Class Notes

Nerissa Neal Rouzer (Col ’06 CM) and Garett Michael Rouzer (Arch ’05 CM) welcomed a daughter, Alexandra Elise, on April 10, 2024. She joins big brothers Ethan and Owen. The family lives in Charlottesville.

Julie Dauksys (Educ ’99, ’10) has retired after 33 years in public education in both Hopewell city and Hanover County, Virginia. Dauksys served as a literacy specialist and coach in grades K-8 for 27 years. In 2022 she completed her Ph.D. in curriculum, culture, and change at VCU. In retirement,  Dauksys will continue as a part-time associate professor of literacy at Randolph-Macon College and serve as co-president of the Virginia Literacy Educators Association.

Dorothy Shea (Col ’88 CM) was confirmed by the U.S. Senate as the next deputy U.S. representative to the United Nations with the rank of ambassador extraordinary and plenipotentiary.  She was pleased to have several close friends from the UVA class of 1988 in attendance at her Aug. 16 swearing-in ceremony, which U.S. Ambassador to the U.N. Linda Thomas-Greenfield officiated.  She took up her new duties in New York on Aug. 19.

Richard B. Miller (Col ’75, CM) retired on July 1, 2024, and is now the Laura Spelman Rockefeller Emeritus Professor at the University of Chicago.  Before coming to Chicago in 2014, Miller taught and served in several administrative roles at Indiana University, starting in 1985.  On May 7 he welcomed his grandson, Declan Ian Miller-Mulcahy, into the world.  Miller is currently finishing a book tentatively entitled, A Simple Twist of Fate: Religion, Moral Luck, and Social Criticism. He lives in San Francisco with his wife, film scholar Barbara Klinger. He can be reached at richardbmiller824@gmail.com.

Luba Shur (Col ’93, Law ’96 CM) has authored a new novel, RULE 23, available for preorder on Amazon and Audible. Liar’s Poker meets Legally Blonde and The Devil Wears Prada in this buzzy satire that tells the tale of one of the greatest grifts enshrined as law. There’s a striving, young associate who’s the book’s antiheroine, a ruthless senior partner eager to exploit her ambition, and a legal system that enables their diabolical schemes like tracks enable a runaway train. Kiiri Sandy—who brought to brilliant life recent hits by David Baldacci, Ruth Reichl, and Maud Ventura—shines as the narrator.

Shur received a B.A. in economics and international relations from UVA and a J.D. from its School of Law, where she served on the Law Review and earned Order of the Coif honors. She launched her career as a two-time federal judicial law clerk and built her career in private practice, at two preeminent BigLaw firms, including tenure as an associate, a counsel, and an equity partner specializing in complex litigation and other dispute resolution. Following these positions, Luba worked as a media law attorney at a government agency and currently works as a broad-based in-house general counsel. She lives in the Washington, D.C. area along with two children, one husband, and zero dogs.

Robert Lufkin (Med ’79) has published Lies I Taught in Medical School, a New York Times bestseller based on his experience as a full professor at UCLA and USC medical schools. The book has been described as a riveting, cautionary tale of how medicine has gotten things so wrong (and continues to) in the area of metabolic health.

A free sample chapter is available at https://www.robertlufkinmd.com/lies/

June P. Bartley (Nurs ’49) celebrated her 100th birthday on June 16, 2024. She started at UVA on March 11, 1946, and graduated on March 10, 1949. She met her husband, John A. Bartley, who was attending UVA in the School of Architecture, in 1947. They were married March 11, 1949, the day after her graduation.

Charles (Tom) Blair (Col ’87, Law ’90 CM) is a contributing author in the volume of essays Lynching in Virginia: Racial Terror and Its Legacy.  Growing up in Rockingham County, Blair, who is an attorney in private practice in Washington, D.C., developed an abiding interest in Civil War and Reconstruction-era history.  Although not as associated with lynching as other southern states, Virginia has a tragically extensive history with these horrific crimes. This important volume examines the more than one hundred people who were lynched in Virginia between 1866 and 1932. Its diverse set of contributors—including scholars, journalists, activists, and students—recover this wider history of lynching in Virginia, interrogate its legacy, and spotlight contemporary efforts to commemorate the victims of racial terror across the commonwealth. Together, their essays represent a small part of the growing effort to come to terms with the role Virginia played in perpetuating America’s national shame.

