“Job” Class Notes

Cameron Sims (Col ’18) was recently promoted from business development analyst to development analyst at Lloyd Jones, a multifamily and senior housing real estate investment, development and management firm. 

Erika Werner (Col ’98, Engr ’99, Res ’08 CM) will become the chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts Medical School and Tufts Medical Center in September 2021. She is currently the director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Division and an associate professor at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital in Rhode Island. Werner lives in Barrington, Rhode Island, with her husband, W. Frazier Bell Jr. (Educ ’98), and their two daughters.  

Jared Deane (Engr ’94 CM) was named dean of nursing and health sciences at the College of DuPage. He also completed the Civic Leadership Academy at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy.

Elisabeth Kearney (Engr ’10) wrote an update about her path to graduation and what she’s doing now: “I was originally scheduled to graduate in 2005, but at the end of my 2nd year, my father, Michael Kearney (Engr ’72), died, and I had a hard time being in school for a few years following that. After living in Los Angeles for a couple of years, I moved back to Charlottesville and re-enrolled at UVA and graduated in 2010. After attending naturopathic medical school in Tempe, Arizona, and opening my first practice in Carlsbad, New Mexico, I moved back to Charlottesville last fall to open my practice here and settle down closer to family.”

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 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) 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) recently celebrated his 35th year of continuous full-time employment.

Elizabeth Snyder (Grad ’14) has joined the cybersecurity and privacy practice in the New York office of Maynard Cooper & Gayle. 

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) 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) has been named vice president of legal and risk at the global headquarters of California Pizza Kitchen Inc., based in Costa Mesa, California. 

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) 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.