“Other” Class Notes
Ed Prior (Grad ’72)
Ed Prior (Grad ’72) retired from NASA Langley in 2005 after a 40-year career there. 36 years after he first published research showing high altitude hydrogen levels to be three times greater than cited in national standards, the U.S. Air Force accepted his results in 2008 for their new atmospheric model. The results will also be incorporated into the 2009 COSPAR International Reference Atmosphere. Mr. Prior was the NASA principal investigator for PAGEOS, the second largest satellite by volume to be injected into earth orbit. His U.Va. thesis was on orbital drag measurements at altitudes above 2000 kilometers, from observations of the balloon satellite’s orbital decay. Eventually published by Byrd Press in 1972 in The Use of Artificial Satellites for Geodesy, the thesis found hydrogen levels to be 200 percent greater than given in the U.S. Standard Atmosphere. Mr. Prior’s research has been variously cited in The Stratosphere: Past and Present, the COSPAR International Reference Atmosphere, the U.S. National Report on Geodesy and the various U.S. Standard Atmosphere publications. There are a total of six references to his research in three different annual editions of Significant Achievements in Space Science.
Charles Wormald (Col ’83 CM)
Charles Wormald (Col ’83 L/M) and Ellen Colter (Educ ’85 L/M) of Springfield, Va., were married on Oct. 3, 2009. Mr Wormald is a vendor manager at Freddie Mac and Ms. Colter is an assistant principal at Clifton Elementary in Clifton, Va.
Lindsay Jeansonne (Col ’99 CM)
Lindsay Errickson Jeansonne (Col ’99 L/M) and her husband, Louis, welcomed their first child, Charles Louis, on July 19, 2009. The family resides in Baton Rouge, La.
Alexandra Cunningham (Col ’96)
Alexandra Brisky Cunningham (Col ’96) and Chip Cunningham (Col ’97, Law ’02) welcomed their second son, Edward Gray “Teddy”, on Dec. 27, 2008. Teddy joins brother, Charlie. The Cunningham family resides in Richmond, Va., where Ali and Chip are both attorneys.
Jay Blankenship (Col ’05 CM)
Jay Forman Blankenship (Col ’05 L/M) received his medical degree from the University of South Alabama College of Medicine in Mobile, Ala. Dr. Blankenship is doing his emergency medicine residency at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.
Ted Staples (Col ’80 CM)
Ted Staples (Col ’80 L/M) is a director of the law firm of Council, Baradel, Kosmerl & Noland in Annapolis, Md. He is on the board of trustees of the Calverton School for a three-year term that started in September. Calverton is an independent, co-ed college preparatory school for grades preschool through 12, located in Huntingtown, Md. Mr. Staples is also chairman of the the school’s development committee. Both of Mr. Staples’ sons attend Calverton and his wife is a graduate.
Mark Sullivan (Law ’71)
Mark E. Sullivan (Law ’71) spoke in June for the Florida Bar’s “military divorce” program in Tampa. His topic was the Servicemembers’ Civil Relief Act. On June 4, he went to the Pentagon to brief the Undersecretary of Defense (Personnel & Readiness) on legislation involving legal custody and military personnel. On June 9, he spoke to the Louisville Employee Benefits Council on re-employment rights for Reservists and military medical leave. Mr. Sullivan lives in Raleigh, N.C., where he is the principal of Law Offices of Mark E. Sullivan.
John Mugler (Engr ’80, Engr ’88 CM)
John P. Mugler III (Engr ’80, ’88 L/M) received the 2009 “Inventor of the Year” award from the U.Va. Patent Foundation. The award recognizes inventors whose technology has proven to be of notable value to society. Mr. Mugler, along with James Brookeman, are both professors of radiology and biomedical engineering at U.Va., and were honored for their groundbreaking work in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques over the past two decades. The researches’ lead technology is a fast, 3-D pulse sequencing technique referred to as MP-RAGE. Considered a primary standard in 3-D MRI, the technique allows clinicians to acquire high-resolution 3-D images on the order of five minutes. These highly detailed images are capable of revealing more subtle abnormalities than could previously be detected through MRI, providing for earlier and more accurate diagnoses, and can be viewed from any orientation on modern computer workstations. The U.Va. Patent Foundation received an issued patent on this technology in 1993 and has licensed the patent rights to Siemens AG and Philips electronics. As a result, MP-RAGE is now implemented in MRI scanners in hospitals and research institutions worldwide. Professors Mugler and Brookeman are now working with hyperpolarized noble gases as MRI contrast agents for the lungs, work that is being explored with colleagues at U.Va. and is in clinical trials by a major manufacturer.
