Class Notes
Cynthia Alam (Col ’19 CM)
Cynthia Alam (Col ’19 CM) recently facilitated an executive presence workshop for senior leaders at Microsoft through her company, PRSNCE Command. During the workshop, she guided participants in building composure, clarity and influence in high-pressure situations, skills that drive stronger leadership and more effective decision-making. PRSNCE Command helps leaders and teams translate executive presence into measurable impact in any high-stakes environment.
Tina Robinson (Col ’94 CM)
Walter (Casey ) King (Engr ’89)
Walter (Casey) King (Engr ’89) retired after 31 years as physics professor at Horry-Georgetown Technical College (HGTC) in Conway, South Carolina. In addition, Casey ended the HGTC Addiction and Recovery Lecture Series after 20 successful years of bringing the message of recovery to college campus with such notable celebrity speakers as Craig T. Nelson, Danny Trejo, Meredith Baxter and many others over the years.
Allison LaMothe (Col ’12)
Allison Geller (LaMothe) (Col ’12) published her debut crime novel, Dirty Metal, with Flatiron Books in February. Dirty Metal, set in New York City in 1992, features crime reporter Parker Snow as she investigates the Russian mafia and a string of women’s murders. Kirkus Reviews called it “a bold debut befitting its bold heroine” in a starred review, while CrimeReads named her “a startling and original talent” in its 2026 “Most Anticipated” list.
David Contreiras Tyler (Col ’96 CM)
David Contreiras Tyler (Col ’96 CM) has joined Duane Morris as a partner in the firm’s corporate practice group in its New York office. Tyler has extensive experience advising issuers, project sponsors, underwriters, initial purchasers, placement agents and investors on public and private offerings of debt and equity securities, with a focus on capital markets and securitization transactions originating in Latin America. In addition to his extensive experience in capital markets transactions, Tyler also has significant experience in various facets of the practice of corporate and securities law and is highly adaptable to working on a multitude of types of transactions and projects for corporate clients.
Frederick Schutt (Col ’04, Law ’13 CM)
Frederick Schutt (Col ’04, Law ’13 CM) was elected as a principal at Woods Rogers, a Virginia-based law firm. Practicing our of the firm’s Richmond office, he focuses on labor and employment matters. In addition to defending employers before federal and state agencies, he conducts workplace investigations, negotiates employment-related agreements and advises on effective workplace policies.
Pietro Sanitate (Col ’12 CM)
Pietro Sanitate (Col ’12 CM) was elected as principal at Woods Rogers, a Virginia-based law firm. He advises on complex disputes and litigation across a wide range of practice areas, including commercial disputes, intellectual property, insurance defense, construction and government contracts. He practices out of the firm’s Richmond office.
Lisa Fitzpatrick (Col ’97 CM)
Lisa Langhoff Fitzpatrick (Col ’97 CM) has become a partner in the the insurance practice group at Chaffe McCall’s New Orleans office. Fitzpatrick advises insurers and businesses facing complex coverage matters.
Will Barksdale (Col ’05, Law ’08 CM)
Will Barksdale (Col ’05, Law ’08 CM) was elevated to partner at Jenner & Block. Barksdale, a lawyer in the firm’s Washington, D.C., office, focuses his practice on helping clients navigate Federal Energy Regulatory Commission investigations and enforcement actions. He also represents clients pro bono in affirmative and defensive asylum cases in the United States.
Anna Kovatcheva (Col ’12)
Anna Kovatcheva (Col ’12) will publish her debut novel, She Made Herself a Monster, with HarperCollins Mariner on February 10, 2026. The novel, set in nineteenth-century Bulgaria, follows a self-proclaimed vampire slayer—in truth, a traveling con artist—who joins forces with a teenage girl to create a monster deadly enough to vanquish their own demons. The novel is a story of female community, fortitude, and rage set against a backdrop of Slavic vampire folklore, inspired in part by the course on Dracula and other representations of the vampire that Kovatcheva took in the Slavic studies department at UVA with Dr. Jan Perkowski in 2009.
Kovatcheva will appear in conversation with Professor John Casteen (Col ’93) at New Dominion Bookshop in Charlottesville on February 13, 2026, to discuss the book.
Timothy Cupp (Col ’80, Law ’83 CM)
Tim Cupp (Col ’80, Law ’83 CM) has started a new law firm, Cupp Law & Mediation, where he will continue his employment law practice in Harrisonburg, the Shenandoah Valley, and Central Virginia. His focus is on the review and negotiation of employment, severance and non-compete agreements and litigation in claims involving discrimination, sexual harassment, protected leave, retaliation, whistleblowing, wage and hour disputes and defamation. He is also offering mediation services to individuals and businesses in matters relating to employment, real estate and business disputes. Cupp has practiced employment law for over 35 years.
