PennWest Edinboro will recognize five outstanding alumni during its annual Distinguished Alumni Awards March 28 in Pogue Student Center multi-purpose room. The event will begin with a reception at 6 p.m., followed by a formal ceremony at 7 p.m.
Distinguished Alumni Awards are presented annually to Edinboro graduates who have made outstanding contributions to their profession, society and/or the university.
Madison Rose Wood ’21, an artist and poet from the Erie area, will create the awards through her business, Madison Rose Ceramics. Since 2019, Rose has worked as studio assistant and production potter at Allen Stoneware Gallery. Shortly after graduating with a BFA in ceramics from Edinboro in 2021, Rose purchased a kiln and built her own studio space; Madison Rose Ceramics was brought to fruition in 2023. Last year, her work was featured in the London-based “House & Garden” magazine. She was awarded the Three Rivers Art Festival Emerging Artist Scholarship and was accepted into the Craftman’s Guild of Pittsburgh.
The Distinguished Alumni Awards ceremony sponsors are Edinboro University Alumni Association, Edinboro Foundation and Pennsylvania State Employees Credit Union. Tickets, available at https://your.edinboro.edu/events/daa, are $35 per person or $175 for a table of six.
2025 Recipients
Marti Martz ’04
In 2017, Marti Martz co-founded the nonprofit Edinboro Market, a fresh food business incubator featuring products made or grown within a 150-mile radius of the store. The Market – which is undergoing a $1.3 million expansion that will triple its size – provides a retail outlet to more than 85 small farms and food producers.
Through the Market and her former work as senior coastal outreach specialist with Pennsylvania Sea Grant, Martz has had a positive impact on the local economy and environment, and she is currently focused on providing the community with access to a sustainable, high-quality food supply. As a consultant and reviewer to organizations, including those that fund grants, she provides expertise, advocacy and promotion of food-related issues, especially those that impact food producers and consumers in northwest Pennsylvania.
Martz is being recognized for her dedicated service and contributions to the Edinboro community and communities throughout northwest Pennsylvania.
Charles J. Franklin II ’82
Charles Franklin II is the senior national manager of business development for Glovis America, Inc. He oversees profit and revenue growth for Glovis Americas’ North American business units in the United States, Canada, Mexico and Brazil. His team designs and executes sales and marketing activities for one the largest automotive logistics providers in the world, transporting and processing over four million vehicles annually.
Franklin has more than 30 years of executive corporate level leadership and currently serves on the Bridge Builder Foundation and Viscount Foundation boards of directors, and formerly served on the American Honda Foundation board of directors.
He is an innovator, holding two industry patents and another pending; a teacher, having served as adjunct faculty at Embry Riddle Aeronautical University; and a leader, receiving a host of industry, state and national awards and recognitions. In 2011, he was recognized as a Who’s Who in the publication “DRIVEN: A Tribute to African American Achievement in the Automotive Industry,” as one of the 70 most influential African Americans in the automotive industry.
Franklin is being recognized for his contributions to and impact on the community and his chosen field.
Louis H. Taylor ’65
Dr. Louis Taylor is a nationally noted and respected paleontologist. Following graduation from Edinboro State College, Taylor returned to Albion, Pennsylvania, to teach high school earth science. He later joined the faculty of Central Arizona College in Coolidge.
Earning advanced degrees in geology and vertebrate paleontology, he directed and conducted research in Texaco laboratories in Midland, Texas, and Denver, Colorado, and later co-founded and served as president of Standard Geological Services, Inc. Taylor published over 200 reports for the companies. His published research focuses on subjects including paleomagnetism, fossil mammals and reptiles, dinosaur tracks and extinction tracks, and regional and petroleum geology.
In retirement, he has served as executive director and advisory board member of the Board for Friends of Dinosaur Ridge, and as a research associate for the Denver Museum of Nature & Science where he conducted research and taught classes in paleontology and rocks and minerals.
His original paleontology research in the field and in the museum has contributed to academic advancements in his profession and developed the interest and knowledge of thousands of museum visitors and students to the science of paleontology.
Taylor is being recognized for his contributions and impact on his chosen field.
Kraig R. Kiehl ’95
Dr. Kraig Kiehl is director of emergency preparedness for the Pennsylvania Department of Agriculture. He is a distinguished Army officer and highly decorated combat veteran. Upon retirement from the military in 2014, Kiehl served as an associate professor of criminal justice and homeland security at Kutztown University of Pennsylvania, and as the chair of the military science department and senior Army instructor at Carson Long Military Academy.
Kiehl rejoined the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, working in the Department of Education, Department of State, Office of the Budget, and the Department of Agriculture. In 2019, Kiehl was appointed commissioner of the Pennsylvania Military Interstate Children’s Compact Commission by Governor Tom Wolfe.
He is a lifetime member of the Veterans of Foreign Wars, the Disabled Veterans Association and the American Legion. He works closely with local organizations to address homelessness and healthcare issues impacting veterans. He is a fourth degree Knight of Columbus at Saint Matthews Church and supports the arts in his region.
Kiehl is an accomplished author of short stories and fiction and recently published “Saving Krakow: A Novel.”
Kiehl is being recognized for his service and leadership to the commonwealth.
2025 PennWest Edinboro Outstanding Young Alumni Award
Ryan D. Stratton ’19
Captain Ryan Stratton is a member of the U.S. Army serving with the 4th Combat Aviation Brigade, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colorado. He has held various positions such as a platoon leader, executive officer, assistant operations officer and aide to the commanding officer. Stratton has served military families as the Command Family Readiness representative and officer in charge for a Brigade Children’s Ball which gave 250 soldiers and 200 kids the opportunity to experience a military ball as a family.
Stratton has received multiple accommodation, achievement and service medals, including a volunteer of the quarter award at Ft. Carson, Colorado.
His commitment to service blossomed while at Edinboro. As a member of the Fighting Scots football team, Stratton created the 12th Man initiative. Through the initiative, individuals with disabilities or life-threatening illnesses are nominated to serve as honorary captains at a Fighting Scots football home game.
Participants attend a practice with the team, receive a jersey, cheer on the Fighting Scots from the sidelines, and take part in the pre-game huddle. At the end of the season, Stratton and the team organizes a banquet for participants and their families.
Edinboro has celebrated 38 12th Man participants in the last eight years. Stratton continues to champion the program from his base in Colorado, each year selecting and mentoring a current Fighting Scots player to serve as the local captain for the 12th Man initiative.
Stratton is receiving the Outstanding Young Alumni Award for his service and leadership benefiting and growing the Fighting Scots family.