“Award/Recognition” Class Notes

Clark Fownes MacKenzie (Com ’63 CM) was inducted into the Maryland State Golf Association Hall of Fame. MacKenzie is a lifelong steward of amateur golf who has held various leadership roles in the United States Seniors’ Golf Association. He has competed in numerous senior championships in the U.S. and internationally. In 2015, he received the USSGA’s William C. Campbell Award, the organization’s highest honor. During his days as a student at UVA, he played on the Varsity golf team for three years—including two years as captain—and was elected president of the V Club, among other honors and involvements.

Scott Douglas Gerber (Law ’86, Grad ’92) received a Florida Author and Publishers Association President’s Book Award in the thriller/horror category for his most recent novel, The Trafficker.

Richard Yeager (Arch ’87 CM) was elected president of the Association of University Architects (AUA) in June. Yeager is the director of planning and facilities information systems at University of Massachusetts, Lowell.

Paulette Jones Morant (Col ’74 CM) was featured as artist of the month in a solo photography exhibition in March at the Nelson Gallery in Lexington, Virginia. The collection, Contemplation, included architectural designs, seascapes, skyscapes and portraits. One of the portraits, “Mamacita,” won second place in the Nelson Gallery’s 2026 Juneteenth show.

Gregory C. Harrell (Col ’95 CM) was sworn in as president of the Florida Court Clerks & Comptrollers for 2026-2027 on June 24, 2026, at the association’s annual summer conference in Orlando, Florida.

Jeanne M. (Lyons) Liedtka (Col ’91, Law ’94 CM) received Villanova University’s 2026 Lindback Award, which was presented at Villanova’s Commencement ceremony. Her husband, Stephen L. Liedtka (Com ’91, ’93 CM), was honored with the same award in 2022, making them the first Villanova couple to both receive this distinction. Jeanne and Stephen have also been selected by graduating seniors to deliver the university’s “Last Lecture,” in 2025 and 2022, respectively.

Lauren McQuistion (Arch ’11) has been awarded a 2026 Graham Foundation Grant to Individuals to support “Skyline: Rereading an Architectural Tabloid,” a collaborative research project with colleagues at the University of Minnesota and Texas Tech Univesrity. Their work examines the publication Skyline and the architectural culture it helped shape in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Their project was selected from more than 600 applications. McQuistion has just completed her first year as a tenure-track assistant professor of architecture at the University of New Mexico.

Thomas Gorman (Col ’82 CM) recently celebrated his 40th year of continuous, full-time employment.

Allen Groves (Law ’90 CM) received the Chancellor’s Medal for his transformative contributions to the student experience at Syracuse University while serving as senior vice president and chief student experience officer. The Chancellor’s Medal is Syracuse University’s highest honor. Groves has been in the role since 2021.

Jill Corso McNabb (Col ’90, Darden ’99 CM) was awarded honorary membership in the American Pharmacists Association. This honor, one of the organization’s highest recognitions, celebrates individuals whose work has made a significant impact on public health and the pharmacy profession. McNabb, a longtime technology leader at the intersection of pharmacy and innovation, has spent more than two decades shaping product strategy, data-driven solutions and startup growth across the healthcare landscape. She has been a founding team member of several pharmacy-focused ventures, including Pharmacy Profiles, Synerio, and RxAlly, helping bring forward new tools that support pharmacists and improve patient care. Beyond her work in pharmacy technology, McNabb is a committed STEM education advocate and volunteer leader helping to build the new Northern Virginia Science Center.

C. Diane Smock (Law ’79 CM) received the first—and to date only—Extraordinary Achievement Award from the Upstate Mediation Center of Greenville, South Carolina. A former judge, Smock volunteered to lead the center on an interim basis, guiding its stabilization and renewal. Through strategic collaboration with local grant partners, she secured essential operating support and helped launch new programs designed to generate sustainable revenue, ensuring the center’s continued service as a valuable community resource.

Frank Block III (Engr ’07, ’09, ’12 CM) has been named the 2026 Federal Engineer of the Year by the National Society of Professional Engineers. At the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health, he leads public health emergency responses to major medical device recalls, including a series of respiratory device recalls affecting over 2.8 million devices, and helped prevent 38 million defective syringes from reaching U.S. patients.

Eugene Resnick (Col ’10 CM) has been selected as a finalist for the Social Action Award from the British Council‘s Study U.K. Alumni Awards 2026. Resnick is an alumnus of the London School of Economics and Political Science and a graduate of a United Kingdom university.

