Liliana Ruiz ’95 was chosen by Rochester Mayor Malik Evans to serve as director of special projects. Her impressive background in government and communications includes positions at Hearst Magazines and Rochester City Hall, while also serving on the boards of Roc City Skate Park, Rochester Youth Sports Foundation, Borinquen Dance Theatre, and the 7th Judicial District Advisory Board.

Paola Ochoa ’15 was selected by Stamford Public Schools as the assistant principal of Dolan Middle School, where she previously taught Spanish to seventh and eighth grade students. Ochoa’s diverse experience also includes roles as a department head of school counseling and bilingual school counselor for English language learners.

Giovanni Savarese ’98, head coach of Major League Soccer’s Portland Timbers, led his team to its second Western Conference Championship and MLS Cup berth in the past four seasons. He also won the MLS is Back Tournament with the Timbers in 2020, and previously coached the New York Cosmos to three championships in the North American Soccer League. Savarese scored 50 goals as an All-American striker for LIU.

Susan McKeon ’86, ’96 was named chief financial officer by the Brookhaven National Laboratory. Her 30-year tenure at the Brookhaven lab includes senior leadership roles overseeing a $700-million plus annual budget and as the laboratory’s business operations officer.

Internationally-recognized plant biologist and LIU Professor Jeanmaire Molina was interviewed by National Geographic about the Rafflesia, the world’s largest flower, threatened by habitat destruction and illegal harvest. Molina earned acclaim for her 2014 discovery that the parasitic flower lacks the gene for photosynthesis.

Senior Ella Johnson earned a gold medal in the 200-meter butterfly – setting a new meet record and writing her name in the history books on the final day of the 2021 ECAC Championship. Johnson beat the field by almost two seconds and broke the record by nearly three seconds, helping lead the Sharks to a third-place finish in the conference tournament.

Valentino Smith ’10, ’13 was announced as Vice President of Marketing for Todos Medical Ltd., a comprehensive medical diagnostics and related solutions company. He brings over 10 years of healthcare marketing experience to the role and has taught marketing classes at LIU since 2016.

Joe Rothenberg ’73, ’77 will join the board of directors for Paragon Space Development Corporation, a leader in supporting mission-critical operations for space, military, and commercial customers around the world. Rothenberg’s decorated career includes 18 years at NASA where he directed the Goddard Space Flight Center and conducted research for earth-orbiting science missions.

Women’s Head Coach Chris Sauer is the first cross country coach in school history to be named the Northeast Conference Coach of the Year. Sauer led the Sharks to a second-place overall finish in the conference championship meet, the program’s best finish since winning the NEC Championship in 1988.