“Other” Class Notes

About to consider attending 30th high school reunion this year & that got me thinking about UVA alums I’ve lost track of…

Lawrence Croft (Col ’67 CM) was elected president-general of the Descendants of the Signers of the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 2013, at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. The organization’s mission is to strengthen the principles set forth in the Declaration of Independence and memorialize the men who, in signing the document, pledged to each other their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor.

Harris Hudson (Col ’11 CM) and Chelsea Kait (Col ’11 L/M) were married on May 5, 2013, in Sarasota, Fla. The couple met while playing guitar and singing at The Backyard on the Corner. The couple resides in Germany, where Mr. Hudson is a helicopter pilot with the U.S. Army.

Kanoa Ratliff (Arch ’91 CM) has been appointed to a two-year term as the leadership team chair of the Midland Church of the Brethren in Fauquier County, Va. The leadership team plans, coordinates and supervises congregation programs and engages in long-term planning and goal setting. In addition, Ms. Ratliff serves on the board of the Curtis Park Swim Team in Stafford County, Va., and on the committee for Boy Scout Troop 161 in Warrenton, Va. She is a member of the Piedmont Republican Women’s Club and the Fauquier County Republican Committee and is active in several homeschooling groups. Ms. Ratliff lives in Fauquier County with her husband, David Ratliff (Engr ’93 L/M); and their two sons.

Mark Silverman (Col ’78 CM) is living in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he is CEO of a local bank, Banco del Progreso, and serves on the board of directors for both Pinewood Indomina Movie Studios and CardNet Corp. His eldest son, Daniel Silverman (Arch ’06 L/M), is an architect in Shenzhen, China, with the local affiliate of Aecom.

Christina Sursa (Col ’06 CM) and Charles Sursa (Com ’06 L/M) welcomed their first child, a son, Charles Vaught, on July 16, 2013. The family resides in Falls Church, Va.

Adam Wilberger (Col ’09) received an M.D. from Drexel University College of Medicine in May 2013. He is currently in pathology residency training at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation.

Lily Robinson (Col ’07, Educ ’07 CM) and Elliot Robinson (Med ’08) welcomed a daughter, Charlotte Taylor, on June 19, 2013. The Robinsons reside in Charlottesville, where Dr. Elliot Robinson is completing a one-year orthopaedic hand fellowship at the University of Virginia Health Sciences Center.

Brian Matney (Col ’87 CM) was recently elected by his peers as president-elect of the Virginia Association of Secondary School Principals for 2013-14. Mr. Matney, the principal of Landstown High School Governor’s STEM and Technology Academy, resides in Virginia Beach with his wife, Kathryn; and their two sons, Will and J.T.

Matt Weber (Col ’96 CM) and Karin Wanke Weber (Col ’98 L/M) welcomed their third son, Charles Edward, “Charlie,” on Aug. 20, 2013. Charlie is the grandson of Bob Wanke (Col ’72, Darden ’74). The family resides in McLean, Va., where Mr. Weber is a managing director at NV Capital Advisors.

Leah Register (Engr ’10 CM) and Michael Krauss (Engr ’11 L/M) were married on July 6, 2013, in Charlottesville. The couple resides in Cincinnati, where both Ms. and Mr. Krauss work for General Electric.

Daniel Neckel (Col ’06 CM) and Erryn Gallasch were married on April 13, 2013, in Alexandria, Va. The couple resides in Alexandria, where Mr. Neckel is the media supervisor for Smart Media Group, a political media buying agency, and Ms. Neckel is a marketing analyst at The Motley Fool, a personal investment firm. Nate Neckel (Engr ’99 L/M), Kyle Gilbertson (Col ’06 L/M) and Nat Fraser (Col ’06) were groomsmen at the wedding.

Caroline Stockdale (Col ’04 CM) and Spencer Stockdale (Col ’04) welcomed a daughter, Elena Michelle, on April 3, 2013. Elena is the granddaughter of Henry L. Bowden Jr. (Col ’71 L/M). The Stockdales reside in Atlanta.

