Class Notes

David Landin (Col ’68, Law ’72 CM) was honored by the Virginia Bar Association with a resolution recognizing his work on behalf of his alma mater, the University of Virginia, alongside his work on behalf of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello as a trustee and over five decades of service to the profession, including as president of The Virginia Bar Association, The Virginia Law Foundation and The Virginia Association of Defense Attorneys, but, importantly, for his chairmanship of the VBA Committee on Special Issues of National and State Importance, which he chaired for almost half of its being since its founding in 1974, “…in gratitude and recognition for these services and for exemplifying the ideals of the citizen lawyer and Virginian.”

The resolution was adopted by the board of governors at the ABA’s annual meeting in January in Williamsburg on behalf of “…The Virginia Bar Association’s members, and on behalf of colleagues throughout this Commonwealth…”, then read at the black-tie banquet.

Landin appeared on the cover of The Virginia Lawyer in the February issue, in recognition of the 50^th Anniversary of The Virginia Law Foundation, which he led as president in 1987-88. He is shown with Judge Roger Gregory, 2024 Jefferson Medalist in Law; and Justice Jane Marum Roush (Law ’81 CM), immediate past president of the VLF.

Kamran Kowsari (Engr ’20) and Masoud Bashiri (Engr ’20) have founded UniversityCube, a social network platform for students and faculty designed to prioritize educational content and foster a supportive online environment conducive to learning and scholarly engagement. Unlike entertainment-focused social networks that can detract from academic focus, UniversityCube is a dedicated space for academic peers to connect, collaborate, and share knowledge. Created by students, for students, it aims to bridge gaps in academic connectivity and empower users to make informed decisions about their educational paths.

Key features include:

• Comprehensive university and course discovery worldwide.
• AI-powered tools like Ash, an assistant for writing assistance.
• Robust collaboration tools for students and educators.
• Opportunities to publish and share academic articles.
• Access to a global network of over 350,000 faculty and educators.

By leveraging AI and behavior analysis, UniversityCube helps prospective students connect with peers and professionals in their desired fields, ensuring they have the insights needed to choose their majors wisely and minimize regrets later on. It offers a unique platform where students, educators, and creators can thrive together, sharing knowledge and building meaningful connections that enrich their academic and creative pursuits.

Oscar R. Aylor (Col ‘62 CM) was honored by Appalachian State University in April with a lecture hall named in his honor in the ASU College of Health Sciences.  His career in health services management and policy included several senior hospital executive positions and university faculty appointments, including App State where he was the inaugural director of an undergraduate major in healthcare management from 1972 to 1981 in the university’s college of business.  This major has more than 1,500 alumni since its beginning, many of whom have had very successful careers of their own.  Aylor retired in 2018 and lives near Charlottesville, where he continues to serve as a member of the Hospital Ethics Committee at UVA Health. 

Susan Shapiro (Col ’10 CM) and husband Zach Shapiro (Eng ’09 CM) welcomed their second child and first baby girl Selma Finette on March 28, 2024, in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Ed Offley (Col ’69) has been named Naval History magazine’s “2023 Author of the Year” by the U.S. Naval Institute for a series of articles on the Battle of the Atlantic, the 1983 U.S. invasion of Grenada, and a profile of a 100-year-old World War II battleship sailor.

Harry L. Thomas (Col ’76 CM) was inducted into the Arlington (Virginia) County Sports Hall of Fame in October 2022. He was inducted into the Washington-Liberty High School Sports Hall of Fame in January 2019. Thomas was co-captain of the UVA baseball team in 1976, was a second-team All-ACC pitcher in 1974, and made the All-ACC Academic team in 1974, 1975 and 1976. Thomas is still co-holder of the ACC record for strikeouts in a game, with 19 in 1974.

For the past 48 years, Thomas has been an agent and wealth management advisor for The Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company. His son John Thomas (Col ’00) also pitched for the UVA baseball team.

John Warley (Law ’70 CM) was awarded an honorary Doctor of Letters degree by The Citadel on May 4, 2024, in recognition of his contribution to The Citadel War Memorial. Warley composed both the inscription that greets visitors to the Memorial as well as the narrative history of the college etched into the walls. He is also the author of a history of the school, Stand Forever, Yielding Never, The Citadel in the 21st Century.

