Class Notes

From Angela Zosel McCormick:

In June 2018, I accepted a job in communications for UMW Alumni Relations. I couldn’t be happier to be back on campus! My son Liam is 11, loves UMW basketball games, and hopes to be an Eagle one day. But my daughter Lara, who is is 17 and a senior working on college applications, has no desire to attend Mary Wash—she wants out of the ’Burg ! I guess you can’t win them all…

In my new position, I help to plan Reunion Weekend. I’m so excited to prepare for our 20th Reunion in June of 2020! I hope lots of classmates will come back to campus to celebrate that milestone.

From Rob Eastman-Mullins:

My scenic design for Macbeth was selected for the US exhibition at the Prague Quadrennial, the preeminent, international exposition of performance design; to be held in June 2019 in Prague, Czech Republic.

Also, last year my wife and I established the Eastman-Mullins Scholarship for Theatre at UMW which will be awarded annually to a Theatre student. The first recipient was Erick Boscana (’20).

From Dave Tilman:

I am living and working in Mons, Belgium. I moved here with my family 1 year ago and I am working at a NATO school where I manage a few training courses and teach NATO members how to use GIS so?ware in support of military operations. My three little kids are in local French‐speaking schools and we are traveling around Europe as much as we can. I’ll be moving back to San Diego when my rotation here is over, in 2022.

Jill (Ellis) Frank transitioned from a full-time stay-at-home mom of two girls, to a full-time working mom this Fall.  She works with Best Buddies International to improve the lives of those with disabilities.  Kristine (Reid) Milne spends her workdays making babies! She is the lead manager of a branch of Shady Grove Fertility located in Virginia.  When she’s not adventuring with her two boys, Alison (Martin) Simpson continues to preserve history in St. Augustine, Florida as the historian for the Florida National Guard.   Julie (Houts) Frame is loving life in Sedona, Arizona and is the lead pharmacist for a CVS. Annette (Hibbert) Nelson just had her second son last February, and co-founded Silver Oaks Cooperative School, a non-profit private school in Maryland.

As for me, Jennifer Thomas, my husband and I have dreamed of living in Asheville. We recently made that happen. We are currently unpacking and settling in. I am still self-employed, doing environmental consulting.

Carla Villar Walby, RN works at the Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs, and manages the Federal Occupational Health Clinic for the agency.  She lives in Reston, Virginia with her husband Nathan Walby and 8-year-old son, Elvis.  Carla is expecting a daughter in April 2019.

Madelyn Marino sold her NYC apartment and purchased her first house with husband Michael Walker in Glen Rock, New Jersey. Madelyn now walks to the train station instead of the subway, while her husband easily commutes to Ramsey, New Jersey where he teaches high school math. I, Annie Johnston, visited in December to help decorate.

In July 2018, Jacquie Frank Caswell and husband Rory welcomed their third child, Madeline Grace.  Big brothers Evan (5) and Colin (3) were thrilled to have a sister.

Stephanie Barb (Scheibe) was promoted to the Head of the Enterprise Unix System Section at the Library of Congress.  Stephanie is now in charge of the UNIX Enterprise Systems across the four data centers managing Library of Congress content.

Rev. Dr. Andrew Ward and Ms. Allison Albert of Maytown, Pennsylvania eloped in Sri Lanka in late 2017. She is the CEO of the pet costume company Pet Krewe, and he remains the founder and chairman of the HIV Awareness “iKnow Concert” Series across Uganda & Rwanda. They are returning to East Africa with an all-star lineup including Michael Franti & Vusi in Spring of 2019. Come join the fun!  www.iknowconcertseries.org

Teresa Joerger Mannix is now the Senior Assistant Dean for Communications at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where she has worked for nearly a decade. She recently completed an executive certificate program at Georgetown in leadership and change management. Teresa continues to reside in Gainesville, Virginia, with her husband and two sons.

Amina H. Shafi Rogers is associate counsel with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the Refugee and Asylum Law Division of the Department of Homeland Security, a career path she launched at UMW. She majored in international law, had an internship with the Tahirih Justice Center, and participated in the Human Rights Club. Amina married Brian J. Rogers in July 2017.

