72 Notable alumni of Florida Atlantic University
Updated: June 14, 2026 EliteDegrees
Florida Atlantic University is ranked #519 in the world and #162 in United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 72 notable alumni from Florida Atlantic University sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff. Many individuals affiliated with Florida Atlantic University won Nobel Prizes for Peace, in Physics, Chemistry, Physiology or Medicine, and Economics.
1. Pat Patterson
1948-. (aged 78)
teacher
politician
Ralph H. "Pat" Patterson is an American politician and insurance agent. He was a member of the Florida House of Representatives and a member of the Republican Party.
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2. Lauren Cole Sallan
paleobiologist
biologist
ichthyologist
paleontologist
Lauren Sallan is an American academic who is the head of the Macroevolution Unit at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology and was previously the Martin Meyerson Assistant Professor in Interdisciplinary Studies at the University of Pennsylvania. She is a paleobiologist who uses big data analytics to study macroevolution. She is a TED Senior Fellow and has two TED...
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3. Kevin Crawford
1970-2013 (aged 43)
Kevin Scott Crawford was a scholar of William Shakespeare and Thomas Middleton and a founding member of the Palm Beach Shakespeare Festival.
4. Susanna Lehtinen
1983-. (aged 43)
association football player
Susanna Minttu Maria Lehtinen is a retired Finnish football midfielder. She last played in the Swedish Damallsvenskan for KIF Örebro, a club she represented for eight seasons. She has also played for FC Espoo, FC Honka (Naisten Liiga) and Florida Atlantic Owls (NCAA).
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5. Cody Wilson
1996-. (aged 30)
baseball player
Cody Roger George Wilson is an American professional baseball outfielder for the High Point Rockers of the Atlantic League of Professional Baseball. He has previously played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Washington Nationals.
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6. Vicki Hendricks
1951-. (aged 75)
novelist
Vicki Due Hendricks is an American author of crime fiction, erotica, and a variety of short stories.
7. Julie Ferguson
1979-. (aged 47)
association football player
Julie Ferguson is a Scottish former international footballer. She finished her career with SWFL 2nd Division side Motherwell having previously played for Florida Atlantic, Celtic, Glasgow City and Hibernian Ladies. Ferguson amassed 67 appearances for the Scotland women's national football team.
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8. Robert F. Hedelund
1961-. (aged 65)
military leader
Robert Frederick Hedelund is a retired lieutenant general in the United States Marine Corps who serves as the commander of United States Marine Corps Forces Command, replacing Lieutenant General Mark A. Brilakis. He previously served as the commander of the II Marine Expeditionary Force. Hedelund was commissioned upon his graduation from Florida Atlantic University in 1983. He is from Pompano...
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9. Jeff Van Camp
1987-. (aged 39)
American football player
Jeff Van Camp is an American former football quarterback. He played college football at Florida Atlantic University, under head coach Howard Schnellenberger, as well as high school football at Navarre High School in Navarre, Florida.
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10. Toby Overdorf
1969-. (aged 57)
politician
Tobin Rogers "Toby" Overdorf is a Republican member of the Florida Legislature representing the state's 85th House district, which includes parts of Martin and St. Lucie counties.
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11. Tim Harikkala
1971-. (aged 55)
baseball player
Timothy Allan Harikkala is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He pitched for four teams in Major League Baseball (MLB) from 1995 to 2007. He also pitched in the KBO League from 2005 to 2007.
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12. Christina Chang
1985-. (aged 41)
association football player
Christina Chang de Oliveira, known as Christina Chang, is an American-born Jamaican footballer who plays as a defender for the Jamaica women's national team.
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13. Rhonda Jones
1979-. (aged 47)
association football player
Rhonda Jones is a retired Scottish footballer who played as a defender and won over 100 caps for the Scotland national team. A right-back or central defender, Jones played for Tampa Bay Hellenic in the United States. She then captained Hibernian Ladies and played for English FA WSL club Doncaster Rovers Belles, before returning to Scotland for spells with Celtic,...
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14. Kenneth Brander
1962-. (aged 64)
writer
rabbi
'Kenneth Brander is an Israeli-American Modern Orthodox rabbi who is President and Rosh HaYeshiva of the Ohr Torah Stone network of institutions.
