“Job” Class Notes

Olyvia R. Christley (Col ’11, Grad ’17, ’22 CM) joined the faculty of Washington State University’s School of Politics, Philosophy, and Public Affairs as an assistant professor. She previously held a tenure-track line at Florida Atlantic University. Her research focuses on the intersection of nationalism, xenophobia and gendered attitudes and their influence on public opinion and political behavior across Europe and the United States.

Maxwell Greer (Darden ’21) joined the Institute for Defense Analysis (IDA) as a research staff member in the Science, Systems and Sustainment Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center in Alexandria, Virginia. IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers in the public interest to answer challenging U.S. security and science policy questions. Greer, before studying at UVA, earned his bachelor’s in computer science from James Madison University in 2011.

Daniel Barnes (Col ’92 CM) was nominated by New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy to serve as a judge of the New Jersey Superior Court. The New Jersey Senate confirmed the nomination on June 30, 2025. Barnes began judicial service on July 21, 2025. He is assigned to the Law Division, civil part, where he will hear primarily civil litigation matters.

David Scott Thompson (Com ’01 CM) has joined the Atlanta office of Quintairos, Prieto, Wood & Boyer, P.A. as a partner in its litigation section. He will continue to represent corporate clients in all aspects of complex litigation, including trucking, premises liability and automobile accidents.

Richard Chalkey (Darden ’24 CM) now serves as special assistant to the president for legislative affairs at the White House. He most recently worked on the passage of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Chalkey had previously worked at the White House during President Donald Trump’s first term, first as the associate director of the National Economic Council, and later as the associate director of the Office of Legislative Affairs. Prior to his current role, he worked as the director of coalitions and policy for the Premium Cigar Association.

Rachel Boate (Col ’09 CM) was hired as an assistant professor of art history in the department of art at Colgate University. She researches and offers courses on transatlantic modernisms.

Ian Marcus Amelkin (Col ’04) is joining the faculty of the Maurice A. Deane School of Law at Hofstra University as a tenure track associate professor teaching first year criminal law, criminal procedure and other criminal justice related seminars. Amelkin joins the faculty after more than a decade as a public defender at the Federal Defenders of New York, Inc.

Joelle Jefcoat (Arch ’01) has been named chief legal officer of Perkins&Will, a global architecture and design firm. Jefcoat has spent over two decades with the company, first as an architect and then as a member of the legal team. Perkins&Will is recognized for its innovative and sustainable architecture practices.

Joel G. Weinberg (Col ’01) is pleased to announce the opening of Precision Counsel, APC, which focuses on real estate litigation and business litigation. With over 15 years of hands-on litigation experience, he has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in both jury and bench trials and has litigated a variety of claims including related to real property, business disputes, personal injury, and consumer law. Weinberg is admitted to practice law in the California state courts as well as the U.S. District Court, Central District of California.

Ashley Cinalli-Mathews (Col ’05) and Erin Campbell (Col ’05) are co-directors of Central Virginia Community Justice (CVCJ), a nonprofit in Charlottesville that offers restorative services to the community. The program started in 2022 as a pilot program, initiated by Shannon Pollock (Law ’14), in partnership with the County of Albemarle and City of Charlottesville. CVCJ is now a freestanding organization with a demonstrated history of success in promoting justice, healing, and safety. CVCJ diverts criminal cases in which the harmed person (victim) and responsible person (defendant) voluntarily choose restorative justice (RJ) over typical prosecution. CVCJ additionally provides restorative justice facilitation for non-criminal harms or harms that those involved prefer not to report to the police. CVCJ has recently expanded to offer restorative services in Charlottesville City Schools, which has been a fruitful and fulfilling partnership. Cinalli-Mathews, Campbell and their staff provide presentations and trainings about restorative practices to organizations.

Scott Gleason (Col ’72 CM) was recently named to the Board of Directors of the Free Yezidi Foundation USA, a D.C.-based NGO promoting the human rights and well-being of Yezidis in Iraq and their diaspora in the aftermath of the 2014 genocide perpetuated by ISIS. Gleason recently retired after 27 years with Goldman Sachs & Co.