(Marcy) Lee Crockett Darcy began working on a Masters of Fine Arts in Creative Writing at New England College last January– and was delighted to discover that one of the professors is a fellow MWC alum– Allison Titus!

Lieutenant Commander Lauren Cameron Fiske, Medical Corps, U. S. Navy, completed her active duty service obligation at Fort Belvoir Community Hospital as an attending physician in June.  She joined the Mary Washington Medical Group Infectious Diseases practice in Fredericksburg, Virginia.  Dr. Fiske practices at both Mary Washington and Stafford Hospitals.

Dr. Fiske is a 2007 graduate of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine.  She completed residencies in Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at VCU in 2011 and her infectious disease fellowship at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in 2013.  Dr. Fiske earned a Masters Degree in Tropical Medicine and Hygiene from the Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences in 2014.  Dr. Fiske is board certified in infectious diseases, internal medicine and pediatrics.  She is a member of the Infectious Disease Society of America, American Board of Internal Medicine and the American Board of Pediatrics.

Garett Seeba (‘03) is president of the 9th district dental society of the Texas Dental Association.  He is on a partnership track at Oral Surgery Associates in Webster, TX. His wife Tashia practices dental hygiene in the Houston area and is active in dachshund rescue (www.dreamdachs.org).

Bonnie (Ryan) Lefkowitz organized an awesome mini-reunion for a few friends in Fredericksburg in November. We laughed, we cried, we drank lots of Natural Light. In attendance were Emily Ruesch, Ryan Quinn, Diana (Daly) Epstein, Jill Davis, Jeff Howard, Rebecca (Comninaki) Duarte, Nick Mancini, Tommy Rogers, Rebecca Griffith, Sarah (Sedaghatfar) Little, Brad Johnson, Christine (Brown) Johnson, John Paxton, Katie (Helldoerfer) Lunne, Caroline (Otto) Lamire, Matt Aruch, Rob Graceffo and Jess Brandes.

Andrew Blate, CPA 04′ is the co-President of Beautiful Home Services, LLC (BHS). BHS proudly sponsored the College of Business’ second annual Case Competition and gave away $6000 in prize money to the winners. His charitable foundation, the Blate-Schneibolk Charitable Foundation, Inc raised over $25,000 in the 11th annual charity event. He was honored to receive a Young Alumni Award by the COB in 2017. He and his wife Jessie Thomas-Blate (’03) recently moved to Alexandria, VA with their son Leo.

Becky (Jaeger) Turner married Andy Turner in 2006 and they now have 2 daughters, Lia and Ally. Their family now resides in St. Louis, MO.  Becky works with her husband part time on their video business: StoryPoint Films and works part time as a Volunteer Coordinator for daughter’s school.

Cara Stout married Steven Wilkinson on November 3, 2018.  She continues to work as an Account Executive for Edgenuity, Inc. and her fiancé is an Information Security Officer for Algebraix Data.

Lauren Benere married Michael Forder on March 24, 2018 in a ceremony for immediate family. Mike’s daughter Kelsey served as flower girl, and the family resides in the Richmond area. Lauren continues to teach high school English, but currently is branching out and getting a post-Master’s Certificate in Instructional Design from the University of Wisconsin-Stout.  Kimberly (Pittman) Gordon and her husband, Shamus Gordon ’06, welcomed daughter, Brenna Davis Gordon, on July 16, 2018. Brenna joins big sister, Tierney, who is 2.

Maggie (Toolin) Cummins and her husband, Chris welcomed their first baby, a daughter named Annie Cummins.

Colin Jones and his wife, Liz welcomed their first child Penelope “Poppy” Marie into this world on October 22, 2018. They look forward to returning to the DC area this summer as part of Colin’s USMC duties.

Megan Hein, her husband Nick Wallwork, and their 4-year-old daughter, Charlotte, were delighted to welcome Alice Rose to the family on August 31, 2018. Megan is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Licensed Clinical Alcohol and Drug Counselor at a residential treatment center in New Jersey.

