Army Heritage Center Foundation
John L. Gronski, Army Heritage Foundation (SUBMITTED)
Scranton native retired Army Maj. Gen. John L. Gronski has joined the Carlisle-based foundation’s board of directors.
Gronski is a veteran of the Iraq War, serving from 1978 to 2019. His decorations include two awards of the Army Distinguished Service Medal, two awards of the Legion of Merit, and the Bronze Star Medal.
Gronski will join a local board devoted to telling the stories of soldiers spanning 250 years of Army history, and supporting the mission of the U.S. Army Heritage and Education Center in Carlisle.
He attended the University of Scranton and completed a Master of Business Administration degree at Penn State University. He now reside in Lebanon, Pa.
After completing his command of the 28th Infantry Division in 2016, Gronski served as the National Guard deputy commanding general of U.S. Army Europe until retiring in 2019.
Gronski authored three books, including “Iron-Sharpened Leadership,” and operates a leadership consulting business..
Dime Bank
Travis Head, Dime Bank (SUBMITTED)
Travis Head has been promoted to vice president, operations manager at the bank.
Head joined the bank in June 2023 as a management trainee, coming to the bank team with over 15 years in business leadership positions.
Head launched his banking career by immersing himself in the universal banker model, gaining hands-on experience across multiple branches. This diverse exposure provided him with a solid foundation in banking operations and a deep understanding of each branch’s unique dynamics.
He formerly held the position of chief operating officer at Yoga International, a business that emerged from the Himalayan Institute. Head holds a Bachelor of Science degree in finance from Nicholls State University, providing a strong analytical foundation for his operational expertise.
As VP, operations manager, Head will play a pivotal role in driving operational excellence and enhancing overall product performance at the bank.
Geisinger School of Medicine
Ethan Boyle, Geisinger School of Medicine (SUBMITTED)
Ethan Boyle, a member of the class of 2028 who plans to pursue a career in psychiatry, was awarded a highly competitive Gold Student Summer Fellowship from the Arnold P. Gold Foundation.
His project, “Action Against Healthcare Inequalities for Patients Experiencing Substance Abuse and Homelessness,” will address health care access issues for people served by Scranton’s Community Intervention Center (CIC). The project focuses on recording weekly vital signs for 100-150 patients, providing essential hygiene and harm-reduction products, and connecting patients to free health care clinics. The goal is to rebuild trust between this at-risk population and health care systems.
Working with faculty mentor Kate Lafferty-Danner, Ph.D., assistant professor of medical humanities and community engagement, Boyle proposed a 10-week summer project to build on CIC’s holistic, patient-centered approach by promoting health care access, education and harm-reduction strategies.
The fellowships are awarded to a limited number of medical students each year. The selection process is competitive, requiring applicants to submit a detailed proposal outlining their project and its alignment with the fellowship’s goals. Projects must demonstrate a need identified by the community or patients who will be affected.
Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania
Gina Suydam, a member of the organization’s board of directors, has accepted a position with the Pennsylvania Chamber of Business and Industry. Suydam will serve as member executive, responsible for managing and growing the chamber’s membership with a focus on Northeast Pennsylvania. She will begin her new role at the end of July.
Suydam currently serves as president of the Wyoming County Chamber of Commerce and is the immediate past president of the Pennsylvania Association of Chamber Professionals.
In addition to her service to Girl Scouts, Suydam serves on the boards of Northeast Sight Services and the U.S. Chamber’s Institute for Organization Management. She also represents Wyoming County in several regional economic development initiatives and was appointed by the PA Chamber in 2024 to serve on the state’s Rural Population Revitalization Commission.
Suydam was also recently appointed chair of the board development committee of Girl Scouts in the Heart of Pennsylvania. The organization covers a 30-county footprint and serves more than 17,000 girls and adults.
Tobyhanna Army Depot
Al Lyons, Tobyhanna Army Depot (SUBMITTED)
Cyber Portfolio Services branch chief Al Lyons, a resident of Exeter, has been named the depot’s Supervisor of the Quarter for the first quarter of the year.
University of Scranton
Stacy Smulowitz, University of Scranton (SUBMITTED)
Amanda Marcy, University of Scranton (SUBMITTED)
Stacy Smulowitz, Ph.D., associate professor and chair of the Department of Communications and Media, was honored as the Eastern Communication Association’s Ecroyd Teaching Excellence Award winner.
The award is given to a full-time educator who has a demonstrated record of employing communication principles as the foundation for constructing pedagogical principles applied in teaching practices. Smulowitz is the first Scranton professor to earn the award since it was first handed out by the ECA in 1989.
She was also selected as the recipient of the Outstanding Practice with Local Impact Award, presented by the Women & Leadership Executive Leadership Team of the International Leadership Association.
Smulowitz has been at the university since 2009 and currently teaches courses in advertising, leadership and organizational communication.
In addition to her vast work at the university, she is president of Smulowitz Communications, a strategic communication and leadership consulting firm. She is the executive director of the ECA and a member of the American Advertising Federation and the International Association of Business Communicators.
Smulowitz holds a bachelor’s degree from Wilkes University, a master’s from Ithaca College and a Ph.D. from Rutgers.
Amanda Marcy, Ph.D., assistant professor of accounting, earned one of Beta Alpha Psi’s Outstanding Faculty Advisors awards. Beta Alpha Psi is the International Honor Organization for Financial Information Students and Professionals. Up to four faculty advisers from across the U.S. — whose efforts go above and beyond that of the typical faculty adviser — are awarded annually.
While Marcy has worked at the university since 2015, she’s a graduate, too. She earned bachelor’s, master’s and doctorate degrees at the university. She previously worked in assurance services for Baker Tilly in Pittston.
Marcy, a certified public accountant, is a member of the Healthcare Financial Management Association, the Pennsylvania Institute of Certified Public Accountants, the Association of International Certified Professional Accountants, the American Accounting Association and the Institute of Management Accountants. She has earned numerous awards in her professional career, including the Frank O’Hara Award while an undergraduate student at Scranton, two Douglas M. Boyle Research Awards in 2020 and 2023 and the Michael O. Mensah Service Award in 2025.
Marcy has served as faculty adviser for the university’s Nu Kappa Chapter of Beta Alpha Psi since 2015.