Tyler B. Tassone (Engr ’10 CM) has been named a director at Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox, a prominent intellectual property law firm in Washington, D.C. As one of five new directors, his company commends him for his skill and excellence in strategic counseling, portfolio management and prosecution of patent applications. Though he primarily handles medical device patents, he also has experience with clean and renewable technologies, as well as consumer projects. He studied chemical engineering at UVA, during which time he worked in a graduate research lab, before receiving his law degree from Villanova University.

Julie Kleckley Hummer (Col ’90 CM) was elected chairman of the Anne Arundel County Council in Maryland in December 2024. She represents 85,000 residents of District 4.

Kim Tuten Gallagher (Col ’84 CM) celebrates eight years of her Blue Book Essays national college coaching company. Her squad of five coaches includes two UVA grads, Kara Davis Cosby (Comm ’93 CM) and Nicole Borghard (Col ’11, Educ ’11). Blue Book Essays serves high school seniors at public and private schools nationwide, as well as applicants to law, medical, and business schools. A Blue Book student essay was featured on the Kelly Corrigan Wonders podcast. Kim also serves as a source for media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal.

Hayden Lee (Col ’04 CM) joined the Reston, Virginia, law firm of Hirsch & Ehlenberger as Of Counsel, where he will continue his Virginia and District of Columbia family law practice.

Chris Langhorne (Engr ’99, Darden ’05 CM) has recently taken on the role of chief strategy officer at Almarai, the Middle East’s largest food and beverage company. In this role, he is leading strategic initiatives across mergers and acquisitions, long-term planning, and expansion into new categories and markets. His work is focused on driving sustainable growth and positioning Almarai for continued success in the region.

While Chris is based full-time in Saudi Arabia, his wife, Brooke, and their three children remain in Houston. Brooke has been instrumental in ensuring a strong foundation for the family during this transition, creating the best environment for their kids while also exploring new passions, including floral design and travel. She enjoys visiting Chris in Saudi Arabia, and as a family, they love traveling together—most recently spending Christmas in Dubai and ringing in the New Year in Saudi Arabia.

Their eldest son, CJ (15), is a ninth grader who has a deep passion for baseball and photography. Cameron (13), in seventh grade, is an avid basketball, football and baseball player and enjoys creating home movies. Morgan (11) is a dedicated gymnast, spending much of her time training and perfecting her routines.

Chris and his family continue to embrace this exciting chapter, balancing life between Houston and Riyadh while making time for shared adventures along the way.

Zachary Brown (Col ’22) has launched a production company, ZHB Productions, and is in the process of shooting “Up the Waterspout,” an animated short to be released in 2025. Brown performed in “When the Rain Stops Falling” as a fourth-year student at UVA, and the experience inspired him to pursue theater and acting as well as create movies and art. He is happy to have learned from such people as Cortney Lowinski (Grad ’23), Brian Willis (Grad ’23) and Mark Edmundson.

John E. Ludlum (Law ’98) has joined the law firm Cozen O’Connor in the labor and employment department. Ludlum brings nearly three decades of experience advising and representing national and Utah business clients in compensation and tax matters ranging from executive compensation to mergers and acquisitions-related tax issues. He will work in the firm’s Salt Lake City office.

Ludlum comes to the firm from Holland & Hart, where he was a partner in the tax and benefits group. Before joining the legal profession, Ludlum was an officer/aircraft commander in the U.S. Coast Guard, where he executed search and rescue, law enforcement, pollution response, ice patrol, and medical evacuation missions domestically and internationally, including service in Operation Desert Storm.

Jason Cottrell (Educ ’16 CM) was recently appointed the data coordinator for postsecondary education at the U.S. Department of Education. In this role, Cottrell will work to improve data quality and maturity by working with data stewards, assessing the needs for data literacy training, and managing data practices for the Office of Postsecondary Education (OPE) while developing a governance model for data collections and analyses within OPE. He previously served as lead research analyst in the Office of Postsecondary Education.

Cottrell was also elected to a 3-year term as the vice president for membership for the American College Personnel Association—College Student Educators International.

He received all of this news as he returned home from a 2-week trip to London and Paris where he and his husband celebrated their 10th wedding anniversary and their 25th anniversary. 

Scott Weinrich (Engr ’20) has joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a research staff member in the strategy, forces and resources division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center. IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical and analytic expertise.

