Purdue University

After 36 years in corporate food marketing and marketing service management at Campbell Soup Company and Kraft Foods, Patsy Mellott retired in 2007. Much of her work experience focused on the business-to-business channel with emphasis on problem solving, communications, project and event management, and marketing application of technology in the context of corporate business goals.

Mellott now serves as volunteer consultant for Executive Service Corps of Chicago and as a board member of the Williams County, Ohio, 4-H Endowment Fund Committee. She has actively supported the CFS Alumni Association for many years.

To be closer to family and friends in the Midwest, she moved to Fishers where she resides in an active 55+ adult community. Besides Purdue, her passions are tennis and travel.

After graduating with a degree in restaurant, hotel, and institutional management with a minor in business and supervision, Amy was recruited by Hyatt Hotels as a corporate management trainee. She spent eight years with the company working in both food and beverage and the room division in various locations such as Milwaukee, Winston Salem, Coral Gables, Key West, and Chicago. Amy also assisted with the opening of two hotels.

She eventually changed divisions to Classic Residence by Hyatt, their luxury senior living company. There, she worked in both their rental communities and continuing care communities in several locations including Chevy Chase, Pompano Beach, Hollywood, Lantana, and Naples. During this time, Amy served as the corporate trainer for Resident Relations for the company. Amy, who celebrated her 25th anniversary with the company in July 2009, is now the associate executive director of CRBH’s largest company in Naples.

Prior to moving to Naples, she volunteered for five years at the Broward County Humane Society. Amy enjoys animals, decorating, cooking, traveling, and shopping. She currently has a 14-year-old tuxedo cat named Maddie.

After following a variety of interests, which included fashion retailing and teaching preschool, Kathy Lafuse found her calling as a realtor. Working in real estate for 21 years, she is a member of Coldwell Banker’s President's Elite club.

She is an active volunteer in the community and her church.

She loves to read, garden, and (in her life prior to real estate) sew, quilt, and create things with fabric. She has two children, Elizabeth and Brian, who are both Purdue grads, and two grandkids who love Purdue.

After graduating with a degree in early childhood education, Julie Wilson actually began her career in retail and restaurant management. Over the years, she has worked at West Liberty State College, Wendy's International, Boston Market, and Bed Bath & Beyond. For the past three years, she has worked as a manager with Costco in Las Vegas.

She is as an active member with the Purdue Club of Las Vegas and enthusiastically serves as an alumni recruiter with Purdue’s Office of Admissions.

Wilson and her husband, Bill (also a Purdue alumnus), are both Chicago natives. Married for 15 years, they have two cats, Boots and Sammy.

Ed Perez

As public affairs specialist for State Farm Insurance Companies, Perez is responsible for leading State Farm community initiatives and philanthropic efforts in Indiana. Before joining State Farm, he worked as director of marketing and business development for Industrial Federal Credit Union.

Active in the community, Perez serves on several boards including the Governor’s Council on Impaired and Dangerous Driving, Indiana Association for Community Economic Development, Safe Kids Indiana, and United Way of Greater Lafayette. He also is a member of the Great Indianapolis Neighborhoods Initiative Steering Committee.

He is married to Shalon Perez (a 1995 CDFS graduate) and has two sons, Brennan, 17, and Quentin, 12.