Craig L. Pearce, Ph.D. ’87 CBA is University Distinguished Professor at MEF University in Istanbul, Turkey and Chief Learning Officer of 5.11 Tactical in Irvine, California. He specializes in executive leadership development. He is the founding Director of the Deloitte Leadership Institute at Ozyegin University in Istanbul, Turkey. He was formerly the Dean of the School of Business and Entrepreneurship at the American University of Nigeria and was the Donald Clifton Chair in Leadership and the Director of the Institute for Innovative Leadership at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. Previously, he was a professor at the Peter F. Drucker and Masatoshi Ito School of Management.
Craig received his B.S. with honors and distinction in management and a minor in psychology from Penn State in 1987, his MBA in management from The University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1988, and a Ph.D. in management and organization from The University of Maryland-College Park in 1997.
He has received several awards including an award from Center for Creative Leadership in the Walter F. Ulmer Applied Research Award competition; the Ascendant Scholar Award from the Western Academy of Management; and the Asia Pacific Human Resource Leadership Award from Asia Pacific Human Resource Congress. He has presented or authored more than 100 professional publications. His research has been cited more than 5,000 times in scholarly outlets, with an h-index of 30, while he is cited on the web more than 4,000,000 times.
Craig is an entrepreneur and co-founder of an agricultural biotechnology company. He also founded a heavy equipment leasing and construction company and a real estate development firm. He owns a working ranch in California that raises livestock and ornamental drought resistant plants, such as palm trees and succulents. Thus, he is both a leadership development expert and a leader, drawing from real life leadership experience to inform both his scholarship and his leadership development perspective.
Robert Ellinger '80 receives the the Outstanding Alumni Award from Jim Fragle
Robert O. (Bob) Ellinger ‘80 Smeal College of Business (graduate with distinction) – is Senior Management Advisor for the National Rural Electric Cooperative Association (NRECA) International Ltd. He is currently serving as South Sudan Country Director residing in Maridi, South Sudan, Africa with a home address of Treasure Lake. He is Chief of Party for the Electrification Sustainability Program (ESP), overseeing a technical assistance program funded by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) supporting the process of achieving long-term sustainability for three recently constructed electric generation-distribution utilities serving the towns of Kapoeta, Maridi and Yei in the Equatoria States of South Sudan. Prior to his current assignment, Bob worked on several short-term assignments in the African countries of Uganda and Liberia. In 2011 he completed a three year assignment as Chief of Party for the Rural Electrification Development Program (REDP) in Bangladesh.
Bob began his career in rural electrification as the Energy Management Advisor for United Electric Cooperative in DuBois. He has more than 25 years of experience in rural electrification programs having served in staff positions in DuBois prior to moving to Delaware, Ohio where, at the age of 34, he became Ohio’s youngest general manager of an electric distribution cooperative. While in Ohio Bob served as vice president of the Ohio Managers Association and chairman of the Ohio Rural Electric Cooperatives Youth Committee.
Prior to joining NRECA International in 2008, Bob served in senior positions with the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Utility Service (RUS), Washington, DC culminating in his selection as Director, Southern Region Division where he managed the activities of the engineering and financial operations departments and 15 field representatives located throughout 20 states and territories. During his tenure with the Federal Government, Bob served as chairman of the Electric Operations Committee and as member of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC) - Energy Resources and Environment Committee.
Ellinger earned an associate degree in business administration from Penn State DuBois in 1980, and was awarded membership in the Delta Epsilon Sigma National Honor Society upon receiving his bachelor’s degree in business administration from Ohio Dominican University in Columbus, Ohio. He is a life member of the Penn State Alumni Association and an avid follower of Penn State athletics both in DuBois and University Park.
Donor Ross Kester was the first to establish an Open Doors Scholarship at Penn State DuBois. The retired instructor in the campus engineering program named his scholarship in honor of his late colleague William H. Keown. Kester is pictured with Keown's daughter Mary Ruth Wilson.
Donors who choose to support the education of students through scholarship programs have an opportunity to make a much larger impact through a program currently offered by Penn State. The Open Doors Scholarship Program offers a permanent 2:1 match for gifts made to help students with financial need. This means a gift of $30,000 by a donor becomes $90,000 with Penn State's match. The program is only available for a limited window of time, through April 30.
Front row, left to right: Matt Gabler, Distinguished Ambassador, Marcella Jo Lucas, Outstanding Alumni, Dan Kohlhepp, Distinguished Ambassador, and Jessica Noland, Outstanding Young Alumni. Back row, left to right: Melanie Hatch with award presenters Nick Suplizio, Sheri Little, Ryan McCombie, Tony Vallone, and Jackie Atkins.
