In just over 40 years, UMBC has progressed from a fledgling university to a nationally renowned institution of higher education. And when it comes to areas such as undergraduate teaching or encouraging diversity in scientific and technological disciplines, UMBC is now regularly mentioned in the same breath with Harvard University, MIT and Stanford University.

But that growth didn’t happen without a lot of help. And an important element in helping UMBC rise in national prestige has been the university’s successful Exceptional by Example campaign.

This year, the board of UMBC’s Alumni Association has recognized the key role played by its alumni in the campaign by awarding Gene Trainor ’86, health science and policy, the 2010 Distinguished Service Award. Trainor will receive his award at the university Alumni of the Year awards ceremony in October.

UMBC embarked on its very first sustained capital campaign in 2006, in the same year that the university celebrated the 40th anniversary of its founding. Among the goals of the campaign was to engage the university’s alumni more directly in philanthropic giving to UMBC.

Trainor agreed to serve as the chair of the Alumni Campaign Committee. Among his tasks in that role were serving as chairman of committee meetings and training exercises, sending out regular e-mails to committee members – and even holding a campaign event at his own home. Thanks to his unflagging support of the campaign, UMBC’s alumni not only met but surpassed their goal of raising $3 million to support the university’s various initiatives.

“Gene dove into the role of UMBC Alumni Ambassador, and enthusiastically reached out to alumni locally and across the county,” says Greg Simmons, M.P.P. ’04, who serves as UMBC’s vice president of Institutional Advancement. “His candor, enthusiasm, and leadership have helped change our expectations of how alumni can work alongside faculty and staff to help UMBC achieve our short-term goals and our long-term vision.”

When it comes to vision, it’s no surprise that Trainor was a perfect fit. He’s built a career in supporting and facilitating the efforts of venture capital firms. Throughout his career at companies such as Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, New Enterprise Associates, and, most recently, Foundation Capital, Trainor has trotted the globe helping firms grow and expand their offices – and ensure their futures through succession planning.

“I am not an entrepreneur per se,” says Trainor. “But I believe in and have a passion for entrepreneurship. I realized I wanted to be closer to that side of the world.”

Trainor sees himself as the proverbial “man behind the curtain,” handling the day-to-day operations that are critical to a firm’s success. Successful navigation of this difficult behind-the-scenes work, he observes, allows a firm’s investing partners more flexibility and time to do their job: seek out bold new ideas and provide the creative minds behind them with the necessary funding to develop and sharpen their ideas and eventually bring them to the marketplace.

“Most of the innovation in the world is driven by venture-backed companies,” he says. “My role is to run the internal operations of the firm so the investing partners can do what they do best.”

Through his willingness to engage in philanthropic work and service, Trainor has also brought that spirit of discovery and adventure to another marketplace of ideas: UMBC.

“I was a commuter student during college, so I didn’t build up a vast network of friends,” says Trainor. “It was neat to have the opportunity to come back to UMBC and meet alums from various years while working on the campaign to create awareness for the University.”

When Trainor talks to people about making an investment, he says that he asks them to consider where their resources – time, money, or effort – can have the greatest impact.

“There are very few places where I think you can get a better bang for your buck than UMBC,” he says. “All you need to do is look at the progress UMBC has made in the last ten to 20 years. Even with limited resources, it has made incredible progress not just regionally but nationally.”

— Meredith Purvis

Each year, the UMBC Alumni Association presents awards to honor alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University.   Learn more about our past award winners.

ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

Michael George ’87, Information Systems, has spent the past 12 years with Amazon.com in Seattle, WA. Mike started his Amazon career as the Director of Systems and Networking Operations. Since then, he has held senior positions that span several functional areas; Director of WW Third Party Platforms, GM/Dir of WW Marketplace, VP of Human Resources, VP of WW Payments, VP of Spoken Word Audio, and now VP of a yet-to-be-announced new business. Mike joined Amazon through the acquisition of the Junglee Corp. in mid-1998; where he was VP of Business Development. Prior to Junglee, Mike spent 14 years in the newspaper industry; working for the Baltimore Sun, USA Today and the Washington Post Co. Mike is named on several patents and pending patents related to marketplace, payments and group buying business processes and technologies.
HUMANITIES

Vikki Valentine ’96, English, is an award-winning science journalist and senior editor for NPR’s science unit and lead editor of NPR’s environment, energy and climate coverage. Before that, she managed the desk’s daily digital output of science, environmental, health and technology stories, and initiated major features and series. Prior to NPR, Valentine worked at Discovery.com and BaltimoreSun.com. Her writing has also been published by the Smithsonian Channel, The New York Times, National Geographic, Marketplace Radio, Science, and Washingtonian. Valentine graduated with honors from the University College London Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine master’s program in 2005; and magna cum laude from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1996, with a major in English and minors in anthropology and writing. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.
NATURAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES

