Seven alumni will be honored at the YSU Bitonte College of Health and Human Services Alumni Recognition Dinner at 6 p.m. Friday, Oct. 7, at The Embassy in Youngtown.
Pictured from the left are Col. Gerald "Jerry" Nunziato Jr., Joe Voytek, Amanda Caldwell, Ken Bielecki, Jeffrey Koontz, Lena Esmail and Jack Butler.
The college also will give out five College Appreciation Awards and a Dean’s Appreciation Award.
Registration required by Sept. 26 here. More information at 330-941-2139.
Honorees include:
Alumni Awards
Jack Butler started his career in the hospitality industry after high school working for the Youngstown Residence Inn. His career includes manager of the Akron Hampton Inn, general manager of Canton Fairfield Inn and Suites, adjunct professor at YSU, general manager of Hyatt Place Canton and Niles Residence Inn, and regional director of Operations and regional vice president for Aimbridge Hospitality. He received the Rising Star Top 10 award from Hotels Magazine last year.
Joe Voytek earned a bachelor’s in 2013 and a master’s in 2015, both in Gerontology, and has been the director of Operations at Comfort Keepers for seven years. He serves on the board of the Greater East Ohio Chapter of the Alzheimer’s Association and on the planning committee for the region’s Walk to End Alzheimer’s. In addition, he volunteers managing two support groups for individuals caring for someone with dementia or Alzheimer’s disease.
Jeffrey Koontz earned a bachelor’ degree in Exercise Science in 2004, a master’s of Physical Therapy in 2007 and a doctorate of Physical Therapy in 2010. His career has included work at University Hospital’s Geneva Medical Center and Hillside Rehabilitation Hospital. In 2021, Koontz took on the role of director of Business Development and the OH/PA regional director of Rehabilitation Services for Steward, including Hillside, Trumbull Regional Medical Center and Sharon Region Medical Center. In 2022, he was named chief administrative officer at Hillside.
Amanda Caldwell earned a bachelor’s in Exercise Science from YSU in 2006. A member of the Swim and Dive Team while at YSU, Caldwell is currently head swimming coach at Tulane University. She previously was head coach at Georgia Southern and assistant coach at Rice University. Caldwell also holds a master’s in Sports Administration from James Madison University.
Col. Gerald “Jerry” Nunziato Jr. was a member of the YSU Army ROTC program, graduating in 2000. In active-duty service, he served as an armor officer, signal corps officer, special operations civil affairs officer, and has held numerous leadership positions, from platoon leader to battalion commander, and will serve as garrison commander beginning in 2024. In addition to several stateside assignments, Nunziato served in South Korea and Turkey, as well two combat rotations in Iraq and three in Afghanistan. His awards include the Bronze Star Medal, Defense Meritorious Service Medal, Meritorious Service Medal and Combat Action Badge.
Lena Esmail, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Nursing and Biology from YSU, is the chief executive and owner of QUICKmed Urgent Cares specialty clinics. Her work pioneering equity in care for the underserved has been recognized by the Ohio Governor’s Office and the Ohio Department of Education. She also holds a master’s in Nursing from Ursuline College and completed a post-master in Nursing with a specialty in critical care at YSU. She also earned a doctorate in Nursing Practice from Kent State University.
Ken Bielecki earned a bachelor’s degree in Social Work from YSU in 2000 and has been the executive director of Jewish Family and Community Services in Youngstown for the last five years. Under his direction, the non-profit agency has dramatically expanded services for mental health counseling, senior outreach and an expansive home-delivered meal program. He is chair of the Human Rights Committee at Trumbull County Board of Developmental Disabilities, is a member of the Trauma Informed Care Committee in Trumbull County, and recently joined Gateways to Better Living as a committee member. He also holds a master’s of Social Administration from Case Western Reserve University.
Dean’s Appreciation Award
College Appreciation Awards
Nancy Wagner and the Centofanti School of Nursing Faculty and Staff. The school, with an enrollment of nearly 700, works to meet the demands of the nursing shortage. Wagner has led the program for the past decade. The School has been particularly active responding to COVID-19, offering innovative virtual clinical and lab experiences, creating online tele-homecare visits, holding an outdoor mock drive-thru testing experience and collaborating with the Youngstown City Health Department for multiple vaccine clinics on campus. In addition, the RN-BSN and Nurse Practitioner programs were converted to online, the Doctor of Nursing Practice degree was launched and the first cohort of students in the new Associate Degree in Nursing were admitted. The School also earned full, 10-year accreditation from the Ohio Board of Nursing.