Class Notes

Cara Goodwin (Col ’07 CM) published her article “Kids and Sugar, Does it Equal Bad Behavior?” in CharlottesvilleFamily Magazine. The article discusses research showing little correlation between sugar consumption and small children’s behavior and gives advice on how to handle sugary foods in a child’s diet. Goodwin, a licensed clinical psychologist, lives in Charlottesville with her four children.

Anant Das (Com ’19 CM) was honored as one of the recipients of the 2025 Norman Vincent Peale Award for Positive Thinking as lead executive producer and general manager of In My Own Little Corner Productions. In My Own Little Corner Productions produced both a professionally filmed musical and a documentary about the making of the aforementioned musical. The two films share the story of Broadway, TV and film actor Chryssie Whitehead as she confronts her Bipolar II diagnosis.

Robert D. Weinberg (Col ’01 CM) was promoted to partner at Pietragallo Gordon Alfano Bosick & Raspanti. Weinberg focuses his practice on family law and estate and trust litigation. A devoted advocate for children, he regularly handles custody matters both within and outside Pennsylvania, always centering the best interests of minors. He describes his approach as “aggressively reasonable,” favoring resolutions that balance pragmatism with principled advocacy, while retaining the willingness to litigate when necessary. He earned his law degree from the University of Maryland School of Law.

Ritt Deitz (Col ’88 CM) published a novel, Settle Down, through Ten16 Press. The surreal sense-of-place novel follows a young Wisconsinite, freshly graduated from UVA, who comes home to find he must rediscover what it means to be from the Midwest. UVA alumni who worked for University Catering in the 1980s will recognize glimpses of the Birdwood Pavilion kitchen and Newcomb Hall. Deitz is Distinguished Teaching Faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where he has taught French since 2000.

Peter Mina (Col ’98 CM) has founded The Mina Firm, a law practice focused on federal sector employment law and civil rights litigation in Washington, D.C. Mina spent more than 14 years working at the Department of Homeland Security, where he served as deputy officer for Civil Rights and Civil Liberties. He also was chief of the Labor and Employment Law Division of the Office of the Principal Legal Advisor at U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Jim Harshaw (Col ’99, Educ ’99 CM) published the 500th episode of his podcast, Success for the Athletic-Minded Man. He interviews world class performers including Olympic gold medalists, Navy SEALs, New York Times best selling authors and others (including several Wahoos). Episodes can be found on Spotify and Apple Podcasts as well as his website, JimHarshawJr.com.

Michael Cascio (Col ’72) produced and co-directed a critically acclaimed documentary on the artist Edward Hopper for American Masters on PBS, the latest entry in a career that has brought Cascio four Emmys, two Oscar nominations, and a “Producer of the Year” award. His work includes award-winning documentaries such as Inside 9/11 and The 90s: The Last Great Decade? for the National Geographic Channel, Biography, Titanic: Death of a Dream and Investigative Reports for A&E, and At the Heart of Gold: Inside the USA Gymnastics Scandal for HBO, which received the prestigious Television Academy Honors. In addition to producing documentaries, Cascio has held executive roles at A&E, Animal Planet, the National Geographic Channel and NBC News. He was cited in Entertainment Weekly “It List” as one of the most creative people in the entertainment industry. He also was a backstage janitor at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts, which he chronicled in a first-person article in the Sunday New York Times.

Ruika Lin (Col ’11 CM) launched Fieldnotes from a Watcher, an independent literary journal that publishes creative nonfiction stories monthly. Fieldnotes from a Watcher explores many of life’s timeless moments that seem to be shared by many yet voiced by few. Themes include families of origin and of choice, belonging, parenthood, grief, cross-cultural musings and the creative process. Lin invites fellow UVA alumni to sign up as a member of the journal, and/or become a guest writer.

