“Award/Recognition” Class Notes

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. Filemyr 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.

Valerie I. Uduji (Col ’20 CM) has been admitted to the State Bar of Michigan. Uduji works for Warner Norcross + Judd, LLP., in their Detroit office. Her prior positions include internships with Justice Kyra Bolden in the Michigan Supreme Court and with a judge in Washtenaw County Trial Court in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She received her law degree at Michigan State University after studying foreign affairs and anthropology at UVA.

John Via III (Engr ’84 CM) was elected a fellow of the American Society for Engineering Management (ASEM) in October 2023 and was elected to the ASEM board of directors in January 2025. Via was also elected director of graduate program certification and will lead ASEM’s Master of Engineering Management certification team. Via is currently a professor of practice and associate director in the Master of Engineering Management & Leadership program at Rice University. He is a licensed Professional Engineer (P.E.) and a Certified Professional in Engineering Management (C.P.E.M). He and his wife, Jennifer, live in Morgan’s Point, Texas, a suburb of Houston.

John Maze (Arch ’91 CM) was awarded the Undergraduate Teacher of the Year Award by the University of Florida College of Design, Construction and Planning. Maze is an associate professor of architecture and has been at Florida since 2001 following four years teaching at the UVA School of Architecture. He recently served as juror for final reviews at the end of the spring 2024 semester at UVA, and was elated to find the work is still among the best he has seen in the country. Maze credits Peter Waldman amongst other great educators at UVA for his success as an educator and continues to send students from Florida to UVA for their graduate studies. Once a ’Hoo, always a ’Hoo!

Audrey Fahlberg (Col ’20) has been awarded a 2024-25 Robert Novak Journalism Fellowship. Fellows spend one year researching and providing in-depth reporting on their chosen topics surrounding the principles of a free society. The fellowship is named after the late Robert D. Novak, renowned columnist, CNN broadcaster and reporter for The Wall Street Journal and the Associated Press. Novak Fellows have gone on to become leaders in journalism as Pulitzer Prize winners, leaders of national outlets and authors of bestselling books. Fahlberg is a political reporter for National Review.

Ben Rosenthal (Com ’05 CM), CEO and co-president of Standard Meat Company in Fort Worth, Texas has been named an Entrepreneur of The Year® 2024 National Award winner by Ernst & Young. The award, established in 1986, recognizes entrepreneurs who are revolutionizing industries and leading businesses that will shape the future. Ten national winners were chosen by a panel of independent judges from a group of 214 regional winners, representing 185 companies across the U.S. The candidates were evaluated based on their demonstration of building long-term value through entrepreneurial spirit, purpose, growth and impact, among other core contributions and attributes.

Standard Meat Company is a meat processing and packaging firm with four plants in North Texas. It has been owned and operated by the Rosenthal family since it was founded in 1935.

Wilmah M. “Bill” Getchell, Jr. (Col ’67) was awarded the 2024 Morgan Wing Trophy by the National Beagle Club of America at a meeting held in November in Aldie, Virginia. This “Unsung Hero” award is given annually in recognition of contributions to the sport of beagling. Getchell is on the hunt staff of the Nantucket-Treweryn Beagles, kenneled near Berryville, Virginia.

Byron Dickson (Arch ’63 CM) captured top honors in watercolor at the League of Roanoke Artists annual showcase, held at the Jefferson Center in downtown Roanoke, Virginia. His winning entry, “Wind Surfer,” was among the 94 works featured in this year’s event. Acclaimed professional artist Dana Phillips of Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia judged the contest.

Dr. Christopher Mitchell (Col ’04 CM), was recently promoted to Colonel in the U.S. Army Medical Corps. Mitchell is an active duty emergency physician and combat veteran with four tours in Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan. He is the program director for the Emergency Medicine Residency Program at Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, Fort Cavazos, Texas.

Laura B. Truesdale (Col ’08 CM) of Moore & Van Allen PLLC was named to the 2024 Lawdragon 500 X – The Next Generation list. The 500 X list, now in its second year of publishing, recognizes future leaders in law and those who, according to Lawdragon, “have eyes turned toward the future and an undiminished belief in the opportunity to make an impact.” Truesdale’s practice focuses on advising clients – such as real estate developers, lenders and financial institutions, contractors, and buyers/sellers of contaminated properties – on the environmental aspects of a wide range of real-estate-related matters.

Thomas C. Grant (Col ’92) has been named to the 2025 edition of Best Lawyers in America in the practice area of commercial litigation. Grant is a partner at Freed Grant LLC, where he focuses his practice on complex business litigation, commercial real estate, probate, appellate, and insurance defense matters.

