Class Notes
William Matthew Ruberry (Col ’76)
William Matthew Ruberry (Col ’76) has published Harmony in Black and White, released in October by Doggy Dog World Publishing. Ruberry was a reporter for the Greenville (S.C.) News, then an award-winning reporter and editor for the Richmond (Va.) Times-Dispatch. This is his first novel.
The book is set in Richmond and Charlottesville. Here is the description:
Jack Sullivan is a rookie reporter at the Messenger newspaper in Richmond, Virginia. When he’s assigned to the local police beat, he never expects to uncover a network of crime amid the systemic racism enshrined in the city’s Confederate history.
As the young journalist pulls at the threads of a story that spans from a record high in city homicides to interstate arms running, he is forced to confront the prejudices that color his young life and career.
Inspired by the author’s own reporting in the wake of the march by white supremacists in Charlottesville and the murder of George Floyd, Harmony in Black and White is an unflinching newsroom drama and an examination of the impact of race and implicit biases on our media, law enforcement, and the systems that govern them.
Emily Schmidt (Educ ’20 CM)
Emily Schmidt (Educ ’20 CM) and Bryce (Land) Schmidt (Com ’20) were married in Plymouth, Massachusetts on July 26th, 2024, with many ’Hoos in attendance. Sarah Snow (Educ ’20 CM), Emily’s first year hallmate in Watson-Webb, was the maid of honor. Emily and Bryce met second year when Emily lived two floors above Bryce in Lambeth Field Apartments. Bryce proposed to Emily on the Lawn last year.
Katie Appel (Col ’07)
Katie Appel (Col ’07 CM) and Francisco Gavaldá were married May 11, 2024 in Antigua, Guatemala, with 13 UVA alumni on hand to celebrate. Appel has lived in Guatemala since 2016, managing U.S. government-funded projects on topics related to anti-corruption, education, and violence prevention. Like UVA’s Academical Village, Antigua is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and served as the capital of Guatemala for nearly 300 years. The wedding took place in San Jose el Viejo, church ruins dating back to the 18th century, under the shadow of three volcanoes. Wahoos in attendance included (from left to right): Emily Archambeault-Wahlberg (Col ’07 CM), Amanda Huffman Doyle (Col ’06), Chelsey Jones (Col ’07 CM), Payal Maheshwari (Com ’06, Darden ’12), Remy Kauffmann (Col ’08), Colleen Sweeney (Col ’07 CM), Brian Gavron (Com ’08, Darden ’13 CM), Bowman Dickson (Col ’09 CM), Serena Bolliger (Col ’07), Katie Cristol (Col ’07 CM), Steve Giballa (Col ’06), Allison Murphy (Col ’07, Grad ’08), Appel, and Daniel Cullop (Col ’07 CM).
Patrick Melmer (Col ’12, Med ’17 CM)
Monica N. Melmer, MD, MS (Col ’11, Med ’17 CM) and Patrick D. Melmer, MD (Col ’12, Med ’17 CM) welcomed their third child, Harrison James, on July 1, 2024. He is adored by his sisters, Kennedy Caroline (4) and Madison Grace (2). His favorite lullaby is the Good Old Song. Now that they are outnumbered, the Drs. Melmer have switched from traditional man-to-man coverage to the Pack Line Defense. The family lives in Richmond where Monica and Patrick are assistant professors in the Division of Addiction Medicine and Department of Surgery, respectively, at Virginia Commonwealth University.
Karl Frisch (SCPS ’23 CM)
Karl Frisch (SCPS ’23 CM) was re-elected as chair of the Fairfax County (VA) School Board on July 11, 2024. With a $3.5 billion budget, 200 schools, 183,000 students, and 27,000 employees, Fairfax County Public Schools is Virginia’s largest and America’s ninth-largest public school system.
Frisch was elected in 2019 to represent Providence District on the school board, garnering more votes than any candidate for that office in the district’s history. In 2023, he was re-elected by a wider margin. He is the first openly LGBTQ+ person elected to local office in Virginia’s largest county.
Before joining the school board, Frisch was a nonprofit executive and public policy specialist. In addition to his work on the board, he serves on the board of directors for the University of Virginia Queer Alumni Network (QVA).
Valerie Thornton (Col ’87)
Valerie Johnson Thornton (Col ’87 CM) graduated with a doctorate in education from Regent University on May 3, 2024. Thornton is as a second-grade teacher at Norfolk Academy in Norfolk, Virginia.
Richard Neal Willetts (Educ ’06)
Neal Willetts (Educ ’06) married Elijah Akers in a late afternoon ceremony at Ford’s Colony Country Club in Williamsburg, Virginia on June 26th, 2024. Katie Morgans (Col ’07) did one of the readings, and numerous UVA friends attended. Surrounded by over 100 family, friends, and co-workers the couple celebrated in true ’Hoo style and kept the party going until late in the evening at a local bar after the reception. Akers is a veteran of the U.S. Navy, and the couple will move to Columbus, Ohio where he works in the IT industry and Willets works as a project manager for a small software company.
