Beth Oliver ’88, chief nurse executive and senior vice president of cardiac services at Mount Sinai Health System, was named one of Modern Healthcare’s 50 Most Influential Clinical Executives for 2024. For over 28 years, Oliver has played a transformational role in cardiac nursing at Mount Sinai. She has led the cardiovascular service line strategy and operations, ensuring quality care delivery at New York’s Mount Sinai Fuster Heart Hospital.
Tiffanie Cherie Ellis-Niles ’99 was nominated to the Massachusetts Juvenile Court by Governor Maura Healey. As a founding partner and managing attorney at Lyles and Niles, LLP, Ellis-Niles has dedicated her legal career to advocating for children and families, particularly those involved with the Department of Children and Families. Her practice spans bankruptcy, family law, probate, landlord/tenant disputes, and civil litigation.
Thomas Vallely ’77 was awarded the Presidential Citizens Medal, which recognizes an individual who has performed exemplary deeds or services for his or her country or fellow citizens. Vallely is senior advisor for Vietnam at Columbia University’s Weatherhead East Asian Institute where he co-teaches a course on the Vietnam War and supports the expansion of the institute’s engagement with Vietnam, including in the fields of Vietnamese studies and public policy. Vallely served with the United States Marine Corps in Vietnam.
Read about other alumni featured in the Summer 2025 Class Notes (link to PDF in folder). Send in your own note using our Beacon Update Form to be featured in the next issue of the magazine!
Latest University News
- UMass Boston’s Emerging Leaders Program Celebrates Annual ShowcaseThe Emerging Leaders Program (ELP) and members of the UMass Boston community gathered to celebrate the graduation of the 2025 cohort and showcase their innovative solutions to pressing regional challenges.
- UMass Boston’s Institute for Community Inclusion Welcomes Fall 2025 East African Disability Rights Professional FellowsThe Institute for Community Inclusion (ICI) is excited to welcome 10 East African disability rights leaders to Boston on Wednesday, September 10, as part of its Professional Fellows Program (PFP). This year’s cohort includes three Fellows from Kenya, three Fellows from Tanzania, and four Fellows from Uganda.
- With Harp and Piano, Chaerin Kim Sets New RecordsOn May 18, on a stage in Venezuela, Chaerin Kim stepped out to perform her eighth curtain call of the evening, as the audience gave a standing ovation. A multi-instrumentalist, composer, and conductor, she had just set a new world record by being the first soloist to play concertos on both harp and piano, accompanied by an orchestra, premiering her own composition in the same concert.
- Record Number of In-State First-Year Students Welcomed at UMass Boston Following Historic Beacon Pledge CommitmentOver 1,900 New Enrollees Build on Recent Growth of Boston’s Public Research University
- Theatre Arts Mashes Tolstoi and Electro-Pop with The Great CometThe University Hall Theatre will once again be filled with music, with an electro-pop operatic romp ripped from a scandalous slice of Tolstoi’s War and Peace. Natasha, Pierre and The Great Comet of 1812 will launch on November 13, with auditions – open to students of all majors – on September 9 and 10. The theatre space will once again transform with an immersive seating plan, putting the audience in the middle of the action of a Russian socialite ball.
- Impact is InevitableQuantum mechanics challenges what we think we know about how the world works— and shows physicists and engineers a doorway to astonishing technological possibilities. UMass Boston is exploring how public research, interdisciplinary education, and industry collaboration might unlock the power of the quantum world.
