Class Notes

Gus A. Mellander, MA ’60, PhD ’66, had two books, Charles Edward Magoon: The Panama Years (Editorial Plaza Mayor, 2000) and The United States in Panamanian Politics: The Intriguing Formative Years (Interstate Printers & Publishers, 1971), lauded as “essential for the study of early diplomatic relations between Panama and the United States” in a recent publication by the Library of Congress. 

Vincent T. DeVita, MD ’61, HON ’84, was mentioned in the “Oncology Luminaries” series by the American Society of Clinical Oncology for introducing chemotherapy combinations for cancer therapy. The breakthrough occurred in 1965, when Dr. DeVita and his colleagues combined mustargen, oncovin, procarbazine and prednisone to treat Hodgkin’s disease. Since then, ASCO has named MOPP the top advance in modern oncology. Dr. DeVita is the Amy and Joseph Perella Professor of Medicine at Yale University. 

Kenneth Salomon, JD ’70, has been appointed by the United States Olympic Committee to the organization’s ethics committee. Mr. Salomon is the chair of the Thompson Coburn LLP lobbying and policy group with more than 40 years of experience advising clients on a broad range of government and public policy issues. He is also a founding board member and served for 13 years as president of the Maryland Soccer Foundation. 

Susan Schiffer Stautberg, MA ’70, has co-authored Women on Board: Insider Secrets to Getting on a Board and Succeeding as a Director (Quotation Media, 2014). She writes: “Board service today requires a more complex set of skills, experiences, and leadership styles than ever before, making this new book essential reading both for women considering a directorship and for women currently serving on boards of public companies, private and family firms, or nonprofit organizations.” 

Pamela Henson, BA ’71, MA ’76, was awarded the Secretary’s Gold Medal for Exceptional Service by Smithsonian Secretary G. Wayne Clough. Dr. Henson currently works as director of the institutional history division. She’s been at the Smithsonian since 1973. 

Jack Phillip London, DBA ’71, executive chairman of CACI International, was named as one of the 100 most influential people in business ethics for 2014 by the Ethisphere Institute. Dr. London also spoke on character and ethics as part of the Chancellor Bell Lecture Series at the National Defense University on December 10, 2014.

Glenn Whitaker, JD ’72, a partner at Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP, has been included in the 2015 Ohio Super Lawyers list for his achievement in litigation. Mr. Whitaker’s practice has an emphasis on the representation of individuals and corporations in complex civil litigation and criminal proceedings.

Gary Horan, MS ’73, was presented with the 2015 Regent Lifetime Award by the American College of Healthcare Executives. Mr. Horan is president and CEO of Trinitas Regional Medical Center and was recognized for 44 years of excellence. 

Ellen Zane, BA ’73, has been awarded the prestigious Leadership in Corporate Governance Award from the New England chapter of the National Association of Corporate Directors. Ms. Zane is a nationally renowned health care leader who recently retired as president and CEO of Tufts Medical Center and the Floating Hospital for Children. She is vice chair of the board of trustees at Tufts Medical Center. 

Howard Williams, LLM ’75, was among 36 Brooks Pierce attorneys recognized as industry leaders for business and corporate law in the 2015 North Carolina edition of Super Lawyers. 

Joey P. Manlapaz, BA ’77, MFA ’80, exhibited her new painting “Hooked on You” at Gallery Plan B’s 10th anniversary exhibition in Washington, D.C. Her full collection can be viewed at joeymanlapaz.com.

Laurence S. Litow, BS ’78, has been added as a partner in the Fort Lauderdale, Fla., office of Burr & Forman LLP. Mr. Litow is a member of the firm’s commercial litigation practice group and has experience representing Fortune 500 companies, as well as government agencies and financial institutions. 

Alex Nyerges, BA ’79, MA ’82, was honored by the French government as a knight in the Order of Arts and Letters, an international association of leaders recognized for their contributions toward promoting international relations with France. Mr. Nyerges is an executive committee member of the French Regional and American Museum Exchange and most recently spearheaded the move of FRAME’s headquarters from Dallas to Richmond, Va.

Carolyn Page, BA ’82, will have her story “Marksberry Road” published in the April 2015 issue of the New England Review. 

Seth Price, JD ’82, has been included in the 2015 Georgia edition of Super Lawyers. Mr. Price is a shareholder in Chamberlain Hrdlicka’s Atlanta office and focuses his practice on construction litigation.

