Class Notes
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2000s
2000
Daniela Kelley Sicuranza
daniela.sicuranza@gmail.com
Ryan Lynch and wife Jennifer Wilen welcomed son Oscar Eoghan Wilen-Lynch in July.
Kristin DeGraff, who works in road race management, married land surveyor Jonathan Branson in June on a ship in the western Caribbean. They live in Orlando. Katie Gottsch ’98 and Kristin Nuedling ’01 hosted a bridal shower.
Sarah Stacy Selgas and husband Tim Selgas ’97 have William, 3, and expected a daughter in December. Sarah works for a Toronto-based ad agency. Tim was finishing grad school.
After teaching Latin five years in Spotsylvania County, Kevin Perry teaches Latin at the National Cathedral School in Washington, D.C. He’s still involved with the Virginia Governor’s Latin Academy and is in a master’s of education program in Latin through UNC Greensboro.
Mel Sirois is marketing and communications coordinator for AMSUS, the Society of Federal Health Professionals. She took a sommelier course, received a WSET Level 2 certification, works D.C.-area wine-tastings, and has a food and wine blog. Mel traveled recently to Japan and South Africa and ran marathons in West Virginia and Oregon on her way to completing one in each of the 50 states.
Melissa Fallen, Huguenot Road Baptist Church associate pastor for older adults and administration, earned a doctor of ministry degree from Richmond’s Baptist Theological Seminary. She plays cards with Dianna Dittman Hudson ’03, Sarah Amick ’03, and Abbie Duke Duenckel ’04.
Lisbeth White Busch, Kari Lee Schultz, Mary Larkin Quinlan, Erandi Salgado Blatt, Angela Zosel McCormick, and Jason Vickers saw the hilarious Natalie Joy Johnson play Pam in Kinky Boots in New York in March and met Cyndi Lauper backstage. Lisbeth and husband Matt of Long Island, New York, welcomed Charlotte on Memorial Day. She joins sister Becca.
Jill Ellis Frank and Annette Hibbert Nelson are stay-at-home moms in Maryland. Jill has daughters ages 4 and 2. Annette has a son, born days after Jill’s younger daughter. Fertility clinic supervisor Kristine Reid Milne of Maryland has three children. Julie Houts Frame, a Pennsylvania CVS pharmacy manager, helps with husband Todd’s wedding photography business. Florida National Guard historian Alison Martin Simpson has two boys. All five met in St. Augustine, where Alison lives, for a June weekend.
Maylian Pak of Eugene, Oregon, training in July for her first half marathon, ran into economics professor Stephen Stageberg. After retiring from UMW, Stageberg moved to Eugene, where he’s a track legend.
I’m still in Arlington, Virginia, with my husband, Chris Sicuranza ’98, and our daughters, ages 3 and 5. I’m a stay-at-home mom, do freelance work, practice photography, and volunteer at my daughters’ school. I visit with Blake Mitchell and Susan Wolf when Blake is in Arlington for work. It’s fun to read about classmates. Email news or friend me on Facebook! I hope to see you at our 15th reunion.
2001
Sarah Osborn Barwick
possum@msn.com
Stephanie Lee Scheibe Barb was elected a national delegate to represent the Girl Scouts of the Virginia Skyline at October’s GSUSA National Convention in Salt Lake City.
Andrew Ward received UMW’s Outstanding Young Alumnus Award at the May reunion. He produces an international music festival in Uganda and promotes his band, Wahida – The Sufi Second Line.
Quentin “Trais” Pearson earned a Ph.D. in history from Cornell University in August and was to begin teaching as a Mellon postdoctoral fellow at Wheaton College in Massachusetts.
Teresa Joerger Mannix, assistant dean for communications at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, is vice president of the College Communicators Association of Virginia and D.C. She and her husband expect their second child in December.
Nicole McIntyre of Shanghai teaches at an international school. In January, Kristin Neviackas Towse and husband Farley welcomed second child Collin C. Towse, joining sister Ella.