15. Jim Naugle
1954-. (aged 72)
politician
James T. Naugle is an American real estate broker who served as mayor of Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Although a lifelong Democrat, Naugle frequently voted for and supported Republican candidates. Elected for the first time in 1991, Naugle was the longest-serving mayor in the history of Fort Lauderdale, serving for six consecutive terms.
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16. Darnell King
1990-. (aged 36)
association football player
Darnell King is an American former professional soccer player and current assistant coach of Phoenix Rising FC in the USL Championship.
17. Ryan Garton
1989-. (aged 37)
baseball player
Ryan Patrick Garton is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Tampa Bay Rays in 2016 and 2017 and the Seattle Mariners in 2017 and 2019.
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18. Dan Mica
1944-. (aged 82)
politician
Daniel Andrew Mica is an American politician who was a U.S. representative from the state of Florida.
19. Herb Miller
1997-. (aged 29)
American football player
Herbert Miller III is an American professional football cornerback. He played college football at Florida Atlantic.
20. Jeff Fiorentino
1983-. (aged 43)
baseball player
Jeffrey Philip Fiorentino is an American former professional baseball outfielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Baltimore Orioles and Oakland Athletics between 2005 and 2009. He also played in Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB) for the Hiroshima Toyo Carp in 2010. He was nicknamed Screech due to his resemblance to the character of the same name from the...
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21. Sharrod Neasman
1991-. (aged 35)
American football player
Sharrod Neasman is an American former professional football player who was a safety in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida Atlantic Owls and was signed by the Atlanta Falcons as an undrafted free agent in 2016.
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22. Jesse Bering
1975-. (aged 51)
psychologist
researcher
Jesse Michael Bering is an American psychologist, writer, and academic. He is a professor in Psychology at the University of Otago where he serves as Director of the Centre for Science Communication.
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23. Daniel Bluman
1990-. (aged 36)
equestrian
Daniel Bluman is an Olympic show jumping rider. Born in Colombia, he represents Israel internationally and competed for his country of birth in the past. Bluman qualified to represent Israel at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, but did not compete due to a clerical error in his horse's registration. Bluman represented Israel at the 2024 Paris Olympics at the...
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24. R. J. Alvarez
1991-. (aged 35)
baseball player
Roy Emilio "R.J." Alvarez is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Diego Padres, Oakland Athletics, and New York Mets.
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25. Alijah Martin
2001-. (aged 25)
basketball player
Alijah Randall Edwin Martin is an American professional basketball player for the Toronto Raptors of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Raptors 905 of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Florida Gators.
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26. Michael Crotta
1984-. (aged 42)
baseball player
Michael John Crotta is an American former professional baseball pitcher. He previously played for the Pittsburgh Pirates of Major League Baseball (MLB) and Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters of Nippon Professional Baseball (NPB).
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27. Christopher McKay
1954-. (aged 72)
astrophysicist
engineer
physicist
Christopher P. McKay is an American planetary scientist at NASA Ames Research Center, studying planetary atmospheres, astrobiology, and terraforming. McKay majored in physics at Florida Atlantic University, where he also studied mechanical engineering, graduating in 1975. He also received his PhD in astrogeophysics from the University of Colorado in 1982.
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28. Johnell Davis
2001-. (aged 25)
basketball player
Johnell Davis is an American basketball player for the Osceola Magic of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Florida Atlantic Owls and the Arkansas Razorbacks.
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29. Stefan Moody
1993-. (aged 33)
basketball player
Stefan Tyler Moody is an American professional basketball player for Karşıyaka Basket of the Basketbol Süper Ligi (BSL). Standing at 1.78 metres (5 feet 10 inches), he plays at the point guard position. After playing one year of college basketball at FAU, one year at Kilgore College and two years at Ole Miss, Moody entered the 2016 NBA draft, but...
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30. Maynard Webb
1955-. (aged 71)
writer
Maynard G. Webb Jr. is an American business person and is the author of the New York Times bestseller Rebooting Work: Transform How You Work in the Age of Entrepreneurship, and the national bestseller Dear Founder: Letters of Advice for Anyone who Leads, Manages, or Wants to Start a Business. A long-time technology executive and angel investor, Webb is a...
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31. Theresa LePore
politician
Theresa LePore is a former Supervisor of Elections for Palm Beach County, Florida. She designed the infamous "butterfly ballot" used in the 2000 presidential election. This would lead the press to nickname her "Madame Butterfly". Following the controversial results of the 2000 election, she lost her re-election bid in September 2004 and left office in January 2005.
