The University of the Ozarks Alumni Association Board of Directors has elected five alumni to join the board during the organization’s annual winter meeting in February.
The new directors will begin their terms on July 1, 2024.
The new members are (pictured, clockwise from top left) Giselle Alfaro ’05 of Little Rock, Ark.; Cory Maag ’21 of Fayetteville, Ark.; Sean Riordan ’06 of Little Rock; Whitney Lewis ’14 of Davidson, N.C.; and (center photo) Courtney Taylor ’09 of Tulsa, Okla.
Also at the meeting the association elected the board officers for the 2024-25 term. The officers for the upcoming year will include George Pittenger ’91 as president, Cyleste Coppage ’97 as vice president, Cori Dyson ‘97 as secretary and Thomas Ross ’18 as treasurer.
Alfaro works with the University of Arkansas Agricultural Division as a cultural liaison for the Agricultural Finance, Tax and Assets Protection program. A native of El Salvador, Alfaro previously worked in marketing and healthcare and has served as a volunteer and interpreter for Arkansas Children’s Hospital. She has also volunteered with other nonprofit organizations such as Wildwood Park for the Arts as a linguistic specialist and organizer for Hispanic/Latin events.
A native of Johnson County, Maag works for the U.S. Department of labor where he investigates cases of labor exploitation. After graduating from Ozarks with majors in accounting and business administration, Maag went on to earn an MBA from Louisiana State University in Shreveport. He received the University’s Young Alumni Service Award in 2023.
A religion and philosophy major at Ozarks, Riordan serves as a customer service representative for USAble Life in Little Rock and has also worked in sales and technical support. In recent years he has been active in volunteerism with community theater projects, including The Weekend Theater and Studio Theater, and has begun exploring opportunities in voiceover services.
A native of Clarksville, Lewis is currently serving as assistant director of admission at Davidson College in North Carolina. She previously served as assistant tennis coach at Ozarks and worked at J.B. Hunt Transportation Services as well as Hendrix College as an admission counselor and as assistant director of admission. A former tennis player at Ozarks, Lewis earned a major in management and business administration at Ozarks and was named the American Southwest Conference Community Service Athlete of the Year.
Taylor, a general studies major at Ozarks, serves as a floating assistant teacher at her former school in Tulsa, Town and Country School, where she works with elementary, middle school and high school students. She is also active in her church and enjoys attending University of Tulsa athletic events. In 2022, she received the Emerging Philanthropist Award from University of the Ozarks. Taylor has previously served on the alumni board.
Topics: Alumni