2002
Travis Jones
tljones8@hotmail.com
Carolyn Murray Spencer
turtlecjm@yahoo.com
Hilary Callahan wed Jason Glasscock of McLean, Virginia, in August in Nantucket.
Simon & Schuster preempted world rights to Edward Gets Messy, a picture book by Brooklyn librarian Rita Meade. Publication is slated for 2016.
Andrew Mertz married the Rev. Anne Pierpoint in Alexandria, Virginia, in August. Best man Kevin Libby, groomsman Michael Panlilio, Tricia Pavlik, and Sara Felix attended. Andrew completed a certificate in youth and theology from Princeton Theological Seminary and a ministerial internship in Sterling, Virginia.
Corrine Compton is a Fauquier County, Virginia, government parcel mapping/GIS specialist.
2003
Jessica Brandes
jessbrandes@yahoo.com
High school assistant principal Allison Jennings Jordan of Lynchburg, Virginia, earned a doctorate in leadership studies and has children Nick, 4, and Kate, 1.
Virginia Atkinson of Northern Virginia is access and inclusion specialist at the International Foundation for Electoral Systems. She co-authored the manual Equal Access: How to Include Persons With Disabilities in Elections and Political Processes. Virginia served on recent panels at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C., and the United Nations in New York.
Jennifer Worcester Moore and husband Greg welcomed second son Ewan Carter in January. He joins brother Buckley, 3.
Robin Epperson-McCarthy, a Long Island Merlot Alliance research fellow, is senior sommelier and director of education at Roanoke Vineyards in Riverhead, New York.
Jessica Broderick Lewis and husband Matthew of Alexandria, Virginia, welcomed first child Graham Edward Lewis in February. Jessica, Sportrock Climbing Centers director of marketing, is pursuing a second master’s degree at George Washington University.
Abbie Elliott, American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery communications manager, began her career with the White House Commission on Remembrance. She’s covered events, including President Barack Obama’s inaugurations, for Huffington Post and other media outlets. This past year she worked with the Philippine Humanitarian Coalition to promote a benefit concert at the Kennedy Center for victims of Typhoon Haiyan. It featured Glee star Darren Criss, Broadway artist Lea Salonga, Black Eyed Peas singer apl.de.ap, and more.
Andy Wright and Maria Yount Wellesley ’05 of Bon Air, Virginia, married in June at Jasmine Plantation in New Kent, Virginia, and took a Mediterranean cruise to Turkey, Greece, and Italy.
2004
Sameer Vaswani
sameervaswani@msn.com
Matt Kapuscinski and Tricia Piccinino Kapuscinski welcomed first child Olivia Jean in August. Krystin Gokey Ryan and husband Jim of Richmond welcomed Claire Aubrey Ryan in June. Andrew Blate, owner of Beautiful Home Services, LLC, and Jessie Thomas-Blate ’03 of Fairfax, Virginia, welcomed son Leo in June 2012. Erin Dexter welcomed Anderson Patrick White in October.
Maria Cedeno Lapins and husband Adam traveled to Ireland this spring. Their son was due this summer.
High school teacher Kevin Johnson and Amber Rector Johnson,a supervisor at the Social Security Administration, of Spotsylvania, Virginia, havedaughters Amelia, in kindergarten, and Natalie, 3. Elementary school teacher Emily Falvey Townsend andhigh school math teacher and baseball coach Sean Townsend ’03 of Chesapeake, Virginia, have daughters Lily, 4, and Ella, 1.
Magdalena Mrowiec Campbell and Stephen of Frederick, Maryland, married six years, have sons Jack, 5, and Hank, 2. She’s an adjunct teaching GED classes at Baltimore County Community College.
After 18 months in Monterey, California, while husband Ryan studied at the Naval Postgraduate School, Suzi Gallagher Welch, a Troy University professor of leadership studies, planned to move with Molly, 2, to Woodbridge, Virginia. Ryan was to start work at Fort Belvoir.
Aaron Layman, a Wells Fargo collections operations specialist and Roanoke Star freelance writer, planned a fall trip up the East Coast. Kristin Simmers studied at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and works for NIST International School in Bangkok, Thailand.