Robert Whittle (Col ’73)
Robert Whittle (Col ’73) received the Silver Medal Award from the DC Ad Club in collaboration with the American Advertising Federation, in recognition of his outstanding contributions to advertising and his activity in furthering the industry’s standards, creative excellence and responsibilities in areas of social concern. Mr. Whittle is president and chief executive officer of the advertising agency, Williams Whittle, in Alexandria, Va. A reception was held in his honor in September. Mr. Whittle is an industry leader, at the helm of one of the largest advertising agencies in Washington, D.C. The agency was voted Marketer of the Year by the AMA-DC in 2007 and 2008.
Leonard Wertheimer (Col ’69 CM)
Leonard Wertheimer (Col ’69 L/M) is a shareholder at the law firm of Feld, Hyde, Wertheimer, Bryant & Stone and he was included in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the trusts and estates specialty. He has been listed in Best Lawyers for more than 10 years. Feld Hyde is a specialty law firm that maintains a sophisticated tax, estate and business practice, representing a broad and diverse client base, including individuals, partnerships, start-ups, family businesses, professional service firms, estates and tax-exempt entities.
John Midgett (Col ’75)
John T. Midgett (Col ’75) is an attorney and founder of the law firm of Midgett & Preti in Virginia Beach. He was listed in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America. His practice is in the areas of estate planning and taxation, estate administration, estate litigation and small business planning. Mr. Midgett also received a peer-review rating of “AV” in Martindale-Hubbell legal directory, recognizing his qualifications and ethical standards. He is the immediate past chairman of the trusts and estates section of the Virginia State Bar Association, serves as vice president of the Hampton Roads Estate Planning Council, is a past president of the Hampton Roads Gift Planning Council and is involved with the Duke University Estate Planning Council.
Erin Kalan (Col ’04 CM)
Erin Kalan (Col ’04 L/M) is attending medical school. She began classes at the West Virginia School of Osteopathic Medicine in August.
Rob Blizard (Col ’86)
Rob Blizard (Col ’86) is the chief development officer of the Washington Animal Rescue League in Washington, D.C. Mr. Blizard previously worked in corporate marketing positions at Marriott, MCI and other companies, and has more than a decade of nonprofit fundraising experience at the Humane Society of the United States and George Washington’s Mount Vernon. He has volunteered at different D.C.-area animal organizations since adopting two dogs from a local animal shelter in the mid-1990s. Mr. Blizard writes freelance articles on charitable fundraising and management for various publications serving the U.S. nonprofit industry—including Animal Sheltering magazine. The Washington Animal Rescue League is a rehabilitation and adoption center that is one of the largest animal shelters in the country.
Joseph Bluestein (Col ’62 CM)
Joseph S. Bluestein (Col ’62 L/M) is an attorney with the law office of Sirote & Permutt and was included in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the area of employee benefits law. Mr. Brickman works in the firm’s Birmingham, Ala., office, where his practice focuses on business and tax planning issues, particularly for closely held, family-owned businesses and professional groups, such as medical practices and professional service firms. He has an employee benefits practice and drafts retirement and welfare plans. Additionally, Mr. Bluestein practices in the estate planning area, succession business planning, entity formation, mergers and acquisitions and purchases and sales of businesses.
Steven Brickman (Col ’71, Law ’74 CM)
Steven A. Brickman (Col ’71, Law ’74 L/M) is an attorney with the law firm of Sirote & Permutt and was included in the 2010 edition of The Best Lawyers in America in the areas of banking law and real estate law. Mr. Brickman works in the firm’s Birmingham, Ala., office, where he represents clients in all phases of commercial real estate development, including land acquisition, financing, leasing and planning.
Andrea Jennings (Grad ’04)
Andrea M. Jennings (Grad ’04) is a faculty member at The Pennington School in Pennington, N.J. Ms. Jennings joined the foreign language department as a teacher of Spanish. She previously taught at Kingswood-Oxford School in West Hartford, Conn. She lives in Lambertville, N.J. The Pennington School is an independent coeducational school in grades 6 through 12, in both day and boarding programs.
