“Award/Recognition” Class Notes
Ryan McEnroe (Arch ’09)
Ryan McEnroe (Arch ’09) has been promoted to senior associate in Quinn Evans’ Washington, D.C. office. He has contributed to the design of the recently reopened Bird House at the National Zoological Park and the award-winning National Native American Veterans Memorial at the National Museum of the American Indian, both for the Smithsonian Institution. He is a co-founder of AIA|DC’s Christopher Kelley Leadership Development Program.
Nakita Reed (Arch ’06)
Nakita Reed (Arch ’06) has been promoted to senior associate in Quinn Evans’ Baltimore office. Working at the intersection of historic preservation, sustainable design, and equity, she engages in transformative projects such as the redevelopment of the 800 block of Harlem and Edmondson in Baltimore, Maryland, and the restoration of Baltimore Penn Station. Reed currently serves as president of the Baltimore Architecture Foundation.
Ilana Berry (Law ’03)
Ilana Berry’s (Law ’03) debut novel, The Peacock and the Sparrow (Simon & Schuster), was named a best book of the year by The New Yorker, NPR, and Diplomatic Courier. The book is about an aging spy caught in the crosswinds of the Arab Spring on the Persian Gulf island of Bahrain. Berry was a spy for the CIA for six years, including one year in wartime Baghdad. She publishes under the pen name I.S. Berry.
William Ellis (Col ’72 CM)
Bill Ellis (Col ’72 CM) has received The American Folklore Society’s Lifetime Scholarly Achievement Award for 2023. The Society’s highest accolade, this award is bestowed annually to a living senior scholar in recognition of outstanding research accomplishments over the course of a career. In presenting the award, the AFS noted Dr. Ellis’s important contributions to the understanding of contemporary (or urban) legends, of rumor-panics, and of conspiracy theories, as well as his application of traditional folklore concepts to Internet-based discourse. In addition to his four books, the society recognized his very wide range of publications on topics including American folk and popular song, Appalachian folktales, UFO lore, foodways, Internet games, and Japanese anime. Ellis also edited or co-edited six volumes of the standard edition of the works of Nathaniel Hawthorne, dealing with the author’s letters and private notebooks.
Heather Holleman (Col ’97 CM)
Heather Brown Holleman (Col ’97 CM) has won Christianity Today’s 2024 Book of the Year Award for her young adult novel, This Seat’s Saved.
https://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2023/december-web-only/christianity-today-2024-book-awards.html
Roger Millar (Engr ’82 CM)
Roger Millar (Engr ’82 CM) recently completed his service as president of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, advocating for a resilient national transportation system that is safe, smart, and sound.
Eve Lindemuth Bodeux (Grad ’89)
Eve Lindemuth Bodeux (Grad ’89) was elected as secretary for the American Translators Association at the organization’s annual conference, held in Miami in October 2023. She will serve a two-year term from 2023 to 2025 as an officer and member of the Executive Committee.
The ATA is the largest professional association for translators and interpreters in the world, with over 8,000 members in more than 100 countries. Bodeux is a Certified Translator and has been active in the translation industry for over 25 years.
Ashley-Ruth Bernier (Col ’04, Educ ’04)
Ashley-Ruth M. Bernier (Col ’04, Educ ’04) wrote a short story, “Ripen,” that was included in The Best American Mystery and Suspense 2023, edited by Lisa Unger and Steph Cha.
Bernier has been writing short fiction set in her home island of St. Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands, since she was an undergraduate student at UVA. Bernier returned to the Virgin Islands after graduating from UVA, but currently lives in North Carolina with her husband and children.
Rayotis Perkins (Col ’88)
Rayotis Perkins (Col ’88 CM) received a ‘Hoos Making a Difference’ honor by the Virginia Football Alumni Club. Dr. Perkins was nominated for his positive contributions as a leader and dedication to community service.
Dr. Perkins played football as a defensive tackle during the 1980’s for the late coach George Welsh. After his collegiate career, he continued his passion for football as a free agent with the National Football League to include brief stints with the Dallas Cowboys and Arizona Cardinals.
Dr. Perkins is currently an assistant principal and athletic director with Tolleson Union High School in Phoenix.
Steven Nesbit (Engr ’80 CM)
Steve Nesbit (Engr ’80, ’82 CM) was one of six American Nuclear Society members elevated to the rank of Fellow in September 2023. The ANS past president (2021–2022) and founder of LMNT Consulting LLC was recognized for being a prominent and effective leader and spokesperson for the beneficial use of nuclear technology. The society highlighted Nesbit’s work to dispose of surplus weapons plutonium by converting it to mixed oxide fuel and using it in commercial nuclear reactors.