Hayden Saunier (Col ’79 CM) has published her sixth collection of poetry, Wheel, out June 12 from Terrapin Books. Saunier’s work has been awarded a Pushcart Prize, Rattle Poetry Prize, Pablo Neruda Prize, and has been published in journals such as Beloit Poetry Journal, diode, Pedestal, Plume, RHR, Thrush, and VQR, and featured on Poetry Daily, Verse Daily, and The Writers Almanac. 

About Wheel, John Timpane writes,

“It’s a tight collection governed by theme and voice, but also by powerful formal means, especially repeated music and imagery, marked out in something like sonata form by those four “Wheels,” as sameness, otherness, repetition, singularity, and how and why whirl and interequilibrate. Gorgeous. This is the work of a poet at full throttle, full voice, persuading us to join her, farmer, actress, wife, child, adult, past, present, desirer/desired, wonderer, as she stands in winter suit of hand-me-downs amid a storm of beauty, loss, and bright abundance, feet in rubber boots, wheeled round, firmly grounded in chastening, gladdening splendor.”

Patricia A. Steenberg Leonard (Col ’88 CM) has been elected to the executive committee of the board of directors for the Armory Art Center in West Palm Beach, Florida.  The Armory Art Center provides art classes for artists of all ages and abilities, and is a premier space for exhibitions, art salons, lectures, and special events.  The Armory also provides healing arts programs, such as BraveHeARTS, which promotes the rehabilitation of military service veterans through the visual arts, and the Art of the Phoenix, which serves teens and young adults who have experienced past trauma by encouraging creative expression paired with arts therapy.  The board of directors is an all-volunteer board that supports and advances the mission of the Armory Art Center. Leonard has served on the board since 2021.

Lori Spiller (Educ ’99, ’20) has retired after 35 years of teaching in Hanover County, Virginia. Spiller served as a special education teacher for 14 years and, after completing her master’s degree in reading education at UVA, as a reading specialist for the past 21 years. She’s thankful to UVA for the program that guided the majority of her teaching career. Her plans for retirement include a beach home and a part-time job in a library or bookstore.

Sara Shukla (Col ’02, Educ ’06) has published her debut novel, Pink Whales, a story about marriage, secrets, escape, and deceptively tidy little lives. Sharp-witted and funny, it explores the complexities of a marriage amidst change, modern parenting, and the desire to fit in, no matter how old you are, and sometimes, no matter the cost.

Charlie is already feeling adrift when she relocates to an exclusive town in coastal New England with her mysteriously distant husband, Dev, and their young twins in tow. She hopes the move will recharge her stalled marriage, and she wants her kids to feel like they belong, even if she’s clearly a fish out of water herself. In a strange new world where summer is a verb and both the harbor and the partygoers are awash in a dizzying constellation of pinks and pastels, she’s never felt so confounded or alone. She’ll need more than a preppy handbook to find her way.

Then a trio of power moms―imposing, beautiful, and monogrammed―comes to the rescue, and Charlie clings to their attention like a life raft. As Dev pulls further away, Charlie dives into her newfound friends’ circle of yacht clubs, rivalries, and bizarre theme parties, hoping to find her sea legs. She even dares to cozy up to a hot, barefoot, and aggressively flirty local. But if she’s running from her problems at home, where exactly is she escaping to? Charlie is beginning to wonder. This ridiculous new normal―and her desire to be part of it―might just eat her alive.

Shukla is an editor for WBUR’s Cognoscenti, in Boston. You can find her writing at WBUR as well as the Los Angeles Review of Books, McSweeneys, and elsewhere. An alum of GrubStreet’s Novel Incubator, she lives in Massachusetts with her family.

Published by Little A, Pink Whales is on sale June 4.

“A satisfying romp through a New England enclave that’s not nearly as idyllic as it seems.”

―Kirkus Reviews

 “My house is a mess and my laundry piled to the ceiling, and it’s all Sara Shukla’s fault! I couldn’t put it down. PINK WHALES lets you go places you’re not invited, drink more than you should, and escape to the beach on nearly every page—what’s not to like?”

―Christine Simon, author of Patron Saint of Second Chances

“Pink Whales is a deep and delightful modern rom-com full of meaningful twists on love, redemption, family, and the meaning of home. A perfect read for the beach…or the yacht club.”