Thomas Siu (Law ’21), a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Judge Advocate General’s Corps, was named Junior Officer of the Year for fiscal year 2025 at Defense Service Office Southeast in Norfolk, Virginia. He has served on active duty since 2021 and at Defense Service Office Southeast since 2023, where he represents those charged at courts-martial. He will transfer to the Navy’s appeals unit this summer.

Don Slesnick (Col ’65 CM) was honored with the eponymous Don Slesnick Civic Vision Award by the Coral Gables Art Cinema at their annual gala. Slesnick, the former four-term mayor of Coral Gables, Florida, received the award from from the city’s current mayor. The award reads, “With gratitude for his vision, leadership, and enduring legacy.”

Andrew G. Lee (Col ’85, Med ’89 CM) was honored with a 2026 Voluntary Clinical Faculty Award from the Baylor College of Medicine chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha, a national medical honor society. He was first inducted as a student member of Alpha Omega Alpha at UVA School of Medicine in 1989 and is now the Herb and Jean Lyman Centennial Professor and Chair of Ophthalmology at the Blanton Eye Institute at Houston Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas.

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.”

Bob Witeck (Col ’74 CM) received the Arne Sorenson Vanguard Award at Out & Equal’s global summit in October 2025. Out & Equal, the world’s largest LGBTQ+ business and professional organization, presented him with their lifetime achievement honor for his work to recognize the LGBTQ+ community in every aspect of business. Witeck is the co-founder of the first gay-owned business certified by the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce, and author of Business Inside Out, the first book on gay marketing.

Rita Dove, Henry Hoyns Professor of Creative Writing, was officially inducted into the American Philosophical Society. She had been elected a member of the American Philosophical Society three decades ago, but was able to participate in person for the first time at the society’s 2025 autumn meeting. The American Philosophical Society is the oldest honorary society in North America, founded in 1743 by Benjamin Franklin. It counts among its members numerous U.S. presidents as well as Marie Curie, Albert Einstein and many other luminaries of the 18th through the 21st centuries.

Byron Dickson (Arch ’63 CM) participated in the 2025 Spirit of Virginia Award ceremony at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford, Virginia, on June 10. Dickson was the project designer of the memorial, which was dedicated in 2001. In recognizing the staff and volunteers of the National D-Day Memorial Foundation, Governor Glenn Youngkin said, “Their educational programs and commitment to remembrance inspire future generations, and it’s an honor to recognize their contribution and service to Virginia and our nation with this award.”

Anant Das (Com ’19 CM) was honored as one of the recipients of the 2025 Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking as lead executive producer and general manager of In My Own Little Corner Productions. In My Own Little Corner Productions produced both a professionally filmed musical and a documentary about the making of the aforementioned musical. The two films share the story of Broadway, TV and film actor Chryssie Whitehead as she confronts her Bipolar II diagnosis.

Michael Cascio (Col ’72) produced and co-directed a critically acclaimed documentary on the artist Edward Hopper for American Masters on PBS, the latest entry in a career that has brought Cascio four Emmys, two Oscar nominations, and a “Producer of the Year” award. His work includes award-winning documentaries such as Inside 9/11 and The 90s: The Last Great Decade? for the National Geographic Channel, Biography, Titanic: Death of a Dream and Investigative Reports for A&E, and At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal for HBO, which received the prestigious Television Academy Honors. In addition to producing documentaries, Cascio has held executive roles at A&E, Animal Planet, the National Geographic Channel and NBC News. He was cited in Entertainment Weekly “It List” as one of the most creative people in the entertainment industry. He also was a backstage janitor at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, which he chronicled in a first-person article in the Sunday New York Times.

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.

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.

Myron Santos (Col ’01 CM) has been accepted as a member of American Cinema Editors, an honorary society that celebrates excellence within the art of motion picture editing, promotes mutual respect among peers and supports diversity and inclusion within the profession. Myron, his wife and their 10-year-old daughter live in Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is on the board of the UVA Entertainment Club of Los Angeles.

Andrew G. Lee (Col ’85, Med ’89 CM) is proud to receive The 2025 UVA Walter Reed Distinguished Achievement Award. The award recognizes professional accomplishments, outstanding innovation and exemplary leadership in the field of medicine.