Megan Jones ‘06 married Tiffany Sutherland on June 30, 2018 in Baltimore, Maryland. In attendance were Mary Washington friends Lauren (Decot) Lee ‘06, Ashley Matthews ‘06, Jennifer Bell ‘06, Jessica Brown ‘06, Catherine (Stewart) Willis ‘07 and Jennifer Yox ‘08. Megan is a Library Manager with Prince George’s County Memorial Library System and Tiffany is a Reference Supervisor at Calvert Library. They reside in Chesapeake Beach Maryland.

Abby Lindsay finished her PhD from the School of International Service at American University, focusing on climate and water governance.  Abby married Payam Ostovar on 11/11/18 in a park overlooking the ocean in Monterey, California where they moved earlier in the year.

After building an independent artist management and festival promotion career in Ithaca, New York for ten years, Russ Friedell (Physics ’07) moved to Denver, Colorado in the fall of 2017. Alongside three partners, they launched Mammoth Music Group in May of 2018 focused on artist management and event marketing and production.

Shana Muhammad moved to Denver, CO late summer 2018. She’s had a blast reconnecting with fellow Eagles and welcomes visitors at anytime!

From Jay Sinha

Matt Pask (’07, M ed ’08) and his husband Matt Richards welcomed twin baby girls into their family on September 18, Maci and Madison.

Jane Mangione works for Backroads, an active travel company based out of Berkeley, CA and Pernes-les-Fontaines, France. She spends most of her time between Italy and New Zealand, where she designs, manages, and leads hiking and cycling tours. She plans to embark on a cycling trip across the US in the summer of 2019 and will be fundraising for World Bicycle Relief during that time. Check out photos, poetry, and stories inspired by her travels on her Instagram: Magic.and.Pasta and her blog:www.magicandpasta.com. Her email address is janemangione@gmail.com.

Kanise Carter Marshall, who studied English at UMW and has an MBA in risk management from Walden University, published a novel, Call From the Willow. She helps other writers through her business, Writeportunity Consulting.

After building an independent artist management and festival promotion career in Ithaca, New York, for 10 years, Russ Friedell, who studied physics, moved to Denver in 2017. He and three partners launched Mammoth Music Group, focused on artist management and event marketing and production, in 2018.

Liz Hickey recently married Ryan Hudy. Her sister, Meghan Hickey (’10), was the Maid of Honor. Liz is in her eighth year as the Head Women’s basketball coach at Averett University.

Jess “Muzz” Herzog has been named the Director of Adult Services at Spartanburg County Public Libraries in Spartanburg, South Carolina, after nine years with the system. The back of her head was recently spotted on NBC at the Tryon International Equestrian Center, where she was a judge during the World Equestrian Games in September.

After two months of intense searching, Alyssa Lee and her girlfriend moved into their new home in Reston, Virginia last July. After moving in, they promptly disappeared to Kauai for a much deserved vacation.Their fluffy rescue dog, Nigel, loves the trails in Reston and continues to steal slices of pizza when no one is watching. In November, her girlfriend Kim, proposed. After ugly crying for many minutes, Alyssa happily accepted.

The Gratiot Area Chamber of Commerce board of directors has selected Oneida, N.Y. native Brendan R. Kelley ’08 as its executive director.

Kelley and his wife Paige recently moved to the area from Knoxville, Tenn. to be closer to family and accommodate his wife’s career change when she accepted a job as an actuary for Auto Owners Insurance in Lansing.

Kelley, 33, earned his bachelor’s degree from the University of Mary Washington in Frederickburg, Va. and is currently working toward his master’s degree from Lincoln Memorial University in Harrogate, Tenn.

Kathryn Carter Esworthy (’09) and Jack Esworthy (’09) welcomed their second baby boy Samuel Joseph in September. He joins his older brother Jack who is 3. Also, Kathryn is graduating from VCU with a masters in Nurse Anesthesia in December and doctorate in May 2019.

Anastasia Sullivan ‘09 got married to Lee Wacker in Philadelphia on October 13, 2018. Anastasia’s best friend whom she met at UMW, Katherine Connolly also ‘09 presided as her Maid of Honor.