Distinguished Alumni Board Members

Kathryn Crowder
biography

Sara Goodwin
biography

Mr. Canaan has litigated various types of medical malpractice cases including: oral surgery, birth injuries, pulmonary embolism, angioedema, medication administration errors, tricyclic overdoses, myocardial infarction, avascular necrosis, suicide, gastric bypass, emergency medicine, pharmaceutical errors, colorectal cancer, colonoscopies, stroke, fractures, shoulder surgery, operating room fires, medical equipment malfunctions, false positive lab results and patient falls.

Mr. Canaan frequently lectures on recent legislative actions, case law developments, and risk management strategies to avoid civil litigation.

Mr. Canaan earned his B.A. in political science and English from Virginia Tech, and his J.D. from the T. C. Williams School of Law at the University of Richmond. Upon graduation from law school, he was a clerk in the Chief Staff Attorney’s Office of the Virginia Supreme Court.
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Clara B. Cox is director of publications and outreach communications at Virginia Tech and managing editor of Virginia Issues & Answers, a public policy magazine published by the university. She is the co-editor and author of Images & Reflections: Virginia Tech 1872 –1997 and Generations of Women Leaders at Virginia Tech and the editor and co-author of A Special Place for 200 Years: A History of Blacksburg, Virginia. She provides communications support for the Office of the Provost, Office of Multicultural Affairs, and the Virginia Center for Civil War Studies and writes biographical sketches for the campus building biomarkers. She has won state, regional, and national awards for her work and was named the 2003 Outstanding Leader of the Year by Virginia Tech’s Academy of Leadership Excellence. She holds a Master of Arts in English from Virginia Tech and a Bachelor of Arts in English from Radford University.
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Kathryn Crowder '99 is the Director of the Annual Fund at Lynchburg College. She is currently pursuing her Master's in Business Administration at Lynchburg College. Kathryn worked in publishing from 1999-2001 before entering the nonprofit sector, and is also a freelance writer in the Lynchburg area. In August 2006, she was recognized in the annual feature published by the Blue Ridge Business Journal, "20 Under 40." She is a 1995 graduate of Franklin High School.

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Lisa Marlene Derx has worked throughout her career to improve the lives of persons with intellectual disabilities. Currently and since 1999, she has served as Director of e-Buddies, a division of Best Buddies International. This innovative program provides digital opportunity to persons with intellectual disabilities.

Ms. Derx has a long history with Best Buddies. In April 1990, she was hired as a temporary employee charged with organizing the first Best Buddies Leadership Conference for college student leaders. Based on the success of that conference, Best Buddies Founder and Chairman Anthony K. Shriver offered her a permanent position as Director of Communications.

Originally headquartered in Washington, D.C., Best Buddies relocated to Miami, Florida in 1992, and Ms. Derx relocated as well. In the ensuing years, Ms. Derx served in various capacities, including creating volunteer policies, staff procedures, chapter chartering materials, and training materials. Because the need for the services of Best Buddies is so great, Ms. Derx spent five years raising funds for the organization. During this time, Ms. Derx organized six to ten national fund raisers each year, secured funds from private foundations, state and local governments, individual donors, and the sale of art and merchandise.

In April 1996, the Best Buddies Board of Directors appointed her the first Executive Director for Best Buddies International. During her tenure, Best Buddies expanded to over 300 chapters in the United States, Canada, and Egypt.

In 1998, Ms. Derx returned to the Washington, D.C. area, where she served as Program Director for In2Books, a reading pen pal program for at-risk elementary school students. In her time at In2Books, the program completed its first professional evaluation and tripled the number of students it reached.

Ms. Derx serves as a Mall Manager for the Friendship and Social Inclusion Department of www.qualitymall.org, an innovative website offering resources for persons with intellectual disabilities. She is a volunteer for In2Books and a member of the Best Buddies Capital Region Advisory Board. Ms. Derx is a member of the Virginia Tech English Department's newly created Distinguished Alumni Board, and a past board member for the National Society of Fundraising Executives, Miami Chapter.