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32. Frank Brogan
1953-. (aged 73)
politician
Frank T. Brogan is an American educator and the former Assistant Secretary of Education (Elementary and Secondary Education). He succeeded Deborah S. Delisle. He is the former Chancellor of the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education, former Chancellor of the State University System of Florida, and former President of Florida Atlantic University. He served as the 15th lieutenant governor of...
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33. Eduardo José Padrón
1944-. (aged 82)
Eduardo José Padrón is President Emeritus of Miami Dade College (MDC). An economist by training, Padrón earned his Ph.D. from the University of Florida. After serving as a faculty member at MDC, he became the school's president in 1995. Time named him one of the ten best college presidents in 2009, and he was awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom...
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34. Stephen Duneier
1967-. (aged 59)
financier
economist
Stephen Duneier is an American professional investment manager, strategy consultant, speaker, lecturer, author, artist and Guinness World Record holder.
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35. Steven Swanson
1960-. (aged 66)
astronaut
engineer
Steven Roy Swanson is an American engineer and retired NASA astronaut. Swanson has flown two shuttle flights, STS-117 and STS-119, and one Soyuz flight, TMA-12M. All of the flights were to the International Space Station. He has logged over 195 days in space and completed five spacewalks totaling 27 hours and 58 minutes. Swanson has served in other roles at...
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36. Judith Ortiz Cofer
1952-2016 (aged 64)
autobiographer
poet
writer
children's writer
novelist
Judith Ortiz Cofer was a Puerto Rican author. Her critically acclaimed and award-winning work spans a range of literary genres including poetry, short stories, autobiography, essays, and young-adult fiction. Ortiz Cofer was the Emeritus Regents' and Franklin Professor of English and Creative Writing at the University of Georgia, where she taught undergraduate and graduate creative writing workshops for 26 years....
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37. Claire Emslie
1994-. (aged 32)
association football player
Claire Emslie is a Scottish professional footballer who plays as a forward for Angel City FC in the American National Women's Soccer League (NWSL) and the Scotland national team.
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38. Ophelia Pastrana
1982-. (aged 44)
physicist
YouTuber
businessperson
actor
television producer
Ophelia Pastrana Ardila is a Colombian-Mexican transgender speaker, YouTuber, technologist and comedian. She is the first transgender woman naturalized by Mexico. Business Insider listed her as one of the most influential women on Twitter regarding technology aspects. In 2018 she was recognized as one of the BBC's 100 Women.
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39. Luis Alberto Moreno
1953-. (aged 73)
journalist
diplomat
Luis Alberto Moreno MejÃa is a Colombian businessman and former diplomat who served as President of the Inter-American Development Bank (IADB) from 2005 to 2020. He was also Colombia's Ambassador to the United States under President Andrés Pastrana Arango from 1998 to 2005, and is the former President of the Instituto de Fomento Industrial. He currently serves as a member...
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40. Freddie Figgers
1989-. (aged 37)
entrepreneur
Freddie Figgers is an American technology entrepreneur, inventor, and founder of Figgers Communication and the Figgers Foundation.
41. Max von Schlebrügge
1977-. (aged 49)
association football player
Max Walter Sebastian von Schlebrügge is a Swedish former professional footballer who played as a center back. Starting off his professional career with IF Brommapojkarna in the late 1990s, he went on to represent Hammarby IF, R.S.C. Anderlecht, and Brøndby IF before retiring at IFK Österåker in 2021. A full international between 2003 and 2009, he has won 10 caps...
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42. Brittany Bowe
1988-. (aged 38)
basketball player
inline speed skater
speed skater
Brittany Starr Bowe is an American speed skater and former inline skater and basketball player. She has won eight gold, one silver, and two bronze medals from the world inline speedskating championships. From her junior years, she has another 21 world championship medals. She also has a gold medal from the combined sprint event in roller skating at the 2007...
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43. Marc Kudisch
1966-. (aged 60)
actor
Marc Kudisch is an American stage actor, who is best known for his musical theatre roles on Broadway.
44. Duron Carter
1991-. (aged 35)
Canadian football player
American football player
Duron Christopher Carter is an American former professional football wide receiver and defensive back. He was initially a member of the Montreal Alouettes of the Canadian Football League (CFL) as a wide receiver and also played for the Saskatchewan Roughriders, Toronto Argonauts, BC Lions, and Edmonton Elks.
