Class Notes
Roy Alson (Col ’74)
Roy L. Alson (Col ’74 CM) was appointed as professor emeritus in the Department of Emergency Medicine at Wake Forest University School of Medicine after 30 years on the faculty. Dr. Alson’s areas of interest and expertise were in pre-hospital and disaster medicine. He has published numerous papers and book chapters and lectured nationally and internationally on these topics and on trauma care in the field. He has also served on various committees and work groups for both professional organizations and for federal and state government. Dr. Alson serves as the editor of the International Trauma Life Support textbook, which is now used in 27 countries. He spent nearly 30 years with the National Disaster Medical System, serving as a DMAT commander and responded to numerous natural disasters and events. He and his wife of 41 years, Becky, continue to live in the Winston-Salem, North Carolina, area.
Wendy Thomas (Col ’92)
Wendy Thomas (Col ’92 CM) will be the next president and chief executive officer of Secureworks, beginning September 3, 2021. Secureworks is a global cybersecurity leader dedicated to providing innovative, best-in-class security solutions to protect organizations from cyber crime. Wendy first joined Secureworks in 2008 leading finance and most recently served as the company’s president and SVP, Customer Success, where she led and implemented a customer-centric approach to security partnership. Recently, Wendy was recognized in the number one position in The Software Report’s “Top 25 Women Leaders in Cybersecurity of 2021.” Wendy lives in Atlanta, GA with her family and is a Liaison for AFS Intercultural Programs, an international youth organization.
Brett Herbert (Col ’10)
Brett Herbert (Col ’10) married Mallory Taylor Brennan on July 24, 2021.
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01)
Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) appears on two recent BluRay video releases: he recorded an audio commentary for Flight to Mars and wrote and narrated a documentary included on The Brotherhood of Satan.
Lazetta Braxton (Com ’95)
Lazetta Rainey Braxton (Com ’95 CM) has been ranked second among the top ten on the Investopedia 100 list of the Most Influential Advisors of 2021 for her outstanding leadership in the financial services industry. This recognition marks the third straight year that she was named to the same list, with prior wins in 2019 and 2020. Braxton is one of only 1,490 Black Certified Financial PlannerTM professionals in the United States. The Investopedia 100 celebrates financial advisors who are making significant contributions to critical conversations about financial literacy, investing strategies, life-stage planning and wealth management. With more than 100,000 independent financial advisors in the U.S., the Investopedia 100 spotlights the country’s most engaged, influential, and educational advisors.
Emily Echols (Col ’11)
Emily Echols (Col ’11 CM) and Robert DiCostanzo (Com ’12 CM) were married at King Family Vineyards in Crozet, Virginia, on July 10, 2021, surrounded by friends and family. The couple lives in New York City.
Erika Werner (Col ’98, Engr ’99, Res ’08 CM)
Erika Werner (Col ’98, Engr ’99, Res ’08 CM) will become the chair of obstetrics and gynecology at Tufts Medical School and Tufts Medical Center in September 2021. She is currently the director of the Maternal Fetal Medicine Division and an associate professor at Brown University and Women & Infants Hospital in Rhode Island. Werner lives in Barrington, Rhode Island, with her husband, W. Frazier Bell Jr. (Educ ’98), and their two daughters.
Robert Graboyes (Col ’76 CM)
Robert Graboyes (Col ’76) interviewed Eric Topol (Col ’75) on the podcast “Healthcare’s Reluctant Revolution.” The two discussed artificial intelligence, the doctor-patient relationship, medical ethics, mRNA vaccines, CRISPR, telehealth and other topics—including a personal experience at UVA Student Health in the 1970s. Graboyes is a senior research fellow and healthcare scholar at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University and a former clinical professor at the UVA School of Nursing. Topol is founder and director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute, a professor of molecular medicine at the Scripps Research Institute and a senior consultant at the Division of Cardiovascular Diseases at the Scripps Clinic.
John Moore (Col ’83 CM)
J. Kevin Moore (Col ’83 CM) has been named to the 2021 Northern California Super Lawyers list for construction litigation. He is an attorney at Bold Polisner Maddow Nelson & Judson in Walnut Creek, California.
