“Other” Class Notes

Michelle Perrin-Steinberg (Col ’01 CM) and her husband, Brian Marc Steinberg, welcomed their first child, a son, Brandon Perrin Steinberg, on Dec. 21, 2013. Brandon is the grandson of Michael T. Perrin (Com ’75 L/M). The family resides in San Antonio.

David Decosimo (Com ’01) published Ethics as a Work of Charity: Thomas Aquinas and Pagan Virtue, with Stanford University Press. The book offers an analysis of Thomas Aquinas’ views on pagan virtue and reinterprets Aquinas’ ethics while providing a model for current efforts to articulate a truthful hospitality and do ethics in a pluralist, globalized world. Mr. Decosimo is an assistant professor of theology at Loyola University of Maryland in Baltimore.

Lauren Brown (Col ’00) and Henric Persson (Com ’00 L/M) welcomed a daughter, Hannah Persson, on June 10, 2014. Hannah joins big sister Anabelle, 5; and big brother Cole, 3. The family resides in Old Greenwich, Conn.

Lisa Kelley (Nurs ’99 CM) and Joe Miller (Darden ’05) welcomed a son, John Richard “Jack” Miller, on May 5, 2014. Jack joins big sisters Anna Elizabeth, 4; and Alyssa Claire, 2. The family resides in Charlotte, N.C., where Ms. Kelley is an oncology nurse practitioner at Oncology Specialists of Charlotte and Mr. Miller is an investment banker with SunTrust.

Heather Freeland (Col ’92 CM) and her husband, David, welcomed their first child, a son, Benjamin Hopkins Freeland, in June 2014. The family lives in Palo Alto, Calif., where Ms. Freeland runs global marketing communications at Facebook in nearby Menlo Park.

Jennifer Conway (Col ’99, Educ ’02 CM) and her husband, Brendan, welcomed a daughter, Charlotte Anne, on April 3, 2014. Charlotte joins big sister Caroline, age 2. Charlotte is the granddaughter of Walter H. Schumacher (Col ’70) and the niece of David A. Schumacher (Col ’03 L/M). Ms. Conway currently serves as a chief of staff at the New York City Department of Education. The family resides in Hoboken, N.J.Jennifer A. Schumacher Conway

Theodore Stimson (Com ’98 CM) and Katherine M. Yontz were married on March 29, 2014. The couple resides in Columbus, Ohio, where Mr. Stimson works for a private equity firm investing in hotels.

Sarah Roth (Grad ’97, Grad ’02) published Gender and Race in Antebellum Popular Culture with Cambridge University Press. The book examines how white women played a critical role in shifting how African American men were perceived in the decades leading to the Civil War through their contributions to popular culture and literature. Ms. Roth is an associate professor of history at Widener University.

Sue Feuerstein (Educ ’97 CM) published Children’s Bodies in Schools: Corporeal Performances of Social Class, a book that explores how teachers read children’s body language for their social class implications and examines the possible consequences of those interpretations. Ms. Henry is an associate professor of education at Bucknell University, where she also serves as director of the school’s teaching and learning center.

Liliana Esposito (Col ’97) has been named chief communications officer for The Wendy’s Co., the world’s third-largest quick-service hamburger company. Previously, she was vice president of corporate communications and public affairs for Dean Foods, where she also served as president of the company’s philanthropic foundation and spearheaded communications on critical topics such as environmental sustainability, animal welfare and nutrition.

Shae Garwood (Com ’96) co-edited a book, Lessons for Social Change in the Global Economy: Voices from the Field, published by Lexington Books. Ms. Garwood is a researcher interested in civil society and transnational politics, gender, labor and social change. She resides in Perth, Australia.

L. Mason (Engr ’92, Engr ’94 CM) retired from the U.S. Office of the Director of National Intelligence as the first assistant director of national intelligence for systems and resource analyses. In that capacity, he served as the principal adviser to the director of national intelligence for all matters pertaining to intelligence requirements, operations research, cost analyses, resource decisions and program evaluation. He received the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal for his work. Mr. Mason is now senior vice president for national security and intelligence at Noblis.

Melanie Nix (Col ’91 CM) is a health advocate and speaker who addresses myriad groups and organizations about surviving triple negative breast cancer and overcoming obstacles. She is the co-founder of Breast Cancer Comfort Site, a robust resource of lessons and guidance for breast cancer patients and survivors, and was recently a featured cancer survivor in the American Association for Cancer Research campaign for National Cancer Research month. Ms. Nix is also a member of the advisory panel on patient engagement for the Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute.

Aline Kalbian (Grad ’90, Grad ’96) published Sex, Violence, and Justice: Contraception and the Catholic Church with Georgetown University Press. The book outlines the Roman Catholic Church’s position against artificial contraception as principally rooted in three biblical commandments and shows how discourses in sexuality, both in the church and in culture, are often tied to discourses of violence, harm and social injustice. Ms. Kalbian is a professor in the department of religion at Florida State University.

