William Reinert (B.A. ‘74)
College of Arts and Sciences
As one of the lead product planners for the Toyota Pruis, Bill Reinert is a nationally recognized expert on energy and resource management. Reinert is national manager of Toyota Motor Sales, USA advanced technology group and has worked both with Bell Labs and Hewlett Packard. At Toyota, Reinert led the planning of both the Fuel Cell Hydrogen Vehicle, Toyota’s first hydrogen fuel vehicle, and the Prius, Toyota’s current electric (hybrid) vehicle. His commitment to intelligent use of energy resources led the U.S. Secretary of Energy to name him chair of the Electric Subgroup for the Future Transportation Fuels study as part of the National Petroleum Council’s research on fuel availability. He also leads projects in the Galapagos Islands with Toyota’s partner, the World Wildlife Fund. Based on the Galapagos Energy Blueprint, co-authored by Reinert, this 10-year project has transformed energy use within the archipelago and has helped save a precious and fragile ecosystem.
Catherine Lewis ( B.S. ’85)
Bloch School of Management
With taxes being a certainty in this life, it’s critical to have experts who can navigate the ever-changing rules and codes. As global leader of KPMG’s Energy and Natural Resources tax practice, now retired, Catherine Lewis leveraged her more than 20 years of accounting expertise to work with domestic and international energy companies. Lewis is an expert for global organizations in the areas of taxation, planning, and compliance, along with foreign tax and investment structures. Lewis also devotes significant energy to her alma mater, bringing her career expertise to bear for students. She is a past president, and current member, of the UMKC Bloch Advisory Council and a past board member of the Bloch Accounting Advisory Council. Lewis also serves on the board of Starlight Theatre and is treasurer of the Girl Scouts of Northeast Kansas and Northwest Missouri.
Scott Falke (B.S., 1998)
School of Biological Sciences
As associate professor of biology at William Jewell College, Dr. Scott Falke has studied the structures of various proteins, including anthrax toxin through the use of cryo-electron microscopy. His collaborative research and enthusiasm for working with undergraduate students earned him William Jewell College’s coveted Spencer Family Sabbatical Fellowship, 2009-2010. A veteran of the U.S. Army and a Major in the U.S. Army Reserve, his sabbatical was cut short as he was called to duty in Afghanistan, 2010-2011. For this duty, Falke received a Bronze Star. In addition to a heavy teaching schedule, Falke has published several articles and has given national presentations on his research. He serves as vice president of the Missouri Branch of the American Society for Microbiology and sits on several committees at William Jewell, including the Curriculum, Education and Policy Committee and the Honors Committee.
Rajiv Chilakalapudi (M.S. ’97)
School of Computing and Engineering
Rajiv Chilakalapudi is creator, director and producer of many of India’s top children’s shows and movies. Founder and managing director of Green Gold Animation, he has received countless awards and acclaim for his original work. His widely popular Chhota Bheem series currently has a viewership of more than 34 million children. He has created animated films, such as Krishna: The Birth and Krishna: The Makhan Chor, as well as the animated television shows Krishna Balram and Mighty Raju, which airs on The Cartoon Network India and Pogo. Green Gold Animation also has retail stores featuring products based on Green Gold’s animated characters. Chilakalapudi supports programs to expose young people to his craft, having enrolled 30 underprivileged teenagers in a training program, free of charge, and eventually hiring 20 of them to work for Green Gold. He also established 10 animation scholarships for economically challenged students in India.
Jennifer Linn (B.M. ’82, M.M. ’86)
Conservatory of Music and Dance
Jennifer Linn, an accomplished composer, pianist, teacher and clinician, is the Manager–Educational Piano for Hal Leonard Corporation, the largest publisher of print music in the world. In addition to her contribution as a composer and arranger for the Hal Leonard Student Piano Library, her work includes serving as editor and recording artist for several G. Schirmer Performance Editions. Her compositions and editions have been used frequently by the UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and have been included in the National Federation of Music Clubs festival lists, the renowned London College of Music examinations and numerous state repertoire lists. She was recently awarded the 2012 Collaborative Music Commission by the Music Teachers National Association and her instrumental trio for piano, flute and horn will be premiered March 10 at the MTNA National Conference in Anaheim, Calif.
Dr. Lynn Jackson Brown (B.S. ’66, D.D.S. ’69)
School of Dentistry
A dentist, economist, epidemiologist, researcher, consultant, author and editor, L. Jackson Brown is a true Renaissance man. His work with Vietnam veterans at the Veterans Administration Hospital in Kansas City, after completing his D.D.S. at UMKC in 1969, spurred his interest in economics and in epidemiology—the study of health-related patterns in society. Adding a master’s degree and a doctorate in social medical science, Brown began what would be two decades of government service in health care research. In 1991, he was named director of the Division of Epidemiology and Oral Disease Prevention at the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research. Brown was associate executive director of the Health Policy Resources Center, the American Dental Association’s main source of information and analysis on dental practice, economics and epidemiology. The ADA honored him in 2011 with its Distinguished Service Award, the highest honor bestowed by the ADA’s Board of Trustees. Brown was editor of the Journal of Dental Education and a member of the senior staff of the American Dental Education Association from 2007 until July 1, 2012, and received its Presidential Citation.