Peter J. Roberts, MA ’82, helped design genetic genealogy software tools for Wikitree. He also delivered presentations on DNA and ancestry to the Sons of the American Revolution, Clan McKinnon, and the Green Turtle Cay Island Roots Heritage Festival. Mr. Roberts is a speaker for the International Society of Genetic Genealogy and welcomes contact and queries at [email protected].

Susan Ellis Wild, JD ’82, has been appointed as the first female city solicitor of Allentown, Pa. Ms. Wild is a partner at Gross McGinley and will maintain her private law practice in addition to her new responsibilities as the city’s chief legal officer. 

Kay Jackson, MFA ’84, exhibited “Malthusian Paintings, 25 Years and Counting” at the Addison/Ripley Fine Art gallery in Washington, D.C. Ms. Jackson says, “the symbolism of a crowd not only represents the world’s growing population but also serves as a model for artistically exploring motion, light and abstraction reflected in the urban environment's symphony of figures.”

Bob Flisser, BBA ’85, was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors for the Business Improvement District of Flemington, N.J. 

Adam Brookman, JD ’87, was elected treasurer at Boyle Fredrickson, Wisconsin’s largest intellectual property law firm.

Brian A. Malone, MPA ’87, retired from the Central Intelligence Agency after almost 37 years of service and is now vice president of N-Ask Inc., a recognized expert provider of software solutions, advanced signal processing, and algorithm development for the U.S. intelligence community and the federal government.

 Maria Strong, JD ’90, was appointed deputy director of policy and international affairs at the United States Copyright Office in January 2015. Before joining the copyright office in 2010, Ms. Strong spent almost 20 years in private practice in Washington, D.C., working on international trade and copyright matters. 

 Timothy A. Waire Jr.,  BS ’91, joined the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation as chief information officer in January 2015. Prior to joining the foundation, Mr. Waine held executive management positions at Quest Diagnostics and Constellation Energy Group. 

Salvatore Zambri, JD ’92, was listed in Best Lawyer’s 2015 “Best lawyers in America” for personal injury law and was named among the top 10 of the more than 80,000 attorneys in the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area by Super Lawyers.  

Jay Moskowitz, BBA ’93, has joined City Point Partners as marketing manager, where he will supervise the firm’s marketing activities and manage its strategic marketing initiatives. Mr. Moskowitz is an 11-year veteran of the architecture, engineering and construction industries.

Roger Medd, MA ’95, published The Voiceprint of God: Recognizing and Following His Voice (CreateSpace, 2014). The book, he writes, takes a “fresh look at the topic of hearing God’s voice.” Mr. Medd has over 30 years of engineering experience.

Srikant Sastry, JD ’95, was honored with a Minority Business Leader Award from the Washington Business Journal. Mr. Sastry currently serves as the national managing principal of advisory services at Grant Thornton LLP in Alexandria, Va. 

Howard Goldstein, BA ’97, was promoted to vice president of FoodMinds LLC. Mr. Goldstein’s nutrition affairs programs have garnered national recognition, including Hass Avocado Board’s “Love One Today” campaign, which was named a finalist for PRWeek’s 2015 Product Brand Development Campaign of the Year and the “Keep Potatoes in Schools” campaign that won a 2012 Gold SABRE public affairs award.

Michael Post, JD ’97, has been promoted from deputy general counsel to general counsel of regulatory affairs at the Municipal Securities Rulemaking Board. He is currently a legal and policy adviser to the MSRB and its board of directors. 

John Guevara, BA ’98, is the Republican nominee for Sully District supervisor on the Fairfax County, Va., Board of Supervisors in November’s general election. Mr. Guevara was on the Parent Teacher Organization Board at Navy Elementary in Fairfax for two terms and was vice president of his homeowners association for several years. He has lived in Sully, Va., for the last 15 years with his high school sweetheart, Marilyn. They have two sons, Peter and Nathan, both of whom attend Fairfax County public schools. 

Andrew Kozma, BA ’98, had his short story “Lullaby” featured in an exhibition of reinterpreted works by the Brothers Grimm, A Long Time Ago: The Fairy Tales of Mandy Altimus Pond, at Lynden Gallery in Elizabethtown, Pa. His poems have appeared in Blackbird, Subtropics, Qualm, and Copper Nickel. Mr. Kozma’s book of poems, City of Regret (Zone 3 Press, 2007), also won the Zone 3 First Book Award. 

