Each Homecoming, Berea College celebrates the accomplishments and dedication of several alumni.
Click on the arrows beside each name to expand each story.
Dr. Steven W. Yates ’83 – Distinguished Alumnus Award
Photo by Niema Hussain ’27
A lifelong advocate for patient-centered, evidence-based care, Dr. Steven W. Yates has spent more than four decades shaping oncology programs and mentoring the next generation of physicians. Dr. Yates earned his M.D. from Virginia Commonwealth University and his M.P.H. from the University of North Carolina’s Gillings School of Global Public Health, completing his residency and fellowship training at the University of Kentucky and the University
of Wisconsin.
After 25 years in private practice in North Carolina, he helped build a community cancer program recognized by the Commission on Cancer and the National Accreditation Program for Breast Centers. He also chaired a regional management services organization and served on the Board of Directors of Medical Mutual of North Carolina.
In 2018, Dr. Yates joined Intermountain Healthcare in Las Vegas as medical director for Oncology Services, drawn by the challenge of advancing population health and value-based medicine for Medicare Advantage patients. His leadership fostered multidisciplinary collaboration and cost-effective, compassionate care. Now semi-retired, he continues to see patients part-time while dedicating more time to his wife of 42 years, Debbie, and their family.
From his first fascination with cancer as a middle-school student to a career defined by faith, stewardship and service, Yates exemplifies the Berea ideal of learning, labor and love in service to others.
Akilah Hughes ’10 – Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
Photo by Niema Hussain ’27
Akilah Hughes is a writer, comedian and multi-platform storyteller whose voice resonates across modern media. An award-winning podcast host, she co-created Crooked Media’s daily news show What a Day, and her sharp wit and empathy have made her a trusted cultural commentator. A Sundance Episodic Story Lab Fellow and USC MacArthur Foundation Civic Media Fellow, Hughes has written for outlets from HBO to Comedy Central and earned a Writers Guild of America Award nomination for a climate-focused web series produced with Steven Soderbergh.
Her debut essay collection, Obviously: Stories from My Timeline (Penguin Random House), offers a smart, humorous look at identity, ambition and resilience. Through her Webby- and Signal-Award-winning podcasts—most recently Rebel Spirit from iHeartRadio and Ninth Planet Audio—she merges journalism and comedy to inspire change. In that series, Hughes returns to her Florence, Kentucky, high school to campaign for replacing its outdated “Rebels” mascot with “The Biscuits,” something all southerners love.
A proud Berean and self-described “southerner turned coastal elite,” Hughes continues to use storytelling to bridge divides, challenge assumptions and imagine a better, fairer future.
Katy Sulfridge ’03 – Alumni Loyalty Award
Photo by Niema Hussain ’27
With a career rooted in compassion and community empowerment, Katy Sulfridge has dedicated decades to humanitarian service and nonprofit leadership. Beginning as an American Red Cross volunteer, she served on disaster deployments during Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma, coordinated pre-landfall communications, and advanced through leadership roles to become executive director for multiple Red Cross chapters in Ohio and North Carolina. Her tenure included rebuilding volunteer networks, leading large-scale blood drives and managing emergency responses such as the 2011 Valentine’s Day Brush Fire.
Beyond disaster response, Sulfridge expanded access to nutrition and social programs through Rural Action and the Children’s Hunger Alliance, launching the first community breakfasts and increasing after-school feeding programs to 15 sites. She also led the Volunteer Action Center, Marietta Main Street and regional Alzheimer’s Association Walks, while serving as a volunteer grant writer for Belpre Area Ministries.
An active member of Scouts BSA and St. Mark’s United Methodist Church, Sulfridge continues to model servant leadership. In 2024, she founded her own grant-consulting firm, helping nonprofits secure vital funding and develop sustainable fundraising strategies. Her
life’s work reflects a steadfast commitment to meeting people where they are and building communities that thrive together.
Luke Sulfridge ’03 – Alumni Loyalty Award
Photo by Niema Hussain ’27
Luke Sulfridge, a second-generation Berean, has built a career at the intersection of public service, environmental policy and renewable energy. With a major in political science and minors in history and Appalachian studies, he later earned master’s degrees from Appalachian State University and Eastern Kentucky University and an MBA from Northern Kentucky University.
Sulfridge and his wife, Katy, spent a decade with the American Red Cross, earning the Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award for their volunteer leadership and disaster deployments during Hurricanes Katrina and Wilma. Luke and Katy served on the ARC leadership team for the 2009 Presidential Inauguration, and Luke joined President Barack Obama’s 2012 campaign staff.
Sulfridge has served in government relations for the American Cancer Society, where he helped lead the campaign making Ohio the first Appalachian tobacco-growing state to ban indoor smoking and supported passage of the Affordable Care Act and other major public-health initiatives.
His later work advanced renewable energy adoption as the founding state director of Solar United Neighbors and, today, as executive director of the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council (SOPEC). Under his leadership, SOPEC manages $100 million in annual clean-energy contracts for 125,000 households, saving customers $40 million while accelerating Ohio’s transition to renewable power. Named a Midwest Energy News “40 Under 40” honoree, Sulfridge also serves on the national board of LEAN and remains active in Scouts, church and youth programs. His career exemplifies Berea’s enduring spirit of service, stewardship and social impact.
Melvin Cowan ’06 – Outstanding Young Alumnus Award
Photo by Niema Hussain ’27
Melvin Cowan, MPA, CGP, is transforming the landscape of affordable housing through visionary leadership and community partnership. As founder and principal of Enough Housing, a mission-driven firm based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Cowan advances equitable development strategies that address homelessness and housing instability with compassion and innovation. His firm’s flagship initiative, Legacy Village at Maria’s Place in Vallejo, California, is a multi-phase project converting a former motel into permanent supportive housing and a comprehensive health and workforce campus built around the social determinants of health.
In addition to his housing development work, Cowan co-leads immigrant services initiatives that help newly arrived families navigate legal systems, stabilize housing and connect to education and employment. His integrated approach to community well-being bridges affordable housing, public health and social justice—turning policy into practice for those most in need.
Before founding Enough Housing, Cowan served as a senior executive at a major Bay Area nonprofit, where he directed housing, re-entry and violence-prevention programs across multiple cities. Under his leadership, the organization dramatically expanded housing placements, income growth and health access for people experiencing homelessness or returning from incarceration. His portfolio includes tiny home villages, safe parking programs for RV residents, rental assistance initiatives and green-building retrofits in partnership with local governments, philanthropic organizations and health systems.
A proud Berea College graduate with a Master of Public Administration, Cowan is also a member of the Urban Land Institute’s Developers of Color cohort. His career embodies Berea’s enduring values—uniting justice, equity and opportunity to build communities where everyone has a place to call home.