Luis G. Pedraja (Grad ’94) has been appointed as a delegate to the New England Board of Higher Education by Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey. The appointment highlights Pedraja’s leadership in higher education and his dedication to expanding educational opportunities in Central Massachusetts.

Pedraja has served as president of Quinsigamond Community College in Worcester, Massachusetts for seven years and has more than 30 years of experience in higher education. During his tenure, QCC has increased enrollment, launched student success initiatives, developed a strategic plan, expanded community partnerships, enhanced workforce development programs, and achieved reaccreditation from the New England Commission of Higher Education.

https://theworcesterguardian.org/f/qccs-president-named-to-ne-board-of-higher-ed-by-gov-healey

Before joining GoldMark, Cafferty served as vice president of legal affairs at Combined Properties, a full-service real estate investment and development firm, specializing in the development and acquisition of high-quality office, residential, industrial, and retail properties in the Boston area. Cafferty received his J.D. from Boston College School of Law.

Kim Bridges (Col ’87 CM) has been promoted to associate professor in the School of Education at Virginia Commonwealth University. She joined the Department of Educational Leadership in 2018 after earning a doctorate in education leadership (Ed.L.D) from the Harvard Graduate School of Education. She directs the Ed.D. capstone experience, a year-long collaboration with graduate student teams and partner organizations. Her scholarship and facilitation work focus on local governance and state policy for sustainable K-12 improvement.

Emily Schmidt (Educ ’20 CM) and Bryce (Land) Schmidt (Com ’20) were married in Plymouth, Massachusetts on July 26th, 2024, with many ’Hoos in attendance. Sarah Snow (Educ ’20 CM), Emily’s first year hallmate in Watson-Webb, was the maid of honor. Emily and Bryce met second year when Emily lived two floors above Bryce in Lambeth Field Apartments. Bryce proposed to Emily on the Lawn last year.

Katie Appel (Col ’07 CM) and Francisco Gavaldá were married May 11, 2024 in Antigua, Guatemala, with 13 UVA alumni on hand to celebrate. Appel has lived in Guatemala since 2016, managing U.S. government-funded projects on topics related to anti-corruption, education, and violence prevention. Like UVA’s Academical Village, Antigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and served as the capital of Guatemala for nearly 300 years. The wedding took place in San Jose el Viejo, church ruins dating back to the 18th century, under the shadow of three volcanoes. Wahoos in attendance included (from left to right): Emily Archambeault-Wahlberg (Col ’07 CM), Amanda Huffman Doyle (Col ’06), Chelsey Jones (Col ’07 CM), Payal Maheshwari (Com ’06, Darden ’12), Remy Kauffmann (Col ’08), Colleen Sweeney (Col ’07 CM), Brian Gavron (Com ’08, Darden ’13 CM), Bowman Dickson (Col ’09 CM), Serena Bolliger (Col ’07), Katie Cristol (Col ’07 CM), Steve Giballa (Col ’06), Allison Murphy (Col ’07, Grad ’08), Appel, and Daniel Cullop (Col ’07 CM).

Monica N. Melmer, MD, MS (Col ’11, Med ’17 CM) and Patrick D. Melmer, MD (Col ’12, Med ’17 CM) welcomed their third child, Harrison James, on July 1, 2024. He is adored by his sisters, Kennedy Caroline (4) and Madison Grace (2). His favorite lullaby is the Good Old Song. Now that they are outnumbered, the Drs. Melmer have switched from traditional man-to-man coverage to the Pack Line Defense. The family lives in Richmond where Monica and Patrick are assistant professors in the Division of Addiction Medicine and Department of Surgery, respectively, at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Karl Frisch (SCPS ’23 CM) was re-elected as chair of the Fairfax County (VA) School Board on July 11, 2024. With a $3.5 billion budget, 200 schools, 183,000 students, and 27,000 employees, Fairfax County Public Schools is Virginia’s largest and America’s ninth-largest public school system.

Frisch was elected in 2019 to represent Providence District on the school board, garnering more votes than any candidate for that office in the district’s history. In 2023, he was re-elected by a wider margin. He is the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to local office in Virginia’s largest county.

Before joining the school board, Frisch was a nonprofit executive and public policy specialist. In addition to his work on the board, he serves on the board of directors for the University of Virginia Queer Alumni Network (QVA).