John Kasper (Col ’04, Grad ’08, Law ’07) has been elected a partner at McKinsey and Co., a global management consulting firm that advises CEOs and other C-suite executives at corporate and investor clients on issues related to strategy and operations. Mr. Kasper works in the firm’s New York office.

Stephen Reis (Com ’03, Law ’08 CM) has been elected a partner at McKinsey and Co., a global management consulting firm that advises CEOs and other C-suite executives at corporate and investor clients on issues related to strategy and operations. Mr. Reis works in the firm’s Atlanta office.

Alisa Smith (Educ ’02) has been appointed executive director of the Portsmouth Schools Foundation in Portsmouth, Va. She has more than 14 years of development and teaching experience in the Portsmouth community. Ms. Smith was named Portsmouth Public Schools’ “Teacher of the Year” for the 2003-04 academic year and is a recipient of the Portsmouth Schools Foundation’s Innovator Grant. She resides in Portsmouth with her husband and their five children.

Stefan Pomrenke (Col ’02) and his wife, Lee Ann, adopted their daughter, Viktoria Sophia, on April 4, 2013. Viktoria, age 2.5, was born in the Pomerania region of Poland. The family resides in St. Paul, Minn.

Sarah Zelinke (Col ’01 CM) and Paul Joseph Zelinke IV (Engr ’07 L/M) welcomed their first child, Paul Joseph V, on Jan. 22, 2013. Paul V is the grandson of John Joseph Beall Jr. (Law ’67 L/M). The Zelinkes reside in Charlottesville.

Heather Boyce (Col ’01 CM) and Matthew Scot Boyce (Col ’01 L/M) welcomed a son, McKinley William, on June 19, 2013. McKinley joins sisters Meridian Victoria, 5; and Genevieve Helen, “Evie,” 2. The family resides in Richmond, Va., where Dr. Matthew Boyce is a partner with Neurological Associates and serves as the medical director of the Johnston-Willis Deep Brain Stimulation program.

Timothy O’Neill (Grad ’82) received the Distinguished Former Faculty Award from the U.S. Military Academy in a ceremony at West Point in April 2013 in recognition of his service in the department of behavioral sciences and leadership from 1976 to 1992 and as an emeritus consultant in the years since. The award included a citation for excellence in teaching and educational design and research and patents in applied camouflage for the United States and allied nations.

L. Floyd (Law ’01) has been appointed the director of knowledge management for Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein in Charlotte, N.C. Mr. Floyd’s new duties include identifying best practices for knowledge management through the establishment of efficient, effective and organized processes for maintaining and leveraging the collective knowledge of the firm. Previously, Mr. Floyd chaired Parker Poe’s litigation technology committee. His practice focuses on commercial litigation with an emphasis on science and technology issues.

Philip Line (Engr ’00) received the L.J. Markwardt Award from ASTM International’s Committee D07 on Wood. As the director of structural engineering at the American Wood Council in Leesburg, Va., he specializes in structural research and standards development for the design of wood as well as guidance documents for residential construction design.

Todd Price (Grad ’99, Grad ’04) has joined the staff of New Orleans’ Times-Picayune and NOLA.com as a dining reporter. Previously, he contributed to the paper’s drinks column.

Lauren Sklaroff (Grad ’98, Grad ’03) is an associate professor of history at the University of South Carolina, where she has taught since 2005. She is currently at work on her second book, tentatively titled Sophie Tucker and the Art of Invention, a biography of singer, vaudevillian and cabaret superstar Sophie Tucker, who rose to celebrity in the 1910s and 1920s with her songs “My Yiddishe Mama” and “Some of These Days.” The book will examine Tucker’s life and the relationship between the culture industry and the construction of racial and ethnic identities.

Whitney Dziuma (Col ’98 CM) and her husband, Dave, welcomed a daughter, Elizabeth Liddell, on March 23, 2013. Elizabeth joins big sister Katharine.