―Byron Lane, author of A Star Is Bored and Big Gay Wedding

“Pink Whales is a can’t-miss coastal romp where Charlie navigates the choppy waters of her new preppy town on a quest to save her marriage and bring her family together. I loved every page. Shukla has a gift for writing humor that hits deep while also exposing truth and the raw emotion that makes the story both relatable and unforgettable.”

―Rachel Barenbaum, author of Atomic Anna and A Bend in the Stars

“Sara Shukla’s Pink Whales is an equal parts hilarious and heartfelt portrait of class anxiety and late coming of age. With her irresistible dialogue and perfectly skewered characters, Shukla swept me into the seaside town of Rumford and all its preppy, pesky privilege. I loved reading this utterly delightful debut!” ―Liv Stratman, author of Cheat Day

Richard E. McDorman (Col ’94, Educ ’24 CM)) was awarded the degree of Education Specialist (Ed.S.) in Curriculum and Instruction with a specialization in English as a Second Language from the UVA School of Education and Human Development on May 19, almost 30 years to the day after his first degree from the University, a B.A. in Linguistics, with Highest Distinction, awarded in May 1994. The Ed.S. is McDorman’s fourth academic degree, along with an M.A. in Linguistics (University of Chicago) and an M.L.S. in Ancient Studies (University of Miami) in addition to graduate certificates in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (Penn State), Spanish to English Translation (New York University), and General Translation (New York University).

McDorman serves as the chief academic officer of Language On Schools, a position he has held since 2016. He also works as a specialized contractor for the Commission on English Language Program Accreditation and is an independent translator, certified by the American Translators Association for translation from Spanish into English. Originally from Beckley, West Virginia, McDorman has lived in Miami since 1999.

Ginny Bowen Olson (Col ’98), president and founder of Brand Elements Coaching, has published her first book, Strategic Marketing for Nonprofits. Based on her role as adjunct professor of marketing for nonprofits in the Master of Public Affairs department at UNC-Greensboro for over a decade and from working with organizations in the civil society sector, this actionable guide is filled with tips and tricks to implement marketing strategy and grow brand awareness. It is available for purchase on Amazon in paperback and eBook.

Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) has won a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Book of the Year for his recent biography George Pal: Man of Tomorrow.

Natalie Morris (Col ’08, Law ’12 CM) and her husband Christopher Hanway welcomed identical twin girls, Kathryn and Clara Hanway, to the world on June 30, 2023. The family (including two greyhounds) lives in Alexandria, Virginia.

Lois Waybill Alderfer (Nurs ’90, ’91) received the Founder’s Award from the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners. The award honors a member who has founded, pioneered, or made significant historical contributions to the shaping of the organization of the Virginia Council of Nurse Practitioners.

Alderfer is a family nurse practitioner who has practiced at the Blue Ridge Medical Center, a Federally Qualified Health Center, since 1991. For the past seven years she has also served as chief medical officer. Alderfer is one of a few nurse practioners who have held the role of CMO within a FQHC. She was named Provider of the Year in 1995 by the Virginia Primary Care Association and Provider of the Year by the Virginia Community Healthcare Association in 2019.

Ashleigh J. Owens (Col ’06 CM) was named chief assistant district attorney of Richmond County, New York (Staten Island). She is the first woman to hold the position in the history of the county.

George T. Snyder (Col ’85 CM) was presented with a lifetime achievement award from the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania Chapter of the Turnaround Management Association.

TMA Pittsburgh is a group of professionals dedicated to the local corporate renewal, restructuring, and turnaround management community.

Dr. Howard Berryman “Berry” Edwards (’71, Med ’78 CM) published BehaveNet.com, an encyclopedia of psychiatry, including sleep medicine and addiction medicine, since 1995.

Paul B. Terpak (Col ’77, Law ’80 CM) has been named to the Virginia Lawyers Hall of Fame, an honor given to about one tenth of 1% of lawyers in Virginia every year.  The Hall of Fame honors Virginia lawyers who have been in practice for 30 years. Criteria for inclusion include career accomplishments, contributions to the development of the law in Virginia, contributions to the bar and to the commonwealth at large and efforts to improve the quality of justice in Virginia.

