2020 National Alumni Award Recipients

The National Alumni Awards Banquet honors six very special alumni who have made extraordinary contributions to their communities, professional fields, and their alma mater. Because of the exemplary nature of their achievements, recipients represent the very best the UNC Asheville experience and in many ways serve as role models for the entire University community. We cordially invite alumni and friends to register for the National Alumni Awards Banquet taking place on February 21, 2020.

Ms. Donna Glick, ’75, Roy A. Taylor Distinguished Alumna of the Year Award

Donna Glick served as the Director of Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education and Community Programs for 22 years. Her work exemplifies the spirit of a UNC Asheville liberal arts education by examining the role and influence of the arts in the way that individuals participate in society. Donna has been deeply engaged in projects such as creating a residency for esteemed African American playwright August Wilson and providing space for young people to work directly with him; developing a documentary focused on the Massachusetts justice system; training teachers for an arts integration project; and providing workshops for Children’s Services through which student participants developed tools and found space to explore the complex and difficult realities of contemporary life. Donna has served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, the Massachusetts Cultural Council, and the Connecticut Commission on Culture and Tourism.  She has also served as a consultant for the Boston Public Schools Arts Quality Consortium, Boston Museum Project, Hartford Performs!, Friends of the Performing Arts of Concord, and Cultural Access Consortium.  Donna’s professional awards include the CHAMPION Award from Codman Academy and an Official Citation from the State Senate of Massachusetts recognizing her years of service as the Director of Education at the Huntington Theatre Company. Donna graduated from UNC Asheville in 1975 with a degree in literature and earned a masters certificate in Creative Educational Leadership from Boston University.

Mr. Tate Lyda, ’91, Thomas D. Reynolds Alumni Award for Service to the University

Tate Lyda is the Owner and President of Alliance Driveway Solutions, Inc. Under Tate’s leadership, Alliance Driveaway Solutions has become a recognized and proven leader in the vehicle driveaway services and logistics industry. With a multinational team of over 200 drivers, Alliance continues to be one of the fastest-growing truck relocation services and transport companies in North America. Prior to founding his company, Tate accumulated more then 20 years of industry experience serving in various operational and leadership capacities with leading solid waste and recyclables collection entities. Tate graduated from UNC Asheville in 1991 with a degree in business management. As an alumnus, Tate has been instrumental in raising funds for the Joe Frick Memorial Endowed Scholarship, which honors our 1993 UNC Asheville alumnus Joe Frick who passed away in 2010. Tate has also dedicated much of his time and energy to create, promote, and organize the annual Joe Frick Memorial Golf Tournament to benefit the scholarship and the university. Tate enjoys horsemanship, auto racing, and golf. He lives with his wife, Lijun, and son, Gavin, in Charlotte, NC.  Tate is a member of Sigma Pi Fraternity.

Dr. Cerise Glenn-Manigault, ’99, The Order of Pisgah Award for Alumni Achievement

Dr. Cerise Glenn-Manigault directs the African American and African Diaspora studies program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro. She is an Associate Professor in the department of Communication Studies. She has dedicated her career to mentoring diverse groups in higher education, which includes directing the University Faculty Mentoring program for tenure-track faculty. She also worked with the Rites of Passage program, which conducted monthly workshops for Black male undergraduates in their first two years of college. Currently, she is a co-principal investigator on a $1 million multi-year National Science Foundation ADVANCE grant, which strengthens organizational practices to recruit and retain women faculty in the STEM fields.

Dr. Glenn-Manigault has been recognized nationally for her contributions to teaching and mentoring. Additionally, she has conducted award-winning research on African Americans in higher education, including the Outstanding Journal Article of the Year (2016) and Outstanding Book Chapter of the Year (2013) awards from the African American Communication and Culture Division of the National Communication Association. Her most recent endeavors include co-editing a special issue on Michelle Obama for Women & Language and traveling to Rome, Italy to study African influence in the Greco-Roman world. Dr. Glenn-Manigault has served on the Alumni Board of Directors and attended admissions events to promote UNC Asheville to prospective students.

Ms. Fatima Johnson, ’98, The Order of Pisgah Award for Alumni Achievement

Fatima has dedicated her career to government service at the national level. She has been employed at NASA for 13 years and currently serves as the Executive Officer for the Agency Chief Information Office.  Fatima oversees office operations, which includes a staff of sixty-seven civil servants. She leads and manages all interactions and responses to the Government Accountability Office (GAO), the Office of the Inspector General (OIG) and the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and other audit organizations on all matters related to information and technology, and she also ensure the continuity of operations for NASA IT systems and applications owned by the office in the event of nationwide emergencies and/or disasters. Before moving to her current position, she served as the Executive Officer in the Office of Strategic Infrastructure and provided leadership, oversight, and direction for a broad spectrum of operations and business management functions including policy development and budget formulation. Prior to joining NASA, she served as the Special Assistant to the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations and Management in the Office of Fair Housing and Equal Opportunity (FHEO) at the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Fatima began government service as a Presidential Management Fellow in the office of the Assistant Secretary for FHEO.  During her time at UNCA, Fatima was a member of the dance team, a resident assistant, and on staff with the Blue Banner. Most notably, Fatima joined the Zeta Tau Chapter of Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity while here and has remained active. Through the years, she has served as Membership Advisor and Chapter Advisor for the chapter at George Mason University and National Government Relations Chair.  More recently, she served two terms as a National Vice President and a term as President of Alpha Xi Delta’s National Housing Corporation.

Mr. Sergio Mariaca, ’97, Francine M. Delany Alumni Award for Service to the Community

Sergio Mariaca is an accredited investment fiduciary analyst and the president of Mariaca Wealth Management LLC, a Florida-based registered investment advisory firm that serves the financial and wealth management needs of people and businesses. Throughout his career, Mariaca has shown true commitment to community service and is a strong advocate for children, education, and people living with special needs. His commitment to volunteerism is consistently displayed through his extensive board experience serving nonprofit organizations such as the Economic Council of Palm Beach County, the Autism Society of America (2010-2016), the United Way of Palm Beach County, the Education Foundation of Palm Beach County (2002-2008), SunFest, Girl Scouts of America, the Area Agency on Aging of the Palm Beaches and Treasure Coast, and, most recently, Nonprofits First in Palm Beach County. Sergio graduated from UNC Asheville in 1997 with a degree in management and economics and his service to UNC Asheville includes service on the Alumni Board of Directors. As a student, Sergio received the Williams Award for Outstanding Leadership Service and Scholarship and his on-campus activities included serving as student body president with appointments on the Board of Trustees and Foundation Board; being “Rocky” the mascot; induction into the Greek honors societies for leadership, economics, and business; and participation in the service fraternity Alpha Phi Omega and the social fraternity, Kappa Delta Rho.

Mr. Keith Bramlett, The Alumni Distinguished Faculty Award

Keith Bramlett is the retired Sara & Joseph Breman Professor of Social Relations at UNC Asheville. He taught courses including Sociology of Law, Service Learning in Restorative Justice, Difference and Inequality and The Changing Role of Women in the Criminal Justice System. Dr. Bramlett received a number of awards during his tenure including the Distinguished Teacher of the Year Award in 1990, the Student Affairs Faculty Appreciation Award in 1990, the Excellence in Teaching in the Social Sciences Award in 1996, and the Distinguished Service Award in 2005. He was made a Fellow of the Key Center for Community Engaged Learning in 2010.  On campus, Dr. Bramlett was involved with the LGBTQ campus organization, Alliance and the Diversity Action Council as well as with various non-profit organizations in the Asheville-Buncombe community such as Youth Outright, WNC Inc.