Class Notes

Brandon Possin (Col ’05 L/M) moved to Bogotá, Colombia, in August 2019 to serve on the Venezuela Affairs Unit at the U.S. Embassy. The unit is continuing the U.S. mission to the legitimate government of Venezuela and works for the restoration of democracy and the constitutional order in that country. Possin serves as deputy economic counselor while coordinating U.S. humanitarian relief efforts for Venezuela. He has worked as a Foreign Service officer since 2007, serving at U.S. Embassies in Argentina, Indonesia, Pakistan and Peru.

Christopher Wigren (Col ’79, Arch ’89 L/M) published Connecticut Architecture: Stories of 100 Places, which recently received a Connecticut Book Award from the Connecticut Center for the Book. Wigren is deputy director of the Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation.

Nakita Reed (Arch ’06) joined the Baltimore office of Quinn Evans as an associate. An award-winning architect with experience throughout the Mid-Atlantic, Reed is skilled in the preservation, restoration, and adaptive use of historic buildings, with a focus on sustainable strategies in design and construction. Reed has served as an architect and sustainability consultant on numerous projects, and has been involved in design projects for private-sector clients as well as the U.S. General Services Administration, the Veterans Affairs Administration, the U.S. Navy, and public-sector agencies at the local level.

Nicole M. Bacon (Col ’00), partner with Feldesman Tucker Leifer Fidell, serves as president of the Federal Bar Association’s Washington, D.C., Chapter. Bacon joined the chapter in 2010 and has she has served in a number of leadership positions. As president, she will work to enhance the professional growth and development of members of the federal legal profession. 

Harrison A. Tisdale (Col ’16 L/M) published The Geode King in July 2019. The book can be found on Amazon.

Robert Edwards Griffin (Col ’02 L/M) was appointed associate dean for the College of Science at the University of Alabama in Huntsville, a research intensive institution. Griffin will help lead a college of approximately 100 faculty, 2,000 students and $10 million in annual research expenditures. He is the son of Gordon Dix Griffin Jr. (Arch ’72 L/M).

David T. Pastors (Col ’73 L/M) retired earlier this year after a 43-year career in Virginia’s criminal justice system. For the past 23 years he served as a non-profit director at Blue Ridge Court Services advocating for criminal justice reform and broader use of pretrial services and sentencing alternatives. He led the teams that established Piedmont House, a residential center for non-violent offenders in Charlottesville, as well as the first court-based restorative justice program, drug court and mental health court in the Central Shenandoah Valley. He now spends time hiking, biking and traveling. He and his wife, Joyce, live in Crozet, Virginia.

Geoff McDonald (Col ’86), founder and principal of Richmond, Virginia, firm Geoff McDonald & Associates, received the 2019 Father Figure Award from The Relationship Foundation of Virginia, a regional non-profit organization dedicated to fostering and educating men on fatherhood. McDonald and his wife, Shannon, have seven children ranging in age from 12 to 23 years.

Gary S. Henley (Arch ’81 L/M) was appointed to the Architectural Review Board for Hanover County, Virginia. He has served on the Hanover Historic Commission as representative for the Montpelier Center for Arts & Education since 2012.

Trent S. Dickey (Col ’77 L/M) published two articles in the PR Daily in China, United States Patent Disputes and The Asian LED Industry and Chinese Companies Asserting Patents in the United States. He practices commercial and IP litigation nationally with Sills Cummis & Gross and lives in New Jersey with his wife of 38 years, N. Janine Plauka Dickey (Col ’79 L/M). She is an attorney/business mediator. Owing to his IP legal work for both U.S. companies working with Chinese companies and directly with large Chinese entities, Mr. Dickey will speak at the World Lawyers Conference hosted by the All China Lawyer’s Association in Guangzhou on Dec. 10, 2019.

William Brockschmidt (Arch ’86 L/M) and his husband, Richard Dragisic, are opening Sud, a shop on Magazine Street in New Orleans specializing in unique artisanal goods, antiques and art from or inspired by Sicily. The couple has been visiting Sicily since 2000 and restored a house in Modica, a city known for its late baroque architecture.  In addition, his decorating firm, Brockschmidt & Coleman, has opened a southern design studio in New Orleans.

Lawrence Hyman (Col ’89 L/M) is an exhibition officer for the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. He previously served as manager of exhibition and curatorial planning at the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. 

Jack Sutor Jr. (Col ’69) published The Ice Meadows, a novel set in and around Virginia, under the pen name Edmund Burwell. 

Patrick McCreesh (Col ’02 L/M) is a lecturer at the George Mason University School of Business. He recently coauthored a book, Workplace Attachments: Managing Beneath the Surface, which was published by Routledge as part of its series on employment relations.  McCreesh is the cofounder of Simatree, a data analytics and strategy consultancy. He lives in Northern Virginia with his wife, Courtney Lodge McCreesh (Col ’03 L/M) and their four daughters.  

