Florida Atlantic University Alumni and Community Engagement recently hosted its annual Hall of Fame & Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony and Reception.

Florida Atlantic University Alumni and Community Engagement recently hosted its annual Hall of Fame & Distinguished Alumni Award Ceremony and Reception. The event brought together alumni to celebrate the accomplishments of their outstanding peers, with alumni from nine of FAU’s colleges honored for their career accomplishments. Phillip Parker, CAE, CCE, ’73, a graduate of the Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters, and Angela S. Prestia, Ph.D., ’14, a graduate of the Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing, also were introduced as the 2024 Hall of Fame inductees.

“Florida Atlantic has such a remarkable community of accomplished and talented alumni, and these honorees truly showcase this as they forge their paths,” said Katie Burke, Ph.D., assistant vice president of alumni and community engagement. “We are thrilled to spotlight such terrific ambassadors of this university.”

Parker is the former president and CEO of the regional Dayton Area Chamber of Commerce and the Chamber’s Educational Involvement Foundation. Active in Department of Defense programs, he participated in the Dayton Accords in 1995 and afterward led community support missions to Kosovo, Israel, China, Japan and Cuba. Parker is an active member of the FAU alumni community, serving as chair of the Majestic Owls Society Planning Committee. In October, he was inducted into the society after reaching his 50-year graduation anniversary. Parker also helped establish the Majestic Owls Endowed Scholarship, helping pave the way for deserving students in financial need.

Prestia is the president of the Association for Leadership Science in Nursing and currently serves as an adjunct professor at FAU’s Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing. She has spent more than 47 years in nursing, and previously served as chief nursing officer at Good Samaritan Hospital and Jupiter Medical Center. She is also certified as both a health care administrator and nurse executive. Prestia has been published in peer-reviewed nursing journals, written chapters in textbooks and authored a book titled, “Becoming the Chief Nurse: The Science, The Stories, The Truth.” 

Representing nine of FAU’s colleges are the following distinguished alumni:

• Daniel Chauss, Ph.D., ’12, ’16, Charles E. Schmidt College of Medicine
• Woody De Othello, B.F.A., ’13, Dorothy F. Schmidt College of Arts and Letters
• Mihai Fonoage, Ph.D., ’10, College of Engineering and Computer Science
• Edward Fulton, B.A. ’09, M.D., Harriet L. Wilkes Honors College
• Rigaud Joseph, B.S.W. ’11, M.S.W. ’12, Ph.D., College of Social Work and Criminal Justice
• Pablo Paez, B.S. ’03, MBA ’08, College of Business
• Jean Seaver, M.S.N., ’97, Christine E. Lynn College of Nursing
• Ted Toomer, Ed.D., ’01, College of Education
• Carly Yoost, B.S., ’09, Charles E. Schmidt College of Science

For more information on Florida Atlantic University Alumni and Community Engagement, visit faualumni.org.

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