A graduate of Virginia Tech, Ms. Derx holds a B.A. in English and PoliticalScience, and she lives in Alexandria, Virginia.
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Sandy Hagman is currently employed as a Technology Trainer for Kilpatrick Stockton LLP, an international law firm. Her responsibilities include training support for the firm’s nine offices, which comprises new hire orientation, and support for other firm in-house developed software and purchased solutions. She also develops and presents webinars and curriculum on topics targeted for the legal environment. In addition, Sandy has presented seminars for the National Business Institute on researching on the Internet.

Prior to working for Kilpatrick Stockton, Sandy was a Master Series trainer and consultant with Payne Consulting Group. In addition to training the Payne Master Series for Word class, Sandy worked with large and small firms with training on Microsoft Office products, e-mail and document management systems for attorneys, secretaries and staff. She has also contributed articles to the Payne Consulting Group’s website as well as other legal publications.

In addition to consulting work Sandy was Training Manager for Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, a North Carolina based law firm with 9 offices from Washington, DC to Atlanta, GA. Her responsibilities included coordinating training for over 1200 users, working with specific practice groups to identify training and support needs, and managing the training team. She was part of the management team for three rollouts, three mergers with other law firms and the opening of two additional offices.

Sandy holds a B.A. and M.A. in English from Virginia Tech in addition to a certificate in Microcomputing and several Microsoft certifications. She is also a certified Training Manager.

Before working in the legal field, Sandy was an Instructor at Forsyth Technical Community College in Winston-Salem, NC for over five years where she was named Teacher of the Year. In addition to class instruction, Sandy was a speaker for several textbook publishers and on the steering committee and a project chairman for the development of the Computer Instructor’s Association, North Carolina Community College System.
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Paul Kennedy is Sunshine Network’s sports director and primary host and play-by-play announcer. Since joining the regional sports network at its inception in 1988, Kennedy has called the action on numerous local, regional and national sporting events, making him one of the most well-known and respected sports talents in Florida.

Sunshine Network is Florida’s largest and leading regional sports network providing coverage of more than local pro, collegiate and amateur sports teams and properties to more than 5.9 million homes.

Kennedy is most widely recognized by Florida viewers as the host of Orlando Magic NBA basketball on Sunshine Network and the play-by-play announcer for Sunshine’s productions of all Florida State University regular season football games. In 2003, he adds rink-side reporting duties for Sunshine Network’s exclusive Tampa Bay Lightning NHL telecasts. Kennedy’s versatility is evident by his wide-ranging talent assignments for numerous college football, basketball and baseball games, plus golf, tennis, water skiing, equestrian events and much more. His duties at Sunshine have also included hosting Florida Marlins MLB telecasts and Tampa Bay Lightning NHL games, play-by-play duties for the AFL Orlando Predators and IHL Orlando Solar Bears, hosting “Bucs Diaries,” “Sunshine Gridiron Classics” and Sunshine’s Emmy Award-nominated “Florida Sports Profiles” series.

For the past several seasons, Kennedy’s visibility at the national level has soared. He is a play-by-play announcer for Fox Sports Net’s national “ACC Sunday Night Hoops” package, which can be seen in Florida exclusively on Sunshine Network. He has also been seen calling games for the “NFL on FOX,” and a full season of NFL Europe games for FOX Sports.

In addition, Kennedy split his time during the 2001-2002 NBA season between Orlando, where he continued his hosting duties for Magic games on Sunshine, and Minneapolis, where he served as the cable television play-by-play announcer for the Minnesota Timberwolves. He was nominated for a local Emmy Award for his announcing role with the Timberwolves. Kennedy’s background also includes Conference USA Football, SEC Football, SEC Basketball, the U.S. Olympics Festival, and equestrian events for ESPN.