Elizabeth Meyer (Arch ’78 CM)
Beth Meyer (Arch ’78, ’82 CM), the Merrill D. Peterson Professor of Landscape Architecture in the UVA School of Architecture, was appointed the inaugural faculty director of the UVA Morven Sustainability Lab in November 2022. She received the Thomas Jefferson Award, the University’s highest faculty scholar honor in June 2023.
Porter Echols (Col ’85)
P. Burks Echols III (Col ’85 CM) and Ann Carter “Boo” Refo Echols (Col ’86 CM) celebrated the graduation of their daughter M. Carter Echols (Com ’22 CM) from the McIntire School of Commerce in May 2022 and look forward to celebrating the graduation of their daughter Sarah B. Echols (Col ’24) from the College of Arts and Sciences in May 2024. The family – including June W. Echols (Educ ’73 CM) and Porter “Pete” B. Echols, Jr. (Col ’55, Med ‘58 CM) – gathered for a photo with their collection of UVA diplomas in July of 2022. Sarah held the Medical School diploma that was earned by her great grandfather, Porter B. Echols, Sr (Med 1925) as a marker until she earns her diploma in May 2024.
Anne Marie Seibel (Col ’94)
Anne Marie Seibel (Col ’94 CM) is serving as chair of the American Bar Association’s Litigation Section for the 2023-24 bar year. She and her husband, Steven Rowe (Col ’94 CM), chief scientific officer of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, live in Birmingham, Alabama.
Nayna Agrawal (Col ’98)
Nayna Agrawal (Col ’98) has had plays staged this year at the Signature Theatre in Washington, D.C., the Great Plains Theater Conference in Omaha, Nebraska and the Studio Tenn Theatre Company in Nashville, Tennessee . She also received Kuma Kahua Theatre’s annual playwright award. The Theatre is based in Hawaii and, in addition to a monetary award, offers the winning playwright the opportunity to have their work staged.
Patricia Sasser (Col ’99 CM)
Patricia (Anyaso) Sasser (Col ’99 CM) was selected to be a Fulbright Specialist for a tenure of three years (2023-2026) by the U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs and World Learning. During her tenure, she is eligible to be matched with approved two-to six-week projects designed by host institutions in over 150 countries globally promoting international exchange and understanding.
Andrew Lee (Med ’89 CM)
Dr. Andrew G. Lee (Col ’85, Med ’89 CM) was recently awarded the 2023 Secretariat Award from the American Academy of Ophthalmology. The annual award from the AAO recognizes special contributions to the Academy and to the field of Ophthalmology as determined by the AAO Senior secretaries. Dr. Lee has previously received the honor award, the senior honor award, and the life achievement award from the AAO.
Morgan Flowers (Col ’19)
Morgan Flowers (Col ’19 CM) has been recognized with a 2023 CoVaBIZ Next Gen Award. The awards recognize successful young professionals making a difference in their industries in Coastal Virginia.
Flowers is development associate for The Lawson Companies, a vertically-integrated real estate firm based in Norfolk, Virginia specializing in the development, construction, and management of multifamily housing communities in Virginia.
Flowers is primarily accountable for third-party due diligence, architectural and civil design management, green building program implementation, permitting, and owner’s representative during construction.
William Sexauer (Com ’19)
Will Sexauer (Com ’19 CM) has been recognized with a 2023 CoVaBIZ Next Gen Award. The awards recognize successful young professionals making a difference in their industries in Coastal Virginia.
Sexauer is acquisitions manager for The Lawson Companies, a vertically-integrated real estate firm based in Norfolk, Virginia specializing in the development, construction, and management of multifamily housing communities in Virginia.
He is accountable for sourcing Lawson’s new development projects, evaluating financial feasibility, conceptual project design, the entitlement process, broker and seller relationships, and contract management.
James Guy (Col ’87)
James Patrick Guy II (Col ’87, Law ’90 CM) has been chosen president-elect of the southern chapter of the Energy Bar Association for the 2023-24 bar year and will serve as its president in 2024-25. He previously served as southern chapter president in 2010-11 and was the 128th president of the Virginia Bar Association in 2016.
Guy is general counsel to Mecklenburg Electric Cooperative and its affiliates, EMPOWER Broadband Inc. and EMPOWER Telecom Inc. He also was appointed to the Virginia State Air Pollution Control Board by Gov. Glenn Youngkin in 2022 and serves as Board Chairman.
The Energy Bar Association (EBA) is an international, non-profit association of attorneys, energy professionals, and students active in all areas of energy law. EBA has seven regional chapters across the U.S. and one in Canada. The Southern Chapter comprises the states of Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia.
Paulette Morant (Col ’74 CM)
Paulette Jones Morant (Col ’74 CM) was featured as artist of the month in July 2023 at The Nelson Gallery in Lexington Virginia. Her exhibit From Where I Stand, a compilation of seascapes, public structures, florals and collections, was Paulette’s first solo photography exhibition. The opening reception was highlighted by the attendance of family, friends and a number of UVA alumni of various decades.
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