The University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh will celebrate the talents and successes of eight alumni during Homecoming 2026 this October.

The UW-Oshkosh Alumni Association will present four top graduates with the Distinguished Alumni Award for their accomplishments in their professional fields. Additionally, three graduates will be honored with the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for their professional and civic accomplishments within 15 years of receiving their degrees, as well as their future promise.

One deserving UWO alumna will be awarded the Alumni Outstanding Service Award for making exemplary contributions to support UWO through volunteer efforts, energy, leadership and/or philanthropic donations.

Distinguished Alumni Award

George Gabera, who resides in London, United Kingdom, a senior military officer and retired police detective earned a degree in political science in 1992. He currently is employed by the U.S. Navy, as USA Sixth Fleet Liaison Officer to NATO Allied Maritime Command. He most recently demonstrated outstanding performance in the ongoing Middle East conflict, ensuring situational awareness in the Mediterranean Sea during a rapidly changing geopolitical situation. In his community, he previously served as a youth basketball, little league and youth soccer coach. He said he has stayed in contact with his Fraternity brothers with Delta Sigma Phi, to see if he can provide assistance. A cancer survivor, he is looking forward to retirement within the next few years and exploring the possibility of opening a brewery.

Dean High, a resident of Menasha, retired in 2020 after being self-employed with High Wealth Management LLC. High graduated with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1975 and a Master of Business Administration degree in 1982. He had a 45-year career in investment management and financial planning. High has a significant history as a community volunteer with the ThedaCare health system and has service on its boards, committees and task forces. He served as co-chair for a capital campaign for a new cancer center that opened in 2016 raising $7 million in private support of the $45 million project. To honor his late wife, Pat, he established the High Hopes Salon for cancer patients. In the Fox Cities, he has served on a number of boards and committees, including longtime service to the Rotary Club of Appleton and United Way.

Najjia Mahmoud of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in microbiology and public health in 1989 and went on to a medical doctor degree from Weill Cornell Medical College and residency at the University of Minnesota. She is chief of colorectal surgery at the University of Pennsylvania and through national leadership in colorectal surgery, her career has been dedicated to advancing surgical care, clinical innovation and academic leadership. She is a leader of national professional organizations in the field, was editor in chief for the field's core textbook and developed an online learning platform. Mahmoud, whose father was a research biology professor at UWO, serves as an examiner for the American Board of Surgery, testing general surgeons as they become board certified.

Robert Meisel of Alpine, California, (a native of Clintonville, Wisconsin), the first in his family to attend college, earned a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology in 1969 and a Doctor of Optometry degree in 1973 from Pacific University. He was awarded a military scholarship and began a long career with the U.S. Navy, followed by the Naval Reserve and several Marine Corps units. His optometric career in San Diego including owning two private practices, starting in 1981. He sold both practices in 2007 but continues to serve on boards and volunteer organizations and support a number of humanitarian efforts in the U.S. and abroad. Among the efforts Meisel supports is a Native American school in Montana, a local food bank, a village in Kenya, and Saddles in Service, an organization serving ex-military members and first responders with PTSD.

Outstanding Young Alumni Award

Amy (Gearhart) Bahrani, who resides in Lake Bluff, Illinois, graduated in 2011 with a bachelor's degree in political science and religious studies. She currently serves as an artificial intelligence (AI) and Data senior manager with Accenture Federal Services. Bahrani, who was first in her family to graduate from college, overcame dyslexia with the help of UWO professors and resources through the Study Center. She went on to graduate from a Master's program in Europe with a 4.0 GPA and where her thesis was chosen for publication. In her community, Bahrani is committed to mentoring and advancing women and underrepresented communities. She serves on the board for Women in Aerospace, participates in AviationWeek's 20 Twenties Program, serves on the leadership council for Upwardly Global and volunteers as a career coach for skilled immigrants and refugees.

Shannon "Shane" Bierma, of New Orleans, Louisiana, is an assistant professor at Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center. She graduated from UWO in 2011, with a bachelor's degree in psychology and with top recognition from the Honors Program. Bierma went on to earn a Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from the University of Tennessee in 2019, followed by a postdoctoral fellowship in neuropsychology at the LSU Health Sciences Center, where since July 2024 she has been director of research in the Department of Psychology. Bierma has built services for people living with HIV and has been a liaison in her hospital for gender affirming care and serves as a mentor to undergraduate researchers, medical students, residents, doctoral psychology interns and practicum students and postdoctoral fellows.

Joseph Stephenson, of Oshkosh, earned a Bachelor's degree in Urban and Regional Planning in 2015 and a Master of Public Administration degree in 2020. He serves as senior economic development planner for East Central Wisconsin Regional Planning Commission, where he leads the economic development, environmental management and contracts divisions. He serves as deputy mayor of the city of Oshkosh and founded Midtown Neighborhood Association. He has served on the Oshkosh Parks Board, Museum Board and Long-Range Finance Committee as well as offering leadership in statewide and regional organizations. Through the Strategic Planning and Action for Revitalization program, more than $200,000 was provided in planning assistance for six rural and two tribal communities.

Alumni Outstanding Service Award

Anita Carpenter, of Oshkosh, earned a bachelor's degree in pharmacy in 1970 from UW-Madison and a master's degree in biology in 1983 from UW-Oshkosh, and served as a registered pharmacist at Mueller Potter Drug and later at Coe Drug Co./Aurora Drug, both in in Oshkosh. Now retired, Carpenter was nominated for her incredible environmental support of the UWO campus from 2013 to present-weeding perennial beds and areas that get missed. In 2020, during a significant staff reduction, Carpenter spent an average of four hours a day, seven days a week, weeding plant beds. By the end of the growing season, she had pulled almost 15,000 pounds of weeds (staff weighed her piles added to the campus biodigester). In addition, Carpenter's love for the environment and the UWO campus has led to the addition of bird and wood duck houses, bat houses and cultural changes to the way grounds care for the campus property. Carpenter has been an active member of Winnebago Audubon since 1980, Wisconsin Society for Ornithology since 1974, and was author of nearly 40 columns in Marinette County Outdoorsman magazine, and author of 80 columns in Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine. In addition, she has had 175+ speaking engagements on a variety of topics including birds, butterflies, frogs and trees. In addition, she is creator of many large, original, nature-themed quilts and has given a number of talks about them to interested groups.

Celebrating UWO's exceptional alumni

The 2026 Alumni Awards Celebration will be held Friday, Oct. 23 at the Culver Family Welcome Center, with a reception at 5 p.m., followed by the dinner and program beginning at 6 p.m. More information is available by contacting UWO Alumni Relations at (920) 424-3449, or [email protected]

Learn more:

Alumni Relations at UW-Oshkosh

Homecoming 2026