Brooke Donnelly (Com ’98) and her husband, John, welcomed a son, Kellan Joseph, on Oct. 18, 2012. Kellan joins big sister Claire Amelia, 3. The Donnellys reside in Fairfax, Va., where Ms. Donnelly is director of marketing for Direct Holdings Global Inc., whose brands include Time Life and StarVista Entertainment.

Monty Harris (Col ’96 CM) and his wife, Bryce, welcomed a son, Steele Montgomery, on March 15, 2013. Steele joins big siblings Bode, 9; Kaki, 8; and Leila, 4. The family resides in Free Union, Va. Mr. Harris is a corporate managing director in the Northern Virginia office of Studley, a commercial real estate firm.

Gerald Funk (Col ’95, Engr ’98 CM) has joined Dewberry, a privately held professional services firm, as a senior project manager in the firm’s Virginia Beach office. His responsibilities will include managing and designing water/wastewater projects and expanding Dewberry’s water/wastewater services into the Hampton Roads market. Mr. Funk has 15 years of engineering experience, primarily involving the inspection, evaluation, design and rehabilitation of water/wastewater collection system infrastructure. Previously, he served as a task order and project manager for the Hampton Roads Sanitation District’s utility relocation program.

Eric Hairston (Grad ’04) published The Ebony Column with the University of Tennessee Press. The book explores how the myths, cultures and ideals of antiquity influenced intellectual figures such as Phillis Wheatley, Frederick Douglass and W.E.B. Du Bois and helped African Americans reconceptualize their role in a Euro-American world. The Ebony Column is the first book in a series about classicism in American culture. Mr. Hairston is an associate professor of English, law and humanities at Elon University.

Scott Cooney (Com ’94) has published Extinct for a Reason, a quirky humor book of fictitious animals that failed to survive the evolutionary cut, with Simon & Schuster and Gallery Books. Adam Adler illustrated the book. Mr. Cooney, who has worked as writer and creative director in advertising, is a copywriter at DDB on Madison Avenue in New York.

Brian Eley (Col ’93) has been promoted to vice president of communications for Animal Planet. A 10-year veteran of Discovery Communications, he has been with the Animal Planet brand for more than seven years and with TLC for three. Mr. Eley resides in New York City.

Heather Mitchell (Arch ’92 CM) is a principal and owner of The Boudreaux Group, an architecture firm that specializes in religious, municipal, corporate, civic and education projects. She is one of only a few women to be a principal and owner of a major architecture firm in South Carolina. Ms. Mitchell joined The Boudreaux Group as an intern, was promoted to corporate associate in 1998 and to principal in 2004. She has served as president of the firm since 2006.

John Bielski (Grad ’92) was recognized as a 2013 Super Lawyer by Philadelphia Magazine. He is an attorney in the Philadelphia office of Willig, Williams & Davidson, where his practice focuses on labor and employment law.

David Osgood (Grad ’91, Grad ’96) has been promoted to associate professor of biology at Albright College in Reading, Pa., where he teaches courses in environmental issues, ecology, watershed hydrology and conservation biology. Mr. Osgood’s academic research focuses on wetland restoration, watershed hydrology and ecology, invasive plants, tropical ecology and Latin American studies.

Laura Marshall (Col ’91 CM) has joined the Richmond office of Hunton & Williams as a partner. Prior to joining the firm, she was an assistant United States attorney for the United States Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia, where she prosecuted cases involving investment fraud, health care fraud and organized crime, and led task forces targeting identity theft and money laundering. Her practice at Hunton & Williams will focus on internal investigations, regulatory and civil enforcement, and white-collar criminal defense.

Bonnie Hoffman (Col ’91 CM) received the 2013 Heeney Award from the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers (NACDL). Given annually, the award recognizes the member who best exemplifies the goals and values of the association and the legal profession. Ms. Hoffman is a deputy public defender for the 20th Judicial Circuit in Leesburg, Va., where she is certified in misdemeanor, felony, juvenile and death penalty representation by the Virginia State Bar. She serves on the NACDL’s board of directors and on the Juvenile Justice Collaborative in the Leesburg area.