Alex Audilet (Col ’83 CM)
Alex Audilet (Col ’83 L/M) is a partner in the law firm of Smith Moore Leatherwood in its Greensboro, N.C., office. In September, Business Leader magazine named Mr. Audilet a “Mover & Shaker.” Mr. Audilet is a leader in the firm’s corporate group and has extensive experience handling legal issues related to mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and strategic alliances, private placements, business counseling and finance. He was recognized as one of the Best Lawyers in America in Woodward/White’s listing of Corporate Law attorneys for 2010.
Joseph Renzulli (Educ ’66)
Joseph S. Renzulli (Educ ’66) is a distinguished professor at the University of Connecticut’s Neag School of Education, the Neag Chair in gifted education and talent development, and director of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Mr. Renzulli received the 2009 Harold W. McGraw, Jr. Prize in Education for his guiding work in gifted and talented enrichment. The honorees were recognized at a dinner at the New York Public Library. The Prize was established in 1988 to honor Mr. McGraw’s lifelong commitment to education and to mark the McGraw-Hill Corporation’s 100th anniversary. Mr. Renzulli’s research has focused on the identification and development of creativity and giftedness in young people, and on organizational models and curricular strategies for differentiated learning environments that contribute to total school improvement. For more than thirty years, his Schoolwide Enrichment Model has been used in more than 2,500 schools nationwide. Researchers have found the program improved attitudes among students, teachers, parents and administrators toward gifted education and produced positive results in achievement. Mr. Renzulli began his career as a math, reading and science teacher in Ocean Township, N.J.
Clark MacKenzie (Com ’63 CM)
Clark MacKenzie (Com ’63) is president of the United States Seniors’ Golf Association (USSGA). Started in 1905, the organization has over 1,000 members. Mr. MacKenzie has been a member of the USSGA International Team for the past 12 years and served as captain for four years. At the University, he was captain of the Golf Team for two years, 1962 and 1963, and was president of the Student Athletic Council.
Jill Bankston (Engr ’96 CM)
Jill Rosenthal Bankston (Engr ’96 L/M) and her husband, Troy, welcomed the arrival of their second daughter, Kira Paige, on Aug. 26, 2009. Kira joins sister, Ella Reese, 2. The family resides in San Diego, where Ms. and Mr. Bankston are both registered professional civil engineers working for the County of San Diego.
Jennifer Montgomery (Col ’99 CM)
Jennifer Shaheen Montgomery (Col ’99 L/M) and Darren Montgomery welcomed their first child, Nicholas Shaheen Montgomery on Sept. 2, 2009. The family resides in Falls Church, Va.
Christy-Lynn Flynn (Col ’94, Educ ’94)
Christy-Lynn Parker Flynn (Col ’94, Educ ’94) and Patrick G. Flynn (Engr ’98) joyfully welcomed their second child, Constance Parker, on July 30, 2008. Constance joins brother, Josiah Patrick, born on Feb. 9, 2007. The children’s grandparents and great-grandparents include Robert S. Parker Jr. (Com ’65 L/M) and the late Robert S. Parker (Educ ’52). Constance and Josiah are the niece and nephew of Robert S. Parker III (Com ’96). The family resides in Charlottesville.
Christine Barnett (Engr ’03 CM)
Christine L. Barnett (Eng ’03 L/M) married Edward J. Petrak on May 2, 2009. The couple resides in Potomac Falls, Va., where Ms. Petrak is a senior systems engineer with Lockheed Martin and Mr. Petrak is a network engineer with Verizon Business.
Heather Houck (Col ’92 CM)
Heather Mauldin Houck (Col ’92 L/M) and Ernest Scott Houck (Engr ’92 L/M) welcomed a son, Alexander Scott, on April 25, 2009. Alex joins brother, Austin Kendrick, 8; and sister, Ashley Elizabeth, 6. The Houcks reside in Alexandria, Va.
Kelly Jones (Educ ’00)
Kelly Trussell Jones (Educ ’00) and her husband, Tim, are proud to announce the birth of their first child, William Emory Jones, born on April 28, 2009, in Boston.
Rob Shields (Engr ’95 CM)
Rob Shields (Engr ’95 L/M) and Meredith Davis Shields (Col ’96 L/M) are pleased to announce the birth of their first child, a son, Carter Davis Shields on June 8, 2009, in Richmond, Va.
