Class Notes

Lynlee W. Palmer (Col ’98 CM) has joined Jackson Lewis P.C., where she will serve in the litigation group for the Birmingham, Alabama office. The firm specializes in national labor and employment law. 

Lynlee brings a depth of experience representing both public and private employers. She has represented clients before the Department of Labor, the National Labor Relations Board and more. 

Karen Jones (Educ ’73 CM) has published her fifth book, The Summer of Grace. The southern coming-of-age novel, set in 1951 North Carolina, tells the story of a young girl’s transformation from victim to survivor through humor, hard truths and grace. 

Jones is an author, award-winning broadcast journalist and freelance writer. Her other works, both fiction and non fiction include Up the Bestseller Lists! A Hands-On Guide to Successful Book Promotion, Death for Beginners and The Highland Witch.

Jones lives in Virginia Beach and can be reached through her website, kjwriter.com

W. Lee Jones (Arch ’82) has been awarded the AIA Charlotte Citizen Architect Award by the Charlotte American Institute of Architects. The award recognizes the work of architects who serve as elected or appointed officials, public administrators or institutional leaders and establish and contribute to the development of laws, regulations, policies, or initiatives that promote excellence in architecture. Jones serves as park and recreation director for Mecklenburg County, N.C.

In addition, the county’s Park and Recreation Department received the Great Public Space Award for Romare Bearden Park at the City of Charlotte’s Urban Design Awards. The goal of the local awards program is to recognize and celebrate quality urban design in Charlotte, while encouraging continued community discussion around what makes for unique and great places.  This is the second year in a row that the department has received an award from the organization. Last year, the department received the Merritt -New Construction Award for the Eastway Regional Recreation Center.

Steve Collins (Col ’83) has been named Journalist of the Year by the Maine Press Association. He is the state house reporter for the Sun Journal, in Lewiston, Maine, and a co-founder of Youth Journalism International, a Maine-based nonprofit that teaches and publishes students around the world.

Judith Baroody (Grad ’85 CM) published her second book of short stories, Paris Gold: Ten Tales of Treasures Lost and Found in 2022. Like the first, Casablanca Blue, Paris Blue is a collection of fiction and fantasy based on her experiences and travel. Judith has worked as a foreign service officer, professor and journalist. She is also the author of the non-fiction Media Access and the Military.

Dr. Kern Jackson (Col ’87 CM) was delighted to return to UVA and be recognized by the Virginia Film Festival for the screening of Descendant on Nov 5. Descendant was awarded the Special Jury Award: Creative Vision in the U.S. Documentary Competition during the Sundance Film Festival. Netflix has acquired the documentary, co-presenting the film with former President and First Lady Michelle and Barack Obama’s media company Higher Ground. In addition, the vision, support and partnership of Participant Media continues to inspire the visibility of storytelling. Co-writing and serving as co-producer for this film elevates the visibility of a collection of Jackson’s archived oral histories and interviews with informants – an accomplishment and sacred honor. As a folklorist, Jackson’s preoccupation is with the nuances, the nooks and crannies of culture, as inspiration for honoring the ancestors and the people of Africatown, U.S.A., in Mobile, Alabama.

Robert F. Graboyes (Col ’76 CM) is now owner and president of RFG Counterpoint, LLC in Alexandria, Virginia. Through his firm, he does economic consulting, journalism, and music production. He publishes BASTIAT’S WINDOW, a Substack journal devoted to economics, ethics, health, technology, and culture. He is also a FAIR in Medicine Fellow (where FAIR = Foundation Against Racism and Intolerance). His musical performances and compositions are on his YouTube channel.

Paul W. Hobby (Col ’82 CM), founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital, has been inducted into the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation. The foundation honors the accomplishments and contributions of outstanding business leaders by celebrating and telling their stories.

