Albion to recognize Alumni Award winners during Purple & Gold Weekend

Albion College will honor alumni who’ve made significant contributions in their various post-college endeavors and/or have continued to support the college’s important mission through volunteerism.

The honorees will be recognized on campus during Purple & Gold Weekend, April 16-18th.

The Distinguished Alumni Award winners are:

Rany Aburashed ’02

CEO/founder – Neurogen Biomarking
Corporate Chief Medical Officer – Insight Chicago
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Dr. Rany Aburashed ’02 is a physician, researcher, and healthcare executive whose work is advancing innovation in neuroscience and precision medicine. He is the CEO and founder of Neurogen Biomarking and serves in multiple leadership roles at Insight, including corporate chief medical officer, corporate chair of specialty services and neurosciences, and president of Insight Chicago Medical Group.

At Albion, Rany studied psychology and world religion and graduated with honors. He received the Michigan Medical Grant to attend Michigan State University’s College of Osteopathic Medicine, earning his doctorate in 2006. After completing his neurology residency, he served as the chief resident at Michigan State University/Sparrow Hospital.

Rany founded Memorial Healthcare’s Institute for Neurosciences and Multiple Sclerosis. Prior to joining Insight’s executive leadership team, he served as chair of neurology and chair of specialty services at Memorial Healthcare.

 Maureen Krauss ’84

President/CEO – Detroit Regional Partnership
Rochester Hills, Michigan

Maureen Donohue Krauss ’84 is president and CEO of the Detroit Regional Partnership, a prominent regional economic development organization serving the 11-county Detroit region. Since assuming leadership in 2020, Maureen has overseen the attraction of more than 100 projects, attracting $10 billion in investment and creating over 30,000 jobs.

Under her leadership, the Detroit Regional Partnership was selected as a national winner of the U.S. Economic Development Administration’s Build Back Better Regional Challenge, securing a $52.2 million grant to support the Global Epicenter of Mobility initiative. This landmark investment is accelerating innovation and economic growth across the region.

With more than 30 years of experience in economic development, Maureen has guided international companies through expansion and relocation and has played key roles in high-profile initiatives, including the Indianapolis Amazon HQ2 bid. Her previous leadership experience includes positions with the Indy Chamber and the Detroit Regional Chamber.

At Albion, Maureen studied political science and was a member of the Ford Institute. She remains actively engaged with the Ford Institute as an alumni volunteer and supporter, including with the Sleight Leadership Fellows program in Detroit. Maureen holds a master’s degree in public policy from the University of Michigan and was named one of Crain’s Detroit Business’s Notable Women in Nonprofits in 2022.

Aaron J. Miller ’95

President and co-founder – Quantum Opus, LLC
Plymouth, Michigan

Dr. Aaron J. Miller ’95 has dedicated more than 25 years to advancing superconducting photon detector technologies. Under his leadership as president and co-founder, Quantum Opus innovates and engineers ultra-sensitive measurement tools vital for quantum computing, optical communications, and medical imaging. In the past 12 years, Quantum Opus has delivered over 200 commercial detection systems to premier industry, government, and academic researchers globally, fulfilling a mission to provide the precise instrumentation necessary for next-generation scientific breakthroughs.

After graduating from Albion with a double major in physics and mathematics, Aaron earned his Ph.D. in physics from Stanford University and began his career as a staff scientist at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in Boulder, Colorado. In 2005, he returned to Albion as a member of the physics faculty, attaining the rank of associate professor, and has contributed to over 100 scientific publications. In 2015, he stepped away from his faculty role to focus full time on Quantum Opus, which he founded in collaboration with fellow Britons Josh Cassada  ’95 and Holly (Buege) Miller, MBA ’96.

Adelle LaRue Settle ’02

Founder – Settle the Debt
Attorney – Gilbert LLP
Gainesville, Virginia

Adelle LaRue Settle ’02 is a third-generation Albion College graduate whose leadership and service have had a significant impact on children and families in her community. While building a successful legal career, Settle has devoted herself to addressing childhood hunger through advocacy, nonprofit leadership, and legislative change.

At Albion, Adelle was active in the Ford Institute, student government, choir, volunteer organizations, and Greek life. She studied abroad in Venice, Italy, and completed a semester-long congressional internship in Washington, D.C. She later earned her juris doctor from George Mason University School of Law.

