“Job” Class Notes

Jessica Bantom (Col ’98 CM) recently joined integrated design firm DLR Group as their global leader for equity, diversity and belonging. This role is the culmination of her career spanning management consulting, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging, and interior design consulting. She released her first book, Design for Identity: How to Design Authentically for a Diverse World, in April 2023, and is currently teaching a course based on her book at Marymount University.

Joe Averbach (Col ’09) has been promoted to partner at Potomac Point Group, a boutique consulting firm specializing in transformative initiatives across the housing finance industry. This election underscores his substantial contributions to the firm and the immense value he has brought to its clients in the financial services industry since joining the team in 2013.

In his ten years with PPG, Joe has steered initiatives with precision and a deep understanding of his clients’ specific challenges. He has led teams through major organizational, process, and technology efforts across both the single and multifamily housing markets. Joe’s experience encompasses a wide range of functions, including originations, servicing, asset management, and securitization.

Before joining PPG, Joe worked as a strategy consultant for Booz Allen Hamilton, where he spearheaded business process improvement efforts for Department of Defense clients. Before that, he was an in-house operations consultant at Freddie Mac.

 McCauley Williams (Col ’11) has launched Alma Del Jaguar Tequila, a company committed to wild jaguar preservation in northern Mexico. Williams was inspired by his uncle Rick, a wildlife photographer who moved to Mexico in the 1990s to study wild jaguars and co-founded the Northern Jaguar Project, a bi-national effort between conservationists from the U.S. and Mexico to preserve and recover the world’s northernmost population of endangered wild jaguars and their unique habitats.  

Alma De Jaguar’s second release is a handcrafted 100% Blue Weber Agave Tequila Reposado that is sustainably produced and additive-free.

Alma del Jaguar’s Reposado and its first release, Alma del Jaguar Blanco, are available online nationwide.

Learn more at www.almadeljaguar.com.

Heather Wishart-Smith (Engr ’96, ’98) was elected to the board of directors of Orion Energy Systems, which provides energy efficiency and clean tech solutions, including LED lighting and electric vehicle charging. Wishart-Smith is also on the board of Group PMX, a private program and construction management company, and facilitates partnering sessions for large construction projects with GCC, LLC. Wishart-Smith was elected to the National Academy of Construction in 2022, and earned her National Academy of Corporate Directors Directorship Certification this year. She is a Fellow of the Society of American Military Engineers, for which she served as national President in 2020, and a Fellow of the American Society of Civil Engineers. She lives in Arlington, Virginia with her husband Keller Smith and children Glory, Nick, and Alexandra.

Anne E. McCall (Col ’81 CM) was named president of The College of Wooster, effective July 1, 2023. Her inauguration is scheduled for October 28, 2023.

An inspirational and values-driven administrator with a track record for building innovation through inclusive excellence, a dedicated teacher and mentor, and internationally recognized scholar of nineteenth-century French fiction and life writing, President McCall is the second woman to lead Wooster since its founding in 1866. She also is a tenured professor in the Department of French and Francophone Studies.

McCall previously was provost and senior vice president of academic affairs at Xavier University of Louisiana—ranked fifth among Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) in the U.S. according to U.S. News & World Report and first among all institutions for the number of African American graduates completing medical school and multiple Ph.D. programs. 

Charles Siu (Com ’92, ’95 CM) is director of tax and accounting at Dynamic Facility Designs, LLC in Alexandria, Virginia.

Tara Wheeler Prather (COM ’90 CM) has started a new position as the alumnae engagement manager for Alpha Gamma Delta Fraternity, Inc. Based in Indianapolis, Alpha Gamma Delta is an international women’s fraternity and is part of the National Panhellenic Conference.  Prather works from her home in Valrico, Florida where she lives with her husband and son.

Gunes Hopson (Col ’97, Law ’01 CM) has started her own travel business, Luxe Travel by Gunes. She provides curated luxury travel planning services to her clients, taking care of all the details so that they can relax.

Daisy Stevens Rojas (Col ’09, Educ ’15) recently accepted a role at Charlottesville-based, Platt Financial, as a financial services professional. She works collaboratively with individual and corporate clients to create financial strategies bridging generational, cultural and professional challenges. Rojas also develops the branding and marketing strategies of the firm’s related content, research and initiatives. Before moving into this role, Rojas was vice president at a multi-state contracting firm managing contracts in locations such as the Homestead and Greenbrier resorts and other private communities in Central Virginia, West Virginia and the Washington, D.C. and Maryland areas. Before that, Rojas worked in philanthropic pursuits garnering more than $20 million in support for the University of Virginia, education initiatives and various community service organizations. She also served as president of the Albemarle County Rotary Club during the 2022-2023 fiscal year and has over 20 years of financial services experience. She holds a Certified Fund Raising Executive designation and has acquired industry registrations with Financial Industry Regulatory Authority and the State of Virginia with Annuity, Life & Health Insurance, SIE, Series 6, 63 and 65 exams. https://www.plattfinancial.com/

Devon Knudsen (Col ’05) is concluding a two-year secretariat position coordinating the U.S. government’s atrocity prevention efforts. She also led the multilateral atrocity prevention efforts of a group started by Samantha Power, who she first heard speak at UVA. Knudsen is grateful to have been entrusted with this responsibility and for the widespread support she received in this role.