Valerie Johnson Thornton (Col ’87 CM) graduated with a doctorate in education from Regent University on May 3, 2024.  Thornton is as a second-grade teacher at Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, Virginia.

Neal Willetts (Educ ’06) married Elijah Akers in a late afternoon ceremony at Ford’s Colony Country Club in Williamsburg, Virginia on June 26th, 2024.  Katie Morgans (Col ’07) did one of the readings, and numerous UVA friends attended.  Surrounded by over 100 family, friends, and co-workers the couple celebrated in true ’Hoo style and kept the party going until late in the evening at a local bar after the reception.  Akers is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and the couple will move to Columbus, Ohio where he works in the IT industry and Willets works as a project manager for a small software company.

Patricia A. Steenberg Leonard (Col ’88 CM) has been named one of the Top 50 woman lawyers in the State of Florida by Florida Super Lawyers.  Leonard is a business trial attorney at Shutts & Bowen LLP in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she practices commercial litigation, labor and employment litigation, and intellectual property litigation.

Arthur Kahn (Col ’69 CM) is in his third season screening arthouse and repertory films at Thetford (VT) Academy’s Martha Jane Rich Theater.  Thetford Arthouse Cinema hosts residents and visitors in the Vermont/New Hampshire Upper Valley twice weekly for twelve weeks of free films, refreshments and discussion, with support from The Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation and Vermont Humanities.

Myron Santos (Col ’01 CM) has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on The Amazing Race in the category of Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program. It is his second nomination; his first came for RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars in 2019. Santos and his wife and their 9-year-old daughter live in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700) and The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is on the board of the U.Va Entertainment Club of Los Angeles.

Andrew G. Lee, M.D. (Col 85, Med 89 CM) published the second edition of his textbook, Emergencies in Neuro-ophthalmology. Dr. Lee served this year (2023-2024) as president of the Houston Ophthalmological Society and president of the Houston Neurological Society.

John Allis (Col ’75) and Cathy Allis (Educ ’77) have received organic certification for Kennebec Oat Farm.  The farm is located in eastern coastal Maine and grows milky oats, wild raspberry leaf and lady’s mantle leaf.  John continues as a licensed engineer in Maine, Colorado and Virginia, although most of his time is spent on the oat farm.

R. Webb Moore (Engr ’80 CM) has joined the Sands Anderson law firm as counsel in the Richmond, Virginia office.  Sands Anderson is a full-service, multi-disciplinary law firm with offices in Virginia and North Carolina.

www.sandsanderson.com

Steve McCullough (Col ’94 CM) recently published through LexisNexis a treatise on the Virginia Constitution entitled Virginia Constitutional Law.  McCullough has served as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia since 2016.

Don Slesnick (Col ’65 CM) received the Henry M. Flagler Community Builder Award at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Goals Conference banquet in June. The award, which acknowledges lifetime contributions to South Florida, was given to Slesnick and his late wife Jeannett, who was honored posthumously.

Mark Eid, M.D., M.B.A. (SCPS ’22) and Stephen Chang, M.D., M.B.A (SCPS ’22) have founded Acts Financial Advisors, a wealth management firm in McLean, Virginia that recently surpassed $100 million in assets under management. They started their company after graduating from UVA’s Certified Financial Planning program, and now provide comprehensive financial advising with an emphasis on tax strategy and asset protection for high-net-worth physicians and entrepreneurs.

Becky Krystal (Col ’05) has been named recipes editor at The Washington Post. Krystal has worked at the Post since 2007 and recently completed a six-year stint as a staff writer and recipe developer. She also worked for the TV Week, Sunday Source and Travel sections.

Nayna Agrawal (Col ’98) received a commission from the Bechdel Project in Brooklyn, New York for her play, Brad Pitt’s My Bitch. Her play, Slut, will be produced this October in Arkansas.

Ben Rosenthal (Com ’05 CM) has been named an Entrepreneur of The Year 2024 Southwest award winner by Ernest & Young LLP. Rosenthal is co-president and CEO of Standard Meat Company in Fort Worth, Texas. Entrepreneur of The Year is a competitive awards program for entrepreneurs and leaders of high-growth companies.

