Notable Alumni
In addition to alumni who are respected teachers, principals, superintendents and professional educators, NLU graduates can also be found at major foundations, representing the U.S. in the Olympics, working as a sky marshal—and playing professional football.
Denis G. Antoine, M.S. in Organizational Management
- Ambassador to Grenada
- Formerly diplomatic officer and alternative representative to the Organization of American States
- Supervisor, Washington D.C. public schools
- Ambassador and Permanent Representative, Organization of American States
Robin M. Avers, M.S. in Management
- Former Special Agent in Charge, Boston Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement
- Currently principal investigator for Fidelity Investments
Jeff H. Blake, B.A. in Applied Behavioral Sciences
- Director, Keller Graduate School of Management, DeVry University, Phoenix, AZ
- Founder, The Blake Group, which provides executive coaching, organization development and executive training
- Former VP and branch manager for Charles Schwab & Co. in Phoenix
James W. Croft, M.S. in Human Resources Development
- NLU Trustee
- Vice President of Finance and Administration, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago
- Oversees the museum’s Center for Cultural Understanding and Change
- Former administrator with the Salvation Army in the Midwest
Toni L. Freeman, B.A.
- Manages research and evaluation for the Duke Endowment, a private foundation with assets of more than $2 billion and which gives more than $100 million in annual grants to selected colleges, hospitals, children’s homes and churches in the Carolinas
Delores Petway Holmes, M.Ed.
- Founder of Project Ghana, a program that shares information on early childhood development and parental and teen education in this African country
- Recipient, Parent’s Magazine’s Social Action Award, presented by Tipper Gore in 1993
- Alderman for the City of Evanston
Beverley J. Kroll, B.A. in Business; M.S. in Management
- Recognized as a pioneer in the field of consumer sensory testing—which is one of the foundations of today’s beverage, food, personal care, fragrance and flavor industries
- Principal/Co-Founder/CEO of Peryam & Kroll Research Corporation, the country’s largest independent consumer testing company
Lavon Mercer, B.A. Behavioral Psychology
- Sometimes called “The Israeli Michael Jordan”
- Associate athletic director and head basketball coach at Spelman College in Atlanta
Lydia Murphy-Stephans, B.A. ELED
- Executive Vice President of Production, Oxygen Media
- Executive Producer, Oxygen Sports (NYC)
- Member, 1984 U.S. Olympic Speed Skating Team
- Inducted into the Speed Skating Hall of Fame in 1995
Alvaro Obregon, B.A. in Applied Behavioral Sciences
- Winner of the 2005 Bank of America Local Hero award for community activism
- Instrumental in connecting the Chicago Symphony Orchestra with Chicago’s Latino community
Susan Lager Osborne, M.Ed. in Early Childhood Leadership and Advocacy
- A foster parent for 20 years to more than 65 minority, drug-exposed, and often premature infants
- Formerly worked as a nurse, childbirth educator and teacher of pediatric nursing
- Graduate work was in early childhood and infant studies, especially the survival of newborns
Rodney Parker, M.Ed. in Interdisciplinary Studies, Curriculum and Instruction
- Former pro football player: Atlanta Falcons and Philadelphia Eagles
- Member of Eagles 1981 Super Bowl XV squad
- Educator/teacher in St. Louis
- Named Physical Education Teacher of the Year in St. Louis in 1999
Hector Rico, B.A. in Social Science
- Executive Director of the Latino Organization of the Southwest
- Advocate for human and labor rights of Central American groups
- Creator of the Hands Across Culture Project in Chicago to build bridges of communication between Latino and African-American communities
Russ Riendeau, B.A. in Applied Behavioral Sciences, M.S. in Psychology
- Founder and senior partner, East Wing Search Group which provides contract services to Fortune 500 companies in the healthcare, plastics and industrial sectors
- Author of two books and numerous journal articles
- Established the East Wing Search Group Endowed Scholarship in Psychology at NLU
Mary Shilkaitis, M.S. in Management
- R.S. and VP, Clinical Services, Rush Copley Medical Center
- Responsible for the management of the Women’s Health Center; Cancer Care Center; women’s diagnostic services; the pharmacy; and surgical services
Elizabeth Thomas, B.A. in Applied Behavioral Sciences
- Peace Corps recruiter responsible for the highest number of minority trainees in the history of the Corps
- Worked as a volunteer in Morocco and Yemen