Kevin Buffardi earned a Ph.D. in computer science from Virginia Tech and was to start this fall as an assistant professor at California’s Chico State. David Rickey is rehabilitating a historic Cincinnati house. Ryan Bodenstein earned a Ph.D. from U.Va. and is working to build a particle accelerator in South Korea.
After two years in investment banking at Barclays, Matt Lowe joined Estee Lauder Companies in NYC as the CFO’s director of financial planning and analysis. Matt married Amer Ahmed in Chappaqua, New York, in May. Chris Baily, Gigi Beier, Matt McKay, and Erica Rozek attended.
Hannah Slotnick Lindoff wrote a children’s book, Mary’s Wild Winter Feast. Kendall Jennings lives in the D.C. area, works for IBM, and has traveled to Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Osasu Airhiavbere is a Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board attorney in D.C. Elizabeth Terrell works for Deloitte in Sydney, Australia.
Jennifer Henley went on the UMW service trip to Peru, talking with current students about changes on campus.
2005
Allyson “Ally” V. Lee
allyvlee@gmail.com
Robyn Fielder earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from Syracuse University in August 2013 and married Bryan Shepardson in June. Ashley Davitt Simpkins and Derek Simpkins welcomed daughter Nora James in February. Ally Lee and Rob Marzan plan an April 2015 wedding in New Jersey. They traveled to Key West, Florida, for July Fourth with friends, including the Class of 2006’s Caitie Eck, Megan Anderson, Nancy-Lauren Raia, Shana Muhammad, and Kevin Stallings.
2006
Shana A. Muhammad
email.shana@gmail.com
Carl Frank Puleo
cfpuleo@gmail.com
Alexander Harrison Pittman earned a Ph.D. from the Department of Performance Studies, Tisch School of the Arts, New York University, and won the Monroe Lippman Memorial Prize for distinguished doctoral dissertation.
Michael Sienkowski, Stafford County’s deputy commissioner of the revenue, and Kelly Mann Sienkowski ’07 of Fredericksburg welcomed Scarlett Lila in May. Kelly works at Geico.
Kristen Borkoski and Ryan Fulcher of Alexandria, Virginia, wed in April aboard a riverboat in Old Town. Emily Walsh, Jennifer Russell, Jarred Turner, Francesca Capellini Ward, and Zack “Buttons” Ward attended the reception.
Stafford County middle school counselor Elizabeth Cranford earned a master’s degree in school counseling from JMU in May.
Ashley E. Ontko married Navy Lt. Taylor South in May. They moved from Virginia Beach to Monterey, California, where Taylor planned to attend the Naval Postgraduate School.
2007
Jay Sinha
jay.sinha9@gmail.com
Daniel Clendenin
daniel.clendenin@gmail.com
Sarah Eckman
sarahje@alumni.umw.edu
2008
Trish Lauck
trish.lauck@gmail.com
Alyssa Lee
alyssa.linda.lee@gmail.com
Kristina Ashwell Peck and Joel Peck welcomed son Elijah in March.
2009
Elizabeth Jennings
elizabethsjennings@gmail.com
Alexandra Meier
alexandra.m.meier@gmail.com
Laura Tabler Allison ’08 and Kenneth Allison expected their first child in November. Chrissie Lincoln and Cary Lincoln ’08 welcomed baby Elliott this summer. Sarah Restaino McLaughlin and husband Jon welcomed baby Olivia in July.
Alyssa Ballentine is a registered nurse at NYU Langone Medical Center. Rebecca Gall Fenwick is a historic preservation specialist for Lominack Kolman Smith Architects in Savannah, Georgia.
Elizabeth Bair Shomo, now a stay-at-home mom, worked as a child protective services and hospice social worker. She has two sons and a daughter.
Brent Colin Turner, board secretary for the international nonprofit Medical Students for Choice and a third-year student at the Medical College of Virginia, plans to specialize in reproductive endocrinology and infertility.
Stephanie Oswald and Andrew Sniffin wed in July on Long Island. Melanie Tarosky earned a DVM last May from the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. She practices at Pender Veterinary Centre in Fairfax, Virginia.