David T. Beers (Col ’75 L/M) and his coauthor, Patrisha de Leon-Manlagnit, published their latest joint staff working paper on the BoC-BoE sovereign default database. Covering the period 1960-2018, it’s the only data set that quantifies and tracks all types of defaulted debt owed to official and private creditors. The paper is available for download and the 2019 version of the database is available here. 

William Clark (Col ’80 L/M) was appointed to the board of the education nonprofit Breakthrough New York, which works to provide comprehensive support to talented kids from low-income backgrounds from middle school through college and into careers. Clark is vice chairman of Global Corporate Banking at J.P. Morgan. 

Julie Walko (Nurs ’05) is an adult gerontology nurse practitioner at Signature Hospice after earning her MSN from the University of North Dakota in 2019.

Robert Muckenfuss (Col ’93 L/M) has been appointed chair of the Complex Commercial Litigation Department at the law firm of McGuireWoods. Robert lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, and has a national practice focused on financial services litigation. Muckenfuss is married to Heather Browne Muckenfuss (Col ’93 L/M) and they have three children, Parker, 20, Malin, 17, and Jack, 15. 

Gary Torrell (Law ’83) joined Hooper, Lundy & Bookman, a national law firm focused on health care, as a partner. Torrell’s practice covers business transactions and litigation for heath care and other clients in the practice areas of real estate, leasing, contracts, mergers and acquisitions, finance, creditors’ rights and bankruptcy, and business litigation.  

James Raven (Col ’15 L/M) has recently moved to New York City and is an evaluation associate at Alvarez and Marsal.

Amy Shroyer Lightbourn (Col ’12 L/M) and James Lightbourn (Col ’12) welcomed their first child, Landon James, in late August. The Lightbourns moved to their home in East Norwalk, Connecticut, in March, just in time to cheer on the ’Hoos to become ACC champions. 

Kristin Clarke Marshaleck (Com ’09) and her husband, Andrew Marshaleck (Com ’10), welcomed their third child, Tenley Paige. Tenley joins her two older brothers Tucker, 4, and Tanner, 2. The family lives in Charlotte, North Carolina, where Andrew is a vice president in the technology group at Wells Fargo and Kristin is a manager in the financial accounting advisory services group at Ernst & Young. 

John McCarthy (Col ’85) is spending a year in Tokyo as a visiting faculty member of the English Communication Department of Showa Women’s University. He is joined by his wife and two daughters. John is director of Curriculum of Showa Boston, the university’s study abroad campus.

Lyle Dukes (Col ’86 L/M) began his term as the 10th chairman of the Prince William Chamber of Commerce on July 1st. Dukes serves as senior pastor of Harvest Life Church and is also the founder and former CEO of Mainstream Concepts, a media marketing company. In addition to his full-time responsibilities at the church, Dukes has written several books and publications and is active in the community. He and his wife have a daughter, a son-in-law, and three grandsons.

Harriet J. Kiers (Col ’19 L/M), daughter of Susan Wingo Kiers (Col ’85 L/M) and sister of Olivia J. Kiers (Col ’12 L/M), is working a 10 month apprenticeship at Champagne Lacroix Triaulaire in Aube, France, to learn the champagne-making process.

Chad Cole (Engr ’06) published his first book on Amazon, My 93 Year Old Roommate, which documents the two years he spent living with his grandfather.

Elizabeth “Liz” Martinez Cornetta (Educ ’02 L/M) published The Argyle Crocodile Learns About Being Different, a children’s book that will make you feel good about yourself and inspire you to help others feel good about themselves. Available for purchase at MascotBooks.com

Deborah E. Sheetenhelm Hammond (Arch ’82 L/M) has published her 20th novel, Both Sides Now. Set in 2019 and 1861, the novel explores the first summer of the Civil War in the town of Martinsburg, West Virginia, then Martinsburg, Virginia. Focusing on the historical facts of that summer, the novel explores the experience from the eyes of a 21st century woman who has time traveled to her own hometown during the first perilous weeks of the war. She knows what is coming, but can do nothing to change it. This and all novels are available on Amazon.com and at local book signing events.

Betty Phipps Roberts’ (Nurs ’53) book about Alzheimer’s, Midnight Chronicles, will be entered in the Frankfurt Book Fair in October, the largest and oldest book fair in the world, founded in 500, after the invention of the printing press. Roberts says, “My ‘advanced age’ never bothers me until I pick up the Virginia Magazine, turn to Class Notes and find the first listing as the ’60s. Where are the ’50s folks? Surely I’m not the only one still doing ‘stuff.’” 

Kristen Peters Watson (Col ’07 L/M) and her husband, Tripp, welcomed a son, Robert Joseph, on Aug. 12, 2019. Robert is the grandson of Randy Peters (Col ’78, Med ’82 L/M). The family lives in Birmingham, where Kristen is an attorney with Burr & Forman.  