John Guerard, (Grad ’76 CM) has published two books: The Leading Economic Indicators and Business Cycles in the United States: 100 Years of Empirical Evidence and the Opportunities for the Future (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), and the third edition of Quantitative Corporate Finance (Springer, 2022). Guerard, who taught at the McIntire School of Commerce from 1979 to 1981, has retired after 15 years as director of quantitative research at McKinley Capital Management in Anchorage, Alaska. He and his wife, Julie, have settled in Bluffton, South Carolina. 

Brian Stengel (Col ’89 CM), competed in the 2022 Mongol Derby, a 10-day 1,000-kilometer endurance race across Mongolia on native feral horses.  

Dwight Sullivan (Law ’86) has written Capturing Aguinaldo: The Daring Raid to Seize the Philippine President at the Dawn of the American Century, published by Stackpole Books.  Capturing Aguinaldo tells the story of five U.S. Army officers who disguised themselves as POWs.  Their “captors” were actually Filipino soldiers loyal to the United States.  Following a grueling 90-mile forced march, the ruse allowed them to infiltrate the enemy headquarters, helping to bring the Philippine-American War to an end.

Howard Turner (Engr ’97) was named North American Director of Energy Preconstruction Services for Trane Technologies. Turner and his team are responsible for conceiving, designing and ensuring the constructability of projects that enable clients to achieve their decarbonization and sustainability goals.

Mary Beth Paradise (Educ ’93) has published Beach Santa, a children’s picture book which explores what Santa does on the day after Christmas. Paradise is donating 25% of the profits to Team LeGrand, which supports spinal cord injury research and quality-of-life initiatives. Out now at https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ4RNHY8.

Craig W. Sampson (Col ’90, Law ’93 CM) has been named president of Barnes & Diehl, P.C. in Richmond, Virginia. Sampson serves on the board of governors for the Family Law Section of the Virginia State Bar and is a coauthor of Family Law: Theory, Practice, and Forms, a volume in the Virginia Practice Series that is published annually by Thomson Reuters. Sampson is the son of Thomas W. Sampson (Col ’64) and parent of Sabrina Sampson (Col ’21 CM).

Kimberly Kenna (Col ’79) has an upcoming debut middle-grade novel, Artemis Sparke and the Sound Seekers Brigade, which will be published on Feb. 2, 2023, by Fitzroy Books. The book follows a group of underdogs who conjure up the ghosts of historic ecologists to help save a Long Island Sound salt marsh and appease Mother Nature. The second book in the Brave Girls Collection, Jett Jamison and the Secret Storm, will be published on Aug. 3, 2023, by Black Rose. Kenna’s poems and short stories have been published in American Writers Review, Mused, Plum Tree Tavern and Rubbertop Review.

J. Kevin Moore (Col ’83 CM) has been named to the 2022 Northern California Super Lawyers list for construction litigation. He is an attorney at Bold, Polisner, Maddow, Nelson & Judson in Walnut Creek, California.

Madeleine McDonald (Col ’17 CM) was married to Anthony Fontana in 2021 and graduated from Mercer University’s Physician Assistant Program in 2022, receiving the faculty’s distinguished student award among other academic honors. Madeleine and Anthony live in Atlanta, Georgia, where she is employed as a physician assistant in an internal medicine practice.

Travis McDonald (Arch ’80 CM) received the UVA School of Architecture’s Distinguished Alumni Award for 2021. The award recognizes exceptional graduates from the School of Architecture who have demonstrated creativity, innovation, leadership and vision in their body of work, as well as in their service to UVA. McDonald has directed the restoration of Thomas Jefferson’s retirement retreat Poplar Forest since 1989. McDonald has also served on the Historic Preservation Advisory Committee for the University since 2007, and his book on Jefferson and Poplar Forest will be published by the UVA Press in the spring of 2023.

After over two years on dialysis, Scott Lancaster (Col ’88 CM) has been admitted to the Kidney Transplant Program at Duke Health in Durham, North Carolina.

Scott experienced kidney failure in 2020, with no warning and none of the usual risk factors.  Finding a living organ donor is his best option for having a second chance at life.