Following 15 years of federal service as an attorney focused on disability rights and equal opportunity, Settle joined Gilbert LLP in Washington, D.C., where her practice centers on corporate insurance recovery.

While Adelle enjoys her work in the legal profession, her true passion is ensuring that children have access to adequate nutrition. She is the founder of Settle the Debt, a nonprofit organization that has raised more than $250,000 to eliminate school meal debt in local schools. Through her advocacy, Settle has helped advance more than a dozen laws in Virginia aimed at preventing childhood hunger.

The James Curtis Alumni Leadership Award (honoring Black alumni whose leadership, dedication, and service have made a lasting impact on Albion College) winner is:

 Lisa Wilson Harris ’89

Juvenile Court Referee Supervisor – Oakland County
Auburn Hills, Michigan

Lisa Wilson Harris ’89 serves as juvenile court referee supervisor for the 6th Judicial Circuit Court, Family Division, in Oakland County, Michigan. She presides over child protection, juvenile delinquency, and adoption proceedings; supervises a team of referees; and oversees the court’s intake process. Harris plays a central role in advancing Michigan’s Justice for Kids and Communities reforms and promoting permanency and well-being for children and families across the county.

Her 26-year legal career includes service with the Oakland County Prosecutor’s Office, the Legal Aid and Defender Association, Warner Norcross & Judd, and private practice. Prior to entering law, she held leadership roles in nonprofit organizations and worked in marketing for General Motors and Saturn.

At Albion, Harris was Black Student Alliance president, studied economics & management, and participated in the Gerstacker Program in Professional Management, graduating cum laude. She earned her juris doctor, magna cum laude, from Michigan State University College of Law. She serves on the boards of the Referee Association of Michigan and the National CASA Judicial Leadership Council. She has been recognized with the Michigan CASA Jurist of the Year (2019) and the Oakland County Domestic Violence Prevention Award (2014).

A steadfast commitment to community service defines Harris’s work both professionally and personally. A longtime Oakland County resident, she serves as a deaconess at Trinity Missionary Baptist Church, leading the annual Mother’s Conference, Foster Care Recruitment Day, and youth mentoring initiatives.

As an engaged alumna, she remains an active mentor and advocate for Albion students, particularly through her support of the Black Student Alliance. She regularly helps facilitate alumni-student engagement at events such as the Homecoming block party, strengthening mentorship, representation, and opportunity for current students.

The Young Alumni Awards winners are:

Casey Hoffman ’12

Mayor – City of Menominee, MI
Menominee, Michigan

Casey C. Hoffman ’12 is the 38th mayor of Menominee, Michigan, as well as a lawyer and kindergarten substitute teacher. Elected at age 34, he is the youngest mayor in Menominee’s history and the first openly gay mayor in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula. He also became the first openly gay chairperson of a county Republican Party in the state.

As mayor, Casey has led transformative economic and community initiatives. He helped turn a municipal revenue shortfall into a surplus by supporting legal cannabis dispensaries along the Michigan–Wisconsin border, creating more than 100 jobs. In 2024, he secured a $21 million federal grant to expand the Port of Menominee—the largest public-private partnership in city history. In 2025, he founded the Walton Blesch Stadium Legacy Foundation, raising more than $700,000 to rebuild the local football stadium.

Casey holds a law degree from Marquette University Law School and is pursuing an LL.M. in dispute resolution at Pepperdine University’s Straus Institute. In 2016, he was selected as one of six full-scholarship McCormick Scholars at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, where he studied First Amendment law and worked as an investigative reporter. At Albion, he graduated with honors in business management and ethics, served twice as student body president, participated in the Ford and Gerstacker Institutes and the Prentiss M. Brown Honors Program, worked as a resident assistant, was elected homecoming king, and later served on Albion’s Board of Trustees from 2012 to 2014.

Jonathon Lorenz ’15

Director of Data and Analytics – Detroit Lions
Royal Oak, Michigan

Jonathon Lorenz ’15 is building a career at the intersection of sports, strategy, and analytics. As director of data and analytics for the Detroit Lions, he leads the organization’s enterprise data function, overseeing data engineering, advanced analytics, business intelligence, and privacy compliance. In this role, he drives data-informed decision-making for the team he grew up rooting for.

