Saint Viator Adds Three Members to Group of Distinguished Alumni

Fr. Dan Lydon, CSV, president of Saint Viator High School has announced that three graduates will receive recognition as new Distinguished Alumni. The selections are determined by a special selection committee of the Saint Viator and Sacred Heart of Mary Alumni Association.

The newest additions to the select group are Retired U.S. Army Major General Emile Bataille (SVHS ‘66), Katie Barret Ford (SHM ‘89), and Nick Espinosa (SVHS '97). The three will be recognized at a celebration later this year. These individuals bring the total of graduates recognized with this honor to 11.

“As an alumnus of Saint Viator, I am honored to recognize these three outstanding individuals with the Distinguished Alumni designation,” said Fr. Lydon. “They certainly meet the criteria of significant achievements in their respective careers, creating change in their fields, and serving as examples to our students of living out the Viatorian mission in all that they do.”

Alumni Relations Manager Krystal Harris (‘15) noted that the Distinguished Alumni Committee conducted thorough discussion and debate over those nominated this year. 

“Nominations came from a variety of sources and the committee had multiple meetings to review each nominee in great detail. There were a number of exceptional candidates, but Emile, Katie and Nick stood out as most deserving this year.”

General Bataille retired from active duty in  2004 after 34 years of service in the U.S. Army and Reserve Components. His last assignment was as the Director for Combat Support at the United States Strategic Command (STRATCOM) in Omaha, Nebraska. The STRATCOM mission is to provide the means for the National Command Authority to direct the Nation's strategic forces. He managed a staff of over 1,000 and was responsible for a range of assets from multiple communication satellite constellations, procedures for Military Inter-Service computer network systems defense, and multiple security levels of computer system networks for the Command. On 9/11, he provided communications support to President Bush's critical visit to the U.S. STRATCOM to assess the national situation after the morning attacks. 

During his career, Batalle received numerous awards and commendations including the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal (w/2 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Commendation Medal (w/3 Oak Leaf Clusters), Army Achievement Medal (w/1 Oak Leaf Cluster), Army Reserve Components Achievement Medal (w/Silver Oak Leaf Cluster), Armed Forces Expeditionary Medal, Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, an Aircraft Crewman Badge, and the Presidential Unit Citation (w/1Oak Leaf Cluster) received during his assignment to the U.S. Strategic Command.

Bataille has also been involved in a variety of activities at his parish and on behalf of veterans, serving in positions with the Rockford Diocese, PADS, Honor Flight Chicago, the Knights of Columbus, and the Boy Scouts. He also participated in the  Biblical Spirituality Certificate Program at the Catholic Theological Union, Chicago.

Katie Barrett Ford is one of the most recognized names in digital media, with a career built at Fortune 100 media and technology companies at the intersection of data, marketing, and creativity. She spent two-plus decades at Publicis Media, rising to the rank of President where she was the Executive lead on P&G, Coca-Cola, USAA, and Kellogg’s accounts. From there, she joined Amobee’s executive team as Chief Client Officer. Ford then served as Head of Global Brands for Twitter. She was recently appointed as Chief Operating Officer at Fyllo.  During her time at Publicis, she was recognized by Ad Age as one of the “Women to Watch” in 2011 and by Campaign US, as a leading “Media Maven” in 2013. Other awards include Effie Awards, Festival of Media winner, Media Post winner, the Media Week Plan of the Year, and is a Webby Award winner.

Katie is a thought leader who has guided the world's largest marketer to new territories and is committed to driving innovation. She believes a key tenet of building meaningful consumer experiences are grounded in human insights and are at the core of big, brilliant ideas, strong client/partner collaboration, and continual optimization-based real-time consumer response. 

Ford has served on a variety of charitable and service boards including Journey’s the Road Home focusing on homelessness prevention and housing for those in need, and Adventure 2 Learning which helps children and educators in the public schools receive valuable content in the underfunded areas like health, fitness, or the arts and emerging topics like unconscious bias, diversity, and inclusion, digital awareness or financial literacy where few educational resources exist.

Nick Espinosa is recognized as one of the leading global authorities on cybersecurity, cyberterrorism, and cyberwarfare. After graduating from Saint Viator, Espinosa started his first company, Windy City Networks, which focused on network infrastructure and cybersecurity. He was among the first voices in the industry to raise concerns about network security and cybersecurity. He grew his business, ultimately selling to another company after 15 years. In 2015, he launched another company, Security Fanatics which he currently runs.

In addition to his business interests, Espinosa has created a significant media presence. He hosts a daily podcast on cybersecurity, hosts a bi-weekly nationally syndicated radio program on NPR, has created and presented 3 Ted Talks, including one which is regularly used in college curricula and has been utilized by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, wrote a book "Easy Prey," is a member of the Forbes Technology Council, and has written for Forbes magazine. 

He is a tireless volunteer, serving on multiple academic and charitable boards including the Board of Advisors for the Roosevelt University College of Arts and Sciences as well as the Roosevelt Center for Cyber and Information Security where he helped launch an NSA-certified cyber warfare program. He serves as a Cybersecurity Advisory Committee Member for the College of Lake County, is a member of the Board of Directors for Kids Enjoy Exercise Now, and is a member of the Saint Viator Board of Trustees while also volunteering with the Northwest Special Recreation Association and Habitat for Humanity. 

“These three individuals represent in very unique ways the impact a Saint Viator education provides in building successful career opportunities,” said Harris. “Each represents a different era in our 60-year tradition but shows how our curriculum has evolved to prepare students for an ever-changing world they will encounter.”

To see past recipients of the Distinguished Alumni recognition, visit https://www.saintviator.com/alumni/recognition/distinguished-alumni.