Class Notes

Jennifer Stouffer Newton is director of national accounts for Bodyarmor sports drink. 

In January, I, Susan Crytzer Marchant, reached my 30-year anniversary with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and its predecessor organizations. For all those folks out there who asked “Geography! What are you going to do with that?” I can say with confidence that I have made a great life and living with my Mary Wash geography education while supporting the missions of our nation’s Department of Defense and intelligence communities. 

I thank the late professors James Gouger, Richard Palmieri, Samuel T. Emory, and Marshall Bowen for the top-quality education and wonderful memories. 

Christy Comer Tafoya planned to retire in late June as the director of New Mexico State Parks, according to the Albuquerque Journal. Christy, who studied history and historic preservation, joined the state parks in 1998 as the division’s first archaeologist. In 2015, the New Mexico governor appointed her to direct the department, which oversees 35 parks. She was the first woman to direct the department. 

Prince Edward County, Virginia, has named Douglas P. Stanley county administrator and clerk to the Board of Supervisors. Doug has more than 25 years of local government experience, including 20 years as administrator for Warren County, Virginia. 

We, Matt Covington and Shandie Hall Covington, are the new class agents for 1995. Our class has been pretty quiet over the last few years, and our in-person reunion was postponed due to the pandemic. Let’s reconnect in preparation for when we can get together! Send us your personal and professional highlights to appear in the next issue of this magazine. 

After meeting in Combs Hall in freshman chemistry, we married a couple of years after graduation and moved to Michigan. We returned to Virginia in 2002 and then moved to New Jersey in 2015 for Shandie’s job. Our daughter is a sophomore at Virginia Tech, despite our hopes of having another Eagle. Our son is a sophomore in high school, so there is still hope! 

Matt is a high school administrator in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and has faced some interesting challenges because of the pandemic. Shandie is executive director of the American Society of Transplantation and is a passionate advocate for organ donation and transplantation. 

We look forward to serving as class agents. Be well in these crazy times! 

Richard D. Jacques Jr. has been elected a corporate officer for Noblis, a science, technology, and strategy organization that works with government clients. He joined Noblis in January 2019 and is vice president of intelligence and law enforcement.