Class Notes
Mills Kelly (Col ’82 CM)
Mills Kelly (Col ’81 CM) published his second book on the history of the Appalachian Trail, A Hiker’s History of the Appalachian Trail. A Hiker’s History of Appalachian Trail tells the trail’s history from the ground up — or more accurately, from the boots up. Based on extensive research in archives up and down the trail, this new book hikes America’s most iconic trail from the late 1920s through the 2020s. Mills was also recently named professor emeritus at George Mason University, where he taught for 24 years before retiring in 2025.
Charles Garrettson (Col ’75, Grad ’86)
Charles Garrettson (Col ’75, Grad ’86) wrote A Stroke of Luck: an Exercise in Meaning, about his experience with a stroke. Garrettson wrote it on his iPhone, using the index finger on his non-dominant hand. A Stroke of Luck draws from the philosophy of Viktor Frankl, whose book, Man’s Search for Meaning, Garrettson credits with transforming his life from one of crisis to opportunity.
Mary-Collier Wilks (Col ’21)
Mary-Collier Wilks (Grad ’17, ’21) published her UVA dissertation research as her first academic book, Reimagining Aid: Foreign Donors, Women’s Health, and New Paths for Development in Cambodia, with Stanford University Press. Through a vivid, multi-sited ethnography, the book investigates the intricate interplay between aid donors from Japan and the United States, their competing priorities, and their impact on women’s health initiatives in Cambodia. A must-read for anyone invested in Southeast Asia’s role in global affairs and evolving definitions of gender in development, Reimagining Aid is a powerful reminder that the next chapter of global advancement is being written in unexpected places.
Ben Jacklet (Col ’87)
Ben Jacklet (Col ’87) has published a new book, Follow the Sun: Around the World in Search of Solar Solutions. The book chronicles the rise of solar energy as a reliable and affordable source of clean electricity and a leading solution to the climate crisis. Jacklet traveled to 15 countries for his research and conducted 50 interviews with a wide range of solar experts, from highly decorated professors and researchers to innovators and entrepreneurs from Baja California to Mumbai.
Robert Browning (Col ’92 CM)
Robert M. Browning (Col ’92 CM) was elected by unanimous vote to lead Gulf Coast regional law firm Brown Sims as president in their first leadership transition in over 25 years.
Kimberly Pryor (Col ’94)
Kimberly Pryor (Col ’94) was selected as the Chief Financial Officer of the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). VDOT is the third largest state department of transportation in the country. Pryor is responsible for the agency’s $8.3 billion annual budget and nearly 180 team members serving VDOT’s financial planning, capital investment, asset management, federal programs, fiscal management, public-private partnerships and tolling programs.
Eric Green (Engr ’96)
Eric Green (Engr ’96) was appointed Chief Executive Officer of Cascade Partners, a Detroit-based investment banking and turnaround and restructuring firm. As CEO, Green will lead the implementation of Cascade’s strategic priorities, including expanding the firm’s investment banking and restructuring capabilities, deepening industry specialization, and strengthening talent development while continuing to deliver value-driven outcomes for clients. A former U.S. Navy officer, Green brings a service-oriented leadership perspective shaped by experience in high-accountability environments. Green most recently served the firm as Chief Operating Officer.
Cynthia Alam (Col ’19 CM)
Cynthia Alam (Col ’19 CM) recently facilitated an executive presence workshop for senior leaders at Microsoft through her company, PRSNCE Command. During the workshop, she guided participants in building composure, clarity and influence in high-pressure situations, skills that drive stronger leadership and more effective decision-making. PRSNCE Command helps leaders and teams translate executive presence into measurable impact in any high-stakes environment.
Tina Robinson (Col ’94 CM)
Walter (Casey ) King (Engr ’89)
Walter (Casey) King (Engr ’89) retired after 31 years as physics professor at Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) in Conway, South Carolina. In addition, Casey ended the HGTC Addiction and Recovery Lecture Series after 20 successful years of bringing the message of recovery to college campus with such notable celebrity speakers as Craig T. Nelson, Danny Trejo, Meredith Baxter and many others over the years.