Summer Thompson (Col ’03, Educ ’03, Educ ’08)
Summer Lotz Thompson (Col ’03, Educ ’03, ’08) received the 2009 Virginia Council of Teachers of Mathematics “William C. Lowry Teacher of the Year Award” for math specialist. The award recognizes Ms. Thompson’s outstanding teaching in mathematics. She serves as the math specialist at Johnson Elementary School in Charlottesville, where she and her husband, Ben Thompson (Arch ’02 ,’07), and their daughter, Presley, live.
Michelle Ashworth (Col ’97)
Michelle Williams Ashworth (Col ’97) and husband Jay welcomed their second son, Casen William, on July 4, 2009. Casen joins brother, Jacob, to complete a happy family of four.
Lindsay Bowman (Col ’00 CM)
Lindsay Bowman (Col ’00 L/M) and David Fraser were married on Aug. 6, 2009. The couple resides in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, where Ms. Fraser works for the Emirates Airline Group.
Lyndsay Wilson (Nurs ’07 CM)
Lyndsay Townsend Wilson (Nurs ’07 L/M) and Steven Douglas Anderson (Col ’96 L/M) were married on June 27, 2009 in a ceremony at the U.Va. Chapel with a reception at the Colonnade Club, Pavilion VII. The Andersons live in Alexandria, Va. Mr. Anderson is chief financial officer of the Institute for Justice. Ms. Wilson is an oncology nurse at Georgetown University Hospital. She is pursuing a master’s degree in nursing from Georgetown University.
Ben Schnable (Col ’01)
Ben Schnable (Col ’01) married Vanessa Leech (Col ’06 L/M) on April 25, 2009 at Farmington Country Club in Charlottesville, where the couple works and resides.
Katrina Foelsche (Col ’99)
Katrina Foelsche (Col ’99) with her husband, Marc, announce the birth of their daughter, Evelyn “Evie” Ruth McDonald, on Aug. 28, 2008. The family lives in Old Town Alexandria, Va., where Ms. Foelsche is a director of alumni relations at Georgetown University.
Ashley Hall (Nurs ’99)
Ashley Fitzgerald Hall (Nurs ’99) and Shawn Hall are pleased to announce the birth of their daughter, Lillian Charlotte, born March 25, 2009. The family resides in Evanston, Ill.
Alexander Margulies (Col ’80, Law ’84)
Alexander H. Margulies (Col ’80, Law ’84 A/M) transferred to the U.S. Embassy in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, where he serves as the counselor for Political and Economic Affairs. He is accompanied by his spouse, Norma Maria Margulies, and their two children, Sophia and Philip.
James Piscatori (Grad ’73, Grad ’76)
James Piscatori (Grad ’73, ’76) is deputy director of the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies at the Australian National University and was elected to The Johns Hopkins University Society of Scholars. Mr. Piscatori and 14 other academicians and scientists were honored during the society’s 40th induction ceremony on May 20 and again at the university’s commencement ceremony on May 21. The Society of Scholars was created on the recommendation of former president Milton S. Eisenhower and was the first of its kind in the nation to induct former postdoctoral fellows, postdoctoral degree recipients, house staff and junior or visiting faculty at Johns Hopkins who have gained marked distinction in their fields of physical, biological, medical, social, or engineering sciences or in the humanities. Mr. Piscatori is a leading interpreter of international political Islam of the fundamentalist variety. His work explores the transnationalism of Islam, moving attention away from its place within individual societies and highlighting the ties between Muslim history, sociology and politics. Originally working in Islam in international law, Mr. Piscatori developed interests in Islamic fundamentalism during his time as an associate professor at the Johns Hopkins Nitze School of Advanced International Studies from 1986 to 1989. Mr. Piscatori was a fellow in the Center for Islamic Studies at Oxford University before assuming his current position.
Chip Roy (Com ’94, Grad ’95 CM)
Chip Roy (Com ’94, Grad ’95 L/M) and his wife, Carrah, are proud to announce the birth of their son, Charles Allen, on Aug. 27, 2009. The family resides in McKinney, Texas, where Mr. Roy is special assistant United States attorney in the Eastern District of Texas, after having served as a senior adviser to U.S. Senator John Cornyn in Washington, D.C.
