“Publication” Class Notes

Scott Horton (Col ’02, Law ’05) published his first book, New York Management Law:The Practical Guide to Employment Law for Business Owners and Managers (Modern Legal Media). He also recently celebrated the first anniversary of his law firm, Horton Law. 

Don Zillman (Law ’73) published two books. He co-wrote Living the World War, Vol. Two (Vandeplas Publishers), which is a week by week study of America’s participation in World War I using sources like The New York Times and the Congressional Record. He was also an editor of Innovation in Energy Law and Technology (Oxford University Press), in which 37 legal scholars examine the technological and legal changes that are driving the world economy.

Heather D. Curtis (Col ’91 L/M) published Holy Humanitarians: American Evangelicals & Global Aid (Harvard University Press, 2018). The book examines the crucial role popular religious media played in the extension of US philanthropy at home and abroad from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century. Curtis is an Associate Professor of Religion at Tufts University. She is also the director of the American Studies Program and an affiliated faculty in history, international religions and the Tisch College of Civic Life.

Neva Bryan (Col ’89 L/M) is among the poets, essayists and fiction writers published in the 2018 volume of the Anthology of Appalachian Writers, for which New York Times bestselling author Wiley Cash served as editorial adviser. This year’s volume includes the work of two state poet laureates. Bryan is the author of three novels and a collection of short stories and poems. 

Caitlin L. Ryan (Col ’01) has published Reading the Rainbow: LGBTQ-Inclusive Literacy Instruction in the Elementary Classroom. Drawing on several years of research by Ryan and her co-author, Jill Hermann-Wilmarth, the book uses examples of teaching from a wide range of elementary classrooms to explain why and how LGBTQ-inclusive literacy instruction is possible, relevant and necessary in grades K–5. Ryan is currently an associate professor of reading education in the College of Education at East Carolina University in Greenville, North Carolina.

Ashley Ellington Brown (Col ’90) published her first book, A Beautiful Morning: How a Morning Ritual Can Feed Your Soul and Transform Your Life (Leo Press), on Feb. 22, 2018. Brown interviewed more than 20 successful women, including New York Times best-selling author and life coach Martha Beck. The women discuss how their morning routines enable them to steer their lives with purpose and experience more joy, and provide suggestions for the reader on how to create a personally meaningful morning ritual.

Christina Dalcher (Col ’89) will publish her first novel, published by Berkley Books (Penguin Random House), on Aug. 21, 2018. While VOX imagines a world where women are only allowed to speak 100 words a day, it also examines language as the basis of our humanity, and freedom of speech as a right to be treasured.

Frank B. Connolly (Arch ’72) has published a second book, Hidden Agendas Inside Town Hall. The novel follows the fighting and political shenanigans that take place in an imaginary Connecticut community as it struggles with a proposed land development. Mr. Connolly’s first book, Local Government in Connecticut, 3rd Edition, was published in 2013 by Wesleyan University Press and won the press’s 2013 Driftless Award for an outstanding book on a Connecticut topic or written by a Connecticut author.

Susan Perng Pan (Engr ’91 L/M) and Michael Tobin (Col ’11), authored a case law reference, The Essential Case Law Guide to PTAB Trials. Ms. Pan is a partner with Sughrue Mion, where Mr. Tobin is an associate. The book, co-authored with their Sughrue colleagues, is the first comprehensive text on decisions of the U.S. Patent Office regarding the newest form of administrative law practice before that agency. Through analysis and summary of the Patent Trial and Appeal Board’s decisions, the text identifies boundaries of the organization’s rules, providing guidance for handling these highly specialized matters before the U.S. Patent Office. The book, available here, will be published by the American Bar Association’s section on intellectual property law.

Tony Covington (Col ’90) self-published a memoir, I Am Underdog: A Journey of Adversity & Blessings on May 18, 2017.

Paula HIll Jasinski (Col ’89 L/M) and her husband published the Chesapeake Bay Ecosystem Atlas, a digital environmental text focused on the Chesapeake Bay region. Produced with funding from and in collaboration with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the text uses the organization’s science and research from around the Chesapeake Bay to explain how the ecosystem works, including chapters on the bay’s formation, connections between water quality and precipitation, food web interactions, climate change, and more. The atlas is being used by schools throughout the Chesapeake Bay region and is available to download for free on iTunes.

Jodie Rundle Berndt (Col ’84 L/M) published Praying the Scriptures for Your Adult Children in December 2017 (HarperCollins/Zondervan). A follow-up to the bestselling Praying the Scriptures for Your Children and Praying the Scriptures for Your Teens, the new book became an Amazon Bestseller in its first week—probably because of Chapter 17 (which talks about UVA) and Chapter 10 (which is where parents can pray that their kids will get a job)! Ms. Berndt and her husband, Robert (Col ’85 L/M), have four adult children—all Wahoos!—and two sons-in-law who (sigh) graduated from Virginia Tech.

Linsey Davis (Col ’99), an Emmy award-winning journalist and ABC News correspondent, has published The World is Awake: A Celebration of Everyday Blessings (Zonderkidz), an inspirational picture book that encourages children to celebrate and be thankful for the everyday blessings of life.The lyrical, rhyming story, intended to make young children feel joyful and safe, is paired with bright and engaging illustrations to inspire children to see the extraordinary in an ordinary day. The book is available for preorder now and will be in bookstores February 6th. For more information visit the Ms. Davis’ website.

Charlie Szoradi (Arch ’89) published a book, Learn from Looking: How Observation Inspires Innovation, in February 2017 that is now available in large format and eBook as well as the standard 6″ x 9″ size. The book includes Mr. Szoradi’s travel drawings and insights on sustainability from over two decades of his travels around the world. Charlie is a LEED AP Architect and the the CEO of Independence LED Lighting, one of the first American manufacturers of energy-saving commercial LED lighting.