Marist Connections

Jim DeFelice co-authored Whatever it Took: An American Paratrooper’s Extraordinary Memoir of Escape, Survival, and Heroism in the Last Days of WWII with Henry Langrehr who survived D-Day and World War II. Now 97, Henry remembers parachuting into France, surviving heavy anti-aircraft fire, being captured by Nazis, living in a death camp for two weeks before rescue, and returning home. Jim helps Henry put his story on paper.

Jim graduated from Marist in 1977 with a degree in English. He has now authored or co-authored over 50 books, including multiple New York Times Bestsellers such as American Sniper, Omar Bradley: General at War, West Like Lightning, American Wife, and Code Name: Johnny Walker. He’s also the founder of Redacted Studios, develops scripts for video games, and serves as a consulting producer.

Faith + Purpose = Legacy: 7 Steps to Strengthen Communities Through Entrepreneurship encourages parents, particularly fathers to strive to be the best they can be at leading their family or business venture, while showing strength, integrity and leadership skills, in order to strengthen our communities. The wealth gap, particularly the racial wealth gap, is growing and has important, negative implications for working people and families. How does the average American family tackle this problem? In his book, Jason shares everything he learned about commitment, service and accountability. It's a compelling book with a plethora of tips, tools and strategies for living a life of purposefulness.

Jason is an entrepreneur, sales & marketing consulting, author and business trainer focused on assisting individuals with launching, growing and building a successful business. He graduated from Marist in 1983 with a degree in business marketing. He has six children and eleven grandchildren.

The Fermented Man: A Year on the Front Lines of a Food Revolution follows Derek as he spends a year living off nothing but fermented foods while chronicling their history, cultural significance, and evolution. He goes beyond yogurt and sauerkraut to show us how fermentation occurs in a wide range of foods we might never have expected. From foraging for living bacteria in the modern American grocery store, to sampling mucous-y green Century Eggs in Chinatown, to an epic winter quest to Iceland for rotten shark meat, Derek investigates a realm of forgotten foods that is endlessly complex and surprisingly flavorful.

Derek Dellinger is a writer, photographer, and brewery consultant. He’s been working at Plan Bee Farm Brewery in Poughkeepsie since 2018, and in his spare time is a blogger and an avid hiker. He graduated from Marist in 2007 with a Bachelor’s in English and is the author of America’s Best Day Hikes, 50 Hikes in the Catskills, 50 Hikes in the Upper Hudson Valley and The Fermented Man.

Chronicling businesses who sue clients for leaving negative reviews, activists using Yelp as a form of protest, students relying on Rate My Professor to select classes, and companies who have paid to have negative reviews scrubbed from the internet, Alison Novak '07 illustrates the complicated yet important role of third-party review sites and the impact they have on the global economy. The New Review Economy: Third-Party Review Sites, Reputation, and Neo-Liberal Public Relations in the Digital Age examines third-party review sites in order to understand how users and organizations use global reviews in the 21st Century.

Alison Novak is an associate professor at Rowan University in the Edelman College of Communication and Creative Arts. She graduated from Marist in 2010 with a Bachelors in Communication and holds a Ph.D. in Communication, Culture and Media from Drexel University She specializes in public engagement with media, public policy, and politics. Alison is the author of Media, Millennials, and Politics, Network Neutrality and Digital Dialogic Communication, and The New Review Economy. Her work is featured in Wired Magazine, BBC Radio, and NBC News.

A Sound History: Lawrence Gellert, Black Musical Protest, and White Denial traces the rise and fall of Lawrence Gellert, a little-known left-wing independent music collector as it explores changing perceptions of African American musical resistance in the twentieth century. At a time of institutionalized suppression, he worked to introduce white audiences to a tradition of black musical protest that had been denied and overlooked by prior white collectors. Steve's book digs into Gellert’s life, his work collecting songs in the Jim Crow South, and the controversy surrounding both.