Jules P. Manger (Col ’03, Res ’14 CM) has been recognized by Newsweek in the first annual ranking of America’s Best Prostate Cancer Surgeons.  The list recognizes the 150 best prostate cancer surgeons in America based on outcomes data and peer review.  Dr. Manger lives in Tucson, Arizona with his wife Linda (Williams) Manger (Col ’03 CM) and three sons.

Marlene Hall (Col ’96 CM) was named one of the top 10 producing real estate agents for the state of Virginia for eXp Realty LLC for the month of June 2024.

Robert Lufkin (Med ’79) has published Lies I Taught in Medical School, a New York Times bestseller based on his experience as a full professor at UCLA and USC medical schools. The book has been described as a riveting, cautionary tale of how medicine has gotten things so wrong (and continues to) in the area of metabolic health.

A free sample chapter is available at https://www.robertlufkinmd.com/lies/

Patricia A. Steenberg Leonard (Col ’88 CM) has been named one of the Top 50 woman lawyers in the State of Florida by Florida Super Lawyers.  Leonard is a business trial attorney at Shutts & Bowen LLP in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she practices commercial litigation, labor and employment litigation, and intellectual property litigation.

Myron Santos (Col ’01 CM) has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on The Amazing Race in the category of Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program. It is his second nomination; his first came for RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars in 2019. Santos and his wife and their 9-year-old daughter live in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700) and The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is on the board of the U.Va Entertainment Club of Los Angeles.

John Allis (Col ’75) and Cathy Allis (Educ ’77) have received organic certification for Kennebec Oat Farm.  The farm is located in eastern coastal Maine and grows milky oats, wild raspberry leaf and lady’s mantle leaf.  John continues as a licensed engineer in Maine, Colorado and Virginia, although most of his time is spent on the oat farm.

Don Slesnick (Col ’65 CM) received the Henry M. Flagler Community Builder Award at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Goals Conference banquet in June. The award, which acknowledges lifetime contributions to South Florida, was given to Slesnick and his late wife Jeannett, who was honored posthumously.

Ben Rosenthal (Com ’05 CM) has been named an Entrepreneur of The Year 2024 Southwest award winner by Ernest & Young LLP. Rosenthal is co-president and CEO of Standard Meat Company in Fort Worth, Texas. Entrepreneur of The Year is a competitive awards program for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies.

Russ Petrin (Col ’00 CM) has been promoted to Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and also recently attained the additional title of Alternative Investments Director, which recognizes his team’s proficiency in and commitment to investments that go beyond traditional stocks and bonds.  Russ, his wife Carrie, and son Sam (12) live in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

David Landin (Col ’68, Law ’72 CM) was honored by the Virginia Bar Association with a resolution recognizing his work on behalf of his alma mater, the University of Virginia, alongside his work on behalf of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello as a trustee and over five decades of service to the profession, including as president of The Virginia Bar Association, The Virginia Law Foundation and The Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, but, importantly, for his chairmanship of the VBA Committee on Special Issues of National and State Importance, which he chaired for almost half of its being since its founding in 1974, “…in gratitude and recognition for these services and for exemplifying the ideals of the citizen lawyer and Virginian.”

The resolution was adopted by the board of governors at the ABA’s annual meeting in January in Williamsburg on behalf of “…The Virginia Bar Association’s members, and on behalf of colleagues throughout this Commonwealth…”, then read at the black-tie banquet.

Landin appeared on the cover of The Virginia Lawyer in the February issue, in recognition of the 50^th Anniversary of The Virginia Law Foundation, which he led as president in 1987-88. He is shown with Judge Roger Gregory, 2024 Jefferson Medalist in Law; and Justice Jane Marum Roush (Law ’81 CM), immediate past president of the VLF.

Oscar R. Aylor (Col ‘62 CM) was honored by Appalachian State University in April with a lecture hall named in his honor in the ASU College of Health Sciences.  His career in health services management and policy included several senior hospital executive positions and university faculty appointments, including App State where he was the inaugural director of an undergraduate major in healthcare management from 1972 to 1981 in the university’s college of business.  This major has more than 1,500 alumni since its beginning, many of whom have had very successful careers of their own.  Aylor retired in 2018 and lives near Charlottesville, where he continues to serve as a member of the Hospital Ethics Committee at UVA Health. 

Ed Offley (Col ’69) has been named Naval History magazine’s “2023 Author of the Year” by the U.S. Naval Institute for a series of articles on the Battle of the Atlantic, the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, and a profile of a 100-year-old World War II battleship sailor.

Harry L. Thomas (Col ’76 CM) was inducted into the Arlington (Virginia) County Sports Hall of Fame in October 2022. He was inducted into the Washington-Liberty High School Sports Hall of Fame in January 2019. Thomas was co-captain of the UVA baseball team in 1976, was a second-team All-ACC pitcher in 1974, and made the All-ACC Academic team in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Thomas is still co-holder of the ACC record for strikeouts in a game, with 19 in 1974.

