Class Notes

Jen Shoop (Col ’06 CM) will publish Small Wonders: A Field Guide to Life’s Small Joys, a collection of essays, musings and list poetry on the art of paying attention, on April 14. The book is an extension of the writing she has become known for on her daily blog, Magpie by Jen Shoop, and is organized around themes that include the dance of motherhood, inheritances and intimacies, the natural world and the wide world of language.

John Cooney (Col ’21) won his UVA friend group’s Fantasy Football competition, dubbed the Valley Fantasy Football League. The Valley Fantasy Football League members lived together on Valley Road during their time at UVA, and remained connected through the friendly competition.

Barry Maine (Col ’74 CM) has retired after forty-four years as a professor of American literature at Wake Forest University. He credits the UVA English Department for inspiring his love of literature and literary scholarship.

Mark Christhilf (Col ’70) has a forthcoming book that answers one of the most pressing questions of science and philosophy: what is human consciousness? The Tenant in the Mind: Consciousness and Its Imperatives, will be published by Iff Books (UK) on February 3, 2026. An emeritus professor at Eastern Illinois University, Christhilf has also published a book of literary criticism and a book of poetry, as well as articles, reviews and poems in numerous journals, including The Yale Literary Magazine. He lives in New Jersey.

Trey Cox (Law ’95) was elected to the executive committee at Gibson Dunn. Cox looks forward to helping shape firm strategy and supporting lawyers and clients in an increasingly complex legal landscape.

Gunes Hopson (Law ’01 CM) is excited to share that she now has her own law firm, GFH Law, representing businesses, entrepreneurs and travel advisors. In addition, Hopson still owns a luxury travel agency, Luxe Travel by Gunes. She is happy to assist clients on both the legal and travel fronts.

Callie Anne Bateman (Nurs ’16 CM) and her husband, Max Stevenson (Col ’16), welcomed their first child, Sabrina Jade Stevenson, in October 2025. The family lives in Alexandria, Virginia, where Bateman is director of nursing for Pediatric Associates of Alexandria, and Stevenson is doing a post-doctoral fellowship in neuroscience at Georgetown University. Sabrina is the first grandchild of Mark Denton Bateman (Col ’79, Engr ’86 CM) and his wife, Paula Anne Bateman, and is the niece of Sam Stevenson (Engr ’24) and also of Chelsea Lauren Bateman (Nurs ’13 CM) and her husband, Janis Heuschmid.

Mindy Colden (Engr ’08 CM) has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of Faulconer Construction Company, a heavy civil construction firm based in Charlottesville. Colden began her tenure with Faulconer in 2006 as the firm’s first intern while studying civil engineering in the E school. She has since seen Faulconer nearly double in size and has overseen the growth of Faulconer’s North Carolina operations for the last 8 years. Colden lives in Raleigh, North Carolina, with her husband, Trip Colden (Col ’05 CM), and their two daughters.

Victoria “Tori” White DeJarnette (Col ’10 CM) was awarded the KPMG Silver Award for her pivotal role in successfully launching KPMG’s new enterprise technology platform, a foundational global initiative driving the firm’s strategic multi-year business transformation. She orchestrated the efforts of seven teams, synthesizing their diverse plans into a cohesive roadmap for a seamless launch. In addition to her strategic direction, leadership praised her agility in adapting to shifting priorities, noting her “work and commitment were vital to our success.”

Arin Mitchell Peter (Com ’13) and her husband Wes welcomed their second child, Coulson, and wrote a children’s book, Hello Baby! Love, Josie, which celebrates their growing family from their dog’s point of view. They hope families, young readers and dog lovers will enjoy the book, and they’re excited to show their kids around Grounds soon.

Larry Wilson (Col ’99) was promoted to equity partner at his law firm, Evert Weathersby Houff (EWH) in the Buckhead district of Atlanta. Wilson joined EWH’s Atlanta office after serving on the Bellwether trial teams for multiple trials in multi-district litigation and working in Cleveland, Ohio, as a SAG-AFTRA franchised agent.

Larry Ebert (Engr ’85 CM) recently contributed an essay “Systems Thinking Mindset in the Age of AI,” to AI and Consciousness in Organizations and Society, published by Palgrave Macmillan. He also wrote “The Promise and Perils of AI in the Arts,” included in The World Remade by Artificial Intelligence, published by McFarland. Ebert teaches courses on agentic AI and the impact of AI on critical thinking and creativity at the University of San Francisco. He continues to work as a management consultant and professional musician.

Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) contributed to Sophia by Eisenstaedt, the collector’s edition book of photographs of actress Sophia Loren by the great photographer Alfred Eisenstaedt.

Christopher Jamison (Col ’07) released his ninth studio album, Altered Ego, continuing a career marked by thoughtful songwriting and national recognition—including praise from The Austin Chronicle, which once dubbed him “the Paul Simon of Texas.” Now balancing life as a musician, educator and father of two with his wife, Meg Williams (Arch ’06 CM), Jamison credits his formative Wednesday nights playing at The Virginian as a core UVA experience that shaped both his musical voice and sense of community. Altered Ego will be available on Bandcamp beginning December 21.

Emily Wright Winans (Com ’22) and Nick Winans (Engr ’22) were married in Tuscany, Italy, Aug. 31, 2025. Ms. Winans met Mr. Winans in college at a Super Bowl mixer between her sorority and his fraternity, following in the footsteps of her parents, who also met at a UVA fraternity hosue.

William Lawson (Darden ’72) and Catherine Wood Lawson will celebrate their 48th wedding anniversary in 2026. Mr. Lawson is retired from Eli Lilly. The couple spends summers at their lake cottage on Lake Charlevoix, Michigan. In the winter, they spend time in Saint Barthélemy, Sarasota, Florida and Rosemary Beach, Florida. They fly fish in the western North Carolina mountains in the fall and spend several weeks in Europe in the spring shoulder season.

Lawson keeps in touch with fellow alumni Marc Christman (Darden ’72 CM), who is recently fully retired and is living in Chicago with his wife, Deirdre; Byron Donics (Darden ’72), who lives in Scottsdale, Arizona, raising horses with his wife, Debby; David Vondle (Darden ’72) and his wife Debbie, who are residents of Grand Cayman and recently completed a multi year build of a beautiful beach front home in Cayman Kai; and Larry Killgallon (Darden ’72), who is celebrating 50 years of marriage with his wife, Debbie. The Killgallons live in Bryan, Ohio, and frequently travel the world and visit family in various parts of the southern U. S.