Phil GiaQuinta has always had a heart for public service and a desire to make government more accessible and accountable for his fellow citizens. When he was the Northeast Indiana District Manager for the Bureau of Motor Vehicles, he reduced customer wait time to less than 10 minutes. He currently serves as the Utilities Services Manager for the City of Fort Wayne and earned a Six Sigma Black Belt for reducing the average Call Center wait time for City Utilities customers. And he is credited with creating the award winning 311 Call Center for the City of Fort Wayne so that citizens can have a one-stop-shop for all their government related issues. In 2006, Phil successfully ran for office and is now the District 80 State Representative where he currently serves as the Assistant Minority Leader and the Ranking Member of the Public Policy Committee. He is past chair of the Legislative and Rules Committee and has authored several bills including the funding mechanism for the Allen County Fort Wayne Capital Improvement board to fund new and renovated improvement projects and the law that streamlines the home buying process. Recently recognized as Legislator of the year, his areas of special… Read More
Joseph Deitche is the epitome of a 24/7, dedicated teacher at South Side High School where he has taught math (Algebra II and AP Calculus) since 1996. He is known to spend countless hours developing innovative lesson plans and helping students. When he sees that students aren’t grasping the subject, he helps them after school and on weekends, inspiring them to succeed in ingenious ways. He truly cares about them. Joe taught math and science at Capitol High School in Santa Fe NM for one year, after obtaining his bachelor degree in physics and math from Purdue University (Phi Beta Kappa, Summa Cum Laude) and his masters in physics the University of New Mexico where he was named teaching assistant of the year, before returning to his home town. In addition to his classroom work, Joe has coached the Girl’s Tennis Team and the Academic Math Team. He is also the club sponsor for the Frisbee, Table Tennis and Math Clubs as well as the co-sponsor of National Honor Society. He can be found working most football, basketball, volleyball, swimming, track and cross country athletic events and often serves as tour guide for the class reunions. While living in Lafayette,… Read More
Carlton Mable is the current principal of South Side High School, 6th in the history of the school. He began his teaching career at Miami Middle School and Wayne High School. After receiving his MS, he was an administrative intern at Blackhawk Middle School before being named principal at Lakeside Middle School. In the fall of 2008, he became principal of Wayne High School for two years before his assignment to South Side High School. During his eight years of leadership at South Side, the school has achieved academic growth. On the verge of State take-over in 2010, South Side then met all the challenges and goals set forth by the State of Indiana. The prestigious International Baccalaureate Diploma program has been expanded to be more inclusive and reflective of the student population and more students are earning IB Diplomas and Certificates. Carlton has had the opportunity to be involved in many community organizations. He served as President of the Fort Wayne Chapter of Indiana Black Expo and the Par-Tee Golf Club. He is a charter member of the Summit City South Rotary Club, a State Board Member with Indiana Black Expo, a graduate of the Learning Forward Academy Class… Read More
Jason F Maurer is an award winning director and animator, having earned his degrees in illustration and animation at Savannah College of Art and Design. His first animated feature film Delgo was an official selection of the prestigious Annecy International Animated Film Festival as well as Seoul International Animation Festival, and awarded ‘Best Feature film’ at Anima Mundi in 2008. He has directed numerous commercials and won one Addy and five Tellys for his work over the years. Jason currently heads up the Animation program at the College of Motion Picture Arts at Florida State University, which is ranked in the top twenty film schools in the nation by Hollywood Reporter. He is a recipient of FSU’s Undergraduate Teaching Award and serves on the College’s curriculum council. He mentors and molds the filmmakers of the future through his classes, discussions and workshops on story, aesthetics, pre-visualization and animated filmmaking. Jason’s students have gone on to become leaders within the industry having worked on and supervised projects such as Coraline, Tumble Leaf, Big Hero 6 and Zootopia to name but a few. Jason attributes his passion and desire for storytelling to his Art teachers at South Side High School, Frank Roberts… Read More