Sara A. Austin (Col ’87 CM) was granted fellowship in the College of Community Association Lawyers (CCAL), which provides a forum for the exchange of information among experienced legal professionals working for the advancement of community association governance. Austin, who is the founder of Austin Law Firm, earned this national recognition due to her outstanding leadership and commitment to the advancement of the legal principles and practical tools necessary for community associations to thrive. Among other professional positions, Austin is a past president of the Pennsylvania Bar Association.

Spencer Francis (Engr ’03 CM) celebrated 22 years with Bowman Consulting Group (NASDAQ: BWMN) and commemorated Bowman’s 30th anniversary by ringing the NASDAQ opening bell with other Bowman leaders. Francis has helped grow Bowman from a regional Washington, D.C.-based engineering firm into one of the top multidisciplinary design firms in the United States. Francis is currently executive vice president and division manager at Bowman. He and his wife, Kirsten (Dodd) Francis (Col ’03 CM) live in Richmond with their three daughters.

Deborah E. Sheetenhelm Hammond (Arch ’82 CM) has been selected as the regent of the William Henshaw chapter of the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution (NSDAR) in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Hammond traces her ancestry to Peter Mantz of Frederick, who aided independence efforts in the Revolutionary War. She has also recently become a member of the Captain James Gibson chapter of the United States Daughters of 1812, being descended from soldiers who fought in the War of 1812.

Hammond continues her second career as a novelist, with a new novel, Death in a Perfect Village, due in the autumn. Her previous novel, Death in Lewes, is a murder mystery set in Lewes, Delaware. All of her novels are available on Amazon.com in both Kindle and paperback versions.

Trey Cox (Law ’95) has been named a finalist for Texas Lawyer’s Texas Lawyer of the Year. So far in 2025, he has helped secure over $3 billion in verdicts and dismissals on behalf of clients. On the plaintiff side, he led two high-profile trial wins: a $667 million jury verdict for Energy Transfer against Greenpeace and a $46 million compensatory award for Gala Capital Partners. On the defense side, Cox obtained two major summary judgment victories, defeating over $2 billion in securities claims against Energy Transfer and securing dismissal of $400 million in fraud claims against GE Vernova.

Adrian Talley (Educ ’86 CM) was named the 2025 DuPage County Regional Office of Education Educator of the Year and Administrator of the Year. Talley is currently in his sixth year as superintendent of Indian Prairie School District 204, the fourth largest school district in Illinois. He was recognized for his work in expanding mental health services, amplifying student voices and expanding STEM opportunities for students.

Peyton Hall (Arch ’74 CM) received the first Impact Award given by the University of Southern California Architectural Guild. He was honored for his four decades of dedication to the practice of historic architecture and enrichment of the cultural and civic fabric of Los Angeles. He is a fellow of the American Institute of Architects, a managing principal emeritus of Historic Resources Group in Pasadena, California, and an adjunct professor in the Heritage Conservation Program of the School of Architecture at USC.

Patrick Wheaton (Col ’86 CM) was named president of the Southern States Communication Association during their 95th annual convention in Norfolk, Virginia in April. SSCA is a regional association of academics and professionals in the fields of human communication. Wheaton is a professor of communication studies at Georgia Southern University, teaching courses in rhetoric, argumentation, public speaking and political communication.

Andrew Lee (Col ’85, Med ’89 CM) was recognized with a YouTube Silver Creator Award for his YouTube channel, “Neuro-Ophthalmology with Dr. Andrew G. Lee.” There are over 113 million active channels on YouTube, and Lee is proud to be among only 400 thousand channels to receive the YouTube Silver Play Button. With frequent uploads and a wealth of knowledge, Lee’s channel is great for those interested in all things neuro-op.

Michael Huffstetler (Arch ’87) was sworn in as the 106th national president of the Society of American Military Engineers (SAME). He will lead the National Leadership Team and the SAME Board of Direction in overseeing the governance and strategic efforts of the society, its 25,000 members and 1,500 member companies, and over 100 posts and field chapters around the world. The Society of American Military Engineers is dedicated to patriotism and national security, and seeks to connect engineering professionals from public and private sectors.

William Brockschmidt (Arch ’86 CM) is proud to announce that his design firm, Brockschmidt & Coleman, LLC was awarded the 2025 Arthur Ross Award for Interior Design given by the Institute of Classical Architecture & Art (ICAA). The Arthur Ross Awards were established in 1982 to recognize and celebrate excellence in the classical tradition of art and architecture. The awards ceremony was held on May 12, 2025 at Cipriani 42nd Street in New York City. Brockschmidt & Coleman was established in 2001 and has offices in New York City and New Orleans.