“Other” Class Notes

Sarah Ritzer (Col ’03 CM) and Michael Ritzer (Com ’03, Darden ’10 L/M) welcomed their first child, Graham Brantley, on June 10, 2013. The family lives in Charlotte, N.C.

Atima Omara-Alwala (Col ’03 CM) was elected to serve as president of the Young Democrats of America (YDA) at the group’s biannual convention, which took place Aug. 8 to 11 in San Antonio. YDA is the largest national youth partisan organization in the country. Ms. Omara also became the first African American and first Virginian to serve in this position in the organization’s 81-year history.

Ian Scheu (Educ ’02) has joined the California Lutheran University faculty in the graduate school of education. His research focuses on adolescent play theory, play-based curriculum development and multicultural play.

Justin Rousseau (Engr ’02) is the chief resident of neurology at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine. Dr. Rousseau, who earned his medical degree from the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center, will attend Harvard University next year for a fellowship in clinical informatics and a master’s degree in medical science. He will continue to practice clinical neurology while conducting research at the center for evidence-based imaging at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

Isabel Otero (Col ’02 CM) and Thomas Marvin Coyle Jr. were married on Oct. 19, 2013, at the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. The couple resides in Northern Virginia, where both have completed 10 years of federal service with the U.S. government. Ms. Otero and Mr. Coyle have recently started a business, Adventures in Leadership, a leadership development and cross-cultural communications training program that helps young adults and business professionals develop leadership skills, and instills civic responsibility and teamwork so they can go on to become leaders in their organizations and communities.

Meagan Micozzi (Arch ’02) has published a cookbook, The New Southwest: Classic Flavors with a Modern Twist. She launched the Scarletta Bakes blog in 2011 to document her adventures in her Arizona kitchen and has since developed an innovative approach to Southwestern food.

Michelle Harding (Com ’02, Com ’03 CM) has received a $10,000 scholarship from the KMPG Foundation to pursue her doctorate in accounting at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, beginning with the 2013-14 academic year. Her previous work in the accounting field earned her nonprofit, public accounting and industry work experience.

Hannah Leger (Grad ’02) and her husband, David, welcomed their first child, Anne Bradley, on May 4, 2013. Anne is the niece of Meg Gray Wiehe (Col ’98). The family resides in Glen Allen, Va., where Ms. Gray works for the U.S. Department of Justice and Mr. Gray is employed by BB&T Scott & Stringfellow.

Michael Stadnisky (Grad ’11) has been named president and CEO of Tree Star Inc., effective Jan. 1, 2014. Tree Star is the producer and distributor of FlowJo, a data analysis software for flow cytometry, a technique that allows the simultaneous measurement of many characteristics of individual cells at several thousand cells per second. Previously, Mr. Stadnisky led Tree Star’s big data enterprise unit to product launch and served as the company’s vice president. He is also an ultramarathoner who, in 2013, placed second at the Tahoe Rim Trail 100 Endurance Run and won three other races at the 50K distance or longer. Mr. Stadnisky lives in Ashland, Ore., with his wife, Heather Horn Stadnisky (Nurs ’04, ’07).

Madeleine Gawne (Nurs ’10 CM) and Matthew Gillwald (Engr ’11 L/M) were married Sept. 14, 2013, in Alexandria, Va., where they currently reside. They met while performing with the Cavalier Marching Band.

Kevin McCann (Col ’09) received the United States Marine Corps Commandant’s Trophy on Nov. 23, 2013, during the halftime ceremony at a University of Richmond football game at Robins Stadium in Richmond, Va. The trophy is awarded to officer candidates with the highest combined GPA for fitness, leadership and academics in the Platoon Leader’s Course, the equivalent of basic training for officers. During a 2010 deployment to Afghanistan with his Marine reserve unit, 2nd Lt. McCann received a Purple Heart Medal and Combat Action Ribbon. He was commissioned as a Marine Corps officer in summer 2013 and is currently a third-year law student at the University of Richmond.

David Clark (Engr ’08) and Katherine Elisabeth Griffin (Col ’09, Educ ’10) were married July 27, 2013, in Newport News, Va. The couple resides in Virginia Beach, where Mr. Clark is a structural engineer at Speight Marshall & Francis and Ms. Clark teaches English as a second language in Virginia Beach City Public Schools.

Lawson Jenkins (Educ ’07) and Sean K. Jenkins (Educ ’08) welcomed a son, William Jackson, “Jack,” on Dec. 4, 2013. Jack joins a big brother, Coleman.

Michael Hightower (Grad ’07) recently published Banking in Oklahoma Before Statehood with the University of Oklahoma Press. The book offers a survey of banking from the early days of the American republic until commercial patterns coalesced in the East, then follows the course of American expansion westward, tracing the evolution of commerce and banking in Oklahoma from their genesis to statehood in 1907. An independent historian, Mr. Hightower is the principal researcher for the Oklahoma Bank and Commerce History Project of the Oklahoma Historical Society. He resides in Charlottesville.

Emily Lodge (Com ’06 CM) and Tim Pote were married Nov. 2, 2013, in Arlington, Va. The couple resides in Arlington, where Ms. Lodge works as a conference planner for a defense contractor and Mr. Pote is a co-founder of a tech startup.

Matt Oliver (Col ’05, Educ ’05) and Jennifer C. McCallum (Col ’07 L/M) were married Oct. 12, 2013, in Kiawah Island, S.C. The couple currently resides in Charlottesville.

Katherine Pierson (Col ’03 CM) and her husband, Philipp, welcomed their first child, a daughter, Caroline Russell, on June 9, 2013. The family resides in Washington, D.C.

Emily Leitch (Col ’01 CM) and her husband, Justin, welcomed a son, Davis Brooks, on Sept. 9, 2013. Davis joins big sister Gwyneth, 2. The family resides in Houston, where Ms. Leitch is an associate with the law firm of Bracewell & Giuliani.

Elizabeth Kendall (Col ’01 CM) and her husband, Jason, welcomed their third child, Phillip Raymond, on Aug. 9, 2013. Phillip joins twin sisters Charlotte Ashwell and Eva Bradley, 2, and is the grandson of Jim Pollard (Col ’68 L/M) and the nephew of Jamie Pollard (Col ’98 L/M). The family resides in Potomac Falls, Va.

John Warburton (Col ’00) and Kimberly Bareford Warburton (Educ ’01, ’03 L/M) welcomed a son, William Holden, on Oct. 18, 2013. Will joins big brothers Ben, 5, and Max, 3.