The University of Nebraska at Omaha’s May 2026 commencement ceremonies at Baxter Arena welcomed new graduates to the UNO Alumni Association and honored leadership, service and Maverick pride. Dr. Vincent F. Miscia (EMBA 92), founder of Pacemaker Fund; Jamie Nollette (MS 98), co-founder and executive director of Pipeline Worldwide; and Billy McGuigan (BGS 99), owner and creative director of Rave On Productions, were recognized with the Citation for Alumni Achievement Award for their outstanding professional accomplishments and community impact.
Dr. Vincent F. Miscia (EMBA 92)
Vincent F. Miscia, M.D., MBA, CFA, earned an Executive MBA from the University of Nebraska at Omaha (UNO) in 1992 and became a Chartered Financial Analyst in 2005. He founded Pacemaker Fund, a New York–based hedge fund, serving as owner and manager from 2003 to 2012.
Board-certified in internal medicine and cardiology, Dr. Miscia is a Fellow of the American College of Physicians and the American College of Cardiology. He earned his medical degree from the New Jersey College of Medicine, completed his residency at the University of Alabama, and completed a cardiology fellowship at Johns Hopkins Hospital. He served as associate professor of medicine and director of the adult cardiac catheterization laboratory at the University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) before entering private practice in Omaha, where he practiced until his retirement in 1999.
Miscia remains active in academic medicine as an adjunct professor of Internal Medicine at UNMC and has endowed the Miscia Interventional Cardiology Chair in the Division of Cardiology. He has co‑authored and co‑edited two books, published more than 20 clinical and research papers, and delivered over 90 invited lectures.
His honors recognize excellence across medicine, business, service, and leadership. He received the UNO College of Business Administration Distinguished Alumnus Award and has been inducted into UNMC’s Holyoke Society. In recognition of his long‑standing contributions at the intersection of finance and leadership, he was elected to the Financial Management Association Honorary Society. His military honors include the Army Commendation Medal, Army Achievement Medal, and National Guard and U.S. Army Meritorious Service Medals.
He is a trustee of the University of Nebraska Foundation and served on its Endowment Investment Committee. He is president of the St. Robert Bellarmine Foundation Board and serves on many parish finance and endowment committees. Miscia is president of the Margin of Safety Investment Club and an active member of CFA Society Nebraska.
A retired U.S. army colonel, Miscia served 24 years in the military, including 18 years as state surgeon for the Nebraska Army National Guard. He is a member of Omaha Downtown Rotary, the Serra Club of Omaha, the Knights of Columbus, and the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem.
Jamie Nollette (MS 98)
Jamie Nollette is the co-founder and executive director of Pipeline Worldwide, a Phoenix-based nonprofit dedicated to strengthening communities living in extreme poverty in Northern Uganda. A self-described “community catalyst,” she has spent more than a decade building the partnerships and infrastructure needed to bring lasting change to one of the most remote and poorest regions of Uganda.
An Omaha native, Nollette graduated from Omaha Northwest High School, and was inducted into the high school’s Hall of Fame in 2014. She earned a bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Nebraska – Lincoln and a master’s degree in educational leadership from University of Nebraska at Omaha. She went on to teach at three OPS elementary schools — where her students included future world boxing champion Terence “Bud” Crawford — before her path led her toward international humanitarian work.
Nollette and Terence Crawford have remained closely connected over the years, building a relationship rooted in mentorship, trust, and shared purpose. She played a key role in helping him establish his nonprofit, B & B Sports Academy, and served as board president for 10 years. Crawford has traveled to East Africa with Nollette three times and continues to actively support her work.
She has dedicated 19 years to improving the lives of those living in extreme poverty in East and Northern Africa. She has led over 30 voluntourism teams and successfully managed more than 250 projects. Her ability to leverage networks and experiences has been key in creating impactful opportunities and fostering meaningful connections at Pipeline Worldwide.
Nollette co-founded Pipeline Worldwide in 2010, deliberately choosing to work in Northern Uganda’s Moyo district because its remoteness made it inaccessible to most aid organizations. Under her leadership, Pipeline has grown into a multi-dimensional organization addressing WASH (water, sanitation, and hygiene), energy, nutrition, food security, health care, and education.
Among Nollette’s signature initiatives is the development of Lonyi Village, a 3.4-acre humanitarian lodging and training campus in Moyo. The campus is designed to address systemic barriers by bringing education, healthcare training, and economic opportunity directly to the community. Pipeline Worldwide has earned a coveted four-star rating from Charity Navigator, reflecting Nollette’s unwavering commitment to transparency, accountability, and donor stewardship.
Billy McGuigan (BGS 99)
Billy McGuigan is the owner and creative director of Rave On Productions. He has created and produced several award-winning shows that actively tour North America. Billy’s shows have sold out countless performances and have broken box office and attendance records in several theaters across the country. Career highlights include performing with Buddy Holly’s contemporaries Tommy Allsup and Sonny West and headlining Las Vegas and the Paramount Theater in Hollywood with Yesterday and Today: The Interactive Beatles Experience, considered to be the world’s most innovative and interactive Beatles show.
McGuigan’s love of music comes directly from his father who introduced Billy to The Beatles’ music at an early age. With an out-of-tune guitar and a tattered Beatles chord book, McGuigan, his brothers, and dad spent countless hours at the dining room table learning and crafting Beatles songs. Shortly after his dad died in 1996 at age 42 after a short battle with leukemia, the McGuigan brothers turned to the music their Dad taught them as kids to help deal with the loss of their father. Not only did they find healing in the music, but it led to the creation of Yesterday and Today, honoring not only The Beatles and their music, but also their dad’s love for his children and the music that brought them together.
McGuigan has won countless awards for his work, including the Spotlight Award for Best Actor in a Musical, an Omaha Entertainment and Arts Award for Yesterday and Today, a recipient of the Midland Business Journal’s 40 under 40 award, and the CPACS Alumni Award for Excellence in Public Service, awarded by the Faculty and Staff at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Most recently, he was inducted into the Nebraska Music Hall of Fame.
When not on tour, McGuigan lends his talent to acting in industrial films and commercials, doing voice-over work, and working with artists on show and brand development.
Passionate about providing real-life opportunities for students in the community to learn about the arts, he started the Bill McGuigan Scholarship, providing financial assistance to a graduating student in Bellevue Public Schools continuing their education in an arts-related field. In 2021, he opened the McGuigan Arts Academy, providing year-round classes, camps, and lessons dedicated to teaching life skills through the arts.
McGuigan lives in Omaha with his wife Kate and has two children, Cartney and Ciaran.