Christopher D. Kniesler (CLAS 1978) (L/M) was recently appointed as Communications Specialist for the New Jersey Health Care Facilities Financing Authority. The Authority issues tax-exempt and low-interest bonds for hospitals, nursing homes, assisted living facilities, visting nurse associations and blood banks. The bonds are issured for hospital acquisitions, building expansions and equipment purchases.

William Oetgen (Col ’05, Res ’15 CM) and William John Oetgen (Col ’05, Res ’15 L/M) welcomed their first child, a daughter, Eleanor McCabe, on April 26, 2014. The family resides in Charlottesville, where Dr. Oetgen is a resident physician at UVA Hospital and Ms. Oetgen is an elementary school teacher.

Steven Harvey (Grad ’89) will retire after 38 years of teaching English at Young Harris College in Young Harris, Ga. He is the author of three books of essays, including Bound for Shady Grove, and will continue to teach as a founding faculty member in the low-residency master of fine arts program in creative writing at Ashland University in Ohio. His essay “The Book of Knowledge” was selected by author Cheryl Strayed for inclusion in The Best American Essays 2013.

Rick Mercier (Col ’88) was recently named communications manager for the town of Garner, N.C. Previously, he served as the town’s first full-time public information officer. His work has won numerous statewide awards for print, electronic and video communications projects. Before joining the town staff, Mr. Mercier served as editor of the Clayton News-Star, was a stringer covering North Carolina for Agence France-Presse and was a news editor and columnist for the Free Lance-Star in Fredericksburg, Va., among other papers. His work has been distributed via the Associated Press, Knight-Ridder/Tribune and Pacific News Service.

Frank Williams (Com ’87 CM) was named to Greenville Business Magazine’s 2014 “Legal Elite” list in the areas of corporate law and mergers and acquisitions. An attorney with Smith Moore Leatherwood in Greenville, S.C., he was previously the practice area leader for the firm’s business practice group. Mr. Williams’ practice covers a range of commercial transactions, with a focus on mergers and acquisitions and lending.

Mark Rivers (Col ’86 CM) has been elected a new shareholder by Lowe Enterprises, a vertically integrated national real estate development, investment and management firm. Mr. Rivers is senior vice president and managing director of Lowe Real Estate Group’s Washington, D.C., metro operations.

Kevin Ohlson (Law ’85 CM) was nominated by President Obama, and recently confirmed by the U.S. Senate, to serve as a federal judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces. He previously served as chief of staff and counselor to the U.S. Attorney General. Judge Ohlson lives with his wife and two children in northern Virginia.

Gwendolyn Perkins (Col ’85 CM) was named a 2013-14 School Bell Award recipient by the Virginia Association of Elementary School Principals in recognition of her work in education. She is an assistant principal in Richmond, Va.

Robert Elliott (Med ’84, Res ’86 CM) was recently installed as president of the Virginia Academy of Family Physicians. Previously, he served as president-elect of the organization. During his year as president, Dr. Elliott will also serve on the academy’s executive committee. Dr. Elliott is a partner in the practice of Staunton River Family Physicians in Hurt, Va., serves as president of MD-Resource and is a clinical assistant professor of family medicine at the University of Virginia Health System. He resides on his family’s farm at Marysville, Va.

Ethan Allison (Col ’84 CM) is a pilot for Delta Airlines and recently transitioned to the Boeing 737, flying as a first officer domiciled in Atlanta. He resides in Summerville, S.C.

Jeff Oleynik (Law ’83 CM), a partner in the Greensboro, N.C., office of Brooks Pierce, serves as the current president of the Law Firm Alliance, an international network of midsized law firms dedicated to providing legal clients access to high-quality and cost-effective legal services.

William Kline (Arch ’83 CM) has been named to the board of directors of SmithGroupJJR. An experienced architect and LEED-accredited professional with a special interest in project delivery methods, he leads the firm’s health studio in Washington, D.C., working with clients that include the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Genesis Health System, Kaiser Permanente and the University of Virginia. Mr. Kline currently serves as managing principal for two major hospital projects for Holy Cross Health and has led many of SmithGroupJJR’s Veterans Affairs and military projects, including the National Intrepid Center of Excellence in Bethesda, Md.

Lee Miller (Med ’82, Res ’86) received the Arnold P. Gold Foundation Humanism in Medicine Award from the Association of American Medical Colleges. The award recognizes his outstanding contributions to academic medicine, his compassionate mentorship of students and practice of patient-centered care. Dr. Miller is vice chair for education in the department of pediatrics at the David Geffen School of Medicine at the University of California, Los Angeles. He is also a director of the school’s global health education program, which he co-founded in 2010.

Lynne Strang (Col ’81) published a book, Late-Blooming Entrepreneurs: Eight Principles for Starting a Business After Age 40. The book reveals eight effective principles used by entrepreneurs who launched and built profitable companies after turning 40. Ms. Strang is a writer and communications consultant based in Clifton, Va.