Allison LaMothe (Col ’12)
Allison Geller (LaMothe) (Col ’12) published her debut crime novel, Dirty Metal, with Flatiron Books in February. Dirty Metal, set in New York City in 1992, features crime reporter Parker Snow as she investigates the Russian mafia and a string of women’s murders. Kirkus Reviews called it “a bold debut befitting its bold heroine” in a starred review, while CrimeReads named her “a startling and original talent” in its 2026 “Most Anticipated” list.
David Contreiras Tyler (Col ’96 CM)
David Contreiras Tyler (Col ’96 CM) has joined Duane Morris as a partner in the firm’s corporate practice group in its New York office. Tyler has extensive experience advising issuers, project sponsors, underwriters, initial purchasers, placement agents and investors on public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, with a focus on capital markets and securitization transactions originating in Latin America. In addition to his extensive experience in capital markets transactions, Tyler also has significant experience in various facets of the practice of corporate and securities law and is highly adaptable to working on a multitude of types of transactions and projects for corporate clients.
Frederick Schutt (Col ’04, Law ’13 CM)
Frederick Schutt (Col ’04, Law ’13 CM) was elected as a principal at Woods Rogers, a Virginia-based law firm. Practicing our of the firm’s Richmond office, he focuses on labor and employment matters. In addition to defending employers before federal and state agencies, he conducts workplace investigations, negotiates employment-related agreements and advises on effective workplace policies.
Pietro Sanitate (Col ’12 CM)
Pietro Sanitate (Col ’12 CM) was elected as principal at Woods Rogers, a Virginia-based law firm. He advises on complex disputes and litigation across a wide range of practice areas, including commercial disputes, intellectual property, insurance defense, construction and government contracts. He practices out of the firm’s Richmond office.
Lisa Fitzpatrick (Col ’97 CM)
Lisa Langhoff Fitzpatrick (Col ’97 CM) has become a partner in the the insurance practice group at Chaffe McCall’s New Orleans office. Fitzpatrick advises insurers and businesses facing complex coverage matters.
Will Barksdale (Col ’05, Law ’08 CM)
Will Barksdale (Col ’05, Law ’08 CM) was elevated to partner at Jenner & Block. Barksdale, a lawyer in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, focuses his practice on helping clients navigate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission investigations and enforcement actions. He also represents clients pro bono in affirmative and defensive asylum cases in the United States.
Anna Kovatcheva (Col ’12)
Anna Kovatcheva (Col ’12) will publish her debut novel, She Made Herself a Monster, with HarperCollins Mariner on February 10, 2026. The novel, set in nineteenth-century Bulgaria, follows a self-proclaimed vampire slayer—in truth, a traveling con artist—who joins forces with a teenage girl to create a monster deadly enough to vanquish their own demons. The novel is a story of female community, fortitude, and rage set against a backdrop of Slavic vampire folklore, inspired in part by the course on Dracula and other representations of the vampire that Kovatcheva took in the Slavic studies department at UVA with Dr. Jan Perkowski in 2009.
Kovatcheva will appear in conversation with Professor John Casteen (Col ’93) at New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville on February 13, 2026, to discuss the book.
Timothy Cupp (Col ’80, Law ’83 CM)
Tim Cupp (Col ’80, Law ’83 CM) has started a new law firm, Cupp Law & Mediation, where he will continue his employment law practice in Harrisonburg, the Shenandoah Valley, and Central Virginia. His focus is on the review and negotiation of employment, severance and non-compete agreements and litigation in claims involving discrimination, sexual harassment, protected leave, retaliation, whistleblowing, wage and hour disputes and defamation. He is also offering mediation services to individuals and businesses in matters relating to employment, real estate and business disputes. Cupp has practiced employment law for over 35 years.
Laura Thigpen (Nurs ’68 CM)
Laura Thigpen (Nurs ’68 CM) traveled to Antarctica in December. She takes her UVA spirit with her wherever she goes, including Antarctica!
Mark Linder (Arch ’82 CM)
Mark Linder (Arch ’82 CM) published That’s Brutal, What’s Modern: The Smithsons, Banham, and the Mies-Image with Park Books. Linder is a professor of architecture at Syracuse University.
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