“Award/Recognition” Class Notes

Megan Sirna (Col ’99 CM) was recently named senior vice president of Human Resources for Georgia-Pacific. She focuses on advancing the company’s culture and helping supervisors empower employees to achieve their full potential. Sirna has devoted her professional career to advising businesses on leadership, talent and culture matters. 

Sirna joined Georgia-Pacific in 2006 as an attorney in the company’s law department and moved to Human Resources in 2014. She has held various leadership positions supporting HR across several departments, including manufacturing, sales, supply chain and finance. 

Born in Washington, D.C., she has a bachelor’s degree from the University of Virginia and a law degree from the University of Texas at Austin. 

Patrick O. Gottschalk (Law ’83 CM) was awarded a life membership in the Virginia Economic Developers Association at the December 2022 annual membership meeting. Gottschalk has served as pro bono legal counsel for the organization for over 20 years, and he has been a member of VEDA since 1989. Gottschalk is the seventh person to receive the award in the 40 year history of the Association.

Charley Johnson (Com ’69 CM), chief executive officer, OptiCat, LLC, received the Triangle Award from the Motor and Equipment Manufacturers Association.

The Triangle Award is given periodically to a person or organization to honor selfless contributions to the vehicle supplier industry. Johnson was presented the award in September at his office in Maryland.

“Charley’s decades of exceptional leadership and dedication to the supplier industry embody the spirit of the Triangle Award,” said Bill Long, president and CEO of MEMA.

From its inception, the Triangle Award was not intended as an annual award.  It is presented when truly deserving candidates are found — those who have worked tirelessly, behind the scenes, out of the spotlight and whose contributions have advanced the supplier industry. 

David Meredith (Com ’03) was named on Comparably’s Best CEO 2022 list in the largest company category for his work at Boomi. The annual ranking derives from 15 million anonymous ratings from employees across 70,000 companies. 

In 2022, Comparably also awarded Meredith Best CEO for Diversity, and recognized Boomi for Best Company Culture, Best Company Career Growth and Best Company Happiness. 

Meredith previously ranked in the Top 50 for Best CEO 2020 also in the largest company category during his tenure as a NASDAQ public company CEO in the Russell 1000 Index.   

Casey King (Engr ’89) recently concluded the 16th annual HGTC Addiction and Recovery lecture series at Horry-Georgetown Technical College in Conway, South Carolina. Casey created the series in 2008, two-and-a-half years into his own recovery from addiction, as a way to reduce the stigma associated with addiction and to show recovery in a positive light. This year’s keynote speaker was actor/producer Todd Bridges, who spoke about his own recovery. 

In 2019, Casey was awarded HGTC Professor of the Year and FAVOR Community Advocate of the year for his dedication and work with the series. 

Brian C. Drummond (Col ’80 CM) has been elected to the board of trustees of the George Mason University Foundation for a three year term. Brian is currently serving his second three year term on Virginia Bar Council. He continues to practice law in Northern Virginia, and he divides his time between his homes in West Falls Church and Cocoa, FL. 

Frank Sica (Arch ’78) was honored with two awards from the American Institute of Architects. Sica received AIA New York State’s prestigious Henry Hobson Richardson Award,  which recognizes AIA members practicing in the private sector who have made significant and transformative contributions to the quality of New York public architecture. He also received this year’s Robert and Louise Bethune award from the Buffalo/WNY AIA in recognition of a lifetime of notable contributions to the profession of architecture through practice, mentorship, and community leadership.

Ed Coleman (Col ’04) was selected to the 2023 “Legal Elite” list by Business North Carolina magazine for his litigation law practice. Inclusion is based entirely on peer review and fewer than 4 percent of the lawyers in North Carolina are recognized on this list. Coleman is a partner at Ragsdale Liggett PLLC in Raleigh, North Carolina and practices in civil litigation defense.

Alison Deich (Col ’10) has been named to Cohen Milstein Sellers & Toll PPLC’s partnership. Deich is a partner in the law firm’s antitrust practice, where she represents a wide range of plaintiffs in antitrust, civil rights and environmental litigation. She is currently working on a number of high profile antitrust cases such as Jien v. Perdue Farms, where the firm represents a proposed class of poultry plant workers. 

James Lewis (Col ’76 CM) has been elected to a two-year term as Chief Judge of the Virginia Beach Circuit Court.

Ed Ehler (Educ ’68) marked the 55th anniversary of the 1968 men’s gymnastics team, which defeated Virginia Tech at Tech. Ehler, a former captain of the West Virginia University team, coached the UVA squad at the invitation of faculty member Edward Ratliff “Butch” Slaughter, while pursuing his master’s degree in education.

W. Lee Jones (Arch ’82) has been awarded the AIA Charlotte Citizen Architect Award by the Charlotte American Institute of Architects. The award recognizes the work of architects who serve as elected or appointed officials, public administrators or institutional leaders and establish and contribute to the development of laws, regulations, policies, or initiatives that promote excellence in architecture. Jones serves as park and recreation director for Mecklenburg County, N.C.

In addition, the county’s Park and Recreation Department received the Great Public Space Award for Romare Bearden Park at the City of Charlotte’s Urban Design Awards. The goal of the local awards program is to recognize and celebrate quality urban design in Charlotte, while encouraging continued community discussion around what makes for unique and great places.  This is the second year in a row that the department has received an award from the organization. Last year, the department received the Merritt -New Construction Award for the Eastway Regional Recreation Center.

Steve Collins (Col ’83) has been named Journalist of the Year by the Maine Press Association. He is the state house reporter for the Sun Journal, in Lewiston, Maine, and a co-founder of Youth Journalism International, a Maine-based nonprofit that teaches and publishes students around the world.

Dr. Kern Jackson (Col ’87 CM) was delighted to return to UVA and be recognized by the Virginia Film Festival for the screening of Descendant on Nov 5. Descendant was awarded the Special Jury Award: Creative Vision in the U.S. Documentary Competition during the Sundance Film Festival. Netflix has acquired the documentary, co-presenting the film with former President and First Lady Michelle and Barack Obama’s media company Higher Ground. In addition, the vision, support and partnership of Participant Media continues to inspire the visibility of storytelling. Co-writing and serving as co-producer for this film elevates the visibility of a collection of Jackson’s archived oral histories and interviews with informants – an accomplishment and sacred honor. As a folklorist, Jackson’s preoccupation is with the nuances, the nooks and crannies of culture, as inspiration for honoring the ancestors and the people of Africatown, U.S.A., in Mobile, Alabama.

Paul W. Hobby (Col ’82 CM), founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital, has been inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. The foundation honors the accomplishments and contributions of outstanding business leaders by celebrating and telling their stories.