Jason Daniel Myers, BA ’98, had his short story “Snow and Aysel” featured in an exhibition of reinterpreted works by the Brothers Grimm, A Long Time Ago: The Fairy Tales of Mandy Altimus Pond, at Lynden Gallery in Elizabethtown, Pa. Mr. Myers’ most recent work was published in Cthulhu Haiku II: More Mythos Madness. His online serial urban fantasy (BigTroubleInLittleCanton.org) will be featured in a forthcoming role-playing game sourcebook. 

Calvin K. Woo, JD ’98, has been elected partner at Verrill Dana. Mr. Woo maintains a diverse commercial and civil litigation practice, representing Fortune 500 companies, middle-market and closely-held businesses, and individuals in complex business, civil and employment disputes. 

Karen Herman, JD ’99, has been elected to partner of Crowell & Moring LLP and is a member of the firm’s corporate group. 

Paul J. Labov, BA ’99, has joined the New York office of Fox Rothschild LLP as a partner in the financial restructuring and bankruptcy practice. Mr. Labov represents a variety of stakeholders in Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings, out of court restructurings and liquidations, including hedge funds, insurance companies, commercial banking institutions and trade creditors.  

Alexandre M. Mestdagh, BA ’99, was appointed to the Central Florida Real Estate Council Board of Directors. Currently Mr. Mestdagh is the managing partner of Mestdagh & Wall, a boutique law firm based in Maitland, Fla. 

Ritu Kaur Cooper, BA ’00, has joined the Washington, D.C., office of Hall, Render, Killian, Health & Lyman as a shareholder. Ms. Cooper has always focused her practice on health care compliance matters. She has also been named to the Lawyers of Color Hot List since its inaugural edition in 2013.  

Amy Reich, BBA ’00, was elected by the Association of Fundraising Professionals’ Long Island chapter as a first-term member of the board of directors. Ms. Reich is the senior director for alumni affairs at Hofstra University in Long Island, N.Y., where she oversees all alumni-related outreach and special events. Prior to her time at Hofstra, she worked as director of advisory boards at the Jewish Theological Seminary in Manhattan. 

Christopher L. Soriano, BA ’00, has been promoted to partner at Duane Morris LLP. Mr. Soriano concentrates his practice on gaming law and commercial litigation in the firm’s trial practice group.

Babatunde Kayode Oloyede, CERT ’01, AS ’02, BS ’04, MS ’07, won the 2014 Junior Officer of the Year Award from the North Carolina Commissioned Officers Association. He was also selected in 2014 as a member of the Council of Medical Laboratory Professionals by the American Society for Clinical Pathology.

Arthur Blain, MBA ’01, was appointed to chief medical officer of Mountain Health and Community Services in Campo, Calif. 

Brigitte Dias Ferreira, LLM ’01, and Hernan L. Bentolila, LLM ’02, were married in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in July 2014. The couple currently resides in Arlington, Va. Ms. Ferreira works as counsel for international affairs at John Deere, and Mr. Bentolila serves as international counsel for Bristol Myers Squibb.

Kimberly Gilbert, MFA ’01, won a 2015 Helen Hayes Award in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (Hayes) category for her performance as the title character in the Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company’s production of Marie Antoinette.

Seth J. Gillihan, MA ’01, co-authored a book with Janet Singer called Overcoming OCD: A Journey to Recovery (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2015). The book documents the recovery of Ms. Singer’s son from severe OCD through exposure and response prevention therapy. Dr. Gillihan provides expert commentary throughout the book on topics related to OCD.

Suzanna Morales, BBA ’01, has joined Fox Rothschild LLP as counsel in the firm’s New York office. Ms. Morales represents clients in a wide array of intellectual property litigation and trademark prosecution. 

Timothy Tobin, EdD ’02, published Your Leadership Story: Use Your Story to Energize, Inspire, and Motivate (Berrett-Koehler Publishers, 2015). He writes that by “thinking of your career as a narrative—with a plot, characters, and an arc—you can increase your awareness of yourself as a leader and become more effective, insightful and inspiring.” 

Jay Boyles, BA ’03, and Liz Cozart, MA ’09, were married in February in McLean, Va. Mr. Boyles is a student at the Marine Corps Command & Staff College in Quantico, Va. Ms. Cozart is on staff at McLean Presbyterian Church and a student at the Reformed Theological Seminary.