Ariella Hanker (Col ’04)
Ariella Hanker (Col ’04) received a doctorate in genetics and molecular biology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in July. She and her husband, Lior Klirs (Col ’04) reside in Nashville, Tenn. Ms. Hanker is a postdoctoral research fellow at Vanderbilt University and Mr. Klirs teaches high school English.
Ridgely Goldsborough (Col ’82 CM)
Ridgely Goldsborough (Col ’82 L/M) will have his 8th book land on bookstores shelves, published by John Wiley & Sons. The Great Onest is a coming of age story of a young boy who turns a difficult life around with the help of an old fisherman. Mr. Goldsborough is an equity partner in the adventurers social network The Thrillionaires which, in addition to its online presence, will be a reality television show in early 2010.
Todd Richman (Col ’97 CM)
Todd Richman (Col ’97 L/M) and his wife, Courtney, welcomed their second and third children to their family. Fraternal twins, Samantha Paige and Benjamin Cole, were born on July 27, 2009, and join their 2-year-old sister Anna. The family resides in Boston.
Courtenay Morrow (Col ’02 CM)
Courtenay Hylton Morrow (Col ’02 L/M) and Rob Morrow (Engr ’01 L/M) welcomed their first child, Brooke Elizabeth, on Jan. 12, 2009. The Morrow family resides in Silver Spring, Md., where Ms. Morrow is finishing her fourth year of medical school. Mr. Morrow works at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Lab and is a lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Reserves.
Paul Zimmet (Col ’68 CM)
Paul N. Zimmet (Col ’68 L/M) was appointed by Governor Tim Kaine to serve on the board of health professions for the Commonwealth of Virginia. He is also serving a second appointed term and is a past president of the board of dentistry for the Commonwealth of Virginia.
Howell O’Rear (Col ’02, Law ’07 CM)
Howell O’Rear (Col ’02, Law ’07 L/M) and his wife, Kelly, welcomed their first child, Jet Brown, on July 4, 2009. Mr. O’Rear is an associate attorney of the law firm Riley Warnock & Jacobson in Nashville, Tenn. Mr. O’Rear’s practice focuses on advising clients concerning copyright, trademark, internet and general business matters, as well as litigating those issues. He also writes a legal column for American Songwriter magazine.
Lawrence Roberts (Col ’78 CM)
Lawrence Roberts (Col ’78 L/M) returned to Washington, D.C., to serve as chief of staff to Democratic National Committee Chairman Tim Kaine. He previously served as counselor to the Governor in Richmond, Va., and as chairman of Governor Kaine’s successful 2005 gubernatorial campaign.
Ashley Forrest (Col ’97)
Ashley Clark Forrest (Col ’97) and Marc Christopher Forrest (Col ’99) welcomed their first daughter, Peyton Elizabeth, on June 26, 2009. Peyton joins her big brother, Parker, 3. The family lives in Newport News, VA where both Ashley and Marc are physical therapists.
Heather Dollenger (Col ’98)
Heather MacFarlane Dollenger (Col ’98) and her husband, Michael, welcomed son Ewan James on March 25, 2009. Ewan joins siblings Jonah, 5; Lily, 4; and Wyatt, 2. The family resides in Woodbridge, Va.
Ann Mason (Col ’99)
Ann M. Mason (Col ’99) and Samuel J. Rigby were married on Feb. 28, 2009. They live in Washington, D.C., where Ms. Mason practices white collar criminal defense at Crowell & Moring LLP and Mr. Rigby teaches science at Charles Hart Middle School.
Justin Nevitt (Col ’05)
Justin Nevitt (Col ’05) and Shannon Nevitt (Col ’04) would like to announce the birth of their first child, James Patrick, born on Aug. 25, 2009, at Fair Oaks Hospital, Va.
Shannon Comer (Arch ’94)
Shannon Comer (Arch ’94) is proud to announce her new firm, Shannon Comer Architects, Inc. She practices residential and commercial architecture in Stevenson, Md.
Melissa Richards (Col ’93 CM)
Melissa Farmer Richards (Col ’93 L/M) is director of marketing and strategic communications at Virginia Tech since March.
Catherine Frank (Col ’99 CM)
Catherine Shnaider Frank (Col ’99 L/M) and Mitch Frank (Col ’96 L/M) welcomed their first child, Spencer David, on June 13, 2009. Spencer is the grandson of Irving Shnaider (Col ’68 L/M) and the nephew of Adam Shnaider (Com ’95 L/M). The family resides in Brooklyn, N.Y.
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