Before business school, Jonathon emerged as a leader within the Lions organization. He developed automation that improved sales response time, increased conversion rates, and reduced inequities in lead distribution. After earning his MBA from the Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2023—where he served as CFO of the Sports Management Club and co-led the Stanford Sports Innovation Conference—he returned to Detroit in 2024 to expand the club’s analytics strategy and support international data initiatives in Canada and Germany.

At Albion, Jonathon earned dual degrees in mathematics and economics, graduating magna cum laude. He volunteered as an analytics coach for the Albion women’s basketball team, helped establish gender-neutral housing, and partnered with faculty to develop innovative mathematics coursework. Since graduating, he has remained engaged with Albion students—presenting at the Mathematics Colloquium, serving on sports career panels, and mentoring aspiring analytics professionals.

Now a senior leader within an NFL organization, Jonathon represents a new generation of sports executives who pair technical excellence with integrity and service. He resides in Royal Oak, Michigan, with his wife, Brett de Bear ’14. They are expecting their first child in April 2026.

Jonathan Takeshita ’17

Assistant Professor – Old Dominion University
Department of Computer Science & School of Cybersecurity
Norfolk, Virginia

Dr. Jonathan Takeshita ’17 conducts research in applied cryptography and privacy, with work spanning secure COVID contact tracing, private advertising, encrypted computation, and trusted hardware systems. He has published 21 peer-reviewed papers to date, many in prominent venues such as the Journal of Cryptology, IEEE Transactions on Computers, the Journal of Cryptographic Engineering, IEEE Transactions on VLSI Systems, and the Proceedings on Privacy Enhancing Technologies. Jonathan is currently an assistant professor at Old Dominion University, a public R1 university in Virginia. Previously, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Japan’s highly prestigious Tokyo Institute of Technology.

During his doctoral work at the University of Notre Dame, Jonathan held the highly selective Jack and Mary Ann Remick Fellowship. He earned the Department of Computer Science and Engineering’s Outstanding TA Award for his teaching in undergraduate cryptography. Jonathan formally mentored seven graduate and undergraduate students in the Data Security and Privacy lab, earned a provisional patent for his work on privacy-preserving COVID contact tracing, and served as Vice President of Notre Dame Graduate Student Government. He also interned at Google and Meta.

At Albion, Jonathan majored in combined engineering and music and completed a minor and published thesis in applied mathematics. He completed Albion’s 3+2 dual-degree program at the University of Michigan–Ann Arbor, graduating cum laude from both institutions.

This year’s Purple & Gold Service Award winners are:

Michael Haines ’85

Owner – Haines International
Bloomfield Hills, Michigan

Michael Haines ’85 measures success not by titles, but by the people he helps lead, mentor, and inspire—a philosophy rooted in his Albion College experience. He credits his Albion mentors, particularly within the English department and student life staff, with shaping his curiosity, discipline, and commitment to servant leadership. Carrying forward their example remains central to his career and volunteer service today.

As a student, Mike embraced leadership across campus. He served as fraternity president and Interfraternity Council representative for Tau Kappa Epsilon, editor-in-chief of The Pleiad, a campus communications and SOAR leader, and a Summer Adventure counselor. In 1984, he was honored with the Presidential Project 250 Award for leadership.

Mike has supported the college as an alumni ambassador since 2012, beginning with recruiting prospective students in combination with his volunteer leadership role in Scouting America. He later served six years on the Albion College Alumni Association Board of Directors and four years on the TKE Omega Chapter advisory board, participated in or hosted Albion Everywhere events nationwide, co-chaired a milestone reunion homecoming event in 2025, and continues to facilitate career and classroom conversations with students and alumni wherever they gather.

Mike earned a master of science degree from the Columbia University School of Journalism in 1987. Since 1990, he and his partner, Kelli Dade, have operated a communications firm in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan. Proud parents of Albion alumni Blake ’17 and Bradley ’22, Mike continues to mentor future leaders as a Scouting America district chairman and senior Wood Badge facilitator.

Mike Turner ’69 & Peg Mitchell Turner ’69

Retired Albion College Coach & Professor
Retired Albion Public Schools Teacher
Albion, Michigan

After six decades of sustained service to the Albion College community, Mike Turner ’69 and Peg Mitchell Turner ’69 have built an enduring legacy spanning generations of students, colleagues, and families. Together, they have influenced countless lives as educators, coaches, mentors, advocates, and ambassadors for Albion and the greater community.

