Ivan Allen College Honors 13 at the 2023 Distinguished Alumni Awards

Posted March 30, 2023

The annual Distinguished Alumni Awards celebrate excellence in the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts community. 

Each year, the College presents three categories of awards: the Dean’s Appreciation Award, honoring steadfast friends and supporters of the College; the Distinguished Alumni Awards, recognizing graduates from each of the six schools and the ROTC units; and the Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Awards, honoring a faculty member, graduate student, and undergraduate student. 

“Our honorees embody the vital role the liberal arts play in improving the human condition,” said Kaye Husbands Fealing, dean and Ivan Allen Jr. Chair of the Ivan Allen College of Liberal Arts. “Their engagement and support allow us to transform lives, ideas, and learning as well as resolve the pressing and persistent issues of communities.”

The 2023 ceremony took place at the Tech Hotel Ballroom on March 29. This year’s honorees are:  

Dean’s Appreciation Award

• Roberta M. Berry, associate professor of Public Policy at Georgia Tech and director of the Georgia Tech Honors Program

Distinguished Alumni Awards

• 2nd Lt. Zach McGee, Army ROTC, CS 2022
  • Read our Q&A with Zach, a cyber officer in the U.S. Army.
• Ignacio Montoya, Air Force ROTC, MBID 2018
  • Read our Q&A with Ignacio, chief scientific officer at HINRI Labs.
• CDR Dan DeCicco, Navy ROTC, IE 2001
  • Read our Q&A with Dan, a military operations research analyst at U.S. Central Command.
• Vernon O'Neal, ECON 1979
  • Read our Q&A with Vernon, senior vice president at USI Insurance Services.
• Rodney Jordan, M.S. HSTS 2009
• Jason Ellis, STC 2006
  • Read our Q&A with Jason, associate professor of English at New York City College of Technology.
• Daniela Galvez Sghiatti, ALIS 2016
  • Read our Q&A with Daniela, a first grade dual immersion teacher at the Dual Immersion Academy in Salt Lake City.
• Susan Graff, M.S. TASP 1985
  • Read our Q&A with Susan, vice president and partner, global corporate sustainability at Resource Recycling Systems.
• Alexious Butler, M.S. INTA 2002
  • Read our Q&A with Alexious, senior development advisor at U.S. Central Command.

Ivan Allen Jr. Legacy Awards

• Natasha Valluri, B.S. Computational Media — Undergraduate Legacy Award 
• Zinet Kemal, M.S. Cybersecurity — Graduate Legacy Award
• Willie Pearson Jr., Regents’ Professor in the School of History and Sociology — Faculty Legacy Award

Congratulations to our 2023 winners! See more past and present award winners here.