Class Notes

These are the unedited class notes as submitted by class agents and other alumni. Edited notes appear in the print edition.

If you prefer to submit Class Notes by mail, send to:

UMW Magazine – Class Notes
1301 College Ave.
Fredericksburg, VA 22401

2000s

2000

Jennifer Burger Thomas
jenntec14@gmail.com

Shawna Shepherd ’00 is Working as a Talent Producer on “The Daily Show with Trevor Noah” on Comedy Central, and enjoying raising two girls in NYC.

From Larry Hinkle:
I’m a graduate of MWC Class 2000 and I am super excited to be teaching at UMW this year as an Adjunct Instructor
in the Department of Art and Art History. I am also the faculty advisor for Women’s Ultimate Frisbee Club.
I also make and play ukuleles for a living.
hinkle-ukulele.com

From Annette Hibbert Nelson:

Hello Jennifer! Here are the notes from our crew:
Jill (Ellis) Frank, Kristine (Reid) Milne, Alison (Martin) Simpson and Annette (Hibbert) Nelson all got together this summer for their
annual weekend away. We missed Julie (Houts) Frame because her and her husband Todd are now living it up in Sedona, AZ.
Julie works as the head pharmacist for a CVS out there. Annette shared with the group that she is starting a cooperative, nonprofit
elementary school (www.silveroakscooperative.org) and expecting baby number two in January 2018. Jill is working part
time with Best Buddies again, Kristine is a manager at a fertility clinic in Maryland, and Alison is preserving history for the Florida
National Guard.

2001

Kim Winslow (Kelley), Chris Winslow, and big sister Kate welcomed Joseph Christopher Winslow on December 1, 2017.
At the end of January Caroline Jarvis married Alex Gee in London, England. They traveled to California wine country for their honeymoon.

2002

Travis Jones
tljones8@hotmail.com

Carolyn Murray Spencer
turtlecjm@yahoo.com

2003

Jessica Brandes
jessbrandes@yahoo.com

Garett Seeba is certified by the American Board of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery and practices in Webster, Texas.

Jennifer Moore, president of the Mosby Heritage Area Association, participated in a panel discussion in Loudoun County, Virginia, titled “Young Historians Debate Turning Points in the Civil War.” Also on the panel were Bill Backus ’10, historic sites manager for Prince William County’s Historic Preservation Division, and Ryan Quint ’15, a historian with Fredericksburg and Spotsylvania National Military Park.

2004

Sameer Vaswani
sameervaswani@msn.com

Katie Valentine Charnoff (2004) and Mike Charnoff (1995) moved to Vienna in early September, and now live just down the street from Steve Charnoff (1999) and Katie Fry Charnoff (2000). Their delightful son Austin Levi Charnoff was born in late October. Mike’s law firm PERRY CHARNOFF PLLC moved from the Courthouse neighborhood in early October to open a brand new office in the Ballston neighborhood of Arlington.

2005

Allyson “Ally” V. Lee
allyvlee@gmail.com

Kacy Zuchowski graduated with her MBA in June 2017. Nell Nutaitis and her husband, Matt Nutaitis, welcomed their second baby girl, June, in the summer of 2017. June joins big sister, Tess, who is 3. Ashley Davitt Simpkins and Derek Simpkins welcomed their second daughter, Emery Belle, in May 2017. Christy Cooper welcomed son Kellan Patrick on July 17, 2017 with her husband, Matt, and daughter, Tierney.

Anneke Milkulski and her husband, Matthew Mikulski, a graduate of the University of Dayton, celebrated the birth of their first child, Caden Malcolm Mikulski, on November 5, 2017. Laura (Rawlett) Taylor welcomed son, Hollis Graham, in August 2017 with her husband, Brandon. Hollis joins big sister, Eleanor, who is 2.

From C. David Thorntnon ’05: It has been an exciting 6.5 years here at Clemson and I’ve seen some tremendous growth in the sustainability efforts on campus. I’m happy to have contributed to them through the Biofuels, Composting, Sustainable Agriculture, Biosystems Engineering and Creative Inquiry programs and all of the minds we’ve enlightened. I wish the best to the Clemson Community and there is a certainly a possibility that I may return for some special projects in the future.

I’m even more excited to be pursuing my own personal ventures full time at Carolina Bauernhaus Ales and SouthYeast Labs in Anderson, SC. Please give them a look and come by and see me some time!

Should you need assistance with used cooking oil, biodiesel, foodwaste servicing or compost please contact Dave Vandeventer at dvande@clemson.edu

Should you like to keep me in your contacts please use the following email address:
david.is.thornton@gmail.com

I am still available for biofuels, bioprocessing, organic waste management and brewing science consultations at the above email address.

These are exciting times and I wish you all the best!

2006

Shana A. Muhammad
email.shana@gmail.com

Dave Dalton and his wife Katherine (nee: Moran) welcomed a baby girl on April 19, 2017. He continues to work for the Commonwealth of Virginia as an economic regulator.

Since we left Mary Washington, Kiera Evans has found home in more than a half dozen states. Post UMW, Kiera received her M.A. in Social Justice & Intercultural Communications from the SIT Graduate Institute; her studies took her from Vermont to Kansas. She made her way back to the DC area for a moment before accepting a position in Boston working for the American Cancer Society and their largest fundraising walk. After a year in Boston, Kiera made another cross country move (her third) to the frozen tundra of the North – the Twin Cities. For three years, Kiera oversaw the planning of the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer in Minneapolis where she proudly raised critical funds for cancer research and programs, an issue she holds near and dear since she lost her mom twelve years ago to pancreatic cancer. In August, Kiera made a shift in her career to Director of Engagement for a disability human services cooperative – she is loving the challenges of a new industry! Outside work, Kiera fills her life with the unending pursuit of heavier deadlifts, faster Fran times, and more centered zen. She loves being “Auntie Kiera” to her friends’ children and traveling to visit family smart enough to not live in Minnesota. She welcomes visitors – so reach out if you’re in the Great North and we can check out one of many, many breweries!