Ann M. Ryan (Grad ’87) published The Ghosts of Mark Twain: A Study of Manhood, Race, and the Gothic Imagination with the University of Missouri Press. Ryan examines Twain’s writings and his uneasy relationship to Black culture and masculinity, even as he imagines a future in which Black men will gain an authentic voice and agency. The work investigates the tense intersections of white fathers, Black men, the histories they reflect and the future they promise, as expressed in Twain’s life and writings. Some of the works considered in The Ghosts of Mark Twain are not widely known: “Which Was It?,” “The United States of Lyncherdom,” No. 44: The Mysterious Stranger and the Morgan manuscript of Pudd’nhead Wilson. Written into the record of these fragments is Twain’s desire to be a different kind of white man, just as their incomplete nature demonstrates how often he stumbled in that effort.

Elizabeth Atwood (Grad ’83) published Deadline: 200 Years of Violence Against Journalists in the United States with the University of Missouri Press. In her book, Atwood offers the first comprehensive look at the history of fatal attacks against journalists in the United States between 1829 and the present. She was inspired to explore the pressing issue of violence against American journalists after the tragic death of one of her colleagues at the Baltimore Sun, Rob Hiaasen, in the Capital Gazette shooting in 2018. Throughout, she demonstrates that distrust of the media and violence against the press in the United States are hardly new developments. Her work examines how intimidation, violence, and censorship have, in fact, been used against the American press since both its and the nation’s founding.

David Meredith (Com ’03) and his wife, Jamie, ran the 2025 Boston Marathon to raise money for The Children’s Room, a nonprofit organization that provides caring grief support for children, teens and families. Their team raised over $20,000 for the organization.

Lucas Hobbs (Law ’98 CM) was elected president of the Association of District Court Judges of Virginia at the Association’s annual meeting in October. He previously served as the Association’s secretary and as its treasurer. He is a General District Court Judge in Virginia’s 28th Judicial District, and lives in Bristol, Virginia, with his wife.

Mauricio Velásquez (Col ’88 CM) published his first book, Tackling Toxicity: A Skill-Based Guide to Addressing Toxicity, which provides strategies for professionals to create healthy and successful workplace environments, as well as for people navigating difficult family and social situations. The book won an April 2025 International Impact Book Award. Velásquez is president and founder of the Diversity Training Group, and has decades of experiences in diversity and inclusion and harassment prevention.

John Peebles (Col ’82 CM) has started an organization, food4nj.org, to provide groceries and grocery store gift cards to families visiting their loved ones detained at the Delaney Hall ICE detention center in Newark, New Jersey. The organization welcomes donations as well as volunteers to help at Delaney Hall during weekends and Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Mike McGrew (Col ’75) published his second picture book, The Boy Who Would Be Santa, with Kharis Publishing. The book tells the story of Saint Nicholas, including his struggle after the death of his parents, his teenage journey of discovery, his kindness and charity, the miracles he performed and his evolution into Santa Claus. The book serves as a resource on the historical origins of Santa and as a model of kindness for children.

Cristina Liebolt Foran (Col ’10 CM) and Lincoln Foran (Col ’10 CM) made it to their 15-year Reunions with 2-year-old Susanna Walton Foran and 9-week old Eugenia Lee Foran, who was born March 29. Susanna loved being back on the lawn and introducing baby Eugenia to the grounds. The girls’ matching outfits were given to them by friends Michelle Wagner (Col ’10) and Freyan Soonawalla (Col ’10, Darden ’19). The Forans look forward to continuing to take the girls down to Charlottesville as they grow up!

Charles Napier (Col ’81 CM) came out of semi-retirement last year to serve as director for the Pennsylvania Broadband Development Authority. His team was honored to receive the 2024 Governor’s Award for Excellence in recognition of outstanding public service to Pennsylvania.

Lea Jih-Vieira (Engr ’24) joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a data science fellow in the Information Technology and Systems Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center in Alexandria, Virginia. Jih-Vieira earned her bachelor’s degree in information science from Cornell University in 2023 and her master’s degree in systems engineering from UVA in 2024.