Siddhant Das (Col ’13)
Siddhant “Sid” Das (Col ’13) joined the law firm Hirschler as an associate. Das focuses his practice on commercial leasing and real estate transactions. He drafts commercial leases and their amendments, renewals, assignments and termination agreements for retail spaces and shopping centers. Prior to joining Hirschler, Sid practiced at Reed Smith and Nichols Zauzig Sandler in Northern Virginia. He earned his law degree from the George Mason University School of Law.
Robert Light (Col ’76 CM)
Robert “Cham” Light Jr. (Col ’76 CM) continues to serve his community in Lynchburg, Virginia. He is serving his third term on the board of trustees of the Library of Virginia, and he serves as president of the board of trustees of the Jones Memorial Library. He is beginning his 17th year as an adjunct professor at Liberty University School of Law teaching courses in land use, insurance law and real estate transactions and development. Mr. Light is chair of the bicentennial committee at St. Paul’s Episcopal Church and is serving his third term on the Lynchburg Planning Commission.
Robert E. Comet, Jr., AIA, LEED AP (Arch ’76 CM)
Robert E. Comet Jr. (Arch ’76 CM), a principal with Quinn Evans, has retired after an architectural career that spanned more than 40 years with numerous award-winning projects throughout Virginia. A 2002 recipient of the Distinguished Achievement Award from the Virginia Society of the AIA, Comet spent his career in Richmond, where he oversaw dozens of high-profile planning and design projects for school systems, local and state government agencies, churches and non-profit organizations. A founding partner of BCWH Architects, he served as president of the firm until it merged with Quinn Evans in late 2018.
Geoffrey Weiss (Engr ’91 CM)
Geoffrey F. Weiss (Engr ’91 CM), a colonel in the U.S. Air Force, will publish first book, The New Art of War: The Origins, Theory, and Future of Conflict in September.
Anna Burnley (Grad ’89 CM)
Anna Burnley (Grad ’89 CM) was recently promoted to associate professor of education and also serves as ESOL Specialist at Flagler College in Tallahassee, Florida. She has presented at conferences in the U.S., Canada, England, Germany and Scotland.
Jamie Dreher (Col ’96)
Jamie Dreher (Col ’96), an attorney with Downey Brand, was honored as a top lawyer in the category of bankruptcy and creditor/debtor by Sacramento Magazine.
Robert Hauhart (Grad ’82)
Robert C. Hauhart (Grad ’82), professor in the Department of Society and Social Justice at Saint Martin’s University, has published two books in 2021: the Routledge Handbook on the American Dream, co-edited with Mitja Sardoc, and Connections and Influence Between the Russian and American Short Story, co-edited with Jeff Birkenstein. Hauhart received a Fulbright Scholar Award to Slovenia in 2019, where he maintains a relationship with the Postgraduate School and Research Centre of the Slovenian Academy of Sciences and Arts in Ljubljana as a visiting research fellow.
Lara Young (Com ’10), Pat Young (Com ’11)
Lara Russo Young (Com ’10) and Pat Young (Com ’11) welcomed their first child, Clyde Bowen, on June 9, 2021 in Napa, California.
Marcia Friedman (Col ’89)
Marcia Thompson Friedman (Col ’89) recently published her second cookbook, The Essential Jewish Cookbook. The book includes a brief history of Jewish culinary traditions along with 100 recipes. Her first cookbook, Meatballs and Matzah Balls: Recipes and Reflections from a Jewish and Italian Life, was published in 2013. In June 2021, she received the honor of membership in Les Dames d’Escoffier, a prestigious international culinary organization.
Ryan Ten (Col ’20 CM)
Ryan Ten (Col ’20 CM) self-published his first novel, Discordance, through Amazon. Discordance follows the story of first contact with an alien civilization and the vast consequences on both humans and aliens over the course of several generations.
Tony Medley (Law ’65 CM)
Tony Medley (Law ’65 CM), a member of MENSA, was recently admitted as a member of the International Society for Philosophical Enquiry, or The Thousand®. The society is the third oldest high IQ society in the world and, with 600 members worldwide, is more exclusive than MENSA. Here’s how the society describes itself:
ISPE is the oldest 99.9% Society in the world. ISPE is the third oldest high IQ society in the world after Mensa (98%) and Intertel (99%). The only criterion for admission is a score on any standard psychometric test of intelligence reflecting ability at the 99.9th percentile.
So while MENSA members are comprised of people in the top 2% of IQ, ISPE is comprised of people in the top one-tenth of one percent.
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