Sabrina du Pont-Langenegger (Col ’04 CM) has founded Good Friends of The First State, a non-profit all women’s organization whose mission is to inspire hope and provide financial stability to struggling women and girls in Delaware, her home state. Good Friends provides one time, limited financial assistance in times of crisis to prevent women on the brink from falling into a downward spiral that can be nearly impossible to recover from when living month to month, for example.  Women are referred through social workers and healthcare professionals. The organization helps with needs such as housing, transportation, medical expenses, utilities, childcare and more.

The organization raised over $60,000 at its inaugural fundraiser in April and since then has helped 12 women in crisis, with plans to help many more. Vera Gerrity (Col ’04, Law ’08 CM) serves on the board of directors.

Russ Petrin (Col ’00 CM) has been promoted to Executive Director at Morgan Stanley Wealth Management and also recently attained the additional title of Alternative Investments Director, which recognizes his team’s proficiency in and commitment to investments that go beyond traditional stocks and bonds.  Russ, his wife Carrie, and son Sam (12) live in Highlands Ranch, Colorado.

Frank Garmon Jr. (Grad ’10, ’17) has published A Wonderful Career in Crime: Charles Cowlam’s Masquerades in the Civil War Era and Gilded Age, a book uncovering the shadow world of one of America’s most enigmatic and cunning criminals.

Charles Cowlam was in prison in Richmond, Virginia when the Civil War began. He was serving a ten-year sentence for mail robbery after he stole $4,000 from the mails while working as a post office clerk in Portsmouth. His trial took place on the second floor of the Norfolk City Hall, in what is now the MacArthur Memorial. Friends and family petitioned Abraham Lincoln on his behalf, noting that Cowlam was only nineteen years old when the thefts occurred. Lincoln agreed to pardon him on May 27, 1861.

Unfortunately for Cowlam the pardon from Lincoln arrived just over a month after Virginia had seceded from the Union. The governor of Virginia refused to recognize Lincoln’s authority, and Cowlam remained in prison for two more years until he convinced the President of the Confederate States, Jefferson Davis, to grant him a pardon.

Cowlam is the only person known to have received pardons from both Abraham Lincoln and Jefferson Davis. He possessed an extraordinary ability to blend into new surroundings. He spent much of his life on the move, and he changed his name almost as frequently as he changed his story. One contemporary newspaper noted that Cowlam “has as many aliases as there are letters in the alphabet.”

When the war ended Cowlam conned his way into working as a detective investigating Lincoln’s assassination. He later parlayed this investigative experience into jobs with the Internal Revenue Service and for the British government in Ireland. In each case his employment as a detective was short lived, and his shady past always seemed to catch up with him.

Upon returning to the United States Cowlam set his sights on a political career. He convinced President Ulysses S. Grant to appoint him U.S. marshal for the northern district of Florida shortly after arriving in the state in 1872. Grant rescinded the appointment after nearly every local Republican wrote to Washington complaining that Cowlam was a fraud.

Cowlam then launched a congressional campaign on his own. He printed deceptive broadsides designed to trick voters into thinking that he had the support of a major party. Behind the scenes he worked to manipulate the selection of county election commissioners in a last-ditch effort to steal the election. The plan failed when Cowlam received only ninety-two votes across the state.

With his frauds in Florida exposed, Cowlam moved to New York where he started a fake secret society designed to appeal to urban workingmen. He spent his evenings flirting with wealthy eligible bachelorettes, neglecting to mention that he was already married. In short time he became a serial bigamist. The newspapers reported that Cowlam had married half a dozen women in a span of six month, each time disappearing with their money.

Cowlam left New York in the spring of 1874 and spent the next twelve years on the run. He reappeared in the summer of 1886 in Dayton, Ohio. This time he claimed to be a Union colonel who suffered from dementia. He could not remember his own name, where he had fought, or who he had served with, but he was certain that he was a Union colonel. The local papers described him as appearing “about forty years of age” with the initials “C.C.” tattooed on his forearm. After a three-month investigation the War Department discovered his true identity and revealed that he had never fought in the Union army.

Published by Louisian State University Press, A Wonderful Career in Crime sheds light on Cowlam’s remarkable exploits, a true story reminiscent of Catch Me If You Can. It is a must-read for anyone interested in deception, fraud, and ambition in American history.

Garmon Jr. is an assistant professor of American Studies at Christopher Newport University.

Email: frank.garmon@cnu.edu