On February 7, 2024, IHA alumnae from a wide variety of career fields returned home to speak with their fellow sisters.
After joining the IHA administration, directors, and counselors for lunch, the panel of alumnae spoke to St. Brigid students about their careers and what they learned at Immaculate Heart Academy. The alumnae also gave the students advice on how to follow their dreams and find the right career path. Thank you to Ms. Ellen Donoghue ‘76, guidance counselor and St. Brigid Society moderator, for coordinating this event!
We were thrilled to welcome the following alumnae back home to IHA:
Danielle (Lug) Menken ’12
Dr. Angelica Otiepka ‘09
Lauren Foote ‘17
Kelly Murphy ‘17
Stephanie Doheny ‘15
Amanda (Griffiths) Solimando ‘01 P’27
Madison Kilduff ‘14
Molly Dudas ‘15
Ann Marie (Kelleher) Hembrough ‘89
Danielle (Lug) Menken ’12
Danielle is the assistant nurse manager of the Heart and Vascular Continuum at Hackensack University Medical Center. She oversees seven cardiac units on the night shift including the cardio thoracic intensive care unit. Danielle is involved in direct patient care, quality improvement, patient experience, and nursing research.
Dr. Angelica Otiepka ‘09
Angelica is a veterinarian at Banfield Pet Hospital in Paramus. Her current position is in the general practice of the veterinary field. She sees pets for wellness visits, which include exams, routine blood work, and vaccines. She also diagnoses and treats illnesses, performs anesthetic dentals, including extractions, and also performs soft tissue surgeries.
Lauren Foote ‘17
Lauren is the head athletic trainer at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, an NCAA Division III school in the Skyline Conference. In her role, Lauren provides sports medicine care for 11 NCAA-recognized teams and equestrian. As an athletic trainer, she works with student-athletes to prevent, examine, diagnose, treat, and rehabilitate emergent, acute, and chronic injuries or medical conditions. Lauren has a bachelor of science degree in athletic training from Duquesne University and a master’s degree in sports leadership, with a concentration in professional sports administration and collegiate sport administration from Northeastern University.
Kelly Murphy ‘17
Kelly graduated from Seton Hall as a psychology major. After a brief stint back at IHA to cover for a maternity leave replacement, Kelly went back to Seton Hall to obtain a master’s degree in school counseling. She completed her internship at Columbia High School in Maplewood, New Jersey, which subsequently led to her being hired as one of the school’s freshman counselors this year. She performs an equal amount of mental health and academic counseling for her students, and is also helping to develop the school’s new Freshman Academy Program.
Stephanie Doheny ‘15
Stephanie is assistant director, Broadcast Operations at Yale University. She produces, directs, and technical directs twenty-two live D1 Sports for ESPN+ and Regional Sports Network, NESN. She also assists in Media Days, creating pre-produced content and coach and athlete interviews. In addition, Stephanie owns a small photography and videography business that focuses on weddings and engagements.
Amanda (Griffiths) Solimando ‘01 P’27
Amanda is a writer and also a paid essayist for the website Medium. She is currently working toward getting one of her five novels traditionally published.
Madison Kilduff ‘14
Madison is an experienced communications and marketing professional who has had success in creating strategies to effectively develop and increase brand awareness. She graduated from Rutgers University with a master’s degree in communications and public relations, and a bachelor’s degree in sports journalism. Madison is currently the manager of Alumni Engagement at Montclair Kimberley Academy. She is responsible for cultivating the interest, engagement, volunteerism, and philanthropic support of approximately 6,000 active alumni. Her main job duties include email marketing, social media, alumni networking, and event planning. Additionally, Madison is a freelancer for the NFL and works on game day production for the New York Giants and Jets.
Molly Dudas ‘15
Molly Dudas is a product design engineer on the Hard Product Innovation Team at Harry’s, designing and engineering next-generation razors. She also has experience in designing electric toothbrushes and automated external defibrillator (AED) medical device products at Philips. Molly studied manufacturing and design engineering at Northwestern University.
Ann Marie (Kelleher) Hembrough ‘89
Ann Marie received a bachelor’s degree from Manhattan College in 1993 and then graduated from the physician assistants program at SUNY Stony Brook in 1996. She worked in internal medicine for two years before she transitioned to thoracic surgery at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. Ann Marie moved to Sweden in 2001 and then returned to the United States in 2006 to work in her current field of dermatology.
Click here for photos from the event, courtesy of AnneMarie Vaughn.