Orson Scott Card MA’81 is featured on the College Consensus list of the “Best-Educated Sci-Fi and Fantasy Authors.” Card is best known for Ender’s Game (1985), which won both the Hugo and Nebula awards, the two foremost sci-fi awards in America. He is the only writer to win both the Hugo and the Nebula two years in a row; his second of each honor came for Ender’s sequel, Speaker for the Dead.
Jeff Battcher ex’84 is giving back to his hometown of Macon, Georgia, by creating the Nike Reviving Baseball in Inner Cities (RBI) Program. The initiative provides baseball opportunities for underserved youth, helping students earn scholarships. Battcher attended the U on a football scholarship and hopes his work inspires others to contribute to their communities.
The 2025 Don McCann Playwriting Showcase featured Maybe Tomorrow by Brian Leahy Doyle MFA’87. While at the U, Doyle was the first resident dramaturge of the Pioneer Theatre Company and was largely responsible for initiating the position. He later staged the New York premiere of composer Aaron Jay Kernitz’s The Four Seasons of Futurist Cuisine at Carnegie Hall. His latest one-act play, And We Danced, premiered in KNOW Theatre’s Playwrights Festival, where it won the Best Artistic Merit Award. He currently teaches at Mercy College.
Shaun Berrett BA’94 has been appointed commissioner of the Utah Department of Financial Institutions. With over 25 years of experience in bank supervision, including roles at DFI and the Federal Reserve, Berrett is committed to strengthening Utah’s banking system. Throughout his career, he has participated in a range of regulatory activities, including bank and credit union examinations, information technology examinations, and leading regulatory reviews at several large and complex institutions.
Kim Shelley BML’96 is the new director of Salt Lake City’s Department of Public Lands. The former executive director of Utah’s Department of Environmental Quality, where she served in a variety of environmental management roles for more than 20 years, Shelley is known for her collaborative leadership and commitment to enhancing and protecting Utah’s parks, trails, and green spaces for future generations.
David S. Marriott BS’99, chairman of Marriott International, has joined the National Geographic Society’s board of trustees. With 25 years of leadership in the hospitality industry, he brings valuable global insights to the board. Marriott is only the third chair in the 98-year history of his company, the world’s largest hospitality organization, preceded by his father, J.W. “Bill” Marriott, Jr. BA’54, and grandfather, J. Willard Marriott.
Craig Bernardini PhD’03 has published 12 Oxen Under the Sea, winner of the New American Fiction Prize. The story collection delves into questions of spectatorship, alienation, and trauma as “rehearsals for the apocalypse.” Bernardini’s stories and essays have appeared in Conjunctions online, The Gettysburg Review, AGNI, New Ohio Review, and elsewhere. He teaches at Hostos Community College, a City University of New York school in the Bronx, and occasionally blogs about music at Helldriver’s Pit Stop on the CUNY Academic Commons.
Michelle Everill BS’07 was recently named one of the Top 50 Women Leaders of Pennsylvania. Everill is vice president of global trial optimization at Alnylam Pharmaceuticals. Previously, she was senior director and head of clinical business operations at Bristol Myers Squibb. She has also held senior positions at Johnson & Johnson and Pfizer and is the owner and CEO of Michelle Everill Coaching.
Michael Beltran BS’11, a firefighter with American Fork Fire & Rescue, was honored with the department’s “Always Ready” Award for his exceptional readiness, teamwork, and contributions to the community and the department. Beltran has been a firefighter for 12 years and says, “I love the camaraderie that comes with the job and the challenge of being presented with a difficult situation or call and having to critically think to solve it.”
Silvana Effio BA’12 was recently named co-host of Telemundo 52 Los Angeles’ “Acceso Total,” a lifestyle and entertainment show that airs from coast to coast in the U.S. on Telemundo. Effio is an eight-time Emmy-winning journalist and former news anchor at Telemundo Colorado and news director at Telemundo Utah. As a news director, Effio orchestrated the first Hispanic newscast to go live in the state of Utah.
Taylor Schweitzer BS’17 MS’20 mentors others as the speech language pathology representative on the College of Health Alumni Board and as a member of the Forever Utah Network. “I have learned that the learning process never ends. Every day is a new opportunity to learn from my clients and to be a better clinician,” she says. “I have the College of Health to thank for fostering an educational community that seeks to be at the forefront of mentorship, research, and innovation.”
Keegan Stanton MCP’19 is the new planning director for Pea Ridge, Arkansas. Stanton was previously a city planner for Joplin, Missouri, and senior planner for Bentonville, Arkansas, his hometown, and says that seeing changes there led him to gain interest in the field. “Watching the city grow so quickly and transform in such a short period of time really drew my attention to development and the built environment,” Stanton says. He plans to apply his experience to helping Pea Ridge forge its own path and identity as it grows.
Cooper Wilson BS’20 celebrated his first PGA Tour win early this year, caddying for Brian Campbell at the Mexico Open. After switching careers from business to caddying, Wilson’s sailing background helped him excel in his new role, where his ability to read the wind has been a key strength. His guidance on the final hole secured Campbell’s victory, earning Campbell spots in the Masters for the next two years and setting him up for additional opportunities.
Three former Utah athletes signed this year with the new professional Athletes Unlimited Softball League (AUSL) that debuted this summer with four touring teams, the Bandits, Volts, Talons, and Blaze.
Mariah Lopez BS’24 (at left) is now on the roster with the Talons. The lefty hurler helped lead Utah to the 2023 Women’s College World Series, was a three-time All-Pac-12 Conference selection, and was the first Ute to post consecutive 20-win seasons. Lopez is currently a graduate assistant softball coach at the University of Arkansas. She previously competed professionally with the New York Rise of the Association of Fastpitch Professionals.
Hannah Flippen BS’17 (right) also joined the Talons, becoming 2025 AUSL Defensive Player of the Year. Flippen was a two-time Pac-12 Conference Player of the Year and Defensive Player of the Year with the Utes, and she helped U.S. Softball earn silver at the Tokyo Olympics. She has previously played professionally with teams including the Scrap Yard Dawgs of the National Pro Fastpitch League and the Hitachi Sundivas of Japan, and she coaches youth and high school teams.
Anissa Urtez BS’17 (center), who also previously played professionally for the Scrap Yard Dawgs, is now with the Blaze. The shortstop, a three-time All-Pac-12 honoree with the Utes who is in her ninth year playing pro, represented Mexico at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Previously an assistant coach at Utah Valley University, Urtez has said this is likely to be her last pro season, though she hopes to continue offering clinics and private instruction.
Urtez, former teammate Flippen, and Lopez competed against each other this July at the U’s Dumke Family Softball Stadium, the same field where they played college softball. “For me to step on this field one more time—it feels so surreal and full circle,” Urtez said.
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