Steven Garabedian is an associate professor of history and intern coordinator of history / public history / American studies for Marist. He holds a PhD in American Studies from the University of Minnesota and is a historian of the twentieth century of the United States with a specialization in race, music, and radicalism.

Pari Forood MPA'19 is the author of the true-life novel, The Gates of Light. While working as Press Secretary for Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr., Pari discovers her seventeen-year-old Iranian cousin has been drafted during the Iran/Iraq war. He must flee from Iran or face an almost certain death.Joining a cast of international characters that include Pakistani black-market passport dealers, members of Francois Mitterrand's inner political sanctum, influential committee members on Capitol Hill and INS agents here in the United States, Pari uses her ties in Washington to help extricate her young cousin whom she has not seen in 14 years.

Pari Forood received her bachelor’s from Vassar in 1980 and her MPA in non-profit management from Marist in 2015. She started her professional career working in the US House of Representatives for Congressman Hamilton Fish, Jr. of NY and has worked on multiple NY State Legislature and Congressional campaigns. Pari is currently the Executive Director of the Miles of Hope Breast Cancer Foundation, a position she’s held since its inception in 2004. In this role, She handles all administrative aspects of the foundation including fundraising, public relations and media, and review and research of grant applications. She is also a voice over talent for radio and television commercials and industry films and serves on various non-profit boards of directors in Connecticut and New York.

Dana Jones '20 is the founder of Accessadoor, an organization dedicated to making handicap accessible doors accessible by all. The kit enables establishments to turn ordinary handicap accessible doors into a system that can be operated by a smartphone app. She chats with Amy Woods '97 about her experiences in becoming an entrepreneur and founder before graduating college - funding, creating a team, dealing with rejection, and the benefits of just going with the flow.

Dana is a Hudson Valley native with and graduated from Marist in 2020 with a bachelors in Business Administration with a Concentration in Entrepreneurship. She transferred to Marist in 2018 after finishing her associate’s degree at Dutchess Community College.

In 2016, Kyle Mikesh '16 and Cameron Schuh '15 set out on a 61-day 3,400 mile bike ride from Plymouth, Massachusetts to Ventura, California to raise money for ALS, also known as Lou Gehrig's disease. They dedicated their journey to the memory of Michael Hamill, a longtime friend of both, who passed away after a long battle with the illness. Their trip raised $3,000 towards ALS research.

Kyle graduated in 2016 with a bachelor’s in business administration and was a member of the crew team. He currently works as a Category Leadership Associate for Daymon in Austin, Texas. Cameron graduated in 2015 with a bachelor’s in English language and writing and was a member of both MCCTA and the crew team. He currently is a Retina Mobility Testing Associate for Ora Clinical in Boston, Massachusetts.

In 2011, Brooke hosted the first ever P.S. I Love You Day for suicide prevention and mental health awareness at her high school. The day takes place in honor of Brooke’s father, Joseph, who committed suicide when she was 14 years old, and the effort began as a way to promote kindness in small but meaningful ways. Her event, which takes place on the second Friday in February has since been picked up by more than 200 schools across the country.

She joins Amanda Benton '11, assistant director of alumni relations to talk about starting P.S. I Love You, the success it's seen over the years, and the importance of focusing on mental health, especially amidst a global pandemic.

Brooke graduated from Marist in 2018 with a bachelors in communication and a minor in political science where she was a polling assistant and head coach for the Marist Poll. Professionally, Brooke is an associate producer at Yahoo Finance.

April Wennerstrom '93 is the Director of Keep America Beautiful, a nonprofit striving to End Littering, Improve Recycling, and Beautify America’s Communities. It is the nation’s leading community improvement nonprofit organization.

Helen Stahlin Corvelyn '00 is currently the STEM Coordinator at Hopewell Elementary School in New Jersey and Director of Gardens and Vertical Farming K-5. Helen has also participated in two Earth Expeditions (one in Mexico and one in Borneo) as part of her Masters in Teaching Conservation Biology.

The two join Amy Woods '97 in a conversation about the importance of environmental conservation and the work they've done both here and abroad.