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45. Michael Prysner
1983-. (aged 43)
peace activist
politician
Michael D. Prysner is an American socialist and political activist. He is a U.S. Army veteran who served in Iraq as a specialist. His duties in Iraq included ground surveillance, home raids, and interrogation of prisoners. According to Prysner, these experiences led him to take an anti-war stance.
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46. Ricco Ross
1960-. (aged 66)
film actor
actor
television actor
Ricco Ross is an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of private Frost in the 1986 science fiction action film Aliens.
47. Shannon Spake
1976-. (aged 50)
sports commentator
Shannon Spake is a reporter and host for NASCAR on TNT and the Hornets on FanDuel Sports Network Southeast. Spake also hosts the SPAKE UP PODCAST. Spake previously worked for Fox Sports as a host for NASCAR RaceDay and NASCAR Race Hub, and a sideline reporter for coverage of the NFL on Fox, Fox College Hoops and Fox College Football....
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48. Phil Zimmermann
1954-. (aged 72)
human rights defender
professor
programmer
mathematician
cryptographer
Philip R. Zimmermann is an American computer scientist and cryptographer. He is the creator of Pretty Good Privacy (PGP), the most widely used email encryption software in the world. He is also known for his work in VoIP encryption protocols, notably ZRTP and Zfone. Zimmermann is co-founder and Chief Scientist of the global encrypted communications firm Silent Circle.
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49. Don Brewer
1948-. (aged 78)
composer
singer
Donald George Brewer is an American drummer and singer who is a founding member and longtime original drummer of the rock band Grand Funk Railroad.
50. Catherine Hickland
1956-. (aged 70)
singer
stage actor
television actor
actor
film actor
Catherine Hickland is an American film, stage, and television actress, as well as a singer, author and cosmetics-company CEO and hypnotist. She began her career in television in 1978, appearing in guest roles on several series before being cast in a recurring role on Texas from 1980 to 1981. She also had supporting roles in the comedy film The Last...
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51. Chris Carrabba
1975-. (aged 51)
singer
guitarist
singer-songwriter
Christopher Andrew Carrabba is an American musician who is the primary songwriter, lead singer, and guitarist of the band Dashboard Confessional, lead singer of the band Further Seems Forever, and lead vocalist for the folk band Twin Forks.
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52. Carrot Top
1965-. (aged 61)
film director
television actor
voice actor
stand-up comedian
television producer
Scott Christopher Thompson, known professionally as Carrot Top, is an American stand-up comedian and actor known for his use of prop comedy.
53. Brenda Snipes
1943-2023 (aged 80)
teacher
official
Brenda Calhoun Snipes was an American public official who was the Supervisor of Elections for Broward County, Florida. She was appointed by Governor Jeb Bush in 2003. Snipes was registered as a Democrat.
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54. Everett Stern
businessperson
politician
Everett Alexander Stern is an American businessman, whistleblower, and political candidate who is the intelligence director of Tactical Rabbit, Inc. He exposed an HSBC money laundering scandal, where he uncovered illegal money laundering transactions. Having formerly attempted to run for office as a member of the Republican Party, he ran as an independent write-in candidate in the 2022 United States...
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55. Carol W. Hunstein
1944-. (aged 82)
lawyer
judge
Carol Wyckoff Hunstein is an American lawyer and judge from Georgia. She is a former Justice of the Supreme Court of Georgia. She served on the Court as an associate justice from 1992 to 2009 and 2013 to 2018 and as Chief Justice from 2009 to 2013.
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56. Mirta Ojito
1964-. (aged 62)
journalist
Mirta Ojito is a Cuban-born author and journalist. She has written two nonfiction books, Finding Mañana: A Memoir of a Cuban Exodus a book about her journey to the U.S. as a teenager in the Mariel boatlift, and Hunting Season: Immigration and Murder in an All-American Town." She was part of a group of New York Times reporters who shared...
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57. Ralph de la Vega
businessperson
Ralph de la Vega is the former Vice Chairman of AT&T Inc. and CEO of AT&T Business Solutions and AT&T International. He has previously served as President & CEO of AT&T Mobile & Business Solutions; President and CEO of AT&T Mobility; COO of Cingular Wireless; President of BellSouth Latin America Operations; and the President of Broadband and Internet Services for...