Jeffrey Purdy (Engr ’80) has been named associate vice president and operations manager of Intelligent Infrastructure Systems, a wholly owned subsidiary of Pennoni Associates, an engineering firm with 27 offices throughout the northeast United States. Mr. Purdy has more than three decades of experience in transportation and systems engineering, strategic planning and capital programming, and in his new role will be responsible for bringing innovation to the engineering and management of civil infrastructures, especially bridges.

T. Kelly (Engr ’79 CM) published a novel, Hill Country Greed: An Austin, Texas Mystery. The book centers on Joe Robbins, a CFO with a beautiful wife, a burning desire for wealth and a history with guns and boxing. Joe’s greed causes him to lose everything, and he becomes a suspect in a local murder case. Mr. Kelly is currently at work on his second novel, Hill Country Rage.

Thomas Stickney (Col ’78 CM) retired from the U.S. Army Reserve on May 2, 2014, after 30 years of service. Col. Stickney’s active-duty tours included seven mobilizations, involving extended military duty in Haiti (1994), Bosnia (2001), Afghanistan (2002), Qatar (2003), Iraq (2009-10) and Kuwait and Jordan (2012-13). His numerous awards include the Bronze Star Medal and the Combat Action Badge for wartime service in Iraq and Afghanistan, and the Master Parachutist Badge for his 124 military static line parachute jumps completed over his 25 years on jump status for the Army.

William Weber (Grad ’75, Grad ’77) published “Strategic Surprise: The British Capture of Washington, DC, 1814” in the June 2014 issue of Studies in Intelligence. The article analyzes the historic event as a critical intelligence failure similar to those of the attacks on Pearl Harbor and on Sept. 11, 2001.

Alan Marscher (Grad ’74, Grad ’77) received the 2014 Metcalf Award for Excellence in Teaching from Boston University. Students, alumni and fellow faculty nominated him for the award. An astronomy professor, he teaches a variety of courses, including core curriculum and cosmology courses for non-science majors. Mr. Marscher’s research explores high-energy astrophysics and the nature of extragalactic phenomena such as black holes and exploding stars.

Nancy Forbes (Col ’74) recently published Faraday, Maxwell and the Electromagnetic Field: How Two Men Revolutionized Physics, co-authored with Basil Mahon. The book tells the story of two 19th-century scientists who together discovered the existence of the electromagnetic field and laid the groundwork for many of the technological and theoretical breakthroughs of 20th-century physics.

Randall Suslick (Col ’69 CM) received the 2014 Volunteer Clinical Faculty Award from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine’s Brown Sequard Chapter of Alpha Omega Alpha. The award recognizes a community physician who contributes with distinction to the education and training of medical students. In addition to bestowing the award on Dr. Suslick, Alpha Omega Alpha inducted him as a member.

George House (Law ’72) received a certificate of appreciation from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency for his role in the cleanup and redevelopment of the Landia Chemical Co. Superfund site in Lakeland, Fla., which had been contaminated by decades of on-site pesticide and fertilizer blending operations. Mr. House is a partner in the Greensboro, N.C., firm of Brooks, Pierce, McLendon, Humphrey & Leonard, where he practices environmental law and represents clients such as textile manufacturing companies, mining companies, real estate developers, oil products distribution companies and municipal governments on key environmental matters.

James Block (Col ’68 CM) retired in June 2014 after 43 years of teaching English at Northfield Mount Hermon School in Northfield, Mass. Throughout his career, he taught on exchanges at Marlborough College in Wiltshire, England; and at Robert College in Istanbul. He and his wife, Penny, will reside in Chestertown, Md.

Howard Bonham (Col ’52 CM) published a book, The Turning of Waitey McColl: A Native American Young Adult Experiences a Life-altering Moment of Truth, available for Nook and Kindle. Set in the Cherokee Badlands of eastern Oklahoma in 1921, the book follows young Native American hotel clerk Waitey McColl as he becomes embroiled in a police manhunt for a gang of robbers and eventually has to make a decision that will either liberate or haunt him for the rest of his life.

Sarah Garceau (Com ’00 CM) and her husband, Michael, welcomed a son, Paul Samuel, on Feb. 28, 2014. Paul joins big sister Julia, 2. The family resides in Woodbury, Minn., where Ms. Garceau works in corporate strategy for 3M Co.

Peter Baker (Arch ’00) is a registered licensed architect in Washington, D.C., and a registered licensed landscape architect in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In addition to these professional accreditations, he holds a specialty in LEED AP building design and construction. Mr. Baker works for Ayers Saint Gross in Baltimore and lives in nearby Silver Spring, Md., with his wife, Ana.

A note on the new class. Last Sunday I hosted the new student send-off (Lynchburg and surrounding counties) party at Thomas Jefferson’s Poplar Forest, an event I have been doing for a number of years. I attach a photograph of the students on the front steps of Poplar Forest. There isn’t a better place for a new student launch!

Nancy Parr (Col ’80 CM) was elected on Aug. 5, 2014, to serve a one-year term as president of the Virginia Association of Commonwealth’s Attorneys. She is commonwealth’s attorney for the city of Chesapeake.