Emily Walsh and her husband Jonathan welcomed baby girl Kenley Ilana weighing 6 lbs 10 oz on July 31st. They live in New York City where Emily works as a matrimonial attorney at a law firm, Miller Zeiderman & Wiederkehr LLP.

Julia Rickey currently serves as the Director of Student Wellness and Support at Benjamin Franklin Institute of Technology in Boston. She uses her undergraduate degree titled, “Psychosocial Issues of Gender and the Family” as well as her masters degree in Social Work to support students pursuing their associates degree at the college. Julia is also delighted to share that she finally found her Jewish prince and she will be marrying Phillip Lachman in Boston this May!

Kelly Wolff Applegate (’06) and Morgan Applegate (’05) are expecting their second child in May 2018!

Mike Sienkowski (’06), Kelly (Mann) Sienkowski (’07), and Scarlett welcomed Calvin Michael on July 31. The family lives in Stafford, VA, where Mike works at the Office of the Commissioner of the Revenue.

Lisa Lawler (’06) will be getting married August 2018 to Peter Armon in Montauk, NY. The couple recently bought a house on the eastern end of Long Island as well. Lisa is a special education teacher for elementary school students.

On July 7, 2017, Rachel (Hundley) Howdyshell (’06) and her husband Tyson welcomed their daughter, CaraLee James Howdyshell. She arrived 8 days late (just like her mother) and is happy and healthy!

Elizabeth (Smith) DiStanislso (’06) lives in Richmond with her husband, Thomas. This past year was a big one for them as they welcomed their first child, Phillip Thomas DiStanislao, on May 20, 2017. Then, to keep things extra exciting, they also bought our first house in Richmond. They are looking forward to being there for the long haul.

Lauren Roan-Parks was recently elected an officer at GEICO. She is now the assistant vice president of underwriting for the Southeast.

2007

From Sarah Eckman:

Marianne (Shapiro) and Jason Weiner gave birth to their second daughter, Hayli Morgan, in late September. Big sister Julie is enjoying her baby sister.

Megan Thoen (Martinez) and her husband, Eric, welcomed a healthy baby girl, Sophie, in September. Big brother Parker is so in love with her too!

Kati Singel Engel shared a story of Mary Washington serendipity that took place
at a military-related social gathering in Rota, Spain, at Thanksgiving. Kati,
whose husband is in the Navy, chatted with the woman sitting next to her.
Turns out it was retired naval officer Patti Barrow Rios ’72, who shared
her experiences of raising her children in Spain and the United States. Patti
now lives in El Puerto de Santa Maria, Spain. Kati and her husband have small
children and plan to travel with them in Europe while they’re stationed in
Spain over the next two years. “It is a big world, but meeting a fellow Mary
Washington alumna in a foreign country made it seem smaller,” Kati wrote.

2008

Trish Lauck Cerulli
trish.lauck@gmail.com

Alyssa Lee
alyssa.linda.lee@gmail.com

On November 12, 2017, Joni Briganti aka “Iron Pinkie” raced USAT Long Course Nationals in Miami and qualified for the Long Course Triathlon World Championships as a member of TEAM USA 2018! The ITU World Championships will be held July 6-14, 2018, in Denmark, Island Fyn! She is beyond excited and proud and honored to be representing the USA!

Heather Decot (’08) received her doctorate in Neuroscience from UNC Chapel Hill in December and has accepted a position at UNC’s Biomedical Research Imaging Center as a preclinical research scientist and coordinator.

Laura Arseneau (nee Gumkowski) accepted a position as a historic preservation planner in Fairfax County. She is excited to begin her role as the architectural board administrator and work with historic structures and projects in Fairfax County. She is also enjoying watching her 1 year old, Brayden, discover the world!

2009

Elizabeth Jennings
elizabethsjennings@gmail.com

Alexandra Meier
alexandra.m.meier@gmail.com

Charlotte Rowell Sellier and husband Joel welcomed their son, Blaise,
in November. Charlotte and Joel also have three daughters and reside
in Herndon, Virginia.

Elizabeth Jennings got engaged to Michael Haden in October, and are
planning to wed in Charlottesville, Virginia in April 2019. Elizabeth
works at Hilton Worldwide in McLean, Virginia and her fiance is a 2L
at the University of Virginia School of Law.

Jessica Van Brocklin Smith and husband Caleb are expecting a little
girl in April. Jessica was also promoted to Senior NICU
Speech-Language Pathologist at Shady Grove Hospital, and the couple
resides in DC.

Chrissie and Cary Lincoln are living in Fredericksburg with their two
sons, Elliott (3) and Cooper (1).

Bethany Bodengraven married Tim Perkins in July 2017. Sabah Bhatnagar,
Krista Robbins and Renee Lasnier were in the wedding party. Bethany
works in Development at Massachusetts General Hospital in Boston, MA.

Sarah Isaac and David Flores got married last year. Patrick
Whelan served as the officiant, while Eric Wolven and Craig Whitesell
were groomsmen, and Jojo Flores ’05 served as Best Man. Sarah and
David currently reside in Charlotte, NC.