Megan Haase (Engr ’24) has joined the Institute for Defense Analyses as a research staff member in the strategy, forces and resources division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center. IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical and analytic expertise. Haase is a member of the Society of Women Engineers and the American Society of Biomechanics. She earned her bachelor’s degree in biomedical and health science engineering from North Carolina State University in 2020 and holds a doctorate from UVA in biomedical engineering.

Mike Kerrigan (Col ’93, Law ’96 CM) has been named managing partner of the Charlotte, North Carolina office of Hunter Andrews Kurth. Kerrigan leads the firm’s capital finance and real estate team, focusing on the purchase, sale and trading of loans, securities, claims, derivatives and other interests in domestic and international companies in, near, or emerging from financial distress. He joined Hunton Andrews Kurth in 1996 and has spent his entire legal career with the firm.

Alison Flood (Com ’06 CM) has been promoted to partner at Goldman Sachs, one of 95 in the 2024 class. Partners are selected based on their commercial effectiveness, leadership and impact on firm culture. Flood works in the firm’s global banking and markets business in New York.

Joanne “Joleen” Searles (Col ’99 CM) has joined the Sarasota, Florida office of the law firm Shutts & Bowen as partner in the private client services practice group. Searles focuses her practice on complex estate planning, trust and estate administration, settlement and probate, high net worth planning, as well as federal estate, gift and generation-skipping transfer tax planning.

Ellen Finkelstein (Col ’88 CM) has been named CEO of Hadassah, The Women’s Zionist Organization of America. With more than 300,000 members worldwide, Hadassah works to advance women’s health, supports a strong Israel and instills Jewish values in future generations.  Hadassah is helping women find their voices to advance health equity, fight hate and antisemitism in the U.S. and model shared society in Israel.  Thanks to the medical system in Israel that Hadassah helped create, new treatments and scientific breakthroughs are saving lives around the world.

Emily Waterfield (Col ’05 CM) has been appointed head of school at The Common School in Amherst, Massachusetts. A progressive, independent elementary school entering its 60th year, The Common School seeks to advance equity and environmental justice through joyful learning, community, and emergent curriculum. Waterfield holds a master’s degree from Columbia University, is a graduate of the Inclusive School Leader Fellowship, serves as adjunct faculty at Tulane University and has two decades of experience as an educator and school system leader. She moved to Amherst from New Orleans, Louisiana along with her husband Chris and their three children.

Sherrie Sandy Westin (Col ’80 CM) was named president and chief executive officer of Sesame Workshop, the global nonprofit behind “Sesame Street.” Westin is the first woman to lead Sesame Workshop since its co-founder, Joan Ganz Cooney. Westin had served as president of the organization since 2021 before being named interim CEO in February.

Rear Adm. Cathal O’Connor (Col ’88 CM) joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as an adjunct research staff member in the Strategy, Forces, and Resources Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center.

IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers in the public interest. IDA answers the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions with objective analysis leveraging extraordinary scientific, technical and analytic expertise.

Now retired, O’Connor commanded a warship in San Diego, California, a squadron of warships in Japan, and a strike group of warships, landing craft, helicopters, and jet aircraft, again in San Diego.

O’Connor was commissioned an ensign from the UVA Naval ROTC unit after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in English. He rowed lightweight crew and was a member of Chi Psi fraternity.

David Cadaret (Col ’93, Educ ’04 CM) recently joined the faculty of the University of Washington School of Law as an associate teaching professor. Before accepting the appointment, Cadaret taught at the University of Oregon School of Law for 11 years.

Kate Granruth (Col ’21, Law ’24) has joined the law firm of Hollingsworth LLP as a first-year associate. During law school at UVA, Granruth was managing editor of the Virginia Journal of Social Policy and the Law, a student participant in the Innocence Project Clinic, and won the First Year Legal Research & Writing Best Brief Award.

She was also a participant in the Environmental Law & Community Engagement Clinic, a law clerk at Equal Rights Advocates, a legal research assistant at Southern Environmental Law Center, and an intern at the Maxine Platzer Lynn Women’s Center.

Based in Washington, D.C., Hollingsworth LLP is known for work that focuses the courts on sound science, particularly the lack of scientifically reliable causation evidence.

