Class Notes

Michael Genovese (Col ’98 CM) was married October 9, 2022, to Jennifer Ann.  Sons Alexander and Ryan served as best men.  Genovese completed his doctorate at St. John’s University in New York in 2020, and is the principal at Norwood Avenue Elementary School in Northport, New York.

Col. (Ret.) Tara A. Osborn (Grad ’84 CM) has been appointed to serve an eight-year term on the Military Justice Review Panel, a blue-ribbon commission chartered by Congress to conduct independent periodic reviews and assessments of the Uniform Code of Military Justice and the military justice system. Osborn is a former chief trial judge of the U.S. Army and a current faculty member of the National Judicial College.

Robert Graboyes (Col ’76 CM) has published “Shockley versus Shockley: Don’t Cut the Tail off the Rattlesnake,” an analysis of physicist-turned-eugenicist William Shockley’s controversial appearance at UVA in 1975; and “Do Not Go Gentle: J. Sargeant Reynolds Against the Dying of the Light,” a remembrance of an historic 1971 anti-segregation speech by Virginia’s then-dying lieutenant governor. Graboyes, who writes on economics, science, and culture at Bastiat’s Window, was recently named senior research affiliate at the Knee Center for the Study of Occupational Regulation at West Virginia University.

Ilana Berry (Law ’03) published her debut spy novel, The Peacock and the Sparrow (Simon & Schuster), in May 2023. Her pen name is I.S. Berry. After spying for the CIA for six years, including one year in wartime Baghdad, Berry decided she preferred writing about espionage to doing it. The Peacock and the Sparrow is about an American spy caught in the crosswinds of the Arab Spring who becomes involved in murder, consuming love, and an unpredictable revolution. Joseph Kanon, bestselling author of The Berlin Exchange, calls it “remarkable” and Joseph Weisberg, creator of the TV series The Americans, calls it “the most realistic espionage story I’ve read.”

Simon & Schuster

isberry.net

Christina Polenta (Com ’09 CM) and Eric Magenheimer (Com ’09 CM) welcomed their first child, Grace Elizabeth Magenheimer, in February 2023. The family lives in Oakton, Virginia.

Carl Markowitz (Com ’67 CM) has published two novels. Churching Carla Carson is a story about religious zealotry and small-town corruption.  Let Them Die at West Point is the story of an assassination attempt on the U.S. President and a group of NATO officials who are attending a summer seminar at the United States Military Academy. His third novel, Here Lies Greasy D ,will be published in late June. It is the story of four generations of a family-owned farm in North Carolina, struggling to prevent an organized crime family’s efforts to take their property.

Before retiring in 2015, Markowitz practiced law in Virginia Beach, Virginia for forty-five years.

Sarah Elaine Hart (Col ’10 CM) and Patrick Higgins (Col ’10, Darden ’16 CM) joyfully welcomed their second child, Celeste Hart Higgins, in September 2022. The couple hopes their first child, Orion, will forgive them for neglecting to announce his birth in April 2020.

Abby Armistead (Col ’14, Law ’18 CM) recently covered two equestrian stories that beautifully document the horse life in Virginia hunt country: the Upperville Colt & Horse Show, the oldest event of its kind in the United States; and the national champion UVA Polo Teams. An equestrian and artist, Armistead regularly contributes to the magazines Virginia Wine & Country Life and Virginia Wine & Country Weddings. She has also founded an inspirational bespoke stationery company.

Kent Bennett (Engr ’00) has been included in The Boston Globe’s second annual list of the most influential people in the New England tech sector.

The leaders spotlighted in the selective Globe Tech Power Players 50 List have demonstrated innovation and resourcefulness and have contributed heartily to keeping their sector thriving during challenging economic times.

Boston Tech Leaders: Kent Bennett, Bessemer Venture Partners – The Boston Globe

Eric Solomon (Law ’78) former assistant secretary for tax policy at the U.S. Treasury, has joined Ivins, Phillips & Barker (IPB) firm as a partner in its Washington, DC office.

Solomon brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to IPB, having most recently served as a partner and then senior counsel at Steptoe & Johnson, where he focused on transactional tax, tax policy, and tax controversy issues. Previously, Solomon held the position of co-director of Ernst & Young’s national tax department. He also served in the Office of Tax Policy at the Treasury from 1999 to 2009 and at the IRS from 1990 to 1996.

He was assistant secretary for tax policy, the highest tax policy position in the Treasury, from 2006 to 2009. At the IRS, he headed the corporate tax division in the Office of Chief Counsel.

Bryan McGrath (Col ’87 CM) has been nominated to serve on the National Commission on the Future of the Navy. The Commission is tasked with providing recommendations to Congress on force structure and shipbuilding no later than July 1, 2024. McGrath is a retired naval officer, commissioned through the UVA Naval ROTC program. He commanded the destroyer USS BULKELEY (DDG 84) on active duty and retired in 2008. 

Courtney Jones Hamlett (Col ’12 CM) and Christian Hamlett welcomed their son, Campbell Edward, on March 28, 2023. Campbell is the couple’s first child. The family lives in Richmond, Virginia.

Kim Curtis (Col ’00 CM) has accepted a position as director of communications & outreach at Rare Book School at UVA. Rare Book School provides continuing education opportunities for students from all disciplines and skill levels to study the history of written, printed, and digital materials with leading scholars and professionals in the field.