Jessica Noland '14, IST receiving the Outstanding Young Alumni award from Jackie Atkins and Tony Vallone.
Jessica M. Noland is an Information Technology Resident at Google Inc. in New York, New York. She provides internal IT support and works in a variety of areas related to internal IT operations. Most recently she has been working on a project with the privacy teams in relation to privacy compliance efforts.
Jessica began her career at Google Inc. only a few months after graduation, having received a job offer during her senior year. Prior to graduating she was also an IT Intern in Google’s Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania office. She had not applied for this position but rather was sought out by a Google recruiter after they viewed her resume on LinkedIn. During her college years she worked as an IT Intern for Jason Long, Senior Instructor and Program Coordinator in Information Sciences & Technology, completed an IT internship at Echo Star Co. in Englewood, Colorado, and spent time as an IT consultant for two self-owned businesses.
Jessica has received multiple accolades for her work at Google Inc. Most recently she received an award from her manager for taking on a technical leadership role in a global impact project to reconstruct the user interface for an internal IT support tool. She has also received awards from her peers for going above and beyond the call of duty in her IT support role. During her spare time Jessica volunteers on a variety of projects for New York Cares (the largest local volunteer organization in New York City).
Jessica is a member of the Penn State Alumni Association and regularly attends the Penn State DuBois IT Club’s Video Game Day events as an IT Club alumni. She is currently working on her Master’s degree in Information Technology with a focus in Information Assurance from the University of Maryland University College.
Matt Gabler receiving the Distinguished Ambassador Award from Nick Suplizio '02
Matt Gabler is State Representative for Pennsylvania’s 75th Legislative District in Elk and Clearfield Counties, representing over 64,000 citizens in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. He was first elected in 2008 and is currently serving in his fourth legislative term. For the 2015-16 session, Matt is serving on the following four committees: Environmental Resources and Energy, Finance, Game and Fisheries, and State Government. He has also been appointed deputy chairman of the Policy Committee and is a member of the Oil and Gas, and Pro-Life caucuses.
A DuBois native, Gabler graduated from DuBois Central Catholic High School as valedictorian in 2002. He attended Bucknell University on a 4-year Army ROTC scholarship and received his Bachelor of Arts in Political Science with a minor in Physics in 2006. Upon graduation, he was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the United States Army Reserve. He served as a company commander with the 424th Multifunctional Medical Battalion before accepting his current assignment as a medical plans and operations officer in the headquarters of the 28th Infantry Division, Pennsylvania Army National Guard. He currently holds the rank of captain.
Matt is a former research analyst in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives. His decision to run for office came from a desire to effect real change as an elected leader. He maintains a positive platform focused on reforming state government so it works for all families, seniors and children of his district. His constituents’ needs are first and foremost, needs such as good-paying jobs, property and income tax relief and protection of conservative values.
Matt has worked closely with leaders of Penn State DuBois on many local initiatives. His first outreach event as a state representative was a veteran’s expo held on campus in 2009. Since then, he has continued to support and partner with the campus in its mission to serve the educational and community needs of the area. He has been a vocal supporter of the Community Education Center and the DuBois Educational Foundation and enjoys attending community events such as those hosted by the Penn State DuBois Alumni Society. Matt is the son of Larry and Ada Gabler of DuBois. He and his wife, Lisa, live in Treasure Lake.
Marcella Jo Lucas ’86 MET, ’89 SDCET was presented the Outstanding Alumni award by Sheri Little '88
Marcella Jo Lucas is a Research Project Manager for the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in Harrisburg, PA. Marcy has worked for PennDOT for the last 26 years.
In her current position with the Bureau of Project Delivery, Marcy evaluates the use of new material products and construction technologies through research projects. These projects consist of learning about the new product or technology, developing work plans for lab or field evaluations, collecting data, analyzing test results, writing reports and implementing or rejecting the product or technology. Implementation consists of writing specification and guidelines as well as presenting the product or technology to other employees. Most of her work has dealt with concrete and concrete structures, roadside safety, and miscellaneous asphalt applications.
She also participates in external research projects with the Pennsylvania State University and the University of Pittsburgh as a technical advisor or committee member for the Bureau of Planning and Research. Prior to her current position, Marcy worked in PennDOT’s Engineering District 8-0 as a Construction Inspector and a Highway Designer. During her junior and senior year of college, she worked as a Summer Intern surveying in PennDOT’s Engineering District 10-0.
