25 Notable alumni of
SUNY Buffalo State
Updated:
SUNY Buffalo State is 1960th in the world, 673rd in North America, and 631st in the United States by aggregated alumni prominence. Below is the list of 25 notable alumni from SUNY Buffalo State sorted by their wiki pages popularity. The directory includes famous graduates and former students along with research and academic staff.
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Cindy Sherman
- Occupations
- photographerfilmmakerfilm directorcinematographerdirector
- Biography
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Cynthia Morris Sherman is an American artist whose work consists primarily of photographic self-portraits, depicting herself in many different contexts and as various imagined characters.
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Ani DiFranco
- Occupations
- film directorwriterstreet artistcomposerrecord producer
- Biography
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Angela Maria "Ani" DiFranco is an American-Canadian singer-songwriter. She has released more than 20 albums. DiFranco's music has been classified as folk rock and alternative rock, although it has additional influences from punk, funk, hip hop and jazz. She has released all her albums on her own record label, Righteous Babe.
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Robert Longo
- Occupations
- film directorgraphic artistdirectorpaintersculptor
- Biography
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Robert Longo is an American artist, filmmaker, photographer and musician. Longo became first well known in the 1980s for his Men in the Cities drawing and print series, which depict sharply dressed men and women writhing in contorted emotion. He lives in New York and East Hampton.
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Daniel Garcia
- Occupations
- professional wrestler
- Biography
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Daniel Garcia is an American professional wrestler. He is signed to All Elite Wrestling (AEW), where he is a member of the Death Riders and a former AEW TNT Champion. He also makes appearances in AEW's sister promotion Ring of Honor (ROH), where he is a former ROH Pure Champion, and for partner promotion Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre (CMLL).
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Tom Fontana
- Occupations
- film producertelevision producerscreenwriter
- Biography
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Tom Fontana is an American screenwriter, writer, and television producer. Fontana worked on NBC's Homicide: Life on the Street and created HBO's Oz.
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Byron Brown
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Byron William Brown II is an American politician who served as the 62nd mayor of Buffalo, New York from 2006 until his resignation in 2024. He was the city's first African-American mayor and the longest-serving mayor. He previously served as a member of the New York State Senate and the Buffalo Common Council.
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Beverly Eckert
- Occupations
- activist
- Biography
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Beverly Eckert was an American activist and advocate for the creation of the 9/11 Commission. She was one of the members of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission. Eckert's husband, Sean Rooney, died at age 50 in the attacks of September 11, 2001. She pushed for a commission to investigate 9/11 and to establish a memorial.
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Brian Higgins
- Enrolled in SUNY Buffalo State
- In 1984 graduated with Bachelor of Arts
- In 1985 graduated with Master of Arts
- Occupations
- lecturerpolitician
- Biography
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Brian Michael Higgins is an American former politician who was the U.S. representative for New York's 26th congressional district, from 2005 until 2024. The district, numbered as the 27th district from 2005 to 2013 and as the 26th from 2013 to 2024, included Buffalo and Niagara Falls, along with some surrounding urban and suburban areas. Higgins is a member of the Democratic Party, and of several congressional committees and caucuses. He was born and raised Buffalo, New York, before obtaining a bachelor's and master's from Buffalo State College and an MPA from Harvard University.
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Keith Rothfus
- Occupations
- lawyerpolitician
- Biography
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Keith James Rothfus /ˈrɒθfəs/ is an American lawyer and politician who served as the U.S. representative for Pennsylvania's 12th congressional district from 2013 to 2019. He succeeded Democratic Representative Mark Critz, whom he defeated in the 2012 election. Prior to serving in Congress, he worked as an attorney. After new congressional district maps were released by the Pennsylvania Supreme Court in February 2018, Rothfus became a candidate in Pennsylvania's 17th congressional district, where he was defeated for re-election by the incumbent from the 18th district, Democrat Conor Lamb.
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Diane English
- Occupations
- television producerscreenwriterfilm director
- Biography
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Diane English is an American screenwriter, producer and director. She is best known for creating the television show Murphy Brown which won multiple awards, including 18 Primetime Emmy Awards from 62 nominations. She also wrote and directed the 2008 feature film The Women. She has won numerous awards, including 3 Emmy Awards, and received numerous nominations.