Scott requests that anyone who is interested or who knows someone interested in being a donor – or simply in learning more about transplantation – contact him at jscottlancaster@verizon.net or at (336) 653-8923. Potential donors can also contact the Duke living donor team at (919) 613-7777 to find out specific information and whether they would be a medically compatible donor. Provide the team with Scott’s name (Joseph Scott Lancaster) and his birth date (10/29/1965).

Scott understands that many people who read this may not be comfortable with the idea of being a donor but hopes they will spread the word about how living donation can save his life and the lives of many others.

Scott works as an actuary in Richmond, Virginia, and has no family of his own. He would like to thank everyone for taking time to read his story.

Bill Campbell (Engr ’60, ’66 CM) of Williamsburg, Virginia, was inducted into the James Blair Society of the College of William and Mary on Feb. 12, 2022. The James Blair Society is an organization that consists of those who have contributed at least $1 million to the College of William and Mary. The funds will be used to establish a scholarship in his name for students who are residents of Virginia and whose major is physics.

Thomas W. Taylor (Educ ’06, ’09 CM) was appointed superintendent of Stafford County Public Schools on Dec. 1, 2021, serving approximately 30,000 students and 4,000 employees.

Ali Shaw (Col ’12 CM) married FortHouse Studios illustrator Joe Rosshirt on Aug. 13, 2022 at The Towers in Narragansett, Rhode Island. The ceremony was officiated by Jane Carrick (Col ’12 CM), with many ’Hoos in attendance. The couple lives in South Portland, Maine, with their Lab mix Astro.

Paul W. Hobby (Col ’82 CM), founding partner of Genesis Park and GP Capital, is one of six 2022 inductees to the Texas Business Hall of Fame. He will be honored along with his fellow inductees at the Texas Business Hall of Fame Foundation’s 40th anniversary induction dinner on Thursday, Nov. 3. Inductees are recognized as exemplary business leaders who have made significant contributions in their local communities through both philanthropic and civic engagement.

Mayme Beth F. Donohue (Col ’07 CM) has been promoted to counsel at Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP. A member of the firm’s corporate team, Donohue counsels clients on securities law matters, capital markets transactions, mergers and acquisitions, and corporate governance issues. She regularly answers complex securities law questions for both public and private companies and advises clients on reporting requirements under U.S. securities laws and Nasdaq and NYSE rules. She is also a leader of Hunton Andrews Kurth’s metaverse and blockchain working groups, and is associate editor of the firm’s Blockchain Legal Resource blog.

Angelo Antidormi (Col ’99 CM) has been promoted to director of acquisitions by The Procopio Companies, a fourth-generation, full-service real estate development and construction management firm. In his new role, he will lead the acquisitions team through the acquisitions, entitlement, and design phases, building and maintaining Procopio’s portfolio pipeline as the firm targets continued expansion.

Joseph W. Brown (Col ’65 CM), Of Counsel, Jolley Urga Woodbury & Holthus Attorneys at Law, received the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award from Nellis-Creech Air Force Base. The award honors Brown’s 32-plus years of remarkable support to Nellis and Creech. This is the first time the award has been presented by the Nellis Support Team.

Brown has been a valued and treasured member of the Nellis Air Force Base, Creech Air Force Base and Las Vegas communities for many years. He is a former U.S. Marine, one of the founders and former chair of the Nevada Military Support Alliance and a former honorary commander and vice commander of the Nellis Support Group to the Commander of the Air Combat Command, and, until recently, had been honorary commander for the 526th Intelligence Squadron at Nellis Air Force Base.

Brown also received the National Guard Association of the United States Patrick Henry Award, which provides recognition to officials and civic leaders who, in a position of great responsibility, distinguished themselves with outstanding and exceptional service to the Armed Forces of the United States and the National Guard.

