“Other” Class Notes

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.