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Raven Baxter
- Years
- 20th Century
- Occupations
- molecular biologisteducatorscience communicator
- Biography
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Raven Baxter is an American science communicator and STEM educator. Baxter began posting science education videos on social media under the username Raven the Science Maven in 2017.
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Bobby Gonzalez
- Years
- 1963-.. (age 63)
- Occupations
- basketball coach
- Biography
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Robert P. Gonzalez is a basketball head coach. Gonzalez was previously scout for the Detroit Pistons of the National Basketball Association, head coach at Manhattan College and Seton Hall University. He is well known for leading the Jaspers to two NCAA tournaments and the second NCAA tournament win in school history.
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Crystal Peoples
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Crystal Davis Peoples-Stokes is an American politician representing Assembly District 141, which includes the city of Buffalo within Erie County, New York. She is currently the majority leader of the New York State Assembly.
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Evelyn S. Lieberman
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Evelyn May Lieberman was an American public affairs professional who, during the Clinton administration, became the first woman to serve as White House Deputy Chief of Staff, and was the first United States Under Secretary of State for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs.
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Patrick B. Burke
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Patrick B. Burke is an American politician who serves in the New York State Assembly from the 142nd district, which represents South Buffalo, the City of Lackawanna, and the towns of West Seneca and Orchard Park. Burke is a South Buffalo native.
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Rodneyse Bichotte
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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Rodneyse Bichotte Hermelyn is an American politician who serves as the Assembly Member for the 42nd District of the New York State Assembly. She is a Democrat. The district includes portions of East Flatbush, Flatbush, Ditmas Park, and Midwood, in Brooklyn.
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Susan Bies
- Occupations
- banker
- Biography
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Susan Schmidt Bies is an American economist and corporate executive who served as a member of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors from 2001 to 2007.
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Sam Hoyt
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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William Ballard "Sam" Hoyt III is an American politician from New York. A Democrat, Hoyt is an economic development professional and was a member of the New York State Assembly from 1992 to 2011. He represented the 144th Assembly district, consisting of part of Buffalo, New York, and all of Grand Island, New York, from 1992 to 2011. Hoyt was first elected to succeed his late father, William Hoyt. He resigned from office in 2011 after a sexual harassment suit and he previously was the subject of an ethics investigation in 2008 concerning a two-year sexual relationship with a 23-year-old assembly intern, named Lori Gradwell.
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Catherine Pelonero
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Catherine Pelonero is a New York Times bestselling true crime author, best known for her 2014 book Kitty Genovese: A True Account of a Public Murder and Its Private Consequences.
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Gene Cretz
- Occupations
- diplomat
- Biography
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Gene Allan Cretz is a career diplomat who retired from the Senior Foreign Service in 2015. Before retiring, he was the U.S. Ambassador to Ghana.
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David Franczyk
- Occupations
- politician
- Biography
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David A. "Dave" Franczyk is a councilmember of the Buffalo Common Council, which is the representative legislative branch of the government of Buffalo, New York. He is also a former Liberal Party and Democratic Party nominee for the United States House of Representatives.
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Matt Chandler
- Occupations
- writer
- Biography
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Matt Chandler is an American author of more than 85 books for young children, including Side-by-Side Baseball Stars: Comparing the Game's Greatest Players, which was selected by the American Society of Journalists and Authors as its 2015 Children's/Young Adult Book of the Year.
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Carl Zimmermann
- Occupations
- educatorpolitician
- Biography
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Carl Zimmermann is an American Democratic politician and a former member of the Florida House of Representatives, representing the 65th district for a single term, 2012–2014.
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David E. Aldrich
- Occupations
- bloggercinematographerfilm director
- Biography
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David E. Aldrich, is an American producer, director, cinematographer, editor, and information technology professional. He is best known for his involvement in the development and promotion of new media technology, and for his work in new media production.
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Julia Ditto Young
- Occupations
- novelistpoetwriter
- Biography
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Julia Ditto Young was an American poet and novelist. Her first literary effort was dated to her childhood days, her first appearance in print being in local newspapers. The first money earned by her writing was in the amount of US$10 from Peterson's Magazine. She continued to write for Peterson's, and for several years wrote for Frank Leslie's publications. Young was the author of a number of short stories, which were noted for the versatility of literary talent they displayed. She also won recognition with her poetry. Adrift, a Story of Niagara was published in 1889, while Thistle Down: poems (1893) contained much of what had previously appeared in different journals.
