Class Notes

Andy Poarch (Col ’93, Law ’03 CM), chief operating officer of Alliance Group, was honored by Virginia Business Magazine on their list of “100 People to Meet in 2021,” a prestigious annual list of impact-makers in Virginia’s business community who are leaders in their respective industries helping to drive innovation and growth across the Commonwealth.

Katherine Bowers (Col ’02, Grad ’04) was promoted to associate professor of Slavic studies with tenure at the University of British Columbia in summer 2020. Her first monograph is forthcoming from University of Toronto Press in 2021.

Thad Long (Law ’63 CM) published a book, The Impossible Mock Orange Trial, based on a case he tried as an attorney. Long is an elected member of the prestigious American Law Institute and has been an Adjunct professor of Law at two different law schools. He has tried many memorable cases, and the one that inspired The Impossible Mock Orange Trial was rated by the National Law Journal as one of only several most outstanding defense verdicts of the year. He has recently been awarded Marquis Who’s Who in America’s Lifetime Achievement Award. The Impossible Mock Orange Trial is a gripping anatomy of a huge high-stakes trial, with an unexpected turn at the end that spotlights the question: “What is Justice?” The book is available on Amazon.

Kristin Zielinski Duggan (Col ’98) was promoted to partner at Hogan Lovells. Based in the Washington, D.C. office, she is a member of the firm’s global regulatory group.

Frederick Wilbur (Col ’70) recently published his second poetry collection, Conjugation of Perhaps. The previous collection is titled As Pus Floats the Splinter Out. For 35 years Wilbur was a self-employed architectural woodcarver participating in the restoration of such historic properties as Montpelier, Blandfield, and the Maryland Statehouse in Annapolis. He carved several details for the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. His ecclesiastical carvings appear in churches nationwide. During his career Wilbur wrote many articles and three books on decorative woodcarving; Carving Architectural Detail in Wood: the Classical Tradition; Carving Classical Styles in Wood, and Decorative Woodcarving: Accessories for the Home. Wilbur received a M. A. from the University of Vermont. He still lives in central Virginia with his wife of fifty years, Elizabeth (Educ ’87), with two daughters and three grandchildren nearby.

Martha Cabell Peters (Col ’90) was appointed assistant provost at Montana State University.

Joan Herlong (Col ’81), a real estate agent based in Greenville, South Carolina, is launching a Clemson office of Joan Herlong Associates Sotheby’s International Realty to better serve clients in South Carolina’s Upstate.

Bill Lawson (Darden ’72) writes: My wife Cathy and I started 2020 with a three week stay at a Viila (Fregate) in St. Barthelemy. Marc Christman (Darden ’72) and his wife Dierdre joined us there for a week. David Vondle (Darden ’72) and his wife, Debbie, invited us to join them for the “Full Monte” at Mardi Gras in New Orleans. We stayed at the Royal Bourbon Radisson with a second floor balcony overlooking Bourbon Street. I threw beads from a float in one of the major parades; we attended an unforgettable gala, brunches, the Gay Parade, brunches and late nite gatherings. If you haven’t done Mardi Gras–put it on your bucket list.

We then canceled our week long train trip on the Belmond Royal Scotsman and a London stay. Also Longboat Key in Florida and recently our annual sojourn to St. Barthelemy this month.

Our summer home on Lake Charlevoix in northern Michigan has been a wonderful place of refuge from the pandemic these last couple of weeks. We are returning to Indianapolis where we are remodeling our home there, replacing our 60 plus year old swimming pool, and constructing a pool pavilion. We are staying three houses down the street at a relative’s house until March when our projects will hopefully be completed.

Please all Wahoos stay HEALTHY and Happy 2021!

Olga Akopiants (Educ ’22) will publish her first novel, Air Unplugged, a sci-fi book about survival against all of the odds, in April 2021. Her book is available for pre-orders until January 23.

Jim Irving (Col ’76 CM) published his first novel, Friends Like These, the first in a series of three books. The sequel, Friend of a Friend, set to be published next year. Friends Like These is available in print and eBook on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. 

Marcus Ruscetti (Col ’08 CM) recently began teaching as an assistant professor in the Department of Molecular Cell and Cancer Biology at the University of Massachusetts Medical School. His laboratory investigates the dynamic interactions between tumors and the body’s immune system in cancer.

David Moltz (Col ’08) and Campbell Buie (Grad ’10) married on Sept. 26, 2020, in a small, outdoor ceremony at Wisdom Oak Winery in North Garden, Virginia. Both are changing their last names to Buie-Moltz. Campbell is certification program manager at Teachstone, Inc. and, as of Nov. 1, 2020, David is director of strategic communications at UVA Health. Previously, he was communications manager for UVA’s Office of the President.

Sean Murphy (Col ’85 CM) and Laura Frederick (Col ’87 CM) were married on Oct. 4, 2020, in New Braunfels, Texas, and are preparing to relocate from their home in Austin to Winchester, Virginia.

Christopher Hill (Col ’11, Med ’15) and Lucy Meadema Hill (Educ ’11) welcomed Molly Meadema Hill on Oct. 2, 2020. Molly weighed 7 lbs 6 oz and measured 20″ long, and joins siblings Esley, 6, Mac, 4, and Abby Ruth, 22 months. The Hill family lives in Suffolk, Virginia, while Christopher completes an otolaryngology residency at Naval Medical Center Portsmouth. 

Jeanne LaSala Taylor (Col ’97 CM) published her first children’s book, Just Bunny and the Great Fire Rescue, in February 2020. Based on a true story, this book is a thank you to firefighters everywhere and a portion of the proceeds go to the NYFF Burn Center Foundation. 

Marsha McElrath Taylor (Nurs ’77) has moved to Wilmington, North Carolina, with her husband, Brad, after completing a 30-plus-year career as a cardiac operating room and perioperative nurse. During her nursing career, Taylor enjoyed medical ICU experience at Georgetown University Hospital, and served as lead clinical instructor for INOVA Fairfax’s Cardiac Dome Observation Program. She was featured in this role in the Washington Post Magazine article “Hearts and Minds” by Paul Gustafson. Taylor also taught classes on hemodynamic monitoring, disseminated intravascular coagulation and diabetic ketoacidosis. She published several articles including “Atrial Septal Defect Repair” and “Job Satisfaction and Perioperative Nursing.” In retirement, Taylor plans to continue participation in BSF International, and volunteer services. She also hopes to “prepare all those recipes from all those cookbooks I’ve collected over the years!”