For the fifth time, Terpak was named Best Lawyers 2024 Eminent Domain and Condemnation Lawyer of the Year for the Washington D.C. area.   He practices with Blankingship & Keith in Fairfax.

Retired Col. Richard Kingman (Col ’74 CM) and fellow Air Force ROTC alumni from 1973 to 1977 attended the 2024 Joint Service ROTC Awards Ceremony at UVA to present the inaugural Colonel James A. Ball Outstanding UVA ROTC Instructor of the Year award.  The award is named after Colonel James A. Ball, who served as the assistant professor of Air Science at UVA from 1971-1975 and is a lifelong friend, mentor, and example to the officers he helped train, as well as someone who reflects the best traditions of the U.S. military, the Air Force, and UVA.

The award was the brainchild of Kingman, who solicited support for the effort and endowment from fellow alumni. Also attending the April 16 ceremony were retired Col. Barry Bryan (Col ’76), retired Col. James Holaday (Col ’75 CM), retired Lt. Col John Valliere (Engr ’76 CM),  Bruce Webster (Engr ’74 CM), and Michael Skojec (Col ’ 76 CM).

Ball presented the award to USAF Major Tim Robles of AFROTC Detachment 890 for his outstanding efforts over the 2023-2024 school year demonstrating “instructional and counseling abilities, civic engagement, and overall contributions to [his] ROTC unit.”

Ben Arthur (Col ’95) is launching the sixth season of his podcast, SongWriter, in which an author reads a song and a songwriter performs a song written in response. Past seasons have featured artists such as Questlove, Susan Orlean, David Gilmour of Pink Floyd, Roxane Gay, Joyce Carol Oates, Steve Earle, and others. This season will focus on elements of human flourishing like forgiveness, polarization, and empathy. SongWriter is also available as a live performance series.

Bill Crutchfield (Com ’65 CM) will be honored in May with a Virginia Senate Joint Resolution recognizing the 50th anniversary of Crutchfield Corporation, an electronics retailer based in Charlottesville. Crutchfield founded the company in 1974 when he was unable to find a modern stereo for the Porsche 356 he was restoring. He was named Ernst & Young’s Master Entrepreneur of the Year for Virginia in 1999 and was inducted into the Consumer Electronics Hall of Fame in 2007.

Ashley Bartley (Col ’06 CM) has released two additional titles in her social emotional learning children’s book series published by Boys Town Press. Jasper Lizard Wants to Stay Home (2023) helps young children experiencing separation anxiety and Molly and the Runaway Trolley (2023) offers children strategies for managing anxiety at home and at school. Both books include tips for caregivers, and companion resources are available from Boys Town Press. Bartley is a school counselor, author, and curriculum writer who lives with her husband and three young boys in the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia. She is the owner and creator of the online business Counselor Station, providing curriculum and resources for school counselors.

Rick Kast (Col ’70) has published Romance With Variations, a novel concerning the relationship between Robert, a lawyer who is a classical music lover, and Anna, a pianist. There are many mysteries in Anna’s background that she is reticent about. After she disappears, Robert has to confront and resolve them to try to find her. Kast is a lawyer and classical music lover himself. He retired from the UVA General Counsel’s Office in December 2015 and lives in Charlottesville.

Whitney Garrison Athayde (Col ’05 CM) has been promoted to managing consultant at AmPhil, where she helps mission-aligned nonprofits strengthen civil society by scaling their fundraising operations.  She works from a farm just north of Charlottesville where she and her husband also homestead and homeschool their four children.

Don Slesnick (Col ’65 CM) delivered the graduation address for Florida International University in December 2023, when was also awarded the FIU Medallion For Outstanding Alumnus. Slesnick, the former mayor of Coral Gables, Florida, received the Excellence in Public Service Award from the Gables Good Government Committee in March 2024. His late wife, Jeannett, a former city commissioner, was also honored posthumously.

Kaitlyn (Houck) Witman (Col ’12 CM) has been named co-CEO at Rainfactory, the company she co-founded in 2014. Rainfactory is a marketing agency for new technology product launches, crowdfunding, and pre-sales. She lives in Vienna, Virginia with husband Ben Witman (Engr ’12) and their three children. 