Tuan “Megan” Doan (Col ’24) joined the Institute for Defense Analyses (IDA) as a research associate in the Cost Analysis and Research Division of IDA’s Systems and Analyses Center in Alexandria, Virginia. IDA is a nonprofit corporation that operates three federally funded research and development centers that seeks to answer the most challenging U.S. security and science policy questions. At UVA, Doan studied applied statistics.

Tina Schust Robinson (Col ’94) will publish her first book, Developing Your Business Leaders: A Guide to Investing at All Levels in March 2026 with ATD Press. In the book, Robinson discusses the leadership qualities and outlines the reasons and methods for investing intentionally in leaders. As a seasoned public speaker, workplace consultant and executive coach, she’s grateful every day for her Virginia education, particularly the UVA English department.

Gabrielle Rhodes Crawford (Col ’00 CM) was named Advanced Practice Provider of the Year for the Centra Medical Group Sept. 25. This recognition honors one advanced practice provider who truly exemplifies excellence in patient care, leadership and teamwork. Crawford has worked in the general surgery and trauma department at Centra Health in Lynchburg since 2015 and currently serves as the lead advanced practice provider. After graduating from UVA, she earned a Bachelor of Science in Nursing from Lynchburg College, now University of Lynchburg, and an Master of Science in Nursing from James Madison University. She and her husband, Kenneth Crawford (Col ’01 CM) are the proud parents of two sons, Kenneth II and Kingston, and a daughter, Austin. Kenneth II is a senior at Appalachian State University.

Amy Rector (Col ’00 CM) and her colleagues from the Ledi-Geraru Research Project in northeastern Ethiopia have discovered what could be a new species of Australopithecus, an early hominin species that lived alongside the early human ancestors of the Homo genus two to three million years ago. Rector, a paleontologist at Virginia Commonwealth University, and the other team members discovered and studied a large number of ancient fossilized teeth at the Ledi-Geraru research area, with their findings supporting a view of human evolution as a “tangled-up bush,” rather than a linear timeline. The Ledi-Geraru Research Project and their findings were featured in an article in the Washington Post.

Kieran Carter (Col ’06 CM) launched her own firm, Oakgrove Legal Strategies, which focuses on tax law, high-stakes litigation and legacy planning. The new practice helps clients design sophisticated wealth management strategies that prepare families, founders and fiduciaries for generational transitions. Kieran draws on her 15 years of government experience, including serving as a senior trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice’s Tax Division, where she litigated complex tax cases across the country. She also served in DOJ leadership, advising the deputy Assistant attorney general on tax policy and sensitive tax matters involving the IRS, Congress and the White House.

Charles Snyder (Grad ’73, ’79) published Murder at Knebworth, a cozy historical murder mystery novel which follows an American couple navigating English high society in the post-American Civil War period.

Carlton Higby (Engr ’19 CM) and Wendy Wright (Col ’19, Educ ’19 CM) were married in Arlington, Virginia, in September. The couple met in the Baker Street tube station in London on a UVA study abroad program the summer after their second year.

Laura DeLuca (Col ’85 CM) was named the director of the University of Colorado, Boulder’s study abroad program, Global Seminar: Sustainability and Social Entrepreneurship in Bali, Indonesia, for 2025 and 2026. Students in the program will learn about Bali’s native plants and their uses in traditional medicine and food; visit Tirta Empul, a Hindu temple; tour Mai Organic Farm, a community-led movement to preserve traditional agricultural village life; hear a presentation on coral reef growth from the Biorock Indonesia coral restoration project; and visit with social entrepreneurs at the Makadaya Social Impact Centre, a group that develops sustainable solutions to social and environmental challenges in Indonesia.

