Class Notes
nancy colier (Col ’87)
Nancy Colier (Col ’87) has published her fifth book, The Emotionally Exhausted Woman: Why You’re Feeling Depleted and How to Get What You Need, a radically different self-care guide to help women find the courage to express their deepest needs, nurture self-awareness, and be themselves in a world that expects them to be everything to everyone.
Colier is a psychotherapist, interfaith minister and public speaker.
Cecily Zander (Col ’15)
Cecily Zander (Col ’15) has published The Army under Fire: Antimilitarism in the Civil War (LSU Press), a path-breaking study focusing on the fierce political debates over the size and use of military forces in the United States during the Civil War era. It examines how prominent political figures interacted with the professional army and how those same leaders misunderstood the value of regular soldiers fighting to reunify the fractured nation.
Rickey White (Educ ’83)
Rickey White (Educ ’83) has published a Christian romance novel, Beneath the Skin; a poetry book, Poetic Expressions from Beneath My Skin, and a children’s book, Cori Candle and the Vowel Family Quest.
Evan Rothschild (Com ’97 CM)
Evan Rothschild (Com ’97 CM) has become the newest Principal at Adero Partners, a wealth management firm with offices in the San Francisco area and in Portland, Oregon that caters to high-net-worth clients. As a Chartered Financial Analyst for over 24 years and a Certified Financial Planner, Rothschild excels in guiding thoughtful individuals and families through the intricacies of stock plan compensation, investments, estate planning, and personal risk management.
Rothschild previously worked as a financial adviser at Morgan Stanley, founder and portfolio manager at Morris Rothschild Capital, and senior equity analyst at The Boston Company and Delaware Investments. He lives in Redwood City, California with his wife Allyson.
Jim Ambuske (Grad ’16)
Jim Ambuske (Grad ’16) is the creator, writer and narrator of “Worlds Turned Upside Down,” a podcast about the American Revolution. Produced by R2 Studios, the series tells the story of the revolutionary era as a transatlantic crisis and imperial civil war through the lives of the people who experienced it. The show features many current and former UVA history faculty and graduates, including Max Edelson, Patrick Griffin, Shira Lurie (Grad ’19), Scott Miller (Grad ’15, ’18), Andrew O’Shaughnessy, Hannah Tucker (Grad ’17, ’21) and more. The podcast is available on all major podcast apps and R2 Studios’ website.
Reginald Sanders (Col ’81)
Dr. Reginald J. Sanders (Col ’81 CM), was recently named President of the American Society of Retina Specialists. The ASRS is the world’s largest organization for retina specialists, and Dr. Sanders is the first African American to serve as President. His other achievements include being elected into the Retina Hall of Fame as a charter inductee in 2016.
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01)
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) has been nominated for a Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Award for Book of the Year for his recent biography George Pal: Man of Tomorrow.
Sarah Schweig (Col ’07)
Sarah V. Schweig (Col ’07) has won the 2023-24 Jake Adam York Prize for her second collection of poems, The Ocean in the Next Room. The collection will be published by Milkweed Editions in January 2025. Schweig’s first poetry collection, Take Nothing with You, was published by the University of Iowa Press in 2016.
Charles Avery (Col ’72)
Charles Avery (Col ’72) has been leading The Nehemiah Project DC, a federally funded housing program which helps men transition to society following incarceration, while also consulting on other mental health matters. He also serves as the president of the Loudoun Douglass School Alumni Association and co-chaired the effort to preserve and restore the school, which has been designated as a historic landmark. Avery, who was valedictorian of the last class of the segregated school, received a 2023 Charles Hamilton Houston Equity and Justice award from Loudoun County NAACP in recognition of his work.
Avery took on these projects after completing 11 years as the executive director of Veterans On the Rise, a non-profit dedicated to providing a holistic system of care to fight veteran homelessness in the Washington D.C. area.