Stephen B. Dobranski (Col ’88) recently published his tenth book, Reading John Milton: How to Persist in Troubled Times (Stanford University Press). He is Distinguished University Professor at Georgia State University, and editor of the academic journal Milton Studies.

Monica Holman Evans (Col ’89 CM), executive director, DC Board of Elections, has been certified as an Elections & Registration Administrator, from the National Association of Election Officials, the highest professional achievement for election officials.  Evans is one of the few African American chief executive elections officers in the United States.

Evans brings broad legal experience to the position of executive director beyond her senior leadership role at DCBOE. Prior to her position as executive director, Evans served as the senior policy advisor on election operations and policy implementation. A Certified Elections & Registration Administrator designation is achieved only through a multi-year course of study taught by the Auburn University’s master’s in public administration faculty. 

Leigh Anne Kelley (Col ’89 CM) has been named director of communications for the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC. 

In her new role, Kelley will help shape and direct an integrated communication strategy for the institute, whose world-class research teams are working to better understand human health and develop innovative approaches to preventing, diagnosing, and treating disease.

Kelley brings 20 years of professional media experience to the institute’s communications team as a writer, editor, designer, and content manager for newspapers, magazines, newsletters, and digital media. She guided coverage of the commonwealth’s growing tech sector as managing editor of Virginia Business magazine and became a faculty member at Radford University in 2006.

Jean White (Col ’69 CM) is again president of the American News Women’s Club, Washington, D.C. She retired from U.S. Department of State – class of 1997 – under the auspices of Secretary Madeleine Albright.

Michael D. Steger (Col ’89, Law ’93, Grad ’93 CM) has been appointed co-chair of the American Bar Association’s Solo & Small Firm Litigation Committee.  He practices intellectual property, entertainment and business law in New York City. 

Christine Hollins (Col ’91 CM) has been named chief development officer at the UVA Alumni Association. She serves as vice-chair of the Volunteer Board at The Fralin Museum of Art and lives in Charlottesville with her husband and daughter.

Andrew William Joyner (Col ’97 CM) was named associate director of development at the UVA McIntire School of Commerce. Joyner spent the three previous years as assistant director of development at the University of Virginia School of Education and Human Development. Andrew and his wife, Elizabeth, live in Crozet with their three children. 

Philip Woodward Young (Col ’64 CM) reports that his granddaughter, Margaret “Maggie” Galloway Young (Col ’23) is in her fourth year at UVA.

Fred Karnas (Arch ’71) recently completed a term as a senior policy advisor at the U.S. Department of Treasury. He was asked to join the leadership team focused on addressing evictions during the COVID-19 pandemic based on his career work as a deputy assistant secretary at HUD in the Clinton Administration, senior advisor to the HUD Secretary in the Obama Administration, and housing cabinet member for Arizona Governor Janet Napolitano. He has now returned to his leadership of the Mental Health Strategic Impact Initiative (S2i), a national entity focused on improving mental health policy and practice, and his work on behalf of the Richmond Memorial Health Foundation.

Eric Patashnik (Col ’87 CM) has been appointed chair of Brown University’s Political Science Department. 

Sarah (Rose) Carlin (Engr ’05, Com ’13) and her husband, Matt, welcomed their first child, Nathan Edward, on March 12, 2022. The family lives in Northern Virginia where Sarah is an IT strategist for Booz Allen Hamilton and Matt is a sales engineering manager for Splunk. 

Neil Birkhoff (Col ’77 CM),principal and tax practice leader at Woods Rogers Vandeventer Black, recently completed his 14-month term as visiting director of the Tax Clinic at the Washington & Lee University School of Law.  He has been an adjunct professor of law at Washington & Lee for fifteen years, teaching income taxation of corporations, trusts & estates, and non-profit organizations.

Christopher Winter (Col ’07 CM) and Megan Van Syckle Winter (Com ’09 CM) welcomed a son, Brooks Christopher, on August 18, 2022. The family, including proud sister Caroline, lives in Charlottesville.