PRESENTERS' BIOGRAPHIES

Jeff Hicks, president of the Alumni Club of Mid Michigan, brings to the conference extensive experience as a volunteer leader with the MSU Alumni Association, Lansing Chamber of Commerce, Habitat for Humanity, Ingham Regional Medical Center and the Lansing Rotary Foundation. Jeff is a founding member of Hicks & Mullett, PLLC.  His practice is concentrated in real property law including: commercial and residential real estate; zoning; development; boundary disputes; easements; homeowner/condo associations; and, land use.  His practice also includes business and business asset sales and acquisitions, and general business law.  

John Hill is the MSU Alumni Association director of alumni career services. He comes to MSUAA from the MSU Career Service Network where he was the internship developer working with business, public sector and non-profit entities to set up internship and experiential opportunities for MSU students. John developed a unique public sector/university partnership with the City of Lansing to retain MSU students within mid-Michigan along with alumni-student mentor programs, job shadow and networking programs, and unique on-campus interactions between employers and students. He also served on university-wide committees to market myspartancareer.com (MSU’s student and employer career portal) and to develop an on-campus internship initiative.

 
Martin Jarmond is assistant athletic director of development-director of regional giving. He has been actively involved with many regional clubs and assists in the collaboration between the MSU Athletic Department and the Alumni Association.
Martin joined the Spartans in 2003. He received a bachelor's degree in communication studies with a minor in leadership studies from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington. He earned two master's degrees (business administration and sports administration) from Ohio University in Athens, Ohio.  A former Division I athlete, Martin played basketball for the Seahawks under Coach Jerry Wainwright. He captained the Seahawks to their first ever NCAA tournament appearance in 2000. He previously served as an intern in the Department of Athletics at the University of Florida and at Eastern Michigan University.

Kim Kittleman, director of alumni engagement for the MSU Alumni Association, has had a vested interest in the association since she was an undergraduate.  Her work evolved from a student employee of the association to active involvement in the Austin, Texas club, where she served as club president for two years. Kim was appointed to the MSU Alumni Association National Board in 2002 and has served on the Programs Committee and chair of the Young Alumni Committee.  She was a pivotal participant in the research and development of the “Young Alumni Initiative” launched by the association in the fall of 2007.  She continues to expand her alumni involvement and currently serves as an executive board member of the Alumni Club of Mid-Michigan. 

Stella Cash is interim associate vice president for alumni relations/executive director, and a special projects manager in MSU’s Dept. of Radiology. She was chair of the MSU Alumni Association National Board from 2006 - 2007. Stella has a long history with MSU. For 28 years she was director of the Dietetics Program, one of the largest in the nation. She was co-chair of the All University Capital Campaign the past five years, serves on the Wharton Council, and is the past-president of the University Club.  She is president and owner of Food Creations, Inc., a consulting company with a focus on food and nutrition, and she hosted a local TV show for two years.

Laurie Robison recently joined the MSU Alumni Association as assistant director of membership and marketing. She brings to the association more than 16 years of experience in communications, marketing and public relations. Most recently, she worked for the university as a graduate research assistant in the College of Communication Arts and Sciences, as editor of "Putting Research to Work," a program that bridged the gap between academic research and industry professionals. Prior experience includes director of marketing, human resources and operations for CASE Credit Union, and director of membership for Michigan Nursery and Landscape Association.

Ryan Vartoogian is the president of Spartan Internet Consulting, a Lansing based IT firm with four offices throughout the U.S.  While a sophomore at Michigan State, he founded the company in 1997, which is recognized as a leading web site assessment and strategic Internet services company providing strategic direction and web implementation services to Fortune 500 and higher education clients. He is involved with the MSU Student Consulting Group for Non Profit Organizations (SCNO) supporting underserved organizations. Ryan has been the recipient of several recent awards including recipient of the 10 Over the Next 10 award and the 2008 Internet Services Entrepreneurial Award for Lansing.