Alumni Association Honors 7 at ‘A Celebration of Terps’

The President’s Award winner, who like Moore was selected by UMD President Darryll J. Pines, was Brendan Iribe, co-founder of Oculus VR. The honor recognizes his leadership in revolutionizing virtual reality and technology.

“This is really where it all began. I was born and raised in Maryland.” said Iribe. “What connects me most to the university are the people I met along the way.”

Kevin J. Tu ’23, ’23, founder of Sustainabli, received the Outstanding Young Alumnus Award. Distinguished University Professor Rita R. Colwell received the Spirit of Maryland Award. The Elaine Johnson Coates Award was presented to Margo Thomas, Ph.D. ’90, founder and CEO of the Women’s Economic Imperative. The Tyser-Gottwals Award went to Jackie Cardello ’93, president and managing partner of GRF CPAs & Advisors. And, the Do Good Award went to Omar Tarabishi ’13, M.A. ’21, co-founder and executive director of the nonprofit Leftover Love.

“As Terps, we lift up each other’s successes, and support each other through uncertain times. We need places of belonging and community to come together,” said Jessica Roberts, executive director of the Alumni Association. “Seeing the incredible Terps in this room contribute actively to Maryland’s ongoing success and legacy makes me so proud.”

Read more about each awardee:

Hall of Fame inductee: Dawn Flythe Moore ’97
The first lady of Maryland has more than two decades of leadership in the highest level of state government, nonprofit management, campaign strategy, fundraising and community engagement. She was one of the architects of the historic 2022 campaign that elected her husband, Wes Moore, as Maryland’s first African American governor.

Throughout her career, Moore has been a connector and convener, leveraging her platform to unite public and private stakeholders around a shared vision for Maryland’s future. 

As first lady, her passion-driven initiatives align with her core pillars: advocating for military families, improving children’s mental health, advancing women’s economic empowerment and expanding access to the arts. She serves as co-chair of Preakness Festival, a statewide initiative designed to advance economic growth and tourism through innovative public-private partnerships. 

Moore holds a degree from UMD in government and politics and a certificate in women’s studies.

Tyser Gottwals Award: Jackie Cardello ’93
As president and managing partner of GRF CPAs & Advisors, Cardello focuses on firm leadership, strategic growth and mentoring the next generation of accountants. She has been recognized by Forbes as one of America’s Top 200 CPAs.

Cardello has over 30 years of experience as an auditor working with a wide range of nonprofit organizations and employee benefit plans. She is the past chair of CPAmerica, serves on the Maryland Association of CPAs board and the Risk Management Committee of CAMICO, and chairs the AICPA’s G400 Practice Advisory Group. She also serves on the Smith Advisory Council at the Robert H. Smith School of Business.

Her accolades include Accounting Today’s 2020 MP Elite, the 2013 Greater Washington Society of CPAs’ Women to Watch Award, the 2023 GWSCPA Champion of Women Award, and the Suzanne D. Hillman Recognition and Achievement Award for Service to the Community. 

Cardello is an active member of GWSCPA, the American Institute of CPAs, the Maryland Association of CPAs, her firm’s philanthropic committee and various women’s leadership committees.

President’s Award: Brendan Iribe
The serial entrepreneur and visionary leader is best known as the cofounder and CEO of Oculus, the company that revolutionized virtual reality and was acquired by Facebook. 

Iribe recently founded Sesame to build the first human-like digital sidekick and lightweight all day smart glasses. 

His passion for innovation and commitment to advancing education inspired a transformational gift to the University of Maryland, establishing the Brendan Iribe Center for Computer Science and Engineering. Iribe champions entrepreneurship and education through scholarships, professorships and the Computing Catalyst, a campus center that supports computing majors and K-12 students. He has impacted thousands of students, ensuring brilliant minds of all backgrounds have the opportunity to grow into the next generation of tech pioneers.

Spirit of Maryland: Rita R. Colwell 
The Distinguished University Professor is a groundbreaking environmental microbiologist whose research focuses on global infectious diseases, water and health. She has authored or co-authored 21 books and more than 850 scientific publications. Colwell served on the National Science Board and as the first female director of the National Science Foundation (1998-2004). 

Colwell is a member of the National Academy of Sciences, Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Royal Society of Canada, Royal Irish Academy, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and American Philosophical Society.  

She has been awarded 64 honorary degrees and is the recipient of the US National Medal of Science, Japan Order of the Rising Sun, Gold and Silver Star, Stockholm Water Prize, Chevalier de la Légion d’Honneur, and Lee Kuan Yew Water Prize of Singapore.

Do Good Award: Omar Tarabishi ’13, M.A. ’20
As cofounder and executive director of Leftover Love, Tarabishi and his organization rescue leftover fresh food from Baltimore-area businesses and deliver it to communities in need. 

He earned a B.A. in Arabic and M.A. in international education policy at UMD and worked in several fields, including international education, expatriate relocation and resident life. Tarabishi has continually worked on Leftover Love since 2021 and co-founded the 501c3 nonprofit with his wife, Anie Jamgochian Tarabishi, in early 2024. Later that year, he received a 40 Under 40 Award from the Arab America Foundation as well as a Weaver Award from the Aspen Institute and M&T Bank.

Leftover Love has now rescued close to 100,000 pounds of wholesome food at the close of business from Baltimore and the surrounding area to help feed those in need.

Elaine Johnson Coates Award: Margo Thomas ’90
As co-executive director of the International Panel on Social Progress and the founder and president of Women’s Economic Imperative, Thomas is a global thought leader on inclusive economic development, entrepreneurship and small- and medium-size enterprise growth, and public policy. She has provided policy advice to some 50 developing, transitional and post-conflict governments. 

She is a Global Solutions Initiative fellow and an associate fellow at Chatham House, the Royal Institute of International Affairs, an independent policy institute in London. 

Thomas has an M.S. in business and management from UMD and a Ph.D. in development economics from the University of Manchester, UK; she has rooted her professional and academic work in the fundamental issues of inclusive economic growth and shared prosperity for the benefit of every human being. 

Outstanding Young Alumnus Award: Kevin J. Tu ’23, ’23
The first-year medical student at the University of Maryland School of Medicine Is working to decarbonize health care and science.

He founded Sustainabli, a company that creates easy-to-retrofit devices to improve energy efficiency in laboratories. Sustainabli’s technology has been implemented in buildings across North America and Europe, preventing over $1 million in energy waste and avoiding as much carbon emissions as a car would produce driving around the world 340 times.

Tu also co-leads the Million Advocates for Sustainable Science, a grassroots campaign that has mobilized science funders representing over $20 billion to require environmental impact assessments and mitigation plans in the research they support.

Locally, he is involved in regulatory efforts to curb municipal and medical waste incinerator emissions—efforts that have contributed to preventing $12 million in annual health damages in the Maryland/D.C. region since 2023.

Tu has published 11 first-author papers on environmental health and cancer, and is a recipient of the Goldwater, Amgen and Churchill Scholarships at UMD, where he earned a double degree in biological sciences and economics.