Ken Manson (Com ’68) published Bring Me Back Alive: A Memoir of Adventure, Luck, and Terror in the Air. Manson’s first book covers his harrowing flying experiences as a U.S. Air Force pilot during the Vietnam War years. The book starts in 1967 with his initial training at he the UVA Airport (Milton Field) and concludes with his experiences as a Jolly Green Giant rescue pilot in 1973. Among the many unforgettable characters in the book is CMSGT Duane Hackney (the most decorated airman in the history of the Air Force) who flew with then-Capt. Manson during his time in the Air Rescue & Recovery Service. Flip Viles (Col ’68) served as an editor to make the book a reality. Mr. Manson is the father of Ashley Manson Marratt (Col 94) and William Manson (Col ’99), who is a doctor at the UVA Hospital.

Brian Drummond (Col ’80 L/M) has been selected to Northern Virginia Magazine’s Top Lawyers edition for 2019 in the area of criminal law. He continues to serve on Virginia Bar Council. Drummond and his wife, Bebe, live in Falls Church.

Chris Ferenc (Col ’05 L/M) was promoted to partner in the intellectual property group at Katten Muchin Rosenman. Ferenc has been with Katten since 2010, assisting clients in resolving complex patent and technology-related disputes in the federal courts and U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.

Denice Heller Wardrop (Engr ’79, Grad ’87 L/M) was selected as the executive director for the regional science collaborative, Chesapeake Research Consortium. Wardrop replaces Bill Ball (Engr ’76). 

Melissa Farmer Richards (Col ’93 L/M) was appointed vice president for communications and marketing at Hamilton College in September 2019.

Alex Roosenburg (Col ’04, Educ ’05 L/M) followed a dream and started her own school after spending a decade in schools around the world. Capitol Learning Academy opened to the first cohort of students in Fall 2019 and provides a progressive education for the future. Roosenburg intends to use the model as research in order to create a scaled model that can be offered to public and charter schools nationwide. 

Simon Bloom (Col ’93, Law ’97 L/M) was one of five attorneys from his firm, Bloom Parham, to be selected as 2019 Georgia Super Lawyers. Bloom was recognized in the business litigation category.

Jill Mitchell (Com ’03 L/M) received the American Accounting Association/J. Michael and Mary Anne Cook/Deloitte Foundation Prize in the two-year college category. Mitchell has taught at Northern Virginia Community College since 2008 and has been an adjunct at George Mason University since 2009. She is a past president of the Washington, D.C., chapter of the Accounting and Financial Women’s Alliance and is a former member of the Virginia Society of CPA’s Board of Directors. She is a certified internal auditor and began her career with Ernst & Young in Miami, Florida.

William Hill (Col ’12, Grad ’15 L/M) and Jazzirelle Sepulveda (Col ’12 L/M) celebrated their wedding in Washington, D.C., on May 25, 2019. They met at UVA and both attended Howard University where they earned professional degrees in medicine and law. William is completing his residency in orthopaedic surgery at the University of Souhern California, and Jazzirelle is a litigation and white collar associate at Covington & Burling. 

Charles W. Snyder (Grad ’73, ’79) published an article, “The Economics of Plenty: Glenn Frank and the Great Depression,” in Summer 2018 issue of The Historian.

Katie Nelson Marsh (Col ’05) and her husband, Bradley, welcomed their second child, Nelson Linwood, on March 20, 2019. Nelson joins his big brother, Augie, and is the grandson of Karen Bingler Nelson (Educ ’80, ’18) and Stephen Nelson (Col ’78), the great-grandson of Joseph Bingler (Educ ’54, ’66), and the nephew of Rebecca Marsh (Col ’09) and Joseph Nelson (Col ’13). 

Maya Lazarevic Rodriguez (Col ’03) published her first book, Grenades as Lullabies, which tells the inspirational true story of a thrilling escape from a harrowing civil war in Bosnia. 

Bob Dundervill (Col ’86 L/M) and Ian McKenna (Col ’86 L/M), both members of Phi Delta Theta fraternity, competed as a team in the annual Swiss Epic mountain bike stage race held from August 20-24, 2019. The 5-day race was 350 kilometers in total with 12000 meters of climbing. Dundervill is an ophthalmologist practicing in Charleston, West Virginia, and McKenna is an emergency medicine physician in Portland, Oregon. 

Will Trinkle (Col ’80 L/M) was elected in June 2019 to a second term on the board of directors of Charlottesville’s Paramount Theatre. He also serves on the boards of Virginia Humanities and Roanoke’s Mill Mountain Theatre, and he is serving for the 18th and final year on the board of trustees of Hollins University. 

Nayna Agrawal (Col ’98) is a 2019 ABC Disney TV Writers Program fellow. She is one of eight selected from 2,000 applicants. She recently joined ABC’s new rom-com hour-long show, The Baker and The Beauty, as a staff writer. Her play, Dharma, was selected for the Athena Reading Series in NYC in September. 

Aaron Peters (Engr ’01 L/M), his wife, Stephanie, and their son, Jude, welcomed a daughter, Avery Sarah, on Aug. 3, 2019.