Four graduates of Indiana University of Pennsylvania have been selected for the 2024 IUP Young Alumni Achievement Award.
This award was created to recognize recent IUP graduates identified as being outstanding in their professions. IUP has more than 150,000 alumni all over the globe.
IUP graduates of less than 15 years are eligible for this award. Recipients are selected by the deans of the colleges. When award recipients return to campus for the award ceremony, they are hosted by members of IUP Ambassadors, the student-alumni group, and make presentations to IUP classes in their fields.
Recipients were honored at an awards ceremony on November 3 and visited classrooms in their colleges to present to students on November 4.
From left: Casey Ryan, Mark Smith, IUP President Michael Driscoll, Brianne Lenhart, Donte Palmer
This year’s recipients and the sponsoring colleges from which they originally graduated are:
- Brianne Lenhart, College of Health and Human Services and Eberly College of Business, a 2016 hospitality management bachelor’s degree graduate and 2017 master’s degrees graduate in sport science, and in employment and labor relations. A native of Saegertown, Crawford County, Lenhart is the events manager at Wyndemere County Club in Naples, FL.
- Donte Palmer, College of Education and Communications, a 2009 communications media graduate, founder of Squat for Change and Ninth Grade Scholar Advisor, SEO Miami in Miami, FL. He is originally of Philadelphia.
- Casey Ryan, College of Arts and Humanities, a 2012 international studies and political science graduate. A native of Sharpsville, Mercer County, he is the founder and principal of Ryan Blueprint Group, New York City.
- Mark Smith, John J. and Char Kopchick College of Natural Sciences and Mathematics, a 2011 geology graduate. A native of Stewartstown, York County, he is the founder and CEO of Macroscopic Solutions, LLC, of East Hartford, CT.
Brianne Lenhart
While at IUP, Brianne Lenhart was a presenter at the 2017 International University Sports Federation World Conference on Development Through Sport and is a published researcher on the analysis of factors that influence satisfaction of fans at Division II basketball games.
She is an experienced service professional with a demonstrated history of working in the sports and hospitality industries. Her career started in guest services with the Minnesota Twins, where she was responsible for organizing and providing positive game-day experiences.
Following that role, she continued her work in the hospitality management industry at Lexington Country Club in Fort Myers, FL, where she quickly moved up in the ranks to become the club’s catering and events manager. Her current club, Wyndemere Country Club in Naples, is a platinum-level club where she plans, coordinates, and executes a variety of events while also creating and overseeing all aspects of event promotion and marketing to maximize attendance and engagement.
She is a former pageant contestant holding titles on the local, state, and national levels. She has had the opportunity to speak, interview, model, and serve as a spokesmodel for fashion designer Marc Defang and received the President’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her work with the Salvation Army.
Her professional affiliations include the Club Management Association of America, the Florida CMAA Everglades Chapter, and the Fort Myers Metro-McGregor Kiwanis, and she is an IUP Regional Alumni Ambassador, hosting events for alumni in Southwest Florida.
Donte Palmer
In October 2018, Donte Palmer posted a photo on Instagram, turning a routine moment of parental frustration into a global awareness campaign championing hands-on fatherhood. The soon to become viral image of Palmer squatting on the floor while changing his son’s diaper—without access to a changing table in a men’s restroom—sparked an international discussion about evolving parenting dynamics and outdated caregiver expectations. With the support of his wife and three sons, he embraced his new role as advocate and founded the nonprofit, Squat for Change.
“As the founder and CEO…my role is to lead the movement for equal access to baby changing tables in men’s restrooms, advocating for gender equity in caregiving, and empowering fathers to take active roles in their children’s lives,” Palmer said. He partnered with Proctor and Gamble and Pampers to install 5,000 changing tables across the United States and Canada by 2021 and has also formed successful partnerships with Koala Kare and Honest Company.
Palmer has appeared on major platforms like CNN, Fox, Access Hollywood, and People Magazine to further spread awareness about the need for inclusive family-friendly facilities and policies.
As the “face of Squat for Change,” he engages with public figures, policy makers, and influencers to promote change and the mission of the nonprofit. He also leads efforts to secure funding and sponsorships to sustain campaigns and operations, ensuring resources for Squat for Change to continue expanding their reach and making lasting change.
Palmer has been recognized for his work with a 2019 Love the Change Campaign’s Best Equity and Inclusion Award, and with the 2020 Jacksonville Image Awards’ Be the Change Be Yourself Award. He was featured in the NFL’s 2019 “Make A Difference Day,” and his work through Squat for Change has inspired policy changes requiring accessible diaper changing facilities in Tampa City, FL; Howard County, MD; and the state of New York.
Casey Ryan
Following more than 10 years of experience and expertise in fundraising, Casey Ryan founded Ryan Blueprint Group, a firm specializing in innovative development strategies. In his most recent role as finance director for Friends for Kathy Hochul, Ryan orchestrated a fundraising campaign that secured a record-breaking 62 million dollars, playing a pivotal role in her victory.
His leadership saw the coordination of fundraising events attended by distinguished figures such as Hillary Clinton and President Joe Biden. He also contributed to successful events for the Democratic National Convention during his tenure at the New York State Democratic Committee.
Before launching the Ryan Blueprint Group, Ryan served as a major gifts officer at the Human Rights Campaign, finance director for Rushern Baker for Maryland Governor, and deputy finance director for former New York Governor Andrew Cuomo. In 2022, he was recognized as one of City and State’s New York City’s 40 Under 40, which lists young rising stars who are shaping city politics and policy.
As a student at IUP, Ryan was president of the IUP Ambassadors and was a community assistant in the Office of Housing and Residence Life. His dedication to service has continued as an alumnus, currently serving on the Advancement Council for the College of Arts, Humanities, Media, and Public Affairs, and returning from time to time to speak with political science students.
Mark Smith
After leaving IUP, Mark Smith earned a master’s degree in structural geology from the University of Connecticut in 2013. As a graduate student, he began his plan to create a start-up to produce an imaging device that can capture ultra-high-resolution images of micro-macroscopic objects in two and three dimensions. This company would produce a device that was portable and lower in cost than what was currently available.
Smith’s version would move lightweight objects relative to the optic device, rather than the inverse, helping to eliminate the possibility of vibrations that could potentially corrupt the photos and produce images in perfect focus.
In 2013, Smith cofounded Macroscopic Solutions, an innovative company specializing in advanced imaging technologies. The company’s flagship product, the Macropod, is designed to provide powerful, user-friendly tools that enhance scientific discovery and documentation.
As part of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Polaris Dawn September mission, Smith collaborated with the Air Force Academy and SpaceForce on experiments aboard Polaris Dawn and, presently, the International Space Station.
As a student at IUP, Smith received the Sigma Xi Undergraduate Scholars Forum Second Place Science Poster and the Pittsburgh Geological Society outstanding poster presentation.