Michael I. Nishimura ’80 BA ’84 MS ’89, PhD Biological Sciences, has devoted his career to developing novel immunologic approaches for cancer therapy and is recognized for his talents as a scientific mentor. Building upon his strong genetics and immunology training acquired at UMBC, he pioneered the use of retroviral vectors encoding T cell receptor (TCR) genes to engineer an individual’s own lymphocytes to be able recognize and control the patients cancer cells or virus-infected cells. The first clinical trial using TCR gene modified T cells was conducted in Denmark using one of Dr. Nishimura’s TCR’s targeting the melanoma protein MART-1. Dr Nishimura serves as the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina and has assembled a strong clinical and scientific team committed to bringing this and other novel cellular therapies to the clinic.
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES

Chad Cradock ’97, Psychology, was named to UMBC Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 2004 after a stellar career as a Retriever from 1993 until his graduation in 1997 and immediately became an assistant coach, but his greater contribution to the UMBC family would begin in 2001 when he became just the second head coach of the swimming and diving program. Since he took over, the Retriever men have won nine consecutive conference championships, including seven straight America East titles, while the women have won four conference crowns. In addition, the amount of alumni giving has gone up over 1,200% during his tenure. Cradock and his staff have been named Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year six times, including being named 2010 America East Coaching Staff of the Year.
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS

Dean Alexander ’88, Visual Arts, is a photographer and the owner of Dean Alexander Productions, Inc., based in Baltimore Maryland. His work covers a broad range from advertising and editorial to fine art and has taken him to over 40 countries throughout the world. Clients range from corporations such as IBM and UnderArmour to non-profits such as the National Institute of Health and HealthCare for the Homeless. Subjects range from Oprah Winfrey and Lady Sutherland (Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen of England) to Baltimore’s homeless. He has been invited to speak at various institutions including, MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), Boston University’s Center For Digital Imaging Arts and the U. S. House of Representatives Page School at the Library of Congress. He has won nearly 100 international awards in his career.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD

Gene Trainor ’86, Health Science & Policy and Economics, is the Chief Operating Officer of Foundation Capital, a Menlo Park CA – based venture capital firm. Prior to joining Foundation, Gene served for 10 years as the Administrative General Partner and the Chief Operating Officer for New Enterprise Associates. Prior to joining NEA, Gene was an Executive Vice President and the Chief Operating Officer of Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, LLC, and before that the CFO/Controller of a Mid-Atlantic venture capital firm and a member of the audit group for Ernst & Young, LLP. A certified public accountant, he earned BA degrees from UMBC in Economics and Health Science and Policy with certificates in Accounting, Finance and Managerial Economics. Gene received his MBA from Loyola College of Maryland. Gene serves on the board of the non-profit Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
RISING STAR AWARD

Aaron Merki ’05, Political Science, graduated from UMBC as a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and then attended University of Maryland School of Law as the Bekman Leadership Scholar. While there, Aaron founded the FreeState Legal Project, which provides legal services to low-income LGBT clients throughout the Greater Baltimore region. Aaron was named the National LGBT Bar Association’s 2008 student leader of the year. After graduating law school, Aaron accepted a judicial clerkship with the Hon. Susan K. Gauvey of the United States District Court for Maryland. Now an Associate at Venable LLP, Aaron’s clients range from Fortune 500 companies to low-income individuals. He continues to serve as Chairman of the FreeState Legal Project Board of Directors, which now includes judges, professors, elected officials, and some of Walter Sondheim’s closest friends.