Marcie Feinman, BS ’03, MD ’07, was recruited to Sinai Hospital in Baltimore as a trauma/acute care surgeon. Dr. Feinman completed her fellowship in surgical critical care and acute care surgery at Johns Hopkins University in 2014. 

Habeeba Park, BS ’03, was recruited to Sinai Hospital in Baltimore as a trauma/acute care surgeon. Dr. Park also was selected as a volunteer to the Eastern Association for the Surgery of Trauma’s injury control and violence prevention section. She completed her fellowship in trauma and surgical critical care at the R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center at the University of Maryland Medical Center in 2014. 

Erik F. Yassenoff, BA ’03, has been appointed by Ohio Gov. John Kasich to serve as deputy director for general services at the Department of Administrative Services. For the past four years, Mr. Yassenoff has served on the governor’s staff as his assistant director of policy for asset management, advising in policy areas that include taxation, transportation and gambling.

Brian Cocca, JD ’04, has been elected to partner in the Malvern, Pa., office of Stradley Ronon Stevens & Young. Mr. Cocca focuses his practice on intellectual property issues, with a concentration on drafting and prosecuting patent applications in the biotechnology and pharmaceutical fields. 

Julie Gordon, BA ’04, joined the staff of the New York Post as deputy editor of PageSix.com. Previously, she worked as the entertainment and style editor of the newspaper amNewYork.

Alessandra Mediago, BA ’04, and her husband, James Edward Agnew II welcomed the arrival of their first child, Julia Rose Agnew, on July 3, 2014. She writes, “Julia already has a full wardrobe of Colonials attire and cannot wait to visit campus for the first time.” 

Chevon Brooks, JD ’05,  has been promoted to partner with Traub Lieberman Straus & Shrewsberry LLP in New York. Mr. Brooks is an insurance and litigation defense attorney who specializes in the defense of property and casualty matters in both federal and New York state courts. 

Katy Chang, JD ’05, added Baba’s Dumpling and Soup Noodles to the menu of EatsPlace, her neighborhood restaurant and bar that she describes as a “food incubator and restaurant accelerator” in Washington, D.C. Ms. Chang is the founder of this community kitchen and marketplace and frequently hosts guest chef residencies. Along with hand-kneaded dumplings and soup noodles, Ms. Chang will also be featuring her Baba’s Cooking School line of award-winning hot sauce and a new line of bitters.

Jessica Federer, BS ’05, is chief digital officer of Bayer, a multinational pharmaceutical and chemical corporation. Previously, Ms. Federer was a program analyst at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, helping to facilitate nationwide discussion on a variety of pressing health care topics. 

Seth Linnick, BBA ’05, an attorney at Tucker Ellis LLP, has been recognized as an “Ohio Rising Star” for 2015.

Blaine Rummel, MPA ’05, was appointed director of communications for the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees. Most recently Mr. Rummel served as director of special projects in the communications department, where he prepared the union for its upcoming legislative and judicial challenges. 

Stephen J. McBrady, JD ’06, has been elected to partner of Crowell & Moring LLP and is currently a member of the firm’s government contracts group.

Christina J. McCollough, JD ’06, has been promoted to partner at Perkins Coie. Ms. McCollough is a member of the litigation practice group, with a primary focus on patent litigation and appeals, in the firm’s Seattle office.

Rachel Adcox, JD ’07, a member of Axinn, Veltrop & Harkrider LLP’s antitrust group, has been promoted to partner. Ms. Adcox represents both foreign and domestic clients before the U.S. Justice Department and Federal Trade Commission in mergers, civil non-merger matters and criminal cartel investigations. 

Amanda Dubin, BS ’07, and Kelly Meyer founded a baby clothing company called Luc&Lou. For every onesie purchased, a new onesie is donated to a baby in need. Previously, they both worked as neonatal ICU nurses where, Ms. Dubin writes, they “shared the same dream to make a positive impact on the world by helping babies in need.” For more information on their products and story, visit lucandlou.com. 

Dawn Ursula, MFA ’07, was nominated for a 2015 Helen Hayes Award in the Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play (Hayes) category, for her role in We Are Proud to Present a Presentation About the Herero of Namibia, Formerly Known as South-West Africa, From the German Sudwestafrika, Between the Years 1884-1915, by Washington, D.C.’s Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

Brian C. Willis, JD ’07, was a panelist at Tampa Bay Startup Week, where he discussed “fostering a start-up and innovation ecosystem.” Mr. Willis is an associate at Shumaker, Loop & Kendrick LLP, where he represents individuals and corporations involved in business, contract and real estate disputes. 

