Class Notes

Ruika Lin (Col ’11 CM) launched Fieldnotes from a Watcher, an independent literary journal that publishes creative nonfiction stories monthly. Fieldnotes from a Watcher explores many of life’s timeless moments that seem to be shared by many yet voiced by few. Themes include families of origin and of choice, belonging, parenthood, grief, cross-cultural musings and the creative process. Lin invites fellow UVA alumni to sign up as a member of the journal, and/or become a guest writer.

Ann M. Ryan (Grad ’87) published The Ghosts of Mark Twain: A Study of Manhood, Race, and the Gothic Imagination with the University of Missouri Press. Ryan examines Twain’s writings and his uneasy relationship to Black culture and masculinity, even as he imagines a future in which Black men will gain an authentic voice and agency. The work investigates the tense intersections of white fathers, Black men, the histories they reflect and the future they promise, as expressed in Twain’s life and writings. Some of the works considered in The Ghosts of Mark Twain are not widely known: “Which Was It?,” “The United States of Lyncherdom,” No. 44: The Mysterious Stranger and the Morgan manuscript of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Written into the record of these fragments is Twain’s desire to be a different kind of white man, just as their incomplete nature demonstrates how often he stumbled in that effort.

Elizabeth Atwood (Grad ’83) published Deadline: 200 Years of Violence Against Journalists in the United States with the University of Missouri Press. In her book, Atwood offers the first comprehensive look at the history of fatal attacks against journalists in the United States between 1829 and the present. She was inspired to explore the pressing issue of violence against American journalists after the tragic death of one of her colleagues at the Baltimore Sun, Rob Hiaasen, in the Capital Gazette shooting in 2018. Throughout, she demonstrates that distrust of the media and violence against the press in the United States are hardly new developments. Her work examines how intimidation, violence, and censorship have, in fact, been used against the American press since both its and the nation’s founding.

David Meredith (Com ’03) and his wife, Jamie, ran the 2025 Boston Marathon to raise money for The Children’s Room, a nonprofit organization that provides caring grief support for children, teens and families. Their team raised over $20,000 for the organization.

Lucas Hobbs (Law ’98 CM) was elected president of the Association of District Court Judges of Virginia at the Association’s annual meeting in October. He previously served as the Association’s secretary and as its treasurer. He is a General District Court Judge in Virginia’s 28th Judicial District, and lives in Bristol, Virginia, with his wife.

Mauricio Velásquez (Col ’88 CM) published his first book, Tackling Toxicity: A Skill-Based Guide to Addressing Toxicity, which provides strategies for professionals to create healthy and successful workplace environments, as well as for people navigating difficult family and social situations. The book won an April 2025 International Impact Book Award. Velásquez is president and founder of the Diversity Training Group, and has decades of experiences in diversity and inclusion and harassment prevention.

John Peebles (Col ’82 CM) has started an organization, food4nj.org, to provide groceries and grocery store gift cards to families visiting their loved ones detained at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey. The organization welcomes donations as well as volunteers to help at Delaney Hall during weekends and Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Mike McGrew (Col ’75) published his second picture book, The Boy Who Would Be Santa, with Kharis Publishing. The book tells the story of Saint Nicholas, including his struggle after the death of his parents, his teenage journey of discovery, his kindness and charity, the miracles he performed and his evolution into Santa Claus. The book serves as a resource on the historical origins of Santa and as a model of kindness for children.

Cristina Liebolt Foran (Col ’10 CM) and Lincoln Foran (Col ’10 CM) made it to their 15-year Reunions with 2-year-old Susanna Walton Foran and 9-week old Eugenia Lee Foran, who was born March 29. Susanna loved being back on the lawn and introducing baby Eugenia to the grounds. The girls’ matching outfits were given to them by friends Michelle Wagner (Col ’10) and Freyan Soonawalla (Col ’10, Darden ’19). The Forans look forward to continuing to take the girls down to Charlottesville as they grow up!

Charles Napier (Col ’81 CM) came out of semi-retirement last year to serve as director for the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority. His team was honored to receive the 2024 Governor’s Award for Excellence in recognition of outstanding public service to Pennsylvania.

Lea Jih-Vieira (Engr ’24) joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a data science fellow in the Information Technology and Systems Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Jih-Vieira earned her bachelor’s degree in information science from Cornell University in 2023 and her master’s degree in systems engineering from UVA in 2024.

Tuan “Megan” Doan (Col ’24) joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a research associate in the Cost Analysis and Research Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center in Alexandria, Virginia. IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers that seeks to answer the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions. At UVA, Doan studied applied statistics.

Tina Schust Robinson (Col ’94) will publish her first book, Developing Your Business Leaders: A Guide to Investing at All Levels in March 2026 with ATD Press. In the book, Robinson discusses the leadership qualities and outlines the reasons and methods for investing intentionally in leaders. As a seasoned public speaker, workplace consultant and executive coach, she’s grateful every day for her Virginia education, particularly the UVA English department.

Gabrielle Rhodes Crawford (Col ’00 CM) was named Advanced Practice Provider of the Year for the Centra Medical Group Sept. 25. This recognition honors one advanced practice provider who truly exemplifies excellence in patient care, leadership and teamwork. Crawford has worked in the general surgery and trauma department at Centra Health in Lynchburg since 2015 and currently serves as the lead advanced practice provider. After graduating from UVA, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Lynchburg College, now University of Lynchburg, and an Master of Science in Nursing from James Madison University. She and her husband, Kenneth Crawford (Col ’01 CM) are the proud parents of two sons, Kenneth II and Kingston, and a daughter, Austin. Kenneth II is a senior at Appalachian State University.

Amy Rector (Col ’00 CM) and her colleagues from the Ledi-Geraru Research Project in northeastern Ethiopia have discovered what could be a new species of Australopithecus, an early hominin species that lived alongside the early human ancestors of the Homo genus two to three million years ago. Rector, a paleontologist at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the other team members discovered and studied a large number of ancient fossilized teeth at the Ledi-Geraru research area, with their findings supporting a view of human evolution as a “tangled-up bush,” rather than a linear timeline. The Ledi-Geraru Research Project and their findings were featured in an article in the Washington Post.

Kieran Carter (Col ’06 CM) launched her own firm, Oakgrove Legal Strategies, which focuses on tax law, high-stakes litigation and legacy planning. The new practice helps clients design sophisticated wealth management strategies that prepare families, founders and fiduciaries for generational transitions. Kieran draws on her 15 years of government experience, including serving as a senior trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, where she litigated complex tax cases across the country. She also served in DOJ leadership, advising the deputy Assistant attorney general on tax policy and sensitive tax matters involving the IRS, Congress and the White House.

Charles Snyder (Grad ’73, ’79) published Murder at Knebworth, a cozy historical murder mystery novel which follows an American couple navigating English high society in the post-American Civil War period.