Each year, the UMBC Alumni Association presents awards to honor alumni for their professional and personal achievements and service to the University.   Learn more about our past award winners.
ENGINEERING AND INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
Michael George ’87, Information Systems, has spent the past 12 years with Amazon.com in Seattle, WA. Mike started his Amazon career as the Director of Systems and Networking Operations. Since then, he has held senior positions that span several functional areas; Director of WW Third Party Platforms, GM/Dir of WW Marketplace, VP of Human Resources, VP of WW Payments, VP of Spoken Word Audio, and now VP of a yet-to-be-announced new business. Mike joined Amazon through the acquisition of the Junglee Corp. in mid-1998; where he was VP of Business Development. Prior to Junglee, Mike spent 14 years in the newspaper industry; working for the Baltimore Sun, USA Today and the Washington Post Co. Mike is named on several patents and pending patents related to marketplace, payments and group buying business processes and technologies.
HUMANITIES
Vikki Valentine ’96, English, is an award-winning science journalist and senior editor for NPR’s science unit and lead editor of NPR’s environment, energy and climate coverage. Before that, she managed the desk’s daily digital output of science, environmental, health and technology stories, and initiated major features and series. Prior to NPR, Valentine worked at Discovery.com and BaltimoreSun.com. Her writing has also been published by the Smithsonian Channel, The New York Times, National Geographic, Marketplace Radio, Science, and Washingtonian. Valentine graduated with honors from the University College London Wellcome Trust Centre for the History of Medicine master’s program in 2005; and magna cum laude from the University of Maryland Baltimore County in 1996, with a major in English and minors in anthropology and writing. She currently resides in Washington, D.C.
NATURAL AND MATHEMATICAL SCIENCES
Michael I. Nishimura ’80 BA ’84 MS ’89, PhD Biological Sciences, has devoted his career to developing novel immunologic approaches for cancer therapy and is recognized for his talents as a scientific mentor. Building upon his strong genetics and immunology training acquired at UMBC, he pioneered the use of retroviral vectors encoding T cell receptor (TCR) genes to engineer an individual’s own lymphocytes to be able recognize and control the patients cancer cells or virus-infected cells. The first clinical trial using TCR gene modified T cells was conducted in Denmark using one of Dr. Nishimura’s TCR’s targeting the melanoma protein MART-1. Dr Nishimura serves as the Vice Chair for Research in the Department of Surgery at the Medical University of South Carolina and has assembled a strong clinical and scientific team committed to bringing this and other novel cellular therapies to the clinic.
SOCIAL AND BEHAVIORAL SCIENCES
Chad Cradock ’97, Psychology, was named to UMBC Athletics’ Hall of Fame in 2004 after a stellar career as a Retriever from 1993 until his graduation in 1997 and immediately became an assistant coach, but his greater contribution to the UMBC family would begin in 2001 when he became just the second head coach of the swimming and diving program. Since he took over, the Retriever men have won nine consecutive conference championships, including seven straight America East titles, while the women have won four conference crowns. In addition, the amount of alumni giving has gone up over 1,200% during his tenure. Cradock and his staff have been named Coach/Coaching Staff of the Year six times, including being named 2010 America East Coaching Staff of the Year.
VISUAL AND PERFORMING ARTS
Dean Alexander ’88, Visual Arts, is a photographer and the owner of Dean Alexander Productions, Inc., based in Baltimore Maryland. His work covers a broad range from advertising and editorial to fine art and has taken him to over 40 countries throughout the world. Clients range from corporations such as IBM and UnderArmour to non-profits such as the National Institute of Health and HealthCare for the Homeless. Subjects range from Oprah Winfrey and Lady Sutherland (Lady-in-Waiting to the Queen of England) to Baltimore’s homeless. He has been invited to speak at various institutions including, MICA (Maryland Institute College of Art), Boston University’s Center For Digital Imaging Arts and the U. S. House of Representatives Page School at the Library of Congress. He has won nearly 100 international awards in his career.
DISTINGUISHED SERVICE AWARD
Gene Trainor ’86, Health Science & Policy and Economics, is the Chief Operating Officer of Foundation Capital, a Menlo Park CA – based venture capital firm. Prior to joining Foundation, Gene served for 10 years as the Administrative General Partner and the Chief Operating Officer for New Enterprise Associates. Prior to joining NEA, Gene was an Executive Vice President and the Chief Operating Officer of Cramer Rosenthal McGlynn, LLC, and before that the CFO/Controller of a Mid-Atlantic venture capital firm and a member of the audit group for Ernst & Young, LLP. A certified public accountant, he earned BA degrees from UMBC in Economics and Health Science and Policy with certificates in Accounting, Finance and Managerial Economics. Gene received his MBA from Loyola College of Maryland. Gene serves on the board of the non-profit Families of Spinal Muscular Atrophy.
RISING STAR AWARD
Aaron Merki ’05, Political Science, graduated from UMBC as a Sondheim Public Affairs Scholar and then attended University of Maryland School of Law as the Bekman Leadership Scholar. While there, Aaron founded the FreeState Legal Project, which provides legal services to low-income LGBT clients throughout the Greater Baltimore region. Aaron was named the National LGBT Bar Association’s 2008 student leader of the year. After graduating law school, Aaron accepted a judicial clerkship with the Hon. Susan K. Gauvey of the United States District Court for Maryland. Now an Associate at Venable LLP, Aaron’s clients range from Fortune 500 companies to low-income individuals. He continues to serve as Chairman of the FreeState Legal Project Board of Directors, which now includes judges, professors, elected officials, and some of Walter Sondheim’s closest friends.