Patricia Leonard (Col ’88 CM)
Patricia A. Steenberg Leonard (Col ’88 CM) has been named one of the Top 50 woman lawyers in the State of Florida by Florida Super Lawyers. Leonard is a business trial attorney at Shutts & Bowen LLP in West Palm Beach, Florida, where she practices commercial litigation, labor and employment litigation, and intellectual property litigation.
Jay Jerome (Grad ’81 CM)
Jay Jerome, Ph.D. (Grad ’81 CM) has received the 2024 Distinguished Scientist— Biological Sciences Award from the Microscopy Society of America. This award is the highest award given by the society and recognizes preeminent senior scientists who have a long-standing record of achievement during their career in the field of microscopy or microanalysis.
Arthur Kahn (Col ’69 CM)
Arthur Kahn (Col ’69 CM) is in his third season screening arthouse and repertory films at Thetford (VT) Academy’s Martha Jane Rich Theater. Thetford Arthouse Cinema hosts residents and visitors in the Vermont/New Hampshire Upper Valley twice weekly for twelve weeks of free films, refreshments and discussion, with support from The Jack and Dorothy Byrne Foundation and Vermont Humanities.
Myron Santos (Col ’01 CM)
Myron Santos (Col ’01 CM) has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy for his work on The Amazing Race in the category of Outstanding Picture Editing for a Structured Reality or Competition Program. It is his second nomination; his first came for RuPaul’s Drag Race: All-Stars in 2019. Santos and his wife and their 9-year-old daughter live in Los Angeles. He is a member of the Motion Picture Editors Guild (IATSE Local 700) and The Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and is on the board of the U.Va Entertainment Club of Los Angeles.
James Wilson (Grad ’06, Grad ’11)
James Wilson (Grad ’06, ’11) has published America’s Cold Warrior: Paul Nitze and National Security from Roosevelt to Reagan. Wilson could not have written the book without the “amazing” experience of completing a Ph.D. in American History at UVA from 2005 until 2011 with Melvyn P. Leffler, Edward Stettinius Professor of History, Emeritus.
Andrew Lee (Col ’85, Med ’89 CM)
Andrew G. Lee, M.D. (Col 85, Med 89 CM) published the second edition of his textbook, Emergencies in Neuro-ophthalmology. Dr. Lee served this year (2023-2024) as president of the Houston Ophthalmological Society and president of the Houston Neurological Society.
John Allis (Col ’75)
John Allis (Col ’75) and Cathy Allis (Educ ’77) have received organic certification for Kennebec Oat Farm. The farm is located in eastern coastal Maine and grows milky oats, wild raspberry leaf and lady’s mantle leaf. John continues as a licensed engineer in Maine, Colorado and Virginia, although most of his time is spent on the oat farm.
Shivani Dimri (Col ’19 CM)
Shivani Dimri (Col ’19 CM) has published her first card game, “Let’s Circle Back: A Corporate Storytelling Game and Prompt Deck.” Drawing from her experiences as a federal government consultant, Dimri designed this team-building game to enable consultants and business professionals to bond over their work-related stories and opinions. She looks forward to designing more corporate-themed games in the future, for use both on and off the clock.
Nicole Andersen (Col ’18 CM)
Nicole Andersen (Col ’18 CM) received her Master of Public Health degree from Vanderbilt University with a concentration in epidemiology on May 10, 2024. Andersen’s thesis research involved “Exploring Neonatal Weight Loss Among Opioid-Exposed Infants with Prenatal Polysubstance Exposure,” and she completed her practicum with the Tennessee Department of Health (TDH). Anderson will work with TDH as a child fatality review program director, leading a team investigating child deaths to raise awareness and promote necessary safety measures for Tennessee families.
Webb Moore (Engr ’80 CM)
R. Webb Moore (Engr ’80 CM) has joined the Sands Anderson law firm as counsel in the Richmond, Virginia office. Sands Anderson is a full-service, multi-disciplinary law firm with offices in Virginia and North Carolina.
www.sandsanderson.com
Steve McCullough (Col ’94 CM)
Steve McCullough (Col ’94 CM) recently published through LexisNexis a treatise on the Virginia Constitution entitled Virginia Constitutional Law. McCullough has served as a Justice on the Supreme Court of Virginia since 2016.
Don Slesnick (Col ’65 CM)
Don Slesnick (Col ’65 CM) received the Henry M. Flagler Community Builder Award at the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce’s Annual Goals Conference banquet in June. The award, which acknowledges lifetime contributions to South Florida, was given to Slesnick and his late wife Jeannett, who was honored posthumously.
Sean McGee (Darden ’90)
Sean McGee (Darden ’90) has been named to the 2024 “Forbes Best-In-State Wealth Advisors” list.
McGee is a senior vice president, wealth management adviser with Merrill Lynch Wealth Management in Yardley, Pennsylvania. He is Chartered Financial Analyst, Certified Financial Planner and Certified Plan Fiduciary Advisor. McGee has been named to the Forbes “Best-in-State Wealth Advisors” list every year since 2018. He lives in Flemington, New Jersey.
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