Michael Hissam, JD ’08, has been elected partner in the firm Bailey & Glasser LLP. 

Alex Lawson, MPP ’08, is the executive director of Social Security Works, a nonprofit organization that advocates for protecting and expanding the program. His organization published Social Security Works!: Why Social Security Isn’t Going Broke and How Expanding It Will Help Us All (The New Press, 2015). 

Andrea Mazzone, BA ’08, and Christopher Bourque, BS ’09, are engaged to be married in August 2015. Ms. Mazzone is a defense analyst for Booz Allen Hamilton in Washington, D.C., and Lt. Bourque is stationed in D.C. with the U.S. Navy Ceremonial Guard. 

 Vance Renfroe, CERT ’08, has been appointed professor of leadership and elected a senior fellow of New Westminster College, in Vancouver, Canada. He will be working with New Westminster College’s expansion and transition toward university status. Col. Renfroe retired from the U.S. Air Force and is currently president of Renfroe Associates International. His company is engaged in a wide range of business development in the Middle East, North Africa, India and the United States. 

Amy Rizzotto, BA ’08, founded her own yoga studio, Yoga Heights, and opened a small business called MOARfit, where she works with clients on customized yoga and nutrition programs. After living in France and Senegal for a few years, working in San Francisco for a global philanthropy nonprofit, and spending three years as a major gifts fundraiser for the African Wildlife Foundation in Washington, D.C., Ms. Rizzotto writes that she “decided to turn her personal passion into a new career path.”

April Salomon, MA ’08, was named executive director of the Musical Instrument Museum. Ms. Salomon, who served as MIM’s acting director for the past six months, joined the museum in 2007 and assisted with the design, staffing, collection acquisition and launch of the $250 million museum. Previously, she worked for other cultural and educational institutions including the Heard Museum, the Institute of Learning Innovation and the Smithsonian Institution. 

Jonathan Freidin, BA ’09, has joined Freidin Dobrinsky Brown & Rosenblum, P.A., as an associate. He will concentrate his practice in the areas of plaintiffs’ personal injury, medical malpractice and product liability.

Alfred S. Boone, MS ’10, a major in the U.S. Army, has been selected as professor of military science at Rutgers University in New Jersey. 

Alson James Mckenna, JD ’11, has joined Harter Secrest & Emery LLP as an associate in the firm’s Rochester, N.Y., office. Mr. McKenna will work in the real estate practice group, negotiating, analyzing and drafting commercial purchase and sales agreements, leases, construction and mortgage loan documents, and other real estate-related agreements. 

Andrea S. Peterson, MTA ’12,  joined Metropolitan State University of Denver’s Department of Hospitality, Tourism and Events as a full-time faculty member in August 2014, after serving as an affiliate since the previous fall. She recently authored a chapter, “Marketing the Meeting,” in the sixth edition of the Professional Convention Management Association’s Professional Meeting Management, which was published in January and is widely available as a curriculum textbook within the industry. 

Mari Mora Trubenbach, BA ’12, worked with Operation of Hope, a volunteer surgical team,  to provide Blessing Makwera, a now 22-year-old man from Zimbabwe, with free facial reconstructive surgeries from Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego. Ms. Trubenbach has gone on surgical missions since she was 12 and currently is the road manager for Enrique Iglesias.

Patrick Gillen, MS ’13, was awarded a 2015 Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific research fellowship. His research focuses on predicting events using big data analysis. Currently, Mr. Gillen is working toward a master’s degree in computer science at the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, Calif. 

William Giltinan, LLM ’13, has been elected a shareholder of Carlton Fields Jorden Burt. Mr. Giltinan is a member of several of the firm’s practice groups, including corporate, information security/data breach, nonprofit organizations, and intellectual property and technology, enforcement and protection.

Muhammad Faysal Islam, PhD ’13, a lead engineer with Booz Allen Hamilton and adjunct professor at the School of Engineering and Applied Science, is the 2015 president-elect of the International Council on Systems Engineering Washington metro-area chapter. Dr. Islam will assume the responsibilities of the INCOSE WMA presidency in 2016.

Nicole Picard, BS ’14, is a new member of the Brooklynettes, the professional dance team of the NBA’s Brooklyn Nets. She performs at Nets home games at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, N.Y., as well as at national and international NBA events.