“Other” Class Notes

Stephanie Merritt (Col ’96 CM) was elected a general district court judge in Virginia’s 9th Judicial District. Judge Merritt presides in Gloucester, New Kent, Mathews and Middlesex counties.

Salman Tajuddin (Com ’95 CM) and his wife, Mahnaz, welcomed a daughter, Camila Gisele, on Dec. 15, 2014. Camila joins big sister Inara, 3. The family resides in Arlington, Virginia, where Mr. Tajuddin is managing director at Capstone Advisory Group, a restructuring and turnaround advisory firm, in nearby Washington, D.C.

Joan Polaschik (Col ’91 CM) was sworn in as the U.S. ambassador to the People’s Democratic Republic of Algeria on Aug. 15, 2014. A career member of the U.S. Foreign Service, Ambassador Polaschik has served in Uzbekistan, Tunisia, Jordan, Azerbaijan and Libya, in addition to assignments in Washington, D.C.

Thomas Estes (Col ’90 CM) is an associate justice of the Northampton District Court in Massachusetts. He was nominated in January 2014 by former Gov. Deval Patrick and was confirmed on March 26, 2014, beginning his term the following day. Judge Estes previously served as a public defender for 16 years.

Nathan Damweber (Col ’04) and his wife, Lindsey Stuart, welcomed a daughter, Lucy Rose Damweber, on Oct. 10, 2014.

Elizabeth Larus (Grad ’89) received a Taiwan Fellowship for 2015 to conduct field research in Taiwan on U.S.-China-Taiwan relations. Ms. Larus is a professor of political science and international affairs at the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia.

Paul Meurer (Com ’87 CM) was named 2014 public company CFO of the Year in San Diego by San Diego Business Journal. Mr. Meurer has served as chief financial officer of Realty Income Corp., the 15th-largest real estate company in the U.S., since 2001. He resides in Coronado Island, California, near downtown San Diego, with his wife, Lysa; and their two teenage children, Annika and Nick.

David Evans (Grad ’87, Grad ’94) was selected to serve as president of Southern Vermont College beginning Jan. 1, 2015. He previously served as vice president of Buena Vista University in Iowa, as dean of the Petree College of Arts and Sciences at Oklahoma City University, as chair of the department of English, speech and journalism at Georgia College & State University, and on the English faculty at Cornell College.

S. Rohrer (Grad ’85, Grad ’99 CM) published Jacob Green’s Revolution: Radical Religion and Reform in a Revolutionary Age, a biography of independent-minded Presbyterian minister Jacob Green, with Penn State University Press. The book takes a look at Green’s life and illuminates the strong but complicated connections between religion and politics at the dawn of the American nation.

Jane Hardy (Col ’85) was granted tenure and promoted to associate professor of Spanish at Wabash College. Ms. Hardy joined the Wabash faculty in 2006, having taught previously at Indiana University, St. Michael’s College, the University of Ljubljana in Slovenia, and at the Slovenian Ministry of Defense’s School of Foreign Languages. Her teaching focuses on second-language acquisition, language teaching methodology and study abroad. Since 2008, she has accompanied Wabash students and faculty to Ecuador as part of the Wabash Ecuador Summer Study Program.

Eric Paltell (Col ’83, Law ’87 CM) was inducted into the College of Labor and Employment Lawyers in November 2014. Mr. Paltell is a partner in the labor and employment law group at Kollman & Saucier in Baltimore, where he represents public and private employers and mediates employment disputes for both private litigants and the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. He and his wife, Kristina Auth Paltell (Col ’83 L/M), have two daughters, Skyler, a senior at the College of William and Mary, and Katherine Charlotte “K.C.” Paltell (Col ’17 L/M).

Rita Sheffey (Col ’78 CM) has been appointed assistant dean for public service at Emory University, effective January 2015. Previously, Ms. Sheffey was a partner in the Atlanta office of Hunton & Williams, where she worked for 27 years and spearheaded the development of the firm’s pro bono program, including the foundation of the Southside Legal Center, a pro bono clinic that serves area residents.

Diane Wilkin (Col ’77) was recently elected president of the Pennsylvania Art Education Association. Previously, she served on the PAEA board as both secondary division director and awards chairperson. Ms. Wilkin is a high school art teacher in the Bristol Township School District in Levittown, Pennsylvania, where she instructs students in studio and critical design thinking through crafts and design, sculpture, general arts and both digital and film photography. She exhibits her own creative work and serves as a board member for the Rittenhouse Square Fine Arts Association in Philadelphia.

Joni House (Col ’77 CM) was recently named executive vice president of Alexander Proudfoot, a global operations management consulting firm. She has more than 20 years of experience in directing organizational change that focuses on increased productivity, reduced costs and improved financial results. Previously, Ms. House served as assistant vice president—client executive at Aricent, a KKR-owned engineering and software services company, and as president and chief executive officer of The Grayfen Group Inc., a management consulting firm specializing in cost reduction.

Jill Tietjen (Engr ’76 CM) has been named chief executive officer of the National Women’s Hall of Fame, which is located in Seneca Falls, New York. She has a long affiliation with the hall, having attended every induction ceremony since 1994, and has served on the hall’s board of directors since 2009, most recently as president.

C. Hein (Col ’76, Grad ’82 CM) has been named to the board of trustees of the George C. Marshall Foundation, which perpetuates the legacy of George C. Marshall through various conferences and symposia, a museum, a research library and archives, and more. Mr. Hein is a professor of religion and philosophy at Hood College in Frederick, Maryland, where he has taught since 1983.