In 2000, Kennedy was named “Florida Sportscaster of the Year” by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association (NSSA).

Prior to joining Sunshine, Kennedy was the “Voice of the Crimson Tide” for five years at tradition-rich Alabama. He holds degrees in Political Science and English Literature from Virginia Polytechnic Institute. He resides in Orlando. 8/03
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Donna’s educational background includes an Associates of Science degree in Business Administration from Virginia Western Community College (1981), and a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Management (1983) and a Bachelor of Arts degree in English (1984), both from Virginia Tech.

Donna is active in the community. She currently holds many positions at Virginia Western Community College, including Vice President of the Foundation Board (to assume the position of President in 2006). She is also currently Chairman of the Virginia Western Community College Alumni Council, a member of the Executive and Development Committees for the Foundation, and was previously Treasurer of the Foundation and the Alumni Coordinator for the Foundation’s inaugural Major Gifts Campaign. Donna delivered the commencement address to the graduates of Virginia Western Community College in May of 1996.

In addition to her work with the community college, Donna has been active in many other organizations in the past, serving on the board of the Salvation Army’s Turning Point Abused Women’s Shelter for 16 years, as well as being a past member and Vice President of the Downtown Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (where she was named the club’s 1996 Woman of the Year and nominated for the top ten National Business Women of the Year for 1997). She has also served on the boards of Sanctuary Group Home and the Kiwanis Club of Roanoke.
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Dr. Raleigh F. (Sandy) Seay, Jr., holds a Bachelor's Degree from Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia, a Master's Degree from Rollins College in Orlando and a Ph.D. in the Humanities from Warnborough University in the United Kingdom. He has held personnel management positions with Burlington Industries, American Hospital Supply Corporation, Roanoke Memorial Hospitals and SESCO Management Consultants prior to acquiring his own management consulting firm in 1981. Sandy served as an armour officer with the 3rd Infantry Division, U.S. Army in Europe, from 1968-1970.

Sandy is a frequent speaker at management conferences and seminars and has conducted management development workshops all across the United States and in three foreign countries. He is the author of many articles and management guides in the field of human resources management and labor relations including How To Write An Employee Handbook, How To Successfully Resolve A Charge Of Discrimination, and How To Hire And Retain Good Employees.

As Chairman of Seay Management Consultants, Sandy and his management staff help their clients (1) comply with state and federal employment regulations, and (2) develop human resource management systems and policies such as compensation programs, employee handbooks and policy manuals, affirmative action plans, employee opinion surveys and other important management programs. Seay Management Consultants has been in operation since 1966 and has more than 400 clients located throughout the United States. Sandy has served on the Governor's Advisory Council on Business and Education for the State of Florida, the Human Resources Committee of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, the Board of Directors of the Central Florida Chapter of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes, the Parent Resource Center and the University Club. He is past President of the Orlando Rotary Club and serves on the Board of Advisors of the Hamilton Holt School of Rollins College and the Board of the Central Florida YMCA.

In addition, he attends St. Luke's Episcopal Cathedral Church, serves on the Distinguished Alumni Board of the English Department at Virginia Tech, is past President of the Central Florida Hokie Club, is a charter member of the Thomas Murphy Society and a mentor for distance learning students at Wamborough University.

He is closely involved with Irish genealogy and history and has written several manuscripts chronicling his family's genealogy and history in America and in Ireland, including The Mystery of Mathew Seay, published by Tidewater Virginia Families. His poem On First Arriving in Kilkenny was published by by the Irish Genealogical Society. Sandy is an adjunct Professor of Humanities at Rollins College and Valencia Community College, teaches an adult Sunday School class, and is a frequent speaker on the ancient Greek civilization, with a specific interest in the literature of the Trojan War.

"Some people see things as they are and ask why; I dream things as they never were and ask, why not? " — George Bernard Shaw, Irish Dramatist
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