Scott Gakenheimer (Engr ’86, Darden ’90 CM) has published his first book, A To-Do List (And Some Don’t-Do’s) For Building Wealth. Gakenheimer shares the lessons and learnings from his own personal finance journey that allowed him to reach financial independence at a young age and retire at 54 years old. Though the book is aimed at recent college graduates, it provides financial advice for people of all ages. In retirement, Gakenheimer splits his time between Charlotte, North Carolina, and Honolulu, Hawaii.

Myron Santos (Col ’01 CM) has been accepted as a member of American Cinema Editors, an honorary society that celebrates excellence within the art of motion picture editing, promotes mutual respect among peers and supports diversity and inclusion within the profession. Myron, his wife and their 10-year-old daughter live in Los Angeles. He is also a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild and the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is on the board of the UVA Entertainment Club of Los Angeles.

Kathryn Wymer Clarke (Col ’14) and Philipp Clarke (Col ’15 CM) welcomed their son, Benedict Philip Maria Clarke, in October 2024. Benedict is also the grandson of John Wymer (Law ’74 CM) and the nephew of Mason Wymer (College ’01 CM) and Sarah Wymer Raj (Educ ’17, 21).

Aaron Peters (Engr ’01 CM) and his wife, Stephanie, welcomed their fourth child, Sophia, May 25, 2023, and their fifth child, Margaret, July 24, 2025.

Charles M. Bryant (Col ’67 CM) co-founded Spangler Bryant, a company dedicated to originating and producing Broadway shows and movies. His co-founder, David Spangler, is a composer of Broadway musicals, including Hard Road to Heaven, which premiered at the Bucks County Playhouse in New Hope, Connecticut, in March to standing ovations. The new company has also optioned a book by Stefani Moore, Last Dance in Paradise, which is in pre-production for a shoot in New Hope in the late spring. Along with running Spangler Bryant, Bryant is a practicing interior designer based in Fort Lauderdale, Florida.

Lucie André (Col ’89 CM) published her debut novel, Never Ready, which tells the story of protagonist Henri Drake’s experiences with love and loss in the New York City dance scene in the 1990s, which is likened to “working at a circus during a plague.” Described as “mythic and modern,” it has been featured in readings at the American Dance Festival in Durham, North Carolina, the Paul Taylor Dance Company in New York and Spalding Nix Fine Art gallery in Atlanta. The novel was inspired by André’s time working at a leading modern dance company in NYC when it lost two of its nine men to AIDS.

Jane Everson (Educ ’80, ’83 CM) has retired from a long career in academia. In retirement, she has been elected to a position on her local school board and has published a non-fiction book exploring the lives of women who have influenced her life, titled Everyday Women, Extraordinary Wisdom.

Katie Walker (Educ ’12, ’18), the former associate vice president and chief budget officer at UVA, was named vice chancellor for finance and administration at Indiana University. She currently lives in Bloomington, Indiana, with her husband, Andrew Walker (Arch ’12) and her children, James and Lily.

Andrew G. Lee (Col ’85, Med ’89 CM) is proud to receive The 2025 UVA Walter Reed Distinguished Achievement Award. The award recognizes professional accomplishments, outstanding innovation and exemplary leadership in the field of medicine.

Molly Elizabeth Beauchemin (Col ’12 CM) and her husband, Rishi Paul Singh (Col ’11 CM) welcomed their third baby, Iris Oak Singh, in June. Iris is baby brother to two girls, a 4-year-old named Cypress and 2-year-old named Lilac. Cypress, Lilac and Iris have all spent many beautiful hours rocking in the same rocking chair that used to sit outside of their mother’s former Lawn room, 32 East.

Asmau Ahmed (Engr ’00) was named the first chief artificial intelligence and data officer for Varo Bank, the first all-digital nationally chartered bank in the U.S. She will lead company-wide AI and machine-learning efforts. Asmau has led teams and delivered products over the past 20-plus years, most recently sitting on the leadership team at Google X, where she led the development of new technologies. She has also served on the boards of various companies, including the Creative Arts Agency, the Yale Board of Advisers, QuinStreet, Pony AI and blackcomputeHER.