Alumni Association Awards

Chuck Sullivan graduated with a double major in Psychology and Sociology in 1972. From 1976 through his retirement in 2017, Sullivan worked for Baltimore Spice Inc., which was later purchased and changed its name to Fuchs North America. He started with the company as a sales manager and retired as the director of sales for Fuchs North America, a division of Fuchs GmbH, the second largest privately held spice and seasoning company in the world. In addition to winning multiple sales contests, including Mustard Salesman of the Year, Sullivan was a member of the National Institute of Food Technologists and a marketing committee member for the National Snack Food Association for five years.

While a student on the Hill, Sullivan was involved in band, soccer, wrestling, Gamma Beta Chi, Interfraternity Council, and served as the senior class vice president for the Class of 1972. His involvement at the college has not wavered since graduation, serving as a member of the McDaniel College Alumni Council, the WMC Heritage Society, and as an alumni visitor to the Board of Trustees. Sullivan won the McDaniel College Alumni Association’s Community Service Award in 1996 in acknowledgment of his decades of service to the Boy Scouts of America and St. Peter’s United Methodist Church.

He says, “As a young scout I took an oath: ‘On my honor, I will do my best … to help other people at all times.’ I have always attempted to do that and to be a servant leader. … Those few words have been a roadmap for my life.”

When reflecting on how his time on the Hill prepared him for his successful career and commitment to community involvement, Sullivan says, “I learned how to relate to different people in a variety of ways that allowed me to connect with them on their level.” 

Tasha Cramer graduated from McDaniel College with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 2012. She went on to earn a master’s degree in Public Health from Columbia Southern University in 2021 and is expected to complete a Ph.D. in Transformative Social Change from Saybrook University in the summer of 2026. 

As an adjunct lecturer on the Hill, Cramer teaches Introduction to Sociology, helping mentor students, adapting curriculum to meet classroom needs, emphasizing inclusion, critical thinking, and student engagement. Within her classroom, Cramer covers topics such as race, gender, culture, families, inequality, and crime. “I strive to meet people where they are and help build systems that support growth, dignity, and belonging,” she says.

This is in large part due to her own experience as a nontraditional student at McDaniel who was balancing marriage, motherhood, and working full time. “I developed resilience, time management, and perseverance — skills that continue to shape both my personal and professional life. McDaniel affirmed that lived experience belongs in academic spaces,” she says.

Within the community, Cramer serves as a mental health and wellness program instructor and is certified to work with several mental health first aid groups. She is the recipient of the 2023 Light of Carroll Award: Cultural Literacy for BaFa BaFa; the 2022 Program of the Year Award: CARE (Carroll Anti-Stigma Resilience Effort) from the Rural Maryland Council; and the 2022 Community Champion of the Year Award from Children’s Mental Health Matters.

Dr. Liz Clark graduated from McDaniel College with a bachelor’s degree in Sociology in 1999. After graduating and commissioning into the Army from the ROTC Green Terror Battalion, she spent 9 years in the Army as an officer in the Ordnance Corps and Adjutant General Corps. After leaving active duty, she pursued a master’s degree in Human Resources Management from Georgetown University in 2015, and a doctorate of Education in Leadership and Learning in Organizations from Vanderbilt University in 2021.

Clark currently works as the director of Support Services Center (Senior Executive Service) in the Undersecretary of Personnel and Readiness in the Department of War. In this position, Clark manages a multitude of mission-critical programs that focus on delivering essential support services to the department’s military and civilian workforce, strengthening national security, mission readiness, and successful reintegration. Her team leads large-scale education and training initiatives, supports service members in educational advancement, supports language and cultural missions, and helps hundreds of thousands of people transitioning from military to civilian status each year.

Previously, she led the Defense Suicide Prevention Office, served as the deputy executive director for the President’s Roadmap to Empower Veterans and End a National Tragedy of Suicide (PREVENTS) Task Force, and was a contributing author to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ 2024 National Strategy for Suicide Prevention. She also served on the board for the nonprofit HopeLink Behavioral Health and volunteered as a crisis worker answering the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.

 “This work is deeply personal to me, and I focus my time on strengthening ecosystems of care so people feel seen, supported, and able to build lives worth living,” Clark says.

James Edward Proctor III graduated from McDaniel College with a bachelor’s degree in History in 1984, and a master’s degree in Organizational Communication from Bowie State University in 1993. While he was a student on the Hill, Proctor played on the football team, joined Alpha Gamma Tau, was a student member of the faculty board, and a member of the Minority Student Union.

Proctor built a career in leading large-scale information technology, communications, and digital transformation initiatives across the federal government. As a certified project manager, his career focused on enterprise systems, information security, e-commerce, and organizational change management. Proctor has been recognized for leadership in digital commerce innovation, notably directing the U.S. Treasury Department’s first e-commerce initiative, which enabled the world’s first smart-card transaction made over the internet.

As an alum, Proctor served on the McDaniel College Alumni Council from 2015 to 2018 as a member-at-large and has regularly returned to campus to serve as a mentor to current students, sharing knowledge and fostering alumni connections. He has served as an alumni mentor for the Green Terror football team and on the college’s name change committee in 2001-02. Beyond McDaniel, he was the Education Committee Chair for the 100 Black Men of Greater Washington from 2006 to 2015 and has sponsored and mentored high school football programs in Prince George’s, Charles, Calvert, and St. Mary’s counties in Maryland for the past 40 years.

Reflecting on his liberal arts education, Proctor notes that the sense of responsibility was instilled early on, and “laid the foundation to think critically, connect ideas across disciplines, and communicate with purpose.” 

Jessica Susanne Watson graduated from McDaniel College in 2005 with a bachelor’s degree in Communication and minors in Business Administration and Studio Art.

She is the founder and creative director of Points North, a Baltimore-based creative consultancy that helps mission-driven organizations clarify their brand, tell their stories, and strengthen their connection to the communities they serve. Since founding the studio in 2010, Watson has led branding, digital storytelling, and creative strategy initiatives for organizations including GivingTuesday, Maryland Nonprofits, AARP, and UpSurge Baltimore.

In addition to her studio work, Watson is deeply committed to strengthening Baltimore’s creative and civic community. She is the founder of the Have A Nice Day Project, a grassroots initiative that spreads positivity through hand-decorated coffee sleeves distributed at local cafés, inviting everyday moments of kindness throughout the city.

Watson also supports Baltimore’s creative ecosystem through mentorship, community programming, and creative leadership. She has contributed to organizations such as Baltimore Womxn in Tech, B’More Creatives, the Baltimore Design Conference, and AIGA, and regularly creates opportunities that bring artists, designers, and neighbors together.

At McDaniel, Watson served as editor of Contrast literary magazine, wrote and edited for The Free Press, and was active in the Trumpeters and the Black Student Union. Reflecting on her time there, she says, “McDaniel showed me that you don’t have to stay in one lane to make an impact. That spirit of creativity, collaboration, and community continues to guide my work today.”

Through her professional work and volunteer efforts, Watson remains committed to using creativity in service of people and place — bringing people together, strengthening community, and reminding us that small acts of creativity can spark meaningful change.