Class Notes

Kara O’Brien Cox (Col ’89 CM) published her debut novel, Another Summer, under her pen name Kara Kentley. A second chance contemporary romance, Another Summer follows Avery, who returns to the Maine lakeside resort where she worked in college and comes face to face with her first love, Miles, who ghosted her after breaking her heart a decade ago. As they work together to help a friend, Avery begins to question everything she thought she knew about Miles, their past, her future and herself.

Kara and her husband, James P. Cox III (Law ’83) reside in Charlottesville.

Clare Short (Educ ’12) released her debut children’s book, Bo the Boat, this spring. A pediatric speech-language pathologist and mother of three young children, Short wrote this lift-the-flap board book to support early speech and language skills for young children. Readers will join Bo and his trusty companion, Captain Mo, as they cruise through the sparkling waves, embarking on a bustling workday full of surprises and friendly faces. With charming illustrations by Paula Rodriguez and engaging rhymes, Bo the Boat is the perfect voyage for curious minds ages 0-3. Short lives with her husband, Chris Short (Engr ’08, ’12), in Atlanta, where they cheer on the Wahoos with their children.

Thomas Fraser Pettigrew (Col ’52) published his 11th book, Anti-Black Racism in America: Is it Declining? with Oxford University Press. The book examines the ways systemic racism is perpetuated in America, with a particular focus on housing segregation.

Pettigrew’s career in academia began under the mentorship of the late Professor Frank Finger of UVA. Pettigrew went on to attain his doctorate in social psychology at Harvard University. He later taught and researched at the University of California at Santa Cruz, with stints in Australia, Germany, the Netherlands and South Africa.

Joel G. Weinberg (Col ’01) is pleased to announce the opening of Precision Counsel, APC, which focuses on real estate litigation and business litigation. With over 15 years of hands-on litigation experience, he has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in both jury and bench trials and has litigated a variety of claims including related to real property, business disputes, personal injury, and consumer law. Joel is admitted to practice law in the California state courts as well as the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

Ashley Cinalli-Mathews (Col ’05) and Erin Campbell (Col ’05) are co-directors of Central Virginia Community Justice (CVCJ), a nonprofit in Charlottesville that offers restorative services to the community. The program started in 2022 as a pilot program, initiated by Shannon Pollock (Law ’14), in partnership with the County of Albemarle and City of Charlottesville. CVCJ is now a freestanding organization with a demonstrated history of success in promoting justice, healing, and safety. CVCJ diverts criminal cases in which the harmed person (victim) and responsible person (defendant) voluntarily choose restorative justice (RJ) over typical prosecution. CVCJ additionally provides restorative justice facilitation for non-criminal harms or harms that those involved prefer not to report to the police. CVCJ has recently expanded to offer restorative services in Charlottesville City Schools, which has been a fruitful and fulfilling partnership. Ashley, Erin, and their staff provide presentations and trainings about restorative practices to organizations.

Caroline Massie-DeJarnette (Col ’13 CM) and Richard DeJarnette (Com ’13 CM) welcomed their second child, Leon Henry DeJarnette, on March 1, 2025. Leon joins big brother Hugh, and is the grandson of William Elliott DeJarnette (Col ’73 CM) and Barbara Jeanne DeJarnette (Educ ’78, ’82 CM). The family lives in Richmond.

Scott Gleason (Col ’72 CM) was recently named to the Board of Directors of the Free Yezidi Foundation USA, a D.C.-based NGO promoting the human rights and well-being of Yezidis in Iraq and their diaspora in the aftermath of the 2014 genocide perpetuated by ISIS. Scott recently retired after 27 years with Goldman Sachs & Co.

William Mell Griffin III (Col ’79 CM) has been named the 2025 Outstanding Lawyer of the Year by the Arkansas Bar Foundation and the Arkansas Bar Association. He is a partner at Friday, Eldredge & Clark, LLP, where he serves as vice chair of the firm’s management committee and leads the litigation practice group.

Lisa Filemyr (Engr ’02 CM) was honored as a Luminary award recipient by the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association. The award recognizes senior-level women who serve as a role model in their company, actively mentor and sponsor others, help advance other women’s careers and exhibit dedication to the healthcare industry. Lisa is the executive director of engineering at epocrates, a company under the athenahealth umbrella, that develops software to aid medical professionals. At athenahealth, she champions diversity, supports employee resource groups and advocates for women in STEM.

Greg Hansard (Col ’03) published his second book, Virginia Cider: A Guide from Colonial Days to Craft’s Golden Age (University of Virginia Press, October 2024). The book looks at the history and techniques of making the iconic Virginia beverage from the colonial era to today. Included in the book are a guide and map of all the cideries in the state. Hansard says that inspiration for the book came from a work experience in 2014 at the Virginia Museum of History and Culture, where he worked in collaboration with breweries, meaderies and cideries to brew recipes from the museum archives.

Oneya Fennell Okuwobi (Col ’01 CM) released her first monograph, Who Pays for Diversity? Why Programs Fail at Racial Equity and What to Do about It with University of California Press, on March 18, 2025. Drawing on accounts of employees from across the workplace spectrum, from corporations to churches to universities, Who Pays for Diversity? details how the optics of diversity programs undermine the competence of employees while diminishing their well-being and workplace productivity. Okuwobi argues that diversity programs have been a costly detour on the path to racial justice, and getting back on track requires solutions that provide equity, dignity, and agency to all employees, instead of defending the status quo. Dr. Okuwobi is assistant professor of sociology at the University of Cincinnati.

Corinna Barrett Lain (Law ’96) published Secrets of the Killing State: The Untold Story of Lethal Injection (NYU Press 2025). Based on seven years of deep research, this exposé takes readers into the notoriously secretive world of American executions, using shocking revelations about lethal injection to shine a light on the American death penalty more broadly. The story of lethal injection is a story of state law-breaking and cover-ups, fake science and torturous drugs, gross incompetence by woefully inept executioners, and a stunning indifference to the way prisoners die at the hands of the state. She examines all the ways that the state cannot be trusted with the power to take life, and all the ways it has tried to cover that up.

Corinna is the S.D. Roberts & Sandra Moore professor of law at the University of Richmond School of Law.

Tyler B. Tassone (Engr ’10 CM) has been named a director at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, a prominent intellectual property law firm in Washington, D.C. As one of five new directors, his company commends him for his skill and excellence in strategic counseling, portfolio management and prosecution of patent applications. Though he primarily handles medical device patents, he also has experience with clean and renewable technologies, as well as consumer projects. He studied chemical engineering at UVA, during which time he worked in a graduate research lab, before receiving his law degree from Villanova University.