Class Notes

Melanie Avery (Col ’99 CM) is leading a large data transformation and decision support team for BAE systems as Technical Program Manager for a cross-functional team of data scientists, software developers and business analysts in a data transformation and decision support division at DHS. She took on this role after serving at Veterans on the Rise, a 501(c)3 non-profit, for nine years while also working as a Management Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. 

Justin Humphreys (Col ’01) has been nominated for the Theatre Library Association’s Richard Wall Memorial Award for his book George Pal: Man of Tomorrow. The award recognizes performing arts scholarship with exemplary use and interpretation of library and archival collections. 

Paul Alp (Arch ’91) has joined the law firm of Adams and Reese, where he serves as one of the co-leaders of the new Adams and Reese Aviation and Aerospace Team.

In addition to traditional matters for airlines and manufacturers, Alp focuses a substantial portion of his law practice on complex airworthiness, compliance and enforcement issues. He is an author of numerous articles on legal issues affecting the aviation and aerospace industry. He also holds a commercial pilot certificate and has worked as a flight instructor.

Arp received a J.D. from George Washington University and an LL.M. with a specialization in Administrative Law and Regulatory Practice from American University. He served as a partner at the law firm of Jenner & Block and as legal counsel at The Boeing Company.

Paul practices in the Washington, D.C. office.

Ryan McNeilly (Col ’20 CM) and Chelsea Guillory (Col ’19 CM) were married in Pensacola, Florida on May 2, 2023.  The two met at the Aquatic and Fitness Center in 2018.  They recently celebrated their marriage back in Charlottesville on Jan. 13th, 2024 with many ‘Hoos in attendance. The couple lives in Jacksonville, Florida.

Mills Kelly (Col ’82 CM) will be a Fulbright Scholar at the Johannes Gutenberg University in Mainz, Germany during 2024. He is currently a visiting scholar at the Luxembourg Center for Contemporary and Digital History.

Byron Dickson (Arch ’63 CM), was inducted into the Salem (Virginia) Educational Foundation and Alumni Association Hall of Fame on April 26th, 2023. The five inductees were recognized for major achievements in their chosen fields of education and architecture.

Henry Legard (Com ’17 CM) and Niel Ketkar (Engr ’19 CM) have founded Verisoul, a platform that identifies fake accounts and bots by using Artificial Intelligence to analyze email, network, device, and user behavior. The product prevents sign-up promotions from being abused, reduces cybersecurity risk, improves user experience, and more.

Legard and Ketktar have raised $3.25M from investors, and are always looking to connect with fellow ’Hoos – either customers or potential employees.

Erica Stephenson (Nurs ’11 CM) and Caleb Stephenson (Com ’08 CM) welcomed their daughter, Isabel Charlotte Stephenson, on Sept. 27, 2023. The family lives in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Thaddeus Minshall (Col ’03) received a Design-Build Award from the New England chapter of the Design-Build Institute of America for Connolly Brothers Inc.’s design and construction management work on New England Academy’s new South Shore campus in Marshfield, Massachusetts. Minshall is vice president of real estate/development at Connolly.

Joe Essid (Col ’83) published “Writing Centers & the Dark Warehouse University: Generative AI, Three Human Advantages,” in the Interdisciplinary Journal of Leadership Studies: Vol. 2, 2023.

Jim Roche (Darden ’06 CM) has been named president, BRP and CEO, Underwriting, Capacity, & Technology Operations at Baldwin Risk Partners, one of the largest insurance brokers in the United States.  

Roche has been at BRP since 2019, when he joined as part of the acquisition of Millennial Specialty Insurance (MSI), a firm which he founded in 2015.

Additionally, he has purchased a farm in Charlottesville near Foxfield to serve as a full-time residence upon retirement.

Capt. Jenny Sigel Burkett (Nursing ’97 CM) assumed command of Navy Medicine Readiness and Training Command, Camp Pendleton, California, on Aug. 4, 2023.  She is the first Nurse Corps officer to command the hospital.  She lives in Oceanside, California, with her husband C. Allen Burkett Jr., and children Emma, Lizbeth, and Clarence.

Mark Nuckols (Col ’90 CM) has published Travels with Ferdinand and Friends: A Centennial Journey Through Austria–Hungary, which won Hidden River Press’s Panther Creek Nonfiction Book Award. Beginning at Franz Ferdinand’s castle in the Czech Republic, Nuckols trekked through former Habsburg lands to Sarajevo for the centenary of the Archduke’s assassination, visiting old friends from Slovakia—where he taught English after graduating from UVA—and singing with local musicians in Dubrovnik, Prague and elsewhere. He lives on Virginia’s Eastern Shore, where he translates, plays music and chess, and is active in the local alumni group.

Tom Gilroy (Col ’73 CM) has published Out of Season, a political thriller set against the backdrop of a 1980s civil war in West Africa, which Gilroy covered as a reporter based in Douala, Cameroon. The book also explores deeper themes like race, religion, colonialism and the high cost anger and resentment inflict on relationships and judgment. Gilory’s book of short stories, In Bikole, based on his two-years as a Peace Corps volunteer in a village in Senegal, was published by Alfred A. Knopf. 

Jim Chapman (Col ’89 CM)has been honored with the Lewis Cenker Award by the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association (GAHBA). 

Named after an industry luminary and the only GAHBA member to serve as president of the National Association of Home Builders, this award is the GAHBA’s highest honor, given in recognition of lifelong contributions and achievements in the housing industry.

Chapman, president of the Jim Chapman Construction Group, served as the GAHBA president in 2018. He has been named builder of the year by numerous industry organizations.

Ross Perry (Col ’73 CM) was named a Chevalier de la Legion d’Honneur by the Republic of France for his work building French and American relationships during his tenure as president general of the Society of the Cincinnati.  The society was formed at the end of The Revolution in 1783 by George Washington’s officer corps, and the current members focus on the appreciation of the deeds, accomplishments, and relevance of the American Revolution.