Alumni

Northern Michigan University alumnus and attorney Paul Millenbach was selected by his peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2025 edition in the practice area of mass tort litigation/class actions-defendants. He is a litigator and co-leader of the General and Commercial Litigation Practice Group at Foster Swift Collins & Smith PC in Southfield.

Dr. Sara Sutherland, a 2017 NMU alumna who earned a bachelor's in biology/physiology and a minor in chemistry, has joined the team of emergency medicine physicians at UP Health System – Marquette. The Munising native has come full circle after working at the hospital's information desk and as a "patient sitter" while attending Northern.

Northern Michigan University 1985 marketing alumna Barbara Benda was hired to fill a new position as director of development with the West Michigan Sports Commission (WMSC). She is focused primarily on supporting the $11 million “Winning Streak for West Michigan” expansion campaign for the Meijer Sports Complex, and on overall development work for the WMSC.

NMU 2019 environmental science alumnus Scott Culbert was recently appointed forest ecologist and climate change coordinator with the Superior National Forest in northern Minnesota. Covering three million acres, it is the largest national forest east of the Mississippi and includes the Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

“We all just did something pretty epic in a tiny town.” NMU 2001 alumnus Mike Picotte texted that message to NMU faculty members Dan Zini and Mark Shevy after the conclusion of The Big 3 concert Saturday night in Gwinn. Picotte was referring to the fact that they had successfully produced a high-quality, large-scale concert that would usually require a much larger team and the support of a bigger city's infrastructure. They did it with a crew of six—all with NMU connections—in a town with a population under 1,500.

Northern Michigan University Alumni Relations has announced six recipients of the 2024 Alumni Awards: Ann (Wheeler) Cashin, OD ('69 BA) of Port Washington, Wis. and Patrick Cashin, OD ('66 BA, '69 MAE) of Port Washington, Wis., Distinguished Alumni; Jim Thorburn ('91 BS) of Livonia, Mich., Alumni Achievement; Ryan McAllister, Ph.D. ('10 BS) of Roselle, N.J. and Megan Persons ('12 BS) of Grand Rapids, Mich., Outstanding Young Alumni; and Jim Mansfield ('61 BS, '64 MAE) of Spokane, Wash., Alumni Service – Community.

Northern Michigan University 2015 BSN alumna and former Wildcat swimmer Jordan Iverson is likely to become the first Alaskan to complete the triple crown of open-water swimming. She crossed the English Channel on Tuesday—a swim that is still being certified—and previously completed the other two jewels in the crown: the 20 Bridges Swim in Manhattan; and the Catalina Channel in California.

Not long before a distant relative was among four students killed in the 2021 Oxford High shooting, Northern Michigan University alumnus John Hebert had co-founded a new business that provides full-time, onsite K9 teams certified for firearm and explosives detection to schools and other public entities. The irony of the timing is not lost on Hebert, but he said his personal connection to the tragedy only fueled his drive to offer additional measures to enhance safety for students, teachers and staff.