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58. Al Cárdenas
1948-. (aged 78)
lawyer
lobbyist
Alberto Remigio Cárdenas Pardo is a Cuban-born American lawyer, politician and conservative activist who is a partner in the law firm of Squire Patton Boggs and in the Advocacy Group at Cardenas Partners. He has been named as one of Washington D.C.'s top lobbyists by The Hill newspaper. Cardenas was a member of the Board of Trustees of Florida A&M...
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59. Madeline Pumariega
Madeline Pumeriega is the fifth president of Miami Dade College in Miami, Florida. She is the first woman to hold the post.
60. Debby P. Sanderson
1941-. (aged 85)
politician
Debby P. Sanderson is a former Republican member of the Florida House of Representatives and the Florida Senate. She was the first Republican woman elected to the House of Representatives from Broward County. She retired from the State Senate in 2002 after redistricting.
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61. Jason Mercier
1986-. (aged 40)
poker player
Jason Mercier is an American professional poker player from Hollywood, Florida. He has won six World Series of Poker bracelets and one European Poker Tour title. Mercier is a member of Team PokerStars Pro and was named the Bluff Magazine Player of the Year for 2009. He was WSOP Player of the Year in 2016.
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62. Ken Jenne
1947-. (aged 79)
lawyer
Kenneth C. Jenne II is a former Democratic member of the Florida State Senate and a former sheriff of Broward County (Broward County Sheriff's Office), which encompasses Fort Lauderdale. He resigned as sheriff in September 2007, after having pleaded guilty to federal tax evasion and mail fraud. On November 16, 2007, he was sentenced to a year and a day...
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63. Al Lamberti
Al Lamberti is a former sheriff of Broward County, which encompasses Fort Lauderdale in southeastern Florida.
64. Pat Murphy
1955-. (aged 71)
novelist
science fiction writer
writer
Patrick Joseph Murphy is an American politician who served as Iowa State Representative from the 99th District and Speaker of the Iowa House of Representatives; Murphy was also the Democratic nominee for Iowa's 1st congressional district in 2014. He also previously served as Minority Leader from 2003 to 2007. Murphy is a Democrat and served in the Iowa House after...
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65. Albert Mohler
1959-. (aged 67)
writer
chancellor
preacher
theologian
Richard Albert Mohler Jr. is an American evangelical theologian, the ninth president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky, and host of the podcast The Briefing, where he gives a daily analysis of news and events from a Christian worldview.
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66. Arthur C. Brooks
1964-. (aged 62)
journalist
horn player
Arthur Charles Brooks is an American author and academic.
67. Olivia Peguero
1961-. (aged 65)
sculptor
painter
botanical illustrator
Olivia Peguero is a Dominican and American contemporary landscape and botanical painter and sculptor. Painting most of the year in the Dominican Republic and Florida, she is known for producing all of her studies and the majority of her finished pieces en plein air. Unlike many other Dominican artists, her works are created in oil paint, using a more traditional...
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68. Joe Cunningham
1982-. (aged 44)
lawyer
engineer
politician
Joseph Kendrick Cunningham is an American lawyer and politician who was the U.S. representative for South Carolina's 1st congressional district from 2019 to 2021.
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69. Vladislav Goldin
2001-. (aged 25)
basketball player
Vladislav Goldin is a Russian professional basketball player for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA), on a two-way contract with the Sioux Falls Skyforce of the NBA G League. He played college basketball for the Texas Tech Red Raiders, Florida Atlantic Owls and Michigan Wolverines. Goldin earned all-conference honors three times in his college career, including a...
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70. Dusty Rhodes
1946-. (aged 80)
baseball manager
Virgil Riley Runnels Jr., better known as "The American Dream" Dusty Rhodes, was an American professional wrestler, booker, and trainer who worked for the National Wrestling Alliance and the World Wrestling Federation, later known as WWE. Rhodes was considered a star wrestler and presented the persona of an American everyman, the American Dream personified. Rhodes is widely regarded as one...
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71. Mustafa Varank
1976-. (aged 50)
politician
Mustafa Varank is a Turkish politician and bureaucrat who previously served as the Minister of Industry and Technology.
72. Yang Huang
1971-. (aged 55)
novelist
Yang Huang is an American novelist and short story writer. Her debut novel, Living Treasures, was a finalist for the 2008 Bellwether Prize and the 2014 INDIEFAB Book of the Year Awards (now known as the Foreword INDIES). Her short story collection, My Old Faithful, won 2017 Juniper Prize for Fiction. her novel, My Good Son, was the winner of...
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