For the past 48 years, Thomas has been an agent and wealth management advisor for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. His son John Thomas (Col ’00) also pitched for the UVA baseball team.

John Warley (Law ’70 CM) was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by The Citadel on May 4, 2024, in recognition of his contribution to The Citadel War Memorial. Warley composed both the inscription that greets visitors to the Memorial as well as the narrative history of the college etched into the walls. He is also the author of a history of the school, Stand Forever, Yielding Never, The Citadel in the 21st Century.

Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) has won a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Book of the Year for his recent biography George Pal: Man of Tomorrow.

Lois Waybill Alderfer (Nurs ’90, ’91) received the Founder’s Award from the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners. The award honors a member who has founded, pioneered, or made significant historical contributions to the shaping of the organization of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners.

Alderfer is a family nurse practitioner who has practiced at the Blue Ridge Medical Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center, since 1991. For the past seven years she has also served as chief medical officer. Alderfer is one of a few nurse practioners who have held the role of CMO within a FQHC. She was named Provider of the Year in 1995 by the Virginia Primary Care Association and Provider of the Year by the Virginia Community Healthcare Association in 2019.

George T. Snyder (Col ’85 CM) was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association.

TMA Pittsburgh is a group of professionals dedicated to the local corporate renewal, restructuring, and turnaround management community.

Paul B. Terpak (Col ’77, Law ’80 CM) has been named to the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame, an honor given to about one tenth of 1% of lawyers in Virginia every year.  The Hall of Fame honors Virginia lawyers who have been in practice for 30 years. Criteria for inclusion include career accomplishments, contributions to the development of the law in Virginia, contributions to the bar and to the commonwealth at large and efforts to improve the quality of justice in Virginia.

For the fifth time, Terpak was named Best Lawyers 2024 Eminent Domain and Condemnation Lawyer of the Year for the Washington D.C. area.   He practices with Blankingship & Keith in Fairfax.

Retired Col. Richard Kingman (Col ’74 CM) and fellow Air Force ROTC alumni from 1973 to 1977 attended the 2024 Joint Service ROTC Awards Ceremony at UVA to present the inaugural Colonel James A. Ball Outstanding UVA ROTC Instructor of the Year award.  The award is named after Colonel James A. Ball, who served as the assistant professor of Air Science at UVA from 1971-1975 and is a lifelong friend, mentor, and example to the officers he helped train, as well as someone who reflects the best traditions of the U.S. military, the Air Force, and UVA.

The award was the brainchild of Kingman, who solicited support for the effort and endowment from fellow alumni. Also attending the April 16 ceremony were retired Col. Barry Bryan (Col ’76), retired Col. James Holaday (Col ’75 CM), retired Lt. Col John Valliere (Engr ’76 CM),  Bruce Webster (Engr ’74 CM), and Michael Skojec (Col ’ 76 CM).

Ball presented the award to USAF Major Tim Robles of AFROTC Detachment 890 for his outstanding efforts over the 2023-2024 school year demonstrating “instructional and counseling abilities, civic engagement, and overall contributions to [his] ROTC unit.”

Bill Crutchfield (Com ’65 CM) will be honored in May with a Virginia Senate Joint Resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of Crutchfield Corporation, an electronics retailer based in Charlottesville. Crutchfield founded the company in 1974 when he was unable to find a modern stereo for the Porsche 356 he was restoring. He was named Ernst & Young’s Master Entrepreneur of the Year for Virginia in 1999 and was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame in 2007.

Don Slesnick (Col ’65 CM) delivered the graduation address for Florida International University in December 2023, when was also awarded the FIU Medallion For Outstanding Alumnus. Slesnick, the former mayor of Coral Gables, Florida, received the Excellence in Public Service Award from the Gables Good Government Committee in March 2024. His late wife, Jeannett, a former city commissioner, was also honored posthumously.

Kathleen Biggins (Col ’82 CM), founder of C-Change Conversations, a non-partisan group devoted to educating people about the science and risk of climate change, spoke on Capitol Hill as a keynote speaker at the National Affairs & Legislation Conference.

Biggins spoke alongside Sens. Kristen Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono, Edward Markey and Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Debbie Dingell, Garret Graves and Brian Mast. Approximately 400 delegates from around the country attended.

Susan Martin (Educ ’99) has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Leadership. The Golden Apple Foundation is the leading Illinois nonprofit committed to preparing, honoring and supporting great educators who advance educational opportunities for students. Five finalists were chosen from more than 100 nominations. Martin is principal of Reservoir Gifted Academy in Peoria, Ill.

Jennifer (Bogart) McDowell (Col ’87) has been promoted to interim academic dean of career and technical education at Hennepin Technical College, a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities.