UA’s Human Environmental Sciences to Present Alumni Awards

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. — Dr. Lewis Clifton “Jack” Davis always remembered the education he received at The University of Alabama.

During his 30-year career as a Tuscaloosa-area dentist, Davis was known to put his educational experiences and his nutrition background to use. He often advised his patients about the importance of healthy diet and good hygiene for their physical well-being, something he said he learned while a student in UA’s department of human nutrition.

The Jack Davis Professional Achievement Awards are presented annually to outstanding alumni in UA’s College of Human Environmental Sciences for their professional accomplishments. The awards, which are presented during homecoming activities on campus, have been given out since 1986. This year, the College will have presented the award to more than 200 alumni.

This year’s honorees include Andrea Ollis, James L. Jones, Brandy B. Hydrick, Jennifer Gossard Camarota, Sharon Howard Davidson, Megan Lewis Freedman, Dr. Alicia Skinner Cook, Karen Silliman, Trey Champion and Ann Marie Wagoner.

Davis,the first male graduate of the College, was a pioneer in emphasizing nutrition and dentistry. Born in Gordo, his father, grandfather and great-grandfather represented 102 years of Pickens County physicians.

2014 Jack Davis Professional Achievement Award recipients

Brandy B. Hydrick

Hydrick, of Charlotte, N.C., is head of financial planning and manager of the Charlotte office for Welch Hornsby, a regional, independent investment advisory firm serving clients in 15 states. She has more than 17 years of financial planning experience in advising high net worth individuals and families in a fee-only environment. A past president of the Financial Planning Association of North Alabama, she holds the Certified Financial Planner designation and is a member of the Estate Planning Council in Charlotte. Hydrick received her bachelor’s degree in consumer science with a concentration in family financial planning and counseling from The University of Alabama.

Andrea Yates Ollis

Ollis, of Birmingham, is the creative director at Plantation Patterns LLC. She is responsible for producing color trend strategies and executing fabric development working directly with fabric mills, as well as communicating with customers on all color and fabric development, including presenting trend boards to each customer. She must also understand and remain current in today’s marketplace to be successful in the role of strategic product direction of the company. Ollis was awarded the Margaret Stough Gold Key Award for recognition in achievement and service to UA’s College Of Human Environmental Sciences. She earned her bachelor’s degree in apparel/textile design from UA.

Ann Marie Wagoner

Wagoner, of Plano, Texas, is the events director at Learfield Sports. She is responsible for running the Learfield Sports events department and staff from the company’s headquarters office. Wagoner oversees more than 30 yearly events, including six training conferences, an internal company awards banquet, multiple conference championship events, Day-At-the-Game experiences and the nationally acclaimed Final Four Tip-Off Party with IMG College. She also directed the inaugural Learfield Sports Minority Academy where the company partnered with Minority Opportunities Athletic Association to expose minorities to the collegiate side of sports business through a weeklong teaching academy. Wagoner earned her bachelor’s degree in communication and information sciences and her master’s in sports management from UA.

 

Megan Lewis Freedman

Freedman, of Mansfield, Mass., is the content manager and senior health writer for CommunicateHealth Inc. With more than 15 years experience in public health, Freedman is a skilled health writer, editor and content manager. She oversees content development and maintenance for healthfinder.gov, including managing more than 100 disease prevention topics and coordinating 40-plus subject matter experts from across HHS. Close to 300 organizations, including state and local health departments, syndicate healthfinder.gov content on their websites. Freedman earned her master’s in health studies from UA.

Karen Silliman

Silliman, of Tuscaloosa, is the director of technology and distance education and assistant to the senior associate dean at UA’s Capstone College of Nursing. Silliman is responsible for providing a strategic vision to the College in relation to the use of technology, overseeing the learning resources center and developing and monitoring courses in learning management system. She is also responsible for establishing and preserving contracts with clinical agencies, contributing to the preparation for college accreditation process, computing the annual faculty workload report and monitoring faculty health and employment requirement compliance. Silliman is a member of the National League of Nursing, the International Nursing Association for Clinical Simulation and Learning and the Alabama Simulation Alliance. She earned her master’s in human environmental science with a concentration in interactive technology from UA.

 

Jennifer Camarota

Camarota, of Parsippany, N.J., is the director of Customer Experience and Brand Standards for Wyndham Hotel Group. She is responsible for working with brand leaders to identify top causes of customer negative sentiment, creating projects and programs strategies to assist more than 5,000 hotel properties to increase overall customer satisfaction, and working with internal training departments to create and present property level training and communications. Camarota has more than 17 years of professional experience in the service sector, managing operations, sales, project management and customer service functions. She earned her bachelor’s degree in hotel management from UA.

Sharon Howard Davidson

Davidson, of Griffin, Ga., is a Nestlé professional, serving in various positions such as the division vice president of On-Site FoodServices Sales Division, director of On-Site Foodservices Sales Division and director of the Healthcare Channel Development over the past 30 years. Davidson has been responsible for growing sales from $3.5 million to more than $300 million. She has also led cross functional teams in the development of new companywide sales strategies, innovative new products, successful new brands and online sales and marketing product/channel training, and she created the “Fit Harvest, This Changes Everything” brand development and trade mark registration. She received the “Passion for Excellence” award by Premier Healthcare, the “Hit Parade” Sales award for new product developed from Howard family recipe and was chosen to sit on the Nestlé USA Nutrition Leadership Board. Davidson served as board chairman of the Meals on Wheels Association of America Foundation, and she is a member of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics and Georgia Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. She earned her bachelor’s degree in food, nutrition and institution management from UA.

Trey Champion

Champion, of Georgia, works with Interior Architects — Global Alliance. His projects of note include lead designer of the Liberty Mutual Insurance National Account and lead designer of the American Cancer Society National Account. Champion also serves as a guest lecturer at the Art Institute of Atlanta, Brenau University and Georgia State University. He earned his bachelor’s degree in interior design from UA.

 

James L. Jones

Jones, of Alabaster, is a national certified athletic trainer. He has certifications with the state of Alabama, the American Heart Association and the National Association of Sports Medicine. He conducts various seminars and offers instruction to multiple organizations, including the American Heart Association and the Birmingham City Schools’ coaches annual seminars. He also works with Children’s of Alabama and is an athletic training supervisor. Jones received his bachelor’s degree in athletic training from UA and his master’s degree in exercise physiology from The University of Alabama at Birmingham.

Alicia Skinner Cook

Cook, of Fort Collins, Colo., is a licensed psychologist in the state of Colorado. She serves as professor emeritus in the department of human development and family studies and online instructor in the Office of International Programs at Colorado State University. Cook has authored and co-authored numerous books, articles and chapters, as well as presented papers at various professional workshops, seminars, meetings and conferences around the world. She has been awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in grant money to further develop her research on family stress and coping, work and family linkages and family crisis projects. Cook received both her bachelor’s degree in child development and master’s degree in human development and family studies from UA. She earned her doctorate in educational psychology from Arizona State University.