Melanie Avery (Col ’99 CM)
Melanie Avery (Col ’99 CM) is leading a large data transformation and decision support team for BAE systems as Technical Program Manager for a cross-functional team of data scientists, software developers and business analysts in a data transformation and decision support division at DHS. She took on this role after serving at Veterans on the Rise, a 501(c)3 non-profit, for nine years while also working as a Management Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01)
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) has been nominated for the Theatre Library Association’s Richard Wall Memorial Award for his book George Pal: Man of Tomorrow. The award recognizes performing arts scholarship with exemplary use and interpretation of library and archival collections.
Paul Alp (Arch ’91)
Paul Alp (Arch ’91) has joined the law firm of Adams and Reese, where he serves as one of the co-leaders of the new Adams and Reese Aviation and Aerospace Team.
In addition to traditional matters for airlines and manufacturers, Alp focuses a substantial portion of his law practice on complex airworthiness, compliance and enforcement issues. He is an author of numerous articles on legal issues affecting the aviation and aerospace industry. He also holds a commercial pilot certificate and has worked as a flight instructor.
Arp received a J.D. from George Washington University and an LL.M. with a specialization in Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice from American University. He served as a partner at the law firm of Jenner & Block and as legal counsel at The Boeing Company.
Paul practices in the Washington, D.C. office.
Chase Overton (Com ’22)
Chase J. Overton (Com ’22) has joined Guidehouse, a global business consulting and services company headquartered in McLean, Virginia, as a data science consultant. Previously, he was a risk and compliance consultant with Protiviti.
Chelsea McNeilly (Col ’19)
Ryan McNeilly (Col ’20 CM) and Chelsea Guillory (Col ’19 CM) were married in Pensacola, Florida on May 2, 2023. The two met at the Aquatic and Fitness Center in 2018. They recently celebrated their marriage back in Charlottesville on Jan. 13th, 2024 with many ‘Hoos in attendance. The couple lives in Jacksonville, Florida.
T. Kelly (Col ’82 CM)
Mills Kelly (Col ’82 CM) will be a Fulbright Scholar at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany during 2024. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Luxembourg Center for Contemporary and Digital History.
Frank Macgill (Com ’91)
Frank Macgill (Com ’91) has been honored as a 2024 Super Lawyer in the practice areas of estate planning and probate.
Attorneys are selected based upon peer review, professional achievements, and independent research.
Macgill is a partner with HunterMaclean, a business law firm with offices in Savannah and St. Simons Island, Georgia.
Byron Dickson (Arch ’63)
Byron Dickson (Arch ’63 CM), was inducted into the Salem (Virginia) Educational Foundation and Alumni Association Hall of Fame on April 26th, 2023. The five inductees were recognized for major achievements in their chosen fields of education and architecture.
Samuel Towell (Law ’05)
Sam Towell (Law ’05) has been elected by the Virginia General Assembly to one of three judgeships on the State Corporation Commission. The SCC is a constitutionally organized independent department of state government that regulates public utilities, insurance, state-chartered financial institutions, securities, retail franchising, and railroads.
Thomas Hauser (Col ’90)
Thomas Hauser (COL ’90) has published Flying in the Shadows: Forging Aerial Intelligence for the United States Army. The book explores the military partnership between aviation and intelligence, including its origins, key personnel, and technological development. Hauser also explains how war and conflict opened opportunities to redefine the field of tactical aerial intelligence and thereby enable the U.S. Army Intelligence and Security Command to avert a potential catastrophe in East Asia. Flying in the Shadows is published through the U.S. Government Publishing Office in Washington, DC.
Hauser has worked in the U.S. intelligence community for more than twenty years. Previously, he taught politics and history while on the faculty of Shenandoah University and served in the U.S. Army.
Henry Legard (Com ’17 CM)
Henry Legard (Com ’17 CM) and Niel Ketkar (Engr ’19 CM) have founded Verisoul, a platform that identifies fake accounts and bots by using Artificial Intelligence to analyze email, network, device, and user behavior. The product prevents sign-up promotions from being abused, reduces cybersecurity risk, improves user experience, and more.
Legard and Ketktar have raised $3.25M from investors, and are always looking to connect with fellow ’Hoos – either customers or potential employees.
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