News & Events 2006-2007

Skeptics Features Young Alumni

The second annual Young Alumni Society of Skeptics program on January 9 featured panelists Maria Lieberman ’01, Jon Smolian ’00, Andrew Solar ’95, Ned Marcalus ’98 and Shari Markoff ’90 (see pictures below). Dr. Martin Miller (pictured right) will served as moderator. Bios follow on each of these dynamic young alumni:

Maria Lieberman ’01
Maria obtained a B.S. in health science with a concentration in forensic health, a concentration in human development, a minor in health administration, and a minor in counseling and human services from the University of Scranton where she also completed her master’s in occupational therapy. Maria currently is employed as an occupational therapist at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia, the number one children’s hospital in the country. She works with children with varying diagnoses including cancer, brain tumors, blood disorders, genetic disorders and traumas.

Andrew Solar ’95
Andrew graduated from Kenyon College with a B.A. in political science with a concentration in public policy. He is currently assistant vice president at Brown Brothers Harriman & Co. in N.Y.C. Andrew also worked at FleetBoston in their large and middle market corporate commercial banking groups in New York. He joined BBH about three years ago in the commodity finance group, and in November of 2006 began working as an analyst for the 1818 SBIC Fund, L.P.

Jonathan Smolian ’00
Jonathan Smolian is manager of business development and strategic planning for New Line Cinema. In this role, Jonathan analyzes the economics of the studio’s film and television projects and provides senior management with the analytical tools necessary to make green light decisions. He is also responsible for helping to develop and implement New Line’s long-term business plan, including the annual budgeting process. Jonathan acts as one of New Line’s liaisons to the corporate parent’s strategic planning group and provides financial/business analysis support to all of the studio’s divisions, including Picturehouse (a new, jointly-owned theatrical distribution company with HBO), the home video and television operations, record label and theatrical business.

Prior to joining New Line, Jonathan was a consultant on New York City’s Olympic bid organization, NYC 2012. He holds a B.A. from Dartmouth College, where he majored in government, theatre and economics. During his undergraduate years, Jonathan interned at City Hall in the Office of the Mayor of New York City and CNN in Washington, DC.

Ned Marcalus ’98
Ned graduated from Hamilton College in 2002 with a double major in economics and world politics. Shortly before joining Marcal Paper Mills in the fall of 2002, he worked for an upstate New York congressional campaign in and around Utica. Once joining Marcal he served as a sales representative for Marcal’s consumer division, calling on supermarket chains in upstate New York and New York City (D’Agastinos, P&C Supermarkets, Duane Reade, Western Beef, etc.) and small wholesalers in the New York-Philadelphia Metro Areas. While serving as a sales representative, he also managed the export sales division for Marcal.

In 2005 Ned was promoted to national account manager in Marcal’s Away-from-Home division, where he currently manages business with office product wholesalers, buying groups and office product dealers (like WB Mason and others). He also manages business at Costco and Office Max, and assists with his division’s largest and most profitable account, Staples, by calling on the regional sales offices. Currently Ned is building a national network of broker organizations that will call on independent office dealer, regional distributor offices and large scale consumers (corporations, non-profits, college and universities). “Most important,” Ned says, “in my job, I am always tasked with searching new distribution and expanding product assortment with each of my respective accounts.”

Shari Markoff ’90
Shari is an experienced broker who excels in the real estate industry. She deals with many of Manhattan’s top real estate power players as clients and has found all of them exactly the luxury apartment home they were looking for. Shari began her education of the high-end, luxury market working as a media planner for Tiffany & Co for two years. She went on to excel as vice president of New York Security Systems where she soon realized her real talents were in finance, and, more specifically, brokering high-end real estate deals. Shari joined Michael Shvo in 2001, where she earned instant accolades by landing major deals. After graduating from Blair she went on to the University of Rochester where she majored in political science. After graduation, she continued her studies at Rochester where she earned certificates in marketing, finance and accounting at the Simon School of Business.

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The Society of Skeptics lecture series occurs on Tuesday evenings at 7:00 p.m. and is held in Cowan Auditorium. Click here for a full listing of scheduled speakers

Updated 1/10/07

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