton (’13) and her husband, Gregory Claxton, welcomed their son, Emmanuel Claxton, on July 2, 2017. The couple owns/operates Infinity Space, which specializes in research, production and education in support of the commercial space industry. The family visited the Daytona Beach Campus in January.

Other

Mark Ingemi (’91) and Sam Wilson (’04) met on a recent FedEx flight. “With the increased hiring at FedEx, I am flying with a lot more ERAU graduates,” Ingemi says.
Mike Warzinski (’11) and Zack Laser (’11) recently reconnected. “I got to drag my good buddy and fellow alumnus Zack Laser a couple weeks ago from his Marine F-35C training to Japan with my AF KC-10,” says Warzinski, who shared the photo.
Brian Cuff (’13), Melissa Cuff, and their son, Carter, stopped by the Daytona Beach Campus in February. While on campus, they visited the flight line. Carter says he wants to be a pilot one day, just like his dad.

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