“Job” Class Notes
Gunes Hopson (Col ’97, Law ’01 CM)
Gunes Ozcan Hopson (Col ’97, Law ’01 CM) has joined Geronemus Law as of counsel. Geronemus Law is a law firm that provides concierge in-house attorney services. The firm provides dedicated legal services without the cost or commitment of a full-time general counsel, working with companies of all sizes and industries. Hopson also continues to enjoy providing concierge-level travel planning services through My Path Unwinding Travel, specializing in luxury and family travel.
Kemi Tignor (Com ’98)
Kemi Ogidan Tignor (Com ’98) founded Little Likes Kids in 2018. The company designs, creates and produces toys for kids ages 0-6 that are inspired by—and reflective of—the lives of today’s kids. She writes, “No gifting moment should come and go without an opportunity to share items with your child that reflects who they are. So we create toys and playful images that reflect kids like my son and his wonderfully diverse gaggle of friends.”
Chantale Fiebig (Col ’02)
Chantale Fiebig (Col ’02) has joined the Washington, D.C., office of international law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges as a partner in the complex commercial litigation practice. Fiebig joins Weil from Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher. Her practice focuses on complex litigation in federal court relating to business disputes in the finance, media and technology sectors.
Thomas Gorman (Col ’82 CM)
Thomas Gorman (Col ’82 CM) recently celebrated his 35th year of continuous full-time employment.
Sam Bellas (Col ’01 CM)
Sam Bellas (Col ’01 CM) will be promoted in July to partner in EY’s strategy and transactions practice, where he helped launch and scale a corporate real estate offering for organizations navigating mergers, divestitures and restructurings. Prior to joining EY, Bellas helped develop similar internal start-ups for the EYP mission critical facilities group for data centers, the Clark Construction Group for infrastructure finance and development, and Deloitte Consulting for federal capital and real estate transformation. This year, he celebrates (virtually) both his 20-year UVA reunion and his 10-year reunion with MBA classmates from Oxford. He lives in Alexandria, Virginia, with his wife and two young children, whom he is excited to introduce to sailing this summer in Annapolis.
Elizabeth Snyder (Grad ’14)
Elizabeth Snyder (Grad ’14) has joined the cybersecurity and privacy practice in the New York office of Maynard Cooper & Gayle.
Paul Van Patten (Col ’92 CM)
Greg Van Patten (Col ’92 CM) will serve as the interim dean of the College of Basic and Applied Sciences at Middle Tennessee State University starting July 1, 2021. The college is MTSU’s largest college and is home to more than 5,500 students and 210 faculty. Van Patten is a professor in the Department of Chemistry and has served as the chair of that department since 2012.
Kim Nelson (Col ’78)
Kim Nelson (Col ’78) began serving as pastor of North Scituate Baptist Church in August 2020. He previously served for 10 years as associate pastor of Barrington Baptist Church. Nelson and his wife, Nancy, live in Rumford, Rhode Island. They have two grown children and four young grandchildren.
Kendall Jones (Col ’89 CM)
Kendall Jones (Col ’89) has been named vice president of legal and risk at the global headquarters of California Pizza Kitchen Inc., based in Costa Mesa, California.
Paul Habenicht (Darden ’09)
Paul Habenicht (Darden ’09) is co-founder of VetEvolve, a veterinary platform that has grown to 16 practices. VetEvolve creates opportunities for new and experienced veterinarians for work-life balance through hospital partnerships, short-term staffing solutions and mentorship opportunities. According to Habenicht, “VetEvolve grew from experiences in the Marine Corps—and is an organization with core values, a mission focus and a team-based culture.”
Kathryn Kieffer (Col ’01)
Kathryn Kieffer (Col ’01) has joined the interior design and architecture firm Pillar & Peacock. She serves as the operations manager and oversees multiple studios while workingfrom the Richmond, Virginia, location. Kieffer has more than 19 years of quality management and operations enhancement experience. She was previously the business development manager at Skyline Tent Company, where she led teams for large scale social and institutional temporary structure construction.
