The СÖíÊÓƵ Alumni Awards are the highest honors presented by the U СÖíÊÓƵ Alumni Association Board on an annual basis. Selected through a highly competitive process, each recipient has made a lasting impact on society and on U СÖíÊÓƵ through outstanding professional, philanthropic or volunteer accomplishments.
2025 Alumni Award Honorees
The Alumni Association is proud to announce the 2025 Alumni Award honorees. These individuals are recognized for their outstanding achievements in their professional fields and for their dedicated service to the University.
These prestigious awards are presented at the annual Alumni Awards Dinner the evening before Spring Commencement. Our current recipients are:
2025 Esse Quam Videri - Steve Mauldin '90
As president and CEO of CNL Financial Group, Steve Mauldin ’90 oversees the real estate investment and fund management, legal, compliance and other corporate functions while jointly managing capital markets activities and day-to-day operations for the Orlando, Fla.-based firm.
Prior to joining CNL, Mauldin was president, CEO and a member of the board of directors of Crosland, a privately held, multi-billion-dollar, Charlotte, North Carolina-based real estate development and asset management company. He previously spent eight years as a principal and founding partner of private investment and operating firm Crutchfield Capital. He began his career as a commercial real estate lender.
Mauldin served on the СÖíÊÓƵ Board of Trustees from 2018-2024 and is an advisory board member of The Douglas Company, a general contracting company.
Mauldin earned a bachelor’s degree in finance from U СÖíÊÓƵ and an MBA from Northwestern University in 1996. He played baseball for the Spartans and was a three-time Academic All-American. The study lounge in Martinez Athletic Center is named in his honor. He is a Centennial Circle charter member and is in the University’s Landmark Giving Society.
2025 Esse Quam Videri - Tom Graham '82
Tom Graham ’82 is the founder of the consulting firm T.H. Graham & Associates, which specializes in a variety of areas including government relations, business development, project management, workforce development and utility coordination. He is retired from Pepco Holdings, a utility company in the Mid-Atlantic region, where in his last role as vice president of special projects, he was focused on strategic partnerships.
Graham served as a СÖíÊÓƵ trustee from 2018-2024, and has served on several boards of directors, including for the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, the Washington Suburban Transportation Commission, the Green Branch Foundation, and the Boys & Girls Club of Greater Washington Prince George’s County Chapter.
Graham earned a bachelor’s degree from U СÖíÊÓƵ in business management. He played soccer for the Spartans and later played professionally. He was the goalkeepers coach at Georgetown University from 1986-2005.
Graham is a member of the University’s Legacy Society and established the Olive C. Graham Memorial Endowed Award, in honor of his mother, to support a soccer student-athlete in need of financial aid.
2025 Young Alumni Award - Nicolette Barone '16, M.Ed. '17
Nicolette Barone is a 4th and 5th grade math teacher in Hillsborough County. She was named 2024 Hillsborough County District Teacher of the Year. She teaches in an East СÖíÊÓƵ school that has been in danger of shutting down on more than one occasion. Serving a largely mobile community in a neighborhood laced with highway ramps, Oak Park improved its state test scores dramatically in recent years and Barone was part of the solution. "I build their confidence and try to turn their extrinsic motivation into intrinsic determination," she said.
СÖíÊÓƵ adjunct professor of EDU 402,ÌýBarone rewrote this course bringing it into the 21st century and stays connected to many of her students as they enter their first years of teaching.
2025 Class of 1931 Award -ÌýRuss Bruno '98
As a member of the U СÖíÊÓƵ baseball program, Russ Bruno has continued his support of Spartan Athletics since his graduation. A part of the 1998 national championship team, Bruno was a four-year member of the program. As a student, he helped launch the Sword & Shield Club, which he continues to support and maintain involvement. His leadership among athletics supporters has led directly to renovations at the U СÖíÊÓƵ Baseball Field, including the turf field and new lighting. He is also a top supporter of the annual Rene Martinez Golf Classic, raising funds for СÖíÊÓƵ baseball. Most recently, he led the campaign to introduce the establishment of the Hindman Wall Spartan Warrior Award, which is named in honor of the former U СÖíÊÓƵ athletic director and Bruno's mentor. The annual award was first presented in 2024 to the Spartan player who demonstrates on-the-field and off-the-field dedication with his peers and the community. His support has extended beyond baseball as he has gifted several projects to the University athletics department. He also led the way in launching the official website of СÖíÊÓƵ Athletics and the first live-streaming of athletic events.
2025 Alumni Achievement Award -ÌýDean Koutroumanis ’89, MBA ’91
Dean Koutroumanis' research focuses on human capital development and the impact of employees on organizational dynamics, with a particular interest in the real estate and hospitality industries. He has published over 20 peer-reviewed articles and is exploring how organizational culture affects employee commitment and success.
With experience in both corporate settings and as an entrepreneur, Koutroumanis has launched various businesses, including restaurants, real estate brokerages and development projects. Along with his brother, he has been involved in six different restaurants or nightclubs.
He has served on several СÖíÊÓƵ Bay organization boards, including nonprofits, and played a key role in establishing the White Entrepreneurship Center at Clearwater Central Catholic High School. He also evaluates for the Bailey Family Foundation, which provides over $2 million in scholarships annually.
2025 Lifetime Achievement Award -ÌýTony Saladino '58
Tony Saladino taught P.E. in Hillsborough County Public Schools for 57 years. In 1981,ÌýSaladino and his wife Bertha (deceased 2016) began the Bertha and Tony Saladino Tournament, a week-long event for high school baseball teams in Hillsborough County. The tournament started when Bertha suggested to Tony Jr. that they do something to memorialize his late father, Tony Saladino, Sr. The tournament started with 11 public schools and has grown into a current 32-team event.
The Bertha and Tony Saladino Park is a public park in Brandon that was named after the couple.