Steven Fox (Engr ’81 CM) is co-founder and Luke Fox (Engr ’15 CM) manager of eViation and Drone Academy, which provides classroom, flight training, and hands-on experience focused on the emerging Unmanned Aviation Systems and electric “green technologies” aviation markets. Opened in January 2024, the Academy is located at Hampton Roads Executive Airport in Chesapeake, Virginia. Its mission is to prepare students for the FAA Part 107 UAS Operator examination and to also provide specialized drone training for select use cases.

The Academy has agreements in place with Old Dominion University, NASA, the Virginia Space Grant Consortium, Virginia Tech, Hampton University,  Community College Workforce Alliance, school divisions in Virginia Beach and York County, Virginia, and New Horizons Regional Education Centers.

Kathleen Biggins (Col ’82 CM), founder of C-Change Conversations, a non-partisan group devoted to educating people about the science and risk of climate change, spoke on Capitol Hill as a keynote speaker at the National Affairs & Legislation Conference.

Biggins spoke alongside Sens. Kristen Gillibrand, Mazie Hirono, Edward Markey and Sheldon Whitehouse and Reps. Debbie Dingell, Garret Graves and Brian Mast. Approximately 400 delegates from around the country attended.

Justin Watkins (Col ’02 CM) has been promoted to major in the U.S. Army.  Maj. Watkins currently serves as an appellate defense attorney at Fort Belvoir, Virginia.  He previously served in South Korea, Kentucky, Iraq, Germany, and Kuwait.  Next year, he will attend the Army’s Judge Advocate Officer’s Graduate Course in Charlottesville for a Master of Laws (LL.M) in Military Law.

Susan Martin (Educ ’99) has been selected as a finalist for the 2024 Golden Apple Awards for Excellence in Leadership. The Golden Apple Foundation is the leading Illinois nonprofit committed to preparing, honoring and supporting great educators who advance educational opportunities for students. Five finalists were chosen from more than 100 nominations. Martin is principal of Reservoir Gifted Academy in Peoria, Ill.

Jennifer (Bogart) McDowell (Col ’87) has been promoted to interim academic dean of career and technical education at Hennepin Technical College, a member of the Minnesota State system of colleges and universities.

Nicole Gates (Col ’09) has been promoted to Vice President, Legal, for Dr. Seuss Enterprises. Gates, who previously held the role of Senior Corporate Counsel, will manage the growing Dr. Seuss Enterprises legal team and, as a member of the executive leadership team, will provide strategic guidance on major corporate initiatives and a wide variety of operational matters.

Elizabeth Larus (Grad ’89, ’94), Professor Emerita of Political Science and International Affairs at the University of Mary Washington, has been named Non-resident Senior Fellow at the Atlantic Council Global China Hub.

Steve Silbiger (Darden ’90) has written the 5th edition of his book, The Ten-Day MBA, which will be available for purchase July 2024. The book distills lessons from the country’s top business schools, including Harvard, Stanford and UVA’s own Darden School of Business. Previous editions of the book have sold over 165,000 copies and been translated into 12 languages.

Robyn McCutcheon (Col ’76 CM) has published Queer Diplomacy:  A Transgender Journey in the Foreign Service, covering her career with the Department of State largely in the Soviet Union, Russia, and other post-Soviet countries.  The book also covers her transgender journey — including at the University in the 1970s — through gender transition while serving as a diplomat in Romania.  It is available on Amazon at https://www.amazon.com/dp/1637236395.

Robert Colby (Col ’09 CM) has published his first book, An Unholy Traffic: Slave Trading in the Civil War South, with Oxford University Press. The book explores the survival of the slave trade during the Civil War, its effects on the inhabitants of the wartime South, and its influence on the course of the conflict. Colby is an assistant professor of history at the University of Mississippi.

Elizabeth “Beth” Moore Chiusano (Educ ’77, ’79 CM) has retired after 44 years as an audiologist. Her career included service in the Army as one of the first female audiologists. Chiusano also worked for 10 years in an ENT practice in Lawton, Oklahoma. Upon moving to Sussex County New Jersey in 2002, she purchased a private practice which she ran successfully for 21 years. She sold Sussex Audiology Services & Hearing Aid Center, LLC in 2023. She and her husband Wayne live in Andover Township, New Jersey.