Linda Bryant (Col ’88 CM)
Linda L. Fox Bryant (Col ’88, Darden ’21 CM) was elected to a six-year term as a judge for the general district court in Chesapeake, Virginia. She received her law degree from the College of William Mary Marshall Wythe School of Law in 1992, after which she served in the U.S. Army as a JAGC. Since leaving active duty in the mid-1990s, she has served Virginia in many different legal roles. She will receive her MBA from the Darden School of Business in May 2021. Her husband Scott, served in the U.S. Navy, and her daughter is Alexandra Connell (Col ’19, Batten ’20).
Aysha Schomburg (Col ’95)
Aysha Schomburg (Col ’95) was appointed as an associate commissioner in the Biden administration. In this role, she will oversee the roughly $10 billion U.S. Children’s Bureau, which regulates federal funding for the nation’s vast network of state- and county-run agencies responsible for foster care, child maltreatment investigations, and prevention services. Prior to her appointment, Aysha worked for New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services, one of the largest local foster care and prevention agencies in the country, where she helped expand protections for parents at risk of child abuse and neglect investigations. She’s also worked on legislation expanding support in schools for LGBTQ students, among other local laws focused on children. During an earlier stint at ACS, she helped establish savings accounts for foster youth and a hotline for recruiting foster parents.
Chris Frey (Engr ’85 CM)
Chris Frey (Engr ’85 CM), the Glenn E. Futrell Distinguished University Professor of Environmental Engineering at N.C. State University, has taken a leave of absence to serve as an appointee of the Biden-Harris Administration. He is serving as the deputy assistant administrator for science policy of the Office of Research and Development at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Together with the 1500 ORD career scientists and staff at 12 U.S. locations, Dr. Frey is focused on the development of science that meets the needs of partners in regulatory offices, regional offices, states, tribes, and communities, that addresses urgent priorities of climate change and environmental justice, and that anticipates the Agency’s needs in the coming years.
Drew Svor (Col ’03)
Drew Svor (Col ’03) was made partner at the law firm Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton. He is a member of the firm’s corporate practice group and the communications team and is based in the Washington, D.C., office. Svor’s practice is focused on technology, media and telecommunications, with an emphasis on satellite, wireless and new technologies.
Alfred Carry (Col ’05)
Alfred Carry (Col ’05) was promoted to of counsel within the firm of McGlinchey Stafford.
Maureen Ohlhausen (Col ’84 CM)
Maureen Kraemer Ohlhausen (Col ’84 CM) is chair of the global antitrust and competition law practice at Baker Botts. She joined the firm after serving as the acting chairman of the Federal Trade Commission from 2017 to 2018 and as an FTC Commissioner from 2012 to 2018.
Catherine Thompson (Law ’18)
Catherine A. Thompson (Law ’18) joined Ain & Bank, a family practice law firm, as an associate. Previously, Thompson worked at an international law firm in Washington D.C. She focuses her practice on a range of complex and multi-jurisdictional family law matters including divorce, child custody and support, relocation and wealth management.
Mark Brugger (Col ’85 CM)
Mark Brugger (Col ’85 CM) was appointed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy through the State Board of Education to serve for two years on the New Jersey State Special Education Advisory Council. The council advises on unmet educational needs of students with disabilities and comments on state program plans, proposed rules and regulations, and distribution of funds. We assist with developing reports and policies as well as advising on corrective action and implementation plans. I look forward to working with the Board of Education and my esteemed colleagues on the Council to improve special education in New Jersey and to provide educational opportunity and equality for children with special needs. Along with this volunteering, I also serve on two boards to advocate for people with disabilities: Learning Disabilities Association of NJ and National Special Education Advocacy Institute.
Catherine Thompson (Law ’18)
Natalia C. Wilson (Col ’02) was named equity partner of family law firm Ain & Bank, where she serves as managing partner. Wilson has been a part of the firm for more than 10 years. She received her law degree from American University, Washington College of Law in 2005.
Top