Laura Thigpen (Nurs ’68 CM)
Laura Thigpen (Nurs ’68 CM) traveled to Antarctica in December. She takes her UVA spirit with her wherever she goes, including Antarctica!
Mark Linder (Arch ’82 CM)
Mark Linder (Arch ’82 CM) published That’s Brutal, What’s Modern: The Smithsons, Banham, and the Mies-Image with Park Books. Linder is a professor of architecture at Syracuse University.
Jianyi Lee (Col ’07, Grad ’13 CM)
Jianyi Lee (Col ’08, Grad ’13 CM) and Kevin Mo (Engr ’09 CM),along with their two young sons, published Portugal: A Kid’s Travel Adventure through Kindle Direct Publishing in September. Inspired by exploring the world together as a family since the COVID-19 pandemic, the book is told from the perspective of their children and blends real-life travel experiences with history, geography, food and cultural discoveries. They are excited to share this first project with the alumni community and hope it inspires families and children to nurture curiosity and a strong sense of adventure. The family lives in Summit, New Jersey.
Andrew Arculin (Col ’99)
Andrew Arculin (Col ’99) has been appointed as co-chair of the Financial Institutions Litigation and Regulatory Compliance practice group at Blank Rome law firm. He began the new role on January 1.
Dana Hartz (Com ’01 CM)
Dana Hartz (Com ’01 CM) has been named associate vice president of finance for United Educators (UE). Hartz joins UE with extensive experience in accounting and financial reporting, including insurance company filings. She most recently spent nearly 10 years working for the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), including as head of the Division of Corporation Finance’s Knowledge Management Office. There, she was responsible for the day-to-day operations, strategy and leadership of the office. Prior to that, she served as director of external financial reporting for E*TRADE, a senior staff accountant in the SEC’s Office of Life Sciences and Insurance, and a senior associate for PricewaterhouseCoopers, where she audited insurance companies.
Hartz earned a B.S. in commerce, with a concentration in accounting, from UVA’s McIntire School of Commerce, and an MBA from the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business. She is a Certified Public Accountant licensed in Delaware.
Laurin Malatich (Arch ’96 CM)
Laurin (Goff) Malatich (Arch ’96 CM) launched new branding and website for her interior architecture and design studio, Malatich Cochran Design, that she shares with business partner, Beth Cochran. Malatich Cochran Design is in their seventh year of business and focuses on luxury residential design in and around Charleston, South Carolina.
Malatich has thirty years of project design and management experience ranging from high-end interior residential and boutique retail to large-scale hospitality projects. Her previous employers include LS3P, Skidmore, Owings & Merrill, Robert D. Henry Architects, Gabellini Sheppard Associates, J.P. Molyneux Studio, Loews Hotels and Camens Architectural Group. Highlighted projects with Gabellini Sheppard Associates in New York City include the award-winning Rainbow Room and Bar SixtyFive landmark renovation at 30 Rockefeller Center, ARIA hotel retail development in Las Vegas, award-winning Top of the Rock renovation at 30 Rockefeller Center and the Vera Wang Collection retail concept. Malatich lives in Charleston with her husband, Matt.
Jennifer Shoop (Col ’06 CM)
Jen Shoop (Col ’06 CM) will publish Small Wonders: A Field Guide to Life’s Small Joys, a collection of essays, musings and list poetry on the art of paying attention, on April 14. The book is an extension of the writing she has become known for on her daily blog, Magpie by Jen Shoop, and is organized around themes that include the dance of motherhood, inheritances and intimacies, the natural world and the wide world of language.
Max Boland (Col ’22)
John Cooney (Col ’21) won his UVA friend group’s Fantasy Football competition, dubbed the Valley Fantasy Football League. The Valley Fantasy Football League members lived together on Valley Road during their time at UVA, and remained connected through the friendly competition.
Elliot Felix (Arch ’99 CM)
Elliot Felix (Arch ’99 CM) published his second book, The Connected College: Leadership Strategies for Student Success, drawing on his experience working with more than 100 colleges and universities to improve the experience of more than 1,000,000 students. Named one of the ten best higher education books of 2025 by Forbes, The Connected College is an encouraging, evidence-based playbook for leaders in higher education to build community, provide support, connect courses to careers, forge industry partnerships and work together so that students succeed.
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