Marcy is the author/co-author of seven national technical reports. She has authored numerous internal reports and papers for PennDOT and has authored/presented research findings at various construction conferences throughout Pennsylvania. Marcy has been a recipient of PennDOT’s Innovative Idea Award for one of her research projects. She has her Engineering-in-Training Certificate for Civil Engineering. The Transportation Research Board selected Marcy for a three-year term as a Committee Member for the Field Testing and Non-destructive Evaluation of Transportation Structures Committee; she is currently serving her second year.
In the community, she served on the Duncannon Water Authority Board for two years. She was the secretary for the Harrisburg Hunters’ and Anglers’ Association for four years. As a member of Otterbein United Methodist Church, she has served as a Church Trustee, was a part of the planning committee for the new building; participates in the Annual Crop Walk and helps with the monthly Faithworks mission.
For fun, Marcy has taken horticulture classes and web design classes at Harrisburg Area Community College. Marcy enjoys walking and is an avid Volksmarcher. She walks 5K and 10K Volksmarches as often as possible. She is a member of the Susquehanna Rovers Volksmarch Club and the Vice-President of the Keystone State Volksmarch Association.
Marcy lives with her husband Russ and dog Emma in rural Perry County. Where she is a member of the Perry-Juniata Alumni Chapter.
Dan Kohlhepp '69 BS, '71 MBA receiving the Distinguished Ambassador Award from Ryan McCombie '70
Daniel B. Kohlhepp is a senior lecturer at the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School’s Edward St. John Real Estate Program in Washington, DC and the president of Granite Road. LLC, a real estate development company in DuBois, Pennsylvania. He began his career in real estate as a college professor at the University of Oklahoma and Penn State University and then spent 30 years as a real estate investor and developer before returning to academia five years ago when he retired from Crescent Resources, LLC as the president of both its Commercial Division and its residential development company, LandMar Group.
At the Johns Hopkins Carey Business School, Kohlhepp has served as the academic program director of the Master of Science in Real Estate and Infrastructure Program and has been responsible for the real estate development, investment, and modeling courses. He has just completed two, on-line courses in real estate development for the NAIOP Commercial Real Estate Organization.
At Crescent Resources, Dr. Kohlhepp was responsible for 18 major commercial developments in seven states that included mixed-use, office, warehouse/distribution, and retail projects as well as 28 master-planned community developments in Florida and southern Georgia.
After teaching at the University of Oklahoma and the Pennsylvania State University, Dr. Kohlhepp left academia in 1979 to become a developer in Oklahoma City. In 1984, he moved to Washington, D.C., to enter the real estate investment advisory business, and in 1991, he sold his company to Baltimore-based USF&G Corporation. His company was responsible for all development and investment activities for a $1.5 billion real estate. In 1992, Dr. Kohlhepp started Kohlhepp Realty Advisors in DuBois, Pennsylvania, which specialized in real estate portfolio valuation and management for institutional and government regulatory clients.
In 2001, he joined Crescent Resources to develop Potomac Yard, a 300-acre, mixed-use, urban in-fill project in Northern Virginia. During the development of Potomac Yard, Dr. Kohlhepp and his team were awarded the Northern Virginia NAIOP Best Transaction of the Year (2001), Trenchless Technology’s Project of the Year (2003), Arlington Chamber of Commerce Chairman’s Award (2003), Washington Business Journal’s Best GSA Lease Award (2004), and the Arlington Chamber of Commerce ABBIES “Green “Award (2005). In 2007, One and Two Potomac Yard, , a 654,000 square-foot, twin-tower, office project within Potomac Yard, was awarded the “Best Commercial Project” and the “Best Building High-rise” by the Virginia Sustainable Building Network and the Northern Virginia NAIOP, respectively.
In 2007 the Homer Hoyt Institute recognized Kohlhepp as a Hoyt Fellow, and in 2012, he was elected to the board of directors of the Homer Hoyt Institute. He is a principal of the Real Estate Counselors Group of America, and he is also member of the Appraisal institute and currently serves on the editorial board of the Journal of Sustainable Real Estate.
Dan attended Penn State on a wrestling scholarship, but career-ending knee injury sent him to the cheerleading squad where he gained notoriety as the Nittany Lion Mascot during the 1967-68 and 1968-69 football seasons. At Penn State, he was a member of the Phi Gamma Delta fraternity and the Parmi Nous honor society. He is a member of the DuBois Education Foundation and served as its president from 1998 to 2000. In 2004, he was recognized by Penn State with the Alumni Fellow Award.
Kohlhepp earned his Ph.D. at The Ohio State University where he met his wife of 40 years, Donna Sell Kohlhepp, Ph.D. They have three daughters, two of which are Penn State graduates, and a son-in-law who is also a Penn State graduate.