Mike began his coaching career at Albion College in 1970 after completing his M.Ed. at the University of Arizona. He joined the men’s basketball staff as an assistant coach and was named head coach in 1974, leading the program for 34 seasons. During his tenure, the Britons compiled a 527–319 record, earned five MIAA championships, and advanced to the NCAA Tournament in 1978, 1979, 1998, and 2005, including a third-place national finish in 1978. From 2003 to 2006, his teams posted four consecutive 20-win seasons, highlighted by two league championships. Mike amassed 72 seasons as a head coach at Albion, including 30 in men’s golf and four each in men’s soccer and men’s tennis. A respected leader nationally, he served on regional and national basketball committees and chaired the NCAA Division III Tournament Committee for three years. He retired in 2008 as the longest-serving coach in any sport in college history and was inducted into the Basketball Coaches Association of Michigan Hall of Fame in 2010. In 2023, the court at Kresge Gymnasium was dedicated in his honor.

Peg began her career with Albion Public Schools in 1970 and dedicated 39 years to education, including 30 years teaching kindergarten, a role she considered her calling. She was named Albion Teacher of the Year in 2000. Following her retirement from the classroom, Peg coordinated Jessie’s Gift, a mentoring partnership between the college and local schools that connected approximately 250 Albion students each year with elementary students for weekly academic, social, and emotional support. Through her leadership, the program strengthened ties between the college and the community while fostering long-term mentoring relationships. She received the college’s Distinguished Alumni Award in 2005 in recognition of her lifelong service to education and Albion.

For more than 60 years, the college has remained central to the Turners’ lives. They have worked alongside 10 Albion College presidents; served as trusted ambassadors to alumni, parents, and friends of the college; and established a scholarship supporting experiential learning for Albion students. Their engagement has extended beyond campus through service with organizations including Kids ’N’ Stuff, Rotary Club, First United Methodist Church, and Albion Area Philanthropic Women.

In visible and quiet ways, Mike and Peg Turner have embodied service through presence—showing up consistently for students, colleagues, alumni, and neighbors. As teachers, coaches, mentors, and friends, they have shaped individual lives and strengthened the broader Albion community. Mike and Peg are the proud parents of Amy Turner Thole (Nick) and Tracy Wolford (Bob) and grandparents to five grandchildren—Alex, Drew, Lauren, Mikey, and Peter. Their legacy is reflected not only in accomplishments and honors, but in the enduring relationships they have built and the many who consider the Turners an essential part of their Albion story.

Barbara Weiskittel ’83

Non-Profit Leader and Retired Pharmaceutical Director
Randolph, New Jersey

Barbara Weiskittel ’83 is deeply committed to driving meaningful impact for people, including future generations. Her enduring love for Albion College—its students, faculty, staff, and the broader Albion community—continues to inspire her dedication to ensuring that student opportunities for growth align with the revitalization of the city of Albion.

An enthusiastic supporter of Build Albion Fellows, Albion’s Big Read, FURSCA, and the City of Albion, Barbara is a strong advocate for experiential learning that broadens students’ perspectives on where their education can lead them, both professionally and personally. Leaning into her connections in the pharmaceutical industry, she has organized and led immersive career exploration trips to Boston, New York, and Philadelphia, creating meaningful networking and professional development opportunities for students. She also leverages her professional network to connect students with industry leaders and has helped bring distinguished speakers to campus programs. Faculty and recent graduates alike note her consistent presence as a mentor and connector.

Born in Albion and a 1983 graduate of Albion College with a degree in chemistry, Barbara built a distinguished 36-year career in the pharmaceutical industry, focused on driving excellence and global value for patients and shareholders. She held leadership roles at Warner-Lambert/Parke-Davis and Merck & Co., Inc., earned an MBA from St. Joseph’s University in Philadelphia, and in 2019 received an honorary doctorate of humane letters from Albion College.

Her nonprofit work reflects the same strategic and collaborative approach, supporting organizational sustainability and long-term impact. She currently serves as board president of the Stickley Museum at Craftsman Farms. Barbara lives in New Jersey, enjoys travel and photography, and returns to Albion often.