Howard M. Turner Jr. (Engr ’97) was hired as senior director of preconstruction and risk management for energy and technical Services at McKinstry, a national construction and energy services company dedicated to innovating waste and climate harm out of the built environment. Turner will lead preconstruction and risk management efforts for energy, sustainability, and decarbonization projects across the U.S., with a focus on existing facilities.

Edward Castillo (Col ’18 CM) has joined the Raleigh, North Carolina office of law firm Ogletree Deakins as an associate.

Chris Frey (Engr ’85) completed service as assistant administrator for the Office of Research and Development (ORD) at the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Sept. 30. In this presidentially nominated and U.S. Senate confirmed role, he also served as the agency’s science advisor and as co-chair of the National Science and Technology Council’s Committee on Environment. He previously served ORD as deputy assistant administrator for science policy. To advance the EPA’s mission to protect human health and the environment, Frey provided strategic direction for research and science translation that addressed priority needs of internal and external EPA partners on climate change, environmental justice and contaminants of immediate and emerging concern, among other areas.

Frey returned to North Carolina State University Oct. 1, where he joined the College of Engineering’s leadership team in a new role as associate dean for research and infrastructure. He is also continuing in his previous role as the Glenn E. and Phyllis J. Futrell distinguished university professor of environmental engineering in the Department of Civil, Construction, and Environmental Engineering. He returns after a leave between 2021 and 2024 for his service at the EPA.

Since joining N.C. State’s faculty in 1994, Frey has established a research portfolio focused on measurement and modeling of human exposure to air pollution and vehicle emissions, as well as applications of probabilistic and sensitivity analysis methods to emissions estimation, technology assessment, and risk assessment.

Fang Guo (Grad ’16, ’17) has been promoted to principal at Cornerstone Research, a leading provider of economic and financial consulting and expert testimony. Guo consults on antitrust and competition, consumer fraud and product liability, intellectual property, and statistical sampling matters, primarily in the life sciences and health care industries. In these contexts, she has analyzed class certification, liability, market definition, market power, and damages, among other issues. She also assesses alleged anticompetitive delays of generic entry, estimates the competitive effects of vertical mergers, and evaluates alleged price fixing and pass-through along the supply chain.

David Tarleton (Col ’93) was hired as the chair of the Department of Film and Media Arts at Syracuse University. He also teaches film directing in its nationally ranked film program. Previously, he served as the director of graduate programs in film at Columbia College Chicago. He has thirty years experience in the film and television industries as a producer, director and editor. He produced and directed the feature film, Hunter, and produced and directed the television series, Dark Secrets. He was executive producer and director for the streaming series, Dorkumentary, and worked with The Muppets for Disney. He and his wife, Adria Dawn, received an Emmy nomination in 2023 for Identity, their film project about transgender youth. Recently, he has been making Kids Matter, a series of socially relevant films for kids. After graduating from UVA, he studied film at New York University and received his M.F.A from the University of Southern California.

Dr. Erika Werner (Col ’98, Engr ’99, Res ’08 CM) was appointed president of the faculty practice at Tufts Medicine and Tufts University School of Medicine, where she is also the chair of obstetrics and gynecology and Louis E. Phaneuf Teaching and Research Professor.

Dr. Werner lives in Barrington, Rhode Island with her husband W. Frazier Bell (Educ ’98) and their two daughters.

Jessica Somers (Com ’04) has joined Aledade, the nation’s largest network of independent primary care, as chief financial officer. Somers joins Aledade from Evolent, a publicly traded company that specializes in improving health outcomes. At Evolent, Somers led the development and execution of strategic growth investments, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other strategic partnerships.

Lauren Nguyen (Com ’15 CM) has been named controller and vice president of finance at the National Aquarium in Baltimore, Maryland. Nguyen oversees the organization’s finance and accounting functions, including accounts payable, grant reporting, audit and tax filings, and financial reporting, ensuring the Aquarium’s financial excellence and integrity. She also plays a crucial role in developing the aquarium’s economic strategy and sustainability planning.

Nguyen is a licensed Certified Public Accountant (CPA) with previous experience at EY (formerly Ernst & Young) and 50CAN, an education advocacy nonprofit.

Arun Rao (Col ’98 CM) has joined Mayer Brown as a partner in its exceptional Global Investigations & White Collar Defense practice, effective October 28. He looks forward to working with his new colleagues and guiding clients through the complexities of the global regulatory environment.